Jon had the most puzzled look on his face. He had never dreamed that his once nice little family would ever be back together again. He thought of the times when the children were little and when things in the country were still livable. He remembered the time he spent with their mother before the kids were in their life. The memories brought a smile to his face.
The look on Chris’ face was just as delighted. While he loved the life that he lived and how he lived, he had always missed his mother and his sister. The once close family had been torn asunder by the goings on in the world around them. It had been changed because of difference in how they all wanted to live. But all that left Chris’ mind with the news that Amanda had just given them.
“Back here?” said Chris.
“Yes, she wants us to be a family again.”
“Do you and your mother understand what that means? Do you both know that I can’t provide you synthetic food, clothes, light and everything else that they now deem is healthy for you?” said Jon.
“I think we both understand that.” answered Amanda.
“But why now? Why after ten years has your mother decided this?”
“Father I think it is best that you let her tell you why when you see her.”
“Ok, I will let it go at that.”
“Then let’s get ready.” said Amanda.
“Hold on there missy, first I want you to get your strength back. Also, I want to go down to talk to the Jacobsen’s. Dave was in the city about a month ago and I want to know the lay of the land. They also have two girls and maybe they can lend you some clothes.”
“But father I know the way and besides I will need to wear these clothes in the city.”
“And to that point I want to wash those things you have on, they are filthy. Chris, go in your room and get Amanda an old pair of your sweats to put on. Also take her to the guest bedroom so she can change and get comfortable. Maybe we can run you some bath water as well.”
“But when do we get going.”
“Day after tomorrow, Saturday.” Sorry Chris but we will have to miss our football game on Sunday.”
“That’s ok dad, I think this is a little more important.”
“Football, what football?” That was outlawed years ago.” said Amanda.
“We play it here” said Chris.
“You all play that Neanderthal sport up here?”
“Yes we do, every Sunday, and after the game we all sit around and eat meat and drink beer.”
“Meat, Beer? Where do you get these things?”
“Well you are going to have quite a change in your life Amanda, and I dare say for the better.” answered Jon.
Chris and Amanda got up from the table and Chris took her back toward the guest bedroom. Upon entering the room, she immediately noted the pictures that were on the bed side tables. The pictures were of her and Chris when they were small children. Also, there were pictures of the three of them and their mother. Chris came back and laid a pair of sweats out on the bed for her.
“Put these on and take those things off. Dad and I will clean them up for you. Although I think it best we throw them away.”
“No, I will need them when we go back to the city. In fact, you and father may need some so that you don’t stand out.”
“Guess what, I bet you couldn’t get dad into a pair of those even if he was dead.”
“Well you are probably right but we will have to do something. Ok get out of here so I can change.”
Amanda slipped of the synthetic clothing and slid into the comfortable cotton sweats. Feeling the warm fabric on her skin brought back memories of warm times. She sat on the bed and looked about the room and out the window. In the yard there were trees, and beyond them a forest. She imagined walking into those woods smelling the fresh evergreens, looking at those gold aspens and later sitting by a warm fire. All the thoughts of the esoteric city life left her for that moment and she felt at home.
As she walked out of the room Jon passed by and looked at his daughter.
“My you have grown up into a young woman.”
Then he felt the urge to hold her and without a second thought grabbed his daughter about her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead.
“I have missed you; you don’t know how much.”
I have missed you too father and soon we will all be together.”
“Yep we will, that’s a promise.”
Chapter 6
The morning sun rising over the eastern plains glinted of the glass of the large tower in the city. The start of a new day was beginning for the people who dwelt within the urban sectors of the country. In a large office a contemplating man stood at his large window looking out on the waking city. In his mind were thoughts of grandeur and of decisive action.
At present there was a knock upon his door whereby entered a thin wiry man, about the age of forty. He was dressed in the synthetic grey green suit of all the urban people and had four dark bands across his sleeves noting his rank as first adjutant to the governor. Governor Tarl acknowledged the man with his normal hello.
Governor Tarl was a man roughly in his mid-forties slightly balding with a paunch that decried his station in life. His skin was the pallor of grey as like most in the city as he saw very little actual sunlight. Neither fat nor skinny he appeared as soft, lacking any appearance of strenuous physical exercise. People living in the cities did exercise but not like those that lived in the outlying areas. Huge facilities with treadmills and weight machines were available to all to get their workouts in. Health was absolutely stressed in this world as it was recognized that healthy people were less of a burden on the cost infrastructure of the world health plan. In this society those that were obese where actually set up on government plans and restrictions in order to conform.
The urban world was set up as a series of regions that were controlled by governors. These governors then reported up to a grand governor that was something like the President used to be. The grand governors then answered to the world government that was run by a political board with an appointed leader. Most rules and regulations were passed down from this world body and were to be enforced by the regional governors. The regional governors did have some autonomy but had to work within the framework of the New World Order.
The New World Order was established in roughly 2015 after what used to be North America had formed into a single entity much like the European Union, the African Confederacy, and the Chinese Asian Federation. While the majority of the peoples in this area succumbed to this new political bureaucracy there were sections that would not conform. As such there were still hot conflicts in Asia and Africa that while quite bloody, were never highly publicized in the government-controlled media. The notions of a world utopia were always to be stressed so that the general masses felt comfortable with the New Order. In what was America there were no hot conflicts but groups of individuals that had gone off the grid to live in communities that at present were not being bothered by the government or the people of the urban world.
Over time these outlying groups became aware of each other and with this demand and supply of goods and services had sprung up into a new economy. An economy that was free of the World Order. It was at this time 2020 that fissures were beginning to appear in the World Order. The people were beginning to question the government. The World Order had surmised that these issues were being created by the people in the outlying world. They surmised that if there were people who did not conform that this was unjust and they must be made to conform. Thus it was in Africa and Asia that the decision was to eliminate the non-conformists. In what was North America no decision had been made but plans were being formulated to bring in the outliers and force them into the Order.
It was at this point that Governor Tarl was musing over such a plan for his region. He knew it would require his local security to make an excursio
n into the mountains, a region they were ill equipped to deal with. However, Tarl surmised that these outliers would go without a struggle as he envisioned them to be a starving rabble of scarecrows, barely hanging on. He thought they were only defiant in their paltry understanding and not truly knowing what was best for them.
“Governor Tarl, how are you this fine morning?” asked the adjutant.
“Absolutely wonderful adjutant Schneider and you?”
“Doing well.” I have this morning’s reports; would you like to go over them?”
“Absolutely, come over and take a seat. Would you like some morning tea?’
“I am good for now. Well sir, productivity is up this week with high levels of work in human intelligence and in suburban reclamation. It seems that the reclamation projects are ahead of schedule and that the flow of materials coming back for recycling is providing much resource for more urban development.”
“Excellent, we have only been removing the ex-urb growth for three years and we have reclaimed some 50 square miles. This no doubt will do wonders for our urban society as well as help to maintain the environment and check the growth of climate transference.”
“Yes our local scientists estimate that we should see a .5% correlation in temperature and moisture for this.” said adjutant Schneider.
“You see what planned economies and control of activity can do for a society. No doubt our people understand and have to be happy with their lives. What is not to be happy about; they have food, shelter, entertainment, exercise, and a long life.” said Tarl.
“Oh I agree governor Tarl, life is good.”
“It truly is best that they have people like us, fully educated and informed making the decisions for the people.”
“Sir, have you given more thought to what we need to do about the outlying populations?” asked Schneider.
“Yes some serious thought. Those people need to be brought in to conform to the rest of us in our just society. I am told they live somewhat like the pioneers of old. I guess they think that ties them to the radicals of old that created the laws that used to be called the constitution. It is a good thing that we changed all that into a living document. It is good that we modernized the thought to be more of what things ought to be rather than how they were some 270 years ago.”
“It is hard to believe that people thought that laws and beliefs should not evolve. Technology and development changed what was, and what they used to call liberties became harmful to society and did not contribute to the social order.”
“I am working on a detailed plan to make sure that those outliers come in and conform. We will send our security forces into the mountains in a few weeks to bring in groups of them at a time. When brought in we will hold them in the penal facility and make them understand what life is now like.”
“Sir, are you worried about the safety of our forces, I understand that those people did not conform to the disarmament laws of 2015?” asked Schneider.
“Oh they may have some weapons but when they see our brave security forces with electronic stun weapons, they will see the futility of their actions and surrender. They should at least or we will have to use the means that they are using in Africa and Asia.” said Tarl.
“And if they don’t would we consider extermination?” asked Schneider.
“No, we will not do that unless needed, and I do not believe we will have to.”
“Great sir”
Adjutant Schneider stood up and bid Tarl good day as he stepped out of the Governor’s office. Tarl walked back again toward the window and looked out toward the mountains. Early fall had tipped the highest peaks with snow and Tarl was admiring their beauty. He had never set foot outside of the city as through his life he had always worked within politics and the bureaucracy. He was by no means an athletic man and had never desired to go into the woods or the wilderness. He had no knowledge of woodcraft as he always felt that studies of humanity and social behavior were more important than hiking, skiing, fishing and such.
Governor Tarl always did what was asked and what was expected. He had been instrumental in the shift of 2012 and 2015 where the populace no longer had free elections. He had done an excellent job working with the press to convince people that elections where a waste of time and money and that decisions should be made by appointed czars and bureaus instead of truly elected officials. With the passing of the “Fairness Doctrine” in 2011 the ability of the opposition to fight the changes was removed as the means of information began to be regulated. The control of the internet was handed to the government in 2012 with the passing of net neutrality and once all the means of dissention were removed the change came quickly, so quickly in fact that the people did not even recognize that it had happened. Most people ultimately did not care as election turnout rarely eclipsed 50% and as such the people that had a history of not voting did not care.
In 2016 the independent nations of the world determined that separation by countries was also inefficient. The new mix of socialism and global corporatism determined that in order to promote world economies, climate transference control, and world peace that the world should finally come under a world government. The Hague became the world capital and countries, states and cities as independent governing groups ceased to exist. Thus in 2016 the New World Order was born.
To this world governor Tarl had his place. He had an entire region that was roughly the old Rocky Mountain States. He had put in place the original tax components that lead ultimately to the new forms of currency. Money in this world had ceased to exist as government credits were issued electronically to the populace. These credits would buy food, clothes and entertainment. As items like cars and such were no longer allowed, there was no need to buy big expensive items. Health care was provided by the government and so the people had few expenses. The world operated in a mode whereby there were no rich, no poor, just the masses. Although the dirty secret was that many in the bureaucracy had a bit more than those in the populace. There were the mountain villas for the higher ups and other such accoutrements that the general population could not dream to have.
But the average person became caught up with what they did have and began to think little beyond that. Their lives were the social engineered job they went to four days a week, the clubs that they attended in the evening, and the few things that they had for amusement such as video and the I. For the average person life was not bad. People had grown accustomed to only having so much. They didn’t fail in life and of course they didn’t really win in life. The fact was they just existed and grabbed on to the few things that had any significance.
This environment was ripe to let those elected officials that believed they knew best, start making all the decisions for the people regardless of opinion. The explanation became, “we are just not selling it correctly to the public.” When fiat became the rule, few people began to protest simply because it ceased to do any good. Then of course with the programs, higher confiscatory taxes, and dependency the people finally gave in and simply let what happen to them happen. They became soft and reliant on a system that could provide basic needs. Thus it was that the New World Order came into power.
Governor Tarl stood back at the window looking out over the city toward the mountains. He sipped a cup of tea and mused on plans that he was developing to bring in the outliers. Plans that would forever change the peacefulness of the valley that Jon Smith lived in.
Chapter 7
Jon was sitting by the fireplace reading a book and enjoying a glass of wine while Amanda and Chris were in the kitchen deciding whether to cook some chicken for dinner or to make some Elk ribs. Jon had a look of contentment on his face as he felt a sense of almost completeness with the return of Amanda. He had forgotten how much the girl had meant to him and how much he missed her. To Jon family had always been important as his southern heritage had influenced him in this regard. Folks from the Southern
part of the old United States had always stressed the importance of family and blood. Thus the southern expression, blood is thicker than water.
Jon Smith was originally born in the south. He had moved to the mountain states in his thirties for his job but had never really lost the values and beliefs he had been raised with. To some degree it was this heritage that drove him to go off the grid and escape the world that was devolving. The traditions of hunting, fishing, football, and of course partying were all things that had been a part of his life. The other trait of the southerner in him was the fierce independence as well as the need to be self-reliant. Self-reliance was a trait that transcended into the belief that people and their families should look after their own instead of relying on government bureaucracy to do so. The thought of having some external body determine how people should live was just alien to Jon and as such he had no love for what had become of his country.
“Father, Chris is adamant that he wants Elk ribs for dinner and frankly I don’t know if I will like them.”
“Well honey we will have some salad and potatoes with them and if you do not like the meat you can have your fill of those. Chris, let’s get some good ribs and fire up the outside fire. Let’s show our little sister what it is to be here and alive.”
Chris went out to the out building to retrieve the ribs and presently lit a fire in the outside fireplace. Jon and Amanda drew up some chairs and the three sat down in front of the gathering fire.
“Father, do you have a plan as to how we are going to get to the city to get mom yet?” asked Amanda.
“Yes, I asked some of the folks who had been there and it should not be too difficult. We will take the truck to the outskirts and park it in an old garage that is not far from the worker transit line. It seems that there are vast plans to tear down all the old suburban homes and they are employing workers to do so.”
“That’s right they have decided to re-cycle all the products from what they termed were the terrible sprawl that created mass waste and climate transference.” said Amanda.
Jon Smith Page 5