...The five of us were making better time than we expected. About 3 miles south the plant life started to ease up. Another couple and there was almost none left. Just wide open fields, all flooded about 2 feet deep. marshland. at least a mile across. We couldn't tell how far along the horizontals it went. Farther than we could see. We were a people who knew very little about our own countries terrain.
Growing up, we were aloud to leave the Protectorate only with purchased "Vacationeer" passes. Everything they supplied us with was patronizing and cold. It came from the top. The passes were given out in a lottery , but could also be purchased for a price higher than any Harrison Pharm. employee could ever afford. At least they gave us he illusion of liberty. Once you had one of these passes, you were assigned an "Adventure Post" . That was a protected group of campsites about a mile outside of the Protectorate. Now as a kid, this drive through the jungle which took no time at all, still seemed to land us in a completely foreign world. At least they created the illusion of adventure. No one who grew up in Harrison Pharm. knew shit about Cambodia. That was no accident.
We all stood there and took it in for a second. I had never seen anything like this in my life, and it had been a three day walk from where I was born. Artcher too had been inside the protectorate his whole life. Anna had taken part in rescuing "Lost Citizens". (really this was capturing escaped citizens trying to get out of the country without the two tons of paperwork it would normally require. Not to mention 80% of submissions were denied.) They performed operations outside the protectorate often, and she had a decent lay of the land. Just from maps which she was never allowed take home. Dyrell had no idea where he was. He was the first to un -freeze and start wading across the mire. We joined in.
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