183 years after World War 3. The great war that shaped the global balance forever. It wasn’t just any world war where it all ended in a balanced national power scale. World War 3 was different. Massive global powers like the United States, Russia, and China fought. Then Russia and China united. A combined nation didn’t matter, as the US was still stronger.
Russia and the United States eventually created cyber weapons. These were a type of weapon that could do more than guns could ever achieve. The leaders of the powers control their reluctant civilians with propaganda of national pride, brainwashing them to make them fight.
The global powers fought for years and years. The US conquered all of the Americas. Russia brought out something that would cause mass destruction and bring the world to its knees. They brought nuclear weapons. Russia’s been stockpiling them since forever. Then it happened, the ‘Lesser Big Bang’. Don’t let that name fool you. Just because it sounded anticlimactic doesn’t mean it was. Every single nuke ever existing was launched at once.
While the nukes were firing, the US pulled an unexpected move. Just when the Russian nukes were about to collide, the US fired a laser crossbow that could launch faster than the speed of light. When the Russian nukes collided with the firepower of the crossbow, a chemical reaction occurred, which would shape the world forever. It caused a massive explosion two times more powerful than what a meteor could ever do.
Almost all humans were wiped out except for 121 who managed to survive. They built a civilization led by 11 of the remaining. It took 14 years to develop the cloud-breaking summit, which held the living quarters of the newly emerged council. Then came the living quarters of the people. Over the course of more than a century, the city kept on building itself, achieving power that rivals what any former civilisation could possess.
The Council took notice of their power, too much notice, in fact. They started to build more factories and workplaces, blind to population density. They forced many people to live in tightly packed spaces and won’t engineer any ways to render these issues worthless. The Council only engineered technology to aid them in creating a totalitarian nation.
The people hoped for a way out of this life of repetitive labor. They thought maybe another nation would liberate them, but no country would dare to rival the Council. There were 200-meter-tall walls blocking any chance of escape. People were forced to work at a specific time; if they arrived late, all they could do was prepare for what was to come.
The Council didn’t care about the people. They only truly cared about power. They utilised their people to get what they wanted: resources. With more resources, they grew stronger. They didn’t care about the smoke choking people to death; all they cared about was creating the most powerful nation ever. The nation that would never crumble.
Each of the council’s 11 members controlled different work fields (mostly dedicated to gathering resources except for the leader of the council, 001, which focused on advancement in a different way. The field that 001 controls is ‘Nation Advancement,’ mostly focused on ideas that could shape the nation.
Deep in the labs of the cloud-breaking summit, there lay 20 containment cells. The cells of the 20 experiments of the new generation. assigned as ‘Nation Advancement.’ The people there were young, merely children. All except one.
X1. He’s already 32. Other experiments knew him as a legend: the durable one. He’d seen many experiments pass and was the only one who was able to withstand them. He held the knowledge of the whole scheme. He told stories of those purged because they had no more use and were in way too horrible a condition to withstand the experiments. The Council saw him as the perfect experiment, the one who would never need to be purged.
X1 delivered stories of hope. He delivered hope that we could withstand. He taught us to be resilient. He taught us to resist the oppressive ways of the Council.
Many of the experiments believed in freedom. However, two of them specifically devoted their lives towards escape. They drafted plans. They even tried to attempt them sometimes; however, the council’s terrible scheduling got in the way. Their whole ambition was to escape. The two were X11 and X15.
Deep in their minds they knew that they could escape; they just needed time and effort. They never thought of stalling; all they wanted was freedom. The hope in their hearts made them relentless. They became oblivious to consequences. They just refused to quit. Endurance and hope were all they needed.
Being an experiment and tested with all kinds of revolutionary technology didn’t only bring absolute pain but it also brought crazy abilities in return. The experiments have all kinds of weird powers due to the fact they’ve been injected by all sorts of syringes and probably have just as many technological implants.
They could enact their violent thoughts against the council but deep inside they knew the council was too strong. They couldn’t do anything to get rid of or destroy them, so why not just avoid them?
With ambition, the solitary confinement of their cells never mattered to them. Only freedom mattered. The council tried way too many ideas, which slowly became a benefit for the experiments, which got to try these ideas. With high risk came high reward. X11 and X15 were able to telepathically communicate thanks to this factor.
Something was brewing up in those two heads, but no one knew what. Not even the other experiments. Not even the Council knew. They were somehow able to mask their conversations from any sort of technological device in their head. All they needed for escape was just ideas and motivation.
They’ve thought about many escape plans for months. Failure was no option. All they needed were the perfect conditions. Any sort of surrender would be a disgrace towards all the time they contributed towards escape. They just needed to think. They couldn’t take the pain anymore. They must escape these white, soundproofed walls. They needed to see the world.
Tally marks and tally marks kept being drawn; tally marks and tally marks spread like wildfire until the day’s end. The day when it was the perfect time to strike. The one day where nobody would be focused on them. The one day where everyone would be outside. There was one crucial part that the council didn’t account for. The fact that the experiments were restricted from going outside. Therefore, the experiments would be watched by nothing other than a robot.
The day finally came. The 200-year anniversary of the dawn of the new regime. It didn’t feel like any other morning; this was the morning where they would strike. They could hear the muffled shouts and screams. They could hear the loud chants of the people and their national pride. Their roars of celebration. The experiments have never heard of such a thing.
X11 and X15 sat in their bright white cells bobbing their heads repeatedly, seemingly doing nothing. What they’re actually doing is telepathically discussing the plan. Not even the other experiments were able to read what they were saying. Their plan was exclusive to only them. They needed to wait for the perfect moment to strike. The perfect moment.
They needed to visualise the perfect idea. The idea that would assist them in escape. They just needed to find it. That’s it. The robot guard.
“Hey robot! ” X11 says.
X11 started rubbing his socks on the carpet. He did it for 10 seconds and then returned to his jail cell bars. The robot came. However, X11 didn’t have a pleasant gift to bring—just a gift of electric shock.
The shock overwhelmed the robot and then it crashed into the wall. They heard a noise, which meant that the robot was off, right? The keys flew right into the hands of X15 as he unlocked his cell and then X11’s.
“Come on, let’s get out.”
They walked out, whistling on their way. Then they saw something blocking their way, a door that needed a keycard. They returned to the robot and stole the keycard. They scanned the keycard and heard something. It was hard to make out at first but then they realised what it was.
There were beeps, then many beeps, and then an activation sound. Then a blaring siren. X11 and X15 didn’t really care at first because they were sure the robot was deactivated and surely not working anymore. Except they forgot to consider the level of the technology those days. Then they looked back and saw.
“I THOUGHT WE SHUT IT DOWN! ” X11 shouted in panic.
They heard a noise that sounded like standing up. Then the robot said something that’s hard to make out at first, and then they figured out what’s being said.
“TERMINATION MODE ACTIVATE,” the robot said. Its eyes started glaring red and the siren grew louder. They could hear mechanical motors twisting and turning. Then the two started to notice what’s about to happen. The robot opened a sort of hatch with an assortment of all kinds of weapons; whether they be saws or knives, it’s equipped with them.
If they didn’t want to die, they needed to run as fast as they possibly could. If their legs were going to get destroyed, so be it. If they didn’t run, they would have just died. They knew about the computer chips in their heads and they knew about their resuscitating power. They wouldn’t want to know what would happen after getting respawned.
Not knowing what would happen would be better than knowing what happens. Knowing what would happen would inflict more stress and definitely more obedience. It was better to stay curious rather than experience the true dread. The truth is better concealed than revealed.
They continued to run, somehow memorising blueprints that were on the wall from one of their experiments. If they wanted to live, they needed to break their limit. They needed to ignore stamina and keep running. No matter the cost. They needed to think of something. A way they could make sure the robot crashed for good.
They attempted running in circles but then realised their demise, a dead end. What would they do now? They got this reflex, something that their body randomly came up with. They moved left to the wall, their bodies controlling their minds. They successfully dodged the robot and watched it explode as it crashed into the wall.
The two felt a sense of relief that they escaped death. They continued walking through the facility. Knowing that they needed to be more careful. They traversed through this maze of a laboratory. Then they saw it.
They saw a green flashing sign, the blaring opportunity for escape. The one opportunity to leave the brutal life. Then they saw an exit sign. They reached a door. They stood right in front of it. Stared blankly at it. With hesitation, they opened it. They peered in and a rush of impure air rushed through the hallway. Is this the outside world?
Then it hit them. This wasn’t the real exit, but it must have led somewhere.
They looked down and saw the vast downward expanse underneath them. They started to shake in fear, looking down at what was below them. They couldn’t imagine what would have happened if they fell. Would they die and be revitalised, their years of planning for this one moment over? They focused. What would they do?
They looked side to side, looking for any option of escape. They looked down and saw a series of ladders following a platform. They’ve never tried out their athletic abilities, considering they’ve been trapped in a prison their whole life.
It was now or never; they needed to make a jump, running away from the pain and torture of their experimental lives. All their time in the prison has led up to this moment. One deep breath wasn’t enough to calm the nervousness. Not even two. They needed three whole breaths to just calm down the fear running wild in their head.
They eventually mustered up the courage to take the plunge. Life or death. Now or never. They calmed the fear out and they both took the jump. X15 made it perfectly. X11 was struggling on the edge.
“Please…” X11 begged desperately as he was seconds from falling into the endless height. X15 got thoughts between leaving X11 and escaping as fast as he could or saving X11 and escaping together. Curiosity got the better of him, as he wanted to see what the world was like. He watched as X11 fell down into the clouds.
X15 progressed through the facility, overcome with guilt. He continued forward, still thinking about whether he made the right choice or not. He continued walking until he noticed a massive gate. He pushed it and it creaked open. Rows of lights turned on one by one. All of the lights blinded his eyes.
He covered the light that shone as bright as the sun. Then he uncovered his face as the lights calmed down. He heard clutter. Some sort of technological disaster is in front of him. Then he saw it. His sins and selfishness caught up to him. A human vessel sprouted mechanical tendrils, eyes covered by technology.
The body hung while its technological tentacles crawled slowly towards X15, AI probes surrounding it. Then he finally noticed who this human vessel really was. X11. He’s shocked at most. If he fell, how is he here?
He spoke. Something felt off about his voice, it sounded louder and more menacing than usual. On his face is a massive frown. As if he’s resisting the control of technology. He tries not to speak, but the mechanical consciousness in his body is forcing him to. He screamed out one word.
“DIE.” X11 screamed. His limbs tried to resist. However, the mechanism was much stronger than X11’s will. The controlled X11 started to charge at X15 as X15 started making a run for it. He ignored all kinds of physical setbacks and ran as fast as he could.
He ran for so long. He tried to avoid any attack from X11’s mechanical parasite. Eventually he notices something perfect. A match and gasoline. He felt hesitant to do it, but he knew he must do it. He lit the gasoline on fire and watched as X11 burnt. He ran off consumed with even more guilt. He needed to find a door. Hopefully, the real exit this time. He needed to find the real and true exit out of this inescapable dystopia. He ran for so long, drenched in sweat, ensued with panic from the growing fire.
Blaring alarms flashed red. Water sprinklers went off. Hopefully the 200-year anniversary parade was still going on. He ran until he found green lights. The same signal of hope. He found the door. He opened the door and saw the ground. Not of any kind that he’s ever seen in his whole life locked behind a cell.
Was this the real world?
He found a hood on the ground. Inspected it. It didn’t look like anything he’s seen ever. He wore it, covering his face. He walked, taking sight of the parade of endless people reluctantly celebrating the start of this era of eternal suffering.
He looked back at the parade and noticed something. One of the council members noticed something was off. He looked around and spotted X15. X15 just knew he was in danger. The council member pulled out a remote control out of thin air.
A whole horde of mind-controlled people stared at X15. As if that specific council member directed them to a target. Then the council member clicked the button again. He noticed the crowd was moving. Going straight at him. The people closest to the buildings towered over each other.
X15 ran as quickly as he possibly could. His eyes set on a massive wall. You could hear their groans akin to zombies; that particular council member must have done something. He must have done something to their minds that suddenly made them act like mindless drones.
He kept running. He looked back and noticed the council getting visibly bored. Then he kept running. He looked back from time to time. He then noticed the council with their hands up, ready to do some sort of ritual. He didn’t know what, but he knew it’s something about him.
He then heard a thud, not any kind of regular thud. A massive thud, a sort of thud that sounded like buildings were collapsing. He looked back and saw a massive wheel of people, ready to trample on X15. Along with that, there were still people climbing the buildings.
What could he do? He still had at least 30 more minutes of running until he reached that wall. He couldn’t make it without getting caught. Then a thought crossed his mind. He then dodged the fast-approaching wheel, catching sight of a random stack of pillows.
He leaped toward it and tried to break his fall. Then he noticed something. It was a trap. Two trapdoors opened from the floor. X15 still had his fall broken by pillows. Except it was in a different place. It was pitch black. He could still sense the vastness of this room.
Lights turned on one by one, instant flashbacks of his encounter with the mechanical parasite. He then realised that he was trapped inside a cell, surrounded by lasers that he wouldn’t even want to know what they do and right in front of him, the same council member that commanded all the people.
He then started to speak.
“You thought you could escape? ” he asked.
He knew exactly when X15 was about to speak and quickly interrupted the moment X15 spoke.
“Don’t even bother speaking; all you need to know is that you won’t have a cell near the other experiments anymore. We had a look at the horrors you committed to our precious lab,” the council member said.
It all went black. The moment I woke up, it was all just white sound-proof walls. I peered out towards the outside and caught sight of some sort of laser-guarded cage. Outside of that, some sort of barrier with probes guarding every angle.
There was no escape now. All of that time that he spent waiting for the perfect moment was all down the drain.
About the Author
Joshua is currently 13 years old and is in Year 7. He lives in Australia. His favourite subject at school is Mathematics. He loves playing games and playing soccer. He wants to be a lawyer in the future.