"Power," by Blake Norris

I look around me at the thousands of electrical wires connecting to hundreds of children surrounding what was once a ground of play. “It was such a good idea at the time, we meant it for good,” I kept thinking over and over as my mind searched for the original reason for such an invention. We just thought that we could use something simple like a playground toy for generation of electricity, I had no idea it would come to this. Pain, sorrow, anger. These are the only words that can adequately describe the phenomenon that was at this very moment happening in front of my eyes. I can't believe it came to this.

***

There used to be peace in Newamer before the Blackout. Barack Obama did a job worthy of recognition for sure, but he was the last of the truly elected presidents (though some would dispute that). After him came a man named Samuel Lightbody who proposed that America would succeed only if it was fully socialist and totalitarian. At this time, America had fallen into a huge depression and the desperation for any sort of answer to put us “back on top” combined with the overall conformity of the people in this era led more than half the population to agree and “vote” to make it so. Samuel would proceed to lead for 20 years, thereby making the presidency only accessible by divine right through a chosen royal family—the Lightbody's. As president, Samuel made a few very important changes to government policy, the main one being the reinstatement of capital punishment and marshall law as the only law. These new policies created the Dysfunction Regiment, a new police force/government militia full of more ego than Bono, more influence than Jim Jones, and more power and money than Tony Stark. They ruled (and still do rule) the country with an iron fist, killing everyone who stood against them. You see, by this time the Regiment had even legalized murder—as long as they were the ones doing the murdering—and murder they did. Samuel Lightbody's militia coupled with his sick sense of megalomania drove him to deny that anyone who stood against him or his totalitarian regime was even human at all and that killing them would be doing them a favor. There was mass hysteria by the whole nation at this new law passed and this new belief being spread, and so the country split.

Starting between the border of Montana and North Dakota, the line continued in a state-by-state zig zag that culminates in an eastbound division separating Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia from the states to the south. Along this line was put a laser fence so intense and so powerful that no manner of weapons technology could even harm it. Now there was a divided union, a country split into two factions. The left side of the country was deemed the Red Faction full of people who are against murder being legalized and against totalitarianism in general. They ran themselves in an anarchy that was able to function solely by a united hatred for Samuel Lightbody and an understanding that to live peacefully a government could not stand in their way. The right side of the country was called the Blue Faction and stood for the exact opposite. This is the side where the President's home was and where his influence was the strongest. The people on this side supported the legalization of murder and adored the President's ruling style, sharing all of his beliefs with a blind patriotism. These two factions were so different that they should have fought the first chance they got, but the laser fence coupled with their hatred for one another kept them from interacting at all. That is, until the Blackout.

***

He thought that using something so simple as children's playground equipment was an easy way to generate electricity for the whole country and bring peace. We would attach a turbine to all of the toys, the merry-go-round turned on its own, the swings would turn a turbine also. Never did I guess that it would end up this way; I absolutely can't believe what I am seeing. He said that it would stay this way, and as President of the United States, he had all the power to do what he wanted. He who made gerbils and volunteer bikers ride on wheels to keep the whole country connected again. His intentions were good, unify the country, stop the war, but never did I envision it would become this. Volunteering adults are one thing, but children, and against their own will like common criminals...or slaves...

***

The Red Faction and the Blue Faction had lived in what appeared to be peace for 50 years, not fighting, but not getting along either. A tension had been brewing for years between the two factions, a tension that surely would not end well. Rumor had it that The Red Faction was building an army, a makeshift, rag-tag group of rebels with weapons technology matched only by the Dysfunction Regiment themselves. The Red Faction members were hated by the Blue so much by this time that there was no interaction or communication between the two sides at all except what was rumored to be true by Regiment soldiers. In 2168, in order to quell the ensuing rebellion, Scott Lightbody (Samuel's grandson) set off three EMP bombs off in the Red Faction territory; the bombs were named Ma Barker and her two sons, one son in Northern Idaho, Ma Barker—the largest—was planted in the Southeastern tip of Colorado, and the other son in Northern Alabama. Blocked by the laser wall, these EMP bombs wiped out power in the entire Red Faction, forcing half the country to live in a technological stone-age, thereby creating a country fully divided into the haves and the have-nots. Red Faction members were nick-named “the unplugged” by the Blue side and the Red Faction cleverly called the Blue people “shockers.”

The Lightbody dynasty was in full power at this time and murder was legal for these men as long as they had “reasonable cause” to kill, or if they just didn't like the rebel they were up against. The only way an unplugged could cross the border into the Blue Faction side was to join The Dysfunction Regiment and swear to honor the code of the totalitarian regime in power. One side had all the power, and the other side had none. And so it was this way for 25 more years...until the war.

***

In 2196, at only the age of 16, I was inducted into the Dysfunction Regiment. I was the youngest officer ever to be accepted into the Regiment because of my exceptional eyesight and ability to wield a blade. I didn't really understand why they let me in cause I didn't think I was really that special at all...I could fight I guess, but I didn't know how much that would matter. Now every thing's coming together for the best. Life was hard growing up in the Red Faction, if I didn't learn to fight I was guaranteed to get killed. It used to be so tranquil, so peaceful in our territory; nobody fought or killed or shot or dealed cause they knew that without government chaos would ensue if people broke the rules. But when we lost power, everything went into turmoil. People lost their minds without electricity and technology...it's almost as if they couldn't live without something connected to the internet or a way to communicate extra-verbally. That's why I enlisted, because there was nothing else to do. Never did I imagine I would see this, or have this opportunity. I can see him now, yelling at them to get to work, and something needs to be done.

I was a member of the Regiment for 4 years until the war ended. I did things there that I will never speak of to anyone...things I regret with all of my being. But things that were necessary, for all of this to work. Fighting for an opposing cause and killing my brothers was the thing that drove me the most insane, but it was the only way. I had to gain respect and get in good with the Senior Officers so one day my plan could unfold. Sometimes I thought I couldn't go on, when they made me quell the rebels with acid and torture people for information I almost couldn't bear it, but your heart grows hard when you are forced to give up your soul. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of ending everything, was the thought of peace. I could kill 50 of “their” men with barely a scratch on me, and it was legal. Atonement for my sins would come, but can one atone for the deaths of his brothers? Can I atone for the sins I committed while following orders? It doesn't matter, if I can change things, I will.

***

The Great Blackout War raged on for four years. Almost one-third of the 600 million members of Newamer were killed during the battle, most of which came from the Red Faction. They were rumored to have a militia with advanced weaponry, but no evidence of such a militia ever surfaced; compared to the Dysfunction Regiment, they probably had no chance anyway. The only way for the Red Faction to win this war would be for one of them to somehow infiltrate the Blue side by joining the Regiment him or herself. But everyone knows that once you join the Regiment, the power gets to you and you would never leave for anything in the world. Not even a man with the purest heart could avoid the lure of such omnipotence. After the war had gone on for 4 years a man surfaced who was next in line to be president; this man's name was Gregory Lightbody. Gregory had an idea for an invention that would give the entire Red Faction their power back. For the EMP bombs had not only wiped out the existing power supply in the Red territory, but the electro-magnetic pulses were so strong and so steady that they remained in the atmosphere for many years making newly created electronic objects almost nonoperational. But Gregory had a simple idea that would solve all of Newamer's problems and hopefully bring peace to the divided country.

***

Eventually the slides would develop rollers to generate more power and the seesaw gave electric shocks if not moved fast enough. Simple tests to get kids to play more and make more electricity that could be sold for more money that could buy more playgrounds to make more kids play on so more electricity could be made and eventually sold for more money and more power. It had to be stopped, but what could I do? I was just a man with no children of my own, so no bias right? But no, I hated to see them like this, like Hebrews building the pyramids for the pharaohs.

I had spoken to Gregory about the horror of this event before and he had always agreed with me, but never did he attempt to change his ways. The children were now being forced to play on playgrounds, their parents were being locked up if they refused. Power was a drug, and Gregory Lightbody was its poster-child addict. The megalomaniac that is Gregory Lightbody cruelly tortured the children who refused to play until they were nothing but mindless, energy-producing machines. I had to do something about it.

***

Gregory Lightbody was a hero. The best president the world had ever seen. His success brought peace not only to Newamer, but his idea was implemented all over the world. The question was simple: how can I bring energy to a place that has none? The answer was even simpler: playgrounds. Children were always playing on playgrounds and almost everything on a playground creates energy that can be gathered and used. If enough children played on enough playground equipment, a whole half of a country could easily be energized constantly for little to no cost. This was the answer that Newamer needed, and it was virtually fool-proof. Public schools began springing up everywhere in the Red Faction, making recesses that were long and encouraging the children to play on the equipment as much as possible. Health campaigns all over Newamer were convincing parents of the health benefits to letting their children play for hours on end on playground equipment. Public parks began to promote their equipment with full force and new playground stuff appeared all over the Red territory funded, of course, by President Lightbody and his crew of thugs—his “cabinet.” All of this happened under the radar, with only important members of the Red Faction knowing of its goings on, and for a while it worked. Gregory Lightbody was treated as a god, his divine right to rule even more justified as he was honored with the nobel peace prize and his face plastered on every billboard and streetcar in Newamer. But more was happening here than the average citizen realized, power was being transferred at an alarming rate to just the wrong people.

***

Gregory was my General in the war and my best friend; he trusted me with all his heart. I was determined to use this to my advantage. I had been setting up various communications through my friends in the Red Faction. They were readily available to strike whenever I gave the signal, but what would happen if it didn't work? I couldn't risk that question, I don't want to know the answer. With no kids of my own, hundreds, maybe even thousands of innocent children would be put in my place, this had to end here and now.

***

As a god himself, Gregory could not be touched. Newamer was a union again. But he was not happy. He was not going to allow this to continue. It had worked for a while and Newamer was happy but at what cost?

***

I steadied my hand upon the anti-matter, retractable sword handle tucked secretly in my right pant leg. I would have to fight, and I would have to win. The time was now. Mr. Gregory Lightbody, Mr. Satan, Mr. Megalomania himself was standing not twenty feet from me, exchanging words with some of his thugs and yelling for the emaciated children to move faster. I noticed that for one split second, he was distracted. Like a peregrine falcon, I sprinted toward Gregory. I unsheathed my blade as a vibrant noise and silvery shine illuminated from the end of the handle. This was it, milliseconds seemed like days as I sprang upon Gregory, my sword held behind my back like the inset claws of a jaguar on the run, and I slashed. Just then, the man in front of me, that man that I had learned to hate so, disintegrated and a fist like a bullet-train hit the back of my head. I turned around as fast as I could and cut down the thug who had hit me. I killed two more in my way, and went for Gregory. He had quickly sprinted to this spot, and I saw him, his anti-matter axe at the ready.

He looked at me with eyes like Bambi—confused and stunned. “What are you doing?” he asked.

EPIC MONOLOGUE about Gregory's tyranny and how he had to be stopped.

I slashed down and we collided. Quickly I switched my pivot-foot and cut crossways. He blocked that with the buckler he wears on his forearms and cut my thigh deep with a small dagger in his non-dominant hand. I was used to the pain for I had once been in the Dysfunction Regiment and I had endured worse numerous times so I kept on fighting. He then took a slash at my throat that I barely managed to dodge as I swept his legs out from under him with a powerful kick. The edge of his axe caught my leg and I somersaulted over him parrying his knife slash and cut vertically under me as I was passing over. His arm was bleeding horrendously as we got up to stare down and fight again and I took the first lunge. He screamed at me that we could work this out as I ran, that he wasn't a fighter, he was wrong, he just wanted to make the world better. But I didn't stop, I hated him and everything he stood for. He begged as I approached, he screamed as I raised my blade. And then, burning with anger, I took one final slash at an angle, so hard that I cut through his shoulder and across his whole body. He split in half with one final agonizing scream of regret and pain and fell on the ground like pieces of dense firewood. I had done it. Gregory Lightbody was dead.

I had ended the tyranny of the ages, the sin of the world, I had stopped the terrible reign of an insane man, but what would that mean for me? I would be a hero, a legend, but I would be more than that, I would be ruler. I had killed the president with one fell swoop, and according to the present day law, assassination of the president would result in instant promotion to President myself. Would that mean that I could do what I wanted with the country? Yes of course it did, I could unite the country just as Gregory had planned to do and I could do it the right way, my way. As the rest of what used to be Gregory's thugs came and bowed to me as their new ruler, I shivered with the thought of ultimate omnipotence.

***

He grinned and his eye twinkled a sadistic twinkle.