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One month after the Rifts open, seventy-three Roones enter Earth. The Roones are a highly evolved humanoid species that promises to help ARC deal with the Rifts.
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2006
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With technology developed by the Roones, human trials begin with military troops. Soldiers are implanted with a chip intended to make them exponentially stronger, smarter, faster, and more agile. The test subjects are unable to handle the metamorphosis the brain must undergo to allow for these new “super” abilities. Each subject dies.
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2006
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ARC theorizes that by changing the microprocessor in the implant and delaying the time the chip takes to activate by seven years, a child’s young biology can better accept and adapt to the massive changes their bodies would undergo. ARC agrees to let the Roones implant children with the chip.
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2006
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Seven-year-olds within a two-hundred-mile radius of each Rift site are tested in school. ARC chooses one hundred with the most average test scores. They do not want to take a potentially bright future away from a gifted child and they want their “super” soldiers to appear as unremarkable as possible.
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2006
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Without these children’s parents’ consent, the first crop of one hundred children is implanted with the chip.
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2007
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The first Village is created outside the Battle Ground Rift. This is where ARC takes all Immigrants (anyone or anything that Rifts to this Earth from another) to be held in captivity, away from the general population.
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2007
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A second crop of children is implanted.
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2008
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Militaries from around the world continue to deal with the hostile Immigrants exiting the Rifts; there are numerous casualties on both sides.
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2008
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Construction begins on six more global Village sites.
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2008
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A third crop of children is implanted with the chip.
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2009
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Levi Branach and a fourth crop of children are implanted with the chip.
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2010
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Henry Gibbon, Violet Henshaw, Boone Castor, and Ryn Whittaker are all implanted and join a fifth crop of children.
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2011
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A sixth crop is implanted.
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2012
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A seventh crop is implanted.
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2012
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ARC creates an elaborate subterfuge to relocate the families of the implanted children. ARC tells the parents of these children that its acronym stands for Accelerated Rate Curriculum. It is staged as the most prestigious program in the world for gifted students. It guarantees a bright and successful future. Parents believe their kids will attend a highly competitive high school program when in reality they will be policing The Rift.
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2013
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The first crop of implanted children is activated. ARC calls these new soldiers Citadels.
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2013
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The Karekins immigrate to this Earth. They are a deadly and highly advanced humanoid race. Their attacks become increasingly brutal and frequent.
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2013
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An eighth crop of children is implanted.
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2014
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A ninth crop of children is implanted.
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2015
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A tenth crop of children is implanted.
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2016
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An eleventh crop of children is implanted.
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2016
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Levi Branach is activated and becomes a Citadel.
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2017
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A twelfth crop of children is implanted.
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2017
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Henry, Violet, Boone, and Ryn become active Citadels.
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2018
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A thirteenth crop of children is implanted.
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2019
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A fourteenth crop of children is implanted.
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2020
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Present day.
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2020
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Ryn’s parents believe she is a junior in high school and a fifteenth crop of children has just been implanted …
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CHAPTER 1
“Command Center, this is Gamma Team in Nest four. There is no visual. Over.” The voice crackles in my earpiece. I tap the small device without thinking. It’s not a hardware issue, not with the kind of equipment we use. More than likely it’s interference. We are the closest team to The Rift. I wait for the other teams to check in, but it’s protocol at this point. They aren’t going to see anything before we do. We hear from Lambda, Phi, Rho, and Omega. The reserves are farther back, in the denser part of the forest, waiting in case something really bad comes through, like a column of Karekins. Karekins are the most dangerous enemy we face in The Rift game. They are humanoid but proportionally much, much bigger—at least eight feet tall. Whenever I see one, I think of the Titans from Greek mythology. Maybe the big shots at ARC thought the same thing when they divided us all into groups using the Greek alphabet.
The scientists at The Allied Rift Coalition created sophisticated machines that spike and beep whenever The Rift is about to dump something out.
We don’t need them.
Citadels are in tune with the opening. I don’t even think it’s our heightened senses. We just spend so much time around the damn thing that we’ve grown accustomed to its habits. I am Beta Team’s leader. I was surprised at first when I got the rank. I am not the fastest or strongest among us. When we first deployed, it didn’t take long to see that I think quickly on my feet. I’m a natural tactician and I don’t make sentimental decisions. In the beginning of all this, I would never have volunteered for a command. After so much time on active duty, however, it’s clear the rank is a good fit. The fact that ARC figured out my strengths before I did still pisses me off. It’s like swallowing one of those huge horse vitamins without water. The truth that they somehow know me better than I know myself will always burn right in my center.
I try not to think about how or why anymore. It’s pointless and distracting, and I need to focus. I’m here and in charge, responsible for my team. We are holding our positions. The four of us are crouched behind a large rock that sits just off to the left of The Rift. The rock was strategically placed here so that we can see what’s coming out, but they can’t
