Water War

In the year 8059, the shortage of water on Earth has reached a crisis point. Humans can no longer move freely, with strict government measures in place to control the population in order to manage the available water supply. All free sources of water are gone, either dried-up naturally or drained in a global collection process that began in the year 3009 after numerous environmental disasters set governments to stockpiling whatever water was available to them. Larger bodies of water that survive, like the world's remaining oceans, are under constant armed guard and are harvested and monetized by nations, just as oil once had been before the global supply declined around 4020.

In some places, life resumes 'normally'. For Matthias Keep, going to a nutrition factory each day to craft synthetic proteins meant to act as a replacement for water-dense meats and vegetables is difficult. His water ration is better than what most receive. Any Food Producer like him gets a slightly greater allowance so they have more energy to work longer hours to produce the necessary amount of nutrition needed to keep the allowed population in his area running on a daily basis. Others live a similar life, however there are those that are not as lucky.

Matthias' good friend Casmond works for the Water Distribution Department. The department’s name is misleading as they do not actually distribute water but rather monitor each individual's water consumption habits. Daily reports are compiled by Water Commissioners and directed to the Water Task Force where Water Task Officers are given water allotment orders. These orders detail households in a Water Task Officer's assigned ward along with details on each individual in a household including most importantly how much water each individual has earned for the household. Water Task Officers drive door-to-door in their electric department vehicle filling each home's outdoor Water Port with the daily earned distribution. To see the Water Task Officers skip a home is a daunting sight.

Casmond works in the reports office, monitoring digital meters for 12 hours each day, entering data readings that reflect every individual in his assigned area. Casmond's job is to understand these meters and their data as he translates it into reports that decide whether or not someone goes thirsty and for how much time. It is a brutal task when analyzed, but like most Water Commissioners he has been trained to deflect these realizations in favor of completing his assigned work. Any working person like himself or Matthias understands that ignorance to the greater ills of society is important for self-preservation. After all, his own water allotment depends upon the successful completion of his daily reports within the Water Distribution Department.

Though Matthias and Casmond have very different jobs, their work environments are nearly identical. Both sit at a station surrounded by others sitting at stations. Everyone interacts with screens for the most part. Some environments like Matthias' workplace, have workers with hands-on tasks, but most work is digital. Both in the Food Distribution and Water Distribution Departments, workers are expected to avoid socializing. Inappropriate time management results in automatic water demerits, so one of the easiest ways to accidently go thirsty is to mismanage time or act inappropriately at work.

Matthias and Casmond met through their wives’ connection. For women, life is more complicated. Long ago, governments around the world began limiting their population by requiring women to report all sexual encounters in an attempt to shame women into choosing not to conceive children. Though it has never been confirmed, it is also rumored that to increase the decline of the population men around the globe were subject to fertility treatments that either greatly reduced or removed their ability to help conceive children.

Matthias' wife, Celecia, and Casmond's wife, Abigail, both work for the Department of Fertility where they are Fertility Monitors that monitor, compile and report all data related to population issues. Women who work are either Fertility Monitors or Care Givers for the elderly and children. Celecia and Abigail have shared a work station within the Department of Fertility for many years, and though they cannot socialize at work their paths crossed many years ago while in a local park when Abigail recognized Celecia, not by her face but by a distinctive heart-shaped locket Celecia wears around her neck, and introduced herself. And as Casmond and Matthias were there with their wives that day, they too met and seemed to have an immediate connection. Most days, they offer each other silent support at work, followed by walks home, trips to the local park where they first grew close, and occasionally have family meals together where Matthias cleverly crafts different nutrition options for everyone that feel satisfying after consuming.

Between Mathias, Casmond and their wives, their work occurs within three of the most important departments within the government. Between them, their collective observations amount to significant knowledge regarding the lives of the people surrounding them, their coworkers, neighbors and more. But this wasn't a topic of discussion between themselves, as any gossip between governmental departments could be construed as mischief, and mischief is punishable by unemployment which could mean going thirsty and possibly dying. So Matthias, Casmond, Celecia and Abigail avoid any temptation to have these conversations. But in the early spring of 8060, an event changes the friends' belief regarding this temptation and suddenly they plunge into an unimaginable world of deceit, political corruption and death.

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