Fear Itself

It is May 7th when your television screen flickers on, but today, it is different. Today, Kennedy does not greet you. You are met with the face of Dean Cassidy, who is not unfamiliar, but you are much more accustomed to seeing him advertisements or on posters lining the streets. He looks just as cheeky as he usually does, standing before you in a suit and tie, hair perfectly styled and his blue eyes gleaming. He stands against a plain grey background.

“Hello, I’m Dean Cassidy,” he says. He always opens like this, always introduces himself. He is always the picture of success and always portrayed as a gentleman, but he says something different today, just a simple diversion from the usual script, but one word makes all the difference. “And I am the face of the Brotherhood Resistance.” A smirk decorates his face. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Thalia Giroux.”

A dead girl, you think. She has been dead. They commemorate her death every year on her birthday: July 10th. Nathaniel Giroux told you himself that she was dead. Dead and gone. Nathaniel Giroux is liar. Who else knew about this?

She is tall and thin, perhaps slightly underweight. Her yellow hair is cut short in a shaggy pixie cut that hangs just above her eyebrows. Her eyes glow a deep, pale blue color. Freckles adorn nearly every inch of her face as she steps beside Mr. Cassidy and stands in the light. “Though you may know me better as Monodrama,” she tells you.

In unison, they announce, “Together, we are the face of your future.”

“Over the last forty years, you have witnessed atrocities,” Thalia says. She seems sympathetic. “You were promised your freedom, citizens. You were promised prosperity. You were promised restoration and change, but you received none. You witnessed greed from the wealthy. You fell into poverty. Due process is a thing of the past. Dreadful things have happened at the hands of the League, but three days ago, a line was crossed.”

Dean picks up now. “May 4th, 2058 marks the death of Chandler Jacques. Three days ago, Chandler Jacques was killed in cold blood by League Militia during the mayhem at Buckingham Palace, killed not for his crimes, but because he was simply present at all. It was an exercise of power. It was murder disguised as a twisted and perverted version of justice. The Brotherhood immediately held an emergency meeting to form our response to this tragedy.”

“So, Board Members,” Thalia addressed you. “We propose a game. A game in which the wisest move is not to play at all.” She smiles a sly sort of smirk. “The League believes us to be terrorists. The League has promised that they’d made headway in trying to stop us, that they’ve successfully infiltrated our ranks, but the truth is that we are the ones who have infiltrated them, and we know what they do.”

“Their tactics include utterly ruining the lives of any activists they apprehend,” Dean chimes in. “More often than not, this ends in death. Lives of civilians hang in the balance of a disproportionate justice system. The Brotherhood movement is consumed by rage knowing our brethren are being put to death this very moment, but we have been cautious of our actions. We cannot act prematurely and fall into any traps the League may have set.”

“Kennedy, you may have bombed our home,” Thalia says. “But we are not gone. We live on in the darkness: reevaluating our tactics and waiting for the proper moment to strike. We simply allowed you to believe that you chased us into a hole, swept us away like dust on the streets, and crippled us with paranoia and fear. We have waited patiently, but with Chandler’s death, we simply have no time to waste.”

Dean clears his throat and straightens up again. The camera zooms in on his face when he speaks to you once more. “Citizens of the globe, it is time to band together and show the League what fear really looks like. It’s time to give the League exactly what they’ve given us. It’s their turn to fear. It’s their turn to cower. It’s their turn to play a game where the odds are not their favor. We will not restrict ourselves with the possibility of compromise.”

The camera cuts to Thalia now. “Despite what the League thinks, we are far more ambitious and far more capable than they could ever imagine. For days now, we have planned our attack. We do not take this action lightly, nor have we overlooked the possible consequences.”

Cassidy adds, “Should we strike as we plan, we understand that there will be collateral damage.”

“It is not our wish to spill civilian blood or the blood of our brothers,” Thalia admits. “We hope it doesn’t come that, but in order for us to reach a resolution with the League, action must be taken.”

“Legislative reform,” Dean explains. “The current legislation does not prevent criminal activity; it fosters it and also allows for a wide range of inhumane punishments. There must be a return to due process of law and balance in the system. Laws must be upheld. We cannot pick and choose what to enforce. We cannot allow the League to continue persecuting individuals it deems threatening to it’s status.”

“There also must be a commitment to freedom, humanity, and the unrestricted spread of knowledge in order to promote the common good,” Thalia interjects.

“We do not expect to be negotiated with.” Cassidy’s face is blank and serious now, even more so than it was before. “In fact, we do not desire it. We understand that by acting as we plan, we exclude ourselves from any possibility of peaceful solutions.”

“But there are people better than us,” Thalia explains. “People who speak the honest truth, people who care for their common man. People exist who speak from the kindness of their hearts and not from the primitive evils of their minds. Too long have they held their tongues. It is time for us to fight in their name, to fight for their freedom and win them the reform they deserve. It is these people the League must answer to when we are finished.”

“Time is closing in on the League,” Dean threatens. “Waiting it out will not solve this. We will not go away. Even if we fall, others will take our place, and the cycle will repeat again. Business will not continue as usual if you sweep us under the rug. Not this time.”

“This time, change will come.” The camera is on Thalia again. “Or there will be chaos.”