Generation Neon

The following is unfinished & WIP

**This article was written to satisfy Prompt 30 of Summercamp 2021.**

**Final writing, polish and accompanying images will come later.**

Aka: Gen Neon. Gen Neo. The Neon. The Neo. Nn.

Generation Neon is the youngest of the Four Gens. They were born April 18th-20th, 2892 and thus are infants only 6 months old at the current date. They are first people to be born post-discovery of the Laruian Dimension who would be capable of entering it and thus attaining power as a Tethered. Gen Scion, the next youngest, were five years old at the time of discovery and while many were still subjugated to forced childhood tethering for an early access to power, none were bred specifically for that purpose. This isn't the case for The Neon. Interdimensional researchers who designed the portals were able to predict energy fields needed for future people to enter, and Neon was the next prediction. The theory proved valid... through of course some very unethical testing of bringing infants born within that predicted date range (and just around it) through the portal to see if they'd survive. But that's the reality of these babies. They will be by far the most populous tethered so far... because this time people could plan these pregnancies and births for this date. There have been all manner of wild conspiracy theories and accusations at the full range of institutions, corporations, governments, and even families going to extremes to try to plan a baby to be born within this rage. Everything from quiet forced pregnancies to imprisoned, test tube babies, critically early c sections, mass kidnappings and infant disappearances. It seems governments and private agencies alike have agreed that whomever obtains the most Neon children whom they can fill their ranks with will be the most powerful in coming decades.. and they aren't wrong. This has also led to families and cities doing everything they can to hide and disguise Neon infants from the world. Lying about birth dates was already common to protect children in Gen Sci but with Neon the stakes are raised even further. A mother would be wise to burn any birth record of a happenstance Neon birth, and tell the child they were born March, otherwise they might just vanish from their room one night, enslaved by someone. Taken forever. Generation Neon are the very first people to be specifically bred and raised to become powerful tethered from their very conception.