Nine

Chapter One - History

    "In the year 2029, disaster struck the world. The increasing threat of political tension, overpopulation, and climate change had reached a breaking point. Russia and the United States promised nuclear warfare. With missiles aimed all across the Northern Hemisphere; war and possible global extinction were inevitable. Or so they believed. On October 4th, 2029, a natural enemy swept across the Pacific Ocean. A hurricane, hundreds of times larger than any hurricane ever recorded, it was headed straight for North America. 

    Panic ensued, Americans attempted to flee from the hurricane's predicted path, but it was no use. The great country was flooded in the hurricane, and the United States of America was no more. The country became part of the oceans, separating Mexico and Canada from one another. People that dabbled in philosophy said that the U.S. had been cleansed, while conspiracy theorists claimed that it was Russia or North Korea that had concocted a synthetic storm. However, both parties were wrong. It was simply a freak incident that had been caused by a severe spike in global and atmospheric temperatures. 

     Even with three hundred and sixty million dead, the world was overpopulated. Russia retreated back to its icy depths. Climate activists flooded the streets, crying out for change. And we answered the call. We, the I.C.C. was born. The International Council of Control. Rising from the obliteration of almost an entire continent, the founder of I.C.C., Ramone Raz, strove to save our planet. The French geneticist labored for nearly a year before he found the perfect solution. A solution that would change our very perception of reality.

    A test that would determine the strength of a subject's genetic code. His discovery was more than it seemed though. 0.09% of humans tested by Raz's Machine gained unthinkable, and unexplainable, abilities. They became gifted like the characters from comic books. The 0.09% seemed randomly chosen, but Raz believed that they carried a rare, recessive, gene. 

     During the time Raz locked himself into his laboratory, the outside world attempted to move on from the hurricane, though the rest of the world was overpopulated, starving, terrified, and their leadership was failing. So Ramone launched his campaign for power. Raz quickly rose to the top, and established the I.C.C. The world submitted to his rule, each country electing a representative to sit at his council. It was then that Raz shared his invention with the world. The council met soon after to determine the fate of the world. 

     The council members had to decide what to do about the overpopulation crisis."

     The monotonous, robotic voice continued to speak of the Earth's history but Luna tuned out. She had heard this speech at every monthly school assembly. Luna yawned, politely covering her mouth with a slender hand. She decided to let her gaze wander over the auditorium. Her fellow classmates - all of them seventeen years old- sat at rapt attention, posture straight, eyes glazed over. Robots, all of them. Well, not literally. But brainwashed, all the same, in their fancy little school uniforms. Luna wondered why she wasn't like them. She wanted to scream out of extreme boredom, but she knew that the teachers would take her away. And when someone got in trouble, they were swiftly removed from the prestigious private school. Her dads would kill her if she got expelled. Luna faced forward again as she heard the clicking heels of the scariest teacher in the school, Ms. Ferguson. The older woman had a face like a prune, wrinkly, with sharp cheekbones and eyes like daggers. She wore a suit that looked like it was suffocating. 

    "Pay attention Ms. Luna," The teacher said, snapping her fingers together, blood red nails clicking. Luna flinched, but stayed still, staring at the three dimensional screen in the front of the auditorium. The screen showed the I.C.C. meeting in a board room to discuss Raz's proposal to stop the overpopulation crisis. The council was in an uproar, and the monotonous voice continued describing the historical moment.