We're Not Gonna Take It

Chapter VI: Run With Me

I had met Ben some time ago- at this point days have blended together into months and become obsolete. Ben had come up to me in a square after a speech, and congratulated me for having the audacity to openly dissent. Ben was a high up military commander who somehow managed to escape the military- which at first meant I naively believed he'd be serious, down to earth, sneaky, and uptight.

Ben O'Brien is none of those things. Ben O'Brien is a complete dork with his head in the clouds- his brown hair is constantly disheveled, and at any given time, he's probably doing something weird. He, for some reason unknown even to omnipotent beings, can manage to make instant noodles taste good, and whenever I question him about how he achieves that feat he just laughs and pushes his hair out of his eyes.

The military requires that all girl's hair be exactly ten inches long and all men's hair be nearly shaved, and since Ben left it he hasn't cut his hair. Ever. I've offered a myriad of times to slash it off with a knife, but every time he refuses. Then pushes his stupid hair out of his stupid blue eyes.

Regardless of his dorkish-ness and messy hair, Ben was not a liability; he did after all, somehow, make it to the rank of general. If it ever came to it, he could fight. He could defend himself. He also provided inside information- being a high up military personnel meant that he knew where the uprisings were, and he knew that right at the edge of the poor district in the capital, there was the highest concentration of dissent. Naturally, it was swarming with police, National Guardsmen, and military personnel, but it was the best place to bring the rebellion straight to President Hoeskra's door. It was the best place to overthrow the government, the best place to make my dreams come true. If Ben and I can get there, we will make history. The two of us can burn the current administration to the ground, and out of those ashes can rise democracy; an end to totalitarianism, and a rise of government for the people, by the people.

For now, we actually have to GET to the capital, which requires camping, and the ever-present, loathed and revered, instant noodles. They pack well, they taste like salt and chemicals, they're easy to cook, and waiting the three minutes for them to cook takes an eternity and a half. Although, I must say- waiting for water to boil and noodles to cook is significantly more fun with a friend; even if it does end up with me threatening to push Ben into the fire because he made yet another bad joke.

By this time, the days have gotten cold, and the nights even colder- Ben and I have ended up sharing his small, one person tent to keep warm. We've also engaged in the dangerous practice of hanging a candlelit lantern inside the tent- despite the fire danger, it works pretty well. That is, until we both die in a fiery inferno and do the government's job of killing us for them. But I digress.

Aside from camping out in a tent with an ex-military general turned dissent and dork, I HAVE been getting work done. I've written up pamphlets outlining my ideas for revolution, and have been dispersing them among deplorables- Ben and I went to a multitude of copy shops in a multitude of towns and copied the neatest pamphlet I had written. The pamphlets themselves were simple; they were folded in half with simple writing, and consisted of parts of speeches I had given- in the pamphlets I had taken the liberty to use slightly more advanced diction, because I figure if a person can read, they certainly must have some access to a fundamental education. The front of each pamphlet was blank, and inside on the right-hand side, each read:

"You now have, in your possession, an article of the revolution. Whether you know it or not, whether you CHOOSE to believe it or not, your government, the 'Chosen Ones,' use and manipulate you. You are taught that the government is infallible, that the government is perfect, that the government's accuracy and honesty are unerring, incontrovertible. That is completely falsified- your government sees you as pawns in a bloody game of chess. Your government does not care about you- you work in arduous conditions, but continue to live in abject poverty. You have no benefits, you have no rights.

But that can change. YOU can change yourself, you can change the world. Spread this message- spread the message that the Chosen Ones are NOT infallible, spread the message that you DESERVE better, that things CAN be better.

Resist. Rebel.  Dissent.  Prevail.

Yours,
Elizabeth Blair"

On the left were the words:

"You work in arduous conditions, but continue to live in abject poverty."