[lore] What happened to the children?
Disclaimer: this is a copy of the newsletter. Actual subscribers get all the prizes, votes, and exclusives.
THE CHILDREN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
The doctors, teachers, and families searching for answers have found none.
“What’s wrong with my daughter?”
The question comes in different forms, but Dr. Sarah Hoey hears it almost weekly now. She has been a pediatrician in San Francisco for sixteen years. Treating patients and answering questions from caring parents. Now, she has no answers to give.
The first time she was left speechless was in 2162. A six-year-old in her exam room, mid-tantrum, stomped her foot and put a hole straight through the floor. The mother and daughter screamed in fear, while Dr. Hoey stood frozen, watching the impossible form into reality.
Since then, she has seen dozens more.
A young boy whose temperature read 106 degrees, but he showed no symptoms, no discomfort, and no response to medication. His body simply ran hotter than any human’s should. A toddler whose tears, after getting shots, lifted from her cheeks instead of falling. A five-year-old girl who jumped from a waiting room chair and instead of landing on the ground, floated up to the ceiling. Her father caught her when she suddenly dropped. The pattern is always similar: abilities emerging between ages four and six, often triggered by intense emotion or stress.
“There’s no chapter in any textbook or any sort of scientific explanation for all this,” she says. “These families come to me because I’m their doctor. It’s my job to know. But all I can tell them is… I don’t know.”
She is not alone.
Over the past six years, children displaying extraordinary abilities have emerged across the globe, with confirmed cases in over forty countries. What was once an isolated anomaly, like the California boy whose wind manipulation went viral in 2159, now forms a worldwide pattern. Cases number in the thousands. Something is changing within the human genome, though no one seems to know what or why.
Public reaction has been polarized. Some celebrate this as the dawn of a new era. Others see it as a threat. Governments including Japan, South Korea, and Israel have begun drafting policies for monitoring so-called Powered citizens, but no universal framework exists. In the U.S., pressure mounts for a structured response, but Congress has been stalled in a battle between freedom and public safety.
For doctors like Dr. Hoey, the policy debates feel distant. What she needed was something practical: a place to refer families, a resource, anything to get them the answers they deserve.
Three weeks ago, she got a call.
The Global Affinity Research Council, an international body formed by a coalition of nations, had contacted her. They were building a network of physicians, researchers, and facilities dedicated to understanding and supporting Powered children.
“I asked a lot of questions,” Dr. Hoey says. “Who’s funding this? What happens to the children you study? Where are they taken?” She exhales. “I didn’t love all the answers. But what other options are there? At least this is something the parents can look into themselves.”
Representatives of GARC emphasize safety and protection, but details on their authority and backing remain limited. The anonymous account @2ndvoice, which has previously posted claims about suppressed information, alleges that pilot programs may already be active beyond public view.
“I want to believe this is real help,” Dr. Hoey says. “These families are desperate. I’m desperate.” She pauses. “But I’ve been a doctor long enough to know that when someone shows up with all the answers, you ask who’s paying for them.”
—
Want to be an early reader of the book?
Because so many new pre-orders have come in over the last two weeks (and totally brought tears to our eyes), we chose a few of them to be ARC readers and receive an early ebook copy of the book. We’re keeping the excitement going and selecting 5 more from pre-orders this week (woo hoo!)
Pre-order The First Stone NowAfter you pre-order (or if you have already), reply to this email with a screenshot of your order so we can give you the next steps to apply for our ARC program and also say a massive THANK YOU directly.
P.S. This newsletter was Article #2 of the National Chronicle, a canon newspaper that tells the events leading up to The First Stone. Head over to Discord to read Article #1: Is This the Next Step of Human Evolution?
Sincerely,
Robert Biehn
“Cass’s little sister is going to die. He’ll burn the world down to save her.”
Dystopian fantasy · for fans of Mistborn × Avatar: The Last Airbender
| Take the Faction Quiz → |
Disclaimer: this is a copy of the newsletter. Actual subscribers get all the prizes, votes, and exclusives.
