In the twenty first century, America passed a crossroads. Some people call it the Second Revolution. Others say it was the Second Civil War. Historians call it the Second Great Depression. Whatever you call it, the United States of America that came out of it had a more efficient economy, and a government with fewer powers to interfere in it, that set the stage for three centuries of unabated American growth. It was difficult but it made us better.
The Cowboys flew with Aneerin’s fleet for most of The War, rotating through almost every ship. The INS Haifa was real memorable. We don’t know why, but there has never been a single case of a Jewish male becoming Ageless, and God blessed those ladies with some seriously superior genes. I considered it my duty as an American Cowboy to improve international relations on that tour of duty.
There are trends that suggest a bias in those who become Ageless. It’s genetic of course. We can’t look at someone and say they will be. We can only say they have a better chance. We don’t know all of the variables yet. But one of the variables is ancestry. There are more Ageless with Celtic blood than of any other genetic group. There are also many American-Indians. Most of the rest are European. There are very few African or Asian Ageless. We don’t know why.
The States and Indian Nations that survived the onset of the Second Great Depression proved the core that the United States of America would be rebuilt around. Their State Guards patrolled the borders, their police and sheriff posses kept the peace, and it was they who moved into the collapsed regions to return order to chaos. It was the surviving States whose economies brought us out of the depression and helped us save Australia when China came calling.
I’m a Scandinavian, three-quarters that we can prove. I don’t know what my grandfather on my mom’s side was. He was one of those paranoid types who thought the government couldn’t be trusted with any information on him, so he didn’t keep any. He disappeared sometime before Contact. No one in the family saw him again. Then after my parents got married, Grandma disappeared too. I hope they’re together now. I’m told she was a real nice lady.