Control

I

The War was brutal.

Families were separated. Loved ones lost. Thousands of years of industrialization and civilization almost crushed in the hands of who we like to call 'Reformers'.

No one could be trusted. Ancient temples and buildings were being toppled down, and everyone was powerless to stop it. Reformers took hostages, and killed thrice as many.

-

At first, it had been a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. I can remember my history teacher telling us about how it had been noon, and the small children were playing outside on a playground— something that you could barely find around here, because the Government declared them hazardous.

Although, that peace and serenity didn't last long. Starting from the West Coast of what was then The United States, people had started to rise up against humanity. People who had lost all their humanity themselves, and deemed it unfit for anyone else to obtain the massive power that was a heart. Before that sunny day, these people had been starting a secret cult for the past 300 years, and nobody had seemed to notice.

Or, maybe people had noticed, but they had been killed before they could say a word to anyone else.

On that day, the Reformers decided that the armies and governments wouldn't be prepared if they marched through the streets of California that day. They gathered their most elite soldiers and weapons, and stormed through the once said to be 'strong' country— in less than 3 days.

It is said that there were more than 1 billion Reformers at the very beginning of the Sieges, and 5 billion at the end. The 4 billion people that were Transferred were either from two groups— switched because they didn't want to die, or switched because they had no hope or faith left in them.

Either way, we were taught that they were the enemies, and were all jackasses.

There were four Great Sieges, one for every continent with living people. For Northern and Southern America, the First Great Siege was the weaponry— weapons that were said to be so futuristic that even in the 11 years of warfare, nobody could make anything near their least powerful gun. They took a ton of the biggest countries at the time by force, death and annihilation.

Only 30% of the population survived.

The Second Great Siege was for Africa— food and water shortages. Somehow the Reformers had figured out how to terminate animals and vaporize water without killing the people, which they did themselves. In the Books, it is said that Africa was experiencing bad food and water supply because of greed in other countries, and the Reformers took advantage of that.

10% of the population survived.

The Third Great Siege was for Europe— the deadly disease. What started in Italy made its way across Europe, and the disease was called the Bleach Plague. Weird name, right? It was called that because bleach was their favourite way of flicking out their lights. In the Books there was tell of it being the second Plague, so it became known; the Bleach Plague and the plague before that, the Black Plague. The victims of the Bleach Plague developed a suicidal urge, and the urges wouldn't end until you ended yourself.

20% of the population survived.

The Fourth and final Great Siege was for Asia and the Middle East— it was insanity. The Reformers barely even made it there when the population started going insane. They heard what had happened all over the world, and insanity called over to them. They didn't get suicidal urges like Europe, but instead got homicidal urges. They killed off everyone who wasn't in their immediate circle of friends and family, searching for blood and gore.

15% of the population survived.

The War was a terrible time for humanity. It taught the remaining humans to never trust strangers, and stay in the safety of trusted ones. All those years of humans being social creatures all wasted away when corrupted minds killed and tortured innocent minds and hearts.

Even now, 2 000 years later, everyone is still shaken from the nightmares that our ancestors gave us about the terrible suffering they had to endure. The Government tries to protect us from harm, which I think they do shit at.

The Reformers are still out there. They didn't suddenly die after they won the war— they're out beyond the comfort of home, probably thinking of ways to wipe out all of humanity, once and for all.

But, I don't think they need to. What's so special about humans without any humanity? Hopes? Faith? What can we call ourselves, if we're not truly human, yet not truly dead?

In Education, they say that Reformers look different than humans— they have glowing souls. That's why, when you're born, your parents are forced to stick a needle in one of your main veins in your arm and take out part of your soul, something the humans have perfected in 2 Millenia.

Everyone remembers having it done. I don't.

Personally, I don't think anyone needs to be worrying about Reformers anymore. We're the mice and they're the cats, and, honestly, they won't need an elaborate scheme to wipe the whole of humanity off the map— all they need is to get rid of all the last bits and pieces of hope.

Unfortunately for them, they have an April Suzanna to worry about.