Explanation of The Proving Zone 

Everyone knew the history of the Proving Zone.  It was an area which had been set aside centuries ago when the burgeoning number and nature of people were determined to be a curse both to the planet and mankind.

Indiscriminate childbearing, coupled with the very human desire to save and nurture everyone, had taken its genetic toll.  No longer did only the strongest and fittest survive. When a weakening in the human gene pool had been scientifically confirmed, studies were implemented to find solutions to both problems.

The result was a social agreement all the world's peoples could understand and embrace.  It was decided that all who wished to procreate must pass a test.  The test would not be devised by humans, but by the planet.  One of the largest dead zones was given over for the location.  No electronic, magnetic, or other scientifically advanced instrument worked in a dead zone.

            After ratification of the pact by the World Congress on Over-Population, implants rendering citizens sterile were surgically placed in all persons at eight years of age.  Only a successful trek through the dead zone, now officially known as the Proving Zone, could get the implant removed.

At first, there were a few who attempted implant removal without authorization.  Attemptees earned immediate death sentences.  The codes allowing safe removal were held under the strictest security.  Any healer caught using the codes in an unauthorized manner was sentenced to having their genitals permanently damaged.  Compliance was assured as common sense prevailed.

At one time explorers had combed the Zone.  None could find enough quantity of anything of value to make exploitation of the natural mineral, vegetative, or animal resources worth the risks.  Even the climate proved unstable.  The Zone ranged from tropical forests to desert valleys.  With both flood and fire as common hazards, only the foolhardy or the suicidal went there.  But that was before the World Congress Pact on Population Quantity and Quality.  Now couples regularly left the two terminals, separated from each other by three hundred miles, one for females, another for males, to start the one-thousand-mile trek to Randar. 

            The rendezvous point, Randar, was a small but fearless town catering to the necessities of the Zone.  Survivors, upon arrival, must have their identities confirmed.  Medical aid would be administered and family notified if requested.  All the necessary amenities for documenting and rendering safe medical removal of the implants were available.

Survivors chose their own schedule and left when ready to rejoin civilization and start their families.  Anyone could be married or help raise children, but only those who had proven themselves by surviving the Zone could create children.

            Families quickly realized that the surest way to continue their line was unrelenting attention to health.  Mental and physical fitness training were stressed, along with an obvious need to scrutinize other families for positive genetic material in possible mates.

Eventually, the trend toward small families split by miles and separate interests began to reverse.  They evolved into large families, with extended family living and working together in small, almost feudal, holdings.  The pact worked well, keeping the human population healthy and at a manageable number to guarantee survival of the species.

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