Kids in the NEST

I'm kind of surprised we're not killing each other. Actually, I was surprised we weren't killing each other before the event, now I'm absolutely astonished.

Moving into this deathtrap wasn't my idea. My husband thought it would be good for the kids. Close proximity to other children, band new schools, money not spent on the car could be invested in stuff for them. Yeah, we and a few thousand other parents all had the same idea. None of the architects did, however.

Frankly, the argument could be made that a tar-paper shack with no indoor plumbing is better than this. At least there they can go outside and have some idea that the world exists, and they'd have all the guns they want.

Stop Laughing! You think this is funny? That I'm just exaggerating. Let me tell you. Most of the apartments are just designed as a place to sleep, maybe eat a bit or watch some TV. But your living room - that is what the hallway outside is for, they think you can do anything you want in the spaces outside. Well what about homework - you want them to do it in an arcade, a business district, the mall? What if someone gets sick - one kid gets sick and in a tiny little box, they all get sick.

Friendly atmosphere they say, quick police response times they say. No traffic to hold up emergency calls. Bull-- If someone's beating up my kid, I want a response now, not an officer running to the scene five minutes later. I don't care what they say about community and good intentions - when there are that many thousand people around, some of them are going to be deviated perverts and I want a gun to deal with them. But are there firearms allowed in here? No! F-ing national guard has machine-guns and anti-aircraft missiles on floor eighty-five, but I can't have my .38?

You've got hundreds of kids per floor, walking distance or a few stairwells from anything. Both parents are probably working to afford the rent on the tiny little boxes we are stuck in. Not like that isn't a mix leading to a delinquency problem or gangs.

Of course right now, we don't have money - we've got energy credits. Whose idea was that? It was hard enough to keep kids in 500 square feet when they could sit down and play videogames. What are they up to now?

What are they up to now? Janacie! Jake! Where did you go? MotherF-- excuse me. I've got some children to find.