I've been writing about a distopian future world, so I guess it should come as no surprise to find myself in one. This world was run by a computer system, and people were indoctrinated (okay, brainwashed) into being good citizens. Right as I was about to be brainwashed, the computer system crashed. Apparently, this was a common occurrence, and the clerks (think DMV clerks) just shrugged it off and passed me through to the transport station. There was someone who tried to sabotage the whole system, and he was already there, belted in and waiting. One of the guards was asking me the guy's name, but I couldn't remember. I pretended like I did, but I told him the wrong information. This was not intentional, because I still bought into the system and thought everything was fine. While we were being transported, the rebel threw a pencil and caused a huge commotion. Pencils were evil because people could use them to communicate and pass on information. Finally we landed and the guards locked me up, thinking that I was also a rebel. They started stripping away my personality. Then suddenly I coughed up a pencil. Havoc insued.
Something strange happened this month: I missed my 12 Short Stories deadline. There have been many things changing in my life, and I’ve realized that there are a few things I will need to put less energy into. That doesn’t mean I won’t write anymore, but that I may write less, or may just focus on longer pieces. That being said, I did write something, it just didn’t meet the word count. So here is one more story. It’s not a story about politics, it’s a story about human nature and human feelings. ——— The war is over, or at least that is what they say. But how do you stop such a thing once it is started? Charles sighed when I asked him, “You act as if you don’t understand politics.” “I don’t,” I scratched a sliver of paint off the window with a razor, “I’m not even sure we should be doing this.” “They said we could remove the blackout paint,” Charles swiped an even curl of latex to the ground. It fell among the budding roses, an artificial petal. “But there are still soldiers ove