Driving through the roads of the Protected Area didn’t seem like The Occurrence happened at all. Modeled after The Time Before, everything had an innate displaced feeling to it. The charm and nostalgia of the yesteryears was nestled in a bundle of chrome and vanta-colors. Literally, the dirt on the side of the road sparkled with bits of wonder- that is if wonder is pieces of formica.

Still, Oscar always enjoyed watching the view. He knew one day he’d need to memorize these roads, memorize these sights, as after today he’d be considered a ‘man’.

The largest change that occurred with The Occurrence, however redundant that may sound, was the human gene pool. Roughly sixty percent of population was geographically isolated. The remainder of people are called “the lost”. Following the principles to atlantis, the world experienced tremendous upheavals. Continents seemed to have sunk and risen, like the world was breathing, in and out.

Pity traced the young face of Oscar. He gestured his right hand, his dominant hand, through his locks. The matted, twisted, curls caught his fingers each time he did this. He liked the pull, saying, “the strain helps me think.”

Contrary to his normal, annoying, self-centered actions, Oscar was quite observant. When things suited him, he scored within the top percentiles of his class. When things didn’t, he scored the lowest. As if the icing on the cake, students at his school caught wind of his full name during orientation. So, every time he had variable scores, they’d call out to him. “Oscar -B-. Wilding! How -do- you manage to be so random. You be Wil-den-.” He always wondered about his name, whether the pun was purposeful or not.

In his heart, he knew his middle name came from his father. Bada. It meant Battle.

The young boy, caught in his thoughts of his friends, could only smile. School, now it would become a fond memory to think on.

“It’s time,” he rasped in his daze. “I won’t let you down pops. I’m going to protect mom.”

Soon, however it came to be, the car came to a stop. Well, if you were riding in it, you'd know how important that was. Hover-cars never seemed like they stopped. They swayed gently, vibrating almost, as they resisted the wind- not unlike a boat. As a matter of fact, the matter of landing a hover-car was called Docking. If that didn't ruffle some feathers, the cars operated on the new-universal standard. The Naught.

One Naught is approximately the same as 1.2 Newtons of old. That is to say, the base forces involved with moving matter at the relative to olden times is twenty percent more difficult. Yes, resistance in the air, the existence of gravity, all of it was becoming more difficult. As a result, children with weak genetic pliability are lost at birth. Those whose genetic make up makes it to where they are not strong enough eventually will be unable to bear children due to the weight of the child within. Twenty percent... That's not an additive increment to most. It's multiplicative.

This major truth was first observed in accordance to the new United Nations laboratories. A scientist studying particle collisions from Great Britain, by the name of Alfred Amnaught noticed a gradual inconsistence with the movement of particles even within his control. He began a series of test which lead to him testing his total environment. Long story short, he was 'Naught' crazy.

The car hovered a bit gracefully in the air before landing. A rolling plain existed to the left of it. That was the Protected Environmental area. To the right, there was a large facility. Directly infront of the car was the horizon line of The Dome. Looking back, one could see the residential area. The Protected Areas were always encapsulated. It helped keep out The Cold.

Getting out the car, Oscars mom looked around for a moment. It was like she was attempting to see through the veil of clouds that fogged the screenlike dome. Resigning herself, she looked to Oscar. He had gotten out of the car and immediately started gawking. Smiling at him, his mother grabbed his hand. She pulled him along whistfully leaving behind a reminder of their tardiness.

"Don't you want to be tested," she asked. "You know, I pulled some strings to get us this early appointment. I know you don't want to wait in line- by yourself next time."

Oscars thoughts disconnected for a moment, before looked at his mom beligerently. He snorted hot air.

"You don't need to always coddle me mom! I'm going to be active. I'll protect you!!"

Ariel was stunned for a moment and a faint weariness spread through her eyes. She looked at her only momento of her late lover. She looked at her greatest manifesto. She looked at her son. She prayed he wouldn't be active for years on end. She didn't want her son to face those thing. Yet, she knew he inherited the bada spirit from his father. He would go to war for his beliefs. She knew him all too well.

"Well," she crooned her neck, "bring your ass inside. We gots some tests t' do."