It's been three years since the dome closed. I saw it all happen; I saw everyone taken away. It all happened so fast, I saw them march through OUR streets and take away anyone who wouldn't comply or could dream. I saw parents hide their children, in a last-ditch effort to save them. I was one of those kids, still being searched for. They still tell us what's past it, even though we all know, well those of us who can remember.

Most of us over the age of 40 have been dealing with the aftermaths of the corporate takeover of 2025. And those of us largely under 16, have been living under overhangs or behind buildings, just hoping they won't see us while we sleep. I've seen way too many of us put into the system. Speaking of the system, my friend got sent into one of them, we found him a few weeks later but he was different. Those buildings do something to people. We all have our own theories, but after seeing some of the people come out none of us wanted to go into the buildings to find out.

Those of us that were forced into the buildings were never the same. They all acted so robotic, lifeless almost. It's sad, if I'm being honest, having my friends taken so that some bigger entity can have their perfect society void of thoughts and dreams. A society where everyone who can think was either sent away in the drafts or sent into the system, just to become another cog in the machine that is OUR society. What was once a perfect community torn apart by greed and corporate shells who could care less about people dying so long as they made more money.

Once they got a taste of wealth and power, any of us who wouldn't join them were forced to. Those who wouldn't went into hiding like me. And those like me have one golden rule...... DON'T BE SEEN.

CBC Books asked students to give us a glimpse of the great Canadian novel of the year 2174. They wrote the first page of a book set 150 years in the future, with the protagonist facing an issue that's topical today and set the scene for how it's all playing out in a century and a half.

Two winning entries — one from the Grades 7 to 9 category and one from the Grades 10 to 12 category — will be chosen by middle-grade author Basil Sylvester.

They are the co-author of the middle-grade novel The Fabulous Zed Watson and the recently published second book in the series, Night of the Living Zed.

Both winners will receive a one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis. In addition, each winners' school libraries will receive 50 free YA books.

Last year's winners were Christian A. Yiouroukis for his story Where the Maple Leaf Grows and Bee Lang for their story One Question.

The winner will be announced on CBC Books on June 12, 2024.