In a desert town, in a small medical facility, a child is born.

This was a small town with an unnoteworthy name. Being a rather lush town in a desert environment, it was considered an oasis by passers-by.

The medical facility in question was one of the famous Doctor Lorde’s.

A mother kicked and struggled as she sat in the medical facility. Her breath was frantic and unfulfilling; she looked pale, frail, and weak, and she had a pained expression on her face.

Just as the newly born baby had come into the world, the mother died. With her body’s condition, she could not endure the agony of childbirth.

Attempts to revive her through the use of medicine and Energy machines were made, though the mothers’ prospects were bleak. The nurses and doctors had witnessed death during childbirth enough times to know that revival after death was an extremely unlikely event. Perhaps a method did exist which could revive her, or maybe if an expert Worker were to seize her soul immediately, she could be brought back…

Unfortunately, this team had neither.

The doctor sighed, “Go ahead, deal with the child as stated in the official procedures.” The baby was born, and the mother was dead. There was nothing more he could do. His job here was done.

Officially, this child needed to be entered into records. The local government, regional government, and the Global databases were all popular options, though strictly speaking only one would need to be chosen. Normally, this office would do entries in all three systems for redundancy’s sake. The transmission of such information was slow and prone to disruption.

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The data should then be made available to the public, who could use it for any number of surveys or other research.

This doctor in particular did not place much faith in the integrity of these systems. There had been several instances where the data that he requested from them was either not congruent with his personal records, or it seemed to be different from his and his peer’s predictions.

For example, the noteworthy decrease in birth rates. This doctor had been saying for years that the decline in birth rates across the Vibrant Region had been a cause for concern. He posited that the decreasing quality of land and lack of water might be related, but Global constantly reassured the public that none of this was a matter for concern.

Regardless of all these things, the doctor must focus on the tasks he has in front of him.

Despite the condition of his mother, this child had a high chance of being healthy and happy. This particular doctor had done several in-depth studies into the effects of the mother’s condition, and it did not seem to be genetic.

The doctor turned to leave, already thinking about the other cases he oversaw.

On his way out, however, a nurse pulled him back.

“Doctor Lorde, one moment.”

“Has something happened?” Lorde questioned.

“This child appears be Talented,” screening for Talent was routine for infants after they were born. The Talent needed to become a Worker was rare, and the benefit of a Worker was undoubted. Not one should be allowed to slip through the cracks.

“Every child has some Talent, is he unusual?” The doctor became slightly excited. The nurse would not mention it unless the child had unusual Talent.

“Yes, he may be able to Work.”

A definite win! Doctor Lorde had been feeling depressed about what he had seen while working in the past years, but this brought him some joy.

“Put in a request for the boy’s father to the Global database, as well as some smaller ones just in case. I want to find the father of this boy. But please, try not to inform them of his Talent.”

Doctor Lorde was not Global’s biggest fan, to say the least. They had transport, mining, the largest databases, property… Global had effectively infinite resources, but their questionable ethics made Doctor Lorde look down upon them. No, he would not hand them another Talented child.

“What should we do with him in the meantime?”

“We will keep him here in the facility. If the family cannot be found, we will make further plans.”