Stalemate

New Beginnings

        I woke up surrounded by darkness. The orange hue of the morning sky was just beginning to graze the horizon. There was no point in getting out of bed because I wasn't allowed to turn the lights on until the sun had fully risen. It can get really annoying when you're an insomniac ridden night owl, but you adjust quickly and it does make for an
incredible view of the stars. I've heard stories of when cities used to never sleep. The sun would go down and every street corner would be swathed in artificial light. Neon signs would hang from every rafter and every building. And as the sun set people were just
getting ready to go out. Places we're open till midnight or 3 in the morning or just never closed. I'm also told that all the light pollution depreciated the stars, but I think it would be worth it.

By now the sun had fully risen and i headed out the door to the city, so maybe i'll be able to imagine what it was like to see with more than just the moons glow. I lived right on the outskirts of town so it was only a 5 minute walk. I was greeted by usual billboards taking up half a city block. "Coca colas 200th year anniversary" was plastered on a billboard on the side of a building in bold red letters. It was still and unmoving. There was only ever little movement in the city. If you had a car you were seen as a selfish gas
guzzler, greedily thieving off the earths resources. After you pass the 12th telephone booth you know you've reached the heart of the city. At the center of Times square, as is used to be called, was a gradual heard of people on their commute to work, surrounded by the paper posters of every item. The biggest one, set in the dead center of
the street was a picture of 4 teenagers, who were long dead now, staring down at their cellphones, completely mesmorized by whatever they were looking at, not at all aware of their friends beside them. Above the picture it said in forcefully threateningly letters " WE WILL NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO TECHNOLOGY."

I find it incredibly silly because of how dated it is. That sort of high tech technology was banned way before I was even born. The only times I ever hear of someone having a cellphone is when its strewn across the headline of every newspaper in the city. You had to be either a billionaire or a bootlegger to come across something like that. Most people are afraid of the technology anyways. The power it holds is too much for humans to possess we are told. Riots, wars, revolutions were said to be caused only by the sheer power of social media. So we were basically put back in the old days before the internet was invented and everyone had a smartphone. I am told this is a good thing. But i am unable to miss something that was never mine.

I aimlessly wandered the streets attempting to end up nowhere. I made it all the way to 10th street when I was knocked forcefully off my feet like I'd just been rammed with a truck. My head collided with the pavement as i watched the city in front of me become shrouded by a white haze. My head felt like it was filled with static as I struggled to get back on my feet. All I could make out was the girl in front of my hastefully collecting the pile of stuff she'd spilled out onto the street when we slammed into each other. I tried
to form a coherent sentence but all that came out was babbling. As soon as she had her stuff together she hastily sped walked away. I turned back to where I was walking and i noticed a thin black rectangle on the ground. It was cold and made of glass and plastic. It must have been dropped by the girl. Still slightly disoriented, i jogged after the girl, who happen to be the only person walking not at a snails pace. I glanced down and the cold plastic brick in my hand was fully lit up. It displayed the time and date and read "please enter passcode." I started to panic and broke into a full fledged sprint after the girl, in fear that that actually knew what I was holding in my hand. I caught up with her and shoved her around so that she was facing me.

"is this yours??" I demanded. Her pupils filled with fear and the rest of her face contorted into pure dread. After a second of mental processing, she seemed to calm herself down.
She leaned into me as close as she possibly could and whispered into my ear

"As soon as I start walking away follow directly behind me and get into the car parked 2 blocks up. keep your head down and don't say a word." All the blood in my body ran cold. My body screamed at me to make a b line
straight back home or to the police station, but if that little black box I picked up was actually what i thought it was, then theres a good chance i might be shot on sight if I ran. Without thinking I followed behind her and hopped into the deeply tinted car parked exactly where she said. I heard some mumbles as a I climbed into the nearest seat and I felt something sharp and pointed being injected into my neck. It was fiery sharp pain and
and immense wave of drowsiness washed over me.

I woke up in a room fully illuminated by the glow of screens. It was a huge room, with every wall covered in what I can only assume to be computers. I'd never seen one in person. I felt the soreness of wrists and realized that i was tied to a chair. The woman who i'd run into on the street appeared from a thin doorway followed by a tall
slender man in a dapper suit. It was just now that i was able to grasp how beautiful the women in front of me was. She seemed to have every inch of the room mapped out in her head, like she could come up with 15 different plans of attack or escape or whatever
needed in a moments instance.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked in a mild british accent that I hadn't noticedbefore. I shook my head no

"Good. I guess we can start with the basics then. These are computers. What you picked up of mine on the street was a cellphone. They are not the root of all evil as you've been told. They can actually do a lot of good. We are here to spread all the good and the bad. Any questions so far?" she paused. "Okay good."

She wheeled over a computer and punched in a bunch of buttons on a big
rectangle with letters on it. Headlines began filling the screen like "43 dead in Russian revolution" or "War in Egypt leaves thousands homeless." The dates all read from this month. "This is what your local newspapers won't report. The outside world is in turmoil and every city in america are blissfully unaware of what's going on in the world. You are forced es your limited news in order for the truth to remain hidden from the truth. We are here to shine light on the reality of the world. We do not know who is listening. we do not know our audience. we do not know how many people hear us. But it is our civil duty to spread the knowledge that we are privileged of knowing. We are the vocal cords that
give these people a voice. We are not noble. We are not holy. We are simply doing what our government has failed to do. What they have chosen to hide from us. knowledge."

My head pounded trying to make sense of all this. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to cry. I wanted to wake up. I wanted this to all be a dream. I wanted to unlearn all of this. So much pain and troubles in the world and here we are living naively ignorant
of it all.

They handed me a black box identical to the one I picked up from the street.

"We've been watching you Skylar. Today was no accident. We believe you to be a perfect candidate to help further the spread of knowledge. All we ask you to do is remain aware. Do not fall ignorant to what you are spoon fed by the media. Seek out the truth yourself. It is our job to be informed. The internet is a powerful thing. It was created to break our limits, not create them. Keep your eyes open and i promise with every reblog and repost
of whats happennig out there, we are stepping towards a more alive future."