The main force that caused this world to become dystopian was over population with not enough/totally draining all available natural resources
This issue was supposedly solved by the Soulmate System
The pairs are decided by the Heart, the supercomputer mentioned earlier
The computer has data on every individual in the Confines picked up by the total surveillance done by the Watchers and other, unknown sources throughout the city
Using the information, it matches the compatibility of everyone within a 3 year age range of each individual and picks the person with the highest compatibility to be that individual’s soulmate
This does leave some people Unpaired
The Unpaired
It is very bad to be an Unpaired
People are unpaired when everyone who has a higher compatibility with them has higher compatibility with someone else
In order to make the Soulmate cut, a pair’s compatibility must be a percent of 80 or greater
Those who are Unpaired, are killed on the Day of Rapport
The Day of Rapport
It is considered a holiday in the Confines
It is the day everyone who turned an undefined age (aka I never decided it) goes to what is basically the Confines equivalent of Times Square in NYC and their pairs get announced along with the home the Council gifts them
Free housing at the price of a government mandated relationship
The event is commonly seen as a form of entertainment– mostly to the Watchers– and is live streamed to the whole city
It is also run by the Watchers for the most part
The candidates are sharply watched for reactions about their pairing
If the reaction is in any way negative, it results in both people getting publicly executed right there
This often causes a lot of “Clears” and “Circuits” praying to not be stuck together due to the prejudice on both sides
It also causes a lot of people to not pursue earlier relationships in fear of being paired with an ex
If a person’s pair is younger than them, they have to attend the next year’s Day of Rapport and can continue with their normal life until then OR live in the government provided housing until their soulmate moves in with them after the next Day of Rapport
To most people on the streets, this day is dreaded entirely and many people have tried to end the soulmate system to no avail
As mentioned earlier, if soulmate pairings show any dislike towards their bond in public, they are to get shot and killed for disobeying the Heart
Notes:
I might make another work that's Mumbo's research journal so the info is still part of the story... maybe...
