Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot. HP is the work of J.K. Rowling.
AN: This is probably the most ambitious project writing wise that I have ever undertaken. I've toyed with this, albeit cliched, idea for weeks and think I finally have something that works. This is completely AU. Please let me know what you think.
Control
According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Later, fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, forever separating the two formerly conjoined beings. These newly separated humans, while still powerful in their own right, had one major side effect. After nearly an eternity together conjoined at the very heart and soul, throughout the rest of our days we are constantly looking for our other half, if only to feel whole again.
Over time this story has been shared across nations and cultures until the notions of soulmates came to utterance. A soulmate, is the idea that there is someone out there who your entire literal being calls out to. It was not only a comforting thought, but also a completely terrifying notion. In theory here was someone who you were connected to on a basis that went far beyond the physical and emotional. This was someone who Destiny has essentially matched you with, and trust, you don't want to disobey Destiny.
In time, as mankind grew away from mythology and more into the modern religions, the idea of a soulmate adapted as well. No longer was a soulmate someone who you wholeheartedly called out to, but it became more of a cutesy term for couples to latch on and proclaim their love for the world to see. I guess it was just safer that way society decided. No longer was there any notion of a lack of control in the realm of love, and control is imperative, control is always imperative.
Old ideals die hard, however, and not everyone was ready to drop the idea that a soulmate was anything further than a cute term for couples. In later years, we learned that research went on as far back as the 1400's, on what exactly a soulmate was, and what it meant to not join with your soulmate. This research always had to be done in secret, and even when results were found, they were to never be shared.
A breakthrough changed everything. There was now a way to tell when you have seen your soulmate, as well as evidence on what happens when you ignore the call of your soulmate. The easy part is how you know that you've seen your soulmate, your body gives the heart a little shock, then barely noticeable after years of no use, and that triggers the brain. There is no love at first sight, and you likely won't instantly get married, but you will almost instantly click with this person, and romantic feelings WILL develop.
If you ignore your soulmate, well then things get a little more complicated. You see, Destiny doesn't really like to not be in control, control is always imperative, and the minute Destiny doesn't feel in control anymore, it will stop at nothing to get that control back. There's a reason why it is said that love makes you do crazy things, and the further you are from connecting with your soulmate, the more drastic Destiny will be in trying to regain control.
Sensing the danger society could be in, these secret scientists rushed to find a way to not only mark the event so that you know when you see your soulmate, but also reinventing the term, so as to bring it back to its original meaning. Thus the ring was born, and data was published proving the link between souls and what could be at stake if society didn't listen.
People flocked to get the ring. Couples, hoping to validate their love, were initially ecstatic, and singles were equally happy thinking they would finally find the one. It started off great, discrimination based on sexual orientation basically became nonexistent. It was pretty hard to call something immoral and unnatural when your very soul is calling you towards it. Likewise, religious intolerance dropped significantly. Your soul didn't care your mate was Muslim, Jewish, or Christian, your being still called out to them. Then the romantic massacres began.
You see while many couples were delighted to see they were already with their soulmates, there were some unlucky ones who weren't. Some couples ended it, hoping that both would find their individual soulmates, but some were foolish. At the time, no one really thought much about what happens if you ignore the call of your soulmate, after all humans have survived for years without knowing if they're with their soulmate, so what's the fear. We quickly learned that to Destiny, it's different to not know your soulmate and miss their call, than to actively ignore said call. If the mind doesn't know he or she is out there, Destiny will attempt to regain control, but still hold restraint. However, if it does, Destiny will stop at nothing in order to regain control, even if it warps the persons mind, and causes them to do horrible, vile deeds. Control is always imperative.
The first cases were absolutely horrible. Entire families were wiped out just because someone couldn't be with their soulmate. People were stolen and kept against their wills, just because Destiny made them feel as if there was more control in this situation than letting your soulmate run free. It was for their own good really, you were who Destiny stated they should be with. Friend started turning against friend, brother against brother, country against country. Society was very nearly brought to its knees
Funny enough, it was also said that when humanity is pushed to its limit, that the human race pushes the limits even higher. The government stepped in, and efforts to regain control brought about sweeping changes. Every conspiracy theorist would've been vindicated, as a one world government actually came into fruition. Except, there were no nefarious reasons, just attempts to stop the bloodshed, kidnappings and rape. It took a lot of work, but many changes were made to society, the biggest being that the ring was no more. Instead, the government implanted a chip at birth that acted largely how the ring operated, except the chip also sent data back to help keep track of soulmates and ensure every effort was made for them to connect. It wasn't perfect, or even the most morally correct thing to do. It was huge invasion of privacy, however society could not be allowed to go back to where it was.
Destiny was proud of where society was heading, and glad to let them believe that they had "control" of their situation. For now, Destiny would gladly sit back and be that invisible hand gently guiding society to where it needed to go, while at the same time ensuring control was still being kept. After all, control is always imperative.
Hope you enjoyed it, will have the next chapter up ASAP