Prologue
Before They See Us.
Change is often so misguided. They were going to give it up. It was what had made them great, what had allowed information to flow. That thing that made all manner of creativity and wonder possible was about to be strangled, quickly and silently. It made happiness worth something, made it true. For a perfect world, they were willing to give up the thing that made the imperfections perfect. Oliver Gershin knew he probably couldn’t do anything about it.
Oliver ran through the hallway to the conference chamber. The Supreme Council was about to vote. The tiered steps and sleek curves of the chamber were abuzz with the new bill to be considered. They all seemed far too pleased about the destruction they were about to unfold. Oliver climbed down the steps to his council seat and forced himself to sit down in the leather chair. Pulling out the square netscreen from his navy blue suit pocket, Oliver opened the details of the bill to make sure he had read it correctly.
The World Protection Act stared back at him in bold backlit black lettering. It was authored by Councilman Chapel, and vetted by the Security committee, which Chapel chaired. It would revolutionize the world; make it a safer place, a world without crime or war, or so it claimed. Oliver wondered who it would be safer for. It would completely overhaul the Enforcement Bureau, gutting the budget for Enforcer’s salaries and investing it in AegisInc’s new Grigori models. Oliver had to admit the machines had been quite effective at locating criminals, even finding long-thought lost murderers who had escaped the Bureau, but the amount of power they were to be given was absurd. Every street corner would have one, patrolmen would be replaced by the new mobile models, and three in four Enforcers would be out of work.
That was just the start. Every Union citizen would be put into a tiered surveillance system, more so than the Ultrawave taps already in operation. These machines could watch everyone, not all the time yet, but with the money being granted to AegisInc’s research and development it wouldn’t take them long to further the technology to do it. If this passed privacy truly would become a thing of the past.
That still wasn’t the worst of it. They were going to arm the Grigori. They weren’t just going to watch and report crime anymore. Judicial procedure had already become almost open and shut on most cases, due to the already existing surveillance networks. DA’s had been done away with and now the broader reaching Provincial Attorneys could push cases through just with collected evidence, neglecting a defense, or even plea hearings, automatically placing judgments. The Grigori would now become judge, jury, and executioner. They would implant the military’s newer pacifiers into these mobile vigilants, authorizing them to take out any citizen who committed, in their programming, a capital offense. What would the world be like when criminals were struck dead on the streets by an invisible ray of death? It would become a world of fear if the populace knew what was happening.
Of course, the bill accounted for that as well. The Ultrawave network of information would be taken from private hands and become Union government property. All information deemed “Unnecessary for public knowledge” would be removed or restricted, and new sites would have to be screened extensively before approval for uploading. The security committee would determine what that meant. The bill explained that this was to prevent any misunderstandings in data and for global security. Oliver didn’t see it that way. They were trying to kill knowledge and stifle questions.
While he read this horrifying bill, all around him the councilmen praised it.
“No more crime to worry about…”
“..Think of all the money it will save in the long term. Why spend all the money to keep training Enforcers who barely do their job when we can just update software instead…”
“…There’s far too much useless information on the Net. This way we can make sure our children are learning things we’ll approve of…”
“…Energy weapons are so much safer than firearms anyway; thank God we got those off the streets.”
Fools. How could they not see what this would mean?
“You’ve been awful quiet over there Ollie, what do you think of the WPA?” Councilman Granger prodded. He was a portly man in his later years, with grey walrus-like whiskers that covered his upper lip. Oliver’s council seat was next to his, so they had more than a little acquaintance.
“I think it’s a travesty, Benjamin” Oliver replied only loud enough for him to hear
“Why would you say that? It seems a fantastic idea. I thought you of all people would have supported it after all that fuff about Enforcer brutality you’ve touted.”
“What this is going to do is worse than anything any Enforcer has inflicted on a citizen. This is effectively a declaration of war on the populace.”
“Ollie, you always did have a flair for the dramatic. It will make things better. You’ll see”
“What about the long term effects of the radiation Pacifiers produce?” Oliver snapped louder than he meant to.
“They are perfectly safe, I assure you.” said a slightly accented voice from behind Oliver. He turned to see a lean man in a black suit and tie with slick hair whose skin clung tightly to the apples of his cheeks. Councilman Sanosuke, head of the Scientific Committee, stood by his seat, one level up, looking down at Oliver. His eyes smoldered with intensity. Oliver stared back with an equally steely gaze.
“Lingering radiation is no big deal to people from your part of the Union is it, Hayate? Well some of us might see it differently.” Oliver shot back after a moment.
“I will ignore that transgression, Councilman Gershin.” The councilman’s eyes flared as he spoke, showing a spark of the inferno within. “What I mean to say is that the cobalt isotope used to provide the gamma burst is not the type to stay in inorganic material. Only the criminal exposed to the burst will be worse for wear. You would be surprised at the progress into directed energy weapons. That is, if you would let go of your archaic firearms.”
“The right of the people to bear arms-“
“Ollie, don’t get started on that again.” Granger interjected “You’re always talking about how no one person should have too much power. Well, If everyone could kill anyone willy-nilly-“
“Then people would think twice before trying to harm someone else.” Oliver interrupted
“Such old ideas, Gershin. It is almost the 22nd century. Start acting like it.” Sanosuke said with a disdain thicker than blood.
“Order! Councils please take your seats, open discussion on the WPA is over and will now be called to a vote.” Chapel announced
The Councilors took their seats at that, as did Oliver, reluctantly. He wanted to scream. The total lack of insight into what this bill would actually do by his peers baffled him. Whether they truly were in the dark or just acquiescing he couldn’t tell, most likely a bit of both. It shouldn’t have surprised him that they would all back it, though. Sanosuke himself was a head researcher for AegisInc, and it was an open secret that Chapel was majority stockholder. Sorenza, the Autocar magnate, held the chair of the Commerce committee. He was in talks to produce parts of the Grigori for AegisInc If the bill passed. The look on his face from across the chamber told Oliver that Sorenza thought it already had. Over half the Supreme Council was in Chapel’s pocket, one way or another; Business arrangements, political loyalty, veiled threats and false promises. Why should he be surprised? There was nothing left to do now but prepare.
“Councilors, if you would please direct your attention to your netscreens.” Oliver’s netscreen shifted from the bill itself to the voting screen. For all of Councilman Sanosuke’s talk of it being a new time, the voting screen still displayed two simple, ancient words. Yay and Nay. Oliver was quick to check Nay, knowing it was probably useless. If this passes, it will be gone. Oliver thought as he sighed, setting down the netscreen on the table in front of him. And so will I. Where would we go? A non-Union country? How many of those were left? Would they try to stop them? Oh Elizabeth, what should I do?
Oliver sat with his head in his hands, waiting for the inevitable. He felt the calm before the storm, except it wasn’t just a storm. It was an earthquake, big enough to shake the Union from its foundation, combined with the hellish fury of the stratosphere above. It wouldn’t dash the people’s bodies around the tumultuous world. It would smash their spirits. Could anyone resist? He would have to try.
“All the votes have been counted, Councilors. With a vote of 543 for and 157 against, The Supreme Council of the Union has passed the World Protection Act on this March 8th of 2096. I am sure that our citizens will remember this as the day we destroyed the menace of crime!”
“No” Oliver whispered under his breath “They will remember this as the day we destroyed freedom. If they even remember what freedom is after this...”
Oliver retired to his office after the announcement while the other Councilor’s shook hands and patted each other on the back, getting ready to depart for a lunchtime recess. He sat before his desk.
And he wept for his people.
