Sanctuary

Chapter Nine - Senna

"The peak of wireless technology came in the year 2030. The internet had turned into something over 80% of the population accessed every day, via a variety of mobile devices. These devices changed from cellular phones to more hands-free technologies, including screens that could be worn over a person's eyes, giving them constant access to the wireless network."

The teacher droned on as Senna scribbled circles in the corner of her notebook. She wanted to speak up, to talk about how she had one of those old wireless devices at home, but they wouldn't care about the HMD. She'd only get in trouble again.

"Despite the technology available to the human race during the Wireless Age, the scientists of the time were still unable to predict the arrival of the N-Gel. The moment the N-Gel arrived, the wireless network shutdown. The N-Gel's primary form of communication interfered with the waves this technology relied on to function."

There were more circles on Senna's page than notes. If she had class with Nigel, they could be going over Sign Language behind the teacher's back instead. She had already forgotten 'P', 'Q', and 'X'.

"The chaos that followed was referred to by the religious as the apocalypse. These religious people called the aliens "Angels" after a religious myth revolving around winged humans said to be the warriors of God. The media of the time took that name and altered it to N-Gel in an attempt to remove religion from the crisis without completely negating the possibility. Similarly the Neoplague was named for a religious tale – the Plagues of Egypt. It was said that the symptoms of the Neoplague resembled the plagues mentioned in the myth, with the metallic taste in the mouth mimicking water turning to blood, high fever a reference to fire raining from the sky, the inability to process nutrients referring to the death of crops and cattle and so on..."

Senna flipped ahead in the textbook, tuning out the symptoms so she wouldn't think about her father and how he must have suffered. She flipped past the construction of the initial quarantine domes, past the establishment of their government, and past the reign of Sanctuary's first President. She skipped through to the reconstruction of the domes, to where she knew she'd see Kagerou Sato's name. She wanted to see what the book said about the ingenious inventor who shaped so much of what Sanctuary had become...

Except she wasn't in the book. The credit for the dome redesign was given to 'a team of engineers'. Surely that was a mistake. She flipped further ahead, to the introduction of the bioluminescent moss into society – but it wasn't even mentioned. She was nearing the end of the book by the time she was done, getting closer and closer to the present day. She skimmed over the entry on President Zed's election, but the only thing after that was something about a terrorist attack. Senna even turned to the index, running her finger down the page over both the 'K' and the 'S' sections, but Kagerou Sato wasn't listed.

The bell sounded, startling Senna from her search. She had missed the entirety of the last half of the lecture, not that she really cared. She scrambled to pack away her books, the class already filing out around her. One of the students bumped her desk on the way out, knocking her book to the floor with a laugh that was echoed by the two other girls she was with. Senna didn't meet their eyes, choosing to bend over for the book without a word. It wasn't the first time the trio of girls had laughed at her. It wasn't even the first time they had knocked her things to the floor.

"Hey dirtskin!" one of the girls shouted as Senna entered the hall. Senna kept her head down and worked her way through the quickly thinning crowd to her locker. They followed. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Didn't they teach you manners where you're from?"

Senna stopped in front of her locker, turning with her books still in her arms. The last remaining students didn't so much as give them a passing glance, save for one who snickered as he continued towards the exit. It was the end of the day and the halls were rapidly quieting.