First Generation - Lyra
Washington D.C. 2062
Lyra, eyes still shut, reaches to the other side of the bed. Her hand touches an empty pillow. Eyes opened, she sees the sheets turned back at an angle that would not disturb her side. Monday morning, rise and shine. The work week begins.
Her work experience became focused on government affairs, and she became the natural choice to support the increasing scope of federal work coming to her firm. Lyra’s firm is filled with ambitious hard working young lawyers all clawing to reach the next level. She, however, is not one of them. Lyra’s middling talent and middling ambition keep her out of the general rat-race. She has focused her experience in what many considered dense and boring, but she was able to carve out a niche, a purpose, for her at the firm. Basing the role in Washinton DC was her idea. She needed a change of scenery having spent her whole life up to that point in Chicago. Five years ago, she met a man though one of her contracts and they began seeing each other on and off. She moved into his apartment last year.
They are having a baby. The birth is scheduled for 4 months from now two weeks after Lyra’s own birthday. Lyra will have just turned 40. Most of Lyra’s friends have decided to not have kids – or at least not yet. But, Lyra has felt a longing to bring a child into the world. A natural feeling for humans. Many suppress that feeling for one reason or another.
Deagan and Lyra are not married. Marriage was never a serious discussion. Lyra grew up with unmarried parents. Her parents stayed together long enough to have her but divorced soon after. Her mother when back to Chicago eventually took over as partner in the family law firm.
Divorce is uncommon anymore mainly because marriage is so rare. The only people married that Lyra knew about were a part of a church. Since most marriages ended, at some point people stopped starting them. Besides, you don’t need a husband to have a child if that is what you wanted.
Lyra walks into the room and kisses Deagan on the cheek. He has been up for hours – military.
“Morning sweetheart – did I wake you?” He says.
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“No – the baby did.” He grabs his hand and places it on her belly to feel the kicks.
A smile crosses his face, but quickly fades. She knows he is anxious about how a baby will change their life. He mostly avoids talking about it. He is strong, protective and sometimes it is hard to get past his rigid exterior to have real conversations about things that matter.
Gennie, his interrupts the moment.
“Hi Deagen, reminder that your meeting with the Pentagon Ops committee starts in 15 minutes, would like to prepare notes?”
“Sorry Sweetheart…busy morning” – “One second Gennie”
Turning back to Lyra. “I made you coffee. On the counter”
He squeezes her hand and turns his attention back to work.
It is a stressful time for Deagan and other miliary officers. With the dissolution of the UN and the subsequent signing of the United Democratic Coalition the quite stability of military branches has been rocked. The UDC now consists of the US, Mexico, Canada, UK, Japan, and the EU. Washington DC leaders are scrambling for influence in the newly formed International Council. Military power is naturally a leverage point the DC Senators are trying to exploit.
The US was hit hard by the shifting world order. The once global leaders in consumption and technology, the US is now finding itself searching for new pathways to improve the economy in a world led by Chinese Interests. By all accounts, the US lost the digital war of 2041. The US had crippled the Chinese tradelines and used the international courts to tie up Chinese assets. Then the China struck back. Overnight, Chinese spyware corrupted the global GPS system and at the same time, the Russian’s damaged US and Corporate satellites. This was the first war where the battlefield was not land or sea, but instead the battles were fought in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The weapons were not projectiles, or bombs, but digital packages and infrared rays. Humans and miliary installations were not the targets – satellites were the target.
The world has come to call it the “100 hours of night”. It was roughly 4 days without internet and GPS in the western half of the world. Trains and cars were wrecked in pile ups on all major thoroughfares. Business transactions failed, Credit card, and ATMs were not working. Cities were looted and chaos was champion. In many buildings, the lights were controlled though automation and even though the electrical grid was not touched, many homes and business could not even turn on the lights until the internet was restored.
It came out in the press that Pentagon risk assessment knew and understood the vulnerabilities but failed to create the needed tools to protect the low-orbit infrastructure. The US has never fully recovered from the cascading impacts of the losses.
In 2045 Russia, Brazil and 6 African nations adopted the Yen as the national currency.
The US could no longer stand on its own. In 2051 the UDC was formed. That was 11 years ago, but in government time that is not long at all. The UDC now represents the 3nd largest Economy in the world behind China and India, and slightly ahead of Russia.
The baby kicks once more against Lyra’s hand. It’s a girl. Degan and Lyra decided on the name Lux.
Lyra finds herself once again with both hands caressing the baby bump with a look of motherly worry on her face. What type of world would she be binging this baby into…
