PARTISANCHIP: EPISODE 2
Dystopian Psychological Thriller
PARTISANCHIP: EPISODE 2
A Dystopian Psychological Thriller
©2022 Stephen Conway
Nodding to my fully armed comrades, I open the volunteer orientation with a “Welcome to the Global Underground Network: G.U.N. for short.” This crew’s a mix of teens and twenty somethings. “Congratulations to those of you who made it to the initial collection point. Sorry we had to blindfold you for the last leg of the trip, but you understand. My name is Blank,” I say. “Not my real name, but if you’re lucky, you might find out,” I say bringing my arms across my chest into a folded position—as if I’m trying to protect my vital organs. “I am a little shaken, so forgive me if I seem unfocused. Last night…last night I witnessed the deaths of three G.U.N. members. It was last night, wasn’t it?” I say, looking at my security detail for confirmation. They nod “yes” back at me. Placing my middle finger and thumb across my brow I massage my temples. “It was during my shift…when they were killed. I won’t get into the details of where we were—or what we were doing—but one of the individuals murdered by The Consortium was a founding member of G.U.N.” I clear my throat.
No one speaks.
“Moving on…,” I say. Tears try to push through.
“So. Three conditions must have been met in order for you all to be present here tonight. These will be discussed after you all follow me to the second level sub-basement downstairs for a screening test. Before any of you asks, yes—all prospective G.U.N. volunteers must pass the screening.”
The group follows me through the heavy bolted door, down the stone spiral stairs. “Watch your step please,” one of my armed assistants says. Another tells them “please hold the handrail. “
“Okay. So here we are at the lab,” I say. “It’s a little cramped, but if you’ll all please scoot-in. You guys, the holdouts in the back. Please come around. Very good. Thank you. Okay; here we go. The three shadows you see on the translucent pebbled glass window? Those are individuals who were found guilty of conspiring against G.U.N. They are now being held captive, along with several other individuals. The screening test? Each of you will be called into the lab to administer high-voltage shocks to the prisoners. This man in the lab-coat holding the clipboard? This is Doctor Oscar Wild. He will guide you through the screening test. Don’t worry—if you kill one of them, Dr. Wild is the one responsible for administering the shocks. Not you. You will only be following orders. Dr. Wild is the responsible party. You will be escorted back to the orientation room after you’ve all been screened.
The group returns to the orientation room. A handful of prospects didn’t pass the screening test—seven remain. Not bad.
“Welcome back,” I say to them. “You’ve passed the screening test. As mentioned earlier, three conditions must have been met for you to be here. One: you’re chip-free. This means you’ve probably paid a considerable sum to have a specialist remove The Consortium’s Partisan Chip from inside your head—a delicate procedure requiring access to your pituitary gland by way of the nasal cavity. Just as important—you were able to remain still while the procedure was performed.
Two: you still have some creative problem solving and/or critical thinking skills. Even though you are no longer tracked by The Consortium’sChip, they have cameras and lookouts everywhere. You didn’t get caught by their SWAT teams, or the cops either. Well done.
Three: last but not least, you value your freedom—and the freedom of those around you.
With that in mind, you should know several things before you make your voluntary commitment to G.U.N. there are no rulers in G.U.N. That doesn’t mean there are no rules. No leaders here—either. You lead yourselves. You hold the leash that is attached to yourself. You own yourself and you exercise your own free will. You own your choices. You own the consequences of those choices. What I’m about to say next may challenge many of you. With choice comes obligation. For example: if you choose to make decisions that may compromise your health—then you own the consequences of those choices. If you drink to excess—you don’t get to give your hangover to someone else. If you get lung cancer, and lose a lung—you don’t get to force others to give you their lung. If you become a drug addict, no one is obligated to help you keep your addiction going. If you choose to associate with individuals or an organization that engages in the practice of theft, violence, coercion—you own those associations as well. In other words, if you did not choose something, you are not obligated to that person, place, or thing. Take your birth for instance. You are not obligated to your parents or family members in any way shape or form. You did not choose to be born to them. You were completely dependent on them for basic survival needs. You have no obligations to them or the other people who share your DNA or their DNA. However, the opposite is true. Parents have full obligation to their offspring. A word of caution here: do not—I repeat—do not assume that myself, G.U.N. or anyone here is advocating you sever any relationships. However, I imagine that if you’re here, your familial relationships were one-sided, and mot worth sticking around for.
In addition: you have no obligation to the place in which you were born. You didn’t choose the country, state, city, town. As such, you have no obligation to the individuals who claim to be the authority figures of those places. In short no authority—other than yourself—has control over you.
In spite of what you’ve be told; in spite of what you’ve been “taught”— by parents, politicians, professors, priests, physicians, police, public relation specialists, and the press—you are your own leaders. Self-leading sovereign individuals. Your rights are not granted to you by anyone or any entity. Let me be clear: you need not be affiliated with G.U.N. to own yourself. If you came hear because you think G.U.N. will make your free, you are gravely mistaken. There are no organized political entities. Yes, G.U.N. has groups of people to help resolve disputes. These are small businesses set up by individuals within the Global Underground Network. They compete with each other. These panels ensure the overall well-being of each individual, and to ensure that freedom prevails.
I repeat. You will be held accountable for your decisions and your actions. If your actions result in harming or compromising the safety and security of those affiliated with GUN, you will be returned to where we picked you up, and you can go back to where you came from with those who didn’t pass the screening test. Others we’re bringing back.
If you are a determinist, you can leave. Now. We’ll drop you with anyone else who wants out. If you have some magical idea that the future is pre-determined, that’s all fine and good. G.U.N. is where freedom, peace, and freewill lives.
Again: I am not your leader. No one has any leaders. For logistical reasons individuals here may provide guidance and/or oversight for you. But you decide what to keep—what to leave out. With the exception of fulfilling roles and performing tasks you choose to accept, no one will ever tell you what to do here. You are your own leader. Your life here will not be easy. Many conveniences will no longer be available to you since they are traceable or trackable.
Before choosing to come here, you may be have been labeled as—or identify—as one of the following: a citizen; a fugitive; a displaced person; a stateless person; an anarchist; a castoff; a reject; a retard; an outcast; persona non grata; a refugee; an unperson; a stray; a recluse; a vagabond; an asylum seeker; a migrant; an alien, etcetera. With G.U.N., you define yourself. If you’re having trouble with that, we will help you. To that end—if you're willing to become a productive member—we offer a peer-to-peer based education. Everyone goes through a type of bootcamp. You will learn basic electrical, plumbing, masonry, engine repair skills, carpentry skills, basic medical training, meal prep, farming, botany, entomology, self-defense skills—you name it. You will be truly well rounded. You will learn to think for yourself. If you cannot think, speak, read, or write effectively your mentors will show you how. You will learn how to create a valuable product or service that is useful. This will help you to contribute to the overall health and productivity of the G.U.N. is only as healthy and productive as the individuals that make it up.If you do not know how to negotiate in order to achieve peaceful outcomes amicable to all concerned, we will teach you. You will also be taught customer service and communication skills. To confirm your knowledge of the material, you will be supervised while teaching and mentoring the incoming GUN volunteers everything you know.
Your ability to develop healthy productive personal relationships will be based on customer service skills. Not to simplify human interactions by hammering it into a business model, but healthy normal people treat each other as if they are in a customer facing service role. If G.U.N. has a motto, it is how may I help you. So, welcome. Welcome to the Global Underground Network: G.U.N. for short.”