BipBip’s Secret Archive

BipBip’s journal,

Date: June 15th, 2050,

The government still pacifies the simple minded by telling them anything against the government is unpatriotic, and that anyone who goes against traditional government values must be sick and should be executed.

Things have always been like this since the dawn of time, but there are more simple minded people now then ever before. I guess they breed faster because the few intellectuals that are left in this world are to busy reading.

The government is rounding up anyone who has ever watched a non-patriotic show that dares criticize the government or even has in their possession a non-government approved book. There are currently only six government approved books. All fiction has been banned, because it “gives people ideas.”

The government has on its staff thousands of Artificially Intelligent robots that help track down anyone who owns a banned book.

For years, I’ve been expanding an underground storage facility and storing old books the government banned and old videos of the news that the government wouldn’t allow to be broadcast because it was treasonous to report any news that made the government look bad or was considered too non-traditional, because anything new, wether it was an idea, a new way of thinking, a personal lifestyle choice, a new pronoun, or a new, more efficient style of government was scary and unacceptable according to the traditionalist and pro-patriotic government. Anything different must go, according to the small-minded elected officials who’ve only ever read things that made themselves feel good from hiding knowledge from others and burning any books that said anything in them other then the alleged truth they wanted to hear.

People who thought outside the box or who were different in any way, shape or form are now deemed terrorists and locked in a cell. In addition to people who spoke against the government, the list of who got locked up included men and women who wear clothing outlawed for their gender, anyone who talked in a voice not suited for their gender, anyone who asked for a different pronoun, and anyone else who was different. This was wrong, and the government must go. But nobody who was against the new government was allowed to run.

Sure, more then one person could run for office, but the two parties who ran against each other had the same exact values. It was like voting for John, or voting for his twin brother Don.

This must end, but it doesn’t look like it will any time soon. More and more people are born to unread families everyday, and even children born into intellectual families didn’t always get educated, for fear of repercussions.

According to the president, people still have freedom of speech, as long as it’s speech that defends the government and its fundamental values. The penalty for speaking out against the government, reading an anti-government book or watching an old video with anti government opinions like the videos I had in my library collection was death.

Anti-governmentism, even if it only seemed like it was anti-government, was now a capital offense.

While the government didn’t know I had a large underground maze filled with thousands of books, old videos and devices to play them on, amongst other intellectual artifacts, they might have inadvertently saw me purchasing a black market book to add to my collection. Knowledge must be preserved at any cost. Instead of attempting to arrest me right then, which would have failed because I always have an escape plan ready, they might have followed me to see where my home was to find any other books I might have.

I just heard them banging on my door a minute ago and have taken my journal and new book to my underground library for safe keeping and so I can continue writing. I would soon blow up my house so they would think I was dead and not come looking for my secret underground library.

I set explosives around the perimeter years in advance in preparation for this day.

I will have to get a new identity, again, and start fresh. I had friends that supported my cause who worked for the Department of Flying Vehicles, or DFV, that would make me a new flying license.

I will find a new place to build a house, and connect a new tunnel to this library to continue its expansion.

I set off the explosives and will let you know if I survive the ordeal. The library must remain hidden, for the sake of humanity and all it has learned. For all who love reading, learning and intelligence, I do this for you!

BipBip’s journal,

Date: June 16th, 2050,

The deafening roar of the explosion rattled the ground beneath me yesterday.

After making sure the door I used was sealed, I made my escape through the hidden tunnel leading away from that portion of the underground library. I felt a pang of sadness as I left behind yet another life, but I knew it was necessary for the greater good.

As I emerged from the tunnel and exited into an older part of the library, I felt cold. It was also very dark in here, the lights having gone out and not been replaced. I haven’t been to the older part of the library in close to a decade. My old house used to be right above this older section, but I had to blow that up too. I was always very careful about being followed, but sometimes the wrong people still saw me anyway.

I walked around the old place, just as impressed with this collection of books as the day I started it.

I was once again awestruck by the vast collection of knowledge that surrounded me. I couldn’t believe I built this, and also managed to keep it hidden all these years.

It was a bittersweet feeling; on one hand, I had successfully preserved the world's knowledge, but on the other, the outside world remained ignorant of its existence, and would remain so for a very long time.

I quickly stashed my journal and new book among the countless other volumes and artifacts within the library, ensuring they were well hidden before making my way to the hidden hover bike. I had prepared this vehicle for my eventual escape and return to the surface, knowing full well that the government's reach was far and wide. I didn’t want to drive a hover car, because I was afraid they would track the plates.

The first place I went was to go get a new identity, and with my new flying license secured thanks to my loyal friend Dave at the DFV, I set off under the name Thomas Paine, leaving behind the smoldering remains of my former life. As the faint glow of the city disappeared on the horizon, I was happy to have quickly found a new place to build a house and start a fresh life. I would apply for a job as a teacher, which was the same job I had before, then connect a tunnel under my new house to one of the chambers of the old library.

I would then build a new chamber under the new house and start another book collection. My work must always continue, for humanity’s future. For us to thrive, our knowledge must survive.

The days that followed were filled with the arduous process of finding people I could trust to build the tunnel. You never knew if someone was a patriot who would turn me in, or an intellectual interested in the pursuit of knowledge. The last crew I hired to build a section of my library had vanished. I didn’t know if they had vanished by choice or if the government had vanished them.

The underground library must expand, and the pursuit of knowledge must endure.

I will end todays journal on a positive note. In my continued quest to preserve knowledge, I am filled with hope that one day, the world will once again embrace the beauty of intellectual freedom and the power of knowledge. Until then, I will remain steadfast in my mission, safeguarding the wisdom of the ages from those who seek to control, suppress or destroy it. Save the books!

Yours truly,

BipBip, A.K.A. Thomas Paine.