Fanon:Origin

''This is the third episode of the Revolution series. For the political entity mentioned in-game, see SimNation.''

SimNation is the third episode of the Revolution series by WikiBuilder1147. It depicts the adventures of a group of youngsters against the oppressive regime under which they live their lives in constant scrutiny and fear.

Previously on Revolution...
Having infiltrated the Archives of the Federal Government in the Bridgeport Federal Quarter, Ben Faulkner and Alexander Townsend began searching for answers as to the location of their friend, Miami Hodgson, who was taken by Government soldiers. Little did they know that they would find answers to other questions that they had never dreamed of asking before...

Chapter 1
As Ben Faulkner and Alexander Townsend roamed the halls looking for an elevator or staircase of some sort to bring them to their desired floors in the Government Archives, Ben came across a large file in the "Si" section. It looked much older than the other files on the shelf, with tattered corners and faded writing on the spine of the file.

IM A I N, it said. Ben removed the file from the shelf, taking care not to let any of the other files topple onto the floor. He then quietly moved to Alex's position.

"Alex!" he hissed in excitement. Alex turned to look at his friend.

"What is it?" he asked. "Have you found a way up...or down?"

Ben shook his head, but then said, "But I have found this very interesting file. It looks out of place. It might give us some answers." Ben read the cover of the file.

"The Terran Federal Government," he read aloud. "Warning: Extremely Confidential. Contains sensitive, possibly rebellion-inducing material. For this reason, the author of this article has been...executed." Ben stopped reading. He gulped before continuing.

"Date: January 14th 2103. Subject...," Ben paused again, struggling to comprehend the words before him.

"Subject...?" said Alex, prompting Ben to continue.

"SimNation."

Ben opened the file and began to read.

''The United States of SimNation was a sovereign democratic presidential federal constitutional republic existing from July 4th 1776 to August 15th 2055. SimNation became known as a global superpower during the twentieth century, famous for its powerful economy and military.''

''In 2048, the Conservative Party of SimNation, determined to bring the country under its rule, began to bribe the Election Assistance Commission to sabotage votes and give seats to the CPS. During the 2052 Federal Elections, several senior members of the NEC, promised millions of Simoleons in return for the execution of the plot, altered the vote count, granting the Conservative Party a landslide majority against the ruling Liberal Party, gaining 78 of the 100 seats in the Federal Senate and 389 out of the 441 seats in the House of Representatives.''

''After this, the Conservative Party began the first of many purges, secretly assassinating the same NEC members that helped them become SimNation's government. Subsequently, under the pretext of investigating the cause of the killings, the Election Assistance Commission was shut down in January 2053. After further purges conducted by the CPS in which over one hundred intellectuals in SimNation were killed, the Party called for emergency powers to be granted to the government in order to undertake drastic measures to find the "culprits" of the purges. The House of Representatives passed the motion unanimously and the Senate also passed with some objections. Those who did not vote for the emergency powers were assassinated three months later.''

"What a brutal party," Alex said.

"Shh," replied Ben. "We have to find out what happened next."

''Once the Conservative Party was granted emergency powers, it first banned elections and slowly dismantled SimNation's democratic political system by banning parties one by one under the guise of removing suspected parties from important positions. Once the CPS was the only political party remaining, SimNation's Congress unanimously voted to decommission the Federal Constitution. It was subsequently replaced by a new legislative document, the Federal Charter. The Conservative Party's name was changed to the Federal Government. SimNation became totalitarian, and the country's military power came to use when SimNation declared war on the Russian Federation, decimating the enemy using its nuclear arsenal. Russia surrendered in October 2057. The remaining cities of Russia were absorbed into SimNation's empire, and from Russia SimNation began attacks on Europe and Asia; the governments of both continents had all submitted to the Federal Government by April 2073.''

By March 2085, the world had come under SimNation's domination, and the Government declared that a new country would be set up under the Federal Charter and the Government.

At this point, Ben and Alex had horrified looks on their faces.

"This...this is horrible," Ben said. "This is an atrocity." Despite this, Ben continued to read.

''In the September of 2090, the Great Drought began. An increase in global temperatures had resulted in many crops failing, causing a famine. Members of the Government began hoarding the remaining sources of food left to feed themselves and their families. Consequently, many civilians died. Towards the end of the Great Drought in 2099, an uprising began in the city of Pleasantview. Citizens of Pleasantview began violent demonstrations which often ended in many deaths. The same was repeated across the world. In February 2100, an impromptu army was formed.''

''This highly disorganised army stormed into SimCity, where it was almost completely destroyed by the well-trained soldiers loyal to the Government. Because of the loss of their entire military force, the rebel leaders surrendered to the Government in May 2100. After a short show trial, all the leaders were publicly executed through induced blood loss. This painful execution was intended to serve as an example to those who still planned to rebel what would happen to them if they did.''

''In October 2100, the Government, in an effort to prevent future rebellions, began an intense program of indoctrination. The youngest children entering school are now taught to display absolute loyalty and servitude to the Government. Meanwhile, older children have been reeducated and brainwashed before being sent into the workforce. Adults, who displayed resistance to the Government's policies, were rounded up and eventually executed if they did not submit to the Government. As of April 2103, over 7.5 billion young children have been educated under the new system.''

Ben closed the file, with a hint of shock in his voice. "We should go on."

After replacing the "SimNation" file in its spot on the "Si" shelf, Ben and Alex continued to search for a way to the other floors of the building.

Chapter 2
"There are probably cameras everywhere! How are we supposed to go to any of the other floors?" Alex asked.

Alex groaned in annoyance as Ben was once again on his shoulders. The two were in their disguise yet again, hunting for the elevator. Upon discovering its location, Ben and Alex entered the pod.

"So which floors are we going to again?" Alex whispered, making sure his voice was loud enough for Ben to hear but soft enough such that any microphones that might be in the pod would not pick it up.

"Let's go to 'H', shall we?" Ben said in as deep a voice as he could obtain, pretending to talk to himself. He pressed the 'H' button, and the pod began to slide downwards.

As soon as they reached their desired floor, the doors slid open. Unlike the ground floor, the 'H' floor was swarming with security guards.

"We have to be really careful now," Ben whispered to Alex.

Alex walked as calmly as he possibly could and Ben swung his arms back and forth to imitate a security guard.

After a half hour of searching for details on Miami's whereabouts and evading security guards, the pair had become quite frustrated.

"It's getting really stuffy in here," Alex huffed.

"Shh," Ben replied. "Patience."

Alex's nose, however, refused to wait any longer.

The guards quite quickly converged on the origin of the extremely loud sneeze that filled the room. When Ben and Alex recovered, they tried to stand, but were swiftly rendered unconscious by the soldiers. The two were picked up from the ground and taken away.

Chapter 3
When Ben Faulkner awoke, his head still felt hazy from recent events. Upon regaining full awareness, he began to look around, curious as to his current location.

He was surrounded by four white, tiled walls, with what appeared to be a one-way window and a presumably locked door on one end. He was lying on a hard metal slab attached to the floor in the centre of the room. The spartan surroundings of his cell seemed typical of a cop show.

As he sat up, he heard the door unlock. In a panic, he resumed the position he found himself in when he awoke and closed his eyes. Just in time.

Ben could see through the small slit created with his eyelids tall, thin man entering the room, followed by a significantly shorter person carrying a clipboard and pen.

"What is his name?" asked the taller man.

"Citizen Faulkner, Benjamin, Minister," replied his companion. "Age 12 years, 3 months."

"Hmm...there have been a few children causing trouble lately," said the Minister. Ben's heart began beating faster than it already was. Some juicy information might be on the tip of the man's tongue.

"Indeed, Minister," the smaller man said. "Reeducation modules are being prepared for him and his accomplice now."

"Very good," the Minister replied. "Very good. And how's the girl doing?"

"Just fine, Minister. 74% complete. She showed a bit of resistance at the start..."

Ben was about to have a mental celebration. It was soon crushed by what the shorter man said next.

"...But she succumbed eventually."

"Excellent," said the Minister. "Have their reeducation begin as soon as the modules have been prepped."

"Of course, Minister," said his counterpart. With that, the two men left the room. There was a clicking sound as the doors closed. It had been locked again.

Ben sat up slowly. He was devastated. Miami had finally fallen to the Government.

To be continued...