Classified, Declassified, Unclassified

First off, apologies for the lateness of this post...its been a hectic week with various things going on.

Regardless without further delay, time to get on with this week's post!

Been brainstorming ideas recently about life in the Iron Collective, already talked about how everyone is viewed as simply being a cog in the machine that is society, how the traditional family does not exist and children are taken by the state, etc. Well this week we're going to talk a bit more about this.

The Collective's education system is built around continuously assessing a child as they develop in order to determine what role they are best suited for, it begins from the moment they are taken in by the state until they become a teenager during whats called the 'Primary Phase'. Upon turning 13 they were put into what is called the Secondary Phase, based upon assessments done during the first Phase they are entered to specialized academies to do the trade training for the role that has been determined for them. Somebody destined to be a soldier in the Iron Guard would enter a military academy, where as somebody destined to be a builder would enter a construction academy. Ultimately the trade that a person is trained for during the Secondary Phase is the trade that they will have for the rest of their life, there is virtually no way of changing it except for perhaps becoming what is called Declassified. Typically Declassification means you've committed a crime, it doesn't matter how severe as the punishment automatically includes losing one's Classification which is near permanent.

Then there is Unclassified.

Unclassification tends to come in two categories; those who have 'failed' the Primary Phase assessments and those deemed 'non-citizens'. Unclassified generally given to those who 'fail' their assessments, that is the assessment were not able to determine a role for the person for various reasons. When this happens the person either has the option of being shipped off to a work camp or what is effectively exile from society, it just depends on how good they are at outrunning the Iron Guard. Some Unclassified end up mixing with the Declassified in the criminal underworld, though mostly in the cities. Other Unclassified strike out for the fringes of the Collective, the border zones where the reach of the central authority is its weakest. It is generally the Unclassified who outsiders interact with as they tend to be the ones trading with the outside world despite the harsh laws against it. The non-citizen Unclassified are generally those who aren't in the system, mostly the Genchi on the Collective's fringes.