I walked quickly to my job. I worked minimum wage as an intern to the government. Our society was simple. You worked the job you were given at age 15 at school, ate a simple meal provided by your employer, then you go to sleep in the house the government gave you according to family size. At age 50 you were considered unfit to work and retired.
At school you learned basic subjects, math, English, and geography. No history. At all. Ever. I often wondered why we didn’t learn about our past. I was always a curious child so my mother kept me hidden at home. But she couldn’t keep from school. That was the law. Eventually I stopped asking questions and working in our government I learned to keep my mouth shut. Here, questions could become dangerous.
I walked in the front door and nodded to the security guard. I sat at the front desk. My job was to direct visitors to the correct office. Fortunately, working in the government, you hear things.
I collected a package and walked it down to the president’s door. I heard the president talking to another official from inside the closed door.
“This generation is becoming too nosey for their own good. Many people are becoming suspicious.”
“What subjects are we teaching them?” that was the president. I pressed my ear to the door trying to hear more.
“Math, English, and geography.”
“No history? Science?”
“Nope. None sir. We have hidden all records of the past. Hopefully no one will ever find out.”
I was so shocked that I dropped the package. I heard moving from inside so I quickly grabbed the package and stood back. The door was opened. The president glared at me.
“A package came for you sir,” I said averting my gaze. The president snatched the package from my hands and glared at me, “Get back to work,” he growled at me through clenched teeth. He slammed the door in my face.
I scrambled back to my desk and thought about what I had heard. What were they hiding from us and why?
I got my first hint later on before lunch. Two officials were talking in the lobby.
“I need you to go down to the Room of Records and make sure that everything is still there. President thinks that someone will try to steal it. Do you remember the code?”
“Hmmm, maybe. Could you remind me again?”
“Fine, but just this once. Try to remember it this time,” He looked around warily. I buried myself in a book that I had found on the desk. He continued in a hushed whisper, “40832.”
I couldn’t believe my luck! During my lunch break I ran to the door I was forbidden to enter. I never tried to anyway because there was no point. The door was solid wood, like any door, but this door was still different. It had no handle. What did they mean by code? I was confused so I pried at the door silently hoping that no one would find me here. Suddenly, a metallic piece of machinery popped up. I jumped back in fright. It was rectangle with numbers on little keys. I punched in the numbers I had heard in the lobby. The keypad shot back into the wall. Since when had we had this kind of technology? Seconds later the door slowly creaked open. I entered.
I found books that surrounding me. Well, not just books. There were also files and stone tablets that looked like they were from the Stone Age or something. But I hadn’t come here to sight see. I was here on a mission. I picked up the book closest to me and opened it. The writing was old. Not like any other book I had seen. They again I had read books approved by the government. And they were keeping things from us.
I started reading and found the information very interesting. Apparently In the year 6010 a war was started over technology. The world was close to destruction. The president at the time was worried that the United States would be completely destroyed so he and some of his followers destroyed all traces of advanced technology. During the war almost half of the citizens were killed so the country shrank and came closer together. Since then the country has rebuilt but with no history or a thing called science the country never grew technologically advanced.
I couldn’t believe the things that we had once created. Communication devices, transportation that moved by itself, devices that allowed you to see what had happened around the world. And the weapons were terrible! All we had were swords and knives and arrows. They had automatic weapons! I had to expose the government to everyone. I grabbed as many books and files as I could carry and left the building.
Late that night I walked around to my neighbors houses. Most everyone I knew hated the government as much as me. I knocked on their windows and gave them a single book along with instructions to pass it on to trusted people. It took many nights but I finally delivered all of the book and files.
I couldn’t go to work. By now people had probably begun to suspect that I had stolen the books. I hid in friends’ houses waiting until we could make our move.
I had no idea how long I was alone. Weeks? Days? Even months possibly?
But the day finally came. The date was November 8, 7105. People came from all over. We stood on the Court steps for a few minutes until everyone had gathered. Then, I pushed my way forwards and stood before the president. He glared at me, “You stole my books, didn’t you?”
“Why did you hide them from us?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was angry. “They weren’t yours; they should belong to the people of the United States!”
“We didn’t want another technology war.”
The crowd was chaotic. Finally something snapped in them. Nothing would stop them. They had had enough. Once again our society was changing. I only hope it was for the better.
Calendar
