It started with the truth. Everybody was sick of all the deceit in the world. Why not just... eliminate it? Of course, They couldn't stop everybody from lying. But the ordinary-everyday lies? Gone. Now it was made official that there was no such thing as Santa, The Easter Bunny, even God. Parents were forbidden to tell their children stories about any of the above. There were qualms, of course. Religious Fanatics lined up at the doors of the White House, protesting the new law stating that synagogues, churches, and any other places of worship were unlawful. But they soon saw the light. The light of truth. They realized that lies and deception were harmful, and so their fears were eliminated. Of course, there were a few that still had... issues. No one's really sure what happened to them. But those people were so few in number that no one really cared about them or asked why their protests came to a sudden end. Sometimes, we all wish we had. But then we remember- wishes never Come True.
After the protesters...ended... progress increased drastically. It was rumored that They were coming up with something that could end the redundance of dishonesty, something that could fix it for once and for all. They refused to prove the rumors, but we all hoped-though we knew that we shouldn't hope-that they were true.
Even though wishes and hopes and dreams rarely come true, somehow ours did. Well, not exactly. What they came up with was more complex and confusing than we had imagined it would be. They explained their thought process though. They believe in understanding and knowledge. The new invention turned out to be a device that could read an individual's future-groundbreaking, of course, but none of us understood how that would help the world's current problem- a lack of truth. They explained that this device would, indeed, solve this issue- it would just solve it inadvertantly. Was there any better way to bring truth to Earth than to be able to see the future? Seeing the future provides insight. Nobody could lie to us without our knowledge- we could just look into the future and see if what they said was true. Have a boyfriend who says he'll love you forever? Why don't you just make sure- check in the future to see if a huge breakup is coming up? What if your boss tells you that you're fired? Wouldn't you want to take a peek into the future, just to make sure he wouldn't ever have second thoughts? The idea was brilliant. Genius. Life- changing. The only question that remained unanswered was whether the Invention would change our lives for better or for worse...
That question didn't remain so for long. After They released it to the public, all any news company wanted to do was interview Them. They told us that it was a great success, and those of us who didn't own the Invention believed them. I was one of those people. At that time, I was living in a small condominium. I could barely pay my rent, let alone buy fancy gadgets. But then the prices for these gadgets went down. Way down. And soon everybody had one.
I remember the day I got it. Everyone does. It was probably the most important day of our lives. The rich all went out and bought them the first day they came out. They got the fancy models, the ones with glossy veneers in their favorite color. Me, I got the last model to come out. It was a sort of grey, and the screen was dull green and pixelated. But it didn't matter to me; it turned on, it loaded the screen, it predicted my future. That was all I needed.
When I got opened the box containing my device, my mind was immediately struck with all of the possiblities that existed. What would I ask it first? There were so many ideas popping up in my head, all of them crammed into that space in my brain that I now know was so small. I guess it makes sense that I blurted out something stupid.
"W-will I be happy?" I whispered to the ball in my hand.
A little ticking started coming from the ball. It got faster and faster and faster until it started blurring into one loud thing, a steady TICKTICKTICKTICKTICK coming from this thing in my hands, this thing that was going to fulfill my dreams.
The ball was vibrating, shaking my hands along with it. I was beginning to worry that maybe it would brake, and I would have to go back to the shop and ask for a new one, when, suddenly, the ticking stopped. A mechanical, typewriter-like font began to appear on the screen.
You are.
At the time I dismissed it. Of course I was happy. The world was at its economical and technological zenith, and I was situated at the very heart of it. I was physically incapable of not being happy.
But now….
Now I see the faces of those who are hopeless, those who have forgotten to live. After all, why try if you know you’ll fail? Why believe if you know it’s not true? Why even live?
Now I overhear the protests of the people in the streets, campaigning to rid America of the device that they claim has ruined us. I don’t hear them for long.
Now I listen to whispers, little wisps of rumors that could pass for truths. Rumors that people have gone mad, rumors that the entire country is stumbling through a depression, rumors that all the president does is sit, curled up, on the fine carpeting of his office, wondering if he should tell his wife that he’ll be impeached- and convicted- a month from now.
Now I think of that first question I asked. The one that told me that I am happy. Now I know that this cannot be true, that this never was true. For I do know of happiness, but I also know that there is no such thing.
