'Crowd Control,' part 6: Death you can believe in

"Crowd Control: Heaven Makes a Killing," CNET's crowdsourced science fiction novel written and edited by readers, continues. To read past installments, learn more about the project or see our contributor list, visit the digital table of contents. The headlines on Meta's screens were uncharacteristically ominous in the weeks leading up to his final certification at the academy. Discussions in classes were more easily derailed by questions about the future of interversal trade and immigration asked by students who just weeks earlier were more likely to be drooling or snoring through sessions that were largely remedial, a last chance to catch up. "I don't understand why we can't just offer more positions to the subs," Zulema shouted in frustration during one class, surprising her fellow students with her use of a derogatory term for migrants. "Yea, we need help now," echoed Nara.