The Justus Files: Book One

Date

2017-01-05

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

MFA in Creative Writing, The University of Tampa

Abstract

By the cycle 2030, safe human cloning was not only possible but viable. Within thirty cycles, two million human clones were introduced into the population. Due to major flaws, The World Peace and Health Accords of 2060, outlawed human cloning. All nuclear weapons were ordered destroyed, and the use of fossil fuels banned. The nation’s defense contracts were privatized to “The Company,” helmed by Chairman Amil Sisk, II. In 2075, medical advancements designed to eradicate disease created a population far eclipsing the planet’s capacity, at over ten billion. Pollution and “Climate Change” caused the planet’s temperature to rise by twenty degrees. The planet’s air and water were toxic. Natural disasters abounded. The planet was dying of dehydration, starvation, and oppressive heat. Millions were lost, but the planet remained over-populated. The polar ice caps melted. The ozone layer suffered irreparable damage, allowing ultra violet rays to reach levels never predicted. Coastal flooding consumed great land masses and the world map changed. The Water Wars erupted in cycle 2081. The official story: Radical religious sects attacked the nation’s vunerable water supply and the Company retaliated creating a chain reaction of global proportions. This was a lie of such magnitude, it resulted in mass genocide. The actual purpose was to control water. A resource the world’s forefathers valued less than fossil fuels, which polluted the planet almost to extinction. The Company coordinated a militarized attack utilizing millions of cloaked drones armed with white flash bombs, concentrated on over-populated areas that burdened the planet’s dwindling resources. Chronic poverty areas were targeted with pinpointed, precision strikes. Entire cities left decimated. On the seven continents, much of the population was eradicated. Other areas were left wholly untouched. The morally and fiscally bankrupt government of the nation collapsed. The Capitol was destroyed. In the immediate pandemonium that ensued, representatives of the people called “politicians” were disposed of and all other nation’s governments were simultaneously disassembled. The Company formed “The New World State,” headquartered in a former colony once called the Triangle, New Carolina, located thirty miles inland from the Eastern Ocean. An information repository known as the “internet” was dismantled and history re-written. The war was efficient and quick, like cutting out a cancer. In less than one cycle, eight billion, three hundred million people were dead by white flash bombs, instantly disintegrating bodies to dust. The population was reduced by eighty percent. By cycle 2097, a different world recovered and white flash bombs were outlawed. This mass genocide was widely suspected to be orchestrated by one man, Amil J. Sisk, II. He vowed to repopulate with only the best of humanity to save the planet. “Perfects.” Those who were less than Perfect, were branded “taboo,” and forced to serve Sisk’s Perfect society. Taboos exist on the fringes. All are called “Citizens,” feigning a free society. No one is free. Everyone is the property of the Company. Citizens of the New World State, devoted to their savior and his mission to uphold the Perfect nuclear family and protect the planet. In 2175, fifteen-cycles-old Harmony Blue Justus’ bubble collapses in a global tragedy. Nothing is what it was. No one is who they seem, and life is far from Perfect. As Harmony and her best friend, Angus Cartwright search for their families, uncover truths about Amil Sisk, the Company, and themselves.

Description

Keywords

Novel, Dystopian fiction, Young Adult

Citation

DOI

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