His daughter and her newfound boyfriend run away with his million years, leaving him alone. These kids are too idealistic. How can they not understand that giving people money is not helping? A million years for one family makes its members almost immortal, but for two million people in New Dayton, the wrongly placed wealth only prolongs their agony for 6 months.
At first, extra time will bring satisfaction to those who never have so much time. But, in the long term? Obviously not.
Tik Tok. Tik Tok. Tik Tok.
Their time is running out.
The people, hiding behind crowds, are brave. They always have been. People have not changed much since the French Revolution in 1789 or the Paris Commune and the October Coup in 1917. However, revolutions are short-lived, especially compare to the endless time that promised to the rich. To him. The French Revolution lasted a year, the Paris Commune 72 days, and the October Coup happened 8th months after the February Revolution. Philippe is 110 years old. He can wait.
But, most civilians can't be as patient as him. Their life has been disrupted. They have no incentive to work with months instead of hours on their clocks. They will gather up and march for the richer zones with their newfound freedom, an aimless march of disorder and false hope. They have no leader, no knowledge about the system.
About destroying him is nothing. Philippe is just a wheel belongs to the clock. He is only a mere member of the high council of the richest in each colony. The council that sets the rule, upholds the rule and rules over all that was, all that is, and all that ever will be on this planet. Phillipe is just an extension of their wills - of keeping prosperous until eternity and after.
Earning months are nothing compares to the power to generate time. A revolution of a shut-off colony cannot affect the world. In time, when the civilians' borrowed time evaporates to nowhere, the only way for them is robbing from others. The Timekeeper Department does not have enough human resources to keep those many criminals at bay.
Then, chaos will happen. Anarchy is the only outcome of his lost million years. In the end, more people died this way than just keeps the system. In the end, the strong survive. Among them, the faces belong to his social circle are the majority. Nonetheless, the survival game always favors the rich. They only need to wait and avoid thieves until the order is restored. Unless their bodyguards figure out: there is no rule, no string attached in this dread time and thus, stole from their own employers.
His thought is interrupted by the voice of his bodyguard, who has successfully opened his office door, who Philippe now fears. Fear that anybody, including his protection, can take his time.
"Sir" Constantine, his chief bodyguard, shakingly asks for his attention. Only then, he notices the non-stop ringing. Yes. Of course, all other mogul bankers around the world are calling him as they notice the corruption of his zone. Their investment here is at risk. But, the only one who actually gets hurt here is him. They only have investments here and there in this zone. He is the only one who invests his precious time and work, so much work here. But, now, they, as the council's members, have the right to make the decision about him and his colony.
"Do something, sir" the guard begs him again. This young boy still believes in Philippe's unlimited power, so trusting toward his boss.
Constantine doesn't know the council has made its decision.
"It has already done" Philippe truthfully answers the guard, for the first time. Unsatisfied with Philippe's answer, his guard walks away, probably to try making an unnecessary call to Timekeeper Department. Unnecessary, as 50 people cannot round a million people and tell them to calm down and go home and go to work normally as they should.
If that boy was smarter, he would acknowledge the power Philippe wield here in this colony just vanishes, as well as Philippe's lack of focus on the lost million years. Or better, Constantine can have the wisdom of Philippe and see that now Philippe is afraid of his own guards and more important, understand the council's choice.
It will be a total lockdown of this colony from the world. This system corruption is usually thought of as a disease, waiting for its unleashing. Even as separated or a self-sufficing as a colony today, his colleague could still feel some of the blown. They don't like losing.
Philippe should act fast. The government will lock down the streets after the council meeting. It is not protocol, so they need to be informed about what they can do, what technology they can use. A day is the longest time for him to get out of this zone without doing something riskier and more dangerous.
He has to act faster than them.
They will need someone to blame to soften the gossip from the rich of this colony and of the system. The system is still necessary and their best choice, while Philippe Weis is a bad guy, a bane, an incompetent tyrant who cannot even properly teach his own daughter. Oh, the bad blood of a newcomer and the stain should be cleaned after all these years. The council will hunt him down, "bring his crime to the light" and execute him as a sheep to be offered to God.
So he has to be untrackable.
What do you think? A world, when everyone has a credit card that controls life, cannot track people? The arm clock projects the content of a chip that was put into your body since you were born. Everyone has an identical chip. It is your identity, your national security number. And as a credit card, it also helps the government to track each member of the society. Thus, if your mother was tracked, the government would find out when she got pregnant and give birth to you. And when they found you, they will implant that chip and the circles will restart again and again and again.
He hates this. So, as the richest one here, he has set the rule of not tracking anyone to promote "an individual privacy right". The timekeepers of this zone cannot access that information before. For example, if they had had every time exchanging records, every human location, they would have found his daughter easily. However, this kind of knowledge can be abused by any lesser government. He has stopped this procedure. His problem is, the higher up - the council can easily overrule his old decision and use this data to find him.
Fortunately, Philippe is too paranoid about his safety. Maybe, too eager to learn, and also has a lot of time for it. No time before has he this thankful for the paranoid part of himself. He has a safe house, he can fake death for himself.
His path is cleared. He runs.
YOU ARE READING
No Regrets
Fanfiction"Citizens have takes to the street." "And now, citizens are crossing Zones, entering New Greenwich" "Others fear the system might head for collapse." And Philippe, Sylvia's finance magnet father told her: "But, don't fool yourself. In the end, nothi...
