Amidst the criticisms levied at the game for everything from customization to endgame to PvP balance and so on, is a small group of Tabula Rasa fans that have wondered off-hand on several occasions... where is the lore? When the Bane forced the scraps of humanity through that portal from Earth, surely some civilians, some merchants, some politicians remained? The picture of humanity shown while playing Tabula Rasa is strictly military -- there are no large civilian centers (not counting the Cormans, which, as a curious sort of hippie commune, are a special case) that could flesh out the world painted by Richard Garriott and crew. Perhaps this story about children presents an opportunity?
I think the potential for inserting more lore into the game by way of these stories would be a strong asset for player retention. It gives the appearance of constant content creation, with a minimum amount of development or creative time necessary. If I read this story about the children of the AFS on the site, then encounter that gaggle of children running through Foreas Base, it has the effect of instant immersion. I become that much more invested in the world that's created for me, because I'm aware of the nuances that exist within it, even if they don't actually exist within the game itself.
Unfortunately, my supposition is based on the premise that they would actually follow through and insert these little snippets of lore into the game before they posted them on the website. As of writing this, that doesn't appear to be the case. Having combed through Foreas Base myself, I saw no evidence of the children talked about in the story or displayed in the screenshots. I even double-checked on the Public Test Server just to make sure. Now, if they were planning on putting them in at some point during the next patch, then perhaps all the better, but for the time being the situation comes to rest as unexploited potential. Even that is better than no potential at all.
