The Greatest Lie

Time to be a Man

 Crime was less of a concern around M Corp headquarters than anywhere else in the world. Most people were aware of the stakes and did not want to sacrifice the life they were currently living. The armed security details, the barbed wire perimeter fence, and the fact that everyone living here either worked for or was associated with M Corp, made it one of the last remaining places where people felt safe. There was never a worry of a robbery occurring, murders were nonexistent, and the most unlawful thing that might occur was adultery. People tended to keep these minor issues to themselves, as they didn't want a bad decision to affect their employment or have the situation be used as blackmail by a coworker. There was no such thing as vacation time and people were given one day off a week to themselves. A few luxuries of the past did still exist for people living in the better off M Corp controlled towns like where Russell grew up, including restaurants, a bowling alley, and a movie theater that cycled through the same movies every week. Entertainment was no longer a priority and there had not been a new movie released since everything fell apart, and people just did not have the free time like they used to. The only new books that were being written were used as training for M Corp employees. There was no time or money to dedicate to the arts, even though people still enjoyed their limited leisure time indulging in a mindless pastime. With over fifty years worth of movies, television shows, and video games being in circulation, there was more than enough content for the people to consume. These digital babysitters were commonly used on Russell and his friends as a way to keep them entertained as their parent's worked. In return, it took Russell further away from what was really reality.

There was only one guard waiting at the gate to the air base, proving that M Corp was not concerned about the security of this facility. It was hardly used as planes had been hard to upkeep and finding jet fuel in this new world was a luxury that even M Corp had trouble acquiring or producing. M Corp was one of the only entities that still had the resources to utilize this almost now antiquated way of travel. The tarmac was cracked and had little to no repairs done to it in years. Weeds and vegetation could be seen growing up everywhere that Russell looked. There were a couple airplane hangers that many would suspect were abandoned by their looks, and a small square building near the center of the complex. Air traffic control was no longer a thing because of the sparsely flown planes, and all of the runway and tower lights were either burnt out or broken. Russell couldn't believe that a plane could land here, let alone take off, but he had no other choice but to follow orders.

The soldier that was escorting him showed the guard his papers and the guard promptly pulled the wheeled gate open with a loud creak. Russell couldn't do anything but shake his head in disbelief. He had cried all the tears he was capable of, and now he was trying to retrain his mind to focus on two things: follow orders and this is only temporary. As hard as he tried to convince himself that those were the priorities, his mind did its best to reject them. Instead his reptilian brain resorted to fight or flight. He had never gotten into a fight more than some rough housing with friends, and there were at least two soldiers with guns that he would have to over power. The soldier escorting him had already pulled through the gate and Russell had nowhere to run too. He was scared, missed his parents and his friends, and he began to internally blame everyone but himself for the predicament he was currently in. Accountability was something that had been lost on Russell's generation, his life had been handed to him on a silver platter and now he was being served a shit sandwich. His ego and the indoctrination that had occurred within society over the last two decades were the true culprits that could be blamed for this fiasco. One he held control over, the other was an unfortunate aftermath of people not standing up for what was right. Russell had taken a stand for his delusional idea of what he thought was right, but it was all a lie. Who could blame him with his mind full of mush and no real life experiences to harden his character. The last two days were the first taste of real life that Russell had experienced in his 16 years on this Earth.