“No officer, we didn’t.”

  “Good, we hate paperwork, and a firearm is many hundreds of pages of paperwork, we might have to let our dog play with you if we thought we were facing an all-nighter of paperwork. If you follow our laws, you’ll have a nice visit. Now we have to perform a quick check of the home. If we find nothing, we’ll be on our way within thirty minutes, and you will be able to return to your recording. Remember, no recording is to be performed while we are on site, or of us. It’s a breach of LSA national law to record peace officers or officers of DepLIES. Is that clear Mr. Hannd?”

  Unknown to the LSA police, Sean had a microdot camera built into his glasses. It didn’t transmit. It recorded and stored the video on DDR7 micro memory bubble cells built in the frames. Sean didn’t say anything so the entire event could be recorded.

  “Yes officer it is. May I ask, did you go house to house to take people’s firearms?”

  “Sir, firearms in the hands of untrained civilians is a formula for disaster. We knew we had to remove these weapons from our streets if we wanted our children to have a chance to grow up safe. Unlike the USA, we in the LSA care about our children. We started with the registration act which ordered everyone with any type of firearm to register them. Months later we started using the list to call in the firearms, we purchased the firearms from their owners. We didn’t take them; we purchased them. If someone didn’t want to sell us their firearms, they could keep them and pay the new national tax imposed on the firearms. The tax started at 300% of the firearms value and went up 100% a year. It had to be paid in cash on January first. Most people couldn’t afford to continue to pay the increasing amount of tax. In addition, laws were passed making it illegal to sell ammunition to citizens. Gun ranges were outlawed so even if someone decided to pay the firearm tax, they couldn’t get ammunition for their weapons, nor were there any legal locations to use their weapons. Soon they owned a very expensive unusable weapon. By the seventh year, we estimate we recovered 98% of the privately owned weapons.”

  “Officer, what about the illegal weapons, like the ones gangs used?”

  “We collected them when we arrested someone committing a crime. We couldn’t search everyone walking down the street we thought was in a gang, which would have violated their rights. We installed cameras, microphones and a new technology which triangulated gun shots to locate street weapons. We later updated the cameras with ultra-wideband radar that can detect a gun on a person as they walked by a street lamp camera, we also got their picture which enabled us to pick them up at our convenience. We think we collected most of the weapons on the street.”

  “Are these cameras and radar units still in use?”

  “Of course, we’ve expanded the system to cover the entire area of the LSA.”

  “Are you telling me, you have cameras looking at every inch of the LSA all of the time? Who could possibly check all of the images?”

  “We use computers to scan the images. When an image is tagged for some reason, we send a car to investigate.”

  “Is that how you knew someone in the Smith’s house yelled help?”

  “Sir, every house has a security system that’s tied into the national system. Do you have any other questions? I need to assist my fellow officers in searching the house.”

  “Officer, no other questions, thank you for your time.”

  Forty minutes later the officers leave allowing the program crew and the Smith family to return to their home. The show starts broadcasting again and Sharon looks around saying, “They were very neat this time. Last time we had an accident they tore the house apart. Good thing you guys were here today. By the way, are you thirsty or hungry? Because of the show, we received extra ration stamps to provide you and your crew with refreshments. We didn’t know how many were coming. The government gave us enough of an increase to provide snacks for 10 people.”

  Wolf, looking relieved, says, “Sharon, first of all, thank you very much. Please tell us how much you spent so we can reimburse you. Secondly, why don’t you explain the rationing stamp system? I’m sure those watching in the USA are interested in how the LSA minimizes waste and ensures people get the correct amount of calories and aren’t able to overeat. By controlling the amount of calories, we ensure people in the LSA don’t get overweight which causes health problems, increasing everyone’s health costs and reducing people’s quality of life.”

  “Wolf, I’d be happy to…”

  Before Sharon can answer, their home phone rings, the phone announces, “Attention, incoming call. Unknown caller, call disconnected. Call terminated.”

  Wolf laughs, saying, “Sharon I think you should explain how the phone system works first, I can see Sean is confused.”

  “Wolf, of course. Our phones don’t accept calls from anyone without a caller ID.”

  Sean, responds, “I understand, you might not want to answer a call from an unknown number, but a mandatory disconnect, it seems to me that this takes away your right to decide if you want to answer or not.”

  Sharon responds, “Surely I wouldn’t answer a call from someone I didn’t know, our phone system is programmed to do it for us. Why would anyone call without a caller ID?”

  Sean quickly responds, “If the telephone company system software fails, will anyone in the LSA be able to receive a call?”

  “No they wouldn’t. However, that happens very rarely, and people just call back.”

  Sean asks, “Which telephone supplier do you use?”

  “Our telephone and all of our utilities are provided by the LSA national government.”

  Sean follows up, “Do you miss the ability to choose your own supplier?”

  “Why? Before the divide, all of the companies were the same anyway. With the government running the utilities, we know we’ll be getting decent service. Our government supplies us with everything we need. Our taxes go to things we can see, use and hold in our hands.”

  Sean asks, “Jason, Sharon, with so much being provided by the government, do you miss the ability to choose and make your own decisions? Do you feel like you’ve lost a degree of your freedom in exchange for goods and services?”

  The Smiths look at each other, Jason responds for both of them, “Why do we need to be bothered about making silly decisions about what service provider to use? They were all the same. Trying to cut through all of their bullshit was a giant waste of time. Do we miss having the freedom to decide? No, we see it as a burden lifted from us. Why should we waste our time listening to various sales pitches from companies all lying about their so called excellent customer support? None have any idea what customer support meant anyway. How many calls do you usually make in order to get the simplest issues corrected? The government has helped us. The national government has saved us time. They have enabled us to have more free time. They have removed a lot of stress off of us.”

  “As a follow up, what about the government knowing every call you make?”

  “They knew all the time anyway; nothing’s changed so what’s the big deal?”

  “Jason, Sharon, do you miss the various options you used to have?”

  “Not really, most of the choices we had weren’t really choices. We thank the government for giving us more free time to spend with our family or on our hobbies or doing anything else we’d like to.”

  Sean asks, “Do you feel any remorse being totally dependent on the government?”

  Bob looks at Sean with a confused look on his face, “Sean, why would we? The government, unlike a private company, isn’t going to go bust. They aren’t going to screw around like the private companies did. I remember before the split I had an issue with our cable TV provider, I wanted to cancel my service, they transferred me from person to person; they left me on hold for three hours. When someone finally answered the phone, they told me the billing department was closed. We don’t have these issues any longer.”

  “Sharon, let’s get back to the ration system, can you explain to those of us in the USA how it works?”

  “Sean, of course; none of us are hungry, we’ve reduced the numbers of people who are obese. While we’ve reduced the number of obese people, the USA and most-other first world countries has increased their number of obese people.”

  “Sharon isn’t the reason you have a lower number of obese people is because the government limits the number of calories a person can intake a day?”

  “The rationing system is designed to limit the number of calories a person intakes. It’s a well-known fact that food acts on the brain like a drug, hence we’re reducing food addiction. The government is limiting the types of harmful addiction we might encounter that would be detrimental to our health and well-being. It revolves around being equal. Every one of each age group is allowed a certain number of calories in a week. Everyone has ration software built into our ID cards. When I go to the food store, the shopping carts have scanners built in. I scan my ID card when I start shopping. My ID is set up as the primary shopper for food. I’ve entered Bob’s, Scott’s and Sissy’s IDs into the national system so when I shop the computer knows I’m shopping for four people - two adults and two children. Every item I drop into the cart is scanned against our IDs and our calories for the week. When our weekly caloric total is reached, my cart is automatically billed to my bank account. The computer on the shopping cart prints out the receipt, we can leave whenever we want to.”

  “What happens if you want to place additional items into the cart?”

  “The computer will not accept the item, if I try to leave the store with the not allowed item; the cart alerts the store’s management. I’ll be stopped and have to return the item.”

  “Sharon, what about if you’re going to entertain, like with us?”

  “Sean, that’s easy; I enter the dates and number of people into my kitchen computer it updates our allowable items.”

  “What if there isn’t really a party, you were just adding items to your family’s pantry?”

  “Sean, do you always look for ways to scam the system? I enter our guest’s names and the town they are coming from and the system checks their calendars. If those people are still home on the date of the party and we didn’t cancel it, the calories are deducted from my next week’s shopping. In your case, I didn’t know how many people were coming, or where you were from and since some of you are from the USA and not in our system. I simply entered the event into the system. The system knew of the program, so it was automatically approved, in fact it even suggested some items for us to purchase. You don’t have to reimburse us; the amount we paid is going to be applied as credits to our taxes. Since the government’s system is tied into everything, it’s a complete circle. It makes it so easy for me to plan a week’s menu and shopping trip. Anything I use up I scan in my kitchen computer which is automatically added to my shopping list.”

  “May I have a follow up question? What happens when you go out to eat?”

  “The waiter scans our IDs before seating us. Our IDs at a restaurant allow us to exceed the daily amount of food by a margin of 15%.

  “Sharon, couldn’t you go out to eat every night and become overweight by eating 15% above the daily minimum calorie counts?”

  “Sean, it’s not that easy. Everyone in the LSA has a caloric budget based on age, weight and level of physical activity. Most people can’t afford to eat out more than once a week. Those who can are taxed an extra 20% on their second night eating out in the same week. The third trip to a restaurant carries a caloric discount of 35%. We realized good health begins with what you eat. The more active one becomes, the more calories are allowed. By reducing the number of overweight people we’ve lowered the number of hospital visits, we’ve lowered the number of heart attacks and even strokes. You should really copy our system; your people would be much healthier.”

  “I guess the rationing system doesn’t allow many preppers in the LSA does it?”

  Sharon smiles replying, “Not really. In fact there are fines for holding more than 5 days of food. Before you ask about growing your own extra food, the DepLIES flies drones looking for small farms and vegetable gardens. One needs government approval to grow food. Fertilizer can be used as an explosive so it’s doled out by the DepLIES, permits and inspections are required. If a person gets the approval for a vegetable garden or small farm, they have a choice of giving the government 50% of the produce or having their rations reduced. This is to prevent people from hoarding food.”

  “Sharon, the LSA is reducing people’s weight by starving some people and also you’ve outlawed many spices and flavorings so that food doesn’t taste the same as it used to. You’ve outlawed salt and most fried foods. I can’t buy anything larger than 8 ounces to drink. You’ve implemented laws to force people how they should eat and live. I purchased a Coke and had to pay a tax on it because it has too much sugar in it.”

  “Sean, now wait one minute. Many of those flavorings, spices, and the worst two of all, salt and sugar have been proven to be bad for the body. We’re saving people. We’re extending people’s lives. Our system is healthy for our people. Look at the condition of your people compared to ours. Ours are in much better physical shape than yours.”

  Sean excuses himself to use the restroom. He really didn’t have to go; he had to leave the room for a couple of minutes. Walking down the hall Sean thinks to himself, “If anyone ever told me how far things have gotten in twelve years I wouldn’t believe them.” He’s worried if the Smith’s are going to be believable. So many in the USA aren’t going to believe how far to the left the LSA is. As Sean washes his face he’s thinking, “There has to be something wrong I’m not seeing. These people used to be citizens of the USA, how the hell did they become like this? They think we’re wrong; they don’t see their loss of any of their freedoms as an issue. They’ve surrendered their free will to the government. How did this happen in only twelve years?”

  Chapter 5

  Sean is wondering how to keep the USA viewers interested in the program and continue to watch it. In the first two hours, Sharon has given the viewers so much information Sean wonders if anyone in the USA is going to believe what they’re seeing. There are so many differences between the two countries he’s trying to think of the best way to explain those differences. He decides he’s going to complete the interview and see if he can get President Brownie to add some light on the early years after the birth of the LSA. Sean decides he needs to show the USA how the LSA people became sheep. He’s worried that if the USA isn’t careful they’ll follow the LSA down a similar path. Sean’s spent his entire career showing that government isn’t the answer. He’s spent his life trying to explain to people they can control their own density, or the government will take over their lives with the outcome being what he and the viewers have just witnessed. Sean feels sorry for the Smith family who don’t even realize they’ve lost what made them unique. They’ve lost their ability to reason and think logically. They’ve surrendered the simplest aspects of their lives to the government who is using its power to have total control over every aspect of its citizens’ lives. The last couple of hours have made him sick to his stomach. He knows he should return to the living room and continue the interview. He wants to grab Jason and Sharon and shake them, asking them if they understood what they’ve given up in exchange for some simple conveniences. As much as he’d wanted to like Jason and Sharon, he’s having problems liking them. Sean doesn’t understand why they stayed in the LSA and became slaves of the state. He throws some more cold water on his face before he returns to the living room.

  Sean returns to the living room saying, “Thank you and excuse me for being away for a few minutes.”

  Wolf replies, “No problem old buddy. Sharon, we all thank you for your input and explanations. I’m sorry we got distracted there for a little while. Why don’t you and Jason tell the viewers about your jobs?”

  Jason responds, “Sure thing. Both Sharon and I work for the government, as does almost everyone we know. The government either owns or controls almost every company and service provider in the country. We’re both what you would call middle managers. I work in the department of energy; Sharon works in the department of national health care services.”

  Sean asks, “Jason, how many people work for the national government?”

  “Sean, they are by far the largest employer, employing over 85% of the population.”

  Wolf asks, “Sharon, why don’t you start off and tell us what your average day at your office is like.”

  Sharon says, “Wolf, I’d be happy to. I handle customer concerns. Things like when the computer system turns down their request, or says it’s not time to place a reorder for their medication, take up a lot of our time, the second most called about item is they report they can’t get an appointment with the doctor when they want. You know stuff like that. I have five phone operators reporting to me. We start work at 8:00 AM, and we end the day at 4:30 PM. We have an hour for lunch and two thirty-minute breaks. Most of us take four 15-minute breaks instead of two 30-minute breaks. I and my staff belong to the government health care workers union.”

  Sean asks, “Sharon do you get value for your union dues?”

  “Oh yes, last year they union got us a 5% raise and lowered our early retirement age from 66 to 64. Yes, they are worth every penny I pay them.”

  “Sharon, do they make it hard to fire someone?”

  “Yes, however I haven’t had to fire anyone in at least eight years.”

  “Why is that? Is all of your staff that good?”

  “No, I have written a few up, the union also represents my staff. We agreed that these workers who had a couple of issues would get extra training.”

  “Sharon, is this training held during their normal work hours of after work?”

 

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