Thei'Kar and Rusa'Kar used to live harmoniously. They were twin planets that revolved around each other in the Gamma Sector of Universe CH834. And they were one.

One name for our species—the Kariers.

One form of government—a type that's based around a Royal family.

But then, there was the Falling.

Something happened. An asteroid perhaps? But it was too large. It knocked us out of our steady orbit with each other, and the next we knew, we were slowly spiraling towards each other, on a track to collide. Each planet blamed the other. Experiments too bold that caused it, or a way to get out of orbit because we weren't happy with our life.

Truth is, though, we don't what it was. All we know is that since that day, nothing's been the same.

At first, we ignored the other, each of us too focused on trying to find a way to stop it. But soon came the attacks, swift and sudden. Whether we started it first or they did—that was lost in history.

It escalated into an all-out war between the two planets. The Royals split, each trying to help their side.

Thei'Kar did something... fascinating. And utterly horrifying. They started mutating their own offspring as ways to gain enhancements. Powers to use for fighting.

And then, it stopped. Just as quickly as it began.

Whether they reached a consensus, or it was some external force, we'll never know. Eventually, we fell back into a system. We evolved. We gained a new way of life that's more industrial. We gained classes, and along with that, classism.

Rats, Birds, Guards, Royal Guards, and Royals. Five different classes, each we had absolutely no say in.

The way it works is simple. Every time a child is born, they're taken to a hospital to get marked. That is, with a number. Yes, that's right. They get assigned a random number from zero through three. Later on, a serum is injected into the newborn depending on that number. If the child gets the number zero, they are a Rat. If they get one, they are a Bird. Two means they are a Guard. And three means Royal Guard. A child cannot be assigned as a Royal. They must be born into the bloodline.

As expected, Royals have the most power and freedom and money and abilities. With so many different mutations, they have eight different special "powers" so to speak, each giving them more control. They control everything. They're above the regular law. They could get away with murder if they so desired.

Royal Guards are the next most powerful. With six abilities, they're considered extremely high class, almost as much so as Royals. They're also the ones with the closest connections to the monarch. The ones who enforce their "Code of Life."

Guards would be your upper-middle class. They stand with four abilities and have quite successful lives. As far as connections go, they're isolated. Hated by the upper two and lower two classes alike. Too low a class to be considered powerful, but too high a class to be included as one of the riff-raff. They're alone in life, but I suspect they prefer it that way.

Birds still have freedoms with two different abilities. They stand solidly at lower-middle class. With close connections to Rats, they try to help, but... Well, I'll get to it later.

But then there're Rats. Well, we're called Rats for a reason. We're from the streets, living in poverty. We don't get any mutational serum. We're considered useless.

The problem is that these mutations aren't natural, so if a child is born in poverty with no access to a hospital, they stay as a Rat. And so does their offspring. It's no longer random. And even worse, if you have the money, you can pay for a higher number. In this way, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor, causing this split.

To further add, classes are supposed to stay separate. It's illegal—or at least scorned upon—to interact with someone of a lower class. If with a higher class, you must have a purpose, and you must stay respectful.

And this? This is how it's always been.

We get no say in our lives anymore. We do what we can to survive, even if that means eating our own species sometimes. Us lower classes are forced to go with the flow and follow a set "Eight Rules of Survival."

I suppose I should be grateful I at least got an education. Not like it does much since it mostly teaches us about how great Thei'Kar is. All hail mutations, now seen as gifts of some deity instead of science. And that is, only if you're lucky or wealthy enough to even get one.

Can't they see how corrupt this is? How unfair it is? I can barely make a living for myself out of what natural skills I do have. But they can't. They've all been brainwashed to believe this is okay. Because the Royals are "nice" and they "do what they can for us."

Yeah, right. I call bullshit. But can I really change the state of things? Should I even try? What's the point, though? We're just one planet, caught in a cold war, about to crash into our sister planet and die. It's futile.

...Maybe they have a point... Just live and try to make the best of it, right?

...Right?