Dystopia | Teen Ink

Dystopia

March 28, 2010
By Anonymous

I live in an ideal world. Every thought, every action, every word, is perfectly controlled. Crime is a distant concept, a nightmare that expired and became part of the past centuries ago. Envy and dishonesty have not been witnessed since the governmental reign of terror that lasted for thousands of years. Hatred is nonexistent. Choices no longer exist, for every decision is made for us insignificant human beings before we are even birthed into the universe. Pain? What is pain? It is some terror, I suppose, that existed in the prehistoric, barbaric ages of uncontrolled agony and immoral society.
Bland, blissful neutrality is all I ever experienced from the time I was born up to now, and all I shall ever experience. I shall never have to face terror or hatred, will never be exposed to pain or anxiety, depression or the deep untarnished sorrow that now exists only in legends. I will never understand what true happiness is, or love, but such concepts are ridiculous and insignificant. I will never have to face the perils, horrifying emotions and experiences that cause me to shiver with fear in my bed at night, the nightmares that my ancestors were forced to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Life is a simple matter, a necessity. For, if when my time expires, I have lived a good life without causing others any strife, I will actually experience true happiness. Emotion will be a daily occurrence and, unlike it would here on Earth, perhaps it will not exhaust me. I live for the day when I pass from this universe into the beautiful heavenly rainbow of feeling that I will experience after death. If suicide were not a terrible, unforgivable sin, perhaps I would let myself now at this moment in order to experience the wonders of well-deserved death.
My name is Amalie 10623 and I am in the midst of a life to serve the Divine Power, the mother goddess that lives in the deep molten center of our beloved Earth. She watches over me always, and I exist for one sole purpose: to follow Her every command and desire, and prove to Her that I am completely deserving of a reservation in the beautiful heaven we call Illusion. I don't quite understand what the word means, but I do know that it is striking and breathtaking, a place and state of mind that no one will ever experience in its true form while still on Earth.
Inside of my skull is a memory card, implanted to record my every thought and memory and ensure that my mind is pure and devoted completely to the Divine Power. The government (The Three Powers) watching over my planet monitors my every thought and checks it for cleanliness, honesty, and focus. Any individual with an impure mind is either disposed of or sent to a Rehabilitation Center; the greatest dishonor possible to be faced with while still on the Earth. A distant cousin of mine was once sent to the Rehabilitation Center, where his negative and impure thoughts were punished by electric and emotional shock devices that affected his nervous system and mental health for the remainder of his life. With all my heart, I hope that he was saved and sent to the Illusion when he passed, but I highly doubt this. Often, the Rehabilitation Center does not quite accomplish its intended mission despite its angelic intentions. Those with impure minds have little chance of being saved.
There are Three Powers that rule over Planet Earth: the Punitive Power, faced with the task of enforcing laws and sterilizing impure minds; the Educational Power, which conducts research into the way the world functions and protects the health and happiness of every citizen; and the most crucial of all, the Utopia Defense Power. The world of 2871 is a place of Ultimate Perfection, often referred to as a realistic form of Utopia. To maintain order, happiness, and this constant state of perfection, the Utopia Defense Power protects our society’s ideal morals and efficient functioning. No one quite knows what the Utopia Defense Power does to accomplish this, but they certainly are successful. Disturbances are almost nonexistent in modern times.
In the universe in which I live, all human beings are nearly identical in appearance. During their periods of Incubation at the Birthing Facilities, all fetuses are genetically engineered to be alike in at least the major aspects. Centuries ago, when the Uniform Reformation was imposed on Earth by the Three Powers, certain standards were set for the appearance of all citizens. They decided that all humans would be born with the exact same shade and texture of mahogany hair, and that this hair, according to dress code, would remain at the appropriate lengths (depending on an individual's gender). Every human I have ever seen has an identical shade of brown eyes, and their faces are proportioned exactly right and symmetrical to the nearest hundredth of a millimeter. Of course, there are variations in basic facial structure, to avoid confusions in a person's identity. There must be some outer dissimilarity within the society so that we remain to have our own identities and features - although, legislation has been suggested to change this. Regarding skin shade, all citizens have the same olive tone. This corresponds to the ancient labels of a dark and relatively tan Caucasian person's skin tone, or a light African American's coloring. In terms of height, adult females are always between 162 and 168 centimeters tall, and adult males are between 172 and 178 centimeters tall. Weight standards for women are between 50 and 60 kilograms, and standards for men are between 58 and 68 kilograms. An individual who somehow exceeds these standards is put on a strict diet to lower his or her weight, and this is monitored carefully until he or she returns within the standard weight range - same with underweight individuals. Regarding height, occasionally the genetic engineering specialists make an error in their estimations and a child grows to be taller or shorter than expected. This is not considered a severe flaw, but such an adult often has a difficult time finding a mate and is often disliked because he or she is clearly extremely unattractive.
I was born in the year 2855 in the country of Liayta, once known as Italy. I am currently attending the University of Psychology – I wish to someday study the human mind and contribute to the universe by conducting research that teaches us even more about ourselves. My brother, Victor 279, is two years my elder and attends the University for Religious Study on the North American continent. He has devoted his time on Earth to becoming a monk and serving the Divine Power through the generosity he has possessed ever since his early childhood.
My father passed into the world of Illusion when I was just four years old, and my mother relocated several months ago to one of the lunar colonies governed by the Three Powers. I have spoken with her over a device called LunaVid several times since then, and she seems to be content in her new home. I have heard that there is a fatal epidemic quickly spreading throughout one of the newer lunar colonies, and I am concerned for her safety, but she has assured me that she will go to her personal physician at the first sign of illness. My mother is very lively and one of the most intelligent people I know, so I believe that she will keep herself safe from harm. She is a nutritional chemist, one of the highly trained individuals who provide concentrated food sources and vitamin supplements for the lunar colonies and those who lack the nutrients they would be exposed to daily if they had remained on Earth. Without her team of chemists, perhaps the moon’s citizens would have perished long ago.
Every time I ponder about the times long ago that plagued this world, the wars and pandemics and pain that I read about in my history textbooks at the University, I am filled with a sort of regret for what the human race has done to itself. And at the same time, I am overcome by love and adoration for the founders of the Three Powers, the leaders of the 400 Revolution. They have saved my society from permanent harm and protected the Earth. Finally, all of humankind has the opportunity to bask in the sunshine of joyousness. Finally, we have recognized the Divine Power and Her intentions for the future. Sanity is restored, and nature is conquered, forever.



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This article has 3 comments.


on Apr. 14 2010 at 11:04 am
SanjanaMalhotra BRONZE, New Delhi, Other
4 articles 0 photos 7 comments

You're welcome. I'm glad I could be of some help! 

:)


on Apr. 13 2010 at 5:46 am
starxoxo23 PLATINUM, New Hampshire, New Hampshire
21 articles 0 photos 97 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."
- Alan Alda

Thanks a lot for the comments! They were really helpful. I'll work on improving it with your suggestions.

SaNjAnA said...
on Apr. 13 2010 at 1:45 am

I love the beginning.

It reminds me of Brave New World.

The story tends to lose the readers interest when you start describing the "perfect world" and how it works.

The idea, though, is really good. It could develop into something amazing.

Work on it! I'm looking forward to your next piece and the improved version of this one too!