The Shock of the New

Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of Sam Hopkins

Sam Hopkins age 17 awoke to find that he was back in his bedroom in the East Coast megapolis that he'd shared with his parents. Very quickly he realised that it was yet another school day and that there were three days before the weekend. Groaning at the thought of yet another day slaving over the official W.E.R. curriculum, he nonetheless quickly got himself changed before heading downstairs to breakfast.

Upon entering the kitchen, Sam was met by the sight of his Mother frying synthetic eggs on the oven. On the table was several slices of toast made from the bread she always brought. At the same time, his father was eating a slice of toast while reading the screen of his electronic tablet.
"Morning!" Sam said as he entered. This caused both of his parents to look up from what they were doing

"Morning son!" his father smiled "Sleep well?"
"Of course I did" Sam told his father "What's the news in the world?"

"We've managed to avenge the losses of our troops from the other day" his father explained in the proud patriotic tones he always used when discussing the current affairs of the day "If you ask me, it serves the P.R.E. right for daring to mess with our brave troops!"

As Sam sat down at his seat at the table, his mother finished cooking the eggs and brought them over to his plate

"Thanks mom" Sam said. His Mother smiled

"I know how much you like them"

After a while of eating, Sam looked at his father

"Will we ever defeat the P.R.E.?"

"Of course we will" his father replied "One day, the P.R.E. will be wiped from the face of the Earth and the utopia we've been promised will be complete!"
"It's just that..." Sam hesitated

"What?"

"Well we've been fighting them for as long as I can remember and it feels like we're trapped in a cycle."
"Don't you worry" his Father reassured him "The P.R.E. are a cunning race. But if we all pull our weight and unite as one in God's eyes, there's nothing we can't handle. That's why I'm always telling you to make sure you do what's right."
Sam's father paused to take a sip from his morning coffee

"Who knows? You might one day be the one to deliver the finishing blow against their evil leaders"
Sam smiled "I guess you're right. Well I'd better finish up. I've gotta get the bus"
As Sam left, his Mother called back "Have fun in school today!"

The bus that Sam took always arrived on time at the same time every week. That was one of the advantages of fully automated vehicles which were the norm in the W.E.R. Sam could never find a seat and always found himself standing in the aisle crushed up against several other students and workers. As he watched the world pass by, Sam mentally prepared himself for another day of endless boring lessons about the world he lived in and how to prepare to best serve the W.E.R.

Once the bus pulled up to the Ben Shapiro academy (named after one of the most esteemed intellectuals in the W.E.R.'s philosophies), Sam got off the bus and made his way to the classroom for his first lesson- History with Mrs Mcgrath. Sam had never really liked the old lady. She was a mean sour old bitch who he always suspected of having a grudge against him. Mind you, Sam had always been one of the more unpopular students and the teachers not liking him would not have surprised him one bit.

No sooner had the lesson started than Mrs Mcgrath ordered them to take out their personalised learning tablets and access the module for today's class. At the moment, they were learning about the US Civil War, the true version of events rather than the liberal snowflake propaganda that had filled schools before the W.E.R. had fixed everything so that the students learned the truth about the world.