Sovran, the Director of Media, stood gazing out of the window of her luxury apartment. Beyond the city, as far as the eye could see, was forest – a green patchwork undulating far into the distance. Pursing her lips, she wondered how much longer they could carry on ignoring the Outside. The subject had become taboo and the very word unmentionable in polite society.
Ever since the catastrophe, the remit of Media had been to keep the morale of survivors high – even if it meant hiding the truth. And it did – the truth of just how devastated the planet was. But it’s different now, she thought. The Outside is renewing itself. Each year, the forest became greener and more vibrant. How much longer could they go on ignoring this? Surely it was time to venture Out? To turn the vision of the Founders into a reality by making Joypolis, not the last, but the first of many cities.
She sighed. The citizens would have to face their fears one day. It would mean unravelling all the illusions that Media had so carefully hung in their minds. If they didn’t, and something unexpected happened, all those comforting beliefs would come crashing down. It’d be bad, far worse than a controlled conversion.
And then there were the clones, she thought, pushing her hand deep into her glossy black hair. How, she wondered, could their forbears have accepted the production of a human underclass so easily?
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