The Experimental Cosmos

1. The Legacy

The call of the wind
Beckons me forward
Break these bonds
And fly wild into the night.

I etch the words onto the concrete wall of the radioactive fence on the boundary of my city. Cutting me off from the world, crackling with energy. Welcome to my life. My name is Nebula and I am 16 years old. Welcome to Reticence, the city of the quiet.

Our city is what the product of throwing thousands of introverts together would look like. But that's not all. Our city is also a learning centre. An experiment. We are the fiddle toys of human temperament and supposedly the 'most valuable subjects' of The Central, aka, the government. Oh! Wait. I have one more other-worldly shock for you. Our world is governed by scientists.

When we turn 17,we get a choice-to continue the experiment and live in the city till death do us part, or, bid goodbye to everything we ever knew and venture into the vast, wide world that lies on the other side of the fence. The pros? Whatever you think-family, travel, education, experience-and whatever else it is that makes you smile through your last breath. The cons? No novelty if you continue inside the Fence and no home and roots left if you venture outside.

Oh and also, one more atrocity no one dares to admit-if the Central finds your brain interesting, either you have your whole life monitored and controlled, or, you are whisked away to 'The Futuristic' - the one hell that every government tries to convince its citizens is paradise.

The Futuristic is the main lab of experiments and inventions in complete control of our governing body- the best scientists and worst humans on the whole planet.

Now I suppose I owe everyone an explanation of what exactly this Grand experiment is-the brainchild of Ulima,our Central president some 150 years ago and possibly one of the most humane people this world has had the blessing to experience.

This experiment looks at those who are the hardest to decipher - the quiet people.

No matter how many inventions this Era has seen mind reading remains the one thing that only comes alive in books and fantasies. This experiment, started with the ideal of understanding the human mind better, slowly inched its way towards becoming a full-fledged Legacy as scientists discovered that those with noticeable brain capacity actually flourished under isolated, quiet but urban conditions.

And so slowly the experiment grew to become a community of doctors, engineers, artisans and some of the best educational, Medical and entertainment facilities in the world. Now don't get me wrong, I am not trying to convince anyone that we are helpless victims trapped in a glass cage because truly, we are are not.

Born and raised in a controlled and intellectual environment, we are all quite proud of our home, Reticence, and it's not like we're completely unaware of the world outside either!

We can actually find all we want about the outside world on the Uniweb- no wait, that's blatant lie.

The Uniweb is a government controlled platform that only showcases as much of the outside as is needed and wanted.

When people from outside and enter to get education or medical help, talking about their life is an offence punishable by death. So you get the idea.

The only people who truly get to know even fragments about the real world outside are the initiates- each year 16 year olds from the city get to spend a year in a simulated landscape to experience some parts of the outside and get full survival training in order to make the choice when they turn 17.

One more thing- probably the most important one that is going to open the door to this story and to this chamber of Secrets- I am set to leave as an initiate for my training to be an adult tomorrow.