Date: Sat, 12 Feb 1994 19:15:09 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Willard Subject: A Giant Leap for Mankind - Part Two Message-Id: <01H8T4Z1DSIQ8WW71E@UNCA.EDU> Organization: University of North Carolina at Asheville (NOTE: This part of _A Giant Leap for Mankind_ is titled as an Interlude - in actuality it is a brief history of the next 150 or so years, and is essential to the understanding of the story. Please forgive if it is a little boring - the next part won't be!) A Giant Leap for Mankind by Brian Willard Part Two - An Interlude When genetic engineering first gained its popularity in the early 21st century, its intent was to alleviate hereditary diseases and birth defects. As research went on and technology improved, scientists found that not only could they do what they had originally intended, but much more. By the year 2025, parents could choose what gender their next child would be, as well as other physical characteristics, such as eye and hair color, etc. Much emphasis was later put on trying to boost intelligence, but no work was ever proved satisfactory in this attempt. However, as more and more of the engineered generation came into being, society changed radically. It should be pointed out that the only country where genetic engineering took off big was the United States, while the rest of the world tended to shy away from the idea, some countries even going so far as to outlaw the practice. However, the hype caused the basic fabric of American society to change. The public, now given proof that things could indeed be changed, began to lay aside feelings of discrimination and spite, and eventually the controversial nickname of "The Melting Pot" began to stand for something. Crime rates and violence dropped dramatically, as did unemployment. National pride became the thing, almost as strong as it was during World War II, and in the year 2062 the United States officially declared that it was no longer in debt. A new era began for the country, one of happiness and prosperity, and era that carried through well into the next century. But all was not perfect. From the beginning, there had been those who were opposed morally to the idea of genetic engineering, especially for reasons than it was originally intended. As the years went on, the number of people opposed to the practice grew, but not as much as did the followers, and much of the opposition gave in when the new wave of prosperity hit the country. Yet, there remained a strong central group that was gaining a view as a public menace, demonstrating and causing quite a stir at times. In 2067, the U.S. Supreme Court held up the position that genetic engineering was legal in any form, and ordered an end to all protests. For many years, the opposition subdued their ideas, most of the followers resorting to isolation. This in turn caused the return of discrimination, as these people were looked upon as inferior by the general public, and as it was in the early twentieth century, this discrimination usually seemed to be above the law. No longer was the opposition determined to see genetic engineering made illegal, because they knew that would never happen. Instead they focused their attention to achieving equal rights and ending their oppression. On August 25, 2115, an event occurred which sent the soaring American economy to near ground zero and single-handedly destroyed public confidence in the government. The much awaited "big one", the California earthquake, which many had begun to doubt since it was so long overdue, hit the West Coast. Tearing directly along the San Andreas fault, the earthquake tore the state of California in two, and a rush of ocean water swept through the open trough of the fault. Everything to the west was wiped out by a recurrence of tidal waves and aftershocks, and in the end, southwest California lay a desolate island twenty miles from the new coast. Death and destruction ran all up the West Coast, from Mexico to Alaska, and inward to anything west of the Rocky Mountains. Within a year, the U.S. government collapsed and chaos set in as a crop of semi-state governments were established. In most of these new territories, which still continued to run in partial cooperation, the governing groups changed almost monthly, and many people fled the weaker-run territories while they could. It was during this period that the opposition made its biggest advancement. The majority of the group assembled into a new organization, known as the Crusaders, that was based in the flourishing city of Denver, seat of the single most stable territory in the former United States, a territory that was known as The Grand Province. The Grand Province had grown into a self-sustaining and competitive world power within just ten years of the collapse of the U.S. Government. The leader of this new regime was a middle- aged man by the name of Cassius Prowell, who labeled himself as "the People's Leader", but in all aspects was essentially a dictator. He was head of all government activities and functions, and was wealthy beyond belief. He ran the entire territory from his home in Glendale, a splendid building built to look like a French palace of the later medieval period, which he said was ironic, as he was promising his people a "new Denverian Renaissance". Meanwhile, the Crusaders had established their little community in the Denver suburb of Littleton, which had been deserted at the onset of the new regime. The leader of the Crusaders was a young woman named Annette Berwood, a fearless fighter as well as a top-notch martial arts student. She promised her followers that she would return equality for all people, even the "mutants", which is what members of the non- genetically engineered population were called by the vast majority of the public. Over the next fifteen years, she led the Crusaders in many rallies and attacks on the government, but none were ever successful, and public opinion of the group grew worse, causing increased oppression of members of the opposition. The leaders were often arrested, including Anna, but that never stopped the spirit of the group, and they would come back at a cycle of one large attack or rally each month. On July 19, 2133, Anna and the Crusaders led a revolt directly against the Prowell estate, with the intent to capture the dictator and offer him for ransom in exchange for total equality for all people within the province. However, the security around the palace was too much for the group, and most of them were arrested. The few remaining free Crusaders were able to bail all of them out, except for Annette, who was to be held until trial for treason. Humiliated and nearly powerless, the Crusaders returned to their seclusion in Littleton to await the trail, which was to be held on September 1 of that same year. It was a painful time for all of the opposition, as they saw their very hopes waiting in that cold cell room until the first of September. ********** "What do you think Sam?" asked Johannes, "Should we raid the jail or not?" Sam looked intensely at the scraggly-looking young man standing next to him. He had never been here before, and he had no idea who this kid was, but strangely enough knew exactly what they were discussing, and he also sensed a familiarity with the room they were now standing in, a damp, cold, windowless room that seemed to be a basement somewhere. "No, Johannes, that would be stupid. They'd just arrest us again," said Olin, a large, muscular man of Indian ascent. "Hey, I wasn't asking you, Olin! Go back to your dominoes!" "Watch it, squirt!" Sam stepped between them before Olin had a chance to pulverize the kid. "Johannes, I think that it would be a bad idea to attack the jail. We'd just get arrested again." "Besides, that's not where she's being held," added Olin. "What?" said Sam, "Last I knew she was still in the city jail. Where did they move her to?" "They've taken her to Prowell's. Apparently Big Daddy Cassius wants to keep an eye on her. Saw it on the ten o'clock news." "Thought you were watching the Flintstones this morning Olin," said Johannes, "Or have you already seen all the episodes?" "Watch it, runt!" Sam was getting annoyed by all this bickering. "Enough, you two! So they've moved her to the castle, eh." Sam stood next to Olin, contemplating ideas. "Oh boy..." More to come...(next weekend) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Willard | "Revenge is mine, thus sayeth the hologram!" UNC-Asheville | Dr. Samuel Beckett - _The Leap Back_ bwillard@unca.edu | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------