Prologue/Chapter 1

Prologue

As I whispered in his ear, my knife against his throat to keep him tame, I felt akin to a snake from a book I had read the beginning of recently. I was now, like the snake in the book, tempting a citizen of Eden with knowledge: Knowledge that could either liberate him or destroy him.

“Those are quite outlandish claims, coming from a terrorist.” The words come out sluggishly, nervously.

“Is it really terrorism to ask questions of the world around me? Or should I just fall in line and believe what I’m told, like the rest?”

“Why would you question the city? It’s the only remaining sanity in the world! Have you seen what’s outside the walls?! Its madness! Its-“ He was cut short by a squawk from his radio. “The EDC will be here soon. Do you really want to be here, knife to my neck, when they arrive?”

“They aren’t soldiers at all, rather, they’re just children who’ve been given authority in the form of a gun and a uniform. When has this ‘paradise’ you hold so dear been truly threatened before now? The war either left all of the true warriors dead or out in the wasteland beyond these walls, fighting day by day to survive. The Eden Defense Corp. is nothing more than the Chancellors toy soldiers.”

“Even if you do know what you’re talking about, one man against a squad with armed with guns wont fare too well.”

“We’ll see chief, we’ll see.” I was already turning toward the drainage pipe as my knife left his neck and before he could turn to face me I was hidden in the shadows, awaiting the glare of the EDC’s flashlights.

 

Chapter 1

I wake up at 5:30, an hour before most of the citizens. Few truly cared about being fit anymore, so while I woke early and performed my exercise routine, following a small breakfast of eggs, toast, and orange juice, nearly everyone else in Eden was sound asleep, content with their laziness.

After my basic routine: push-ups, crunches, pull-ups, and assorted stretches, I put on a sweat suit and went out for a jog. This early, the streets are a peaceful, almost dreamlike, foil to the chaos and noise beyond 6:30. I really doubt anyone else would understand what bliss this is. Then again, if I hadn’t been raised by my grandfather I might not have either.

He had been a child when the war started. Apparently, countries around the world had been creating horrible weapons called Atomic Bombs. All it had supposedly taken was a spark, caused by what Grandfather had said was a misunderstanding, and the worlds leaders turned on each other. Before long the world was reduced to a barren wasteland and my grandfather had lost his parents.

For ten years he fended, largely on his own, to stay alive. When he heard of the Eden Project, a promised land for refugees, he had almost cried at simply the idea of a new civilization. At the age of twenty-four, eleven years after the old world had collapsed; he became a full fledged citizen of Eden. Not long after that he met a young woman, my grandmother, and soon started a family. My mother, their first-born child was taught of the war at a young age, like I was, because my grandfather felt it important to learn from the mistakes of the past so they don’t become the mistakes of the future.

My father hadn’t been so lucky early in life. His parents thought it best to never speak of the war, letting my father assume the world had always been this way. And that’s exactly how the public schools had and still do teach it. Looking through a modern history book, I could probably pick out no less than ten fallacies. History made for the sake of realism and a good story. When my mother brought my father into the family, he was told the stories of the war and of The World That Once Was.

All the talk of war and someone could wonder why I would sound resentful of the utopia created by the survivors. More than teach about the war and the hate of the old world, Grandfather also taught of the wonders. I still have dreams of sitting under a tree in a large yard and taking a nap if I so felt the urge. This modern utopia doesn’t have yards and the only trees are in a park in the centre. Doing anymore than walking along the sidewalk or sitting on approved benches is against the law. Most don’t even think this law to be worth having, as they’ve probably never been told that something like sitting in the grass under a shady tree was anything but a good way to get dirty.

What is a paradise for others is nothing more than a false and temporary peace through my eyes, opened by my grandfather. Already, here and there, I’ve seen the early makings of the past mistakes he preached of. “Nothing is free, not freedom, nor happiness. There’s always a price to pay and it’s often the lives of the innocent.” It was something he frequently reminded me of, and truly believed.

I ended up living with him after, when I was 11, my parents died in a car accident. “There are never accidents son, because accidents imply nobody is at fault.” Another phrase, or Words of Wisdom as he called them, he frequently drilled into my head. Also among his teachings were morals such as “Do not kill, unless you or those precious to you are threatened”, “Do not lie, unless it is absolutely necessary”, most importantly though was, “Do not believe anything you hear at face value. The most powerful weapon any man can have against evil is knowledge.”

Morals and life lessons aren’t all he taught me. As we didn’t own any guns or other weapons he only taught me the basics of weapons combat, instead focusing on unarmed combat and means of evading combat. For combat he taught me Krav Maga, something he learned after the war for self-defense purposes. And that’s what it was, self-defense, nothing flashy or overly confusing. Krav Maga taught those who knew it how to quickly disable/kill an opponent or even a group of opponents. But more than that, it taught techniques for defense against knives and guns.

 

The last thing he taught me as “Parkour”. A sort of flashy, yet effective, way of navigating through the obstacles presented by the city, it was effective if someone was chasing after you. I was taught to look for ways over or through an obstacle as well as routes to higher ground. Being able to run up a wall, grab a water or gas line and climb to the roof was often the quickest way to throw off a pursuer.

When I was 19 my grandfather died in his bed, at the age of 74, supposedly of natural causes was given all of his possessions including control of his bank account. When I checked the account there was nothing unexpected: An average amount of funds, a small savings account, etc. One thing, however, was out of place. A lock box kept under lock and key, only to be turned over to my grandfather or myself. It came with a note that read “The happiest day of my life.” At first I didn’t understand but when I realized the box had a combination lock, I assumed it must be his idea of a clue as to the combination.

After several unsuccessful attempts to crack the code I focused on remembering stories he’d told me about his life. An hour of mental dead ends later it came to me: 04-16-78. Grandfather always tracked the date by the old calendar, not the calendar created by the Eden officials. April 16, 2078 was the day my grandfather and grandmother were married. To my astonishment the combination worked and I opened to the box to find documents in my grandfather’s handwriting. Upon reading through the documents I realized just how false a peace Eden really was and that, for my grandfather, the war never ended.

 

 

Reviews

[HappyTaylor]

"I wake up at 5:30, an hour before most of the citizens. Few truly cared about being fit anymore, so while I woke early and performed my exercise routine, following a small breakfast of eggs, toast, and orange juice, nearly everyone else in Eden was sound asleep, content with their laziness. "


Edited:

"I wake up at 5:30, about an hour before most citizens. So few cared about being fit anymore. So while others were sleeping, I woke up early and started my morning exercise routine. This was followed by a quick breakfast consisting of eggs, toast, and orange juice. All the while the people of Eden slept, content with their laziness."

[HappyTaylor]

:D!!!