Ugana

Prologue

Ugana is perfect.

Before, they said perfection didn't exist- that it was an unrealistic ideal. Humans were not perfect and never could be. They were wrong.

Ugana is perfect.

But it wasn't always this way. Before the revolution, Ugana was known as the United States of America. It was a filthy, greedy, violent place. The citizens were ignorant and inhumane. People literally starved in the streets while others lived in giant fortresses with enough money to feed small countries. There were riots, drugs, gangs and death. So much death. If you were lucky enough to survive the economic and societal oppression and crime, you died from things like Cancer. Obesity. Heart Disease. There were people who could not read or write, who could not be responsible members of their societies because they were untrained- education was not provided for every citizen and those who were lucky enough to receive a higher education paid a high cost leaving them with immense debts. There was a shortage of doctors and healthcare was not readily provided.

And then there was the revolution.

In the United States of America, the citizens were divided among themselves in so many ways, one shattering divide being between political parties. They grouped themselves into factions and gave themselves names: Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Independents and so on. The labels were endless, really, and they each help opposing views on how the country should run. This was supposed to be a safe guard for a peaceful, effective governing system but it never worked that way- it was just another divide- another difference, and differences mean conflict.

The government was corrupt and the people were so desperate for help that they put a radicalized man in power. They saw him as their savior. After all, he was not one of them. He had not grown in the tight circle of politicians who took turns every four years with faux elections made to convince ignorant citizens they were in control of their country- to keep them complacent. He was a business man with ideas and by this time, the country was in so much debt and so desperate for change that he seems the answer to so many of their problems, but he was equally imperfect. Still, he was the domino in an elaborate series of events that would change the country. That would purge it. Perfect it.

Ugana was perfection.

Before, the country was infested with what they called immigrants: criminals from other countries who escaped conviction by fleeing their homeland and hiding in the USA. They brought with them violence and conflict. They formed gangs-organized group of criminals. They brought drugs- substances which have a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. There was human trafficking- the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, and there was rape-sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person's consent. They spoke in languages no one understood- passing secrets among themselves, plotting. Often, they were successful.

There was murder- the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. Citizens had guns as if they were flowers, something to set on a kitchen table and admire. Massacres-an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people. Bombings- an attack or attacks on a place or area using bombs. There were things called Terrorist attacks- the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature. There were terrorists, both outside and within, and to stop this he formed a team of government officials to locate every immigrant tearing down the country and send them back. Unfortunately, having spent so long in the company of the corrupt, many of his own people turned against him. They believed the facade of the terrorist immigrants. They were fooled by their charm and fought alongside them, rioting in the streets, burning their communities to the ground, literally. They protested, they screamed and marched. They were unable to see the greater picture: Ugana. They fell.

Some were able to be saved, brought into the Cleansing Centers, their minds rid of the impurities left by the impure. They were brought back to the truth. The ones who were too far gone to be saved were allowed to leave to any country who would accept them and many did. To keep them from returning- to keep us all safe- a wall was built.

Inside the wall there is very little resemblance to the before. There are people, but we have no strong differences aside from gender and name. First name, family name, country name. Anne Barnett Ugana. Even our skin tones, hair and eye colors are similar, a technique mastered by our Genetic Perfection Center in order to eliminate jealousy and conflict. The streets are clean, lined with identical houses assigned to each family, none too large or too small but fair- everything is equal- from the food to the furniture. There is no crime, no drugs and only the watchers have guns, though no ones ever used them. Everyone is provided a complete education, a career and health monitoring is not only accessible but mandatory in order to ensure optimal functioning of both our bodies and our country. To be responsible citizens.

Inside the wall, we work together, each person a piece of the whole, and to keep it running smoothly, we have consistency in our systems. From birth to age 15, children are given a general education in development centers from 7am-7pm, allowing their parents to fulfill their employment duties. From 16-20, each individual is assessed and filed into their future career training, as decided by their examinations. At 20, you are closed into your field. From the ages of 20-25, depending on sex and availability, you are matched with a spouse who favors your precise genetic makeup just in time for the ideal conception ages. Procreation is necessary to ensure the survival and advancement of our country. Everyone is equal. Everyone is happy. Everyone has a purpose.

Inside the wall, Ugana is perfect.