They Know Better

I open my eyes and look over at the clock.

             “Why do I continue to do so?” I ask myself.

             Every single day I am scheduled to wake up at six am. Programmed into all of us, so we received the right amount of sleep. We no longer had control over the amount of sleep we take once they inserted the chip under our skin.

             “We are your new gods, for there was never a true God,” I remember being told. “We know what is best for you. Your life will be much better since we are of the superior race.”

             Years have passed, but I recall the statement like it was yesterday.

             Should I have done it? Should I have accepted the new life? If not, I would be like so many others. Dead.

             I got out of the bed that best fit me and took care of my business. Today, I remember not to flush. Do so and I experience a moment of extreme pain. Waste not. Our ancestors carelessly wasted so much but our superiors fixed that.

             I took off my bedclothes and put on my wake clothes. There was no work done yesterday, so there was no need to waste water to clean off the grime. I looked in the mirror and rubbed my bald head. Once covered with hair, but too greasy so I had to wash it daily. No more for the superiors have taken care of the problem. Permanently, remove the hair. Stop the waste of water and harmful chemicals down the drain.

             I leave the bathroom, the lights automatically turning off. Down the hallway to the kitchen where the light has come on. I have changed all my appliances to the least destructive of society. To the climate. Everything is much smaller and tends to take longer to get what needs to be done, but it’s for the best. I do not question my superiors because they know better.

              I make my required breakfast that best curbs my appetite. Quite bland but no more harm to the land and animal life, like eggs, sausage, and bacon. It saves me from a premature death.

             “We know best on what you should digest into your body,” the statement said. “Your ancestors had diabetes. We will make sure you stay away from certain food and drinks. That way we are not using precious items to sustain your disease.”

             I think about why they care. Life is cheap. Many lives have been sacrificed to drop the population. Unwanted lives taken to the dark. Major illnesses have taken lives to the dark. Ones useless to society taken to the dark. So many taken to the dark. Viruses took out the weak at first. Not enough of a drop so stronger viruses come forth. My parents were lost. Humanity, like sheep, herded us to the massacre. Too late to fight the wolf. Many tried, but the superiors are now in control.

             I sat down on my recliner. A dim light comes on since little light is needed to eat.

             As I munch on the crunchy breakfast, I think of my dear friend, Stan. A name I never dare speak out loud. More than likely, I will not want to even think about him or get myself in trouble. Possibly not, since I am getting older so I could become one of the sacrificed to please the superiors.

             I remember the day Stan paid me a visit. A knock on the door alarmed me, for loud noises are unwanted nowadays. Visitors need to wait patiently in front of the door as a light pops on in my hallway, telling me someone is here.

             “Who is doing such a thing?” I asked myself. “Get themselves in trouble.”

             I went to the door and pressed the switch, which slid the door open.

             “Stan?” I asked. “Glad to see you, but why are you knocking?”

             “Can I come in?” he asked in a frantic voice, which alarmed me.

             “Of course. I should never deny anyone for what they want to do or say, no matter the age.”

             “Whatever,” he said and entered my apartment.

             He went into my living room and put a box on my coffee table. He reached inside and looked like he pressed some switches. The lights flickered for a second. Then he turned to me.

             “We should be good for a few minutes,” he said with a grin. “Sit, sit. I need to tell you something.”

             “What did you do?” I asked as I quickly sat down.

             “The superiors cannot hear us for a bit, but they will find out their devices are not working so will be on their way soon. By that time, I will be gone, and you can tell them it was a glitch.”

             “I don’t want any conflict,” I told him. “You shouldn’t have done that. What happened to your hand?”

             Stan raised his left hand, that was wrapped up in a bandage.

             “I took out the chip?” he said with excitement.

             “What?!” What are you thinking? You are still alive? Trying to remove it injects a deadly poison. You should be dead,” I said, hyperventilating.

             “Calm yourself down. I have a gadget that incapacitates the chip. Only for a minute, so I had to quickly remove it. Now it’s in my pocket, so it’s still with me always.”

             “What you did is forbidden? They will send you into the darkness.”

             “I’m fine with that,” he said, raising his hands. “I’m tired of these so-called superiors running our lives. You want to know a secret about the superiors.”

             “I guess.”

             “I won’t say all of them, but most of them were the type that was bullied when they were younger. They are the ones that had a miserable life from the start, so they set forth to restrict everyone else’s life. They are the ones who sucked at a sport, so they complained, and the weak banned it. Now, all these people who think they are gods are trying to rule the world. The real God they despise because they figure He abandoned them. They hope to extinguish any belief of an entity except themselves. Do you believe?”

             “I don’t know,” I responded, trying to take in his rapid talk.

             “Don’t you want to read a book you like? Don’t you want to eat the food you like? Do activities you like? Write stories you like? Not this dried up boring stuff they all want us to do.”

             “The superiors know best.”

             “The superiors are losers. Losers that want to control all. They tell themselves they are doing what’s good for this world. They are a miserable group. A dangerous group, since they can take any of us out.”

             “We just need to abide by their laws, and all is well,” I said which made Stan chuckle.

             “Listen Mike. I have another gadget. I’m leaving this one here. You are my best friend. It’s time to revolt. Join me and others will join to take out these superiors.”

             “Violence is condoned.”

             “Unless you are a superior,” he said.

             “They know best.”

             “They know jack shit. They think they do, but they are as simple as anyone else, but they make themselves believe they are of higher intellect. They sit on their thrones. I will knock the fools off. Superiors have been trying throughout the ages to have complete control. Technology has helped them advance more than ever this time around, but they will still lose in the end. Anyway, I got to go.”

             Stan jumped up and headed to the door.

             “Do it,” he said to me, pointing at the box. “Join the resistance.”

             He left.

             Now, it is the present I sit here eating my terrible breakfast. The box is still on the table. I stare at it. Dare I ponder it? My life is on the line. The superiors will be upset. I take a deep breath, then reach toward the box. The front door slides open.