For Love of Country

Outrage and chaos expectantly ran rampant after the assassination of President Jacklyn Sharp, but with the entire world embroiled in pandemonium, her death became irrelevant to the masses. Over half a decade ago, the universe hurled a storm of meteorites of all sizes at the Earth’s inhabitants. The assault lasted seven days leaving no continent untouched. None of the space rocks were large enough to deliver a final blow to the planet’s inhabitants, but it initiated a global cascade of failures. The toll on all forms of life and their environments was catastrophic.

Like the tide against a sandy shore, it tried relentlessly to erase the human footprint. The age-old struggle between self-governance and singular domination was set back centuries. Like other nations, the United States held onto its governmental routines, but in the eyes of the survivors, their efforts amounted to a pointless waste of time. The wise words and platitudes from ancient documents couldn’t provide the food, medicine, or safety they so desperately needed. For the first time in recorded history, the world was united, but its common theme was abject tragedy.

All the political offices, except for a few Senators at the end of their six-year stint, were honorary or volunteer since even statewide voting was a logistical impossibility. They gathered at the central location of the Denver Capital building to discuss the value and validity of transitioning Vice President Justine Rhender to President of the United States. 

Unlike President Sharp, Rhender had morphed quite easily into a greedy puppet of the darkly evolving Corporate order. She endorsed the radical renouncement of what she termed, pre-storm documents including the United States Constitution. Temporary orders were logical for desperate times, but she planned to replace them with a new doctrine called the Restitution. It would adopt the current oligarchic system with no sunset clause. Shouts and rants roared from the floor of the Senate reflecting the emotions of the nation—raw, divided, and in a state of anarchy.

The United States Constitution provided a plan for uninterrupted leadership as well as the removal of unworthy leaders. But the days of that document uniting and governing the nation had ended. Law and order had morphed into oppression, and decisions were made for the people, not by the people. All the members of Congress, and every elected official at every level of government, faced the choice of subjugation or elimination.

Senator Banner Vogel rose and made his way to the podium. He had to save the country he loved with every beat of his heart. He gave a sweeping run through his wavey salt and pepper hair and straightened his tie. Amid shouts and shushes, he turned toward the silky tri-colored banner positioned to his right. 

Placing his hand on his heart, he began to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The crowd quieted rather quickly, awaiting the violence from those vying for power, but none came. Some stood and joined him, while others stayed quietly seated, frozen in horror at the impossible choice.

When he was done, the silence in the room was like time itself had ceased to pass. No one coughed, shuffled, or adjusted the array of implements provided on every desk. Every face was glued on him, expecting his removal for a swift death in the dark shadows. The only event to mark time was dust dancing gently in the sunbeams streaming from the dome windows. After a silent pause of reverence, he began.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the United States Senate,

“This is our last meeting before we adjourn for winter break, or perhaps forever. We have much to discuss. Before I present my proposal, I would like to recount our recent history of heartbreaking misfortune. Bear with me because it is easy to forget who we were as a nation, and how we regressed into who we are today. Our ominous transformation was prompted by a critically divided country rendering us unable to address the cosmic catastrophe with little more than a series of knee-jerk reactions.

“It is the nature of democracy to hash out an answer with many ideas being heatedly debated. Infighting between groups is the essence of the human condition, but this document, our Constitution, gave a voice to every thought that any human brain could devise.

“Around four decades ago, the people began feeling disenfranchised. They were fed a steady diet of carefully crafted media. Whether imagined or real, trust waned year by year, decision by decision. And eventually, what they imagined to be true came to pass. Like-minded groups viciously attacked those who disagreed with them.

“Our first President, George Washington, warned us how political parties as opposed to individual philosophies and proposals would lead us away from our fundamental values. He said they would battle each other for power and forsake the common man. He feared ‘… cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people …’ and we are seeing that in full bloom, but it didn’t happen all at once or because of one natural disaster.

“Over and over again, the party in power attacked the minority party by abusing laws and using intensive media campaigns to shame and punish all who disagreed with their platforms. Their affiliates and supporters exposed dissenters with slander, legal attacks, financial ruin, and even physical assault. Both sides were complicit in the game, volleying nefarious proceedings back and forth forsaking duty and dignity.

“Rational voters rejected the extreme views and sought the truth, but it was elusive. They demanded sensible solutions to restore the forgotten art of compromise. They felt frustrated their choices were limited to one radical side or the other, and they blamed both parties for their state of affairs.

“Bills that could make a difference in the lives of the people, were riddled with unrelated pet projects reeking of personal gain. The search for the right party caused the control to flip back and forth while confidence in the voting system crumbled completely. The tear in the fabric of our democracy went deeper and deeper, as the rights and laws of our United States were manipulated and whittled away.

“And then suddenly, amid all the bickering and chaos, we were faced with a world-altering struggle for the survival of civilization, if not our very species. The meteorite storm disaster grabbed our politically tumultuous world and viciously shook it to pieces.

“It’s been just over six years since a swarm of meteors, initiated by a chain of collisions in the asteroid belt, rained down on the Earth. The seven-day assault ravaged every continent, and we assume every country. The fact is, we don’t know. Worldwide communication is unreliable, and no nation, including our own, is willing to admit how vulnerable the storm left them.

“Most of the projectiles were rather small, but the compilation of them caused raging fires, destroying vast amounts of resources, and annihilating countless cities. The human loss and the cascading collapse of goods and services have devastated our world. The initial death toll was estimated in the hundreds of millions, but the newest estimation is three billion. And the number rises still.

“Those that didn’t die in the impacts, were subjected to illnesses due to the smoke, ash, and dust, as well as diminishing supplies. The infectious diseases knocked our medical capabilities down to pre-industrial practices. We couldn’t burn the plethora of corpses for fear it would increase the death clouds, nor could we bury them without stirring ash back into the atmosphere.

“The shared tragedy united the world in a massive humanitarian effort to repair the damage most nations suffered. Negotiations to barter surpluses for deficits brought forth inspirational goodwill to those countries most affected.

“A program called AMEC, Allied Medical Emergency Care was founded to unite medical organizations around the globe. They gathered to plan and address whatever care they could providing a worldwide medical supply chain from development to dispersal. But travel was still limited due to the noxious particles hovering over most of the Earth, so much of the work was in theory rather than practice.

“It was about six to eight weeks before the air was deemed safe to go outside with AMEC air suits and breathing filters. Many died in their homes from starvation before help could reach them. The benevolent exchange of supplies lasted less than three months. 

“The reality of the cosmic battering and devastation was settling in. Medical facilities began to fight over access to protective gear, and soon, their conflict became an actual battle to obtain supplies further compromised by the black marketeers.

“The AMEC tried to keep up with the demand, but the deficit of medicinal supplies and qualified workers was overwhelming. Fear took over and greed kicked in. Hospitals became places where the rich go for treatment, and the poor go to die. Once easily treated diseases and injuries became death sentences, killing people in unprecedented numbers, especially those living in extremely poor conditions.

“One group of scientists had a promising solution that sped up the decomposition process creating fuel byproducts, but they were all murdered by power-hungry elitists with imperial aspirations. The formula was lost with no sign of it being utilized or sold. How many times must we stab at our future before we learn our lesson?

“Those businesses that survived the supply shortages were gobbled up by undamaged corporations. With no other choice, small businesses sold out to powerful enterprises swelling larger by the day. 

“Within a couple of years, working conditions plummeted back to the early industrial age. The Office of Safety and Health Administration was disbanded due to costly safety issues. The U.S. Department of Labor and Industries gave out safety waivers like candy on Halloween to maintain the supply chain of goods and services, and the Federal Trade Commission that regulated monopolies folded.

“The Organ Harvest Act mandated that blood, stem cells, and other useful bodily treasures were to be harvested for the good of the nation. Soon after this Act was passed, many companies began requiring DNA scans of their workers. But when thousands of healthy laborers across the country began to disappear without a trace, the prevailing rumor was their bodies were matched for well-to-do patients in need of their parts and fluids. Whether it is true or not, the result is that to this day people are afraid to go to work. That began the work attendance mandates, but the police did not enforce them with the fervor expected.

“The federal government had become completely ineffective, so the decision was finally made to divide the country into small territories. The prominent corporations were deputized as government agents to provide for the people and maintain civility in the territories. Without the restrictions of federal laws as well as any form of elected enforcement, corporations quickly asserted their strict policies to subdue the outrage.

“Citizens all over the country resisted the unelected authority. Having lost over half of the population, workers, and the supplies they produced, were at a premium, so borders needed to be set up to retain them. Civil regulations failed to reign in the locals, so ever stricter measures were put in place. People weren’t going to work, and the police wouldn’t force workers to attend, nor would they control their territory’s borders. The businesses struggled, and the people starved.

“Corporate sheriffs appeared on the scene and were given more and more leeway to keep the country moving forward. To keep an eye on the citizens within their neighborhoods, corporations began to generously fund an expansion of the Neighborhood Watch programs. These corporate mercenaries rapidly morphed into professionally trained armies we now call the Neighwah.

“They follow the corporate orders without regard to laws that once protected our citizens. There is no Bill of Rights, and our citizenry is evolving into an oppressive caste system of Corporates, Uppers, and Dailys. What started as a temporary emergency measure is now on the floor to be finalized into law.

“These disastrous times have also decimated our international alliances. Terrorists have seized our television and radio transmissions to air regular public tortures, rapes, and executions. When people tuned out, children were used to increase emotional anxiety. Horrific screams from the torture, rape, and death throes of US citizens trapped in other countries were used to extort resources, and it proved to be a profitable method until all televisions and radios were confiscated.

“Intercontinental travel is strictly forbidden, and travel within each U.S. territory is constricted for all but the Corporate elites. Correspondence between territories has been strained preventing families and friends from staying in touch. The laborers, Dailys, have become numb to their enslaved lifestyles. They’ve come to accept their fate, and death is viewed as a blessing and an end to the suffering of being alive.

“Dailys now cocoon in their small communities and residences to comply with all Corporate orders to continue being fed and housed. If this Restitution is put into law, the people will be denied any hope of self-governance and freedom, and the Corporate order will be unleashed to rule with absolute authority.” Banner paused and the weight of his historical rendition was etched in his expression of deep sorrow.

He pushed down the grief to let his anger flow. “Yes, the world, our nation, and even our towns are deep in the worst shit-show drama of modern times.” His voice boomed louder as he persisted with his petition. “But no matter what our political affiliations or even the validity of our stations, we still have a duty to our citizens. Our purpose is to maintain our democracy by ensuring all Americans can participate.

“I believe we can turn this around. We just have to start. Too late you say? Well, I don’t believe in the too-late scenario because I don’t believe in giving up. We can choose to gather our courage and fight, or we can hide and save our skin for a year, maybe more, but it will be to live as villains or vagabonds.

“This document right here,” Banner shook the rolled-up copy in his hand, “this Declaration of Independence, is a blueprint to target our grievances and direct them at our current oppressors. We need to invoke our militia of millions who hid their guns during the collection mandates. I believe people will join, and they will fight for a cause to reclaim their freedom, dignity, and self-determination.

“We stand on the edge of an abyss. And though we have fallen far from what our founding fathers would recognize as the United States, we are still here. I say get up, make a stand. We must stop bowing down before them like sheep at a slaughterhouse. Will it be dangerous? Hell yes! I might not live the day for this very act, but I choose to fight back. We must fight back.

“It won’t be the first time we have fought to end the enslavement of our people. Together we can assure “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.’ Thank you for your time.”

Such a speech might have rendered spirited applause in a time when people believed themselves free, but shocked silence was the current response for anything hinting at a rebellion, let alone a revolution.

Vogel knew when the doors opened that the Neighwah guards had arrived. They were coming down the aisle to escort him off the podium to where he did not know. They were civil and careful not to make a scene. They did their unsavory work in their evil corners.

As Senator Vogel walked toward the exit, he prayed for the country he loved so deeply. He heard whispers, a few people began to clap, then more joined in, some began to stand, and before he left the chamber, many were standing and clapping enthusiastically. Maybe, he thought, maybe it was enough. When they reached the doors, he was simply told to leave the building. He wondered how the retaliation would come and when. The waiting alone would be a form of torment.

The murders were reported as accidents and random acts of violence, but fifty-six instructors and professors from various schools, along with thirty-nine members of their families were struck down that month. Banner was pained by the idea that he played a part in making them targets, and he wondered why he was spared. It also was not lost on him that the total number of murdered mentors was the same number that signed the Declaration of Independence, and the family members killed represented the number of signatures on the Constitution.

He was asked in an anonymous note to recant his statement and throw his support to the new order under President Rhender. He refused. The next month witnessed the same deadly statistical numbers, but the victims were selected from other rebellious legislators and their families. Senator Vogel resigned before the next semester.

Vogel, his wife, and daughter-in-law were killed in a train bombing. His adult children, Bannon and Dana, and his granddaughter didn’t make the train. Vogel’s vast shipping and supply business became the property of his children along with all the skeletons and secrets hidden in the nonexistent fifteenth floor of his building. Including information on ALECT, an underground group founded by the Senator. The Americans for Liberty, Equality, and Truth hoped to restore self-government with a long-term plan. Now, it was up to the next generation to see it through.