Diaspora: The Veracity of Need

“No food today. Come back day after tomorrow. Maybe then.” The woman in the gray uniform of the Commissariat of Sustentation held out the ration chit without looking up. Gold threads in the uniform’s piping and insignia flashed with each movement. The dancing bursts of reflected light pulled Jon Hooper’s attention to the gaudy patch—an oriental dragon encircling an eagle holding sheafs of grain in its claws. It was supposed to symbolize the government’s commitment to provide for the people.