Free Mind Storm by K.M. Ruiz Page B

historical testament, a reminder, to the arrogance of the human race.
    The main city towers that spanned both sides of the sluggish Thames River cast long shadows over the crowded city below. Downstream, the Thames Barrier stood like a silent sentinel, an engineering feat something that only the educated, registered humans understood and were allowed to operate. The streets themselves teemed with unregistered humans who would never find themselves removed from obscurity and written into the safety of the Registry. Their genetics hadn’t passed muster when the time came to prove themselves clean of radiation taint and mutation. At least, not any mutation that was profitable. They would never join the ranks of the educated to better their lives save through illegal schools that would mean their death if found out. The government cracked down hard on those who disobeyed the directives that had separated society into what it was now.
    Freedom, with all its various connotations, was one of the first casualties of survival.
    Nathan was used to his sort of freedom and getting his way, even if the humans—registered and unregistered alike—weren’t exactly aware of how he did it. The problem was that he hadn’t been getting his way for two years and it had left him in a foul mood for just as long. Nathan was excellent at hiding his displeasure, though, especially in front of the cameras.
    The pressroom of the Serca Syndicate was filled to capacity, everyone jostling for the clearest read on the man whose sheer presence up on the speaking stage was enough to capture everyone’s attention. Nathan smiled at his audiences, both the one present and the one beyond the cameras, as he stepped behind the podium, and he meant the expression for what it was—a means to an end.
    â€œLadies, gentlemen, it’s always a pleasure to have something to celebrate,” Nathan began, his voice carrying through the room. He cut a striking figure behind the microphones, with the shine of a hologrid at his fingertips. All the reporters leaned forward, eager for what one of the most prominent figures in their society had to say.
    â€œThe government, in its righteous duty to further enable the survival of the human race, has a difficult balance to keep when it rules on issues that come before the World Court. My family, as you know, has had a unique relationship with the ruling politicians that seek to keep us alive in a world our ancestors made. Not everyone has or will agree with the Fifth Generation Act my predecessors campaigned and fought for, but it was necessary at the time. It remains necessary today, despite its detractors.
    â€œThis year marks the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary since the last bombs fell inside China, ending the Border Wars that held the world prisoner for five long and terrifying years. We nearly annihilated ourselves through shortsightedness and greed. The fallout of that time was so much more than radiation sickness and a ruined planet, so much more that we have had to live with and survive through over the past two and a half centuries.
    â€œIn 2179 we set a benchmark year to ensure our survival so that those who could prove five generations’ worth of clean DNA would be allowed full rights as registered citizens when the time came. Was it a draconian law at the time? Of course it was, but it was needed. And when, one hundred and fifty years later, we reached that finalization point, there were those of us who had made efforts to keep the integrity of our DNA intact. My family never set down in stone how one should go about achieving that goal, just that one should .”
    Nathan offered up a faint smile, the pride in his family’s accomplishments unmistakable. “The Border Wars gave us many and varied problems to deal with, not the least being the psions we seem unable to cleanse from the population. The government, thankfully, has the problem under control. Which is why