Chapter 1
It was mid-evening, on what had been an extremely hot summer day. People were sitting inside, children laughing, parents relaxing, everything in the world seemed just right.
The twilight was growing ever so dark as the time passed by, shadows fading into shadows — the light of day leaving like a stalker who's been caught.
The lights of the houses gave off a cool aura in the darkened neighborhood, shining dimly like starts not able to fully release their potential.
Lisa Carr was sitting on the side of her bed, with her cousin Stacie Ambrose. The two had grown up together, and had been like sisters their whole lives. Now however things weren't quite the same.
Lisa Carr was 16 years old, a beautiful young lady with long brown hair, and dreamy blue eyes. She had advanced quickly in school, and was already in the 12th grade. She'd been interviewed by several universities already, and her future was looking very bright. Somehow though, at this time she didn't feel the brightness.
Stacie Ambrose was 13, but sported a wavy tangle of wild blonde hair, and her bright green eyes could penetrate your mind like sapphires in front of a fire. She was not as academically inclined as Lisa, but was highly competitive and very athletic. She was on her way to becoming a world class female wrestler, her dream of being able to combine her athletic prowess with her acting talents was forming into a reality.
Tears were filling Lisa's eyes as she tried to talk to her cousin. Stacie was just sitting there, an empty look of utter loss visible in her eyes.
Now the reasons behind their sadness and empty hearts were complicated. It's best if we go straight back to the beginning in order to better understand the situation.
Chapter 2
The morning had been glorious. A bright sunny day, evening dew drops sparkling in the grass like diamonds. The two girls had decided to take a weekend camping trip to a peaceful place in a forest, just out back of town.
It was nice to be able to go only a few miles into the woods, and not see a sign of human activity. That such a wondrous place existed but a little ways away from a mid-sized town was a miracle in and of itself.
They had spent the trip hiking up talking about their futures, what they had planned on doing once they graduated from school and began their respective adult lives.
Lisa had talked about how she planned on getting her medical degree and becoming either a doctor or a medical researcher. Stacie had described the character she wanted to play in the ring, and how she dreamed of becoming the first woman to hold the top belt in wrestling.
They both had big ambitions, they both saw such a bright future ahead of them.
They both envisioned a world in which nothing could stand in their way, in which they would be the respective leaders of their fields, and prove at last that judgements should not be made based on fickle things such as age, gender or race. That reality was theirs for the shaping.
Teenagers, dreaming of what could be, seeing in their minds the barriers torn down, the world becoming theirs to protect. It was apparent that the current custodians of the planet had not done a very good job, maybe these two girls could finally bring order and justice to a dying, hateful world.
Chapter 3
Sitting by the camp fire that night, the flickering flames casting wild shadows in the dark, they still talked.
Then at once there came a moment, an awakening to another side of reality, a place that neither had ever dared see into before. They sat there, silent as the trees, just staring at each other, the sudden simultaneous realization of truth falling upon them like a freak hail storm in the middle of July.
They kissed.
It was a moment of zen, an untold truth, a feeling of total and utter power over everything that was. They were at once the absolute center of existence, the focus of the universal constant, the only two souls to awaken in the Cave and understand the reality which had been hidden from them for so long.
They kissed.
Nothing truer, nothing purer, nothing at all could stand before them now and crush the reality they had found. The lies were gone, the deception revealed, the world was truly theirs. At this moment in time, everything that had ever mattered was but a foggy reaction in a broken mirror of what truly awaited them in the world out there. They were no longer captive to the suffering of the false reality given to them by the bearers of lies. They had broken through the walls of falsehoods, and on the other side discovered themselves, standing there, waiting for this very meeting.
They kissed.
Chapter 4
Now we return to the room. The two girls sitting there, their last day of freedom, sitting on the side of the bed, trying to understand why this is happening to them.
They had not been alone that night in the woods. There had been an Enforcer, walking through the forest, checking up on potential subversive activities. He had seem them there, sitting by the camp fire. He had heard their words and he had seen them kiss.
The charges were serious: homosexual behaviour, incestuous conduct, sexual activity under the age of 18, and worst of all, discussing ideologies not conducive to society.
The first three were major offenses, the last was a capital offense.
The judge had been lenient, seeing that they were still under 18, he had granted a waiver of the death sentence, saying that as able bodied citizens, they would be better off with just reform.
He had decided in his infinite wisdom that a more appropriate punishment was the newly invented procedure known as mind-programming. It would result in the total destruction of their personalities, memories, everything. The new, programmed minds would be conformant to society, would not perform activities of a subversive nature. It was not really a punishment at all, but a prestigious award. Who could ask for more than to be free of the ability to make wrong decisions?
They sat there in silence, staring at each other, knowing that by this time tomorrow, they would no longer exist as the people they were. With nothing else to lose, they stripped themselves of their clothing, and made love, perfectly aware that the cameras were watching their every movement. Every house had cameras, since we can never be too careful with trusting people to behave morally on their own.
Chapter 5
"Good morning 731. Thank you for coming. I wanted to tell you that as the results of the recent mind-programming program have been extremely successful, we are hereby decreeing that it shall be mandatory for all citizens of Earthhome."
"Yes, I know, many people have grown quite accustomed to having names, but the age of personality and individuality is gone. It's time that we as a race evolved beyond that, and I'm sure that everyone will be quite happy with their newly assigned number. I just thought I should let you know that although your friend 730 died due to complications of the procedure, you were the first successful patient in the program. Your great success has inspired us as a race to better ourselves as you have."
"Imagine it 731, just think, never again will we ever have to fear of making our own choices."
"Isn't it grand?"