The Human Zoo (1)

Chapter 2- Jax

Seated in the back of the class, I sit surrounded by clean, uniform, off-white walls. It feels like a quarantine room in a hospital. In front of me, words scroll endlessly across the screen on my small, transparent desk as the professor lectures. Schooling doesn't interest me, especially history. Why do people insist on reliving things they can't change? Our whole future needs guidance.

My attention is diverted as a message scrolls across the screen.

"Oculus tonight? -Deice"

I grin at the message from my best friend. Most nine-year-old boys like to go to Oculus. It's full of junk food, candy, and video games.

I reply, "Uh yeah, duh. Time? -Jax"

"You have to ask? After school, DUH -Deice."

Class suddenly becomes exciting, and I begin to count down the minutes until the day is over. As the professor switches textbooks, I look back down at the screen. A new title pops up: The Era of Eugenics.

"Eugenics," I whisper out loud, the word leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. The professor's voice becomes more powerful as he begins his lecture. "The Era of Eugenics, an outstanding time in our history. In fact, it is the pinnacle of the evolution of human beings."

My ears perk up. The concept is familiar, but I can't place it. Pictures flood the screen in front of me: fires, human skeletons, some green, square machinery I have never seen before, and a cloud that looks like a mushroom.

"This is what the world used to be like," the professor adds, "a time when our animal instincts controlled our human ones. These pictures show a time when destruction, starvation, and war ruled our everyday lives."

Involuntarily, my hand shoots up. "What's the green thing?"

"Jax, it's good to know that you're paying attention for once." My eyes roll. "To answer your question, that's what an Original would call a tank. It was a staple in their military as a weapon to destroy everything in its path. The mushroom cloud next to it was even worse. A bomb that could destroy entire cities."

Many of my classmate's gasp in shock. I sit mesmerized as the professor continues talking about the Originals.

"People finally realized that we couldn't go on like this; then an amazing man by the name of Dr. Emerson started the purification process, otherwise known as the Pure Beginning." An image popped up of a man in a white coat holding a small vial of purple liquid. "The Emergers, as they were known, were the first pure, genetically modified humans. There were thousands of them. These people were smarter, more athletic, and more beautiful than their predecessors. They were gods." My body stiffens at the word "god."

"We tried to live happily with the Originals, but they were animals, vile beasts, murdering our people. Relying more on raw instinct than logic to dictate their world. Eventually, The Emergers decided it was time to ratify the situation. It was during this time, The Final Hunt, that the people of Eugenics hunted Originals until they were almost extinct."

An image of two men came on the screen. Underneath it, the caption read: THE WINSTON BROTHERS. Both men had brown hair and brown eyes. The one on the left had dark skin like coffee and the other, on the right, had light skin resembling my professor. My gaze moved from their eyes to their smiles until it reached lifeless bodies draped over their legs. The image disappeared.

"The remainder we keep to forever remind us of what we do not wish to be. The animals now reside in safe havens in zoos across the world, where they can live as the happy animals that they are." The screen goes blank. I sit back in my chair as questions whirl through my mind. My stomach churns with nausea. Classmates ask questions but their voices are drowned out by a ringing in my ear.