Fast Forward

Chapter 5

Calvin closed the door after Gregory left. He opened up the briefcase and pulled out a folder. It directed him to log into the computer with instructions on how to do that. He use to write software and didn’t think he’d have a difficult time with the computer but he was wrong. He thought that after a 100 years they would be up to Windows 60 by now but it didn’t seem to have a name. The log on screen simply said, “United States Desktop”. The briefcase folder directed him to watch some videos so that he could get caught up.

It seemed shortly after he left 2015 that there was an massive outcry against Christianity (due to hate speech found in the Bible) and Conservatives (who tended to be the ones to follow the Bible word for word). Churches were turning down requests to marry same-sex partners and laws were passed to insure that all churches allowed same-sex marriages. Most churches followed the law by hiring individuals who would do the actual marriage ceremonies. There were several examples of Christians with guns running into same-sex marriage ceremonies and shooting everyone inside. Christians claimed that the ones doing the killings were not actual Christians, but the ones doing the shootings were members of those churches.

In 2030 the Supreme Court ruled that the wording in the Bible would have to be changed so that it held no hate speech against any group. The New Revised United States Bible now said that any action that didn’t hurt another person was not a sin and that Jesus loved everyone no matter what they did. Hell was just a place for really, really bad people while everyone else was allowed into Heaven. The Bible had always been a best seller and now the number of Bibles sold were historical.

Calvin paused the video for a moment. “Computer, is the Bible still a best seller today?”.

A woman’s voice filled the room, “The New Revised United States Bible is currently out of print”.

“What Bible is being sold in it’s place?”, he asked.

“There is no current Christian Bible on the market”, she replied. “Do you want one? They can be found in used book stores”.

Calvin ignored the question as he thought about that for a moment. He always considered himself to be a Christian and he had read the Bible through a couple of times. But the thought of no King James Bible made him pause. He was starting to think that liberalism went a little too far. He always felt that the law of the land was based on the Bible. But with no Bible…how did this future US govern itself?

Calvin figured it must not have mattered because the US was still here 100 years later and everyone seemed to be happy.

Calvin turned the video back on. So Christianity, as it had been, had fell. Once it fell, the other religions fell as well, but a few still stuck around but none of them had any influence over the US.

In 2035 the Supreme Court passed laws that said that there was no crime against self. If there is no crime against self then that meant drug use was now legal. Prostitution was determined to have no effect on anyone other than the passing of disease Prostitution became a state licensed profession that required a college degree and monthly physicals.

In 2040, college became a right for everyone in the US. Citizenship was not necessary. In fact, the concept of citizenship meant very little. If you were in the US, you were a citizen if you claimed to be one.

Due to improved farming techniques, food became free for everyone in the country. In 2050, free housing became a right. The same year, free health care became a right. In 2060, free transportation became a right.

The big one, for the US, was 2065. That was the year it became the law to have everyone implanted with the Equalizer.

It was the law? But that would mean…”Computer, do I have to receive an Equalizer implant?”

“Yes, Aun Swan has already scheduled you for an implant tomorrow morning”, it said.

She did? Well, it was the law and had been around for 50 years. Calvin shrugged. What could it hurt?

“Computer, I’m curious”, I said, “What happens to people that don’t get the Equalizer?”.

“They are terminated”.

“How? By whom?”.

“By a member of the police that is assigned to the individual prior to the Equalizer implantation.”

“Who is assigned to me?”

“Police Interrogator Aun Swan”.

Really? He actually liked Aun and the thought of her killing him just seemed odd.

“Computer, is it a matter of public record how many people were killed by Aun Swan for refusing to be implanted?”

“Yes”.

“And? How many people has Aun Swan killed for refusing to get implanted with an Equalizer?”

“237”.

“That many? Is there any video of anyone she’s killed for this?”.

“Equalizers record everything and are available online. I’ll open the page for you to watch.”

And there it was. All of Aun Swan’s video of her actions as a cop. Calvin opened the video labeled “Terminations” and started the video. He recognized the room he first met her in. She would ask questions and the light would turn red. After a few red lights she would dispatch the “criminals” quickly. Sometimes a bullet to the head and sometimes they would fight her hand to hand. Each time she was able to kill them quickly without even breathing hard. The video also included times she killed them in their homes or school or at work. If they ran, she would run after them catching them easily and ending the pursuit with their death. It was then that Calvin first realized that the Equalizer was not quite equal with everyone. Aun Swan was more than equal for anyone that the federal government wanted her to deal with. And Calvin was next on that list.