Shadow Moses [Fransykes]

Prologue

I looked up towards the sky but as always, I failed to see anything else but the grayish dome that apparently kept us - the only surviving people - locked inside this so called realm of safety.

I blinked, hoping that when I open my eyes again the blue sky covered in semi transparent clouds would be right there. But it wasn't. There wasn't a drop of the color blue above my head. There was nothing cheerful up there, nothing that would give me will to live in this dull grey world. There was nothing from the stories our elders used to tell us before they were banished for treason. There was just... well, grey.

I let myself taste disappointment before I sighed and lowered my gaze, my eyes automatically falling to the huge buildings in the distance. The gems that decorated them gleamed light into my eyes and in an instant every bit of disappointment I felt quickly transformed into hate.

I stood there practically drowning in my own rage for a second, two, three... maybe even a minute. Honestly, I had no idea, but as I reminded myself that I was just a worker and that I couldn't do anything about it, I let the tension from my muscles drop as I focused on my breathing.

In and out, in and out... yeah, just like that.

You can't do anything about it Oli, I told myself, at least not yet. First you need proof.

The year was 2133 and almost a century ago the whole world was destroyed due to technology.

Robots completely took over human work places leaving most of the human population unemployed which resulted in riots as there were more and more poor people who weren't able to survive in the new system. There were more factories than ever and with that more exhaust gases than ever which led to air pollution. Batteries and motherboards along with other key parts of intelligent technical creations accumulated in forests and rivers polluting clear waters and intoxicating floras which resulted in animals and plants all over the world dying.

Eventually everything collapsed one over another leaving the world in an utter state of chaos and war - fight for survival that at the time seemed impossible.

However, there was a family that managed to gather all the surviving people that were willing to cooperate and they used the last bits of technology that were left to create this - a realm of safety strictly controlled by its government and, of course, the President who's only interest was to keep us safe.

Well, at least that was what they taught us in school.

The elders who lived through the very beginning of the realm were telling us a completely different story, but they were all banished now - sent out of the realm to die in the ruined world. Because apparently they were just liars who tired to destroy our perfect system - that tried to destroy our safety and expose us to death.

I know what you're thinking - why would they do that? Why would they lie? Well, I was thinking that too, in fact, every worker in the realm was thinking that, but we were all too afraid to ask.

Today our society was divided into three layers. The government, the workers and the slaves.

The government people were the ones at the top of the pyramid - the ones living in huge houses decorated with gems and diamonds. They were the ones who practically bathed in gold thanks to us - the workers.

We were the second layer - the middle. We - as the name indicated - worked a lot. We worked in the mines, in hothouses, in stables, in crockeries... Basically whatever job there was to keep the society in good terms of life, when it came to food, water and clothes, was on us.

The only problem was that we didn't own anything. We worked for the government and on their land. With this system we barely, had enough to survive, but the high class didn't care. It was their way of keeping us at bay. They knew we weren't happy but the President didn't care as long as we weren't starving for longer periods of time. His main interest was too keep us strong enough to work but weak enough to start a revolution.