It had started rather simply.
A 21:00 curfew - unless you had a valid reason to be out, an A&E visit for example, or being on the late shift. This was in an effort to reduce crime, it made sense to most people. No one really thought too much about it. Breaking the curfew without just cause was subject to a fine, the first two times anyway
Third strike and you were jailed.
Then came the closure of casinos, betting shops and the like. They'd claimed it was in the interests of curbing gambling addiction. While it was true that the citizens had more money as a result, it didn't take long for those with a gambling problem to find solace elsewhere.
Pub, clubs, and bars were the next to go. As was the sale of alcohol. Alcoholism was on the rise, they said, and something needed to be done.
Slowly, but surely, they closed everything ‘fun'. Cinemas, bowling alleys, fairgrounds – all gone. To begin with, the owners were heavily reimbursed. Later, they just seized control and closed the doors. That was it.
The EU called an emergency meeting to discuss what was happening in the UK. They felt
that our leaders were out of control and power hungry. Germany even offered to invade us, to
take over leadership and free the people. The EU stated that would not be necessary, talks
would be just fine, and they reached out to our leaders. They responded by cutting all communication and ordering the army to guard our borders.
This was followed by restriction of the internet. You could no longer access the majority of sites based outside the UK, and those that were still available were heavily censored. The only news you were permitted to see, was the news they wanted you to see.
The Channel Tunnel was boarded up. Flights were grounded - no one in, no one out. Of course, we didn't know about the Channel Tunnel until a group of people tried to use it to leave the country. They used their mobile phones to record everything that happened. After the army opened fire, one of the group managed to send a video to all his contacts before being shot. Those contacts then sent it to all of their contacts, and so on and so forth. It spread
like wildfire, and caused chaos for the leaders of the country. People were starting to question them, and they didn't like that.
Next to go were mobile communication networks and a ban on mobile phones, swiftly followed by tablets, computers and any other electronic device capable of recording sound and video.
France attempted to send some ministers over to open negotiations, but the ship was beaten back by artillery units and air defence stationed around the coast. People living by the shore reported hearing a loudspeaker from the vessel asking for permission to land, reiterating they did not want to engage in war, but they were fired on nonetheless. The boat turned back, and there's been no known contact since.
Slowly, freedoms were removed. Anyone who protested was jailed, killed, or worse.
Everyone soon learnt to keep their opinions to themselves and do as they were told. New housing was developed, identical grey boxes, one for each family unit, stacked eighteen stories high. Towns and villages were demolished and left to nature.
You lived and worked in the cities, or you didn't live at all. Factories appeared, only the highly educated avoided a tasking there. You worked no more than twenty minutes away from your home, transported
by a state bus system. Everything became rationed: food, clothing, essentials. You could not leave your home except for employment and schooling. The doctor would come to you, if needed.
Procreation was by permission only - if you didn't have a ticket to produce a child, that child was destroyed. As were you. Only the best gene pools were permitted tickets, these were valid for two months only - if there was no pregnancy after two months, you were blacklisted. Children went into state day-care at the age of two months, allowing the mothers to go back to work.
All in all, it took just over four years to get where we are now. Cut off from the rest of the world, ruled by fear, hope all but forgotten.
Lights on at 07:00
We shower at 07:10 We eat at 07:30
We work at 08:00
We go home at 17:00
We shower at 17:10
We eat at 17:30
Lights off at 20:00
The time between dinner and bed is yours to do with what you wish. There's a film that's shown at this time, the same one every day. Not a movie, like the old days, more propaganda - they want you to believe this is in your best interests after all. Most sit and talk with their families about the day. There are some who sneak out and protest this permanent lockdown.
They usually don't arrive home again.
Then there are those who know the secrets outside of the city, the ones who cause no trouble, the ones who use this time to plan and prepare in silence.
We are the quiet ones.
We are the rebels.
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