The System (The Bubo Series Book 1) Read online

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  Copyright © 2018 Jess Peters

  All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  THE SYSTEM

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Four.

  Five.

  Six.

  Seven.

  Eight.

  Nine.

  Ten.

  Eleven.

  Twelve.

  Thirteen.

  Fourteen.

  Fifteen.

  Sixteen.

  Seventeen.

  Eighteen.

  Nineteen.

  Twenty.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Other Publications

  THE DEMISE

  The Bubo Series Novella

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  THE SYSTEM

  One.

  I woke up in a cold sweat with panic surging through my body. It felt like the walls were closing in around me and endangering me making me feel as if I was afraid of my own shadow, but I knew I was better than that. It wouldn’t happen. I will not fail out.

  Today is the day. Today is my turn to participate in The System. Today I become a man in our Safe Zone Three's eyes. I don't particularly understand the point in partaking The System if I'm completely honest. Why can't we just pick a quadrant ourselves to work in? Why do they need to dictate where we should live and work?

  Deep down I do know why it's in place. Everyone would pick either Medical and Science quadrant or Politics quadrant if they had the choice.

  I sat up with a groan. Mornings were never my strong point, especially when I am awakened in the middle of a nightmare. I don’t normally get them, but today isn’t any normal day. The light shined through the room attacking my eyes. It’s artificial light of course.

  Throughout the whole of the Safe Zone, there's only one small corridor which has windows viewing the outside world. I’ve never seen them myself, but only heard of them. I assume they are located on the Politics floor. They get the best of everything after all.

  When we turn seventeen we enter The System which dictates our work placements. They run it twice a year ensuring that every abled body from a certain age contributes to the best of their individual skill set.

  The population is slowly increasing in the Safe Zone so there is a slow flow of participants for The System nowadays. Or a steady flow of slaves to The System.

  It depends on how you see your life route being chosen for you with you having zero say in the matter.

  I don’t like the idea of that what so ever. That is what we are to them. Slaves. We do their work to keep society alive. Sure, it doesn't sound too bad, except it is unless you're placed in the top quadrants. For that to occur, you need to pass all the tests.

  Safe Zone Three is one of many Safe Zones set up throughout the world. After the plague returned and mutated, it was the government's idea at the time to help preserve those of humanity who were not infected, or worse, dead.

  Here in Britain, there are six Safe Zones in total. One in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, London, Cornwall, and in the Midlands. Safe Zone Three is in the London region.

  They were built just outside of the major cities in order to be in the countryside. That gave the best chance of the workers staying disease-free at the time, of course, that was the barrier keeping them safe from catching it off of other people.

  These are isolated, enclosed and airtight, built quickly when the outbreak began. Within six months, they were ready to receive the first survivors. That’s what we were told anyway, six months.

  Based on the amount of time they were built in, they were designed for humanity to not only survive but rather, to thrive. It would become our home until the disease was eradicated.

  Six months was very quick was a five-floored, building which was big beyond belief, to be built. The government got nearly every construction worker and builder to work on them. Every other construction job stopped in the country to get all remaining resources and manpower on these Safe Zones.

  Workers were offered an automatic place for themselves and their families inside once they were completed. That, of course, gave them the incentive to work on them.

  They were finished just in the brink of time, before the disease steeped across the world taking down humanity.

  Nobody was allowed into the Safe Zone without being scanned. No risks were taken whatsoever. If you showed any possible symptoms, then you weren't allowed in.

  The scanners they used were state of the art at the time and were quickly developed by the first Medical and Science quadrant leaders whilst the actual buildings were being built.

  Symptoms of the mutated plague disease being buboes (enlarged lymph nodes) and gangrene of the fingers, toes, and nose and high temperature. The mutation meant that these didn't become visible until at least three days of being infected with the disease.

  There was no cure. Death was a certainty once you were infected. Three days was too late, the disease could have spread from that person to another by then.

  No risks could be taken for humanity's sake and survival. Everything was done for the greater good.

  For the greater good. I’ve grown up inside this building being told that phrase over and over.

  Many people were left to die out there, but that’s ok because it was for the greater good.

  They closed the doors to early and left those people to die.

  I may have been young when Mum and Dad first entered this Safe Zone with me, but I remember the sight of hundreds of people swapping the exterior of the building.

  Of course, the building was made to be impregnable.

  Unlike the original plague where most of the victims died at two to seven days after initial infection, the mutation meant that victims could go three days without showing any symptoms what so ever and people often died between seven and ten days.

  The scanners stopped any infected people getting in and spreading the disease. It was a necessity at the time to keep those within, safe.

  People are not honest. They did anything to get away from the outside dangers and into a Safe Zone. Everyone became desperate to find safety and they lied about having any symptoms.

  The scanners prevented these liars from getting in. Once inside, people were placed into isolation whilst a blood test was carried out to prevent any mistakes from being made by the scanners. The blood test results took a few minutes and confirmed what the scanners showed, that the person was clear from infection.

  The scanners scanned body temperature and picked up on gangrene and buboes with special cameras which picked up changes of the skin. They could pick up buboes before they were even visible to the naked eye. It took about two minutes for a full-body scan to be completed and there was no hiding these symptoms from the scanners. They were a genius invention which helped save those of us who are in here, alive.

  When someone was scanned and found to be positive for the plague, and often they hadn't even found these symptoms themselves yet, they were denied entry and forced to evacuate the area immediately or failing to do so, face being murdered.

  Of course, nobody did stay and risk that happening to them, and I’m pretty sure that those extreme measures were ever actually used.

  Those who were told that they were infected, but didn’t have any symptoms, didn
’t believe it, and so left to try their luck on their own.

  After three days, other symptoms began to show, such as heavy breathing, continuous vomiting of blood, aching limbs, coughing, and extreme pain caused by the decay or decomposition of the skin while the person is still alive. Additional symptoms include extreme fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, delirium, and finally slipping into a coma followed by death. These symptoms were the obvious ones and when you got them, you knew death was only around the corner.

  The mutation also meant that any pain associated with the plague symptoms were eradicated. Buboes and gangrene were often missed due to this until it was too late, and you had infected many other people. The delirium stopped people noticing that their own fingers and toes were slowly rotting away.

  It wasn't often clear people had the plague until the skin started to decay around the four-day mark of being infected. As such, people got infected due to there being no obvious symptoms for a few days into the disease

  The disease is incredibly infectious It became airborne around the infected person with their own breath. It spread as easily as the common cold.

  Many people done the responsible thing and isolated themselves and loved ones once symptoms were found. There was, however, some who thought better and continued to walk among society. Even though the mutated plague is incredibly infectious, you genuinely had to be within touching distance for it to catch.

  During the black death in 1346–1353, infected fleas and rodents caused the spread. During 2045, flies and mosquitos became infected and carried the spread of the plague. If a fly merely landed on your skin, there was a 70% chance you caught it. If a mosquito bit you, the chance was increased to 95%. That 5% was whether that mosquito was infected yet. If it wasn’t, it soon would be.

  Bug repellent worked for a while, but there was only so much stock available, and looting was at an all-time high.

  I sat up in bed and looked around my plain, white-walled room. Everything in these building seemed to be white. White represented a sterile atmosphere.

  The Safe Zones were massive buildings consisting of five floors. One floor per quadrant. Medical and Science were on the top floor since they were considered the ‘best’, quadrant. Politics were on the next, followed by Teaching, Greenery and finally Engineering on the first floor. Underground there was a small basement which contained a prison which Politics own and do the running of.

  You only end up there if you fail out, and that was only until you could be rehabilitated.

  Every Safe Zone building was completely airtight to prevent the plague infection from getting in. I also believe it's to stop us from getting out. They like to have control and power. They don't admit this publicly though, but isn’t that what every government want? Power, control.

  Each quadrant is responsible for different categories of jobs. All food is rationed and given based on behaviour, work ethic and health which is all picked up on the bands which we must wear on our wrists, although it’s not exactly like we have a choice in the matter. The bands are practically impossible to get off, though I haven’t received mine yet.

  A small device connects onto the back of your neck which picks up on electric pulses from the brain. The band then shows a colour based on the information it's received, green, yellow, red and black.

  Green means you get good rations and good sleeping quarters from within your quadrant, though every quadrants’ living standards vary. Does Engineering even have good living conditions? I’ve always been told they don’t.

  Yellow means you get restricted rations and that improvement is required. Red required you to go through The System again due to a bad attitude and work ethic. You get kicked out of your own quadrant and must go through the process again to re-evaluate your skills and re-educate your mind. It's a warning. They believe that to be taught again will remind you of the importance of contributing to society.

  Black means you fail out. Nobody knows for sure what this means but we all know that those who fail out, are never seen again.

  It is rumoured that fail outs get put on manual labour in the prison doing nasty jobs such as cleaning the water filters and cleaning generator parts when they get replaced. I mean, somebody has to change the toilet filtration system I guess. Nobody knows for sure though.

  Dad heard someone at work say they get thrown out of the Safe Zone altogether. The next day that guy who told him, his band changed to yellow. A positive attitude is a requirement in living in here.

  Each quadrant has a small selection of shops and market stalls where you can bargain for goods and buy extra food or birthday gifts. There were people who would run personal services such as hairdressers and repairers for shoes and personal items. These all came at a cost of course.

  People could put in a request to Politics to run an official stall. If they were accepted, they were then allowed a certain number of days off from the quadrant work placements to do so.

  Everyone earned points for their bands for completing a day’s work which could be used towards buying these certain goods. The number of points earned per day was nowhere near to covering the cost of something nice from a shop, especially a Politics run shop. These official shops and stalls were expensive and those who ran them didn’t gain much from it. To run a personal stall, you had to gain permission from Politics, and they would award a percentage of the points for doing so. Black market stalls would take all the points gained for themselves. These were run under the radar.

  My mum and dad never bothered to get involved in the black-market stalls, as by doing so, if you were caught your band colour could risk changing. This meant we never got any special treats and gifts. On birthdays, they spent their points in order to get a cake to celebrate, but this was from an official stall, so it genuinely used up nearly all their combined points.

  I missed how things used to be before the outbreak. Mum and dad always had a party for me on my birthdays. I either had friends around or we went out somewhere special like a zoo or to an adventure park. Now they just work, I just study, and we barely get any free time together.

  Politics run the Safe Zone. They set the laws and keep The System going smoothly which in turn, ensures that there is a steady and well-qualified amount of people working in each quadrant. Those in Politics ensure The Systems Teachings are enforced once your time in there is completed.

  They monitor everyone's band information and ultimately, try to stop fail outs from occurring. They are the equivalent of an old-world government.

  They also set the tasks which you compete in. Their living quarters are pretty good as well as their rations. I suppose that's the advantage of working with the law, you get treated well. I always remember Politics being corrupt back on the outside.

  Apparently, nothing has changed. Those in that quadrant will argue this of course as the last thing they want is equal treatment and opportunities for all. They like to think that they are better than everyone else.

  Medical and Science research and create ways to help fight the mutated plague as well as care for the general Safe Zone population. They are our doctors and nurses who run a hospital wing area. They are considered the most important quadrant because the survival of humanity relies on them.

  They try to find a cure or vaccination for the mutated plague. Their living quarters and rations are on par with Politics.

  Got to keep them happy I suppose, or we'll be stuck here forever, with no cure or vaccination.

  Teaching quadrant work in The System on the introductory weeks and teach those under the testing age in schools preparing them for entering The System and working in the other quadrants.

  By the time people reach seventeen years old and enter, they are completely prepared for what they should be working towards. They have clean living quarters, though not the grandest. Overall, they are pretty basic. Rations are enough to keep everyone healthy.

  Engineering keeps the water filtration system and the generator going, as well and everyday mach
ines such as the equipment in the Medical and Science lab and hospital. They maintained the building and ensure that it was kept airtight from the outside.

  I don’t think any infection could get in even if there was a gap, but no chances were taken. One infected person on the inside could possibly be the death of us all.

  Greenery grows and looks after the crops and animals. They feed the population and run the kitchens in each canteen. It’s where I live.

  We don't have too many animals in the Safe Zone, only the basics to get enough food to feed everyone. There is also a breeding program within here so to ensure a consistent supply of food.

  There are chickens, ducks, cows, goats, sheep and pigs that I am aware of based upon what dad has told me. This means we get some meat as well as items such as cheeses, milk and eggs.

  Greenery takes up a lot of room because of the space required for keeping these animals as well as space to breed and slaughter them. A very large quantity of people is placed in this quadrant. That is why it is one of the most worse off ones to live in. Living quarters need to be squashed down to allow for the extra working room, and so, most people here live in communal rooms.

  Both Engineering and Greenery have basic living quarters. Not many people except the leaders get their own private living compartments. A small number of families with children get some individual living compartments, but there wasn't a large amount of them available, and it is generally only if you’re a section leader of some sorts.

  They both have large communal canteens as oppose to smaller intimate ones like the others, whose canteens are more like restaurants.

  The work itself is hard labour with long working hours. To get placed here is seen as almost failing The System. Sure, it’s better than being put out if that is even what happens and sure, the work is important in keeping the Safe Zone running, but the working conditions, rations and living quarters, as well as everyone's general opinion, is not a lot to be desired.

  Some people are just better with hands-on work as well I guess. That was definitely the case for my mum and dad.