2014

A Story by Wonton

For /r/writingprompts: "You are a writer in the year 1983. Write a futuristic dystopian short story set in the year 2014. Your story includes true dystopian facts that have actually happened..."

The first midterm election after Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 was a doozy we should've all seen coming. By that time, corporations practically were the government. Minimum wage was wiped out, safety regulations disappeared, several government departments dissolved, and the education budget destroyed. The Republican Party, complete with a new party platform dictating free market rule except in matters of war and property relations, took over with a supermajority in both houses of Congress. You could practically hear Reagan's aged cackle as he sat in the Oval Office, dictating ideas to the new Party leaders, such as the repeal of the twenty-second amendment. When the bill was introduced to the House of Representatives, Reagan made a sure point to appear on TV, saying that it was for the good of America and capitalism, and would help defeat the red menace. Although I can't recall his exact words anymore, I remember very well him using patriotism and Constitutionalism to sway the general public, most of who were starry-eyed at the idea of saving America from communism.

   The amendment passed easily after that little speech.

   Now the year is 2014. Reagan served until his death in 2004, and the Republican Party Chairman serving at Reagan's time of death, Raymond Wilkes, took over in an easily-won election, since the electoral college not only met in secret, but also cast ballots in secret now, safe from public repercussions. The Democratic Party dissolved, and was never replaced, making the only other Presidential candidates independents and write-ins, which obviously never won, no matter how many popular votes they received.

   Communist and anarchist militias popped up from time to time, with no support from the Soviet Union, which itself was barely surviving at this point, and most likely coming to a close very soon. The communists would stage marches and parades, with heavy support of the people, and suppression by the police, and the anarchists would blow up a Walmart or two on their way to the communists' parades. These militias were usually disbanded after the FBI went undercover in each and every one of them.

   Management of the police forces across the nation were handed over to the private security corporations sometime in the late 90s, and never handed back. The military was a joint effort between government and private militias, often blowing some small unheard-of nation to Hell for their resources, typically fossil fuels. Wars were about one every two years at this point, support barely drummed up with cries of patriotism and defending and spreading freedom, like the US was some sort of liberty missionary packing heat.

   It was typical at that point to work ninety hours a week for fifty bucks, even among the college-educated. Connections were barely pulling weight anymore, usually just granting the connected a job at a higher-end diner, wihch were barely populated anyway, since no one can even afford to go. Roughly forty percent of the population is unemployed, due to heavy factory automation, and even some lower-end fast food restaurants going for automation.

   Cities were generally degenerated messes, minus a small business district, lit up with heavy use of neon lights for the maybe three or four city blocks it took up anymore. Cities were overwhelmingly housing projects with awful upkeep. One collapsed about once a week, the others just waiting and crumbling.

   Everyday, on my way to work, I'd come across these decrepit housing projects, looking like they were about to fall on me. However, after my numerous visits with FBI, there was little I could do. Most likely, all my coats were bugged, and I couldn't afford to buy new ones, so I just kept quiet. I wanted to do something, though, to save the common man from his oppression and degenerate survival.

   But I didn't know what to do, and that was the worst of it all. Anarchists and communists were either arrested or shot and refused treatment for being traitors, and unionized workers were quickly replaced by the unemployed, needing the money for their families. I found myself designing special posters, that could only be read by smart-phones, phones designed to sense their surroundings, and could often replace modern computers. These posters, however, were caught and I got a heavy beating from the FBI.

   Finally, someone did something. An anonymous man, dressed entirely in black, I'm assuming he was an anarchist, shot Wilkes in the heart during a speech. Wilkes fell to his death without a second to spare. His killer was found and shot dead by police later on, but that was an action that was quickly followed by people realizing that these men were simply that: men. They rose up at long last, looting big-name stores, destroying restaurants, burning down factories, and sending capitalism to its burning death. I was in a jail cell for suspected conspiracy at the time, but I caught all of it on the news on TV, and admittedly, I teared up at the sight of it. People finally grew a collective backbone.

   I ended up escaping as the police station burned down, but when I got out, I saw the business districts burnt to the ground, the neon signs dismantled and smashed, and many people living in tents. Here and there, they would drag out an executive involved with Reagan's takeover and execute him the in the street, usually complemented with a rather awful joke about the similarity between the words 'executive' and 'execute'.

   Although it was bloody and burning, it had its own sort of beauty. People finally stood up against their oppressors and watched them burn. Former construction crews unionized themselves, and repaired many of the housing projects across the country, granting people a proper life in them. Some preferred to live in tents or in old office buildings, which was a right granted to them. Some threw out rich families from their homes and took over their houses. Whatever happened, I guarantee it was a welcome sight after the mess we had with the old ways.