PROLOGUE

My mother used to tell me a story about the Old World, how it shined too brightly and too soon— until it couldn’t anymore.

For a long time, the Old World moved into an endless spin towards the age of technology— and then it stopped. My mother would say, that for a time, the people went on their ways and made lives. And then a plague hit the land and wiped the world of its beautiful palm trees, towering glass buildings, and self-driving machines that can take you to faraway places.

The plagues, called the Death Waves, were said to have lasted for decades. The people’s medical system and high-powered machines could not beat their unseen enemy. When the plague finally went away on its own, the Old World became no more.

More than half of the world died, and the remaining half killed for survival. In fear of another Death Wave, the people abandoned their societies and hid inside caves and under the ground. They protected themselves and trusted no one. At night, they would sneak unto their neighbors and steal their food; and at light, they would kill the man who gets the most ration from their hard work in the Upper Castles.

My mother would say, that the plague was sent by Mother Nature, that people became too happy and took things for granted, so She gave them a lesson— one too ruthless and too dark that even history cannot forget if it wanted to. Maybe She thought it would make the Old World a little bit kinder and a little bit better. But She was wrong.

For the new one is even crueler now.

My name is Elizabeth Hale. Welcome to the New World.