I Dream of Utopia

         The air is fresh like the sultry Irish Springs; the birds are chirping singing a happy tone of peace, bliss, and harmony to the world. The sky is filled with a radiant blue whose majesty and beauty is matched only by the color of the oceans and seas. The people of Unity City, Illinois are shiny and happy as they grace the downtown streets of the highly populated urban metropolis. All the people meet and greet as they scale each other with smiles and joy. All the businessmen wear beautiful black Armani suits and shake the hands of all they encounter. Mothers sit patiently on the city park bench reading as their children play quietly in the jungle gems.
         This is everyday behavior for the thousands of people not only in Unity City, but the world. Every since the fall out of World War III and the victory of the United States of America and it’s allies the world has been at peace; a world without war, poverty, crime, or injustice. Racism and prejudices are no longer in existence. The laws of the lands are peace and love with hatred being a dark spirit of the past.
         Each and every citizen believes that he or she contributes something very special to not only their lives but the entire world. Chris Corbin is no exception to this modern ideology. Chris, a man of stern, muscular posture and handsome features, lives the life of a successful investment banker. He has a loving family; a beautiful wife, Linda, and two children, Kyle and Tina. Chris is a dedicated member of the Unity City Country Club where he enjoys a great game of golf while hanging out with the fellows. Nothing makes Chris happier than spending time with his family. Each day, after work, he takes his entire family to the park for an evening of family time. Chris always believed that there’s nothing more important than spending time with your family.
         As Chris rises from his bed he walks over to his bedroom window to gaze at the beauty of the sunlight reflecting off the streets and buildings of Unity. He smiles gently watching the birds chirp in the trees and the neighbors’ dogs play in the yard. His wife Linda silently approaches him from behind and wraps her arms around his waste with love and warmth. Chris places his hands around Linda’s arms. Linda can obviously see the level of worry in the eyes of her husband. Caring for her husband’s well being, Linda immediately tries to comfort Chris. “Is everything all right honey?” Asks Linda.
         Chris takes a few moments before answering his wife’s question. He turns and looks her into her large brown eyes, “Did you ever think that maybe things seem to be moving faster than usual these days?” Linda looks at Chris with a bewildered look on her face, “What do you mean honey? Everything seems just fine to me,” says Linda.
“I just have this feeling that everything is coming to me so fast and easy. I mean there are so many guys who probably deserve this life more than me,” says Chris.
“That’s a good thing Chris most people your age are still working hard trying to get a dream career and life. Here you are about to be worth millions of dollars in the next two years and you’re already throwing the idea out the window. Do not fight the system honey. Just let things take their natural course,” protests Linda.
“The only thing I’m saying is that I have only been at this firm for three weeks. I haven’t done anything different than anyone else…”
“That’s enough Chris lets just enjoy this beautiful day,” Linda interrupts. “You’re right honey; I was being foolish to question the motives of United Empire and my own abilities. So what’s for breakfast?” Chris immediately calms down and quickly puts his insecurities to rest.
After having their morning discussion Chris and Linda set off to their morning everyday routines. Chris heads for the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth while Linda heads to the rooms of Kyle and Tina to wake them for school. The children rise with bright smiles and greet their already enthused mother. “Good morning Mommy,” says the children in unison.
“Good morning children. It’s time for you to get ready for school. Now go brush your teeth and take your baths. I am going to prepare your breakfast. We’re having eggs, pancakes, and bacon,” says Linda. Linda proceeds to the kitchen to prepare her family’s breakfast. Chris walks through the living room and out the door to grab the morning paper. Every husband is doing the same thing in the suburban neighborhood. This is an everyday routine for them. Grab the paper and wave to each other with a morning greeting. After retrieving the morning newspaper, Chris returns inside and joins his children and wife for breakfast.
“Good morning children,” greets Chris.
“Good morning Daddy,” greets the children in unison.
Chris begins to read the news paper as he sips his coffee and eats his meal. He smiles after reading every article. These days there are no bad reports by the journalist. So reading the newspaper is like reading a good novel. “Look at this honey gas has gone down another two dollars. Boy if they keeping cutting the price the only thing we will have to do is walk up to the pump, fill up, and leave,” says Chris.
Chris finished reading his paper and the school bus was waiting for the children. He kisses every member of his family and makes his way out of the door in route to work. The day was so pleasant. The weather was great and after talking to Linda he was now excited about receiving his raise today. Everything was going great, but that’s the typical day for Chris Corbin. Chris lets the driver side window down so that he can enjoy the beautiful breeze and smell the fresh scent of the grass.
While driving down the street Chris couldn’t help but admire the astounding beauty of the trees and grass. Mother Nature has blessed the Earth with some of the greatest physical features in the universe. He switches the radio on and begins listen to the morning radio broadcast. The disc jockey is very enthusiastic and begins to accept calls from listeners for the chance to win a trip to the sunny beaches of Miami, Florida. Several callers attempted to guess the correct answer to the question but failed. However UPR-95 does not let any caller go with any reward for effort. They all received free tickets to see the premiere of a hot new movie. While stopping to have a cup of coffee Chris decides to call the radio station and try his luck. He continued to get busy signals until he finally gets through. He was greeted by the voice of a loud overly eager woman, “Hello caller and good morning! You are the next caller who has a chance to win an all expense paid trip to beautiful Miami, Florida. Now all you have to do is answer the following question correct and you will be our winner. So for today seven people have tried but none could answer the question. So what’s your name caller?”
“My name is Chris, Chris Corbin,” Chris responds.
“Ok Chris lets see if you can answer this question correctly. Are you ready?” the disc jockey yells.
“Yeah, I’m ready!” shouts Chris.
“Ok Chris Corbin, here is the BIG question…when are you going to wake up?”
Chris pauses unable to comprehend the question asked by the disc jockey. He is so baffled he does not know how to respond. “Uhm, I’m sorry I don’t understand the question, can you…”
“Oh I’m sorry but…YOUR TIME IS UP! YOU NO LONGER BELONG HERE!” the disc jockey interrupts.
“What…what the heck are you…”
“Thanks for trying but you are incorrect. Have nice day, ciao!” the disc jockey again interrupts Chris before hanging up. Chris, taking by surprise by the shocking encounter with the radio disc jockey, continues on his journey to work. As he passes the buildings he tries to rid himself of the thoughts about this strange mishap, but no matter how hard he tried they haunted him for the rest of the day.
Chris finally arrives at the United Empire banking firm to begin his day of work. As Chris walks the halls of the large building he is greeted by almost every worker with smiles and cheers. Everyone in the office knew him and he normally saw everyone while walking to his office. His office was located on the far end of the hall. Usually Chris is always stopped by several of his co-workers who always want to talk about something. Most of the time they choose to talk about their individual problems which most of the time was no serious than getting stuck in traffic during the evening rush hour. Chris even sometimes has to fight off the few single women who adore Chris. Today he actually stopped himself to talk to one of his best friends, Adam Drexlin, about what happened to him just minutes ago. Adam seems to be in his normal good mood. He always offers Chris the best advice. They have been friends for several years now and he is the best friend Chris has. “Hey buddy what’s up?” greets Adam upon noticing Chris.
“Hey Adam, are you busy? Can I speak with you for a moment?” asks Chris.
“Sure buddy what’s on your mind?” Adam responds.
“Actually I would be more comfortable if we stepped in my office. So we can rap in private,” says Chris.
“Ok, sure, let’s go. Chris is something bothering you. You seem a bit edgy this morning,” says Adam.
“I was on my way to the office this morning and I began listening to the morning radio broadcast. They were having a vacation contest promotion and no one was winning so I decided to try my luck and call. Well, after finally getting through to the station I was asked a weird question by the disc jockey. She asked me… ‘When are you going to wake up?’ The question was so abstract I wasted too much time thinking and end up running out of time for the question. Before I could make any response she cut me off shouting, ‘your time is up! You no longer belong here!’ Then she hung up on me. I know this sounds weird and I honestly don’t know why I am thinking about it so much, but it was just so weird,” explains Chris.
“That is weird. Which radio station was it?” Adam questions.
“It was UPR-95,” says Chris.
“Really, about what time did you call the station…because we I have been listening to UPR-95 all morning and I haven’t heard anything about a vacation contest and I definitely did not here anyone that sounded like you call,” Adam claims.
“What are you talking about Adam? I know I called that station right before I came in to work,” says Chris in frustration with the statements made by Adam.
“Are you sure you didn’t call a different radio station? I mean maybe you got them mixed up,” Adam responds rationally.
“I don’t know I guess I might just be tired and my mind is hearing strange things. I should probably get some good rest after work,” says Chris.
“I would definitely look into doing that buddy if I were you. Relax, get some good sleep, and above all don’t dwell on the negative. Life is too good to think about the bad things that happen to us. I’m sure the stress of the past few days has your mind playing tricks on you. Well, I have to get back to work. Are you going to be alright?” questions Adam.
“I’ll be fine. Thanks buddy. I’m sure glad that I have you as a friend. You have always been a good friend to me, the best. Just do me a favor. If anything is to ever happen to me take care of my family,” Chris requests.
“You got it buddy. I’ll talk to you later.” Adam leaves Chris’s office and Chris gets busy on his days work. As Chris works hard he can see through the window of his office the workers walk by each and every one of them with large white smiles on their faces. In most offices it is unusual to see so many happy, dedicated workers on a regular basis, but in Unity City everyday is a blessing and a reason to be happy. Chris has only been working at United Empire banking firm for only several weeks now and he is already up for a promotion. He had so many reasons to smile today, but for some reason he can not seem to enjoy the happiness surrounding him. Chris is having feelings of uneasiness. He begins to sweat and as the droplets fall down the sides of his face he begins to look at the hands of the large wall clock in his office. The time is seemingly moving slowly. Chris can not understand the reasons for his anxieties, but one thing was certain…something is wrong.
As Chris continued to wipe the sweat from his forehead he can hear several laughs coming from outside his office door. This is not unusual considering everyone is always so happy. At first the laughs were fading and seem to come from a distance, but now they grow closer and closer. Chris notices that those laughs are coming from his supervisor and several other high ranking investors. They enter his office after a brief knock and greet him with news. “Good evening Corbin. Can we speak with you for a second or two?” asks the supervisor.
“Yes sir, what can I do you for today sir,” Chris responds.
“Well, my associates and I are having been talking with several other partners and we believe you have exhibited exceptional skills and therefore ready to step up and join us amongst the elite. In other words we are offering you full partnership in the United Empire investment firm. What do you say?” asks the Partner. For the moment Chris did not no exactly how to react to the offer. All he could think about at this point is everything that had transpired that day. All of the bad things that happened seemed to be irrelevant now.
“I don’t know what to say. This is definitely a shock,” says Chris.
“Just say you accept. We need someone like you with special abilities to be with our partnership,” says the Partner. The room was silent momentarily while the partners patiently waited for a response from Chris. Chris glared at every partner before finally responding with his decision. Before he could even open his mouth the partners began to glow with smiles as if they already new the answer to their proposal.
“Ok, I guess I’ll take it. This is great news my wife will be happy,” Chris says in excitement. His eerie day had suddenly taken an ironic turn. After the abnormal encounters during his morning journey to work things finally seemed to be back on track for Chris. Time past swiftly and it was suddenly time for the employees at the firm to hit the clock and go home. Chris, as usual, locked up his office, said his good buys, and proceeded to leave the building. Before leaving he was stopped by his good friend Adam who was checking to see if he was okay. After assuring his good friend that everything was great he left.
The drive home from work was more pleasant than the journey from the morning. Chris was happy once again everything seemed to be going good. The normal cycle of life for Unity City had seemed to have disappeared at first, but after the news of his promotion he could not wait to get home and tell his wife and children the great news.
While driving home, Chris, so indulged in the Earth’s beauty, he took his eyes off the road. A man stumbles in front of his car causing him to slam hard down on the breaks. Luckily Chris was able to avoid a collision with the man. Chris, feeling guilty for not obey to the rules of the road, steps out to see if the pedestrian is ok. “Hey, are you alright. I’m sorry for the scare.” As Chris apologizes he realized the man was frantic and mumbling under his breath. This was somewhat weird. There were not many mental people walking the streets. “Sir ...is everything okay,” asks Chris. The man continued to mumble as he approaches Chris with his head held down gazing at the ground and frantically ranting.
“Sir?” says Chris. The man quickly looks up and stabs Chris with an unknown object and shouts, “Wake up! Your time is spent! You must return now!”
Chris gasps for air and falls to the ground gazing directly at the man as his vision fades to black…
After finally regaining conscience Chris realizes he is strapped to a bed in what seems to be some sort of abysmal hospital room. The room is dark and filled with monitors and cameras. It looks like a demented laboratory. Chris is frantic and seems to have more injuries than a mere stab wound. His head is badly injured and his face is battered. “What is this place? Somebody please help me. Linda, Kyle, Tina where are you…” Chris’s cries echo throughout the dark asylum but no one responds. Suddenly the middle monitor changes to the news station. The anchor reports a disturbing message that confuses Chris even more, “Violence, crimes, poverty, and chaos vastly continues to sweep across the world. The rebels continue to wage their pointless war against the Empire. The Emperor declares that the rebels shall be shown no mercy. They shall meet the same fate our enemies suffered at the end of the third World War. Long live the United Empire!”
Chris can not believe the news being reported. It is like he is asleep and this is all a bad dream. As he looks around the room still unable to move a door opens and five people enter; two wearing white lab coats that immediately begin to examine Chris, and three wearing military uniforms unlike any he had seen before. One of the men wearing the military uniforms approaches Chris. “How do you feel Lieutenant?” says the operative.
“Who are you and where is my family?” Chris responds.
“The patient is still suffering from delusional side effects of the coma. His full memory should return shortly,” explains one of the doctors.
“Well I see we are going to have to bring you up to speed on things. My name is Sgt. Luke Sullivan I am the corporal of the unit you command. You are Lt. Chris Corbin, one the Empire’s top agent and hunter of the rebel scum. You were severely injured by one of the rebels you were about to eliminate which resulted in you being left comatose for the past five years,” Sullivan explained.
“You mean… what about my family, Linda and the kids where are they?” questions Chris.
“Lt. Corbin I’m sorry but your family has been dead since the fallout of World War III and the formation of the United Empire,” explains Sullivan.
“The United Empire is the banking firm I work for…” says Chris in confusion.
“No Lieutenant the United Empire is the reformation of the United States of America into the Empire in order to insure the safety and stability of our society. The rebels seek to destroy what we have built. We are the most powerful Empire since the Roman and our laws govern the entire world. You are an important piece and major player to the Empire. You will lead us to defeating the rebels. Our victory will echo throughout the ages of time. So get some rest. The Imperial Senate is expecting to see you in the morning. Remember…long lives the United Empire,” Sullivan lectures as everyone leaves the room.
As Chris struggles to try to put the pieces together memories of pain and suffering flash through his equilibrium. He sees visions of the people he murdered in the name of the Empire. The blood of his victims is sitting on his tongue rusting his taste buds. Chris begins to cry as the thoughts what is and what was pass through his mind. As the thoughts thickened his hatred for this United Empire has developed into a seething flame. The system that he supposedly fought for relentlessly is now in his eyes responsible for so much pain and suffering. He wonders why his comatose mind showed him such a deceitful lie. Why would a monster like him be shown a life of shiny, happy people? Maybe it was his ironic fate to be struck down by a rebel to born again…as a rebel…