Project 070

Prologue:
The year is 2065. The global population has reached critical limits and total chaos has erupted across vast swathes of the globe. Entire countries have been swallowed and destroyed by economic collapse, social regression and the epidemic of a virus known as Ragnarok. There are 3 designated safe zones left in the world that are free from infection and considered to be the last bastions of hope for the survival of mankind. The largest, here in Japan, is Sector 7. There is another large zone in England and a smaller one in Canada. These zones were made, protected and controlled by the union of The E.U and The U.N councils in a last attempt to preserve order. Ultimately, there goal was to create areas of safety for many of the worlds’ brightest and best to live until a cure for the disease was found. That was over 40 years ago and very little has changed since then.

My name is Etsuyo Kochi. I am a 17 year old female operative and I have been a part of the government organisation known as, Iconoclast Project, for the past 11 years. My official role is to delegate and resolve situations revolving around and concerning government officials and persons of vital importance to the security of humanity. Unofficially, I kill people.

My story only really began when I was 4 years old. My mother was killed in a car accident with me in the backseat. I don’t remember any of it but I’m told that she died quickly. My father was a government man so wasn’t around much. When he heard of my mothers’ death he shot himself. I was left without any family and was placed in foster care. In 2 years I was moved around to 5 different families because none of them could handle me. I was labelled a problem child and the government assumed responsibility for me and I was placed into the Iconoclast Project. The first 3 years of my time there I was subjected to rigorous testing with mental and physical training a part of my daily routine. By the age of 10 I was broken and reformed into everything that they needed me to be.

My story is about to be cut short but I couldn’t let everything I know be stricken forever. I’ll start from as far back as I can remember.

Chapter 1: Unbridled Aggression

My earliest memory is of when I was 5 years old. I had just moved in with my 3rd foster family. They seemed like kind, gentle people. They always looked after me and tried to get me to do my best. But for some reason I had all this pent up anger and I just unleashed on them whenever they tried to make me do something I didn’t want to do.

“Etsuyo, please, come sit with us and try drawing something”. My foster mother Miyumi was always smiling, no matter how much of a pain I was. She had adopted many children over the years and seemed to know how to deal with all kinds of people.

“NO! I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!”

“And you can, just after you do some of the calming exercises we taught you. Please Etsu?” She always had a way with words that tugged at me to listen but I never quite gave in. There were 2 other children still living in the house that she’d adopted. Noriko, a beautiful 15 year old girl and her twin brother, Noriaki. Noriko was an elegant genius. She was top of all her classes and took dance after school. Noriaki was incredibly athletic and excelled in every sport he tried. They were the perfect children. What made them even worse was that they were always happy and polite. Needless to say, they were the total opposite of me.