Conformity vs. Individuality

Kayla Reed's seventeenth birthday has arrived, and with it the mystery of the bar code tattoo. With pressure from both sides, Kayla is still unsure of whether or not to go through with the transformation. She is even more uncertain after a chance meeting with Mfume who directed her towards a magazine called "DeCode" which is entirely against the bar code tattoo. She is also unquestionably worried about her mother's current state, now that she has added drugs to her drinking regime.

"This morning, postal worker Gene Drake, 28, was lethally gunned down by Global-1 security guards who opened fir after Mr. Drake destroyed equipment and threatened customers in the Putnam Central Post Office. Mr. Drake was employed at the post office where he recently began administering the bar code tattoo."

What had spun Gene Drake over the edge? Kayla knows he had been tightly wrapped as of late, but was a nice and friendly guy, someone she had enjoyed talking to. Just what had forced him to take these seemingly insane actions? Finally Kayla begins to break down, sobbing for the loss of her father and now for her friend Gene. With the loss of her mother's nursing job, Kayla goes on a job hunt of her own, but every place turned her down but one. Kayla feels as if she is in a continuing downward spiral, the cause of which you can only guess. Feeling sorry for herself, Kayla wanders the clubbing area of town when she hears forbidding footsteps behind her, and begins to run.