Fanon:Origin

Origin 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 Federal Government of the Free Republic of Democratica," he read aloud. "Warning: Top Secret. Contains extremely sensitive material. This article was seized on below date and classified. Author was planning to publish article secretly. Author has been arrested and executed for high treason." 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 February 5th 2065. SimNation became known as a global superpower during the twentieth century, famous for its powerful economy and military.''

''In 2048, the National Democratic Unity Party, determined to spread its governmental supremacy ideology, began secretly paying mercenaries and terrorist groups to cause chaos throughout SimNation. On June 7th, 2049, terrorists hired by the Party planted and detonated powerful explosives in Bridgeport, destroying the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings. The terrorists claimed full responsibility for the attacks, claiming that the government of the time was 'undeserving of such glorious landmarks.' Similar incidents occurred throughout the nation, and the populace became frustrated at the incumbent government's inability to deal with the terrifying attacks. During the 2052 Federal Elections, the NDUP, promising restoration of order, won 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. Party leader Lewis Pristen was sworn in as the United States' 48th President on December 2nd, 2052.''

''The NDUP thereafter began Operation Strike-Eagle, an intense campaign to eliminate all terrorism within the country. Because the NDUP knew the operating bases of many of the groups they payed to attack SimNation several years earlier, it was incredibly easy for the Party to locate and then obliterate terrorist groups.''

''By the end of 2053, the purge of terrorism was complete. The NDUP was praised heavily for the victory, and popularity for President Pristen skyrocketed. It was at this point that the Party decided to begin 'cleansing' the country. More purges were conducted by the NDUP in Operation Bath in which over one hundred intellectuals in SimNation were detained, imprisoned and executed or worked to death for supposed 'crimes against the people and the state.' At what appeared to be fair trials, fabricated and manipulated evidence overwhelmingly supporting their guilt was presented, resulting in almost certain ruling of guilt. Other academics fled the country, heading to neighbouring nations such as Canada and Mexico. This caused a massive brain drain, which was exactly what the Party wanted, so as to make it easier to influence the populace, without the pressure of such people. Other intellectuals were encouraged, then forced to leave, or otherwise face imprisonment in the many death camps now established throughout the United States.''

"What a brutal party," Alex said.

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

''In the run-up to the 2056 Federal Elections, the NDUP used its overwhelming resourcefulness to create a fabricated report of scandals within the Liberal Party, which was at the time the opposition. The NDUP offered not to release the report to the public, under the condition that the Liberal Party disband. Otherwise, the Liberals would face the infamous trials for their 'crimes.' Every single Liberal Party member resigned after the last sitting of Congress before the election. Without the Liberal Party, many Liberal supporters sided with the NDUP's rival parties. The NDUP then hired another, unwitting mercenary to kill these supporters at a rally in Riverview. After almost two thousand non-NDUP supporters were murdered in the Riverview Bombings, the man was placed on trial and sentenced to life in a concentration camp. The NDUP's 'refusal to compromise with crime' finally swayed the majority of the populace and Democratic Unity once again won in an amazing landslide majority, this time winning almost all of the seats in both the House and Senate.''

''The NDUP now set its eyes on international politics, setting up branches in other countries all over the world. These Parties became known collectively as the International Democratic Unity Alliance, or IDUA. The Alliance was dominated by its founder, the NDUP. Other notable member parties included the French Coalition for Democratic Unity (Coalition Française pour l'Unité Démocratique), the Democratic Unity Front of Germany (Demokratische Einheitsfront Deutschlands), and the Democratic Unity Party of Australia and New Zealand. By 2059, the IDUA had established parties in almost every democratic country on the planet. These parties, given the extensive media coverage of the success of the Democratic Unity movement throughout the NDUP's tenure as government, were applauded immediately, and some even became the government as early as 2058, such as the DED, CFUD and the Democratic Republican Party of Japan (which declared Japan a republic and forced the Emperor to forsake his position and that of the Imperial Family, which had been so since Japan's foundation two-and-a-half thousand years ago, according to legend.)''

''By 2063, the efforts of the IDUA had resulted in the majority of democratic countries now having a member party as its government. All the while, the NDUP in SimNation had been slowly dismantling the country's democratic system. So much trust had been placed with the Party that a move to replace the Constitution with a Federal Charter went almost unnoticed and was nearly unanimously accepted in a referendum. The United States was now a single-party state, and all businesses and similar services now were state-owned and ultimately functioned for the benefit of the members of President Pristen's government, effectively making them the aristocracy. Shareholders in stock were forced to surrender their shares to the Government, and those who didn't were arrested for committing unconstitutional crimes. The property of those arrested were seized by the Government and thereafter distributed to the people in lotteries, in order to keep the populace appeased, in case any discomfort was felt about the NDUP's now near-absolute rule. The other IDUA countries followed suit, replacing their constitutions with similar Charters.''

In a coordinated move in 2065, the IDUA countries added a unification clause to their Charters:

The people of the Democratic Nations of the world have hereby agreed to be united under a single banner representing order, stability, security and democracy. The new nation shall be known as Democratica, in honour of the shared ideology of our peoples, and we will ensure that our new Free Republic shall be a bastion of hope and light in the dark world of tyranny and suffering into which we were born.

''On February 5th, 2065, the Free Republic of Democratica was proclaimed by President Pristen before an audience in total of four billion. The proclamation was broadcasted on television all over the world.''

''In 2066, revolutionary groups, supported secretly by the Democratican government and United Military, sprang up all over the globe in countries not yet under IDUA. One notable instance is the People's Republic of China, a communist country which was under the rule of the Communist Party of China for more than a century. The combined military power of Democratica and its allied groups forced the regime to crumble, and the new United Democratic Republic of China was proclaimed with the Army for Democratic Unity at the helm.''

''After China annexed Taiwan in 2067, the Democratic Unity government declared their sovereignty from Democratica, breaking the terms of the alliance between the Army for Democratic Unity and the Democratican government, which stated that China must join Democratica after a successful revolution. This angered the NDUP, and President Pristen ordered Federal troops to march into China's major cities. The Sino-Democratican War that followed was ended swiftly when Pristen ordered the withdrawal of his troops. But the Chinese only had a brief moment's respite, for Democratica destroyed all of China's major political and economic centres such as Beijing and Shanghai in nuclear bombardments. The Federal Army reentered China several months later and raised the Democratican flag over the ruins of Beijing's Great Hall of the People.''

''Russia also fell after a more loyal revolutionary movement took power in a coup d'état, followed swiftly by the downfall of South America, and, finally, the isolated and well-protected Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Its people, equally indoctrinated to worship the ruling Kim dynasty, were obliterated in a nuclear strike on North Korea's major cities. Incumbent General Secretary Kim Jong-un, along with his entire staff, was arrested and thereafter sentenced to hard labour in a Siberian death camp. The power vacuum was quickly replaced by South Korea's new Democratic Unity government. The newly constituted Democratic Republic of Korea joined Democratica in 2068. The last independent nation had been swallowed into the Republic. All the other Democratic Unity governments were dissolved and their parties incorporated into the NDUP.''

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

"This...this is horrible," Ben said. "This is an…atrocity." He 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. Government officials 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, illegal recruitment posters for the Liberation Army began appearing. Government broadcasting stations such as the Federal Government Holobroadcasting Institution and Federal Broadcasting Network were attacked and taken over by the Liberation Army. Thousands joined the ranks of the Army. Hundreds of Federal Army officers deserted and defected to the revolutionary cause.''

''The Liberation Army was hastily trained before its battalions marched into major cities such as SimCity, Bridgeport, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo, Paris and London, where they were almost completely destroyed by the remaining Federal soldiers. Those of the Liberation Army who survived were imprisoned and executed. Because of the loss of their entire military force, the Liberation Army's leaders surrendered to the Government in May 2100. After a short show trial, all the leaders were publicly executed. Large knife wounds were opened in their abdomens and the prisoners slowly bled to death. 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 750 million 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...