Here's a link to my class' neocity!: Neocities.
"Why can't you just tell me now? If you were actually telling the truth you'd tell it to me now. Right now!" Erica, limbs having regained some mobility, attempted to wave her arms in front of the man.
"Didn't your parents teach you to not distract the driver?" The man pushed her arm away and waved his Taser threateningly. Erica flinched away from the banned weaapon but continued to speak, "Just tell me one thing then; what do you want with me? Why am I even here? I just don't see why you need me."
The man kept silent. Erica looked out the window and decided not to let her emotions overwhelm her. She glanced at the door handle–it was locked and probably childproofed. She found herself thinking of Bobbi–and how if she hadn't gone to check on him she wouldn't be on her way to be probably executed–or worse. Erica frowned at herself. There was no way I wasn't going to check on Bobbi; he's my friend. And mom raised me to be stand up for those weaker than me. My mom... Erica stopped thinking there–there was no reason to become emotional in front of this awful, lawbreaking, murderous man.
"Before our time, America used to be different." Erica could hardly believe her ears. The man continued, "People could voice their opinions without fear of retribution. People could vote for candidates they believed in to make choices the majority wanted. The Authorities didn't have such a tight grasp on national power. Sure we had a centralized federal government, but it wasn't as hyperconnected and controlled like today's Americyn system. Americyn and all of its content is strictly monitored, vetted, and regulated by the Authorities. Some of the things you post never make it onto the Amerinet. The Authorities have a system that fools users into thinking their radical content isn't immediately deleted by showing a fake page with fake responses. It goes far beyond just censorship–even the slightest opposition is immediately tracked and eliminated. Even a whisper can be tracked–Amerinet's complete monopoly on online communication and constant surveillance ensure that nothing against the Authorities is ever uncovered." Erica tried to interrupt, but the man was on a roll now.
"We are all are just living like mindless hamsters running on a wheel of endless lies and false comforts! Living with the illusion of free will and autonomy! As they accumulate their own wealth and power, we are left to stumble blindly off a cliff!" The man was near spitting now, and he didn't appear to be particularly sane to Erica.
And yet. The things he was saying were reminiscent of things she herself had wondered about. She knew her history; America followed in the steps of Chile's successful implementation of a Cybercyn network and never looked back. Other countries followed in suit and everything seemed alright. Then a sudden series of attacks from a coalition comprised of the United Kingdom, China, and Mexico eliminated most of the American population and infrastructure. The Authorities were the ones who helped rebuild an even better America, one that emphasized American prosperity and growth–within its safe borders of course.
However, there were things that didn't always make sense to her. Like why exactly the Authorities decided to remove citizens' accessibility to other countries that had nothing to do with the attacks. There were a lot of things that made her question the circumstances, but then again, there were a lot of things that made her question the validity of the content of her ebooks. How did Isaac Newton even come up with half the things he did? Finding the force of gravity isn't just something that happens after an apple falls on your head.
A soft ping notified them that the car was low on gas. They were on a hilly back road, without many cars or much of anything. "You have to get gas," Erica ventured, "There's a gas station pretty close to here, I think I remember it's near a farming community."
The man snorted, "Not a chance kid. I have fuel. Just have to stop somewhere." The man turned towards a shady area under some large oaks on the outskirts of a dark forest. He parked and turned towards Erica, "Sit tight. No funny business. Or else." He got out of the car and locked the doors. Erica could see opening the trunck and rummaging around for the fuel.
Erica knew she had to make her decision now or never.
Stay or Run