Anna's Story
I was born in a small cottage in the year 2040. Ten years prior to that, society had already started to drastically change. I am grateful that I was born beautiful, tall and perfect, according to society's standards. My parents were always wonderful to me, and my childhood was pleasant. I always felt loved and well cared for.
Around the time I turned 14, I noticed things around me changing faster and faster. Both of my parents took government jobs, and my parents and I had to move to a state monitored industrial type apartment. This was attached to the building where my parents worked. My school was also attached to the same building by means of an underground tunnel. Everything was contained so everyone and everything could be monitored all of the time. By presidential mandate, everything continued to be maintained beautifully, people, plants and buildings alike. Foliage and flowers were planted everywhere and the insides of buildings were meticulously decorated and kept clean. Even though so much care was taken in the detail of architecture, decoration, and planting, everything still felt bare and void. No one put real feeling into what they did, including the people in charge of beautification.
My community continued to evolve, and it came to feel very plain and cold. More and more same looking complexes emerged everywhere. And, it seemed that just about everything was attached by tunnels, either below or above ground. People were encouraged by government officials to stay indoors, but no one ever told them why it was necessary. Anyway, no one questioned the government, people went about their ordinary business, and everyone stayed inside. Small children in pre-school and kindergarten were the only ones seen outside. For everyone else, it was looked down upon to not follow the government's recommendation stay inside.
By the time I turned 16, almost everyone in my town worked and lived in a building like the one my family resided in. I did not understand why people agreed to move out of their houses and cottages and moved into apartment buildings, but again, no one wanted to question what the government asked them to do. Jobs started to be assigned rather than chosen, and although some people were unhappy with the jobs given to them, they appeared afraid to ask for a change.
When I turned 18, it was time for me to work. I wanted to go to college, but I was not allowed. Because of my beauty, the government decided I would be a model. There were a few agencies I could choose to apply to, but it did not matter which I picked because they were all entirely the same. I missed my youth, when some things were still unique, but I new it would take a lot to change The System.
Every building and every street was monitored by surveillance planes and cameras. Nothing went unnoticed. Freedom, people's rights and The Constitution were all destroyed by the new socialist government, led by President Pete Blossom, which took over America. The president felt that in order to protect people, all actions had to be monitored and restricted. Society started to socially move backward. Arranged marriages were enforced as the government wanted to control mating so that only the healthiest, strongest, and best looking children would be born into the world.
By the time I was 20, the government was terrifying. Most people were obedient. However, people who questioned what was going on or did not follow the rules swiftly disappeared, and everyone knew exactly where these deviants went.
President Pete Blossom seemed most concerned with two things. One was making sure that all of the babies born were of the best quality. The second was to reduce the population. Most people were obedient citizens, so he could not exile them. If he started to destroy people outright for no reason, he was afraid the people would start to rebel. He did not want to take that chance. Left with little choice , the government started plotting different strategies to reduce the population and ensure healthy, beautiful, and strong citizens.
I came to know this information through a secret organization which I was and still am a member of. So far we have successfully hidden ourselves from the watchful eyes surrounding us. We are growing in numbers, but we are not large enough to risk starting a rebellion. In fact, like the government, we are trying to be clever. We must be subtle and careful, and eventually we will figure out how to slowly change things for the betterment of society.
