Marx, Putin,and Nicholas

In 2016 the United States was plunged into a civil war. It began and ended the same way; with more deaths then it was worth. The war lasted for two years, and during that time many men and women tried to take power. Each had little to no success; during the war everything changed, safe was a relative term. Women, men, and children, ran the streets, each hoping for shelter, and peace. The bodies that scattered the roads terrified everyone; they represented the broken bits of a once great country. The United States had been left to stand on its’ own, from the day that the first shot was fired, they were condemned by the world. No one gave food or weapons, and no troops were sent. In the later days, after order had been restored it was clearly understood why we were abandoned. Our leaders did not take kindly; the United States once again adopted an isolation policy.

On November 16, 2018, power over the country was given to three politicians. The oldest, Theodore Marx, was an extremist. He had seen bad times, and it left him scared and eager to see change. The woman, Naomi Putin, wanted order. She had a fire in her, that left her fit to govern. Naomi commanded the attention of everyone and sensitivity wasn’t in her vocabulary. In the middle was Nicholas Finch. He was handsome, and smart, but his best feature was his patience. Finch learned early in life that if you waited long enough things came to you. Before the war Finch had been a general, and as a result, still held power over the armed forces. Together, Finch, Theo, and Naomi, turned the chaotic U.S. into a thriving new world. They were elected unanimously by those who bothered to vote, and immediately after set to work. Within a month riots were stopped, and establishments began to reform. Military troops watched over the nation, as it slowly rebuilt itself, instigators were shot, and compliance was mandatory. The three leaders, referred to hereafter as Chancellors, resided in the White House. Their rules were simple and not open to interpretation. The Big Ten 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Violence and Crime will not be tolerated Education is mandatory for all persons 6-18 years of age A national 1 a.m. curfew will be enforced Religious practices of all forms are acceptable; outward signs of said practices will not. Religious is to be confined to one’s home, and the gatherings will exceed no more than twenty persons Travel aboard is restricted, a permit must be acquired Laziness is forbidden; all persons above the age of 18 must be employed or in “the guard” Taxes will be due once yearly; government aid will not be given All U.S residents are subject to the new pollution laws

9. Smoking is intolerable; drinking is permitted only in public establishments 10.Procreation is dependent on income; registration is required

“The Big Ten” and all other laws were strictly enforced and punished only one way…death. The new America prospered under the Chancellors regime. The first real challenge came around in February, when a college was bombed. Twenty-five hundred were killed; the bombing highlighted a weakness in the government. Communication…up until then the three of them had made all the key decisions; this incident showed them that they were not as well informed as they would have liked to think. The terrorist were killed of course, but there needed to be more preemptive actions taken. Twenty hours later five council members were selected to report directly to the three of them. Each member had twenty staff, and was head of a key component of the government. With that problem corrected, the chancellors never gave a second thought to the dead students, for the good of the regime they died!

Punishment and praise went hand in hand in the regime; the people had just as much to fear as they had to love about their government. The Chancellors had always been honest with their nation, and for that they had earned respect and loyalty…so they thought. But with power came corruption, and there were a few who weren’t happy with the nations new found peace. A radical terrorist group who had watched what was once their play ground to do with as they pleased, turn into an efficient nation. For four months they had been planning their take over. It was simple, wait for the chancellors to become so oppressive that all they would have to do is preach about change to win support. They waited month after month, wishing there was a way to speed up the process, so they bombed the college. That had to work, but no, instead a council was formed to help regulate the government. As the days went by the members grew restless, not understanding how things could have gone so wrong. … Henry walked down the cobble path, turning his collar up against the wind. His only goal in life had long since been accomplished, and every day after it has been a gift in his opinion. He was an organized quiet man, who kept to himself. Each day he went to work, his pub and home in that order. His best friend was a small child, who lived across the street from him. The child reminded him of his own little girl who had died in the war. Every Monday the child brought cookies around the neighborhood. She smiled up at him once a week and his heart melted. Sometimes in his secret moments of contemplation, he thought of kidnapping her and raising her as his own. He of course knew the idea was insane, but it didn’t stop him from thinking it. He had even drawn out a plan; it never occurred to him that the little girl would be unhappy. He missed his old life, the one where every morning his wife

made breakfast, and he could take his daughter to school. The memory brought tears to his eyes, he quickly wiped them away. He rifled through his bag finding his identification card, and scanning it. He gently pushed through the gate smiling at the guard on duty. The white house was a maze of tunnels, passages and stairs, each with lock that changed daily. He typed in the code, walking into a large glass room. In the center was a magnificent long table, facing a smaller one with three chairs behind it. A round blonde woman sat at the long table, to her left was a dark skinned man. They chatted quietly, smiling at him quickly as he sat down. An Asian, and red haired man took the remaining two seats, filling out the table. Bronzer name plagues sat in front of each of them, his read ‘Henry Kelmer-Commerce Council’. Somewhere in the building a clock chimed eight times, and the room fell silent.