Amber felt like killing something today. It was clear from her eyes; already a startling blue, on days like these they seemed to glow with mischievous ambition. She slipped into her crisp white lab coat and snapped on sterile gloves, humming.

I lurked, watching her as I prepared for the day's operation. Amber's intelligence had granted her a Class-A Upgrade, which made it impossible to take my eyes off her. The Upgrades turned humanity into the perfect race, snipping out genes for depression, dementia, and delicate nailbeds, but Class-As were given physical Upgrades, too, so that everyone's subconscious would be drawn to their genius. Amber had high cheekbones, a symmetrical face, a body free of scars. It felt like she was hypnotizing you.

"Come on, John," Amber said with a smile that warmed whatever speck of my soul she hadn't stolen yet. "Today's a good day. I just got the media report; slender waists are in style for Upgrade-Renewals this season, so we're gonna look into cracking and re-fusing the ribcage for that vogue look."

I grabbed the bag with the bonesaws and chisels and followed Amber through heavy metal doors. Beds lined both sides of this room, each with a sedated patient, faces innocent in sleep. Most were rough-around-the-edges; none had Upgrades.

Amber pointed at one near the door; a young woman with bruises across her body. "She's not very good quality; best use her for the first clinical trial, so we don't feel bad about playing around."

I wheeled her into the operating room and inserted an IV, trying not to think about who this woman was, what she'd be after the operation. She had a note in the pocket of her hospital gown, which was unusual; she must've been a patient before being selected for the program. It read, 'Get better soon, my love. The kids and I miss you.' My throat constricted. This woman wasn't beyond saving, but Amber was going to kill her, and I was a key player in her murder games.

Amber entered the room, still humming. "Ready to start?" she asked with a smile that softened my worries into clay and sculpted them into acceptance. Maybe that's how it was meant to be; the weak following the brave, the beautiful. Who was I to question the Upgrades?

All I knew is that I would kill to see that smile again. "I'm ready."

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.