Nesci

Night was the best time to move around the city. Our outposts were hidden well in the city of Nesci but entering them without being noticed was too difficult. Very few people could roam the streets after dark once the new government took effect. Still the darkness couldn’t completely conceal our movements. Sentries patrolled the area regularly and citizens were encouraged to report anyone seen outside. If I wasn’t careful, I would become one of the deserters that “freely” left the city.

Months ago, we received information on were the deserters went once they left the city. We were initially told that they simply couldn’t handle the luxury and decadence granted to all our people. They viewed us a hedonistic, lazy, and amoral so they left us to rot in paradise. This seemed so crazy to everyone. How could someone not want paradise? Still at the top of our societies code was the ability for everyone to make their own choices and so they were allowed to leave. We found their new town, Galtra, a couple hundred miles away hidden in a forest.

Our scouts revealed photos and videos of the deserters stripped down, covered in bruises, if they were lucky. Others were strapped to wooden pillars, hanging lifeless while a small group dressed in ornate robes chanted, feasted and then set fire to the pillar. The rest of the deserters were forced to watch and cheer on. The ones to weak to participate would be the next on the pillar.

They were being forced to build the products and process materials to be sold for our city. They were the reason we could live so happily. What’s worse is that they didn’t leave freely. They were tricked into believing that a better world was out there by the Government.

A separate group was formed to convince people hard work, diligence, fighting through adversity would eventually bring them to a better place. Anyone who believed in this groups were considered mentally unfit. To help them, they were sent to Nesci’s mental health facilities for therapy. The therapists used subtle suggestive mind tricks to fool people into leaving the city. We now had the evidence we needed to show the citizens the truth.

After hours of slowly moving through the city I was able to enter one of the outposts. The morning news would be airing soon. We hacked into the system months ago and created a way for us to stream our own broadcast to them. They would finally know the truth.

The show began. The hosts began to celebrate our 100 years of prosperity when the videos of Galtra were played on every tv, computer, and device in the city. No one was free from its horror. The world went quiet. Too quiet. The only sounds throughout the city were the sounds of beatings, horrific screams of people set ablaze and the machines used in the video. The air held a malevolent aura. One the citizens of Nesci forgot was possible.