No More Laughter

I've been alive in this Hell for eighteen years now. But you... you seem new. Maybe I should explain myself, and my world.

My name is Lila Marie Jenson. I suppose I shouldn't say this, but I have no doubt that once I tell you everything you'll be a supporter, maybe even a new recruit. Besides, you have no idea where you are right now, and if you turn out to be against us I highly doubt you'll make it out alive. Actually, it's definite. Maybe the way I'm grinning right now, half-mad and purely devious, is making you nervous. That's a good thing. Anyway, I'm an Undesirable. I'm not going to tell you why, because I've just met you and it's too personal for that. However, just know that it's subtle enough for me to have gotten past all the checkpoints in life. Actually, going against what is already established would make anyone an Undesirable, so I suppose everyone here falls under that category.

I'd like to change the subject now, please. You're very confused; I can practically smell it. You're not from here. I guess that maybe you're from the past, or a distant future, or a different world. I don't know. But let me tell you how all this started.

In World War II, the War to End All Wars, the Axis Powers beat out the Allied Forces. From what we've gathered, since the winners write the history books, the truth is that Germany, Italy, and Japan all came together and made a plan. They used U-Boats that ran on Auto-Pilot and framed the Russians. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, there's a history book. We've corrected all the lies.

They let us all keep our languages after they won. That was the only thing we were allowed to keep. Then again, we were also forced to learn German, Italian, and Japanese in school, and every person in the world must be able to speak all three fluently.

A lot of the people here are American, because we're stationed in America. We're quite literally an underground organization. Most of us are Undesirables, because it's much easier in America for Undesirables to hide what they are because of the botched immigration system. You have no idea how grateful most of us are for the bad spellings of names of our immigrant ancestors. Others of us acquired Black Market passports or got on a stolen ship or plane and came here by the masses. We are probably the largest Resistance group in history, unless you count the American Revolution. I and many others have saved books, flags, newspapers, clothing, items... anything we could, from being burned, so we have quite a large collection here. We're all pretty grateful for it, because it's nice to know things.

So, you want to know the state of the world? It's pretty harsh... Well, alright. Geez, you're pretty curious. Sometimes it's best not to ask questions.

Okay, so basically people get randomly pulled aside, and if they don't have their papers and a sufficient amount of money with them, they are shot. No one complains, because if they do, they're next. Places are bombed sporadically if there's even the slightest rumor that there are Undesirables, but since we came along the bombing's been much more frequent. Children are kept with their families until they are four years of age, and then taken to learning facilities. They are allowed to visit only on specific holidays. After graduation, they are thrust into the world with only a diploma and a little money, maybe a job reference if they are exceptionally "intelligent", which is just another way of saying loyal. This is what we're trying to get rid of.

We are an army. I'm the leader, since I came up with all of this. My ancestors built this place a long time ago. They were paranoid, I guess. Anyway, my Granddad passed the place down to me before he died. It's a personal thing, don't ask questions.

The point is, we want to make the world better. You're looking at the most wanted organization in the world, and as the leader I'm the most wanted person. It's a little terrifying, but since no one really knows what I look like and we practically run the Black Market, going around isn't very difficult if I'm careful. Especially with the help of a few disguises.

So, I guess you know all the things you need to know to survive. I understand if you don't want to join us, but we can't let you go. Maybe you can tell us about your world. Maybe it's a better place than ours, but I pray that it's not worse. The worst place is one without hope, and that's why this Resistance Headquarters is the best place on earth. We have hope. Even if we can't change the world, which I'm very sure that we can, doesn't mean that we won't still die trying. We're determined. We will win.

Now excuse me while I rally my people. You might want to cover your ears, because as soon as I start to shout, everyone else will go with me.

DOWN WITH THE WORLD; THE PEOPLE PREVAIL!"