Class

-What it means to be Myraician-

"Oh, that poor child!" "Don't stair, Dear." "I herd they can feel you watching them." "Nonsence, third classers can't feel anything." "Hush now, both of you. Honestly, making such a fuss, you'd think we were one of them." And with their heads held high in perfect first class nature the women passed the third class mother and child, hardly affording them a glance as they went about their important high-class busniess.

I am first class, how 'bout you? Look into my eyes, you're first class too! To be nearly half as good as you and me how many second classers must there be? 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8... -adapted from a Myraician Jump rope rhyme-

What is class? Well, put simply it's what kind of eyes you have, and there for how powerful you are, and where you stand in the society. There are, of course, any number of classes on Myraisia, but in society structure it is broken down into four major groups, or classes. The High Class, the First Class, the Second Class, the Third Class, and the Fourth Class.

Instead of announcing "It's a Girl!" when a Myraician child is born, the proud parents exclaim "She has blue eyes!" Eye color is the second most important thing in a young Myraician's life, the first being class. Most birth announcements have spaces for, 'name' 'birth date' 'class' 'eye color' 'sex' and ocationally 'size' and 'birth weight'.

"Keep your head up, Sweetie." "Ahy am!" "Don't fidget." "It's itchy." Katara sighed. How little her presious daughter knew. She knelt down beside her and spitting descreatly on a napkin rubbed young Ebbony's cheek. "Mo-ther!" Katara smiled. "You're beautiful, my dear." "You spit on my face like a second classer!" "Well, your acting like one, fidgeting like that. Here, let me fix this." She ajusted the ribbon on Ebbony's dress. "I'm presenting you to the councel for the first time and I have to make a good impression, do you understand?" Ebbony sighed, she did not understand. "Yes mother." she said softly.

High Class Ebbony and her mother are both High Class. When a high class child reaches the age of five they are broght to the capital for 'apraisial', where they are shown before the high councel and acknowlaged as a high class citizon. **How do you know a first classer?** *their eyes are very bright and glow like tiny suns *they are very powerful, and to other Myraicians radiate power or electricity. *they dress in very expencive "Upper class" cloths. The High Class is the highest ranking amoung the classes. High class citizons are elegable to be part of the high council, and thier children attend the best schools and have the most functions. High-Classers live in better neighborhoods, mainly with only high and first class neighbors. They would be comparable to the very rich in our society as far as money and posesions go, but High Classers also have a cirtain status, eqivalent to that of a princess, duke, or dutches during midevil times.

Brett: Hey, Daim'. How many third classers does it take to change a light bulb? Damion: Now what would a third classer be doing with a light bulb?

"Oh, Casy! Your neighborhood is so second class!" "Hey, I can't help where my Taikei* parents wanna live!" "No worries. Heh heh, it suits you." "Oh what-ever!" One common insault for Myraician children and adolesents is to say that they, or a parent, is of a lower class. *Taikei- Taikei is the term Myraicians use for the state of evolution when they had no powers and were much like humans are today. Casy uses the term to say that her parents are "prehistoric" or "old fasioned", it is used often to mean much the same thing as "Neandrathoal"

First Class Nearly ninety precent of Myraicians are either first or second class. Most often the first and high class are grouped together (because the difference between the two really isn't that big) and the third and fourth class are grouped together. First Classers are equivalent to what in our society is upper and upper-middle class. They live in fairly nice three and four bedroom houses, ueually with two stories, and make quite a lot of money. They are very powerful, with wo toned single color eyes. How do you know a first classer: *Very bright, glowing, two-toned mono-chrome eyes. *They are very powerful (you'll know if you are ever got by one) *They dress very nice, but common place (not extravagent) and act much like normal uppermiddleclass people. First Classers demand respect, they go to first-class schools (much like American privet schools) and have mostly first calss friends. Although the first class are extreamly more powerful then the second class the extent of first class powers varies greatly, as well as the extent of first-class wealth and posperity. However, nearly all first-classers DO do quite well for themselves.

Second Class For thousands upon thousands of years those born with weaker powers have been grouped into a second class of people, people with less rights (and less money) then the higher firsts and high classes) they depend heavily on public transportation, and often live grouped together in heavily populated areas away from the higher classes. For thousands of years Second classers have been belived to be 'less smart' and 'less impotant' then the first class, and it is a self forfilling proficy. As the second class children atend worse schools, and take tremendos blows to their self esteem they learn, at an early age, to belive in the age old steryo-types. Second-Classers have: **Bright eyes, with a strong solid color on the out side and a black center. **Useually used cloths, (overalls, jeans and a tea shirt, etc), but they do their part in keeping clean. **If you are got by a second classer it should be easy to un-get yourself, their powers feel "diluted", and there is no obvious glow.

A Pretty nice second class home. Most are in the middle of big cities, and nearly half as large.

...I left in a tralda1 late in the afternoon. Nancy fallowed behind for as far as she could run, but she has very short legs and soon became no more then a small speck against the distent horizon. At the time I was filled with excitement and eger antisapation, not only was I headed for the capital, but this was, in fact, the first time I had ever been away from my Home in Natal.... ...Ours is a simple community, full of simple people, I had never in my life seen one [a first-classer], except on TV but then that doesn't really count now does it, and yet I was sure that that was what I was looking at. As sure as a blind man knows he is faceing the sun. They were beautiful, eyes shining like rainbow hued beakons in the night, and each one dressed as if they were atending a formal party as the guest of honor. The ladies in silk dresses that rustled and clung to their legs as they walked, and the men in clean suits and nit seaters in rich shades of their own color.... .....When I reached the capital I was surprized to see people forming two lines. First classers to the right, and us to the left. As I waited in a line I craned my neck to see over the crowd. Now and then when there was a parting in the swarm I could see the first-classers being admited. Tall men in black (that can't be their color, but from this angle I can not see their eyes, so I'm be sure) greeted the people with a hand shake and I watched as they walked two by two threw electronic double doors... ...Finally I reached the head of the line. A short, heavy-set woman greeted me and handed me a pile of forms. Upon filling them out, and they asked for the most intamate details of my life, I was addmitted to another line, a screaning, and a small, crowded room where we waited to be escorted, five at a time, to the great double doors and into the capital... 1 tralda- a form of public transperation, much like a three stroy buss, to take people out of the city. 2 Alitria- Dwelling of the gods. In the excert above it is the name of a fairly well to do first class motel.