Cherry blossoms flutter down like pink snowflakes on the Potomac shoreline. Like the new growth on the trees, the Capital is teeming with rebirth. War has taken its toll, but from its ruins, a future flourishes. A future that was once in doubt is now certain.
The date is April 8, 2019. It's been almost seven years since the first wave of alien colonization attacked the planet. The world has been left in shambles but the resilience of America and its people has not. North America and South America have been secured and now we continue the battle in other parts of the planet.
Africa, the Middle East and Russia have suffered the worst. Their failed governments and fanatic religious beliefs stood in the way of organizing and defending themselves against the extraterrestrial enemy. In the beginning they resisted foreign aid, holding on to their hatred of the imperialistic west, cultural stereotypes of America, and victims of their own ethnocentrism. As the destruction continued and their nations were falling to the Super Soldiers, they could no longer deny the truth.
In the end, the tide has turned. We are now one world, fighting one enemy.
"Milgard! King! van de Kamp!"
The R.A. on duty pounds on their door as he calls out their names. Jamal King groans as he lies there with a head filled with cobwebs. Nick Milgard flops out of his bed, grabs his towel, and lumbers out of the room to the showers. Will van de Kamp rolls over and pulls the covers up around his shoulders.
"Will, get your sorry ass up! Man, you'll be taking a cold shower if you don't get moving!" Jamal spouts off as he climbs out of the top bunk, drags his towel behind him and leaves, banging the door behind him.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Will mutters as he throws his arms back and stretches himself awake. It takes him a moment to gather the motivation to kick his covers off and propel himself out of bed to start his day.
The three boys share the seventh floor with nine others. They take turns showering, shaving and brushing their teeth. Will is a novice with a razor judging from the nicks on his face. His only teacher is his roommate, Nick, and his willingness to help him is a tribute to the camaraderie among the boys. They get dressed in the classic and customary teenage garb of jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. Will sports a relic from his past, a well-worn and faded ball cap with a fraying New York Yankees logo.
As they enter the dining hall, the aroma of bacon welcomes them. It reminds Will of his mother cooking breakfast at the farmhouse. He'd race down to the kitchen, his father would be at the table drinking coffee and his mother would fix him a plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes. He remembers she would always plant a kiss on his forehead and his dad would rub the top of his head. The thought creates a lump of regret in his throat and he chokes it down. He grabs another piece of toast and skips the bacon.
Like every morning, breakfast is noisy and the hall is crowded. He sits with the usual kids and grabs a seat next to Petie. She is of mixed Japanese-Scottish-Irish heritage, a pretty girl with light brown hair and hazel eyes. She's a "mutt," like the third term President. Petie has become Will's best friend and family. They finish their breakfast, take their trays to the conveyor belt and head outside.
The cluster of buildings is a hodge-podge of architecture built over a hundred-year span of time. The campus is nestled near the Rocky Mountains amidst terrain filled with iron ore deposits, it's a geological safe haven from alien replicants or Super Soldiers and the primary reason the Department of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security chose it.
A large banner hangs on one side of the old brick building. It reads The National Youth Project, Boulder Campus. This has been Will's home for the past three years, since he was fourteen years old.
By the end of 2009, only biologists and those involved in agricultural studies took notice of the Colony Collapse Disorder among pollinating bees. They would have been shocked to know our government had created a program to eradicate the species thus eliminating the Conspiracy's attempt to spread the alien virus through bee venom. Knowing the delicate balance of nature had been compromised, the U.S. Agriculture Research Service has created a genetically modified bee resistant to carrying alien viruses. They have been set free in hopes of restoring the ecosystem.
In 2010, members from the CDC were chosen to work with a renowned group of biochemists, immunologists, epidemiologists and virologists from the best medical research facilities in the country. They developed a vaccine against the alien black oil using genetic material from Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and Marita Covarrubius who had previously been infected with the alien virus, and from Gibson Praise, a young man with a unique and rare DNA.
At the same time, Mulder, Skinner and Doggett had located another former FBI Agent, Jeffrey Spender and convinced him to join the resistance movement. Spender had suffered terribly at the hands of the conspirators, having been used as a human lab rat. Years before, in an act of revenge and redemption he had injected Scully's infant son with a serum, claiming it would normalize the child's genetic and chemical make up. Through his knowledge and cooperation, a second vaccine was created using a complex compound of magnetite and an anti-viral. This serum would prevent the aliens from using humans as hosts to create Super Soldiers.
A campaign to systematically vaccinate every man, woman and child in the U.S. was mandated by the President. The secrecy that saw this plan through would go down in history as the National Institute of Health's moment of glory. Through their work, coupled with the miracle of science, they have made the impossible happen, and saved millions of lives. All are humbled by the scope of their discoveries.
The Campus runs on two shifts, half the residents go off to class in the morning, while the other half start their chores. Will takes Calculus, Physics, U.S. History and Spanish. In the afternoon he'll work with the grounds keeping crew. If the weather is pleasant and mild he looks forward to being outdoors.
He thinks his calculus exam went well. He needs a score of at least 95% to keep him on the University track. He's a year ahead of schedule in both math and science and approaches the subjects like they are puzzles, unlike U.S. History, where he dozes off bored by the monotone lecture on Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
He's pulling good grades in his Spanish class. His teacher, Ms. Reyes has been on campus for less than a year. She is well liked by her students and always takes time for them, especially Will, who she studies a little more carefully than the others.
