Post by Floyd Looney on Aug 22, 2009 2:33:12 GMT -5
"I don't want to go" I yelled crossing my arms as if it were the final say.
"You don't have a choice, Marco. You have been chosen and we cannot appeal that" mother told me. The look on fathers face told me that he didn't like what was happening but his silence told me that Mom was right.
"It's not right" I said looking down at my shoes, I didn't want them to see that a big boy like me had tears welling up in my eyes. "They can't do it"
"Yes, they can. They do it all the time. They're not going to treat you any different" she told me and poked me in the chest for good measure "I wish it wasn't so too, my son, but it is the way things are".
I turned my back on them and wiped my eyes. How could these strangers come into our lives and take me away from my parents? They come from out of town and they rode in big black cars and never took off their sunglasses, even in the house. Mom hated that. Dad hated them from the moment they pulled up in the driveway. I think he hated them before, years maybe even without meeting them. He hated what they stood for but never said or did anything about it. He wasn't a coward or a bad man, he just never thought one man could stand up against it.
As soon as they had gotten out of their cars one of them scanned us with a facial recognition beam, they knew who we were. They would never be able to lose us no matter how far or how fast we ran. Before the men even got to the bottom of the sidewalk I saw Dads hands balled up into tight fists. Mom had her arms around me before the men had said a word. Her fingers had dug into my shoulders. Those red marks were still there I bet.
"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Rubin, the government is proud to tell you that have won the National Honor Lottery" The man in charge said, he never extended his hand because he knew dad would never take it. The smile on his face was fake as was the joviality in his voice. Mom was holding me tighter than ever and we took a step back, a little behind dad.
"You should be honored that your country has chosen you, Mr Rubin. This is a privilege for any family", The man knew it was a lie, everyone in the country knew it was a lie and yet nobody dared say it. As if the first person who spoke would bust a bubble that would bring their house of cards falling down on top of all of us, to show us that the illusion had been artificial. Nobody wanted to be responsible for bringing down the curtain because everyone was afraid of what lay behind it.
"I don't want to go" I repeated for the thousandth time. I knew the bags were packed and sitting by the front door. I knew that once I walked out that door I would never see this place again. I would never see my parents again. My friends, my school, the park down the street. They would forget me eventually I supposed, well not my parents obviously. It would take years before they could go through a day without thinking of me I guessed. At least it better.
"You are going to go to Space Camp" my father had told me when we were alone. "They will train you in the basics of what you will need to know to live and work out there. Then you will go to a more specialized school in whatever field they think is most suited for you. Just do your best because that is how to make things go your way. Doing poorly on purpose will not get you a trip home, Marco. You never want to do badly, okay?"
I had promised to do my best. I would learn, I would obey. I would work at whatever jobs they assigned me to. But I would not forget what they were doing. I would try to be different if the opportunity presented itself later when I had rank. Maybe when they least expected it I would have a big enough hammer to smash this system to bits and pieces. If I was a Captain or an Admiral or something, maybe I'd have power to do something about it.
I was fooling myself. Certainly all of the boys and girls who were taken away had those same thoughts. The brainwashing was apparently total and complete because nobody ever raised a hand against the government. There had never been a mutiny aboard the fleets many ships. I would become just like them, human robots at the service of our master. I would be brainwashed the same as everyone else. Who was I kidding that I would ever raise a fist to the Czars?
"You don't have a choice, Marco. You have been chosen and we cannot appeal that" mother told me. The look on fathers face told me that he didn't like what was happening but his silence told me that Mom was right.
"It's not right" I said looking down at my shoes, I didn't want them to see that a big boy like me had tears welling up in my eyes. "They can't do it"
"Yes, they can. They do it all the time. They're not going to treat you any different" she told me and poked me in the chest for good measure "I wish it wasn't so too, my son, but it is the way things are".
I turned my back on them and wiped my eyes. How could these strangers come into our lives and take me away from my parents? They come from out of town and they rode in big black cars and never took off their sunglasses, even in the house. Mom hated that. Dad hated them from the moment they pulled up in the driveway. I think he hated them before, years maybe even without meeting them. He hated what they stood for but never said or did anything about it. He wasn't a coward or a bad man, he just never thought one man could stand up against it.
As soon as they had gotten out of their cars one of them scanned us with a facial recognition beam, they knew who we were. They would never be able to lose us no matter how far or how fast we ran. Before the men even got to the bottom of the sidewalk I saw Dads hands balled up into tight fists. Mom had her arms around me before the men had said a word. Her fingers had dug into my shoulders. Those red marks were still there I bet.
"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Rubin, the government is proud to tell you that have won the National Honor Lottery" The man in charge said, he never extended his hand because he knew dad would never take it. The smile on his face was fake as was the joviality in his voice. Mom was holding me tighter than ever and we took a step back, a little behind dad.
"You should be honored that your country has chosen you, Mr Rubin. This is a privilege for any family", The man knew it was a lie, everyone in the country knew it was a lie and yet nobody dared say it. As if the first person who spoke would bust a bubble that would bring their house of cards falling down on top of all of us, to show us that the illusion had been artificial. Nobody wanted to be responsible for bringing down the curtain because everyone was afraid of what lay behind it.
"I don't want to go" I repeated for the thousandth time. I knew the bags were packed and sitting by the front door. I knew that once I walked out that door I would never see this place again. I would never see my parents again. My friends, my school, the park down the street. They would forget me eventually I supposed, well not my parents obviously. It would take years before they could go through a day without thinking of me I guessed. At least it better.
"You are going to go to Space Camp" my father had told me when we were alone. "They will train you in the basics of what you will need to know to live and work out there. Then you will go to a more specialized school in whatever field they think is most suited for you. Just do your best because that is how to make things go your way. Doing poorly on purpose will not get you a trip home, Marco. You never want to do badly, okay?"
I had promised to do my best. I would learn, I would obey. I would work at whatever jobs they assigned me to. But I would not forget what they were doing. I would try to be different if the opportunity presented itself later when I had rank. Maybe when they least expected it I would have a big enough hammer to smash this system to bits and pieces. If I was a Captain or an Admiral or something, maybe I'd have power to do something about it.
I was fooling myself. Certainly all of the boys and girls who were taken away had those same thoughts. The brainwashing was apparently total and complete because nobody ever raised a hand against the government. There had never been a mutiny aboard the fleets many ships. I would become just like them, human robots at the service of our master. I would be brainwashed the same as everyone else. Who was I kidding that I would ever raise a fist to the Czars?