‹ Prequel: Power & Control: The Common Good
Sequel: Tie a Knot & Hang On ›
Status: completed! comments and critiques still welcome!
Fear Itself
"A Call to Action"
You are four days away from the last day of November when your television begins acting up again. Your computer begins to malfunction, and your phone call disconnects, much like it did in early October. You thought this was over with. The League promised you that they were rewiring their broadcasting system and their cell towers. Your computer problem, however, has remained inexplicable. Violet Elliot, the Head of Technology, came before you at the Globe Theater just weeks ago, stating that she believed it had something to do with wireless internet connections. They said they fixed this, but it is happening again.
Suddenly, the screen is no longer black. There is a large white blur on the screen, but it is distorted. You think perhaps it might have been a face. A voice follows, but it is computerized, distorted to the point where the speech is incoherent. You sit shocked, staring. You can’t look away, the same as last time, even when the same scene of the masked figure in the black hood sitting in a white room appears in front of you. There is silence for a moment, merely the gentle buzzing of a camera feed faintly in the background. They greet you and wave a hand, and they begin to speak in yet another computerized voice.
“Greetings, citizens of the earth. This is a call to action. We are the Brotherhood, and we want to help you. Too long now, the League has crushed our civil liberties and stripped us of our rights. Brothers and sisters, please open your eyes. We cannot make you see. Only you can do that. As many of you have already heard, the League has passed Proposition 104, which effectively ends the existence of civil liberties as we know it. It has granted the militia to arrest and detain anyone suspected of meeting in secret. As you know, the militia can already assassinate global citizens with impunity. The League wants to lock you up without trial.
“Prop 104 is nothing more than a declaration of war upon the masses from the wealthy elite. The League is looking to create a police state, and they’ve already come close with their policies on secret arrests, secret prisons, inhumane interrogation tactics, and detainment without ever being convicted of a crime. The League has already allowed the torture of its citizens right there in the League Towers.
“You have yet to realize the reality of the police state we have been warning you about for years. We are running out of time. Citizens of the earth, you must realize that you have no rights here, no due process, no rights to speech, no right to remain silent, nothing. They have left you with nothing. The League does not want you to speak. You must spread the word. Do not fear the mens with guns supposedly coming to get you. If you take anything from this broadcast, remember this: words will always retain their power. We need to stop listening to the lies and start spreading the truth, and the truth is that there is something wrong with our world. Isn’t there?
“Look around you. What do you see? Cruelty. Injustice. Intolerance. Oppression. No matter what the League says, you are still the majority. We are the majority. We are the ones with the freedom to object. There was once a time when people could speak as they saw fit. Now, we are bombarded with surveillance because of our conformity and submission. How did we allow this to happen? Who is to blame? Certainly, there are some more responsible than others.
“They need to be held accountable, and we swear to you, citizens, that if you help us, we will bring you justice. Also, all those working for the League, you must only look in the mirror to see the guilty. You did it. War. Terror. Disease. These are problems the League has created to scare you, and your fear has blinded you and robbed you of your common sense. In your fear, you panicked, and you swore your allegiance to Commander Kennedy and his father before him. The League promised you order. They promised you peace. All he wanted in return was your silent, obedient consent.
“If you have seen nothing, if the crimes of this government are unknown to you, then you are hopeless. But if you see what I see, and if you feel as I feel, and if you seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside us—or even by one another. Meet us outside the gates of the Atlantis Testing Facility on the edge of town at 3 PM on December 15. Together, we will stand against the injustices of our government. We are the Brotherhood. We are united, indivisible. We cannot forgive censorship, and we cannot forget oppression. Phoenix League, and the staff of the Atlantis Testing Facility: expect us.”
The screen turns black. Colored lines flash, and in the center of the screen for a brief moment appears the phrase, “DO NOT FAIL.” It is soon followed by a briefly appearing, “FIND US.” There is distorted audio, sounded like muffled shouting, but you can’t figure out what it is saying. The distortion lasts for twenty seconds, and just before the screens return to normal, three words flash across the screen.
KNOWLEDGE.
IS.
POWER.
Suddenly, the screen is no longer black. There is a large white blur on the screen, but it is distorted. You think perhaps it might have been a face. A voice follows, but it is computerized, distorted to the point where the speech is incoherent. You sit shocked, staring. You can’t look away, the same as last time, even when the same scene of the masked figure in the black hood sitting in a white room appears in front of you. There is silence for a moment, merely the gentle buzzing of a camera feed faintly in the background. They greet you and wave a hand, and they begin to speak in yet another computerized voice.
“Greetings, citizens of the earth. This is a call to action. We are the Brotherhood, and we want to help you. Too long now, the League has crushed our civil liberties and stripped us of our rights. Brothers and sisters, please open your eyes. We cannot make you see. Only you can do that. As many of you have already heard, the League has passed Proposition 104, which effectively ends the existence of civil liberties as we know it. It has granted the militia to arrest and detain anyone suspected of meeting in secret. As you know, the militia can already assassinate global citizens with impunity. The League wants to lock you up without trial.
“Prop 104 is nothing more than a declaration of war upon the masses from the wealthy elite. The League is looking to create a police state, and they’ve already come close with their policies on secret arrests, secret prisons, inhumane interrogation tactics, and detainment without ever being convicted of a crime. The League has already allowed the torture of its citizens right there in the League Towers.
“You have yet to realize the reality of the police state we have been warning you about for years. We are running out of time. Citizens of the earth, you must realize that you have no rights here, no due process, no rights to speech, no right to remain silent, nothing. They have left you with nothing. The League does not want you to speak. You must spread the word. Do not fear the mens with guns supposedly coming to get you. If you take anything from this broadcast, remember this: words will always retain their power. We need to stop listening to the lies and start spreading the truth, and the truth is that there is something wrong with our world. Isn’t there?
“Look around you. What do you see? Cruelty. Injustice. Intolerance. Oppression. No matter what the League says, you are still the majority. We are the majority. We are the ones with the freedom to object. There was once a time when people could speak as they saw fit. Now, we are bombarded with surveillance because of our conformity and submission. How did we allow this to happen? Who is to blame? Certainly, there are some more responsible than others.
“They need to be held accountable, and we swear to you, citizens, that if you help us, we will bring you justice. Also, all those working for the League, you must only look in the mirror to see the guilty. You did it. War. Terror. Disease. These are problems the League has created to scare you, and your fear has blinded you and robbed you of your common sense. In your fear, you panicked, and you swore your allegiance to Commander Kennedy and his father before him. The League promised you order. They promised you peace. All he wanted in return was your silent, obedient consent.
“If you have seen nothing, if the crimes of this government are unknown to you, then you are hopeless. But if you see what I see, and if you feel as I feel, and if you seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside us—or even by one another. Meet us outside the gates of the Atlantis Testing Facility on the edge of town at 3 PM on December 15. Together, we will stand against the injustices of our government. We are the Brotherhood. We are united, indivisible. We cannot forgive censorship, and we cannot forget oppression. Phoenix League, and the staff of the Atlantis Testing Facility: expect us.”
The screen turns black. Colored lines flash, and in the center of the screen for a brief moment appears the phrase, “DO NOT FAIL.” It is soon followed by a briefly appearing, “FIND US.” There is distorted audio, sounded like muffled shouting, but you can’t figure out what it is saying. The distortion lasts for twenty seconds, and just before the screens return to normal, three words flash across the screen.
KNOWLEDGE.
IS.
POWER.