PREFACE

By Milena Sánchez- Feijoo

ECOTEC – Ecuador

 

 

This story tells the life of a society that after a devastating event, lost respect for the planet, thanks to consumerism and waste of resources.

 

The consequences of these acts were so serious that everything that is known today is just a dream, they changed from their social pyramid, to the way they felt safe in the world. They live more than 50 km from ground level, because the pH levels are so high that it is deadly for a human being to step on it, they must be equipped with a special suit, it is worth mentioning that there are mutant dangers in the depths, predators that in search of their survival feed on human flesh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Would you believe if I told you that the world, we knew 50 years ago is totally different from now?

Many believe that the world has not changed, but if we compare it with the stories told to us by our grandparents or the old society, it is nothing like now.

My name is Evangelyne, I am 16 years old and I am a 4. Today the world is divided by categories, according to your social status. Those who are born in a golden cradle, the elite are known as 1, normally they have the power to be rulers and a lot of influence over the decisions of the world; the high social class, but with certain restrictions of luxuries are known as 2; then there is the middle class, the 3 who are the employees or subordinates of the previous ones and are content with the minimum to live; Finally, there are those of my class, the 4, are those who are born to be servants for life and at the same time explorers, we are trained from birth to find a solution that will help us to continue living on the planet, but also protect everyone from the dangers outside.

In 2020, all humanity witnessed a pandemic, it was so deadly that half of the population died, looking at it from the selfish side, it should be assumed that this fact helped to decrease the levels of pollution, ecological footprint and greenhouse effect, however, after 8 years a corporation changed the ideals of people, creating consumerist and wasteful of resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 1

Sweets 17

 

I am about to turn 17 years old, in my rank that means that I will become an official explorer, it is not easy to take that step, because I will be separated from my sister that all my life has been her and me, since my mother is always traveling for missions and my father died 4 years ago exercising his profession as an explorer. I have worked hard to get the best grades and today I am one of the top 5 students in my class, but that does not save me from 0 territory, however, if I complete my missions successfully I can become part of the 1, I want to give a better life to my little family and I hope that my hard work will pay off. Tomorrow is the final test, and it will be decided if I become an explorer, since those who do not make it through the test are assigned tasks as technicians or collectors, it is considered a low level job, but its importance is very great. I have a little secret and I am nervous about it, I have a mark on my right rib, if someone from the board finds out I can be taken to the laboratory, where I will be a guinea pig with which they will experiment until they get tired, because according to ancient books, whoever carries that mark has an inexplicable gift that is to be feared among societies.  As I head towards the simulator I can see my mother out of the corner of my eye very nervous and alert, on the other hand my sister only pretends not to worry, in general I would be the same as her because I have prepared for this all my life, but my heart does not stop beating. I try to leave all those thoughts aside and the test begins, in the simulator there are 3 other people, we enter into dangers and battles between us, all this is watched by family members, instructors and 1, among them are the Vadox, the wealthiest elite family that are part of the government.

 

In my first challenge, I had to defeat a creature of the territory 0, then I went through a cave where oxygen was nonexistent to find groundwater and analysis if their levels were suitable for human consumption, as the tests progressed my mistakes were a total of 0, until unfortunately I fell into the trap of a creature, I could not escape or scream because it would draw the attention of predators, while devising an escape plan, among the darkness of the cave I saw a flash that left me confused at first, because what I thought was a cave, was an architectural ruin, for what I thought was a cave, It was an architectural ruin, to be exact in its time it was a house, I could tell by its moldings, the large windows and an almost intact painting, in all my years I had never seen this in my practical simulators, it was beautiful landscape that was in front of me, but an alarm took me out of my thoughts, I only had 10 minutes of oxygen in my suit, as fast as I could I took a piece of glass and broke the strange web with spider thread that had captured me, I ran as fast as I could and I met with my companions. At the end of the test, I watched as everyone murmured and watched me, especially the elite class, but one look disturbed me more than all, it was from the successor of the Vadox family.

 

The next test was a confrontation with a creature from the ground, my mother's nerves were felt and it made me very uneasy; once inside the ring I felt my adrenaline pumping and even more so when the doors burst open, letting out a rampaging mutation, one of the most dangerous in territory 0, an Anax. They feed only on human flesh and their senses are more developed than any other species, I analyze my surroundings right away, before it notices my presence, in the distance I distinguish some weapons on the ground, and while I devise a combat strategy I idealize that this is no longer a simulation, it is real and dangerous. The creature approaches me instinctively and without thinking I lunge towards it, but the Anax was faster than me, which causes me to make a scratch on my abdomen, that slows my speed, but it does not take away the viada to surround it, swing, I didn't notice what was going on around me because of the buzzing in my ears, thanks to the adrenaline, but instantly I heard the exclamations of the public, my time was a record, in just 1 minute and 15 seconds I managed to win. Once my agitation was down and my adrenaline was fading I felt a sharp pain and visions came to me, everything around me faded and suddenly a flurry of images went through my head, they were all different, but it was as if they told a story in sequence never revealed, I could appreciate the architecture, advances, civilizations, a world very different from now; I came out of my trance when the paramedics arrived to check the wound that the creature had caused, I noticed that the claw had torn my clothes very close to the mark, I avoided the help saying that I wanted my mother's help, since she also knew first aid.

 

CHAPTER 2

Disclosures

 

Once in the medical room, my mother and my sister Amelia arrive in a hurry to see me and with a change of clothes, my mother checks my wounds, but my mind is analyzing that they were that kind of images I saw was a mixture of architecture from an ancient age to a contemporary age, and significant elements between each one. Amelia was putting pressure on my wound and my mother was treating it very quietly with her eyes fixed on it when suddenly she breaks the silence.

-You shouldn't do the last test, I feel you have already shown what you can do," says my mother.

 

The test consists of being induced into a dream where you create scenarios and face your fears, hoping that you will be able to overcome all the challenges that your imagination proposes, but after those visions I had, I was more worried than my mother, because right now this mark is my biggest fear.

-Mom, I'll be fine, retiring now won't be worthy of me -I told her in a calm voice trying to calm us both down-.

 

Something in me told me that this answer didn't calm her down, it's as if she knew that I have the mark and what it entails to have it.

 

After two days of rest, and some training from mom I am ready for my latest challenge. I have idealized a lot so that the mark does not come out in my test, the technology they handle is very advanced, they can see everything that goes through my head in small fragments.  While they prepare the serums to induce my sleep, I feel a glance again and I find the same guy staring at me, as if trying to enter my thoughts.

 

The test was a success, there was no trace of the mark in my subconscious and I was very relieved. I anxiously awaited the results of who would be scouts, but at the same time I felt uncomfortable because the gaze of young Max Vadox persisted. They were mentioning first those who scored less and my anxieties increased, there were only 5 places left and there was no mention of my name, only 3 and nothing, until they named the second place Evangelyne Dacary, I was a little puzzled because my score was perfect and besides no one else was missing, who was missing? I was in my thoughts when I heard the name Max Vadox. The whole room was silent, we only had eyes for the Vadox family, just like all of them are surprised and confused, how is it possible that their son, the heir and firstborn, is an explorer in the lowest class, nothing made sense, when did he study, when did he take the test, why does he lower himself to be an explorer being an untouchable elite?

 

That's right, a person who belongs to the elite class will be part of us, the rules are final, whoever passes the test can be an explorer and he is now part of us.

 

The time has come when we are assigned companions and we must all go to territory 0 in groups of 4, the members are chosen at random. Three groups have already been selected, they go for the fourth and I hear the name of Max, a girl named Chicago, a boy Alex and finally my name, I was amazed because the 2 best of the academy share in the same group, we go to a corner of the room to greet each other, in that Max approaches me and extends his hand, as soon as I had contact with him everything around me vanished, again. The vision was different, there were a lot of people, but this time they passed one after another, but with different features, strange clothes, as if it was again a sequence of different times. I composed myself as best I could as I came out of the vision and noticed the gaze of the other two guys and Max's which was neutral and indecipherable.

 

We are on a mission in territory 0, we are trying to discover the new species that has mutated, we are alert because we are getting closer and closer, nothing is known about this species, only that it is carnivorous and only devours human flesh. The mission is to find out where the herd is located and if we are lucky capture one of them to be analyzed. I was so aware of my movements by the fragments that were all over the floor, I did not notice that a creature was asleep in front of me, I froze when I felt a touch on my arm, it was Max who was trying to move me away and signaling the team to put me in capture position. Everything was going well, until at level 40 km, the creature managed to escape, at least we found its lair and analyzed its behavior a little.

 

I was so exhausted that I just wanted to get to my bed and sleep, but Max's hand interrupted my way.

 

-I know your secret," he said softly, "I have it too," and then he lifted up his shirt and it had the same mark as mine.

 

With a little confusion about everything, he explained to me that we were chosen, but that the mark is passed down from generation to generation and is only activated when it is really necessary. He also mentioned that only the 4 can have it, and that he wasn't really a legitimate heir to the Vadox, his mother had had an affair with a scout and only she knew of his mark. Still stunned by all the information provided, I gasped when he told me that he and I were in charge of creating a world where we create life and nature, a balance on the planet. My visions made sense, the buildings, the different eras, the progress and wear that humanity suffered, it was not meaningless, it was something real that happened and that evolved to lead us to this, that is why the elite class believes us valuable, but at the same time reusable, only we have the answer in our hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 3

Change

 

I talked to my mother as soon as I found out about everything, I was really worried but I also knew what my duty was to carry this mark, since, my father also had it.

I headed to the Vadox house, it was impressive to walk in there, it had architecture similar to some of my visions, but it was an impressive mix of eras, it's like it told you a story on its own, in a balanced, elegant way, with proportions and attention to detail.

 

My head was still not getting used to the idea that I and my visions had the answer to the problems around me, when suddenly, everything became cloudy again, I had a vision again, but I was in an unknown place, it seemed to be territory 0, however, it was not, everything was green, luminous, there were trees, a refreshing breeze moved my hair, it was beautiful; Consequently, I saw a path and I did not hesitate to follow it, what most called my intention is to see the mutant creatures protecting that place, and as if someone was whispering things in my ear, I understood that they are trying to restore the planet, they are looking for a balance and a change just like us.

 

When I woke up from that vision, I saw Max as amazed as I was, he saw the same as me, thanks to the connections of the Vadox we contacted the rulers, apparently they had been waiting for us for a long time, together with them and the agents of the headquarters we organized a plan to go down to territory 0 and clear the doubts we had. Max and I came to the conclusion that they had the ability to understand us and we were going to find out.

 

In less than a month I had experienced more things than in all my 17 years, I was only a level 4 girl and now I share opinion with the 1's, adding that I was a key factor for the change of the planet.

 

We were with the whole team descending, when from level 10km we observed that a creature was near the base, in a passive mode, as if it was waiting for us, its vibe was totally peaceful.

I got out of the elevator as fast as I could and approached it stealthily, slowly I lowered its head and understood that I should place my hand on it, indeed we could communicate with the creatures, I looked to Max to approach and do the same. He told us whose intentions were not bad, rather that they are trying to restore the soil and its pH level, because its acidity is so high that life cannot be created, he took us to the valley I saw in the vision, but not before warning us not to attack any mutants.

 

On the way he explained that the pH level is 14, which means that everything in the soil dies, although with the effort and help of all living beings of the territory 0 had managed to get a small part to obtain a level of 7, they had been stealing technology to advance much more. For them it was not profitable for us to live on a platform 50km above the ground, because we prevented the passage of the sun, one of the most important resources of living beings, the visions I had were a sample of what was the world, architecture, civilizations in general, living in a fertile and profitable soil.

 

The creatures were never our enemies, they only wanted to survive and we were their biggest predators. They let us take samples of the entire valley terrain and we even agreed on an alliance, they were very rational beings for mutants; the government upon learning the results of the mission, they could not believe that who were the bad guys in the story, it was always us.

 

We devised a plan and invited all citizens to a call, we spoke to them with the truth and evidence, no matter what social class you are, what matters is to have a radical change in us and contribute with small changes more sustainable, restore the planet, generate more green spaces, a livable and fertile soil, with sustainable architecture, making the least impact to the earth, to our home and not only live today, but for the planet to be eternal.

 

With much effort society has generated a positive change for everyone, helping especially the mutants of territory 0, although we still cannot live there, we have made many adjustments.

 

First, we stopped the hunting of the mutants and now we work together and even help them to develop their skills and disappear their predatory attempts as they requested, each time the percentage of soil less acidic, being so, that there is more vegetation and less polluted air, thanks to the technology we possess and the knowledge of the creatures of the habitat.

 

In a few years we hope that the percentage of fertile soil and vegetation will grow to almost 50%, so that we will be able to inhabit it, taking into account the responsibility that comes with living on the ground.

 

Today I feel grateful, I am 37 years old, I am part of the government, I am a mother of two children and I am proud of the impact we have generated in society, everyone is willing to help, not so much for themselves, but, like me, for my children and their children, we no longer live for now, we live for the future and we help to create it responsibly as it should always be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

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Gutiérrez, J., & Jeremías, P. (2012). Tiempo de arquitectura. Universidad de Alicante. http://hdl.handle.net/10045/28104

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