Dystopian Short story:

The story Of a Mid-21st Century Rebel

Chapter 1 -- May 24, 2052
Protective chest piece?
Affirmative.
Protective leg and arm pieces?
Affirmative.
Protective mask and eye shield?
Affirmative.
You are a go Corporal.
Thank you, sir.
That was my go for work on the outside. Work on the outside is
the most dangerous thing that is known to us. And here I am, spending
all my days working on the outside, destined to die out here some day.
Im Corporal Kurt, but you can just call me Kurt. I am in the
Caribbean, on the last civilization on earth. You know that hole in the
ozone layer? It expanded by about 647% since the year 2015. It is now
2052 and the hole has fried everyone else in the world except for the
North Americans. On our way to the Caribbean to seek refuge, in 2039,
the earth became almost uninhabitable and acted like an oversized
frying pan. Long story short, we lost about half of our citizens on the
way and we were forced to rapidly colonize before more of us were
cooked like barbecue by the sun and thats how we got here.
Since then, even more people have died (an estimated 46%),
and we learned that the radiation was killing people even when they
were inside their homes. So the government (a rather terrible one)
made lead reinforced walls that increased the thickness of the walls
from 1 ft. to 3.5 ft. and reduced the chances of people getting fried in
their sleep.
My job is to construct prototype rocket to blast off and find a
planet that is habitable. I know youre probably thinking why doesnt
he just go to Mars? Well, if you ask me, Mars would be the way to go,
but apparently Mars isnt safe enough. Thats what all the
government officials say. So we have to go and find another planet to
live on, hence the prototype rocket project. Regardless, this job is
actually pretty fun; I get to play around with rockets, and I get way
more exposure to the outside world, more than most other people. The
biggest downside is the hours that I have to work for, though. I rarely
ever get a chance to sleep well though. It comes with being a part of
the most important expedition on earth.
To be honest, this job isnt as good as you may think. First of all,
so much more money is being spent on going to another planet; we
dont even know if there is another planet that humans could live and

repopulate on and if there is one it definitely isnt anywhere near here.

We essentially are just spending lots of money for an expedition that
we dont even know will be of any benefit to us. At this point we cant
make any mistakes or we risk being wiped off the face of the earth
without any trace.
Anyway, I should get back to work. At least if I put some effort
into this obviously hopeless expedition Ill be remembered for
something.
Chapter 2 -- May 26, 2052
Weve started to make some good progress on the ship. Last I
heard weve gone far ahead of schedule; instead of our project four
more years, it should take, at this rate three and a half years instead.
In my mind its just six less months to be working the most ridiculous
job a person could work. I mean, I get paid fairly and all, I even like
what the job entails. But if you know that your job, though it seems
important, really isnt, it really detracts from the whole purpose of the
job, you know?
Anyway, since complaining wont change a thing let me get back
to work. Im gonna need to get some more work hours in if I want to
get those Work
Hours allotted this week. Basically, there is a rule that states that if you
dont work for a certain amount of hours in a week (fifty-five I believe).
The penalty is a minor fine or extra work hours (typically five to seven
extra). It has never happened to me before and I plan not to have it
happen anytime soon...
Chapter 3 -- May 29, 2052
Yesterday was Saturday. In the middle of my work I was
interrupted by my Commanding Officer. He pulled me aside.
Corporal, youre in a bit of trouble...
Sir?
Havent you realized? Youve only done forty-nine hours of work
this week! That is a somewhat major violation. President Turner wants
to speak with you.
All right, sir. Ill be right there.
I went to President Turners above ground dwelling (quite rare
because of the sun) and approached his secretary.
Maam, this is Corporal Kurt responding to my summoning from
Mr. President.
Im sorry, hes in a meeting and it may be a while.
Alright. Ill wait. Thanks.
After some time, I felt the urge to go to the washroom after
crossing and uncrossing my legs a couple of times; I finally gave in,

stood up and wandered around the Pavilion. It was quite large and I
began to search with a bit more urgency.
As I wandered down what felt like the hundredth corridor, I heard
some sudden yelling. I couldnt make it out, but it sounded like the
President. I checked the door that the sound was emanating from and
it read Mr. President Turners Office. The same person began to yell
again and I pressed my ear to the door. Immediately, everything was
amplified and I heard things a little too loudly. Whoever it was stopped
yelling and I tentatively replaced my ear to the door. To this day,
(which was actually the next day) I still cant believe the words that I
heard. An unidentified voice uttered the most dreadful words that I had
ever heard:
So hows the planting of that nuclear bomb on that garbage
rocket ship coming along Rocky?
Not too well, sir.
What does that mean?
Um, well...
YES?
The nuke has been constructed, but getting it into the ship is
going to be the hard part.
Well, youre a smart man Rocky. I trust youll figure something
out.
You bet I will, sir.
Good. Moving subjects...
That was all I needed to hear. What did the President want with
our rocket? I ran so fast I felt the wind blowing my hat off slowly. It fell
off about four times before I made it back to the front of the Pavilion. I
had completely forgotten about the secretary, so she stopped me.
Corporal Kurt, is everything fine?
I had to think fast.
Yes, Maam. I just uh... forgot my uh... ID card for the President.
Ok. You have my permission to leave.
Thank you.
Considering the words that Id just heard, youd probably think
Id be sad, dejected, beaten down. However, I was incredibly irate. I
hadnt quite formulated a plan of action to stop the President. All I
knew was that he had to be stopped... and soon.
Chapter 4 -- June 4, 2052
Ive been so engrossed in this nuke being planted in our rocket
fiasco that Ive hardly found the time to work. I havent had a chance
to journal in about a week. Anyway, in this past week, Ive alerted
some friends and colleagues, about a dozen, and theyve been sworn
to secrecy.

It seemed hopeless that Id even be able to stop the

President from killing everyone on the rocket, regardless of how many
people know about it. Do I even have a choice? At least Im not the
only one who knows. At least Im not alone. His power is almost infinite
because a) no one challenges him and b) anyone who does challenge
him mysteriously disappears only to be found dead a few weeks later.
There is some limit to his power though because all of his advisors
(there are nine) have a say as to what is fair and not
I also had my meeting with President Turner which was...
interesting. I was scheduled for 4:25 but I arrived a few minutes early
to see if I could find any information on the Rocket Sabotage (as I like
to call it). He caught me snooping-not before I pocketed some valuable
information-and reprimanded me. I complimented his outstanding
organization, which distracted him from my insolence and disrespect.
We then discussed my not working the required amount of hours in the
week. Surprisingly, he wasnt mad. He just gave me a warning and
sent me off. Back to work, Corporal. And no more funny business. Of
course, that last remark meant nothing to me whatsoever.
Some of my friends were hesitant to believe me, and it took me a
couple days to convince them, but eventually they gave in. I didnt
want other people to know, especially if I didnt know them, because
they could report us and wed probably be executed. But now I realize
the more people who know, the better. I was just worried that I
wouldnt be able to trust some of the people who know. The President
probably has a few agents to identify the proper time to plant the
bomb.
I am not naturally a rebel. I need you to know that, but hundreds
of peoples lives are at stake here including my family and me.
Something has to be done and if no one else knows whos better for
the job than me?
Chapter 5 -- June 6, 2052
I finally got a chance to look at that piece of evidence from
President Turners office. It wasnt much of a lead on the nuke itself but
Ill take it. Heres what it wrote:

Youve been Cordially

invited:

To a
party
The Time: 7:00-10:30 PM, June 10, 2052
The Place: Presidents Lounge
The Guests: High Members of Government
RSVP: June 7, 2052
-Formal Attire Mandatory
Well I pondered once I had finished reading, I know where Im
spending my June 10th evening.
I finally got around to telling my family about the nuke. They
didnt take it as hard as I thought they would, but it wasnt pretty.
WHAT? my wife asked, incredulous. My son, Kurt Jr. who was only
seven, asked, Dad, what is a nuclear bomb? Once he understood, he
was very worried for me. I could tell my wife was too, but she masked
it with anger and incredulity. To say the least, it was hard for her to
cope. A few minutes later, my son couldnt have cared less. I still
decided not to tell them about the party until after. My wife would
probably blow her top but I couldnt tell anyone. Nor could Kurt Jr. or
my wife. That would certainly blow it for me.
Chapter 6 -- June 11, 2052
Yesterday was the day of the party! Of course, I had to sneak in
because I wasnt invited. Long story short, the one thing important that
I learned was that I am a terrible stowaway. After twenty minutes, I was
kicked out and promised that I would receive punishment from the

President himself. Fancy that I thought, Two meetings with the

president in under a week. Thats got to be a record!
Chapter 7 -- June 13, 2052
Ive told a few people about the rocket/nuke problem and today
one of them probably helped in the best way possible! At work, he
pulled me aside and whispered something about one of the Presidents
advisors being a scientist who a) worked on some very interesting
things before the solar crisis and b) hates President Turner to the bone.
He said that he has lots of info and intelligence regarding the nuke and
should be able to give my team updates and give us a few special
treats here and there. This was fantastic news! Finally we have a
fighting chance at even marginally escaping imminent death. Plus, I
have a feeling that those little treats arent just candies... Anyway,
the scientist (Marcus) said that thered be another meeting within the
week so whenever that happens hell give us even more updates.
Chapter 8 -- June 17, 2052
Earlier today, President Turner held a meeting about the nuke
that was about to be planted in the rocket. Surely enough, our double
agent recorded everything with a tiny tape recorder that was disguised
in a bowtie (I know, my jaw dropped when I heard that too). This
afternoon, we met in Marcuss laboratory and listened to the important
bits and pieces of the hour-long meeting.
Sir Ive finally managed to find an opening regarding when to
plant the bomb.
Yes Rocky?
Err... well in four days.
At that, all that air in the room seemed to have been sucked out
in one gasp.
Four days, eh?
Yes sir.
Prepare the bomb and somehow, Rocky, make it discrete.
That was all we needed to hear. The eight of us instantly began
devising a plan. One friend, Mikhail, he suggested purposely lessening
the security so that it would be easier for the people who snuck it in to
get it in. At that, everyone except Marcus objected.
You know that was a very wise remark Mikhail.
The rest of us: WHAT?
Its really quite simple gentlemen. See, all that must be done is
allow the enemy to enter and then contain the nuke and dispose of it. I
could perhaps devise a... whats the word? Ah, a force field!
A force field?
Yes, something similar to that.

This came from me: And just how are you going to create one?
Ah, well if I were to describe it in detail wed be here for a month
of Sundays... Lets just say that I would super-reinforce the atomic
structure, add some cloaking devices for camouflage, and voil, you
have a force field built to stop a tank, or in our case, a nuclear missile.
At first, I felt incredulous about the plan that Mikhail mentioned,
but now, as I write this, it makes more and more sense. Basically, while
Dr. Marcus is constructing a force field for the containment of the
nuke we allow the team of people that are planting the nuke into the
rocket in an let them plant it. Then, Marcus would build the force field
around the nuke and disguise it as another room within the ship. On
the day of the launch, we activate the force field and when the nuke
goes off, all of it gets trapped inside the force field and we beam into
the depths of outer space, never to be found again. And all of that has
to happen in one month.
Chapter 9 -- June 21, 2052
Today was the day, according to President Turners assistant
Rocky, that the bomb would be planted on our ship. Pretty much
everything went as planned. When the planters arrived we simply
allowed them in without betraying any emotions and when they
finished placing it, we thanked them for the special delivery. We
waited for them to leave before we looked inside at what was there.
Once inside, we roamed for about ten minutes and finally found it.
Later on, we met with Professor Marcus and spoke with him
about the location of the nuke in relation to the rocket. When we told
him, he turned rather pale.
It cant go there.
Huh? we chorused.
It just cant go there. The force field is too big to fit in that tiny
corner, which means we have to move the nuke.
If we do move it there is a ridiculously high chance of us all
being fried worse than the sun could ever do to us.
That is true, but if the force field is unstable, then we will get
fried instead.
Cant you just make the force field smaller to accommodate that
small area.
It isnt as simple as that. If the force field radius is smaller the
blast from the nuke will hit the field with more strength because it
would be closer to the nuke itself. In fact, the force field radius of the
one I am constructing is dangerously short. I predict a six percent
chance of the force field failing to hold up before we properly dispose
of the bomb.
Chapter 10 -- June 23, 2052

Today everyone on the team of people who know about the nuke
issue received a message from the Professor. President Turner had
decided that the launch would happen in... six days. The next time you
hear from me Ill probably be in orbit. The force field would be done
two days before we were planned to launch, but installing it would take
three days. That means wed need to finish installing it on the rocket.
Since the nuke could go off at any moment and if we arent
ready, well make the first ever human radioactive french-fries, we
were quite upset about that. But, theres nothing we can do but wait
and hope that luck will be on our side once again. NOT TO MENTION:
THE ROCKET HASNT EVEN BEEN TESTED YET!!
Chapter 11 -- June 28, 2052
Today is the last day before launch and in fact, we are 19 hours,
34 minutes, and 12 seconds away from launch. This may be the last
time we ever see planet earth again. Even if we stop the nuke well
have to scout out around outer space and see if we can find a planet
that humans could call home. At least, that is what Turner thinks. Once
we get rid of the nuke, we are going to head straight back to earth and
kill Turner and all of his men, or at least place them in solitary
confinement.
Some other good news is that Marcus should have the force field
installed for the launch, which is good. Hopefully the next time you
hear from me, Ill still be alive. Hopefully.
Chapter 12 -- June 30, 2052
Well, after launch we disconnected communications with Earth. Not the
best idea, but weve made worse decisions in the past week. We had to
move the nuke without accidentally detonated
Nuke has detonated, the force field successfully contained it,
disposal of nuke in fifteen minutes.
Well the force field held up. Barely. I felt a bit queasy and so did
everyone else, but no one knows if it was nerves or a radiation leak. I
hope it wasnt the latter.
Anyway, the force field was barely
holding together so we began to devote all our attention to the
expulsion and deactivation of the force field.
Expulsion Bay loaded, expulsion commencing in T-minus sixty
seconds... fifty-nine... fifty-eight...
I took this time to reflect on how far wed come. From me
learning about the nuke completely accidentally, to telling a select few
about what I knew. Then I went to that party and got promptly kicked
out. Learning about Marcus, formulating a plan, the last-minute change
of plans, even the sweat pushed off of my brow when we took off. Now

here I am facingquite easilythe most important day of my life.

Containing a nuke, about to dispose of it. After that, were heading
back to earth against direct orders. Probably going to get shot at, but
hopefully the reinforcements on the ship will hold up. The second we
land well eat our strength pills courtesy of Marcus, and take out the
president.
Itll be hard.
Three... two... one... activate!
But we can do it. I know we can.