The Soul

Introduction The school was large, all glazed tile, sterile clean, guarded by an electronic system and trained security personnel. The safety of the young generation was a priority. From the moment two people received permission to have a child, everything was subject to the strict control imposed by the Department of Genetic Selection. The child admitted to the child-rearing process had to meet certain conditions—primarily to be physically and mentally healthy, and promising to develop an IQ in accordance with applicable standards. Otherwise the child was euthanized without asking their parents’ permission. They had no say in that. If they wanted to be parents at all, they had to accept all the restrictions and legal orders. They could not neglect visits to the pediatrician or child psychologist, or isolate their offspring from peers. The child had to develop harmoniously in order to become a useful member of society. Not everyone was able to enjoy the prospect of bringing children into the world and raising future citizens. A twenty-four-year-old graduate of the history department at the University of Sao Paulo, Estrella Federica Solis, wasn’t ever going to become a mother. Her genetic qualifications, assessed right after birth, excluded that possibility. But Estrella loved children and therefore rejected an offer to work at the Central Institute of South American Archeology for the position of an elementary school teacher in one of the primary schools. It wasn’t an inferior position—the upbringing of children under the age of ten was treated very seriously and only highly qualified professionals with impeccable curricula were allowed to work with them. And Etta was just that… .