The Union

by Leah Vernon

There were three classes of Lower Residents: Domestic, Chattel, and Impure. All workers. Color determined everything: the paler you were, the worse you got it.

She had a coveted body type in the region: the curvier, the bigger, the better. A well-fed body meant that one had the funds for proper nourishment, enough for overnourishment.

Her skin was a deep fawn color due to her getting dark pigment inoculations from the appearance-tech surgeons. She had been born much lighter in tone despite Mother choosing the darkest setting for skin options during her conception period. Every few months, she got her skin darkened because a pupil had once teased her about being mistaken for an Impure. Jade had never let that go. So she overcompensated for her light skin by being extra revolutionary.

The reason for the insurgency was because of how my ancestors had been treated. How oppressive the old systems had been. No one who looked like me could ever get ahead.

The world was in shambles when a global virus spread. The economy was weakened. Many immigrants left the Old States and migrated back to their original homes. All that was left was global warming, greedy Europes, and displaced Blacks and sporadic Indigenous communities.

Sometimes, you have to be just as treacherous, even more so to win the game.”

“Our people stopped reading, disengaged from reality, and immersed themselves in music that degraded our skin color and promoted crime and ignorance. We were a watered-down and lost race, becoming the bottom feeders of the human chain.

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”