2012 04 26 1

Thu April 26 2072 North of Sacramento, there is the town of Roseville. It's an economic center, servicing both agricultural and industrial needs, home to about a hundred thousand people. Teddy Gaines is playing with a group of his friends - 12 years old. His father is a member of the home guard, a captain. Deployed in Davis to help with the rebuilding, Teddy has not seen his father in weeks. So he's taken to dressing up in his father's old Cal-Guard camouflage. It's not got any markings on it. No Cal-guard logos. Just oversized pants and a field jacket, with a helmet he plays in. They run in the street, as dusk falls, playing soldiers. His friends scatter down the street as the Japanese patrol comes through, riding in their LAV. The man on the top does not hesitate when he sees the soldier. Everyone's on edge. Everyones worried. Hefting his assault rifle, he draws down and lets a shot fly down range. The bullet catches Teddy at the base of his spine, severing the cord. Legs flop to rubber bonelessness as he hits the ground. The next round ends his life. Children die all the time in the 6th world. This child is no different. But then, what was different about the Lusitania that prompted action? What about Anne Frank tugs at heartstrings? The fact that they are normal in the course of their own events. That they do not stand out, is something that awakens us to that they ought.