Defiance

The 6.00 AM alarm screeched as it always did, the tone manufactured to wake the workers up as quickly and efficiently as possible.

'Good morning William, it is 6.00AM on Sunday, 10th of May 2043. Get dressed for garbage inspection duty, you are rostered between 8AM to 4PM at the lower Eastern suburbs of Sydney.’

William laid in his bed with his eyes open, his dream of the open ocean fleeting. Each day felt like the last only broken up by his ever changing work schedule and the occasional unexpected rain. He stood up and made his way to the bathroom to wash up.

‘Playing Channel 63 News bulletin brought to you by Many Bet, Australia’s family favourite betting company.’

The mirror above the bathroom sink came alive and started to display images.

‘BREAKING NEWS - sponsored by Lavish Coffee - powered by Edinson Batteries - brought to you by Ultimate Balance Shoes’ was flashing big and bright on the screen before shrinking and migrating to the border of the mirror. Two perpetually smiling newscasters appeared and the speaker underneath the bathroom mirror began to play sound.

“‘What a wonderful day we have today Jim.

It’s breathtaking Molly. The sun is shining brighter than ever!

No doubt powered by the trusty, reliable and durable Edison Batteries - wait, what’s that? Jim it appears we have a situation that has just unfolded at Park St. I am hearing there has been a tragic accident. An IT Analyst Inspector has slipped and fallen to her death right in front of the Bank City building. Early reports state that she did not have her Lavish Coffee this morning - this is a tragic death Jim. My condolences go out to her family.

Tragic indeed Molly, I’m seeing reports on ChatBook that she did not shop at Ultimate Balance Shoes. That may explain the sli -”

The video stopped as William exited the bathroom. He got dressed in his bland grey overalls and black rubber boots. He moved through his cramped apartment and before exiting through the front door he attached his wearable Assistant to his wrist.

‘Thank you for taking me with you William. Please make your way to Lavish Coffee - Coogee Beach Cafe 1. Approximately 879 metres east.’

William made his way outside and started walking toward the instructed direction. His street, once overgrown with beautiful Jacaranda trees, now stood barren. The only shade provided was by the scores of billboards advertising weekly products. Kookaburras no longer sang their laughing melodies. All that he could hear were the sounds of the early morning pavement sweepings. William did not acknowledge the street sweepers as he passed them and neither did they.

‘In 80 metres you will be passing a Noxi Vending Machine. You are required to make a purchase before you can continue.’

William was 13th in line to the vending machine. He watched the advertisements blaring from the bright LED screens held up by the screen support workers. As William moved up the queue he noticed something strange, one of the screen holders was sobbing. It was not uncommon for the workers to break down and cry but it was an activity usually fulfilled in privacy. William stared at the sobbing girl. He felt sad until the screeching alarm from the vending machine erased his almost formed thought. William scanned his watch at the machine to open the menu.

“You have 6232 credits. You are required to spend a minimum of 1200 credits. Use the touch screen to complete your purchase.”

William stood thoughtful in front of the screen. This was one of the few moments in his day where there was no sharp sound to break his thoughts. He looked back over at the sobbing worker and then back to his screen, selecting the Organic category. Few options were organic, which meant they were expensive. William made his selection, deducting 5300 credits from his digiwallet.

On the side of the vending machine came out a small pot with a miniature rose bush inside. William picked up his purchase and made his way to the crying worker. Up close he realised she could not have been older than 13. He made eye contact with her and left the pot next to her leg before the next screech from the vending machine came.

‘William, please resume walking. Destination Coogee Beach Cafe 1. Approximately 282 metres.’

William hesitated for a moment before resuming on his path. Within a few minutes he was at Coogee Beach. A once boutique shopping strand now replaced by a slew of betting machines and fast food outlets. In front of him were two Lavish Coffee cafes, Lavish Coffee Cafe 1 and Lavish Coffee Cafe 2.

‘You’ve arrived at your destination. Please order a large Choccocino Deluxe Coffee. You have 27 minutes.’

William stared at the bustle of people in front of him and an uninterrupted thought began to form in his head. He stood frozen.  Finally he looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him, they were not. After quiet deliberation he decided to take a chance and stand in line for Lavish Coffee Cafe 2 instead of Cafe 1.

His heart was pounding and sweat began to form on his brow, he had never not obeyed before. At Cafe 1 he could see the Footpolice drinking their coffee - do they know? He grew paranoid and started to shake but after 5 minutes no one had said anything, not even Assistant. He made his way to the front of the queue and made his order, still nothing. William received his order and made his way to the bench overlooking the crowded street. He sat in silence for a few minutes anticipating the Footpolice at any moment.  To his surprise they instead made off in the opposite direction.

He spent some time surveying his surroundings, watching the people that made up this world that he lived in. He saw the window inspection crew inspecting windows, scribbling away in their notepad. He could see ribbon wrapper workers tying ribbons on every second tree. Another set of workers inspected the leaves on those same trees. There seemed to be two types of people on the street; those meticulously completing menial tasks and those waiting for their tasks to begin.

William stood up and disposed of his coffee without having taken a sip. For the first time in his life he did not know what he was going to do. Energy was flowing through him and he needed a release. Jittery, he launched into a brisk walk.

‘Warning. You are moving away from your designated area. Please return to Lavish Coffee Cafe 1.’

William ignored the Assistant and increased his pace.

‘Warning. You have 1 minute to return to Lavish Coffee Cafe 1 before the Footpolice are notified.’

William stopped. He looked down at his wrist to see his Assistant flashing red.

“Assistant,” the words caught in his throat. “Why do we do..what we do?”

For a brief moment there was silence and then the watch Assistant erupted in an ear splitting siren. William tried to cover his ears but it was no use. He tore the watch from his wrist and threw it across the street. When he came to his senses he spotted the Footpolice from earlier. They pointed toward him and began to move in his direction. William felt his heart stop, he felt sick to his stomach.

Before the Footpolice could cross the busy street William broke into a run. He was heading for the northern cliffs of Coogee Beach. The Footpolice were right on his tail, bystanders oblivious.  More Footpolice emerged from cars to his left. He was being herded and within moments he found himself at the top of the hill. In front of him was a short wooden fence blocking access to the cliffs. He had no option; he climbed the fence and stopped at the edge of the cliff.

He paused, his breath came hard as he looked out at the expanse of ocean glistening in the morning sun. He could hear the thunderous crashing of waves on the rocks below. He felt the cool sea breeze on his face. He began to shake again but this time he did not feel fear, he felt alive.

“William, step away from the edge and climb back over the fence immediately.’

William turned to face a tall, smiling Footdetective who was giving him orders. He felt something new well up inside him; courage.

“Why should I? So I can go back to doing whatever it is you tell me to do.”

“All I want is for you to stay safe.”

The Footdetective was edging closer, only a few feet away from the fence. William jerked back and almost lost his balance at the ledge.

“Stay back!” William screamed, surprised to find conviction in his voice.

The Footdetective motioned the Footpolice to move back. When they were out of earshot he turned back to William.

“I know how you feel son but I promise you this is not the answer.”

“You’re one of them. You want me to go back to my fake life and continue on acting as if what I do has any bearing on this world.” William swallowed. “You’re a slave like me. You don’t know what you feel unless someone tells you.”

“That’s not true,” the Footdetective breathed a long sigh. “I was once like you. I know what it feels like to be trapped but what choice do we have?”

William looked at the Footdetective with curiosity.

“I can send the rest of the Footpolice away, William. Come away from there and we can go talk about it, no one else involved, I promise.’

William took a step forward, unsure whether to trust the man in front of him. He looked down and swallowed hard. Looking unsure of himself but still hanging onto that feeling. Deep down the feeling of courage permeated through his bones.

“Before I go with you, tell me one thing. One truthful thing. Why? Why can’t I just be? Why do I have to follow what that thing on your hand tells me?”

The detective looked confused.

“I don’t know what you -”

“TELL ME WHY!”

William’s yell attracted the attention of the Footpolice standing some way back. The Footdetective raised his hand motioning for them to stop.

“Son, let’s talk about this. We can go have a delicious brew of Lavish Coffee, on the house!”

A wave of comprehension came across William’s face. He chuckled to himself, enjoying the wind whipping his hair. He breathed a sigh of relief and locked eyes once again with the Footdetective.

“I don’t know about you but I do have one - a choice. I do have a choice.”

There was a brief moment of panic on the Footdetectives face. He inched closer to William and put his hands on the fence.

“I can promise you that all will be forgiven. We will only detain you for one night. You will be set free after that.”

William smiled a real smile. He spread his arms and looked up at the sky.

“I am free.”

He turned toward the cliff and launched off the edge.

- - -

Jackie woke up to a screeching alarm.

'Good morning Jackie, it is 6.00AM on Monday, 11th of May 2043. Get dressed for jelly bean counting duty, you are rostered between 8AM to 6PM at the upper Eastern suburbs of Sydney.’

She laid in bed for a few moments before finally mustering the strength to get up and make her way to the bathroom. Once there the mirror lit up and began to play the morning news.

‘BREAKING NEWS - sponsored by Lavish Coffee - powered by Pry Power - brought to you by Blue Cat Bags' was flashing big and bright on the screen before shrinking and migrating to the border of the mirror. The perpetually smiling newscasters appeared.

“‘What a wonderful day we have today Jim.

It’s breathtaking Molly. The sun is shining brighter than ever!

No doubt powered by the trusty, reliable and durable Pry Power. Jim it appears we have had a terrible accident at Coogee Beach yesterday. An inspection worker has slipped and fallen to his death right at the Coogee cliffs. It has been reported that he slipped while inspecting the cliff - this is a tragic death Jim. My condolences go out to his family.

Tragic indeed Molly. I’m seeing reports on ChatBook stating that he was carrying too much equipment and that threw him off balance. If only he had gotten his hands on the new Blue Cat handb -”

The video stopped as Jackie exited the room.