The Barcode Society
By: Bay, 6th grade
Everyone had a barcode. It told who you were, where you were. It could be tracked by the government to find you when you were lost. To an outsider, it seemed like a fine society. But those who lived in the large, domed city, it was horror. Xana, a homeless orphan at the age of 12, has lost the only remaining member of her family. Her brother, Lupo, was announced M.I.A in a police chase. He was a child prodigy, joining the police corps, which called themselves the Retrievers, at age 9. He worked as a technician, aiding the Retrievers in finding those with obsolete barcodes. When he was 15, he was involved in a chase against a man who wished to destroy the Retrievers. There had been many rebellions lately, for many of the citizens began to think that the Retrievers were gaining too much power, for they had even more power than the queen, Jagura. Lupo was killed when the man they were chasing placed an exploding tag on his uniform, and the explosion destroyed the building. Lupo was never found, although the systems said his barcode was still active. Xana was left homeless, and without family. After seeing a disturbing vision where her brother told her to deactivate her barcode, she sets off to find one who could help, a boy named Furuuto, and leaves the domed city once and for all. After deactivating the barcode on her cheek, she found herself being chased by the Retrievers, questioning her quest, her brother, her life, and even herself.