Genesis Code, (Book 1, Genesis Series)

Chapter 7

'Same fucking thing if you ask me.' The junkie left his place in the queue and came too close to her.

Laura shrank back from his putrid breath, noticing the track marks on the druggie's right arm as he used it to block her path.

He jabbed a finger in her face. 'You lot are all the same, sucking the goodness out of innocent people like me and my family. You make me sick.'

The junkie had her pinned against the counter. She tried to move when the large man suddenly stepped forward and placed a hand on the junkie's chest. 'Looks like you're queue-jumping and we don't tolerate that in here. So either you go back in line or I throw you out the door. Your choice. If you're lucky, I might leave one of your bones unbroken when I slam you into the pavement.'

The junkie backed off and rejoined the queue, his eyes seething with hatred. Laura released a breath.

'Thanks,' she said. The man grunted and returned to his place in line.

At the pay station, she scanned her identity chip. Her legs shook as she entered the common eating room, still a little shocked by her confrontation.

The square room was standing room only. She found a not so quiet—but much coveted—spot by the window. She ate her lunch, hoping to avoid any more drama.

The large man entered the room and stood between her and the entrance to the corridor. When the junkie finally entered, his eyes searched the room, but he lost interest when he saw the hulking figure in his way. For once, Laura couldn't be happier for the packed room.

She picked the fat off her lamb slices and gazed out at the dark, smog-filled day. It had been ten years since she'd seen the sun, when she was just twenty-six years old. Since then, the change in atmospheric conditions had led to an increase in cloud and a steady drop in temperature. The lack of sunlight had been replaced by a constant chill in the air.

In the thirty years since Laura's parents had emigrated from Dublin to Sydney, the temperatures barely surpassed ten degrees in high summer. Her golden hair no longer shone. Her previously sun-kissed complexion was now pale and pasty.

She tore off a piece of lamb and popped into her mouth, wondering if she would ever see or feel the sun again. Exilon 5 had sunlight in abundance, and she dreamed of living there. But early selection was not a guarantee. The World Government's transfer programme kept changing, and working at the Earth Security Centre didn't seem to give her any special rights. The current selection policy was a lottery, a change from the previous volunteer arrangement. But with only a small percentage of the population having transferred, she wasn't sure how to play the numbers.

The city still carried evidence of the catalyst that had changed Earth's atmospheric conditions. Their generation blamed the habits of older generations, but had done little to stem the changes. Posters on walls announcing the Go Green revolution were a constant reminder of their failures to stop the problem. Go Green: the World Government's answer to counteracting global change. But as industries became self-sustainable, green energy had not become the cash cow they had hoped for.

Then at the turn of the twenty-second century, the government targeted the Go Green revolution as a way to raise funds for space exploration. They taxed the popular green energy until the initiative collapsed under the pressure. Only the strongest businesses and industries survived. World Government industries came through unscathed.

Laura picked at her tasteless replicated lamb. Her appetite waned further when she caught the junkie staring at her. Sick of the attention, she dropped her leftovers into one of the waste incinerators and headed for the exit.