Meera pored over the induction materials, history, politics, social engineering, infrastructure, finance, and governance.

Her mind reeled with the details that scrolled across her screens.

Following the catastrophic nuclear events of the late 21st century, as accidental and as horrific as they were, the world signed up to total nuclear disarmament.

Weapons of mass destruction obviously followed; the world became a safer place.

Traditional weaponry, armies, navies, air power, all unused, unwanted, redundant.

The rise of Society, and the absence of crime, issued in a golden age of peace and security, and with those countries that chose not to join now disarmed and impotent, Society saw no need to ever face military conflict ever again.

With nobody genetically capable of killing, the militaries, and military leaders, of the old world grew old and died in peaceful retirement, never to be replaced.

Until a satellite picked up strange occurrences in the GZ.

Analysis by the System showed a possibility, (no matter how unbelievable), that these abandoned countries were in the process of re-militarising.

Society had a dilemma. Who could stand against any army? Who could point a weapon, pull a trigger, take a life?

Agents and their Squad members? Perhaps, but there simply weren't the numbers.

In the Grey Zones, more and ever more threat was monitored.

A decision had to be made, plans instigated.

Those in charge, conditioned by generations of socially engineered peace, were at a loss, they began looking to their recruits, people in the Agency, young minds, which may yet solve their dilemma.

One such cadet, when set a hypothetical essay, came up with the suggestion that, instead of eliminating hundreds of thousands of EBs per year, these infants could be spared, trained at secret sites to become the much-needed warriors of the future.

'But the shredders, the Processing Centres?'

'Have you, or any other Agent, actually been inside one? No? Smoke and mirrors, a Society-wide con to keep the Citizens in check!'

Society would still believe the DDV Squads, the Agency, was there to deliver a death sentence to these Deviants, peace would remain, crime would be negligible, but….

With almost immediate effect, the Processing and Procurement Department was introduced.

Each child, in the public's eyes, was taken away from the parents, sent for processing at the shredder plants.

However, once out of the Agency's hands, the infants were transported to Area 6.

Training camps in the middle of the Outback, where they were brought up, trained, encouraged to become expert killers, their very DNA lending itself to the process.

Whole Cities, previously uninhabited since the Plague, were turned over to the P/P Department. Millions upon millions of genetically predisposed killers living together, ready, and willing to fight, Agency staff leaving as the children grew and were trained to instruct those who would follow, a never ending supply of future warriors, until the whole landmass was eventually inhabited solely by would-be killers.

'So, I'm here to join the P/P, come up with future war plans? I think you may have the wrong girl, Major!'

'Meera, when you wrote about the new Barbarians being at our Gates?'

'I'd inadvertently described what is happening in the GZ?'

'Almost. What I'm about to tell you is highly classified, death penalty for any breaches, I must stress that before we continue.'

'I think I've got the picture; I agree.'

'You were almost right. But the new Barbarians are not at our Gates.'

Meera looked confused.

The Major continued, dread in her eyes.

'GZ was not a threat, is not a threat! The System misread satellite images, merely industrial and agricultural progressions, movement of working populations due to monsoon and drought. The same binary mistakes that wiped out the Red Zones! Seeing mortal enemies where there was just a starving population, anything outside of Society unknowable, threatening to the System needed to be addressed, eradicated.

Thankfully, we realised the System's understandable mistake.

But there are Barbarians, Meera!

Last month we lost Area Six.

Total blackout.

Hundreds of P/P staff were sent over the Tasman Sea and sadly lost before coms went dark.

It seems we've raised our very own Barbarians.

They're not at our Gates, Meera, they're already inside!'

Freewayriding

10.07.23 Front Page

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