Choosing Freedom

The computer’s screen alerted me that my computer was freezing again, and I was getting pretty sick and tired of my old piece of junk malfunctioning. Letting my anger out, I sent a punch to the computer’s base, and it fell over with an inaudible thud. The ancient machine then gave a loud grinding noise and shut down completely. Scanning the room quickly, I noticed with horror that I had ripped my room’s infra-cable system out of the wall. Without that system, my room wouldn’t have internet, transmission feeds, or even communication capabilities. I would be a dead man if my parents found out I had broken my computer and my infra-cable system.



After successfully hiding my computer under my bed and putting a huge poster over the completely destroyed cables on the wall, I decided I would take a ride around the city. I ran downstairs quickly, grabbed my laser scooter, and proceeded out of the door. After ten minutes of trying to get the laser scooter’s small engine to work, I was finally able to zip around on the scooter. Riding through the city was a fun and exciting event for me. I loved seeing the new technology the city’s engineers came up with. Just the other day, the city’s Engineers unveiled Comp-u-Lenses. The little contact-like lenses would give you a complete computer system entirely embedded in your eyes. The city’s engineers also recently created a type of computer lenses which affect the brain waves in order to increase productivity and reduce sickness. Only being in the twenty-second century, technology sure was improving drastically.



Hearing a rumbling noise from above, I looked up to see Agrua City’s new levitating train soaring miles above my head. I decided, then, to swing by the technology shop to see the prices of some of the computers. While making my way to the shop, I passed in front of the city’s technology hub. This was literally the most important location in the entire city, and this was obviously noted by the presence of several armed guards protecting the entrance. It was common knowledge that only the blue-jacketed Engineers were allowed inside of the room.



A rather anxious-looking Engineer was walking into the building right when I passed on my laser scooter. My ultimate goal in life was to become an Engineer. I loved technology, yet sometimes I believed technology hated me. Despite technology’s feelings toward me, I still wanted to be an Engineer, but first I had to actually have a computer. Pressing the accelerator on the scooter, I sped forward in the direction of the shop.



There were several technology shops in Agrua, but I definitely had a favorite. Wilson’s Technologies and Repairs was located about a mile away from my house, and the shop was absolutely fantastic. There were so many new and interesting gadgets in the store, and Wilson always allowed people to play with the gadgets. His prices were definitely the best in town, and if I was going to buy a new computer, I would buy it from Wilson. When I walked into the store, a rather interesting gizmo caught my eye instantly. Rushing to the shelf, I grabbed a white cylindrical object. This small gadget was the newest and most efficient cutting laser on the market. It was said that the gadget could cut through stone, and melt through gold. Looking at the price, a huge grin erupted on my face. It only cost thirteen shellons! I had twenty, and I would have seven left over. Then disappointment settled in my heart when I remembered my broken computer and infra-cable system. Reluctantly moving towards the computers, I scanned the prices. The cheapest computer was fifty shellons. I would never be able to afford that!



I decided to buy the laser cutter, and just try to repair my computer. The entire way home, I sent the laser cutter at the stone sidewalks, leaving my initials scattered around the city. I was almost home when I noticed a bright yellow hover-bus pull into our driveway. My sister was home, and she jumped off of the bus in gusto and ran towards me. Hugging my sister, I handed her my new laser cutter. Astonishment filled the five-year olds eyes, and she was soon setting our front lawn’s bushes on fire. My sister and I were taking turns engraving our names on the cement outside our house, when we both noticed something odd behind us.



The enormous levitating train was plummeting towards the ground at an uneasy speed. I was quite literally watching a train wreck, when the huge locomotive crashed into one of the city’s premier business buildings. Black menacing smoke curled into the air as the train pushed further into the building’s interior. My sister started crying, and I rushed her inside. Panic held my tongue, and I started to breathe awkwardly. My mother and father both worked in the city. They did not work in that particular building, but they were still too close. I needed to call them immediately. Breaking away from my panic state, I yelled out, “Marcia Ogusta, work number.” The house’s communication system instantly began to dial the number, and the familiar ringing filled the house via the speaker system. I heard the receiving end of the transmission pick up, and my mom’s voice called out, “Silas, Maria, are you two okay? Please, God, tell me your okay!”. I instantly replied, “Yes, Mom, we are both doing fine. We’re inside the house. Are you and dad okay?.” Thankfully, my mom replied, “Yes, we are both doing fine. We’re actually...” The transmission cut off abruptly. Staring at my sister confused, I cleared my throat and said, “Marcia Ogusta, cell number.” This time the ringing did not come from the house’s phone system. Panic set in my heart now, and I yelled out, “Computer analysis ASAP.” The house’s computer began to fix the phone error when the lights flickered.



I knew something was wrong immediately. The communication system was hardly ever offline, and the lighting systems were always working. Grasping my sister’s hand, I spoke, “Computer online.” This command would normally reboot the house’s computer system, but the only thing my command did was lock our doors. Looking out of the house’s window, I noticed the entire city was going offline. This had never happened before, and I was so scared for my parents. The train might have harmed the technology hub, but I quickly remembered that that was impossible because the city put a huge plasma-field around the building’s exterior. All I knew was that my parents were in huge trouble if the city remained out of power for long. Then as soon as the problem arose, the small computers in our home turned on again. In about a minute, our entire home was online again. Instantly, the broadcasting glass faded on and the nightly news began. My sister and I watched the news for the rest of the night until we heard the door unlock. My mom and dad walked through the door, and my sister and I hugged both of them. My mom was emotional as usual and hurried us to the news.



Apparently, some sort of virus got into the city’s technology hub, and caused millions of dollars of damage. The virus malfunctioned the levitating train’s directional systems, and the malfunction caused the train to plummet thousands of feet. Five hundred people died in the horrific train crash. The entire Opex Building was destroyed in the crash, and several were now jobless.



One questioned lingered on all of our minds that night. How did the virus get into one of the most guarded buildings in the entire world? My father, like usual, blames troublesome teenagers. My mom says maybe the virus was just an accident. I had a hunch though. I suspected that an evil spy snuck into the building and planted the virus quickly into the city’s computers. Then a memory of earlier today flashed into my head. I remembered the anxious-looking Engineer man outside of the technology hub. Now that I think about it, I didn’t remember his picture from my City History courses in high school. He didn’t even look like the usual Engineer because he simply looked too unfriendly. I then knew I had to tell someone.



Walking into my parent’s room, I proceeded to see a strange sight indeed. My mother and father were both placing eery green-glowing contacts into their eyes. I then yelled out, “Oh, cool! You have those new computer lenses!”. My father smiled and said, “The city officials are handing these contacts out to everyone in the city, well, except for the children. They say these contacts would increase our brain capabilities and our reactions. The contacts would help us act properly in a hazardous situation, like today’s horrible mishap.” I looked at my parent’s enviously, and instantly forgot what I was going to say. I went to bed that night dreaming of owning a pair of those super amazing lenses.



Blinding sunlight woke me up the next morning, and I proceeded to the kitchen. My mom was playing a rather complicated rendition of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring on our grand piano when I walked into the room. Dad was cooking an aromatic plate of eggs, which he put on my breakfast plate. I thanked him for the breakfast and dug into the delicious eggs. Walking Mary to school, I thought more about my parent’s new computer lenses. I needed to get a pair for myself. I walked Mary to her kindergarten class and walked to my own first period classroom. My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Applegate, was extremely off-beat today. She dropped a huge stack of assignments on the classroom floor, sending papers flying everywhere. She then misspelled her own name on the chalkboard, and towards the end of the class, she actually forgot what she was doing. Mrs. Applegate was always an odd teacher, but she was on a new level today.



The day passed by quite slowly, and I found myself yearning for the day to end so I could go play with my laser cutter. Around three o’clock, the final bell rung and I raced home. When I reached the front door, I noticed that my parent’s hover car was parked. My parents were home. When I walked into the door, I asked my parents why they were home so early. My mother replied, “The mayor is basically shutting down the city tonight for a revamp of security. He also told us keep our contacts in at all times. The city is now handing out small computer specks for the children, and I picked up two for you and your sister. I energetically grabbed a pair of the specks from her hands. Placing the glasses over my eyes, I felt my brain tingle a bit as if electric sparks coursed through the specks. Suddenly, I felt myself more alert and focused. I heard my sister’s bus coming around the corner, and I rushed out to greet her.



Mary ran up to Mom and spoke excitingly, “Mom, I drew a picture of you and Dad.” She then handed a crinkled-up piece of paper to my mother and she glanced at it emotionless while saying, “Well, good. I’m going play piano.” Mary’s eyes watered and I could tell that she was upset because of Mom’s impassive opinion of the drawing. I hugged her tightly and said, “I love this drawing! You used so many pretty colors.”



My mother and father kept busy until supper that night. We had a rather bland meal of mashed potatoes and baked fish. The meal was unusual because Dad usually cooked amazing and fresh dishes. Mom and him were acting so strange, but I really didn’t care. I had new, awesome computer specks! Mary seemed to be enjoying her little specks too. We ate that night in silence, and then we proceeded to bed.



I woke up the next morning from an electric pulse. My eyes darted open and I looked around. I looked across at my sister’s bed and noticed that her eyes flickered open at the same time. She looked almost as if she felt the electric shock also. Mary’s face then turned to mind and she spoke rather absentmindedly, “Time for school. Time is power.” I couldn’t believe my five-year old sister just said, “Time is power.” Mom and Dad must be rubbing off on her too much.

School that day was strange. Everyone in our class had the new Computer Specks, and we all were bragging about how ours were better. Mrs. Applegate walked into the room hurriedly and interjected, “Excuse me children. Class is dismissed today. There is a mandatory meeting in front of the technology hub. The mayor has requested that everyone keep on their specks in case of another emergency.”



Finding my little sister in a huge group of kindergardeners, I grabbed her hand and proceeded to the technology hub. My sister and I got to the very front of the huge mob of people. There were around 250,000 citizens in our town, and it looks like every single of them gathered for the mayor’s speech.”



Mayor Gunther Malone was cleaning his monocle when his assistant whispered, “It is time.” The mayor then walked up to a huge podium and spoke loudly, “Welcome townspeople. I must ask, first of all, for all of you to keep your specks on. We do not want a repeat of the train fiasco.” Several people looked downward at the mention of the event, and a few held back tears.



The mayor then continued, “Today is a particularly solemn day for me, but a great day for the City of Agrua. Today, I am going to step down as mayor of our fine city, and hand over the title to Steven Sinclair.” Several loud voices rung out as the mayor said this. One man in the front spoke out by saying, “Aren’t the people suppose to vote for mayor? You can’t just appoint one.” Several more voices chimed up in agreement. Then a painful wave of electricity wrapped around my brain. I looked around me and found the huge mass of people all holding their heads in pain, except the mayor.Several people began to remove their eyeglasses when Mayor Gunther yelled out, “No! These electric pulses are an indication that a horrible attack or event might happen soon. Keep your glasses on!” No one objected, and everyone placed their glasses back on.



As soon as the electric pulses, a rather omniscient-looking man stepped up from the shadows of the stage. I recognized his face from somewhere, but I just could not remember where. He walked to the podium and grabbed hold of the mike. His voice rang out to the people as he said, “Hello people of Agrua. I am proud to be your new mayor. Let our city prosper, and let your computer specks always remain on.” As he said this, he walked off the stage with Mayor Malone. A strange sort of peace swam through me, and I felt as if this new mayor was the solution to all of our problems. The city’s people all returned to their lives, and I returned to school with Mary.



The next few weeks faded together and life pretty much continued like it normally did. In fact, life became much easier. The glasses made life more clear, and I never had to waste time making long decisions. The specks helped my brain make decisions more quickly. Mayor Steven was also doing a fine job as mayor. He was removing all of the bad people from the city. He was sending them to Agrua’s city jail. Technology also became so much more advanced. Floating cameras now surveyed the city’s streets in search of people who needed help. There were also more police now.



If I had any complaint, it would be that my memory wasn’t as sharp as it use to be. I remember seeing Mayor Steven before his inauguration, but I just couldn’t place his face to an event. I also forgot a lot of what I learned in school. My grades started going downhill, but in my defense, everybody else in my class’s grades were falling also.



Mom and Dad were much more efficient since the city’s reformation. They were always awake and ready for the day by the time I was even out of my bedroom. Dad’s cooking still wasn’t that great, and Mom’s piano playing wasn’t the best either. The only real problem was little Mary. Her glasses kept sliding off her face because they were so big on her small face. But we made her wear them anyway, in case we had another tragic event. She would often wake up in the middle of the night yelling, “I want my family back!” We would then go and comfort her and assure her that we were always there for her.



It was one particularly beautiful Tuesday when my glasses broke. I was walking to school, playing with my laser cutter, when Mary grabbed my cutter. She was cutting some stones when she tripped on a rock. The laser cutter’s beam flew to my face and hit my computer specks. The glasses fell off my face and a huge burn mark was on my forehead. I grabbed the cutter from Mary and spoke, “Its okay Mary. I’m not hurt. I can always get new glasses next Saturday. Thats when we’re having our next town meeting.”



Her sad face lightened up a little, and we continued to school. I had a horrible headache the rest of the day, and I almost called my parents to bring me home. It was history class when my teacher brought out a huge portrait of our mayor. Our professor was going to explain how important and needed our current mayor was. I looked closely at the man’s face on the poster when my head exploded with pain. Then I remembered. I remembered seeing the fake Engineer in the blue Engineer robes. I remembered my suspicions about him. I remembered everything. Then I turned my attention to the computer specks.



For four weeks I forgot about my suspicions of Mayor Steven, but the seconds the computer specks fell from my face, I remembered everything. It then clicked that these glasses were controlling our minds somehow. That must be why I didn’t have to make decisions anymore. The specks must have also affected my memory and thought process. I rubbed my eyes and I could finally see clearly. Mayor Steven had brainwashed an entire city. We were his puppets. Then I knew I had to defy him. I knew I had to right his wrong. I decided to start by removing the contacts from my parent’s eyes.



When I got home, I sat my parents home and asked them to remove their contacts. They refused instantly, and I tried to reason. My dad spoke harshly, “These contacts are for emergencies! What if another train came crashing through the sky? We would all die. Son, you go to your room. Tomorrow, we’re going see Mayor Steven, and you’re getting a pair of new computer specks.



Defeated, I walked back to my room and locked the door. Looking at Mary, I decided I needed to destroy the source. Mayor Steven was the source of all of this madness, and if I shut down his computer, then I could stop all this horrible brain control. I decided I needed a good night’s rest if I was going to save our city from imminent doom.



I woke up the next morning to the sound of an alarm. I instantly recognized the alarm as the city’s meeting call. My mom and dad came into our room and hurried us into clothes. It took a few seconds before I remembered that I needed to stop the Mayor and his plight to destroy our free-will. Dad fixed Mary’s glasses onto her face, and he turned to me and said, “You better behave. Those who defy the city’s good will go to the prison.” I couldn’t believe these words were coming from the mouth of my own father, but I knew they weren’t. These were the words of Mayor Steven.



The entire town was gathered around the podium in front of the technology hub. Mayor Sinclair was standing next to a huge mound of boxes. When everyone was situated he spoke into his microphone saying, “I have great news people of Agrua! Actually, I have two announcements of great news. One, we are renaming the city to the City State of Sinclair at Agrua.” Several people nodded their heads, and a few even cheered at this ridiculous proposal, but he continued, now yelling, “Two, I have a new shipment of Computer Contacts! Now our children don’t have to wear those God awful glasses! Come, grab a box, pass them around!” The entire congregation of people was cheering at this point. Some were even in tears by the mayor’s announcements. This place is not the wonderful city it once was. These people are no longer my family, no longer my friends, they are nothing but robots. I felt the emotions battering against my soul, and most of all I felt helpless.



Then Mary spoke in my ear, “I don’t want to wear them.” I replied quite inconspicuously while saying, “You won’t have to.” I grabbed the laser cutter from my pocket and pointed it at the mayor’s podium. I pressed the button and a beam of red light soared to the podium and in seconds it was in flames. The effect was instant. Several people ran away from the flames, and we we made our move.



Mary and I ran through the city streets faster than we thought humanly possible, but our pure determination gave us speed. Soon we were approaching the city’s boundaries. Mary turned to me solemnly and spoke, “Are you sure about this?” I grasped her hand and yelled out, “I choose to be free.”