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The Utopian


Jinkmeister

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Chapter 1Unique. Different. Special. Gifted. None were words used in The Utopia. Everyone was equal, everyone shared the work. If you were particularly gifted at a skill, you were forbidden to practice it. The Po-Utopian who was skilled at whittling stone into works of art was made to work at the Great Waterworks. Meanwhile, the Ga-Utopian learned in the art of chemistry was sent to whittle the stones into crude forms of art. In this way, no Utopian was better than another. They were all equally unskilled at their given trade. Given was the only word. Not chosen, nor inherited. It was assigned, but by who, no one knew. All job assignments were passed out by a different Peacekeeper bi-annually. If a Utopian was found to begin learning their given trade too well, they were sent to do another. In this way, all Utopians were equal. The Onu-Utopian was just as bad at hydroponics as the Ta-Utopian was at gardening.Over all of this watched the Grand Utopian Empire and their many Peacekeepers. Behind closed doors, small cells of dissidents pinned the number of Peacekeepers to being nearly equal to those of an average Utopian. Of course, no Utopian was above average, nor were they even technically average. They were all equally below-average. All Utopians Equal, All Utopians Together. The phrase every young Utopian learned in Utopian Allegiance School, where all Utopians spent the first fourteen years of their life, disconnected from all but the School and the Empire.All Utopians Equal, All Utopians Together. If you couldn't say that without so much as thinking, a death penalty was almost assured. Lack of patriotism was almost as bad as treachery in the eyes of the Empire. Of course, death was the Empire's form of a merciful punishment. No one knew what happened to those found guilty of treachery, but those that stepped out of the Correctional Facility were never the same. They would walk around with eyes glazed over, occasionally mumbling the phrase 'All Utopians Equal, All Utopians Together' over and over. They worked like robots, and could never speak in complete sentences. Yet, they never had a mark on their body. Seeing these Corrected, as they were called, was sufficient to make traitors think twice.Of course, there was happiness in Utopia. Sometimes they would have sporting events at the Arena, where Corrected would be pitted against vicious animals and even other Corrected. It was always quite entertaining, watching one Corrected gouge another Corrected's eyes out. Of course, the winner is put down on the field, since it would be far too dangerous to introduce it into the Utopian population again. None felt remorse for them, since they were the only beings considered Sub-Utopian. Even the animals were valued above them.But of the typical Utopian, their day consisted of their morning meal, a workout in the Common Areas, then off to work. There, you worked for six hours before taking your noon meal, and then returning to work for another six to eight hours. You then returned home, where you were free to do whatever you pleased, so long as you obeyed the lengthy Book of Home, Work, Play, And Thought Laws. It was through that book that many Utopians had been sentenced guilty of treachery. Oddly enough, all trials ended one of two ways: treachery or lack of patriotism. No one who went to court ever walked out free. Therefore, Utopians did all they could to obey the Book of Laws, as it was called for short. For instance-BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP“Ugh...” The Utopian sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. His dreams had been fitful, and he didn't feel like telling them to the Dream Recorder. But of course, he must. Once in a while, he would lie and say he didn't dream, but he only dared to say it when he couldn't remember most of the dream. He had no idea how they could, but he was sure they knew if he lied. Lying, of course, was considered treachery. It kind of made sense, since-BEEP BEEP...click...THOOMThe tube lights on his ceiling boomed as they turned on, and began buzzing incessantly once they had come on.“UTOPIAN 4891, GET UP!” the speaker across the room blared.“I'm up, I'm up...” the Ta-Utopian muttered, rubbing his eyes again. He hadn't meant to fall back to sleep. Looking up at the clock, he groaned. He was late for morning meal. He would have to give an excuse, and he just knew he would end up seeing the Dream Recorder because of it.-----Review here please!

Edited by Jinklemeister
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Chapter II“YOUR WORKOUT WILL BE IN COMMON AREA 12 AT PRECISELY 0700!” the speaker shouted, much too loud and tinny. The Ta-Utopian rubbed his ear as he stood, raising himself to his full six foot height. All Utopians, being bio-mechanical, were a uniform six feet tall. That way, all buildings could be uniform, and nothing and nobody would need to be special or considered special. The Ta-Utopian clasped his hands behind his head as he stretched. Another long day on Utopia had begun for Mr. Sel Worth.“So Mr. Worth, what took you so long?” The Peacekeeper standing sentinel outside of the mess hall was always known to be rather easy-going on late risers, but everyone had their off days, and today was one of those.“I had...dreams. Nothing too serious, I should be fine,” Sel replied as he attempted to step into the building. He knew the arm would block the door before it even went up.“Dreams, huh? Anything that we Peacekeepers need to be worried about? They say dissidents can get inside your head these days.” Today, this particular Peacekeeper felt like making someone's day bad, and he was already off to a good start.“If I had dissidents sending messages into my dreams, I'd know,” Sel growled. The Peacekeeper smirked, his arm still barring the door.“You know you need to go see the Dream Recorder, right? Forget morning meal, national security is better than your full stomach,” the Peacekeeper said in a disturbingly pleased voice. Sel opened his mouth to respond, thought better, and shut it. The Peacekeeper lowered his arm and crossed both across his chest, grinning wickedly. Sel stared him in the eye before turning and walking away.“And make sure they probe DEEP!” Such parting words infuriated Sel, but he knew better than to respond. Shortly, he arrived at a door bearing a sign that read:DR. MAZINGDREAM AND THOUGHT ANALYSTTaking a deep breath, Sel opened the door and stepped in.“Welcome Mr. Worth! Please take a seat, the Doctor will be right with you!” The Ga-Utopian secretary was far too bubbly and energetic, as all secretaries in Utopia are. Sel sat down in a plush chair in a small, bright room full of chairs, hand sanitizer, and the latest copies of “The Utopian Times” and “You, Yourself, and Utopia”, the only authorized Utopian magazines. After ten minutes of fiddling with his fingers, Sel picked up a nearby copy of “The Utopian Times”. Flipping to a random page, he saw an article titled “Your Child and Their Education.” Directly below it was an image of a class of Utopian children, all standing and smiling the exact same way.“As if...” Sel mumbled, causing the secretary to glance up. Sel remembered clearly his time in the School. He was glad to be out, and he felt terrible for the children in the image. Having to go through “Class”, and then to have to pose for this image. Pretending as if the horrors they were undergoing was the greatest thing they've experienced in their young lives. Behind every smile was a child who was so beaten, so decimated that they barely resembled Utopians. Closer to Corrected than anything. Then Sel noticed the eyes. All the eyes had a look of pain, a plea disguised by a fake smile. Their eyes bored into his mind, begging him to set them free...Sel closed the magazine and threw it to the table. At this, the secretary looked up.“The Doctor will see you now!” She bubbled. Sel got up and stepped through a door that opened next to the secretary. She gave a friendly wave as he walked by, and returned to her work. Likely some card game or another, Sel thought resentfully as he walked down the hallway. There was only one door at the end, the walls leading to it plastered with diplomas and awards for this or that accomplishment that the Doctor may or may not have done. Sel grabbed for the handle, but the door was already opening.“Mr. Worth, glad you could make it!” The Doctor was an Onu-Utopian, and a former Peacekeeper. He had been a Doctor of Dreams and Thought for as long as anyone could remember. He could decipher the most cryptic thought or explain the most twisted dream. It was through him that a large majority of thought crimes were brought to light. “Please take a seat, Mr. Worth!” He said, indicating the plush chairs in front of him.“Thank you Doctor,” Sel said as he sat down on the rightmost chair. It was far too comfortable, giving the feeling that you were in front of a good friend. Sel knew better.“So, it's come to my attention that you've been having dreams?” The Doctor said, clasping his hands on his desk.“Yes Doctor...” Sel replied, preparing his mind. The Doctor grinned, prepared to dissect every single word Sel said from that point on. Sel knew this, and Sel feared it greatly. He hated any other person knowing his mind, and this was an agent of his greatest enemy.

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Chapter III“Well, um...” Sel thought for a moment. His dreams? They had been somewhat hazy...but the words were all there. Some being explaining Utopia...it was all things Sel knew, but somehow, they way it was said sounded different somehow. But could he tell the Doctor this? Would the speech be considered a thought-crime? Would the Doctor call in the Peacekeepers? These questions flew through Sel's head in an instant, and he knew what to say.“Let's see...it started with...a creature. It looked like a Corrected, if I had to describe it.” The Doctor nodded knowingly at this. Sel hoped he wasn't digging a deeper grave than he would have otherwise. “This creature...it spoke in...a language I couldn't understand. I only caught a couple words, but nothing of significance,” Sel looked at the Doctor, hoping that his lie held strong. Mazing stared at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment.“What words did it say?” The Doctor asked. Sel felt his stomach tighten. He spoke the first words that came to mind.“All Utopians Equal, All Utopians Together. He also said something about obedience, I think.” The Doctor continued looking at the ceiling before glancing at Sel. The latter felt a tingle run down his spine at the former's gaze.“You seem to be suffering a fear of an uprising. Specifically, that of the Corrected. You fear that if they could form together, they could overpower the Peacekeepers, and threaten our glorious Utopia. Don't fear, many people tell me this dream in some form or another. In fact, one Le-Utopian told me the same thing nearly word-for-word. The key point is that it's quite impossible, and a very silly, yet common fear. Here, I have just the thing,” the Doctor explained before opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a VC case. “This Video Chip contains a documentary called “Peacekeepers: How We Keep the Peace”. It should put your fears to rest. It explains how we keep the Corrected docile and subjective, and will eliminate any fear you have.”“Thank you, Doctor,” Sel said, getting up. He reached across the desk to shake the Doctor's hand, but the Doctor simply leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Sel figured it was the closest he would get to a good-bye. He withdrew his hand, and stepped out the door. As he exited the hallway, the secretary glanced up at him, but otherwise ignored him. Sel continued outside, worrying about what he would tell the foreman at the Hydroponics Plant.As if sensing his hurry, a massive Prison Hovercraft lumbered across the road he was trying to cross. Frustrated and anxious, Sel hopped from one leg to another. From inside the immense vehicle, moans and screams could be heard, likely from those who were found guilty of Unpatriotism. As he and all Utopians did, he ignored them. The people in there had chosen their path, and they were paying their price. Finally, the giant transport was past, and he hurried on.---“Late again, Mr. Worth?” The Peacekeepers here were NEVER soft on late-comers.“Yes, I had to meet with the Dream Recorder,” Sel explained. This time, he knew he couldn't just slip by them.“Huh. Quite the story. Where's your Excuse Slip?” The guard smirked at him. Sel paled as he realized that Doctor Mazing had never given him one.“I...I...he didn't give me one!” Sel said, beginning to worry about his life expectancy. Peacekeepers were often known to “slip” whilst adjusting their firearms.“Well, Mr. Worth, that is quite unfortunate. I'm going to give you this,” the Peacekeeper said as he pulled a slip of paper out of a pouch on his belt. “Meet me here after you get off of work, and we'll settle the debt.”“What debt?” Sel asked hesitantly.“The debt you owe me for not saying anything,” the sentinel said as he moved aside. Sel hurried through the door of the Hydroponics Plant as he stuffed the paper in his pocket. Once inside the foreman (who was chosen based on his ability, or lack thereof, to direct or confront people,) stepped up to him.“Mr. Worth, where were you?” He demanded.“Doctor Mazing's. My, does that sound like command in your voice, sir?” Sel asked warningly. The foreman peeped audibly and glanced around.“D-Don't tell the Peacekeepers, okay?”“Sure thing, boss,” Sel said. At least he got one bit of entertainment today. Barely catching the crowded elevator, Sel jabbed that already lit 6 button. The doors slid shut, and the elevator began rising.---------------------------As always, review here!

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