I walked down the lonely road, obedient clip-clops echoing behind me at each step. The rope felt rough in my hot hand, the gentle whisper of the horse’s breath light on my neck. Everything was still. One foot up, one foot down. Up, down, up, down. Clip clop. I shut my eyes for relief from the relentless ball of fire in the sky. Heat blazing from a vacuum. The red road stretched on, in a paved unending line. Yellow, parched hills sloped symmetrically away on either side, and ran into the distance. Sweat ran down my neck, soaking the collar of my off-white shirt. A thousand tiny knives were trapped inside my head, straining and scraping against my skin. I tried to stop walking, but was unable to. My feet kept pounding on, step after step. Up, down, up, down. Clip clop. I tried once again to stop, tried with all the energy I possessed. Finally, something happened. A new spot of colour appeared - but I couldn’t see it. Glowing red, it came from the chip embedded in my neck. I kept walking. The horse kept following.

Far away, a computer beeped. An alert popped up on the screen, prompting the man who sat sleepily in front of it into decisive action. “Subject #726 resisting”, the screen flashed. “Select an option below:”. Two buttons lay beneath the pulsing message. “Subdue” screamed one, “Release” whispered the other. The man yawned, and picked up the remaining half of the donut he had fallen asleep over. He took a bite of it, while lazily clicking the button marked “Subdue” on the screen. The room filled with green light.

Sun, road, hills, horse. Suddenly, all became distant and unfocused, as if I was experiencing the scene through the wrong end of a telescope. I tried to gather my thoughts. I had been thinking about something, but I couldn’t remember what. A thick fog was obscuring all that was coherent. Suddenly, a delicious lightness flooded into my body. I felt it coursing through my veins. I closed my eyes. Up, down, up, down. Clip clop.