Being Amber. Sylvia Ryan

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      The first cases of the deadly influenza were identified January 22, 2050 in New York City. Martial law was declared and mandatory quarantines were enforced by the National Guard, but the spread of the virus proved to be aggressive and unstoppable. Death of an infected person usually occurred within seven days of the first signs of the disease.

      Mortality rates grew exponentially and government services collapsed sixty days after the first identified cases. By that time, there were not enough people alive for society to carry on as normal. Millions of dead were left unburied and made cities uninhabitable for the few uninfected by the virus.

      By the time the pandemic was over, an estimated ninety-two percent of the world’s population had not survived. The majority of the deaths were the result of the virus, but some were a result of being cut off from food and water and from the chaos reigning in the aftermath of the pandemic. Those the flu left alone were left isolated throughout the world. Suddenly, mankind was an endangered species.

      In the United States, remaining government and military leaders rallied quickly in an effort to save surviving citizens. Skeletal remnants of military forces concentrated on making three US cities–Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta–inhabitable. The densely packed skyscrapers of the downtown areas were left untouched, and loomed like ghosts haunting the new cities hastily constructed in their shadow. In outlying neighborhoods where the population had been less dense, corpses were buried in mass graves so their homes could be assigned to the thousands of people that descended in hoards to the closest of the three cities.

      During this time, martial law ruled with brutal authority. Everybody participated in the rebuilding, except for the very young and the very old. Those who didn’t fall in line were exiled outside the safety of the tall walls that surrounded the “new” cities. The area outside the walls, what would later be named the Onyx Zone, was unlivable and lawless.

      As the population gathered, and the momentous, uphill struggle of rebuilding society began, it became clear that some genetic traits in humans, like blond hair and blue eyes, were on the verge of disappearing altogether. In an effort to propagate these endangered genes, and eliminate unwanted genes as well, the government decided that the repopulation of the US would occur slowly and under their supervision. Backed by a heavy military presence, the Repopulation Laws were enacted in 2052.

      The Repopulation Laws mandated significant and difficult restrictions on the pandemic survivors all in the name of saving the unique and diverse qualities of the human race. They also established guidelines to eliminate unwanted genes, such as those that passed on chronic illnesses and mental health diagnosis. In time, they reasoned, the US would be completely populated with humans who had near-perfect genetic profiles.

      By the end of 2053, all citizens living under government control had submitted to genetic, psychological and intelligence testing and were classified according to the results of those tests. Four classes were established and given corresponding color marks. Every person was required to bear the color mark of his or her class and follow the Repopulation Laws established for that classification. The ruling class, those determined to possess significant talents or have made significant contributions to society, were designated as Emeralds.

      The overwhelming majority of people were classified as Sapphires or Ambers, with Ambers being the lowest and most restricted of the classes. Those marked as Ambers were determined to be of undesired genetic makeup, low intelligence or emotionally unstable. As a result, they were forced to make most of the sacrifices for the greater good of mankind.

      Anger and insurrection from the Ambers swelled from the start as they were segregated from the rest of the population. Thousands of Amber women were sterilized, so many that a new term, fallow, was coined to identify those who were forced to suffer through sterilization at the Gov’s hands. Feeling helpless and persecuted, the Amber population in New Atlanta started to organize and resist their subjugation. Their efforts began to successfully gain sympathy and sway public opinion against the Laws.

      The Gov feared revolution and the leaders of the resistance movement were eventually asked to attend secret accord meetings to negotiate terms and accommodations for the people of the Amber Zone, in hopes to find peace and balance in the new social structure.

      Eventually, they reached an accord that appeased the Amber Resistance. The Repopulation Laws remained, but several government concessions improved the quality of day-to-day life in the Amber Zone. In the end, the Gov granted the Amber population the liberty to police themselves with the stipulation that it would remain their right only as long as Amber citizens didn’t impact society outside of their zone. If Ambers were successful at containing their population, they would be free from the National Guard and associated government persecution.

      The message was clear. Once a person was designated Amber, the Gov expected him to be invisible to the rest of the population in the “new” cities.

      The secret accord between Amber authorities and the Gov has stood since that time.

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       Year 2075