The O Men

3

         You know, there was a time when you could see the sun, the rays of light still warmed the ground, and you'd still see stray birds, an occasional pet dog, just the general view of nature. I was told of this time by my parents, although I was not born soon enough to have lived it. The Visorboard started up and began teaching the class, I don't know why we still have teachers at this rate. The Visorboard then projected a map of the world.

         "As you can see on the board," it began in its monotone and robotic voice, "The O State in its current landmass has overtaken most of what used to be the Americas and Canada. The European region, not quite touched although we still use the previous U.S. soldiers stationed in Iran to...."

         I was bored. I knew all this already, and I didn't see the point in learning past level 05. It seems the majority of our population are full of idiots if they can't seem to learn something being shoved into their brains repeatedly. It's almost as if there's no point in this. I don't really know what I'll be doing with this kind of information. I feel as though I'm the only one who thinks that there is something greatly wrong with our system, but I don't know how it could be better. Then, the Visorboard said something that just nearly caught me.

         "In recent news, the O State NAP radio station has cancelled its once a week, two hour Opposition talks. There has been too much hate riddled among us and you the people need to stay with our leader for your own stability, and peace. You must value the state."

         I froze. It was unbelievable, I just couldn't believe, that they took away the only entertainment I had! I already fear I know too little, now I feared it more than ever. I noticed that some of my classmates were rather indifferent to this news. "Why!? What kind of people hate their own thought!? What kind of people hate their ability to grow and enhance their minds!? Did most of these kids even know the station existed!?" I internally shouted. And for the rest of the lesson I was left rather unable to think, which was a first for me.

IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE BREAK PERIOD OF THE STUDENTS OF LEARNING LEVELS 010 AND 011

Quickly rushing outside the classrooms, barren and windowless they are, I jumped outside and pretended to go about my business as usual. When I felt sure that I looked as complacent as I always did, I slipped away towards the abandoned mobile with my satchel. It looked to be a rather rundown place, the ramps were broken and the stairs were moldy and rickety. The space where buildings and mobiles tended to have Visors seemed to not only be empty of one, but also seemed not to have a space for there to be one. For once I felt, unwatched. The walls were a faded khaki color and the roof, a near black save for hints of brown, which indicated that this place burnt from the roof but never quite collapsed. The door was partially burnt as well

"Probably damage from the War of the States"
I thought out loud, catching myself. I thought I had spoken in front of a visor before remembering there weren't any.

"Looks like you made it Charlotte." I quickly looked around and saw the pair of sinister eyes on the burnt roof. "You look like you've got quite a bit of questions."

I simply nodded.

"I figured since I know everything about you, we could save time, and I can tell you about myself. I'm Ashier Dane Owell, I'm 15 years, 8 months and 5 days, my ID is 192745, I've always been a rather observant person, for example, in the months that I've studied you, you always talk in simple or complex sentences, almost never compound. You like to think, you've got that look in your eyes whenever you're thinking. You seem to have an undiagnosed case of either paranoia or anxiety from the fits that you fall into seemingly every time you see the state posters, and you think there's something off about our society."

         For the second time today I was shocked into silence. I get how she knew who I was, but how could she know what I think, what I've never once said out loud before in my life? It's people like her that make me fear that I know too little.

         "How did you-"

         "Shhh. I simply made a guess, but your thought would be correct Charlotte. There is something deeply wrong with our society." Suddenly I connected the dots

         "Are you part of the...the Opposition?" I felt queasy, like I was being slowly dragged into something I wanted no part of. "Yes. Glad I found someone smart enough to make that connection for me."

         "But I thought the Opposition was just a bunch of Past World adults that ranted about our horrible present on the O Men State NAP radio station."

         "That's what the O Men want you to think. They want you to believe that what they say is a bunch of nonsense. Look around you Charlotte, does any of what you see look natural to you? Does it feel natural to constantly hold in your thoughts and emotions? To constantly live in fear of being, Removed? The answer is no it does not. Do you know anything about the country that used to be here before O Men State?"

         She sounds quite like the people from the podcast, but I feel myself realizing my own reality. "Yes. I know there was a country called the United States of America, that was here before the state."

         She looked at me with great disappointment. It appears my information truly was limited. I fear that I know too little. I began to rock back and forth, her stare was piercing, just as sinister as when I first saw them. "How could I believe her?" The thought suddenly came to my head. "She could be an Observer in disguise! It's entirely possible, maybe this is a way for them to find more traitors to the state! I can't let her know of my suspicions. She knows too much and could easily report me if she feels threatened. Many kids have even reported their parents, and have received small rewards like increased ration and free housing until they turn 18. It's scary what people do for seemingly limited goods." I do not like her, not one bit.

         "America had a system of government called democracy. You ever heard it? Course you haven't. Democracy meant that us commoners had a say in our politics, there was a time when we weren't forced to submit to the infallibility of the state, there was a time when we could say what we wanted and nothing bad would happen to us, being Removed was never a thing. They had this thing called the constitution in which we had freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom! Freedom don't you see!? That's what we were meant to live by, not this, this, dictatorship!"

         I saw the seed of hate in her eyes become a sprout, she was beginning to crack. I wasn't very bothered by her news, if democracy were so strong, it wouldn't have collapsed into this mess in the first place. If our previous leader, whoever they were, handled their country so well, then why doesn't it no longer exist? This is a new country this O Men State, hasn't even been 20 years yet. If our freedom was so prevalently needed, then why? Why does our leader, who say they want the best for us, treat us this way? It's very possible that this is what's best for us, I fear change. I fear a lot of things, and I fear that I fear that thought.

         "Yes" I responded purposely with an indifferent tone. Suddenly I processed what she had said. "Wait, how old was the United States?"

         "About a couple hundred years old. Why?"

         Then I realized what was off about our state. It shook me to the very core. I realized why I was in school all this time, learning the same thing over and over again, why those posters exist, why you could only work for the benefit of the state, why you were to be the same as anyone else.

         "Propaganda! The State is a young empire! It's trying to establish control over it's citizens because it wants to become a series of dynasties and create a world superpower!" I paused, thinking, "and the only way to do that, is to remove the individuality of it's citizens completely!"

         "Bingo" she said with radiant energy "I knew you were an intellectual."

         And in that moment, for once, once in my life, I feared my thoughts, and worst of all, I feared that I know too much.