by Rik Thompson
THE OUTKAST
By
Rik Thompson
Text Copyright 2020 Rik Thompson
All Rights Reserved
For Helen and Cousin Donnie
“Table of Contents”
THE OUTKAST
By
Rik Thompson
FOREWORD
PROLOG
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
EPILOG
Who am I - why am I here – where do I fit in?
What is the useless reason you can say to me that will explain to me why I came to be?
I'm not the old chip off the block as they say as I never knew the block from which I came
I am lost with no direction desperately trying to find my way
There was no plan for me and it seems to me I was not wanted – planned for in any way – like an unformed piece of clay
Got to make the best of it - there was never anyone to show me the way
FOREWORD
May, 1991 - Illinois
Marshall Thomas is propped up on his elbows, rubbing the back of his ears, at a desk in his bedroom staring at a textbook in front of him. He moves his left hand away from his ear and begins to chew on his fingernails. He turns the page trying to remember what he read not more than two seconds ago, and finds it difficult. He reads the passage again as he brushes his long brown hair off his forehead, closes his eyes and tries to visualize the scene. History has always been his favorite subject, and he has done well in his studies.
I just have to ace; just ace this final exam, do well on all the other subjects, complete the eleventh grade.
He closes the book and moves it aside.
Maybe math will get me thinking right, is his thought as he retrieves the math textbook from the stack of books lying on the right side of the desk.
Evelyn Thomas strolls into the room wearing a worn, pin striped housecoat that seems like it originated in the past century. Her dyed blond hair, now streaked with grey and black strands is mussed and she holds an empty coffee cup in one hand, a cigarette in the other. She pauses for a second in her pink slippers to announce that his friend, Steve Torco, is standing in the living room.
"How am I supposed to get this studying done with him in the room?"
She shrugs her shoulders, "Tell him that. Guess he wants to walk with you to school."
“Always shows up when I’m busy with something, if I don’t get this studying done, next year I will still be in the eleventh grade,” he replies as he reaches for his chin to pop a pimple.
He didn't mention he had flunked out on his Science exam, and he didn't allude that it would prevent him from moving on to his senior year. Though he had prepared well for the exam, and thought that he did his best on the chemistry sections, Mister Leonard gave him no benefit of the doubt and no slack whatsoever. In his mind the teacher had been a real bitch about it all.
He looked up to say something to his mom; instead Steve interrupted him, "Didn't want to break your concentration old boy,” he said with a smile.
"Bet you didn't. Why don’t you go back to your house, finish getting dressed? Why aren't you studying?"
"Well," he began as he stroked his chest, "when you got all this intelligence - what do you mean finish getting dressed?”
“You need to comb your hair, you bum.”
“No, I don’t, and as far as studying,” he said, “I don't need to do. You will remember, I did pass the last Science exam."
"And the no-good cocksucker flunked me,” Marshall said. “I believe now that he did it on purpose."
"You don't say?"
Marshall threw out verbal daggers at Mister Leonard to his friend, right down to the very depths of hatred which resided deep within him, for the man.
"And I tell you what, if I had a gun, I would blow that son-of-a-bitch away."
"Damn man, you really don't like Mister Leonard, do you?"
· * * *
The garish ringing of the phone wakes Fred Thomas. He turns over in the bed towards the culprit and reaches for it when he hears a voice from the kitchen, “I’ll get it,” yells his wife. “Thank you,” Fred grumbles as he turns back over to go to sleep.
Who in hell would be calling at this hour?
Sandy walks to the bedroom door, “It’s your boss.”
His normally scheduled day off has been rescinded due to a special event downtown. The boss did not say what the event was, just instructed him to, 'get to work as soon as possible.' He tumbles into the living room, a slight staggering demeanor, in his underwear. Marshall greets him from the dining room table.
"Hello Dad; you seem in a rush."
"Yes, I am," Fred replies tossing him a key, "go to the gun cabinet and get my thirty-eight, while I dress."
Marshall goes through the kitchen doorway and into the garage. He makes his way across to a wooden gun cabinet. He inserts the key and opens both doors of the gun closet allowing his gaze to envelope the wide variety of firearms. Inside the cabinet are hand blasters, rifles, and scopes of various types, and even though he had made this trip out here many times for his father, it was very different for him this time, psychologically. He located his father's thirty-eight, and stepped back to peruse the remaining collection.
"Now, let's see, that just might do the trick."
· * * *
SEGUS HIGH SCHOOL
Marshall Thomas prowls the school grounds littered with students. Off to the right of him he sees his buddy Steve approach, and as they are talking Marshall notices Mister Leonard out of the corner of his eye walking from the Administration Building some distance off, from his location.
"Look it, I've got to go." Marshall fidgets, "I will catch you later."
He scurries away towards the Administration Building.
Fred Thomas, dressed in his blue policeman uniform, wanders the grounds outside the Administration Building. He wasn’t happy working on his day off, and did not appreciate one bit filling in for another cop, so that officer could attend an arts and crafts festival across town just because his wife had a part in it. It pissed him off. He finally shrugged it off and settled down knowing that there really was nothing he could do about it. He was after all a cop and duty was duty.
He surveyed the area; all the time looking out for students smoking cigarettes, or other contraband when he heard gun fire erupt just to the north of the building. He ran as quickly as he could cursing softly for being out of shape, to the other side of the building and saw Mister Leonard lying on the ground, blood gushing from his head. He pulled his service revolver and promptly scanned the area for the perpetrator when he saw a young girl, approximately fifty feet away running towards a boy with a gun in his left hand. He drew his service revolver, then quickly fixed his focus to the boy. Fred fired at the boy and brought him down. Fred ran hard and eclipsed the fifty or so foot distance in a matter of seconds. He huffed and puffed his way up to where the boy was lying on the ground face down.
"Call nine, one-one," he ordered to no one in particular and bent down over the boy and rolled him over.
"No ... this isn't happening," he shrieked as he stared into the boy’s face.
PROLOG
MARCH, 2030
At this juncture in time The World Government Organization, (The WGO), was firmly established. From its conception the WGO brought sweeping
changes and though it took some time – especially in the developing countries; most inhabitants of the earth were recorded into one great mainframe, and documented on a thin, plastic card which was absolutely required to be on your person at all times. Shortly after this event the World Health Organization, (The WHO), in tandem with the World Government Organization, imposed upon the world’s population a tiny wafer filled with electronics. The wafer, which would be injected into the sole of the right foot of newborns, would eventually replace the card. One would not want to commit a crime against the government when it came to population control, which at the turn of the century became one of the first concerns of the World Government Organization. We all had part in breeding this racist, hateful, greedy society. Children were thrown into this world by uncaring adults, managed poorly, and had to experience the harshness of life and make decisions for themselves.
“We have created a hedonistic society which has spurned a criminal underclass. Now, no one is safe.”
A comment supplied by Lawrence Biggars, chairman of, the World Government Population Control Board, on August 9, 2025.
There had to be a way, an argument, if you will, to curb the disregard of population quotas established by the board. And the meetings between the board and its constituents dragged on for weeks.... Keith Senne, Historian.
· * * *
World evolution had taken a turn for the worse by the turn of the century. Famine, disease, the overpopulation of the Earth's hemispheres, along with the decimation of the Earth’s resources into the Twenty-First Century dictated it so. It was a terrible transition that witnessed crime in an overcrowded world and devastated the majority of the inhabitants of the planet. Increasingly there were too many of us to feed, house, clothe, and shelter. In the West there was such a demand for valuable minerals and precious metals and the cost for technology had been taken for granted, and only available to be purchased and owned by the wealthy. Much of the world had become either a big-city ghetto or a dust bowl where civilization could not flourish. Man had taken from the earth and her resources; never giving back, and the planets’ assets were becoming critical.
Political change and the neglect of proper resource management incorporated need. There was a need to change, and redefine the concepts of freedom to the overpopulated, crowded world that brought about careless disregard for fellow human beings. We all were becoming numbers on a computer screen, managed by a system of class.
The world had to change and that change would be painful to most and the ensuing effort of adaptability would hamper others. The change would be downright monumental in scope as the entire planet would have to sign onboard for it to have any success at all.
This day the world came to a conclusion, a better way to manage resources and ushered in a resolution to form a one world government. The first focus of this new government would be to address the overpopulation of the Earth. ...Keith Senne, Historian.
· * * *
UNITED NATIONS BUILDING, NEW YORK CITY – JANUARY, 2026
The plaza was cordoned off; there were barricades which ran the length of the plaza surrounding the famed building, lined with motorcades of policemen, dressed in starched, blue uniforms, in the crisp New York City air. If we were at our home, the television program we were watching would be preempted, the screen would go blank for a moment, then, the picture would shift, to life from within that plaza, and the camera would focus on a reporter outside the United Nations Building at, seven-sixty, United Nations Plaza.
“For the Global News Network, this is Trey Stewart reporting.” would be the amplified voice of the handsome reporter with the wireless microphone in his hand, gesturing as he spoke, eloquently, and alerting us to what the preemption was all about, “Today we will be here to witness a historic event, for not only the United States, to hear, but will impact all the world.
“This assembly of The UN Council, and the representatives of The World Health Organization will bring about global change on how the world is viewed by the leaders of the world, in respects to the current overpopulation, and its dire effect on the survival of the human race.”
There is a brief flash on the television screen, and the next images we see are not that of Trey Stewart, the handsome reporter, representing the Global News Network. We are now ushered right into the UN Council chambers, where it seems there is quite an argument happening, between UN Council member, William Priestly, a tall thin man, and World Health Organization President, Joseph Sokolov, who has the floor at present. He is animated, talking wildly, eyes bulging, a shock of red hair dancing around his head, gesturing much like a traffic cop in fast forward.
Seems that this all started over William Priestly, in his studious fashion, standing there on the floor, holding a King James bible in his hand, and eloquently reading, Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them. God said to them, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
“Let me ask you all one very specific question, on that verse from God’s word. What does that mean? What was he saying? Simple, comrades. He was saying to populate the earth. I am sure we all have our pros and cons over this verse.”
Like gangbusters, Joseph Sokolov bolted out of his seat, and took over the floor.
“Pros and cons, you ask? I will give you all pros and cons, over population! Now, let me see – there is no pros of overpopulation. Why? Because my fellow citizens of the world – overpopulation will eventually wipe mankind off the face of this planet, that’s why. When we have consumed all that this earth can give us, when we begin to fight over simple things like water to drink, the resources for our transportation, and many other items that we have been fighting over that for quite some time now. Already we struggle to house and feed the population, and let’s face it folks, if you are wealthy, almost anywhere on this planet you may not think about these things, but, yes, one day these issues will impact you as well. It will impact all of us. Surely, we don’t see poverty when we are rich. We don’t see people crammed into housing by the scores; housing only made for two to three people, now housing fifteen to twenty people. Rich people don’t pay any attention to those kinds of things, and that is why it becomes more and more out of control. The rich rule the poor. They don’t worry about taxes, and laws, and equality, until the day comes when it busts down their door.”
He was worked up, loose, and he moved around so wild and explicitly that his tie came undone all by itself, arms flailing, sweat spilling down his brow, the fiery red hair on his head askew, as a spinning top that did not run out of power.
He was a powerful speaker, an influential one, and his potency was heard all around the globe, like a rocket shot to the Moon, and his reverberations would shake and change the world as we know it.
Global government was ushered in, everything changed, more responsibility would now be warranted by this government, because the value of life, and its term would finally be respected, and held in reverence. …. Keith Senne, Historian
· * * *
The world came into focus as one, it had to, and finally, unabated, and accepted by the leaders of the world as a good thing in its own way, brought a lot of non-contributing nations and lands into accord. This punctuated and brought together the majority of the world’s objectives and goals: survival of the species, and lifted the shroud of darkness that: we were killing ourselves. Sons and daughters were entering life with no legs to stand on. The rich had everything, and the poor died on the hospital steps. Babies afflicted with their parent's drug addicted ways were rising up later in life to destroy things that were good. Suddenly there was a child, loved, planned for, and with time aplenty to contribute, gunned down in the streets, by someone whose hatred had reached crescendo. Someone, whose parents had little or no respect for the life and the precariousness of the child they founded into the world without a thought whatsoever, or how that child would develop increased dramat
ically and without end in a downward spiral.
The Government of the World changed much of the policy that individual nations used to adhere to. By the conclusion of 2023, and into the first five years of WGO, the planet had joined, and its agenda began to advance at a rapid rate. Technology was dispersed and shared freely throughout the world and distributed at such a rapid dispersal rate that it began to bind the nations of the world into a oneness. In the new millennia, to get a regular job, raise a family of just one child, a person would have to hold several degrees, and have quite the technological background in school, and in life. Yes, changes which saw the reunification of Germany, the fall of Communism were early factors which ultimately escorted in a new way to understand the challenges and usher in the dawn of the twenty-first century.
The conclusion of the nineties saw untold violence escalate, and corruption and disruption take a malicious hold on the human race. In that era a revamped and rebirth of, Hitler's Movement saw an unheard-of resurgence which brought about major changes in our way of thought and what we previously viewed as freedom.
ONE
2039 – MOON BASE OPERATIONS
“Moon base to Earth Transport One, hey, do you copy?”
The receiver crackles and then comes to life.
“This is R-5134,” a smooth voice answers, “are we clear for docking?
“Yes, Cousin, take ‘er down to hub six.”
“That is the Science Hub, is it not?”
“Affirmative, Cousin,” a familiar voice replied.
The robot screws his head to the side, “Franklin, is that you?”
“Who else could it be? You only have one real cousin in the universe, do you not?”