It started as an experiment. The government wanted to see how societies change over time. They made it law that each Sector was allowed to listen to and manufacture one specific genre of music. Only one. At first, the people were outraged. They would listen to music that went against the new laws, refusing to give up such an essential part of their lives.
They were careful. They kept these small acts of rebellion secret as best they could, but the government wasn't stupid. They knew there were going to be rebels. Technology was so easy to tap into back then, and deleted histories never disappeared forever. They fined those who rebelled, and told them that if they wanted to listen to their favorite music, they could move to a different Sector.
So they moved. Some crossed the country. Others headed north. But thousands left their homes behind, just because they couldn't to live out their lives without ever hearing Nirvana or Mozart or Beyonce ever again. It's crazy what people are willing to give up for something as simple as music, isn't it?
Years passed. As the government expected, society evolved. Each Sector slowly became a Genre, with its own values and personality. Eventually, nobody missed other music. They listened to what they were surrounded by, and grew to love it.
More time went by, and those who began the social experiment died. Centuries later, the Genres live on.
There was no hatred between the Genres. They respected one another, but remained separate. After all, what Country girl would want to be surrounded by Rock boys with neon hair and piercings, or Hip Hop girls with gold chains and tattoos? What Pop boy, in all his bleached-blonde glory, would feel at home in the middle of Classical, where days are for reading Shakespeare and nights are spent in ballet class?
The government was smart enough to keep a small Sector neutral to act as a capital. They called it Equilibrium. Many people visited Equilibrium, often on school field trips or summer vacations, but nobody stayed for long. They found that they quickly began to miss their home Genre, where everyone fit together.
There were only two reasons anyone would live in Equilibrium. They either worked for the government, or they attended the Stars Academy.
Stars was an arts school. They accepted only the best artists from each Genre. Each year, the Dean of Admissions gifted one applicant from each Genre a scholarship that covered the outrageous tuition and school supplies.
No matter what Genre you were from, you could name at least one celebrity who graduated from Stars. Nobody knew what was taught in there, but that school took talented kids and turned them into skilled artists.
That school shaped children into stars.
