Control (The State Book 1) by Wright Tom

Author:Wright, Tom [Wright, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action, science fiction, dystopian
Publisher: Moonlight Crew Publishing
Published: 2015-01-13T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

30.509805

-98.295740

Orem turned his truck onto the empty stretch of highway, keeping a slow speed. Abandoned cars and trucks were rare, but still posed a danger, even on a highway. Especially at night, thought Orem, squinting into the darkness. He had driven in the dark for years, slowly growing accustomed to the hazards of driving without headlights. The truck sported several dings and dents, and the front bumper bent inward on one side. He rubbed his head, remembering that accident. Bed rest for days, and that was because the stupid airbags were already shot. He grimaced as he thought about the shape of his truck. He flicked his headlights on, illuminating the wide expanse of flatland. Scrub brush and gnarled cedar trees dotted the land to either side of the highway. Finally far enough away to drive safely, for once, he thought.

Patrols this far out of Austin were unusual. The State kept up its presence in every major city in Texas, and what used to be parts of New Mexico. Even after all these years, I still think about state lines. The Coalition snatched up the other parts of New Mexico after the neo-engine wars. The State disputed their claims, but did not bother to fight them for it. Orem made sure that they did not have time for anything but dealing with the resistance.

This annual trip always left him moody. It was the one time each year he could truly relax, but he could never fully enjoy it. When he was not keeping busy running missions, recruitment, and drills, Orem tended to the refugee camps. Families, orphans, Lapaz survivors, or anyone on the run from Mexico or the Coalition found themselves in the refugee camps spread out across Texas. Congress largely left the camps alone, a problem to be dealt with in the future. Orem could see why the State showed no concern about the camps; the camps posed little military threat to the State. Disease ran rampant through the camps, decimating the population every few months. Refugees died of exposure every day. If the Academics caught the refugees trying to squat in the ghost towns, they would intervene. Otherwise, they let nature and attrition run its course.

The State had a standing policy of allowing the refugees to join the workforce and take Lapaz. Few, if any, ever took the leadership up on the offer. Even on the brink of death, the refugees refused the nightmare of total enslavement. Wouldn’t be refugees in the first place if they were the types to take Lapaz voluntarily, Orem thought.

His moodiness increased as he drove, the rare quiet moment leaving him inside his own head. This is what the miracle of clean energy left us. He snorted. What a legacy. Every major world power brought to its knees by weaponized neo-engines. Third-world countries rejoicing at the economic miracle of cheap and clean energy, knocked back to the Stone Age as terrorists and wars destroyed what little infrastructure they had in place.

And all for the greater good, he thought.

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