"A newborn child bear no sins."

--Gol D Roger

The truth is: Nothing intelligently designed is designed intelligently. It takes failure and iterative prototyping to create something worth anything. That's what evolution is. But evolution is slow, tolerable. You'd never know that you were affected by it, how you have changed compared to your fellow man. This system is immediate and very visible.

I was born in year 40. I'm told my mother was born in year 20 a cycle ago, and her mother in year 49 two cycles ago. My cousin was born in March of 49 last cycle. I will never forget my aunt over those 9 months. She seemed happy, yet the melancholy of inevitability hung over us all. On January 1st of 0, this cycle, some were transferred up, some down, some not at all. My aunt wasn't transferred. But every child under two (and most under 6) was immediately transferred to Earth 1. I don't know how my cousin's doing, but she's probably well taken care of. I've heard (though, the source of the rumor is unknown) that disease and pain don't exist in Earth 1, that there are no problems at all. But I know how my aunt is doing.

There are infinite of stories of people losing loved ones who fly or fall. Families infinitely broken and torn apart every 50 years. People recount their grandparents tales of never knowing their own parents. Some people prefer it that way. Its become quite the debate: As a parent, should you take care of your children by guaranteeing they get into Earth 1 if possible, but never see them again? Or is it more ethical to avoid sending your children to paradise but to give them a family instead? The inverse has been known to happen as well. Parents making it to Earth 3 while their 10 year old is left here, or even drops to Earth 5.

Almost no one ends up where they belong. And it takes generations to move from the top to the bottom or visa versa, since the maximum possible number of transfers per person is three. Someone born on 4 like me? If I'd behaved perfectly my entire life, I'd never even see Earth 1. I'd be stuck at 2. But my cousin, god bless her, is in 1, having never made a conscious choice in her life prior to arriving there. And my aunt? She's not on any Earth. Hasn't been since February of 0, this cycle.