(...) Why does a wall separate South California from its northern sibling? NUSA officials will tell you it's about ensuring freedom and safety. After all, the first things that come to people's minds when they hear "North California" are shifty nomad families, illegal immigrants and violent criminals of every stripe. They'll say the Wall is necessary for customs officers to prevent smuggling – and we're not just talking drugs. Markets on the rise for trafficking include illegal cyberware (assembled in old hangars), biotech equipment and precious items from orbital stations and lunar colonies.
And I understand that. I can even understand that when you cross the border, you willingly waive your right to privacy, from having your face scanned and registered to your car being tracked by heavily armed drones that transmit your real-time coordinates to a rapid-response defense system in orbit – all on the off-chance you're in fact a terrorist. For the split-second that you go through the security gates, Militech (or whoever won the bid to secure the Wall) won't allow you to forget that you're in a potential warzone. And that's exactly what the Wall is – a REMINDER. A reminder of how fragile peace and the independence of our city is. As a Night Citizen, I see the Wall relatively frequently. Thanks to that concrete monstrosity (there's really no other way to describe it) I always bear the cost of peace in mind. Is that good? Bad? You decide for yourselves.
