2156

by C M Dancha

  After a year, Date had stolen everything he needed to start developing a cloaking device. The goal was simple. Create a device which fooled the monitoring devices and misled the government which used them to track its citizens. He quit the volunteer position at the hospital. He used this time to experiment, reverse engineer and develop a simple, yet effective, way to make the kidney monitoring device useless.

  Date possessed an intelligence which far exceeded what was needed to be a successful farmer. But his formal education was minimal. He never earned any degrees or certifications of achievement. What he did have was the best motivation of all; a burning desire to end government intrusion in his life.

  At first, the information he accumulated and studied about the monitoring device was like reading a foreign language. Through trial and error, he came to understand the inner workings of the monitoring device. After two years of experimentation in his hidden underground chamber, he was an expert on the device. He knew more about how it was made and worked than anyone else on the planet.

  Even with all this knowledge, a successful cloaking method was hard to discover. Several times, Date considered giving up his quest, especially after his wife became sick with cancer. Trying to juggle his time between farming, caring for his wife and reverse engineering the monitoring device was exhausting. As with many great steps forward in engineering and medical advancements, Date stumbled onto the solution by accident. Unfortunately, this step forward was at the expense of his wife's health.

  His wife's cancer started in the liver and spread to the bladder and kidneys. It soon metastasized and attacked her bloodstream which changed the chemical composition of the blood cells. When this happened, Date and his wife had a surprise visit from a government inspector. He asked dozens of questions about her health and ability to perform daily tasks. Could she perform routine functions around the house like bathe herself and make meals?

  Date wasn't fooled in the least. The government employee's concern for his wife's welfare was shallow. It was an obvious ruse. In fact, the inspector's attitude was so unemotional and caustic that Date wanted to throw him out the door. But his curiosity about the inspector's hidden agenda overrode the disgust he had for the man.

  Date realized that the inspector's real goal was to find out why the signal from his wife's monitoring device started to malfunction. Date played the role of a simpleton farmer. He asked a few pointed questions which the pompous inspector eagerly answered to show off his self-importance. After a half hour, the inspector was convinced the change in the device's faltering signal was due to a terminal disease. He ended the interview, apologized for the inconvenience and left.

  Date hated the fact that his wife was subjected to such mental abuse by the inspector. But the clues the inspector dropped during the interview and the answers he gave to Date's questions were very valuable. They were enough to point Date in the right direction to solve the mystery of the monitoring devices.

  Within two weeks, Date figured out that the monitoring device was powered by the flow of blood through the kidney. If the flow of blood decreased for any reason like an injury or medical condition, the device lacked enough energy to send a correct signal. Also, each person's unique blood composition correlated to their monitoring device. In other words, the chemical makeup of each person's blood was unique. It was just like fingerprints. No two people had the same chemical composition. When the monitoring device was injected into the body it became linked to that person's unique chemical makeup of his blood. From that moment forward the monitoring device and the person's name and blood were all linked. Together they showed up as one bleep on the monitoring grid.

  As his wife's cancer spread, the chemical composition of her blood changed. The ability of her kidneys to process and filter blood slowed down. Both changes caused transmitting problems for her tracker. That, in turn, triggered an alarm condition at the monitoring station. The only recourse the government had was to send out an inspector to find out why her monitoring device was malfunctioning.

  With this information, Date invented a simple pump container which contained about a quart of donor's blood. When Date dropped one of his home-made monitoring devices into the container the pump turned on. It started to transmit a signal which was an exact duplicate of the signal already transmitting from the donor. The last step was to block the signal from the donor's kidney, so the monitoring station would see only one signal, not two.

  After some trial and error testing, Date found that a thin sheet of lead leafing blocked the monitoring device signal. All that needed to be done was sew it into an elastic bandage. The bandage was then worn around a person's lower chest and over his kidneys. The lead blocking band was lightweight and no more of a nuisance to wear than a belt to hold up a pair of pants. Deactivating the cloaking system was as easy as activating it. The person simply removed the lead blocking bandage after turning off the blood circulation pump. The fake monitoring device signal then fell off the monitoring grid and was replaced with the signal from the person's real device.

  Date wanted to have his system perfected before his wife died. He wanted her to share the enjoyment of putting one over on the government they both hated. She blamed the government for the death of her two children during the FISS plague and wanted revenge as much as Date. Unfortunately, she died several months before Date finished his invention.

  After a week of mourning her death with fellow villagers and a few relatives, Date went back to work perfecting his cloaking system. He tested the finished product on himself. After wrapping the lead blocking bandage around his midsection, he dropped the new monitoring device in a container of his blood. He turned on the circulating pump and sat down at the kitchen table. He poured himself a cup of sake and waited for the authorities to arrive. There was no other way to determine if his system worked. The authorities would either show up and arrest him or never show up. If they didn't bust in his front door it was because they didn't know his real tracker was replaced with a fake one.

  Three days later, Date was well pickled from the sake and still sitting at his kitchen table. He was free as a bird to go wherever he wanted without worrying about the watchful eyes of “papa government”. To make sure his system was perfect he spent the next month traveling throughout Japan. Nothing in his life changed. His monthly allotment of world credits stayed the same and his travel was not red-flagged. He wasn't the subject of any government investigation. The government thought he was still sitting at the kitchen table even though he was hundreds of miles away touring a city or remote countryside.

  Date found it comical that the government thought a person could sit at the same kitchen table for over a month. They didn't care if a person stayed stationary for long periods of time. All they cared about was if the signal disappeared, malfunctioned or moved far beyond its normal travel area. It was another classic example of the government's ineptitude and stupidity.

  He was ready to move on to the next stage of his life. Date's wife and children were gone. There were no close relatives to embarrass in the event of his arrest by the central government. He didn't worry any longer about the dishonor associated with doing something illegal against the World Council. He just didn't care any longer. Things had to be made right for all the misery the World Council had brought down upon his family. And he needed to make his life right in the service of a great lord, whoever that might be.

  He planned to sell his cloaking equipment to people who lived outside the rules and regulations of the central government. Those who pushed drugs, worked in prostitution and bought and sold in the underground markets. Date spent years learning who these people were and where they headquartered. In Japan, most of these criminals were decedents of the Yakuza, the masters of organized crime. They had dominated illegal activities on the island for centuries. They didn't know it yet, but they were going to be his business partners within a few short years.

  But there was one thing which Date overlooked. There were countless groups
around the world preparing to revolt and overthrow their master, the World Council. Each had their own reason for defying the central government. They all needed Date's technology to move forward against the enemy.

  Chapter Eight

  Hey, That’s My Dessert!

  "God, I'm tired of supporting the lowlifes in this town. I work my ass off and have nothing to show for it."

  "What are you talking about, Poppy? You don't pay or give anyone anything."

  Miguel Santanez, the grandfather and father to the eight younger family members sat on the front porch. He could have lost his temper and criticized his grandson for making such a slow-witted comment. Instead, he decided to use this as a teaching opportunity. The fourteen-year-old needed a lesson about life and the world the Santanez family contended with each day. After all, the boy was still in government school learning nothing other than what the World Council approved and wanted him to hear. To a youngster like Ramon, what he heard in school sounded wonderful. But it was a pile of crap which kept everyone poor rather create a society with a decent standard of living.

  Miguel, the family patriarch, was affectionately known as Poppy. He and his two older sons sat down to rest after their normal ten-hour day of clearing land in the Amazon basin. It would be so easy to sit back and enjoy a few restful minutes before falling into bed. They needed sleep to regain enough energy to face the next ten-hour workday. But he had to take advantage of this opportunity. Ramon and everyone else on the porch must understand the faults of an overbearing government.

  "Ramon, your father, uncle and I don't work for ourselves. We work for the government. We get the same amount of world credits no matter how hard we work. The government takes our labor, and in return, gives us just enough to survive. And the guy across the street who doesn't work half as hard, gets the same as us. I'm sure you've heard of the government's Equal Allocation law. It says that no one citizen has the right to more than another citizen. And no citizen has the right to live better than his neighbor."

  "I don't see anything wrong with that, Poppy. They teach us in school that everyone needs to help everyone else. If we help our neighbors then everyone will have enough food, shelter and health care. Everyone will have what they need. Not like before when this area was called Brazil. Then, some people had a lot and others had nothing. The poor relied on the garbage dumps and handouts from the rich for their next meal."

  "Ramon, there's a difference between voluntary help and forced mandatory help. I want real money for my labor. I want to spend my pay any way I want. I don't want to be dictated to by a government bureaucrat who thinks he knows how to spend my money better than me. If my neighbor is truly in need of my help, I will happily pitch in and give him what he needs. But if someone like the bottom feeder across the street demands my help because he doesn't want to work hard, then forget it. That's not fair. He's stealing from me. It's wrong and immoral."

  "I don't understand, Poppy. What you said sounds kind of greedy to me. It doesn't sound fair for someone to have more than someone else. Shouldn't I share what I have? Doesn't sharing show I love my fellow man? Maybe not everyone can work as hard as you, my father and uncle. Did you ever think of that, Poppy?"

  Miguel paused for a moment. He wasn't sure how to respond to Ramon's questions and statements. He wanted to bring Jesus of the Bible into the conversation but didn't know if that would be wise. Religion was banned over a century before. There were harsh penalties for anyone who believed and worshiped a divine God. He decided to take a chance. He could only hope that Ramon wouldn't repeat this conversation in front of anyone outside the family. Especially his teachers. There were many government snitches throughout society. They gladly reported anti-government hate speak in return for a few measly world credits.

  "Ramon, there was a very wise man many centuries ago who loved all men and did everything He could to help them. In fact, many believe He was put on this earth to die for the sins of all men. But this wise and kind man also believed all men who could work should do so. Otherwise, they wouldn't eat."

  Miguel could see that Ramon understood the story so far but didn't agree with it. He was too brainwashed by nine years of government schooling to throw aside approved doctrine immediately. The concepts of capitalism and religion were like a foreign language to him. It was going to be very difficult convincing him that the World Council economic theories were ill-conceived. They didn't work worth a damn in real life.

  The conversation was becoming heated. Miguel debated with himself whether to continue or drop the idea of trying to argue Ramon to his point of view. Miguel decided to drop the topic and turn to something more pleasant to discuss. At that very moment, he was presented with a golden opportunity to open his grandson's eyes to the inadequacies of World Council socialism.

  The ladies of the house were finished cleaning up after dinner. They had a special surprise for the family members resting on the porch. It was a serving of Brigadeiros Durazno, the national dessert cherished by all people living in the Amazon basin. Brigadeiros Durazno, referred to as BD, was a delicious dessert consisting of ice cream laid on top of peach flan cake. It was then topped with chocolate and tiny bits of pineapple smothered in honey.

  Everyone in the family was thrilled when given a bowl of BD. For the men, a bowl of BD was better than getting a day off from work. For the women, it was an emotional high seeing their men smile again as they savored each scoop of the sweet dessert.

  Being able to enjoy a bowl of BD happened only once every couple of years because of the shortage of chocolate, peaches, and honey. It usually took a couple of years for the women to scrimp and save enough world credits to buy the ingredients needed for the delicious dessert.

  "Ramon, can I show you an example of what I've been trying to teach you? I promise to show you nothing more than what the schools are teaching."

  Ramon thought about his grandfather's request. He had a feeling this was some sort of trap, but he went ahead and agreed to whatever the old man was up to. "Sure, Poppy, go ahead. I want to see why you think the government is so bad."

  With that, Miguel stood up and walked over to stand in front of Ramon's chair. He picked up Ramon's dish of BD from the coffee table and said, "Ramon, pretend this dish of BD is what your labor produces. All your work each day ends up in this bowl. Understand?" Ramon shook his head up and down indicating he understood his grandfather's explanation.

  "Now, also pretend I'm the government. I make the rules and decisions which you must follow like every other good, law-abiding citizen. Follow me so far Ramon?" Again, Ramon nodded his head up and down.

  "Watch closely, Ramon. This is how the government makes me live every day of my life." With that, Miguel walked Ramon's dish of BD over to his two younger sisters and gave them the dessert to eat.

  "Ramon, I have decided you don't need the BD as much as these two young ladies." Miguel returned to his chair, sat down and started eating his own dessert.

  Ramon was shell-shocked and didn't know what to do. After seeing his two sisters attack his BD he regained his senses and launched himself out of his chair.

  "Hey, you two, that's my BD. Give it back to me." Ramon snatched his bowl from the girls and headed back to his chair to eat the meager scraps remaining in the bowl.

  Everyone on the porch except Miguel and Ramon was hooting, hollering and laughing. The sisters were giggling nonstop while poking fun at Ramon. "Thanks, Poppy. Ramon's BD was delicious. Can we have his BD next time, too?"

  "Well, we'll see. Next time someone else may need his BD more than you girls. Or, your BD might go to the needy neighbor across the street. How would you feel about that?"

  In unison, the girls rejected this thought. "There's no way that guy over there is getting our BD."

  Ramon tried to be mad at his grandfather but seeing his family laughing and having fun at his expense cooled his anger.

  "Ramon, you should have seen your face when Poppy gave your dessert to the girls and they started eati
ng it."

  "Yeah, it was really funny, Father. I'm glad everyone had such a good time on me."

  The family started laughing again at Ramon. It wasn't what he said but rather the sarcastic way he said it that was so humorous.

  Ramon looked over at his grandfather and said, "Poppy, I'll get you for this. When you least expect it, I'll get you." Everyone could tell by the smile on his face that this was an idle threat. He didn't have any intention of seeking revenge for what he just learned.

  Miguel stood up again and walked his half-eaten bowl of BD over to his grandson. "Good news, Ramon. The government has reconsidered your case and decided you need more dessert."

  Poppy handed his remaining BD to Ramon. "Here, this is yours now. Enjoy. And by the way, I give it to you freely. No one forced me to. I want you to have it because giving of my own free will makes me feel good."

  Everyone smiled at Poppy's announcement and waited to see how Ramon would respond. This was a perfect example of why they loved the family patriarch.

  "I get the point, Poppy. Thank you." Ramon shoveled the last few scoops of Poppy's BD into his mouth before anyone had the chance to take it from him.

  That night, Ramon and Poppy laid in their beds thinking about the BD incident. Each of them still laughed on the inside remembering the happiness and fun created by one small bowl of sweet dessert. And both thought of the serious lessons and consequences derived from this event.

  Ramon remembered vividly how he felt when Poppy took his dessert. He instantly felt contempt for the old man who took his food. If it had been anyone other than Poppy, he would have fought to get it back. Poppy was right. Government taking his food wasn't any better than a thief taking it. He realized the main lesson of Poppy's demonstration. The government could steal from its citizens. And it has the power of law to make it legalized theft.