Obedience

The small robot looks back at me. I glare at it menacingly, but it doesn't flinch. Of course, it doesn't. Its imitation bug-eyes look unseeingly, probably scanning the room. If you asked me a few years ago, I would've thought that it would be illegal to have small cameras hiding in homes everywhere, moving and scanning at will.

That was before the Revolution. Our country, in general, had been rapidly deteriorating; politicians on fire with fury, the hubbub about global warming making things even hotter, and the terror of nuclear bombs turning America into an inferno. This was when a secret organization called the Elite rose up from the ashes and "saved" us. But that didn't last long. They turned out to be ruthless dictators. I cannot believe we fell for that. It's like Hitler all over again. He claims to be saving everybody when all he wants is power for himself. Yup, that's the Elite in a nutshell.

I don't want to swat the Fly. It's just instinctual, I swear. But my hand seems to have a mind of its own. I stare at it in horror and strain all of my muscles, but it stops for just a split second before resuming. As if in slow motion, my hand reaches out and smacks the Fly that has been bothering me for the past hour. Instead of dying, a small strip of paper is released from its abdomen and it flies out the open window.

The paper lands softly on my thigh. I pick up and curse when I see that it containes a 100 dunkle fine. One hundred dunkles?! My parents will be be pissed! I crumple the paper, knowing that the money has already been withdrawn from my Virtual Vault. I turn my watch towards me and switch to Holo Mode. A glowing screen appears in the thin air above the watch and I sign into my Vault. Sure enough, one hundred dunkles are missing from my account.

I've never swatted a Fly before, but I've heard the rumors. And I'd known about the fine, too. But the rumor that I hadn't been so sure about was that the Flies could manipulate you with their robotic eyes. Now I believe it. What my hand did was unnatural.

My thoughts are interrupted by a buzzing near my ear. Not again, I think helplessly. As soon as the Flies come within my view, my hand, the snake that it is, snaps out and swats them. They seem to laugh as they drop their papers and zip away.

After that, I barely get seconds in between the Flies coming and going. Eventually, the old flies stick around, giving me more ammo against myself. I just keep swatting against my will.

Soon, the new flies have stingers, spikes and miniscule torturing devices. They come at me ruthlessly and without pause. I just keep swatting, tears streaming down my face. I wonder why nobody has ever told me about this part of the Flies. Maybe because nobody has ever lived through it, said my evil voice in my head. No! I thought back, ...maybe? I am suddenly uncertain, but I haven't much time to dwell; another wave of Flies comes and starts their attack.

I am in a sea of black and silver Flies. Their buzzing encompasses my being, and their small metal bodies encompass my body. Wouldn't it be nice to just take a nap here? Maybe it will be so peaceful you won't have to wake up again, says the evil voice.

My eyelids drift shut slowly, the evil voice lulling my brain like a lullabye. I snuggle down into the sheets of paper, each printed with a fine of a small fortune, and some not so small. The pain recedes to a dull throb, and I shut my eyes completely, content.