The Inferiors

Hi all! This is just a very early draft prologue for an idea I came up with. Just posting it to see if people like the sound of it and to get some feedback to help guide the storyline. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

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One week. One week was what remained for me. One week before I commenced my life sentence, put to work of the government’s choice and today, today is the day that I am being interviewed. Interviewed to determine my worth in society. To determine exactly how I will spend the remainder of my years on this Earth and in one week. In one week my future would be decided. Despite my 20 years on this planet training me for what is to come, I had never felt less prepared. But I had to be, as this life has already been dictated for me.

I am an Inferior. Cursed by a poor social status and parents with empty bank accounts, I am destined for a low-grade job at minimum wage and maximum work hours. Destined to be a slave for the wealthy.

In the past riches and wealth had always determined ones social status, but now it also dictates ones whole future.

The year is 2465. 440 years ago life was forever changed when scientists discovered the key to genetic modification. Isolating the genes that determined intelligence, looks, strength and many other characteristics, they were able to alter them, creating humans that were superior in all aspects. Superior intellect and wisdom, superior strength, superior health and superior looks. The resources required however came at a great expense, leaving the technology only available to those of immense wealth. This graced only the rich with an opportunity to alter their children, modifying them into these greater beings.

For years we played pretend, trying to mask the clear divide between the families who could afford this technology and the families that couldn’t. But it became clear when looking for jobs. The modified thrived, with their excelled reasoning and comprehension far exceeding any unmodified human. Any job they sought was theirs. Competing against this the unmodified struggled. Who would hire you for a job when someone superior to you in every way was also applying? Those who had spent years studying were left unemployed and weighed down with debt they had no hopes of paying off. They were stuck. So the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

Crime and theft skyrocketed as those who sought more and were denied struggled to stay afloat. The streets were burdened. Homes and shops were broken into and people were robbed on the streets. But it was the families that suffered the most. Malnutrition became a plague. With whole families surviving off rations, illness and death broke out and families were torn apart as mothers and fathers were imprisoned for their crimes. This is when the government, led by the genetically modified, stepped in. They took unmodified under their wing, assigning them to jobs and homes. Salary for them was abolished, replaced instead by managing their needs. Food and water was provided, their homes furnished and clothes and hygiene needs were met.

For over a decade this worked. The unmodified, free from the stressors of poverty, were able to live again. Families reconnected, celebrating in their newfound homes. For a while there was peace between the modified and the unmodified. But this peace was short lived. Over the years the Modified’s outlook on the rest of population became apparent. The unmodified were donned the title of the genetically inferior, inferiors for short, and the modified, who were viewed as gifted, were termed the genetically superior. The Inferiors were given no respect from the Superiors, who treated them as a lesser beings. Working hours tripled for the inferiors and many were forced to live at their work in an attempt to reduce government spending on homes.

Parents could no longer care for their children due to the demands of work, so the Inferior Development Scheme was put into place. A scheme under which I grew up. This allowed the government to take custody of any inferior child whose parents were deemed unfit to provide, which given the insane working hours was a vast majority. Us children were put into group homes and raised by strangers. Four years of freedom was all that we were granted. For 4 years we were free to cry and play as we please. Then we were taken to school. Between the ages 4 and 10 we were taught basic skills. How to read and write. How to count and add. How to play fair. From then we were trained for our futures. Educated on how to be a civil servant. Prepared and tested for the jobs that would be chosen for us. Little education beyond job skills was provided for us. The extent of our knowledge limited to basic math and English and the history of our world. Schools felt that there was no need to teach us knowledge on the sciences or arts and culture. This was viewed as a waste of knowledge on us, as we had no need for it in the roles we were assigned. We were simply the cleaners, the assistants and the soldiers.

The titles themselves weren't too insulting, but it was the reality of it that made us fear it all. While the government may hide behind the truth by granting us the occasional sick day and providing us with our needs, one thing was clear to us all. We were slaves.