1732 - 06.10.3134 - 692 years since the End

  The world was blood red and iron. I remember it vividly, the screaming, the corporate enforcers, all the blood in the aftermath. Dad had complained too much, tried to get the guys at the protein farms to organize. Ma told him it was a bad idea, but Dad always stuck to things too much once he was invested. Of course the corpos hated that, those European high rider filth hated when us common folk got together. Dad fought back when he should’ve just accepted the beating, there wasn’t much left of him and Ma after.

  “Sister Cog are you alright?” Brother Axel shakes me out of my memories, still using code names after all this.

  The world is blood red and iron, but the people carry the banners now. The Great Mother is walking towards the podium to resounding cheers.

  “My children in the revolution, we stand here in celebration of our first great triumph!” Thundering applause and gunfire nearly deafen me. “Krupp holds a stranglehold on our city no longer! The people are in control of the Chicago megacity once more! Their enforcers run to the safety of the Smelter and New York!”

  More cheers before she signals for the crowd to calm down once more, all of us on the edge of our seats. “It has been 692 years since the catastrophe that brought us low, when the Anomalies first emerged into our world. Since then all we have known is fear, fear of Krupp, fear of Anomalies, fear of the enforcers, but we need not to fear any more!” The audience is at a fever pitch. “From this moment on the Syndicated Union of North America will liberate all peoples of our continent!”

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  At this we all begin to roar out the chants of the Blood and Iron Revolution. “For those we lost! For those we are with today! For those who will come after us!” More celebratory gunshots came after that; I’m fairly certain something got hit too many times and broke, or someone just fell over drunk.

  I wouldn’t dare mutter it aloud, but I was terrified. We threw back Krupp for now but what if they return? NYC and the Smelter are very large Krupp strongholds, and who knows if the East Asian Cooperation over the Rockies will try to make a move, or the Guild controlled Central States. So many different ways things could fall apart, everything we worked for wiped away by forces above us.

  “Sister Cog you seem troubled? And a good day to you Brother Axel.”

  Ah Commander B0B, a reassuring face- er, screen to see. “It’s nothing Commander, I must’ve eaten something bad during the looting and my stomach hasn’t settled. Is that a new power core I see?”

  “You’re very observant Sister Cog, I acquired this from a high end part shop. I enjoy it a lot.” Always talking so fast like that, this robot will drive me crazy.

  “Well that is very good Commander, but I’m sure you have larger issues, don’t let me keep you.”

  “You have a point Sister, have a fulfilling day”

  After watching B0B leave I turn back to brother Axel. “Let's get to the commissary before the line gets too long.”

  He gives me a curt nod before we walk into the sea of Blood and Iron.