Priority Mail

2061

I sit gazing out my portal at the mountains beyond, contemplating the comforts my family and I have been blessed with--a comfortable pod, excellent schools for our children and jobs for all according to skill levels and aptitudes: infrastructure maintenance and repair for those mechanically inclined, care of children and the elderly for those with caregiver skills, as well as opportunities for those musically talented to join the orchestra and everything in between.

The clear dome above us ensures a temperate year-round climate but if we wish to experience the four seasons, it's a mere matter of requesting a week's holiday to one of the many Climate Resort Holiday Domes around the globe--anywhere from tropical seaside resorts with beaches and jungles to explore, to ski resorts in snowy mountainous regions. All are available to us as we are the fortunate chosen ones among the world's people.

Our Dome's population began at about one hundred thousand but has decreased over the last few generations. That has always been a bit of a mystery for us, but not to the point of causing alarm. Family cohorts leave but none arrive to take their place. The common consensus is that some families have simply requested a transfer to another Dome of which there are many spread around the globe.

In the midst of my musing, a courier drone lands and carefully places a parcel on the landing area in front of me. That's odd as I'm not expecting anything, and government rations aren't due until next week.

It's a small maybe 5- by 5-inch carboard box with its corners torn and smashed in and looks like it's been bounced off a thousand rocks from somewhere high above me. The print on the partially worn- off labels is very faint but by adjusting my vision enhancer, I can just make out the letters: TO: J ne Gr n S D R: Am z n

There's a series of numbers on the top right corner: 2001 01 23. If it's a date, then this parcel is 40 years old and has journeyed around the globe by the faded names of countries stamped on the front!

Carefully opening it, I pull out the contents. "Now what on earth could these be?" I mutter to myself as I lift out 10 cone-shaped items, each with a faded N95 stamped on them.

Turning on my screen and entering the code for my news transmitter I choose the history link and connect to the live operator.

"What's your request sir?"

"Information about the year, 2-0-2-1."

"Woah, I wouldn't go there, sir. In fact, you don't have authorization."

"Alright try 2-0-2-0."

"Strictly classified. Government only."

"Any idea what N95 might signify?"

"Again nothing. Sorry"

Scrolling down the page of the public domain sites, the only information I find about the year 2001, is a brief notation that a deadly Virus was spreading around the globe. I do remember earlier rumours about that, but my memory is a bit fuzzy.

I find nothing more, only warnings in red advising that the information is restricted-- official access only.

So, do these items in the package have any relation to the Virus and why has the information been classified?

"Sarah, come up here for a moment, will you?

"Hey Dad, what's up?"

"How good are you at bypassing government passwords and restrictions?"

"I'm a whizz, Dad. No problem, but I think my supervisor is onto me, so I have to be careful."

Within minutes Sarah has bypassed government password restrictions and I see 2021 emblazoned at the top of the screen. Before I have a chance to read anything, the red light in my pod began to flash signaling a visit by government officials to whom I am required by law to open my portal.

Two men in official uniform entered and instructed me to leave with them and to bring along the box and its contents.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"No need to worry, sir. We just want to talk to you", and with that I was ushered into a turbo-copter, much sleeker and faster than the ones that delivered our food.

Landing in an area beyond the mountains, I was astounded to see people walking about quite freely under a clear blue sky, neither encapsulated within a Dome, nor encircled by mountains to obstruct their view of the horizon.

Quickly whisked into an officious looking building, I was seated at a table where a glass of water was thoughtfully set before me, and I was soon joined by others in government uniform.

"We've noted that you've made several requests for classified information," said one checking the notes on his pad. "Specifically, you asked about the year 2021 and N95's."

"Yes, I replied and explained about the mysterious contents of the package and how it led to the inquiries I had made.

"Unfortunately, that package slipped through our mail inspectors and should never have been delivered to you."

"But what are these?" I asked holding up the cone-shaped items.

"They're face masks used to prevent the spread of the 2021 Virus that killed more than 6.62 million people. But not everyone was convinced of their efficacy, so they refused to wear them, believing the non-scientific claims of radical groups that the masks were dangerous and even refused the vaccines that were made available."

"But what does that have to do with me and why the ban on information?" I was truly baffled.

" Your name is Green, isn't it? Our records indicate that the package was addressed to one of your ancestors who obviously did not receive it and subsequently, hers was one of the earliest recorded deaths due to the Virus. As she had children, we've tracked them and their descendants, just as we've tracked the descendants of all those who contracted the Virus.

"But why? Obviously, a total invasion of privacy! What the hell did you hope to gain?"

"Let me assure you--it wasn't with malicious intent. We weren't gaining anything but information about the Virus and its longevity and what we now know is that it's passed on through DNA for 5 succeeding generations which means your family members are still genetically infected and as such, considered carriers. It's just a matter of one more generation for your family cohort to be deemed completely virus- free, at which time they will be removed from the Dome."

"So, we've been in quarantine for several generations?" I asked now completely incensed! "All this time we’ve been lied to and told we were being protected under the Dome from noxious gasses in the atmosphere and yet I see people just outside this building walking about freely!"

"There was nothing else we could do to protect the rest of the population from those whose DNA still carried the Virus. We just couldn't afford multiple successive waves of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns and riots that almost crippled the world's economy, and jeopardized world order in the past.

The vaccinated received small amounts of a marker isotope and an antidote to protect them from the second step of our plan. It was relatively easy for us to compare census records against vaccination records to ensure that we had all the unvaccinated accounted for, then round them up with the descendants of those who had been infected and move them to the Domes."

"You mean to say that my great grandparents just packed their bags and voluntarily left their homes? They didn't question your radical plan or motives? I would have given them more credit than that!"

"We did anticipate that some might not come willingly, so we added an enzyme to the water supply (to which the vaxxed had been given an antidote), to ensure their compliance and kept them under the influence of the drug until they were settled into their new life inside the Domes.

They soon forgot having lived anywhere else. Subsequent fabricated reports about toxic air quality outside promoted a sense of safety and security among Dome dwellers, so they were content to stay.

Just imagine the chaos and global disruption had we disclosed the truth about the virus being imbedded in DNA for generations. Anarchy would have prevailed while the vaxxed and Virus-free hunted down the rest of you. We constructed the Domes to protect you and you must admit that you've all been well looked after for all these years.

Those people you see outside were never infected, or have served out their quarantine period, so they no longer pose a threat to world stability. The memories of those who were previously quarantined inside the Domes have been completely eradicated.

We've already begun memory erasing for some of your Dome's population as it's a process that must be carried out gradually. The vitamin supplement shots you receive every 6 months contain a serum that gradually builds up in your system so by the time your DNA is deemed clear of the virus, your memory of life within the Dome will also have been wiped out."

"Well, this will certainly be a shock to my family!"

"Oh, they will never know, sir. In a short while you will have no memory of what you've just been told or of the package you received earlier thanks to the effects of the water you've been sipping. We'll keep the box and the masks, of course...and we thank you for your cooperation."

"It's time for you to leave now. Your daughter is anxiously waiting for you in the turbo-copter."

"What!"

"Well, she's the one who hacked into our system. We had to bring her in too," he shrugged. And with that, I was escorted back to the turbo-copter.

**********

Oops, must have nodded off gazing at the mountains, now aglow in the morning sun.

"Dad," I suddenly hear from behind me. "Did you call me a minute ago? I was still half asleep. Did you want me for something?"

"Uh, never mind, Sarah. It was nothing important." I actually can't remember-- and I'm hesitant to admit that, as my memory has started to slip a bit every now and then.

Feeling a little groggy for some reason, I gather up my lecture notes and set out for the Education Sector and my 9:00 a.m. History class. I'm proud to say it's one of the most popular senior- level classes and my students are so eager to learn about the past.