"On a recent update, movements from the Central Senate suggest that the legislatures are ready to pass the bill of Aristocratic Family Classification Scheme. Although the bill is yet to be made public, reliable sources and past debates confirm that the basis of classification will be the number of Transcenders with the same surname, their total assets, and the strength of the strongest Transcender in each family. For the commoners, this means that all unofficial surnames could be wiped off official records progressively. The commoners may also be included in the classification scheme and given certain benefits and unique privileges as the lowest category of citizens."
Mir heard his father snort loudly, adding a sarcastic remark. "The bill hasn't been passed yet, but they're already calling us 'commoners' like it's a well-used term. Hear that, Mir?"
Mir made a sound of agreement, saying, "The reason the news stations keep framing their news as speculations reliant on anonymous sources is a good indicator of what their intention is. The central government definitely has been spreading the word through them to test public opinion, putting out radical ideas and catchy keywords to grab the focus of the masses. The bill will be modified after collecting the data of the citizens' reaction to the news. Once it has been passed, people will learn that it's a lot less extreme compared to the early news, and that discovery will quell their rebellious tone."
Mir's father grunted. "Things weren't this meticulous when we were young. The government was barely holding on to its surface districts. We didn't even have to file tax returns those days, tsk tsk tsk..."
Mir found it hard to believe that his father had any affection for the chaotic early years of the United Empire. The pages of history depicting those days were full of bloodbaths, disasters, and rebellions against the nascent Central Government.
"Son, what do you think? If Murray manages to become a Transcender with his Church's help, should we make a bid for an Aristocratic Title? You always wanted a surname when you were young. That dream of yours can be fulfilled easily now." His father sounded amused, a distant look of nostalgia flashing in his eyes. "If that doesn't work out, I suggest seducing a rich missy from your College. She'll be more than happy to bestow you with her family surname, hahaha!"
"...Wow, dad, you seem to have given it more thought than I did," Mir said with a sneer. "I'll ask for mum's opinion on that plan, okay?"
His father glared at him weakly and returned to the news stream.
The next piece of news was about newly discovered taboo zones on the planet's surface. The current human civilization occupied less than 10% of the total landmass of the planet. The districts were spread sporadically throughout all three continents, and directly travelling between them on the surface was borderline impossible because of wild taboo zones. The only thing connecting them all to the Empire was a recent invention, a Space-Time Compressor, first constructed 38 years ago in Phoenix District.
Currently, every underground district and most surface districts had this technology. But using it was equivalent to burning up half a month's GDP of an average-sized city. So planetwide travelling was still not accessible for 99% of the population.
Halfway through the news stream, there was a loud knock on the door. Mir's father sprang up to his feet, alert and all, only to see Mir wave a hand lightly.
"Only Murray knocks like that," Mir said as he got up and peeked through the peep-hole.
Sure enough, Murray was standing outside wearing his Deacon Uniform, accompanied by a tall, bearded old man who looked distinctly familiar.
"We meet again, young man," The priest said cheerfully as Mir opened the door to welcome them in.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again... Sir Priest," Mir said a little awkwardly. Getting the hint, the old man flashed him a grandfatherly smile. "No need to address me so humbly, my boy. I'm fine with being called by my name. Priest Vincent will do."
Mir's father quickly came over to greet the priest alongside Mir, ushering both of them into the house.
"Priest Vincent! It has been a long time! I remember when you visited our colony last year!"
"And I remember you as well, technician Malan! You gave my trainees a big discount that evening!"
Leaving the two older men in the living room, Murray dragged Mir away to the second floor. Mir finally noticed the bulging backpack he was carrying as he followed Murray into his bedroom.
Murray dumped the backpack on the bedside table and unzipped it, revealing a large stack of fist sized packets. There was no label on the packets, but Mir immediately made his guess.
"Meat from a mutant animal?"
Murray nodded. "Bought them from the Church's private market. Huge discount, man. It's insane how overpriced the same food is on ordinary channels. What an insidious way to force all aspiring Transcenders into joining a faction, be it the government, the Churches, or the Private Corporations..."
Mir scratched his head for a moment trying to figure out the possible motives behind that theory and gave up swifty. It wasn't something he needed to be concerned about right now.
"How do we utilize these, then? Well, not we, just you, really," he said in an uncertain, but eager tone. Murray picked up a packet from the stack and tore it open under Mir's widened eyes.
A bread-sized dry piece of meat was revealed within, covered in a layer of edible preservatives. Murray bit down on it and started chewing like a starving man.
"I'll eat as much as I can the next couple days and then get myself tested in the Church to see how far my Infection Rate has risen. Right now, my Extent of Infection is at 28% and my Saturation is at 25%, absolutely optimal for initiating a shot at my first ever mutation. All I have to do is to keep eating until my Infection rises above 38%. More than 10% infection from a single mutated source is enough to guarantee a mutant ability upon successful consolidation."
"Why is your Extent of Infection so low?" Mir asked. The bottom figure for the average adult was 30% and up. A 28% Infection Rate wasn't normal.
"I used the diary to purify myself a couple of times last night after you went to sleep. Purification doesn't affect my Saturated cells, so might as well make room for future growth, yeah? Not a single percent of Unsaturated cells of the body should be wasted!"
"Makes sense," Mir nodded, only to realize he had overlooked the biggest issue in this matter.
"Wait... which mutant animal does this meat come from?!"
"Pocket-Bunny," Murray answered before stuffing the rest of the meat jerky into his mouth.