Annexation inc.

Ratio Eversor

*Thanks for taking the time to read one of my first short stories! Please comment with honest opinions, I'm doing this to improve my abilities. -Shawn

Overpopulation was never really the problem, have you seen a chart showing land mass to population density ratios? The entire world could fit in the state of Texas if it were condensed to the living conditions of New York City. So what was the problem you might ask? Food to sustain our world's populace, the answer to this question came in the form of a corporation as they usually do. Monsanto had the answer to it all, genetically modified crops that could grow under inhospitable conditions, animals kept inside the confines of cages and pumped full of hormones to sustain body mass. Naturally the modifications to our food had health risks, but there was Monsanto pharmaceutical to give the answer yet again.

Everywhere you turned our world was bought out one by one until there was little to nothing left of private owned anything. That's when something even more terrifying happened, Monsanto bought out the government's responsibilities. Very few of us really cared though, most of the changes occurred so slowly that most didn't even notice. Some would say that I paid too much attention to the corporate takeover of our world, but when an entity changes your life so drastically you just can't forget.

The years came and went; eventually we were all legally bound to the Monsanto Trans-Global Union as a citizen is to its country. The history never really left my mind, it was always there nagging at me even on the walk from my luxury apartment to the local Hyper-loop pick up. I boarded the six man vehicle and slid into its ergonomic form-fitting seat as the soft material molecularly bonded to my outer clothing layer, a system making seatbelts look useless in comparison. It was true, under the corporate R and D behemoth Monsanto had sprung humanity into the future, for the elite that is. 42% had ascended to the upper class and lived in luxury while the remaining 58% were locked out and forgotten by the ones lucky enough to be employed by the Monsanto Trans-Global Union.

I relaxed as the capsule was accelerated to 1000 mph towards the central hub of St. Louis, all continental hyper loop systems were connected there at the MTGU North American branch. I punched in a few commands at the touchscreen in front of me, a soundproof wall lowered between myself and the woman seated adjacent to me. I made a call to one of my coworkers, as the transmission went through the encircled M symbol of our overlords flashed onscreen; they made it as hard as physically possible to forget who you were enslaved to. I glanced outside as the windows placed every mile or so skipped by; we were in the crop zone outlying the major cities. Large multileveled fields of advanced agriculture and hydroponics were under constant attendance by the automated armies of the new world.

Eventually the gleaming fields gave way to a sprawling urban skyline filled with shimmering white and silver cloud scrapers. There was no suburban anymore, as there was no more middle class. My friend Ashton Fredricks answered on his end, "Hey Tony, just got out of a meeting, what's up?" Having business of my own I answered quickly, "I need to meet you for some coffee at one of the lower city joints, that Azerbaijani place you were telling me about if you can." Ash looked grave, "So soon? I'll see if I can get off at lunch so we can go, I'll message you about it later Anthony, what time are you expected in?"

I glanced up and activated my ElectriContact Heads Up Display, one of the many gifts Monsanto gives its workers, with quick eye gestures I found the map application and checked the hyper loop system for an ETA. "I'll be about fifteen minutes out right now, with a glider I could be at the restaurant in 20 after that." He looked over his shoulder, "Alright, I can do that, see you there Tony." He signed off; I retracted the soundproof barrier and turned on my selection of swing-house music, rather classical by current standards even with its electronic combination. I closed my eyes and drifted off into the sound of saxophones and an 808 drum in the background.