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Sequel: Tie a Knot & Hang On ›
Status: completed! comments and critiques still welcome!
Fear Itself
Prop 104
Good evening, citizens of the Earth. This Harland McCabe coming to you live with a breaking news bulletin. This morning, the board gathered to discuss the recent Brotherhood Broadcast, and they come to you live, tonight, to give you their solution. Now, citizens, I give to you, live from his office at League Towers, Commander Clinton Kennedy!
The screen switches from the newsroom to a close-up of a man’s face. He’s no older than thirty, maybe thirty-one. His dark hair is pushed back away from his face, and his dark eyes stare at the screen. There is a small smirk tugging at his mouth. He wears a perfectly pressed black suit, white collared shirt, and a red tie. It is simple. Everything is simple. The wall behind him is a bland beige color. Still simple.
“Hello, citizens,” he greets you, smiling a little, but the smile is not genuine. His voice is accented with the raspy, cool, American accent, something out of a city. The stare in his eyes is cold. “After the Board and I met this morning, we have come to a consensus. We call it Proposition 104. Prop 104 states that all secret meetings held by secret organizations are hereby considered illegal and will be prosecuted without due process of law. Any individuals meeting in secret will be considered rebels and treated as such.
“But fear not, law-abiding citizens. Any existing organizations can file a registration form with the League Archivists or send the form directly to Board Member Ivory Windsor, Head of History and Records. We also demand from every registered organization a list of meetings and activities complete with times, dates, and locations. If you can comply with these laws, you are allowed to continue operations.” He readjusts to sit up straighter.
“In more pressing matters, I would like to remind you all that the members of the terrorist organization also known as the Brotherhood are not your friends. You must remember very important things, the first of which being that you should not trust their message. By infiltrating our broadcasts, they have no doubt expertly convinced many global citizens to buy into their message of government upheaval for the greater good. Their version of the world says that you, too, may be wealthy one day, that maybe one day social classes will not exist—anything is possible if you band together, but what you hear from them are lies, citizens. Remember what we’ve we told you—the truth—and how we’ve informed you of their activities in the past: the bombings, the bank robberies, and the formation of senseless riots in which hundreds have been killed. They will downplay their actions over and over again all day long so that you will join them. Their message is clear: join them, follow them, and enter a new future. But what you have signed up for will be chaos, a future without structure, and the collapse of the globe as we know it.
“You also must remember that the Brotherhood operates under means that guarantee nothing but mutually assured destruction, and they are threatening to unleash this mindset of annihilation onto the government, a government that they want to take over. You must realize that, should they succeed, the globe will go into a tailspin, and still, they issue their threats, hoping for your allegiance. If you align with the terrorists, you will be forfeiting many of your basic rights. You can kiss your jobs, homes, and futures goodbye under the rule of the Brotherhood. You would be begging to have the League back. The rebels sit in their hole, unable to control their laughter while the citizens of the earth scramble about in fear. That’s all they want from you: mindless revolt for their own entertainment.
“So, I leave you with this: Globe, do not retreat. The League is with you, and we will crush terrorism together. Thank you, and goodnight.”
The screen switches from the newsroom to a close-up of a man’s face. He’s no older than thirty, maybe thirty-one. His dark hair is pushed back away from his face, and his dark eyes stare at the screen. There is a small smirk tugging at his mouth. He wears a perfectly pressed black suit, white collared shirt, and a red tie. It is simple. Everything is simple. The wall behind him is a bland beige color. Still simple.
“Hello, citizens,” he greets you, smiling a little, but the smile is not genuine. His voice is accented with the raspy, cool, American accent, something out of a city. The stare in his eyes is cold. “After the Board and I met this morning, we have come to a consensus. We call it Proposition 104. Prop 104 states that all secret meetings held by secret organizations are hereby considered illegal and will be prosecuted without due process of law. Any individuals meeting in secret will be considered rebels and treated as such.
“But fear not, law-abiding citizens. Any existing organizations can file a registration form with the League Archivists or send the form directly to Board Member Ivory Windsor, Head of History and Records. We also demand from every registered organization a list of meetings and activities complete with times, dates, and locations. If you can comply with these laws, you are allowed to continue operations.” He readjusts to sit up straighter.
“In more pressing matters, I would like to remind you all that the members of the terrorist organization also known as the Brotherhood are not your friends. You must remember very important things, the first of which being that you should not trust their message. By infiltrating our broadcasts, they have no doubt expertly convinced many global citizens to buy into their message of government upheaval for the greater good. Their version of the world says that you, too, may be wealthy one day, that maybe one day social classes will not exist—anything is possible if you band together, but what you hear from them are lies, citizens. Remember what we’ve we told you—the truth—and how we’ve informed you of their activities in the past: the bombings, the bank robberies, and the formation of senseless riots in which hundreds have been killed. They will downplay their actions over and over again all day long so that you will join them. Their message is clear: join them, follow them, and enter a new future. But what you have signed up for will be chaos, a future without structure, and the collapse of the globe as we know it.
“You also must remember that the Brotherhood operates under means that guarantee nothing but mutually assured destruction, and they are threatening to unleash this mindset of annihilation onto the government, a government that they want to take over. You must realize that, should they succeed, the globe will go into a tailspin, and still, they issue their threats, hoping for your allegiance. If you align with the terrorists, you will be forfeiting many of your basic rights. You can kiss your jobs, homes, and futures goodbye under the rule of the Brotherhood. You would be begging to have the League back. The rebels sit in their hole, unable to control their laughter while the citizens of the earth scramble about in fear. That’s all they want from you: mindless revolt for their own entertainment.
“So, I leave you with this: Globe, do not retreat. The League is with you, and we will crush terrorism together. Thank you, and goodnight.”