Having inhaled deeply, a sturdy-looking man glanced on the crowd, rapidly gathering in the office of Michigan state government. The voices ricocheted from the walls, deafening the man. After clearing his throat, he checked the mic and spoke up.
“ Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Today is a pivotal day for our government ,for the US and the totalitarian system, attempting to take over the world. It’s our today’s parliamentary sitting, which is to decide our further path, the direction, in which we should venture further. The main issue we should address is the opposition. In the recent months , a dramatic increase in the appearance of opposition movements, riots and conspiracies against the authority has been registered, in our state in particular. Now I want you to start brainstorming possible ways of tackling the problem.”
“ Sir, may I suggest my method?” asked one old woman.
“ Off you go.” the man encouraged her.
“ The plan is self-explanatory. First and foremost, we ought to create a new structure. It’s sort of a secret police. The function is to disclose the secret oppositional groups and obliterate them.”
“ Any suggestions how to do it, dear fellows?” the spokesperson asked.
One man on the front row got up and adjusted his lavalier mic to speak. Everyone turned around to see him clearly . Having coughed, the man began his speech. “ Dear colleagues! The thing that bounds is the totalitarian power, the might we have over the world. As Mrs. Donovan suggested, we need to strengthen the opposition surveillance even more with a so-called secret police. I’ve come up with a game-changing way to attain the objective. The structure is to consist of spies, their task is to report everything directly to us. The way to track down the suspects is by using drones, dropping some recording devices and cams on the suspect’s property and by utilizing the recent transparent cloak invention. During the covert operations they are supposed to leave no trace behind, be swift and silent . They might even need to pose as allies or sympathizers of the particular group of people or a single person for the sake of infiltrating into the opposition and conspiracy. “
The spokesman nodded and looked around to see other’s reaction. “ Concur!” said all the audience regarding the active man’s proposal. “ I’ve got an additional idea to compliment the already existing ones.” Another humble woman said .
“ Share it with us , please .” the spokesman asked.
“ We should urge people to have monthly mental health check-ups for getting a permit to continue living and working in a specific city. The psychologist must use polygraph , conduct a lot of tests on different aspects of the mind and comply a special document , encompassing every single fact derived during the tests. This way we are able to track the cause-and-effect of some social behavior and identify opposition . If the psychologist distinguishes something not particularly calm and rebellious, they give some sedatives to the person and making them fall into a controlled comma until someone from our circles arrives to take them under severe control or arrest, depending on the misdemeanor they dared to commit.”
“ A powerful idea to add to our plan. Everyone, give feedback on the given concept.” The spokesman encouraged others to respond and take part in the brainstorm.
“ We give our consent.” the audience uttered in unison.
The spokesman printed the documents for everyone to sign to release the new laws. The room started getting blurry, gradually dissipating in a thick fog.
***
“ God damn it!” Gillean exclaimed.
“ What did you see?”
Gillean quickly retold the parliamentary sitting he had witnessed.
“ How long have you had the visions about future?” Marcus asked and flipped the pen in his hand .
“ Since getting back from Cyberious’s lair.” Gillean said in a shy manner.
“ And you didn’t bother to tell me about it then!” Marcus complained angrily.
“ I wanted to tell about it sometime later, during a some kind of special occasion.” Gillean replied, his face getting scarlet with embarrassment.
“ All right, forget it. But if some changes in your health appear in the future- tell me right away!” Marcus said as if he wanted to teach Gillean a proper kind of behavior.
“ Of course.” Gillean said and nodded.
“ So we should expect to witness the appearance of the new police. How “cool”.” Marcus said and sat down.
“ Should we prepare for this somehow?” Gillean asked in a quandary.
“ The only way to prepare for it is to try to make your mind teleport to the parliament again to observe their wicked aims.”
“ Oh, I see. But how?” Gillean’s confusion started growing with every minute.
“ We’ll do it in a similar way as we tried before: by using the neuro stimulator pills and wires connected to your head. Then you’ll need to think about something valuable in your life, a moment that you want to retain forever, and even come back to. Asteria will register when your mind is already under the exposure, and we’ll place you in the energy-retaining pool.”
“ The memory-retaining pool?” Gillean said, taken by surprise.
“ Yeah. It helps to keep the body energetic no matter the mind and memory drain.” Marcus replied.
“ Got it. When is the experiment? Gillean asked.
“ Brace yourself: it’s in an hour.”
“ So soon…” Gillean replied quietly.
“ Yeah , but we don’t have a choice.” Marcus said.
“ I’ll call other guys to get help.” Gillean said and headed towards the door.
“ I’m waiting for you here.” Marcus responded .
***
Marcus was rummaging in his chest of drawers , when something suddenly came to his mind. Panic started prevailing him, making his body shrug . “ The mechanical dog!” he yelled and rushed to the room where he left it. The adrenaline pumped inside him, making his pace faster and faster. Eventually, Marcus got to the lab and found the dog sleeping in the cage. Marcus approached it and tried to silently open the cage. The dog woke up immediately and bit Marcus’s hand. “Ouch!” he yelled and fell on the floor. Everything was spinning around and the blood was streaming from the wound. He found a piece of cloth on the floor and tied it around the injury . The position became steady , the surroundings stopped spinning and Marcus managed to get up. He searched for the first aid kit and treated the bite. Suddenly, the dog started running away, Marcus chased after it. It was getting in a queer direction, running to the stairs leading to the cellar. It stopped in front of the cellar door , and a long sharp blade emerged right from it’s neck. The dog broke the door with it’s peculiar tool, and ran in. Marcus followed it, feeling absolutely gob-smacked. There was an enormous TV on the wall, though Marcus didn’t leave it there. “ What the fuck is going on?” he thought, getting more and more disconcerted. A sharp cracking sound arose in the room , deafening Marcus completely. A man’s face appeared on the screen , looking right in Marcus’s eyes.
“ Hello, my dear nerd! “ the man said in a disrespectful tone.
“ Who the fuck are you?” Marcus replied in a hostile way.
“ I’m the one who is controlling you, naughty little pieces of shit.” the man’s face started to lighten up with an abnormal smile, terrifying Marcus badly.
“ You’re telling nonsense .” Marcus replied.
“ What an audacity! Talking to the government worker in this way .” he said, mocking Marcus openly.
“ Ha-ha-ha , what a good joke. No one respects and obeys government workers here, you know it well.” Marcus said, starting to reflect the man’s words.
“ It’s extremely inconsiderate and stupid of you and pretty much all the Americans.”
“ What do you need from us?” Marcus asked with no interest in his voice.
“ I’ll be observing every single action you do and disrupting all your plans to destroy the governmental power in the Michigan state and the US as a whole. I’ll report on your fucking gang as soon as you do some new controversial deeds. “ the man said proudly.
“ You won’t make us stop!” Marcus hollered .
“ We’ll see, we’ll see.” he responded cheerfully.
“ You useless motherfucker !” Marcus bellowed and thew an iron tube he picked up on the floor.
“ You’re wrong. I’m Adam Hadamson . Break a leg!” the man said scornfully and vanished into thin air. The TV was totally black.
Marcus stood , feeling stupefied. Then the rage took over his mind and body and he ran to the dog and started pounding the dog with the tube. It was barking in a shrill voice , trying to bite the opponent as the act of self-defense. Because of the massive hit there was a short circuit inside the dog, it fell down and started burning. The flame was blue. Marcus found a fire extinguisher and started spraying it on the dog. The fire gradually disappeared , the dog became a pile of ash. “ Oh, I did it.” he said, panting. He left the lab and headed to his office. He looked on the clock and saw that he’d been in the cellar for an hour and a half. When Marcus opened the office door, everyone was already waiting for him.
“ What’s wrong with you?” Asteria asked, looking worried.
“ Oh, dude , you look terrible.” Gillean said and approached Marcus to help him sit down, as he lost balance and fell on the floor. Lucas made tea for him and brought a sedative pill. Marcus took a deep breath, took the pill and only after ten minutes he could talk. Gwen opened the window to air the room.
“ Thanks a million guys.” Marcus said, his voice hoarse and weak.
“ Will you finally tell us what’s going on ?” they asked in unison.
“ I’ve destroyed the mechanical dog.” Marcus said and hid his face in his arms.
“ Holy cow! How?” Gillean asked, looking speechless.
“ I started beating it with an iron tube , and I was so outraged ,the power was absolutely whimsical. The dog started burning because of the short circuit inside it.”
“ Wow! You managed to get rid of this silly creature.” Lucas said.
“ I’ve also got a bad news for you.” Marcus said sadly.
“ What kind of news?” Gwen and Asteria asked . They hugged each other, and stared at Marcus, waiting for the answer.
“ We are still being followed. When I ran after the dog, it led me to the cellar. Although I didn’t bring any tech in there, there was and now is a TV. On the screen appeared a man, his name’s Adam Hadamson. He said that he was going to control us and so on, and even put into jail if we do something against the government. We need to come up with a some kind of plan to oppose and fight him.” Marcus said, his voice even weaker.
“ We’ll definitely manage to beat him considering that we killed Cyberious, the most powerful creature.” Gwen said, trying to uplift Marcus’s mood with the optimism.
“ I suspect that he used to be Cyberious’s servant. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so aggressive with sending that dog , tracking us down and so on. No wonder if he’s seeking a way to revive Cyberious – the so-called lord of everything.”
“ But how! It’s impossible!” Gwen exclaimed in amazement.
“ My dear friend, don’t forget that you’re in the future now.” Marcus replied.
“ Don’t fret, we’ll come up with something.” Gillean said.
“ As if we have other options.” Asteria replied.
“ Guys, leave me alone for some time.” Marcus said with already no energy in his voice.
“ Of course.” they said and left Marcus’s office. He was sitting alone, looking in the window. “ Why is this going on around us?” Marcus thought to himself. He left the office and went to his bedroom. He dropped off immediately , emerging in a deep sleep , a remedy after the overwhelm he encountered.
***
Gillean, Lucas, Asteria and Gwen went to the co-working room and sat at a round table. Gwen blindfolded Gillean . Asteria was responsible for the stun gun ,and Lucas was her assistant. They got an idea to test Gillean’s newly-acquired extrasensory abilities.
“ How are you gonna check it?” Gillean asked.
“ I’ll use the memory stun gun on you and you’ll need to think about something really powerful from the past as a warm -up before moving on to the visions about the future. We blindfolded you for a better effect.”
“ Ok, let’s try it.” Gillean replied.
Asteria pressed the button on the stun gun and Gillean concentrated on his memories. “ What is powerful among my recollections?” he thought. Some time later, the black picture in his mind started getting brighter.
***
The road was dark . The fog and rain distorted the view. Gillean pulled over, feeling unable to drive in such a condition. “ We should wait for a time being till the rain is more or less okay.” he said to another passenger, his colleague Michael Melanson. They’ve been friends since the start of Gillean’s career in the police department № 2 in Detroit. The rain was only getting worse, they continued sitting in the car. Suddenly, another car hit Gillean’s car in the trunk . He turned the steering wheel not to lose balance and fall in the river. Gillean started driving, trying hard to see through the rain. The same car hit them again, this time on the left side. “ Aaah! Gillean, what’s going on?” Michael asked, absolutely frightened. “ Someone’s hitting us!” Gillean yelled in panic, barely managing to keep control of the steering wheel. Gillean managed to quicken the speed and they were driving away from this road, when he noticed the same car following them. “ What the heck?” he screamed. The car overrode them and was in the front. The driver deliberately hit them in the hood. Gillean pulled over again. “ This car drove away, eventually. The road is safe now.” Gillean said to Mike. He turned and saw his friend all in blood, his neck fractured. His hands were shaking, body sweating. He dialed the ambulance’s number and waited for them to come. He did all the necessary first help Mike needed. “ I’m always here for you, Mike.” he said kindly. “ Bye , Gillean. You’ve always been my best friend.” said Gillean’s friend for one last time and died. “ Noooo!” Gillean yelped.
“ Wait, Lucas, is Gillean crying?” Asteria asked.
“ Yes. The memory must be very painful.” Lucas said.
“ Let’s stop this part of the experiment then. I don’t want for him to be hurt!” Gwen insisted.
