The Blue Glow of Control

Inside of domicile #642-B its primary occupant Xavier Bragfield sat working at his desk, perpetually bathed in the dulling blue light of his mandatory devices. He was a sensor technician with the Ministry of Environment; it was his job to monitor the various sensor arrays that exist throughout the city. The majority of his time was spent remotely plugged into a vast network of control systems, but on rare occasions he would have to go on-site for some form of physical verification. This gave Xavier access to the various compartmentalized areas of the city at times, including on two occasions being escorted to the outer edge; to the imposing 40m high barrier that surrounded their lives just as it surrounded the long greenhouse structures that encircle each city and divorced the whole of their society from the rest of the planet; beyond this all one could see was a deserted and desolate wasteland. Travel between cities was restricted to only the highest levels of government authorization.

With his work day now over Xavier’s face fell into his palm, the pressure against his eyes combined with the rubbing motion felt both necessary and necessarily welcome. It was the closest thing to pleasure and relief he knew, and in that short-lived instant he caught a fading glimpse of the contentment, peace and happiness that was possible in this life. It almost seemed as if the more he rubbed the closer he got to it. He immediately brushed the feeling aside, as it was very dangerous nowadays to outwardly express such things. He was very tired, but he always was, as he tried to remember a time when he felt positive, or felt safe or secure, felt peace in the present, or hope for his future… or had he lived his entire life feeling this way; sedated and drained. As he sat starring at this inquiry he instinctively reached to his chest and pawned at the locket that swung about his neck, the one that he had kept hidden from the world since he was a teenager.

He exhaled slowly as he rose from his desk, trying to chase back the fear and apprehension that he felt on a daily basis. He fell into his bed and closed his eyes, the blue hue of reality engulfing even the darkness of night, his mind withdrawing into itself as he was taken back into his youth, to many years ago when the world was a different place. He thought of the camping trips he took as a child and desperately tried to recall the absolute darkness of nature and its natural rhythms. He was immediately snapped back to reality with the notification of an incoming video call, and then blue again. “Hi Xavier” a females defeated voice echoed across its digital medium, “Just seeing how you are doing, we haven’t spoken in a while. I hope you are well.” The voice belonged to Leah, indeed a rarity in modern times, a childhood friend. She too remembered the distant memory of how life used to be and that past was their tie to each other.

He took a deep breath and sat up, the ticker tape of headlines and public service reminders inundated his senses as he sat motionless on the bed. “Are you okay?” she sincerely asked, “I’m good, it’s just that I’ve been working very long hours as of late, as a result of this upcoming aid package to Torontoria, and I’m tired Leah”. She genuinely reacted and whispered wistfully, “Aren’t we all”. Staring at each other they both realized their folly, and that they had to engage in the subterfuge that was expected of them. She began immediately, “We are all working extra to provide aid to our fellow communities; hopefully with our hard work they can soon get the help that they need.” He sat there still starring at her, as if pleading with her for acceptance of his decision, while still trying to remain self-censored for her benefit, “Is there even a Torontoria Leah, how do we even know?” Leah said nothing and only stared at him with concern and love, holding back the torrent of tears she wanted so desperately to unleash upon the world. “I’m sorry Leah” Xavier immediately gestured “Like I said, I’m tired and not thinking straight. Please forgive me, I need to rest. I will be in touch with you later alright, we’ll talk then”. He paused and added matter of factly “I love you Leah”. She said nothing and simply stared at the only friend she had ever known, while he ended their call.

He lay sprawled out on his bed, the fear and apprehension within him was growing exponentially. He lay in silence, awaiting what may or may not come. The inevitable leaped into his mind, but there was a delayed reaction, it took him a moment to register what he was seeing and hearing, it felt surreal and detached. A large red background appeared on his screen, the lights inside the items within his domicile began to rapidly flash, and he was looking at a picture of himself. Gazing at the implications of his face on the screen, it took him a second to realize that it had changed and that he was being addressed; “Xavier Bragfield, this is Constable Brown with the Londonium Police Service. You have been flagged for questioning in relation to an investigation into potential political crimes. Remain in your domicile. You have five minutes to apply your PPE and place yourself in the kneeling position.” It was forbidden to be outdoors without authorized protective gear, “Any non-compliance will result in a hard entry and possibly the loss of life. Do you understand?”

He shook the cobwebs from his brain as he swiftly rose and uttered “I understand”. As he was putting on his protective gear he could hear the speaker provide the following warning as the light of the assault drone hovering a few feet from his window burst into the room; "All systems access has been revoked at this time, your network activity has been downloaded to the Ministry of Justice for analysis and review. This includes, but is not limited to, any devices or appliances attached to the network, or any data or communication facilitated by the network, any RFID data, locational, medical, financial and purchasing data. Do you understand?”

While kneeling with his hands behind his head, he somehow managed to spit out “I understand and I am compliant”. His door was thrown into a mass of shards as it came crashing in, following it were several heavily armed men. “Xavier Bragfield?” one of the men asked as he grabbed his elbow lifting him to rise. He nodded. They walked him to the space where his door used to be and stood him there while they inspected the premises, “What do we have here then Mr. Bragfield?” one of the officers demanded. He had pulled out a small collection of books from a drawer, ones that Xavier had had since he could remember, and an accompanying photograph that lay between the pages. It was a picture of himself (8yrs) and his brother (10yrs) in a small clearing, surrounded by green foliage, sitting by a fire…smiling. “You do realize that according to the Historical Artifact Act these items must be turned over to the state in order to preserve our human heritage and culture for future generations” Xavier said nothing. “I have never heard of any of these titles but I am going to assume that they are unauthorized contraband material. Who are Thomas Paine, Herodotus, Solzhenitsyn, or Plato and why do you have them?” Before he could reply the butt of his gun struck Xavier in the stomach sending him to the ground. “I’m not going to ask again Mr. Bragfield, where did you get these?” Through his labored breath he barely managed to state “They were my father’s”. The officer glanced at the picture again and broke off his engagement, he relayed the following; “Dispatch this ERT104, reporting update on political crime suspect Xavier Bragfield. Suspect is in custody and is enroute to central facilities. Added are five counts unauthorized possession of historical material, please update accordingly” The screen replied “Roger that 104, update noted, you are clear for RTB”.

Upon walking in to the Ministry of Justice he came to a desk with a staff sergeant and a sign; Intake. Above the desk hung the state’s legal emblem and its motto “Justice is a property of society, not any individual member.” Xavier was quaking but stood tall facing the intake sergeant as he confirmed his identity to him. The sergeant continued but stopped abruptly and asked what Xavier had around his neck. Another officer leaned in and tore the heart shaped locket from him and examined it. He read the inscription aloud, “You are your own person…I love you. – Mom.” The officers stared at each other for a prolonged moment until one of them snarled “Your TPS hearing hasn’t even started yet, plus five additional counts, now this! Get this selfish piece of dirt out of here. I doubt we’ll ever see you again. Good riddance, enjoy life outdoors pal…Room 17.” He had hid that locket around his neck for the last forty years, but it was alright, the message had time to sink in.

A young but lethargic man walked through the door with three uniformed officers. He had a tablet with him that he kept scrolling across and barely looked over it to acknowledge Xavier’s presence “Mr. Bragfield, my name is Michael Shaw and I am your state appointed legal advisor. It is my duty to counsel clients in relation to the proceedings against them, which appear to be twofold in your case. One is the six counts of unauthorized possession for the items found during the search of your domicile, and two, much more seriously, is the upcoming TPS hearing - a TPS hearing being, of course, to determine if you pose a ‘threat to public safety’. If you are found to be a threat to the public you will be…exiled forthwith. Do you understand?” Xavier nodded. He knew where he was going; it has been his final destination for years, he always knew a slow death awaited him in the desolate uninhabitable wasteland outside the city.

The advisor continued on, “Now, what are we dealing with here?” he questioned himself as he brought Xavier’s particulars from his tablet to a screen on the wall, his picture and the following appeared;

Name: Xavier Jeremy Bragfield

Location: Section D-4, Bldg J79, #642-B

DOB: 03/18/2011

52yr – Caucasian - orgM – idenM – Het – O0

D3 – OS5 – A3 – J2 – R4 – SD3 - TA0

“Ok, so we have 52 years old, not quite old enough to warrant ageist protections, we have an original male who identifies as such, so you cannot claim gender protection, you are heterosexual with no offspring, you do have a disability level of 3 though, which is in your favor, you have an online security level of 5 and access level of 3, this also works in your favor, you are hard to replace. I see here that you have a judicial level of 2 in relation to previous minor offences for violations of the verbal civility and the essential purchasing acts, no major cause for concern there. You have a remuneration level of 4, which is frowned upon as personal accumulation is not beneficial to society, and lastly you have 3 social demerits against you, which isn’t too bad. All in all Mr. Bragfield exile, in my view, is wholly dependent upon the findings of the TPS hearing…good luck.” He swiped his screen and left the room, the officers followed. He knew that the proceedings were rigged, but he didn’t care. He was looking forward to experiencing the absolute darkness of nature again, even if only for one night.