The 22nd Century by Cecelia McSweeney

The 22nd Century

Cecelia McSweeney

“Hear all you people for I speak the truth! This truth comes not from a friend, not from a
piece of paper I read but from my heart. Listen to me all you people who value their lives,
who feel that your life is worthwhile, that you mean more to the world than just another leaf
in the forest. In this society people are lost. Do you feel lost? I see before me lost people. I
see a sea, people who are lost; they just follow everyone else in the motions. There is no
point to your actions. There is no point to you life if you simply work, if you do what you are
told, if you carry out the same actions as everyone else everyday. Our world is changing,
changing in a way that you or I can never imagine, in a way that is beyond our control. We
need to fight. I call you all to fight. To fight to save ourselves, our individuality before they
change you. They will change you in a way you will not be able to control, you will not know
who you are. They will take away your mind, your heart, and your very soul. We’ve got to
fight, to save your time. A person before me, a new time is before us but we cannot let the
simple passing of time sabotage our beings. Ladies and gentlemen I call you to fight! Fight
for yourself, and fight for the 22nd century!”

“What does he mean take our souls?”

“He can’t have been talking literally?”

“Oh, he’s a very serious man.”

“She’s right he does tend to say what he feels, what he means.”

“Fight! What does he mean, how do we fight?”

People exchange confused looks to each other and at the speaker.

Some look confident that they can rely on him.

Some look pleased.

Some look angry and some look darn right scared.

“Mr Davies, how do you feel, take a glass of water.”

“I’m good, do you think they were listening.”

Rhett Davis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled at the girl. He couldn’t
remember her name but she seemed to agree with him, names didn’t seem to carry much
importance anymore.

“That’s good. I need people to think, people are forgetting to think and they can’t stop
thinking. That is exactly what they want them to do. If they stop thinking they become like
robots and can do whatever they say. I need people to think. It is the end of the century and
everything is changing, the world is changing, life is changing, changing what it is to be
human. They are watching me aren’t they, can you see them?”

“Who?”

“Them, the people in the skies,” Mr Davies pointed up to the skies. The young girl stared up at
the large black platforms where the leaders lived. “They know I oppose them but they want
to wait until they can mess with my mind too. I’m not going to fall for it though, I am going to
stop them, I will fight them- I will fight them – see how they like that.”

“I don’t think they would like that Mr Davies.”

“You’re telling me. It is happening already – the soldiers, the factory workers, the fishermen,
and the teachers- uniformity! They aren’t human anymore – they move the same way, they
can’t think for themselves!”

“How do we know we can trust him?”

“What do you mean? Of course we can trust him?”

“Rhett Davies, what is he going to do for us?”

“He will do all he can but he needs our cooperation. He wants to save us from what lies
ahead. He wants to save us.”

“Save us, save us from what?”

“I am saving you from losing yourselves because they will rob you of your soul, your very
being. My first instruction to you is to think. Think about yourself, your friends, your job, ah,
I don’t care what you think about, just think! Keep your brain active so it is more difficult for
them to steal your mind, making you a robot. Secondly you need to stand up for yourself, do
not let them take you into their army. Look up all you people. You see how they live above
us, reigning above us like gods! Well I believe it is not right. We are all human beings and we
should all be equal!”

The crowd cheer.

Rhett Davies smiles triumphantly.

“They want to treat us like Ants. A giant army of ants. They want us to be uniform, to do what
they want. But all you people I hope I am in the same mind as you when I say that I do not
want to be an Ant. I want to be an individual. I ask you to stay exactly as you are. When they
try to enlist you, pay no attention, when they try to get you to work for them you tell them
NO! Tell them you have better things to do. Tell them you have a higher calling. Tell them
you are an individual and you will NOT subject yourself to their work, the work of Ants. We
will reject them for as long as we can before they no longer need to ask, they will be able to
take our brains. Put them off for as long as you can so we can find a way to fight back
BEFORE they take our brains!”

“Right now I have people working to stop them. I hope some of you will help me. But most of
all I need you to help yourself, help yourself and help each other so they do not take you or
your friends. Now, all you people I tell you to go and try your best to LIVE, if you need help
you can find me, I hope very much to see you again with your minds.”

The crowd erupt once more.

Rhett Davies smiles for a brief moment before he turns serious again, remembering his
purpose.

“Well done Mr Davies, you are an inspiration to us all.”

Rhett Davies smiled at the young girl as she handed him a glass of water. He nodded at the
still cheering crowd before he slowly stepped down from the platform.
A lot of people smiled and shook his hands as he walked through the street. He enjoyed the
attention but mostly he liked the feeling that he was inspiring and helping all these people.

“How long do you think we have Mr Davies?”

Rhett Davies looked at the young girl.

“Before all your predictions come true.”

“I can not be sure but it is already happening I know that, you know that. The twenty second
century is nearly here and it is going to bring about an unbelievable amount of change.
Already they are doing their work to change people but it is voluntary now, as the new
century comes in they will soon be able to change us without our permission.”

The young girl gasped and nodded as he talked. She worshipped Rhett Davies, believing
everything he said. Mr Davies stopped and the young girl stopped with him as they reached
the end of the street.

Rhett Davies took a deep breath and stared into the road.

“This is just what I mean, “he whispered. Hundreds of people marched past. They were all
dressed in grey. Men and women were dressed the same. They all looked the same with
short hair. There was no expression on their faces, they just stared straight ahead.

“Ants, ants marching together to work for THEM,” Mr Davies pointed up to the platforms in
the sky as they spoke.

“What are you?” he asked the young girl.

“Why I am a girl.”

“Yes, a member of the female sex as I am a member of the male sex. But if you look in there,
there are no genders. There are no males or females- just people, ants. These people have
no names, no personalities; they do not know who they are.”

“Mr Davies, I am a person, I want to know who I am.”

Rhett Davies smiled at the young girl and nodded.

“Let’s go, “he said and they crossed the road after the army marched off.

“They think they are gods. They think they can use us like slaves. Take away our minds and
use our bodies to create armies, workers for their factories and slaves for their castles in the
sky. I remember a time when they used to live among us, before they discovered how ‘noble’
and ‘special’ they felt they were. There was a time when people were not scared.”

“People are not scared any more Mr Davies.”

“Really, do you think so young girl?”

“People are not scared because they have you to look after them.”

Mr Davies smiled.

“Thank you. I can help you because I know. I know what they can do. I was a man once, a
real man. I worked in a school. When I was a teacher, how I loved being a teacher, I loved
watching people learn. I had a wife, a beautiful wife. We had a child, before they took over.
While they were starting to make their advances my wife became pregnant again. Before we
had realised they had infected the hospitals so our poor child was born without a brain. My
wife was a very smart woman, smarter than me, smarter than anyone else I ever knew. My
wife found it very hard to cope after the birth of our second child but she always had our first
child. This was not much when they decided they wanted her. My wife hung onto our first
child, never let him go because she loved him so much but they wouldn’t stop. “

“One day they killed my child and took my wife, so she could work for them. They have
ruined my family, they have ruined my life so I want to stop them, and I do not want them to
ruin other people’s lives the way they have mine.”

“There is something I should tell you like what you told me young girl. That is that I too am
scared. I am scared that they will take me too but I am also confident that I will be able to
help people and somehow I will be able to stop them.”

“I believe in you Mr Davies, I believe that you can save us.”

“Thank you.”

Rhett Davies continued to walk; she smiled up at him admiringly. Half way down the street he
stopped as he came to his house. As he put his hand up to open the door his face fell.

Two men came out of his house, in grey suits and black cloaks. As Rhett stepped back two
more came from either side of him, one snatching the young girl.

“You’re going to have to come with us Mr Davies.”

“No, I refuse.”

“Come on, it will be easier if you don’t fight.”

“I have got to fight; I can not let you take my brain.”

Rhett Davies fell suddenly to the ground.

Everything had changed.

He wasn’t outside anymore- the young girl was gone.

The shiny white walls blinded him.

“We aren’t going to take your brain Mr Davies.”

“I know you, you will. I have to fight for 2099.”

“There will be no fighting Mr Davies, just sit down.”

“Fight for 2099.”

“Its ok Mr Davies we are going to help you, help your brain.”

“Fight for 2099”, Mr Davies shouted one last time before he fell down asleep.”

“Shhhhhhhh, Mr Davies, its only 2009.”

© Cecelia McSweeney

All Rights Reserved: Millionstories.net

What we like about this story:
We were marching off to 1984 with
this story. It reminded us that
sometimes all is not what it seems.

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