Be On Notice

It’s a too tired cliche that the world won’t end with a bang, but a whimper. No one really even noticed how few babies were being born. Oh sure, there were headlines about it but no one ever paid attention to those unless it was about politics or someone getting hurt. Or sometimes, in rare cases, when a celebrity tweeted about it.

It took a full generation before anyone realized it was a problem, put their best minds on it, and figured out it was a virus released by melting polar ice caps. And by then the whole world had it. Sterilized almost all of us. There was mandatory testing put in place. Governments of the world coordinated by pulling fertile people out of the population, shutting them away into camps to try and keep humanity alive.

It was a tender moment, the world coming together. Jews and Muslims and Christians praying together. Races living in harmony. Class and status meaning nothing any more. All that mattered were the fertile ones, the saviors of humanity. They were treated like kings and queens. Everything they could ever want except their freedom and their family. They were sent to luxurious prisons where they were waited on hand and foot. They didn’t call them prisons. They didn't even call them camps. PR gurus said that would be a bad idea. So they called them resorts. Nothing bad ever happens at a resort.

Mom went there. To one of those prisons. Back then I used to think of her as saving the world. My superhero Mom. And even though they sent us money each month, it was so hard living without her, growing up without her. Dad and I just struggled on of course, doing our part for the war effort.

So a year goes by, maybe two. But once the immediate threat was gone, humanity started humanitying. All of a sudden religion mattered, skin tone mattered, where you were from mattered. People started not caring about anyone else again. Slaughtering each other for the dumbest reasons. I don’t like that kind of music. I don’t like who you sleep with. I don’t like. I don’t like.

And world governments? Seriously? They went right back to sword rattling, hating their neighbor, and trade deficits. They had people to please back home and there was no more reason to cooperate.

Then the first wave of babies were born in the camps. Testing found them sterile. Each country’s government blamed another country, and took their people back. They put the fertiles in smaller versions of the resorts and tried to duplicate the project with better controls. Then played hot potato with the first crop of babies. Nobody wanted the results of a failed experiment. No one wanted to care for these kids. Eventually I think they were given to Haiti or something. Some place out of the way where the government could be bought on the cheap.

Funny, the second batch were born sterile too. Five years after the start. Countries wouldnt work together any more, there was no trust and really, no point. We were going to die. Governments sent the people home. Most of whom were forever scarred, telling horror stories of daily rape, forced sex at gunpoint. My mom ended up killing herself.

I found her. I found the note. She left this locket there too. This stupid fucking locket, passed down from Mother to Daughter over the last eight generations. And I’ll be the last. No daughter to give it to. But she said she loved me, was proud of me, but couldn’t live with what had happened. Couldn’t live with what she missed. I don't blame her. How could I? But I will avenge her.

Senator Coombs is giving a speech for his campaign tonight. It’s at the local school. I’m going to leave this heart shaped locket on his corpse. And that, my friends, will be the start. Be on notice, a change is gonna come.