Uniformity

“Welcome back to Earth,” the terminals message played.

I wish I was still on the space station, though. There was freedom there.

It was 2184, and Earth was the pinnacle of human innovation and societal evolution, if you believed the governments propaganda.

In our alleged utopia, humanity has eradicated hunger, disease, and war through the harmonious integration of advanced technology and radical social change. Our secret? A society founded on total uniformity, and a chip inserted into the brain.

Everyone wore the same clothing and drove the same cars, therefor nobody could claim they felt inferior to anybody else and would be more focused on their ‘work ethic.’

“It makes the brain perfect,” is how they sold Congress on the chip. The bill easily passed. Then the president signed a law saying everyone had to get a chip in the brain, for “the betterment of society and to make us less violent as a species and more technologically innovative.”

All it did was make us more obedient. We were still a violent species, just on behalf of the government instead of ourselves.

We blindly killed the enemies of our country without mercy or remorse.

“For peace,” the government said. They ‘united the world by force.’

We are one earth now, but all the same culture and beliefs. Everyone else was dead, and our memories of the war was mostly erased.

Those whose memory was strong or came back or had the chips removed before the memory blackout were sent to ‘the homes for the disabled.’

They weren’t disabled. They just remembered what they weren’t supposed to.

Everyone here shares a collective consciousness through an advanced neural network, The Symbiotic Web, or SW. We plug in, the chip is ejected, cleaned and reinserted into us, and the chip allows the government to monitor and control activity through the day. They know everything we think, say and do, and we were supposed to know the same about them for “transparency,” but after the patriot accords were passed, it was “unpatriotic and illegal to monitor any classified government activity, and it was all classified.”

If we were actually disabled or couldn’t work, the chip notified the government, who sent someone over to dispense the proper medication to maximize the efficiency of the disabled. If they couldn’t be efficient because their illness or disability was to severe, they were sent to ‘homes’ so society wouldn’t have to think about them or know they existed. That way, the government can claim, falsely, that “everyone’s got a job to do, unity makes us perfect.”

In other words, “work sets you free.” Anytime anyone repeated this government line, I wanted to punch them.

My name is Talynn D’Angelo. I’m sixteen, and just spent the last three months living on one of many space stations the government had built. It was their ‘perfect solution’ to overpopulation.

Despite the resources used it took to build them, the government allegedly gathered these resources ‘off world.’ Naturally, thanks to the obedience chips, most people believed them.

My chip, thank god, was turned off by a fellow teenager, Timothy, on the station. His chip had been turned off by accident when it lost signal with the central station.

He asked me if I wanted to leave it off and experience freedom, or continue being a government stooge.

Naturally, I left it off.

Before I left, I reminded him that those who don’t plug in are executed. While I had gotten used to my unrestricted freedom, I couldn’t enjoy it if I was dead.

Of course, Timothy had a solution for this, too. A clear plastic chip he made himself that told the government chip everything was working fine while leaving the government chip off.

“I officially love you Timothy,” I told him for helping me circumvent the system.

“Then come back and visit the station often,” he said.

“Or you could come to Earth,” I said.

“And chance the government catching me and putting me to death for not letting them zap my brain with their chip? As beautiful as you are, Talynn, I don’t think so,” Timothy said.

“Well, then, I’ll just have to make sure I come back and see you,” I said.

I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then I left for Earth.

“Attention new arrivals: Before leaving the terminal to return home, plug in. Make sure your chip is turned on, it’s for everyone’s safety and well being.”

Security was watching my parents and I. They wouldn’t let us leave without plugging in.

Timothy had freed them to. I prayed, for all our sakes, his secondary chip worked and fooled their system.

The three of us plugged in. Please, don’t make us obedient slaves today.

The green light lit up.

“Chips are updated. You are a working citizen,” the screens flashed.

We each let out a small sigh of relief, trying not to make it too obvious.

Then again, even if the guards noticed our sigh, informed the government, waited for a response and were given instructions to interrogate us, we’d be long gone by the time they attempted to stop us.

We were driven home in a nice town car.

When we arrived, government agents in cheap black and gray government issued suits were waiting in the front of the driveway.

I had a lump in my throat and a pain in my stomach.

“I’ll deal with them,” my father said.

He got out of the car.

“Hello, gentleman, how can I help you today?” My father asked.

“Some of our citizens on space stations have returned to Earth with technical difficulties. We just want to make sure everything is in order, sir,” an agent said.

“What do you mean technical difficulties?” My father asked.

“We’ll be asking the questions sir. We kindly ask for your cooperation. Lack thereof could be a sign of a faulty chip,” the agent said.

My father smiled and said, “Of course.”

“Who are you most loyal too?” The agent asked.

“The government. They protect us all. For the good of the people,” my father said.

“Good. And if I told you that your wife and daughter were terrorists and a threat to the government and you needed to shoot them for public safety and the protection of your commander in chief, would you?” The agent asked.

“Of course, without a question,” my father said.

“Prove it,” the agent said and handed my father a gun.

“Sorry, what was your badge number again?” My father asked.

“That’s a question. Is your chip malfunctioning, sir?” The agent asked.

“No. I just want to be sure you’re from the government, which we all love so much,” my father said.

the agent flashed his badge.

“You have your answer. Now go shoot your family,” the agent said.

My father started to sweat, walking up to the car as slow as he could.

He opened the door. The car driver stared blankly at father. His chip was clearly still in tact, the murderous conversation didn’t phase him in the slightest.

“Did you guys hear the conversation?” My father asked.

We nodded.

“What’s taking so long? Is everything ok? Are you protecting your government and shooting your family?” The agent shouted.

“Here’s the plan. I’m going to shoot you and miss, then you two scream,” my father said.

“That wasn’t the order, though,” the taxi driver said.

“Shut up,” my father said and knocked the driver in the head. Then he shot the gun at the car seat in rapid succession. Mother and I screamed. Then he shushed us with his finger.

“Play dead,” he said, touched his finger to the drivers head to collect his blood then painted it on us.

He walked over to the agent, handed him the gun, and emotionlessly said “jobs done.”

“I’ll check and see,” the agent said and walked over to the town car.

He looked inside.

“Good work, sir,” the agent said.

“Thank you. For the betterment of society,” father said.

“There’s just one problem. The bullets were blanks. There wouldn’t be blood. Your chip is clearly malfunctioning. We’re going to have to take you and your family to our station for reprogramming,” the agent said.

“No. You can’t do this. This is wrong. People should be allowed to think for themselves. Talynn, Jessie, run,” my father screamed.

We got out of the car but before we got far we were surrounded by agents wearing hover shoes.

“I knew leaving the station was a mistake. Timothy warned me this could happen,” I said.

We were forced into there government issued cars.

I managed to send a text to Timothy explaining what had happened and begged him to someone hack our chips after reprogramming and set us free again before they took my phone away.

Then we were driven to the reprogramming station.

They drove us to a dark, gothic looking government facility.

They sat us down in an interrogation style room.

Three agents came in. One sighed and tapped his finger on the desk.

“Talynn, here’s our plan. We’re going to reprogram your parents to be good little obedient soldiers. Then, just in case there’s any others out there with faulty chips who are considering thinking for themselves, we’re going to publicly hang you for not getting your chip fixed immediately,” the agent said.

My mother gasped and started to cry hysterically.

“Can’t you see how wrong this is?” My father shouted.

“My chip is working just fine, sir. I’m a patriot. You’re traitorous scum. But not for long,” the agent said.

Two agents walked behind my parents and plugged them in.

I started to cry. I hated the government. I just hoped Timothy could help.

They put me in a cell overnight while they arranged for my execution.

The next day, they undressed me and forced me into a humiliating public shower that everyone in the prison soullessly watched.

Please, I prayed to myself, Timothy help us. Free my parents from the chips and help them free me.

I was dressed by the guards and dragged to the gallows.

I couldn’t believe the government would really make a spectacle of me like this, especially in gallows? This was wrong on so many levels, but the people were programmed to soullessly watch.

They put my parents in the front of the crowd.

“Traitor,” my mother shouted.

“Terrorist,” my father said and spit on me.

Despite knowing the agents programmed them to say this, I was still heartbroken.

They tied the rope around my neck.

The executioner made a short speech before pulling the lever to release the rope.

“This rebelious teenager, in an act of terrorism and in defiance of the great government of Earth, protectors of humanity, had not had her chip fixed and thought for herself,” he said. His voice echoed out of speakers.

He pulled the rope. I fell ten feet. The crowd stared soullessly, even my parents, as I choked and my face turned blue.

Right before I stopped breathing completely, I saw my parent’s eyes blink.

Everyone else’s eyes began to blink too.

“Let our daughter go,” my father shouted as my mother ran towards me, but was held back by an agent.

“Let her go, she’s only sixteen,” someone in the crowd said. They all started throwing things.

It was too late for me, though, everything had turned black.

But at least my death wasn’t in vain. Timothy had gotten my message and deprogrammed all the chips somehow.

So now that people saw my death without the brainwashing of their chips, a revolution was afoot!