1 The Prologue
"Can you believe this? That fertility law just passed!" George walked over to his wife in the kitchen to show her the article on his news tablet. The screen shown in bold letters, "The End Is Over!" followed by the report which detailed the passage through Congress and the executive approval for the new law.
"I thought the president was going to veto that!" Henrietta said with a scowl. "What are they going to do next?"
George stood staring at a few family pictures on the wall and whispered to himself, "I hope we never find out."
The doctors and biologists at the headquarters of ICARUS spent the same moment cheering and drinking wine. They had discovered the problem facing humanity and under the name of the newly formed International Coalition of Affirmative Reproduction Under Supervision, ICARUS for short, had developed the idea and the means for saving the species. The legal process had been a far greater hurdle than the scientific. Now that the law had been passed, the organizations would be free to operate and set standards across the country.
Dr. Lucas Bradshaw steps up to the podium to make his obligatory speech. "Ladies and gentlemen, today marks a historic moment, when the tides of society and culture actually worked for the benefit of humanity. For generations now, humankind has been handicapping itself with unmonitored dependence on life-saving surgery and pharmaceuticals of all kinds. We have weakened our species right up to the line of inevitable extinction and for once, science has proactively identified and solved the problem before the catastrophe hits. There will be many who resist in the coming weeks, months, and years, but you may all rest well, knowing that you have put a stop to the number one threat that has ever faced our world. Compared to the looming crisis that has now been averted, the coming conflicts are but a small and pitiful squabble over nothing. Let us rejoice and be merry this day as we celebrate the great change that our leaders in Washington have just voted into law. Thanks to every one of you and to your countless hours and sleepless nights, and thanks to our tireless research and development team, we have saved the world! To humanity and to its eventual freedom!"
As the crowd throughout the banquet hall responded, in turn, cheering their accord, a semi-truck crashed through the glass wall at the back corner of the room and immediately after, detonated its five thousand pound payload of TNT.
Still staring at the family photos on the wall and muttering about the generations to come, George hears his wife let out a gasp and turns to see her eyes beginning to fill with tears as her face turns ghostly white. She looks up to him and tries to walk toward him, half collapsing onto the adjacent couch.
"What's wrong Henrietta?!" Her husband rushes over to her side as she goes weak in the legs and he guides her down into the seat. She points to the news tablet now lying upside down on the floor of the living room, unable to speak from shock and fear.
George picks up the tablet, flips it over and sees the headline and several accompanying photos detailing the breaking news of a massive explosion at a local scientist conference. "Terrorism Strikes at Home" reads the headline.
The breaking news begins to cycle on the tablet with updates. As he watches in stunned disbelief, George sees phrases pop out at him such as Local Militia Group, Martial Law, Terrorism, No Survivors, ICARUS, and The Fertility Amendment. He turns the tablet off, putting it on the shelf, and then joins his wife on the couch. They sit in silence, broken only by the soft sobs of Henrietta, until George says finally, "Let's go away to the cabin. Things are going to get pretty nasty and there is nothing at all we can do about it. Come on, let's get packed and we can call and invite the kids while we are at it."
