The Chair by Joe Simonds

Author:Joe Simonds [Simonds, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781707404285
Published: 2020-03-05T22:00:00+00:00

14 ALCAZAR

The sky was full of wispy, dark clouds. They looked more sooty than white. It was neither sunny nor cloudy. It was just brownish gray for as far as the eye could see. It was rather dim. Daniel’s first thought was that the place looked depressing.

“Welcome to Alcazar,” Vosco said as he waved his arm across the land below them. He had entered just behind Daniel.

“This is Plato’s Peak,” said Skylar, who’d arrived shortly after Vosco. “It’s one of two twin mountain peaks, which surround Alcazar. The other peak is where Maku lives. You’ll be able to see it when that cloud clears.”

A moment later the clouds passed. Daniel’s jaw dropped. It was like nothing he had ever seen in his life. From up here, it looked as if someone had taken a large paint brush and painted the entire landscape black. It felt like death; as if someone had burned all of the greenery from the land. There were hardly any trees or shrubs. The ground was mostly barren with a withered tree or bush here or there.

He could see a large city in the valley below. It was the same city he’d seen through the mirror before he leapt. It was filled with endless rows of homes and small buildings, yet there was hardly any activity. He could count the number of people he saw on one hand. No one was outside.

“Where is everybody?” Daniel asked.

Skylar and Vosco were silent for a second, and then Vosco took the lead.

“This is your future.”

Daniel looked confused.

“This is what America and the rest of the world will look like if Kore wins. Your world will go from an industrious and beautiful place to a dark and depressing land, where no one has freedom. The nation of Alcazar used to be a vibrant, booming, and abundant place. We worked hard. We spent most of our time outdoors. We were happy, and we were free. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, but it was nothing like this.”

“It was that desire for perfection, which led to our downfall. Kore used this to his advantage. He did everything he could to convince our people that they would be happier by letting the government take care of their every need. Wealth and abundance were bad. Our lives would be better if everyone was the same. It turns out, it was just the opposite.”

“Today everything is free. We get free rent, free utilities, free health care, free Internet… even the food is free. We are all salaried by Kore’s government. It sounds great on paper, right? Well guess what happens when the government gives you everything for free? They OWN you. We have no control over our lives. We have zero freedom. Everyone stays inside from fear that we’ll get a knock on the door from Kore’s army saying we broke one of their rules. They confiscate anything they want without explanation. There is zero incentive to work or create anything of value.”

“They also took over the underground sewer and electricity systems as their headquarters.

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