Run

Spotlights shone in the sky from the parade below, oblivious to the skirmish adjacent to the bright lights and dancing robots. We watched a prison truck float into the market, sirens blaring with security droids and Corruption Checkers clearing the area, shoving anyone who resisted to the side.

There was nothing I could do but look down in silence, not that I had any desire to act anymore. I couldn't do anything against insurgents who wanted war, they’d out debate me in seconds. Best to leave it to the interrogators and reeducators Fides would be employing sadly.

“Kono’s gonna be in for one hell of a surprise.” Nari slightly smiled, fidgeting with her hair.

“We might as well be writing our wills right now.”

Nari chucked before looking out at the market below. The prison truck was slowly making its way through the market, navigating through the maze of people assumedly towards whatever prison they’d throw him in.

“It just doesn't make sense to me Makoto. Why throw your life away like that. He’s not going to spread any of those seeds of doubt or whatever by doing this, he just gets himself a one way ticket to solitary confinement for the rest of his life or an express pass to the electric chair. You pull a stunt like that and no amount of reeducation is going to convince Fides to let you back out into the public. Better to just not choose a side and hope both leave you alone.”

“They say the grass is greener on the other side right? We know how bad it was before Fides took Japan over, but if someone came along promising a better life and was manipulative enough, most people could be convinced into believing in a lie.” Still, the protesters' points kept floating around in my mind. Try as I might there wasn’t one I could immediately disprove. No, now wasn’t the time. Things like this were better dealt with when I had a clearer head. I couldn't let that seed that rebel threw out grab hold of me.

Nari tilted her head up towards the skyline. “I wonder what it's like up there, life in those giant towers. I’m sure something like this is unthinkable in such a place. A life without protestors or criminals roaming the streets at night.”

“Why do you think I want to live there? I love where we live Nari, but the constant tension wears on everyone, including me. A man can only take so many shortages and civil unrest before it starts to mess with them.”

“I guess that's one advantage of having a hundred cameras in every room.”

“Not that those are going to matter for much longer,” I said

“What do you mean?” Nari tilted her head in confusion.

“Haven't you heard the rumors, the ones about the Lex Credendi?”

“Makoto, I speak Japanese, not whatever the fuck that was in.”

“Imagine if there was a way to tell if someone believed in the Truth with just a single image? If cameras could identify rebels before they harmed anyone or did anything to disturb the peace.”

“Yea. I’ll pass. You're making a Fides prison cell look like an attractive destination.”

“With the Lex Credendi, that's the future we're facing.”

Nari shook her head. “It’s a rumor Makoto. Don’t get me wrong, sounds like something Fides would make in a heartbeat, but that's tech out of an old dystopian novel, a fantasy at best.”

“You never know, even the wildest rumors are based in truth from time to time.”

Nari shrugged her shoulders and looked back towards the ground where the market was settling down. Shops were re-opening, and people were flooding through the entrances.

A gentle breeze blew through our little alcove, making Nari’s blonde ponytail slightly sway back and forth. It was nice, sitting above the blanket of haze that sat on top of the streets, breathing fresh air, well as fresh as was possible in Tokyo.

“What’ll happen if that Lex thingy gets installed I wonder. We're lucky out here you know, with no one directing our every move.”

“I mean, I can't imagine it being much different than it is now. If anything, it’d be an improvement. No need to fear walking the streets when everyone dangerous is locked up. No murderer believes in the Truth after all.”

“But what about us Makoto? About Kono? If you put a gun to my head and asked, I’d bet most people down there have had their doubts. If the Lex Credendi happens to scan someone on a bad day, are they screwed for life because of a passing thought?”

“I just can’t see Fides putting out a product like that. They’re creating this for us, to ensure that we're safe down here. What's the point if everyone gets arrested.”

Nari laughed. “We don't all got that view of Fides. You're a minority in that regard Makoto.”

“Don't get me wrong. If that's what it takes for the Truth to truly be accepted, then maybe it's the best course of action.”

“If you say so.” Nari sighed. “Anyway I'm thinking we ought to get those parts before Kono starts hunting us down because he thinks we're playing hooky.”

“I guess that’s the right move.” After everything that just happened, heading back to the shop felt almost alien to me. Sure we came for the parts but after something like that it felt weird to return to normalcy. Arrests like that didn't happen every day after all. These kinds of things appeared on the news, not right in front of my eyes, yet that’s exactly what happened.

Nari slowly stood up and walked towards the latter leading to the streets below. “Last one there’s on trash duty for the next week.”

“You little!” Before I could say anything else, she flashed me a smile and jumped onto the ladder and started scaling it down to the streets a few stories below.

I dashed off the ledge and followed her down below. No way I was doing trash for the next week; that somehow made getting arrested sound like an appealing alternative.

She laughed at me as my feet touched the ground before dashing through the alley and disappearing around the corner. I sighed, following her into the crowds of the market.