“This trial will last 72 hours. As it is customary with this kind of procedure, every citizen is required to take part in the jury deliberation”.
“To guarantee an uncorrupt and truly objective jury decision, several citizens will be randomly selected to serve as ‘guardians of truth’. These citizens will not be notified of this choice, but their actions and thoughts will be monitored by the judges.”
People started looking around nervously… who would be reading their thoughts tonight? would that be dangerous? The worst part was probably never knowing if your brain had been ‘poked’…
“Our society is built on several strict principles” started the first judge. “Respect, faith, trust… We have survived the darkest times by following these principles. They are the pillars of our future. … And whenever someone breaks one of these principles, our entire community is at risk.”
“Years ago, we have learned a painful lesson, and paid a very high price for letting some tamper with one’s mind”.
“Today, only passive monitoring is allowed, and this, only by a council of twelve judges in a sealed courtroom!”
“Now, why are you ‘here’ today? To do your duty ! To punish this man! And to allow us to extract a crucial piece of information… Who is behind this? Who would be foolish enough to risk awaking our Justice? And why?”
The second judge rose.
“Several weeks ago, the man lying in this bed came back to our city. ‘Came back’ because he used to be a citizen, here. A perfect citizen for so many years! Not one record! Nothing! But then, one day, he simply disappeared.”
“How can someone disappear, nowadays? It is technically impossible... Our community knows where every single one of its members is. AT ALL TIMES!!! Yet, he found some way.”
“Why do we believe this man to be guilty? A week ago, in the architectural district, a respectable citizen was found in a critical condition, with the all too classic symptom of a bad “Psy-Rape”, flat cerebral activity... one floor below, the Guardian found this man in a coma. He was positioned ‘exactly’ below the body of the victim“
“Citizens nearby reported hearing screams.”
“The details of this case are available from your personal voice. Please review them and…”
You’re losing track. Your eyes start wandering at the quiet crowd. You have never seen so many people gathered in a room.
You have never seen so many people…
A man, a woman, a young man, another young man, a few children, an old woman… Something bothers you… there’s something missing. Or is it someone?
The hippie …
You look around, and spot her in the back, staring at you. She looks sad.
“… and with your approval, we will get the information we need to stop these barbarians !”
she’s gone.
Intrigued, you get up as quietly as possible and proceed to the back exit. A lot of people are standing, waiting to get a seat. Some seem surprised to see you leave. You fake a grin and hold your belly, as only natural bodily functions could be and acceptable excuse. You quietly follow the stairs down.
“Please return to the courtroom as soon as possible” says the voice with a patient but firm tone.
On the lower deck, a couple of men and the hippie are having an animated conversation. Quite unusual, as proper etiquette requires citizens to keep their conversation tone neutral… Strange accent, sharp movements, loud voices.
“ …we don’t have time for this now! We’ll discuss it at the camp. I know what I’m doing…”
“Hey! What are you doing here ?!?” yells the first man, pointing at you.
‘BOOOOM!’
The whole tower shakes…
“No! It’s too early!!! Damn it!…” starts the second. A blinding light pours from the courtroom. Screams … black smoke…
They both rush through the stairs, adjusting some sort of mask over their faces. They pass you without a glimpse.
“Follow me” says the hippie.
You follow…
“this way” .
Running, you follow her to the ‘elevator disc’. The disc moves slowly at first, but it accelerates quickly.
Through the clear walls of the shaft, the entire city appears, majestic and pure. The sun setting casts a golden light.
Diamonds fall from the sky…
You look up, surprised, and see an entire glass panel shatter and fall from the courtroom, followed by… a bed… followed by the hippie’s ‘friends’.
Astonished, you turn to her. She is curled up, her knees up to her chin, mumbling.
“…should have never happened…those fools…it’s gonna change everything, now…”
You look back up.
The two men are wrestling with the bed. A second later, their coats fly off, freeing …‘wings’?
Attached to their body by thin strings.
Para-gliders…
They where struggling.
Handling the para-gliders seemed difficult enough, now try freeing the man from the bed straps. Their movements were getting nervous, then desperate. Soon, reluctantly, they had to let go. The bed crashed without a sound at the base of the tower, the man torn to pieces.
The two men were escaping, clumsy flying insects in a burning sky.
All in a few seconds…
“Madness”, she was sobbing. “and now he’s dead!”
The disc stopped quietly. She stood up and started running, heading for the remains of the bed.
“I need to save the bones…”
She seemed possessed.
A revolting vision, bits of flesh, bits of plastic, blood… The city has been spoiled, stained.
“You are being investigated. Please stand still and wait for the arrival of the guardians,” says the voice.
You freeze, doing as told.
The hippie grabs some piece of torn cloth, probably a sheet, and starts collecting the largest pieces. She stops, turns around, and starts sobbing. She notices you and tries to call you.
You start walking in her direction.
“Please stand still. “ says the voice, sounding irritated, “Should you attempt to move, the guardians will use weapons to stop you”
“Come” says the hippie, grabbing you by the sleeve.
You run, following her lead.
A second later, everything becomes silent. “whoooosh”. Right next to you, several pieces of the bed are swept by an invisible fist.
Coming from the tower, two guardians are aiming conical devices at you.
“wooooosh”. The hippie’s bag flies in the air, bloody bits of flesh landing around you.
“Damn ‘Sounders’…!” screams the hippie, grabbing what looks like a leg.
She turns around a building, and stops at a tarp covered mound.
The tarp is quickly thrown aside revealing a strange black, two wheeled vehicle. A ‘cart’ fitted with a seat is attached to the side.
“Let’s go!” she says, pointing at the cart.
You get in as fast as you can, startled by the strong smell of this mechanical beast.
She kicks a foot lever and the vehicle roars, emitting a thick black smoke.
The monster, in a hellish rumble, starts moving.
The hippie takes a pair of goggles from a saddlebag and hands it to you.
“ For the bugs!”
Conveniently it seems, the tower is located at the edge of the city. Soon, you see the smoking structure shrink behind you.
“Please return to the tower.” says the voice “You are being investigated and are not allowed to … the city…judge… eter… back… sentenced to…”. The voice seem to have a limited range. Silence is welcome.
The scenery changes quickly. The white and sleek city is replaced by hints of vegetation.
Ironically, you have never left the city. Then again, why would you?
Noticing your puzzled look, the hippie sighs.
“I’m going to the camp in the forest. Blackout forest. Feel free to tag along…”
You start shivering, remembering the old legends.
END OF CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
You are running… alone… you are tired, hungry and cold. They are after you. You try to hide behind a tree, try to climb. Bare feet, you hurt your toes on the bark and fall. You’re bleeding.
A fantastic roar shakes the ground, followed by a second, closer. Then the howling starts…
You try to run, your ‘good’ foot gets stuck in a root and you pathetically tumble.
“Get up!” the howling becomes coherent…“GET UP! Drums inside your head “GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!”
Something grabs you by the arm and shakes you! “GET UP! WE’VE ARRIVED !”
You wake up, beating the air, fending off … a nightmare ?
The hippie stares at you, pitiful urban creature. “c’mon’ we’re late…”
She helps you get out of the cart. How long have you been sleeping? You remember the fields… endless fields of modified reed, undulating
You look around, your mouth gaping in astonishment.
Trees… hundreds of trees… all charred …all dead… from time to time, a blue electric arc randomly flies from tree to tree.
A rudimentary wooden sign reads : “Blackout Forest! Keep out!”
“Bet you’ve heard of the forbidden forest ? Another one of their damn experiments! Planted and killed an entire forest… called it a ‘prototype’!”
“Years ago, the city had ‘needs’… heavy machineries, heating, lighting, transportation… Never enough power!”
She unhooks a saddlebag from the side of the vehicle, and opens it to check it. You get a glimpse of an awfully purple human leg. You feel nauseous.
“Then, ‘Ta-ta!’, some genius found the solution : Modify trees to generate electricity! and connect them all by the roots to a power plant!”
She starts walking carefully, apparently wary of the electric arcs.
“simple, efficient, and ‘clean’ they claimed! They tested it here… worked for a while, but one day, during a storm, they realized they had forgotten something… a fuse !”
“lightning struck a tall tree. Millions of volts spread from tree to tree, barbecuing the entire forest in just a few seconds …”
“Problem…” she continued “is that the trees are still up! They’re petrified, and are still connected. So, when the wind blows the trees still generate tons of static electricity… quite deadly!” she smiles…
She pulls you to the ground as a crackling arc flies over your head.
You start walking again. Soon, you notice movements in the distance - a clearing.
“The camp!” she says, triumphantly.
Several men are gathered around a campfire. You recognize the two ‘flying’ men among them.
She looks at the saddlebag and sighs.
“what a mess…”
She leads the way. As you get closer, the men stop talking and stare at you.
“why did you bring a stranger here?” says an old man. An overbearing voice bellows from this human relic, his completely parched skin looking like an antique sepia map.
“Forget about the stranger, let’s settle the rest first… What the hell happened at the tower ???” she asks, turning to the para-glider team.
“ The smoke and flash grenades went off too early!… “ says one of them “then, when we finally got there, everybody was panicking and trying to escape!”
“We tried our best to detach the body before we jumped,” says the other “but obviously. it didn’t work…”
“It obviously didn’t !” says the hippie, emptying her saddlebag on the ground.
You lamentably pass out.