Side Stories...

Note:

Was gonna wait until later this month to post all this, but I had some unfortunate circumstances in my personal life that are making me post it early. Some great people helped me finish it up though..so thanks to you guys..you know who you are.

Anyhow, the whole purpose of this was to create a narrative story with a bunch of little side stories to click on and read as you go. The idea for the story was born from the short story Christmas challenge... Scariest Christmas Carol contest. This being the scariest thing that I could think of... These are the side stories for the main one in this thread..the main story will be posted in a different thread..10 stories I believe in total.

If you wanna read the main story..I wouldn't read these side ones just yet...

Thanks for your patience..
blend57





Set The Record Straight

Michael logs onto ATS, hunts down the thread on Sanctuary and hits reply to the opening poster. He sooo hated it when they got things wrong. A little bit of research is all it took, but no...we can't be bothered to do that now can we?

He furiously types out his response to the OP, making sure it falls within the T&C's of the site:

You don't have a clue as to what you are talking about! Sanctuary wasn't an evil group that brought about the one world government! Oh man, a simple Google search would tell you that much...are we too lazy to Google now? I've been watching you continuously spew your crap all over this thread, a Sanctuary member wanna be! Ha! Nothing worse than some Dick Wad pretending to be something they aren't! Acting as though you have the "inside scoop"... Fukkn Retard! Anyone who spent two minutes researching would know more than you do! Nothing but lies flowing from you mouth! Get outta here, man! lol, no one here is buying the cool aid!"

Michael waits for the OP's response...it didn't take too long actually. With his finger on the Mod alert button, he reads through it:

I'm pretty sure I know exactly how Sanctuary worked, what they stood for, and yes, I've been given inside information. The stuff I've been saying is fact, right from the horses mouth so to speak. But if you feel like I've got my facts wrong, please, enlighten us all...I'm sure everyone would be very interested in knowing the intricate details of the group from someone who's soooo well versed on the subject.

But not in this thread...this thread is how Sanctuary was the cause of the One World Government...you wanna talk about something different...feel free to start a thread of your own...

Michael is pissed now.. and there was nothing in that response that he could report to the Mods...this poster was good. He had one strike against him on this board so far...and although he knew he shouldn't...he decided this guy was worthy of getting him his second one.

Yep...I'll be writing up my own thread.. that is filled with truth, unlike this garbage thread of yours. Pretending to be a member of Sanctuary, you're pathetic! You have no inside scoop, you don't have any facts, and Sanctuary wouldn't allow such a wretched, lying, vile, waste of life asshole like yourself to join them, nor would they tell you anything about their group!

And as for this thread...it should be 404'ed..along with every other thread you've ever made.. Your writing is sh*t, the information is sh*t, and you are a piece of sh*t as well! Enjoy your one flag!

Michael smiles, feeling better that he got that out of his system. Of course he would make a thread. And it would be full of the truth...because unlike the poster above...Michael
was a member of Sanctuary. Although he couldn't say as much. He could still tell their tale though.. He'd just have to leave a few pivotal things out...

Michael looks up and sees the fully expected PM envelop light up. Smiling, he clicks on it and reads the Mod warning...soooo worth it! Logging out...he begins to write up his opening post.

I'm Offended, It's Being Amended!

The senator takes the floor, standing up to speak before he cast his vote on the issue. His face turning solemn as he spoke his words. For him this amendment was an insult to the people and to his position. And every time it came up he was the only one to vote it down.

"Don't you tell me this is the only way! This amendment, presented for consideration by the Incorporated party is just absurd! I've never been so ashamed of being a senator then I have today. I vote no and plead with the rest of you to do the same." He punches his fist down on the desk as he says this. His skin on his knuckles splitting from the force. No matter, he was numb to the pain, so upset to be having to vote again on this, his anger dulled all his other senses.

"We are bound by our oath to be the voice of the people, it is time all of you remembered who you represent! It is not the corporations or the government, it is the people who voted you in, believing that you'd fight for them! I oppose this amendment, and hope that there are still enough of us who know our obligations belong to the people and who will do the same."

The senator sits down, his face red with anger. The nerve of these people... and that political party! The Incorporated Party, what a sham! It should never have been allowed to form. The only interests it holds is that of the huge corporations it represents. Having stood unopposed for so many years, it was the largest political party there ever was. And every move it's ever made has been for nothing more than profit...Disgusting!

It used to be two separate parties, the Democrats and Republicans. Long ago they used to battle here in this very hall to do what was right for the people. When all the governments merged, so did all the political parties. And that is when The Incorporated Party came to fruition. For the longest time no one opposed it. And it had been pivotal in passing some of the most heinous bills. After a time, a few other political parties began to form and some balance occurred again.

The senator waited for the session to adjourn, deep in his own thoughts. This was the 3rd time they'd tried to get this amendment passed. The 3rd time he alone voted against it. Lucky for him that they needed all the votes for this one to make it through.

He'd watched through the years as the Humanitarian Law had morphed into it's current monstrosity. It had first been put into effect to allow euthanasia of the people that wanted to end their lives. The ones that had incurable diseases and wanted to end their suffering and the suffering of their families without any repercussions.

As time passed, the representatives got sneaky... and greedy. They saw that they could reduce costs and minimize federal and local funding, if they could just make a few provisions to the law, and that's what they did. Quickly morphing it into a way to solve the population crisis of 2120. Now it was up to him and a few others to keep it from becoming a law that basically allowed the government to legally euthanasize anybody. And he was damn sure not going to let that happen.

He sees others start to leave and he follows suit, shaking hands and saying his farewells as he navigates his way toward the door. He was tired and wanted nothing more then to go home, the events of the day weighing hard on his mind. His chauffer brings the car around and as he steps in he notices a few senators staring at him. Lifting up his hand and waving, he eases back into his seat for the long ride home.

Not more than two blocks away, the senator hears a loud hiss coming from the under carriage of the car. It took him only a few seconds to realize what was happening, but it was already too late by then. A huge explosion engulfs the vehicle, sending flames and smoke high up into the air. The senator died instantly, as well as his chauffer. Services were held a few days after, a member of the Incorporated Party being the one who gave his eulogy.

All the senators attended his funeral.. and it wasn't more than a few weeks later that the Humanitarian Law amendment was passed. That would be a momentous day for the government. The first day that they could technically kill whoever they wished for whatever reason they desired. Of course they didn't present it that way... matter of fact they didn't even acknowledge that the Humanitarian law 112735 was amended....


Thanks,
blend57

A Martyrs Tale

Aeron sat at her vanity desk, slowly applying blush to her face while gazing thoughtfully into the mirror. The certified letter from the government sat unopened on her lap. She'd been sitting there for hours, applying the same stroke of blush to her cheek as she had when she first sat down.

Why would she be picked...there surely were others who contributed less to society. Her neighbor down the hall for instance, she never did any volunteer service or donation drives. All she did was work and come home...she never contributed to society in any other way... why wasn't she chosen instead of Aeron?

Absent mindedly, Aeron put down the blush brush and picks up a tube of lipstick. She applies it over and over again in a slow circular fashion. Caking it on thicker and thicker with each stroke, eventually working her way outside the lip lines. The tube of lipstick empty by the time she moved on to her next makeup application.

There were other people who deserved to be Martyrs more than her. People who didn't have young babies to raise. People who took more from this Earth than they gave. Selfish greedy people, lying egotistical people...people who stole and killed and clawed their way to the top of the food chain. Those were all people who deserved to be Martyrs, not her.

She starts brushing her hair out...long, slow strokes with no real intention. Going over and over the same spot again, she glances down at the certified letter, a look of distaste and fear crosses her face. And then she goes back to her trance like state of gazing into the mirror. After a long time, the brush was full of the hair that used to hang long and silky from her head. The spot where it came from thinned to the point she was almost bald. She cleans out the brush and moves it to the other side, practicing the same slow, long brush strokes as before.


Nope, I'm not gonna be a chosen one. I'm not going to die when there are so many others that are more deserving. This world will not get rid of me that easily! Standing up from her Vanity chair, the certified letter falls to the floor. She smiles into the mirror, the blood red lipstick spread all over her porcelain white teeth and face.

Cleaning her face with makeup remover wipes, she dips three fingers into some black eye shadow, running them diagonally across her face. Aeron would not be a Martyr, she'd be a warrior. And she'd find Sanctuary one way or another. Either through the rebel group, or with the sharp steal of a dagger...thrust into her chest by her own two hands. With a dazed, crazy look in her eyes, she walks over to her computer and types Sanctuary into the Google search field, getting over 400 pages of results.


Thanks,
blend57

Sanctuary is Born


She'd only been 16 years old when she'd first formed Sanctuary. A few days after her mom was Martyred, she had to go back to school. Sarah could tell as she walked the halls who'd lost someone and who hadn't. Their heads hung low, a look of confusion and sadness upon their faces. Some would sit in the halls during class or just leave half way through the day, too wrapped up in their sorrow to carry on the pretense of normality. Most of them though, most of them clung to one another. Forming a bond stronger than any of the after school programs or high school cliques could offer them.

Sarah became close with quite a few of them that year. They'd spend time together in and out of school, talking about The Reapers Harvest and everything they'd gone through, as well as how they felt and what it was like for them on Christmas Eve. They offered a kind of support no other person could to one another, a shared sense of lost and mourning that no one could ever know unless they'd gone through it themselves.

After a few months, the young adults lives were so intertwined, they began to do everything together. And other kids in the school started to take notice. It was like a private club, and soon, it got labeled as such. This didn't bother them though, it only strengthened their relationships.

Sanctuary was the name chosen because the group felt like they were given asylum from the everyday world when they were hanging out. There was no repercussions for saying what you felt.. no one judged or argued or made you feel like you were wrong. People just listened and let you speak...and they all needed that. It was for that reason alone that the group started to grow in numbers. The more people that heard about the group, the more people that joined it.

Sarah soon started to reach out online to others as well, knowing that the members weren't alone in their thoughts and feelings, and that The Reapers Harvest happened world wide. The online group was just as successful as the local one. And soon she found herself talking to a few key people who believed like she did...the harvest needed to stop.

Taking their conversations to the deep web, they eventually had enough people and a good plan in place to help save the Martyrs from their fate. And as the years rolled by, the group eventually become capable of saving thousands and thousands of lives each year...

Sarah Cappleton, founding member of the group Sanctuary. One little girl who spent her life trying to change the world... and finally achieved it. Her picture hangs in the congressional library, her story told as fiction within a few fairy tale books. Yet, her name was never forgotten, being repeated again and again on websites throughout the world and for many years... A mysterious stranger that every man, child, and woman owes their life to.

Thanks,
blend57

The Written Code

Mark finished the updates on BOB and was set to release him back into the abyssal plains of the net. BOB was his baby, the only thing that mattered to him at this point. He'd spent most of his life developing the program, and it was a work of pure genius.. at least he thought so.

In simplistic terms, BOB was a program that held/collected data while it remained in constant motion. Since BOB was constantly on the move, no one could track or hack it. Spending only milliseconds at each domain address, it would never be noticed as more than a hiccup in the system. BOB was everywhere, yet he wasn't anywhere at all, and that is what made him so unique.

The only way that BOB could be paused was by entering a password within the search function of any website. When the password was entered, this would call BOB to whatever computer the password was entered into. The website would change to BOB's "control center" (as Mark liked to call it) And that was the only time that anyone had direct access to him. So pivotal was the program now to the rebels, it had become the hub of operations for day to day communications between the Sanctuary members, and was essential for coordinating the rescue operations.


Mark also used BOB to fund the group and himself. Having BOB extract digital money from various bank accounts and other holdings, he collected a lot of cash. BOB would then store the money and drop a bit at a time into Marks savings. He did this so that the deposits didn't flag any of the three letter agencies or the bank itself.

BOB collected data against the government involving The Reapers Harvest and Sanctuary. Through BOB, Mark found out that the Martyrs were chosen based on social and financial standing, which wasn't how they were supposed to be picked. Most of the Martyrs were middle to low income people, about 60% came from that class. The rest came from the upper middle class and wealthy. Not one Martyr had ever been chosen from the extreme wealthy class.

A lot of the members of Sanctuary provided evidence as well. People who held high ranking positions in the government and military areas would send over any relevant information they got their hands on. Some of it was pretty damning, and it all got saved in the file. Mark had BOB collect the data and store it for future use.


The plan was to release it to the public when they'd gathered enough evidence to do so. So far, the file was huge. But yet, Sanctuary didn't feel like they had "that big something" that would push the public into action. So they kept collecting and waited for the right time for the big reveal.


Thanks,
blend57

The Ties That Bind

Jake stood and looked out his office window. He still had time before the congressional session resumed. He'd always hated being in that room, but it seemed like he'd spent his life there. His dad, his grandfather, all the way back through several generations you could track them. Each one grooming the next to take their position once they stepped down. Jake had no option but to join the tradition. Besides...he had been groomed since birth to do so as well.

That room though.. that room was where he sat when he was a little boy. He used to love it. Going with his father for a day and watching as his grandpa spoke from the committee table below. Jake had witnessed the very last words his grandpa had said in that room. His grandpa banging his fist down on the table as he uttered " I oppose this amendment, and hope that there are still enough of us who know our obligations belong to the people and who will do the same." It was also the last time he would see his Grandpa alive.

It wasn't until he was older that he understood what had happened to his grandpa. The only man who had the balls to oppose what others knew they should, and he was terminated. That was a valuable lesson for Jake.. even in death his Grandpa was grooming him. Do not openly oppose the government... rule number one.

So, Jake opposed them behind the scenes. He'd been a member of Sanctuary for a few years now. A rising star within The Incorporated Party (the very party that suicided his grandpa) He fought from the inside to do the right thing. But he did it under the radar..and that's where Sanctuary came into play. They gave him the contacts and power he needed in order to make some real changes...and they were also his way to seek revenge against the people who took his grandpas life.

So, when he was handed the proposed budget cuts for next year, and saw that they included the proposal to raise the amount of Martyrs picked who lived in high energy usage areas, he never hesitated to hand the information over to Sanctuary. Nor did he hesitate to show them the actual facts and figures regarding population versus resources..which proved that this world had plenty of resources to sustain a population 3 times as great as was being maintained.

For Jake, this was a way to pay homage to his Grandpa. The one man that actually deserved his position in the senate.. the one man that actually cared. Jake smiles as he grabs his jacket and heads out the door. Screw you Party Incorporated! One day, this world will be right again. One day, the government will do what it actually was made to do...and one day, Jake would be able to say publicly that he helped make all that happen.


Thanks,
blend57

Death Becomes You


Michelle handed the pills over to the coroner. They always met in person. Some of the other doctors would drop them in a PO box or leave them in a pre-disclosed location for the coroners to pick up later, but Michelle liked to know who she was dealing with. She had to know that the pills were in the right hands...that she'd completed her task successfully.

Sanctuary had been a huge part of her life for years now. Ever since her mother had been chosen to be a Martyr. As soon as Michelle found out she spent most of her days trying to contact them. Once she did, they put her mother into the Safe Haven program and Michelle volunteered her services to the group after that. It was the best thing she'd ever done and she never looked back or doubted the decision at all.

She was about to leave the drop site when the coroner grabbed her arm, causing her to pause. Never before had they spoken, never before had they done anything but exchange the pills and walk away. She turned back to the coroner to see what was the matter. He leaned in closer to her and started to whisper. He whispered in her ear for about 3 minutes, handed her an envelope and then turned to leave.

Michelle stood there, dumbfounded by what she just heard. The coroner had told her that there was a new process for disposal of the bodies now. No longer were they taken to the morgue for burial preparation. The bodies were to be driven to a secluded location on the edge of town. From there, they were loaded into the back of white moving trucks. He said that the bodies were then taken to the center of town, where they were thrown onto the base of the Bon Fire, wood being stacked high upon them until no one could see. The fire burning any evidence of the bodies and what the government was doing on the following night at the celebration.

The government was still taking the burial fees out of the Martyrs accounts, but they weren't using them on burying the dead. The rumor was that the money was being added to their black ops budget. Michelle opened the envelop and found a printed out version of the email inside along with additional documentation. This...this could be "the one big thing" Sanctuary had been waiting for.

She went back to her office, immediately signing into BOB and leaving a message for the group. It didn't take long for them to respond, giving her directions on what to do...

The Handlers


Theresa waited anxiously for the knock on her door. The Martyr was late. He was supposed to be here an hour ago. She didn't like it when they were late. Her life was on the line here just as well as his. Well, actually, his wasn't on the line at all. His chip was deactivated while hers was still live. The Handlers had to leave theirs on though. You couldn't do anything without it in today's world. Otherwise, she would've had it deactivated a long time ago.

Still, he was late... and she was not allowed to refuse him entry. She logged onto BOB to see if there'd been a change or breech in security or something. Nothing was there.. she walked over to her side door and looked out the window. She knew that sometimes the Martyrs would be forced to stay at the last Safe Haven...but usually there was a message left. And there no sign of him outside at all...

Theresa sat down to wait, thinking about how she'd gotten herself into all this. It was her mother who'd started it. She'd been one of the people that sought out Sanctuary when she was chosen to be a Martyr. She found it too, which was quite a feet for someone in such a small town with little to no education. Theresa was lucky, most people didn't even know that their loved one had been saved. Usually Sanctuary only deals with the Martyr themselves. Theresa's mom couldn't keep a secret to save her soul though.

And when Theresa heard what the rebels were doing, and found out that her mom would be saved, she decided that the best way to show her gratitude was to help Sanctuary save other Martyrs too. So she told her mom to tell the rebels she'd be a Safe Haven. And that is how she came to be waiting for a total stranger to show up on her doorstep.

All Safe Havens had metal decorative black stars placed on the outside of their houses so the Martyrs would be able to identify the place more easily. No one else knew what they were for. Theresa would sometimes drive to the city and when she did, she'd count how many stars there were along the way. She could tell by the count that Sanctuary had quite a few Safe Havens operating.

Each Handler was expected to provide food, clothing, and a bed to the Martyrs.. basically whatever they needed. Usually most would send other items with them as they made their way through the pre-planned route to safety. While they were in the rural areas, they could travel more freely. But whenever they hit a town or city, their progress would slow. Sanctuary ran on the cautious side of the fence. Theresa knew from being a Safe Haven that it could take a Martyr weeks to get to their final destination. But mostly they tried to get them out and to safety as soon as possible.


A Handler also had to be an outstanding citizen. They could have no criminal record or any reason for the government to take notice of them. Not one late bill, not one mark against them. Sanctuary would help you with that. Once you joined, they'd purge your permanent record and it was like you got a new life again. They'd put extra money in your bank account from time to time, to pay for the expenses of housing and feeding a Martyr, as well as, if you had an issue come up, they would make it go away.

One time Theresa was 3 months behind on her house payment. Fearful that she'd be "noticed" by the government, she left a message on BOB that she couldn't be a Safe Haven anymore. The next day she checked and her house payment had been paid and she was no longer in "questionable" status. No.. Sanctuary had been good to her and she would not let them down.

Just then she heard a soft knock at her door. Walking over to open it up she smiled...better late than never. She let the man in and sat him at the kitchen table, he smiled at her, apologizing for being late. She returned the smile and talked with him about his journey until the wee hours of the morning...


Thanks,
blend57

The Reaper Dies

The group had been in hiding for several months now. Living with the Martyrs in the small make shift towns, heading into big cities when they could to check the status of the other Sanctuary members and gather information. All Sanctuary activities had been paused for awhile, the group wanted to lay low until they'd gotten everything set up and in place. They wanted the government to forget about them.

Sarah, Jake, Michelle, and Mark hadn't been idle in these last few months though. They were making plans on how best to move forward. Mark had stored all the evidence against the government into BOB, which they planned to release world wide during The Reapers Harvest.

They were set to do so on December 1st. The very day that the next Martyrs got their notifications. There was some issues with the programming which Mark was working through. The biggest one was how to deactivate the "kill switch" on everyone's chip implant. They had to do that before they transmitted the information. And it had to be a permanent deactivation, so the government couldn't turn it back on again. To be able to have BOB mass broadcast nationwide, on all media outlets was a difficult task. And also to have him jam the kill signal, that was an ever bigger task. But Mark had a huge Sanctuary Tech team, and it wasn't long before they had it all figured out.


On November 30th the group went into the city, they stayed at a Safe Haven until after the data dump was done. Mark said he needed to be there to make sure things went smoothly, and well, the rest of them all wanted to see the aftermath. When the time came to release the info, it didn't happen. There was an error in the code... and the deactivation of the chips never took hold. Disappointed, the tech team conferenced the rest of the evening. It actually took them a few weeks before they had the error corrected. It took them 3 tries before it worked..the last try being on Christmas Eve at 11:50 p.m.

When the world wide broadcast occurred, it was set on repeat. It ran all through the night and the rest of Christmas day. When the coroners tried to enter peoples house, they found the doors locked. When the government tried to activate the kill switch, they found the signal blocked. The biggest surprise was what happened the very next day.

People, thousands of people, went and stood on the lawns of their nations leaders. They gathered there, outside the congress buildings, outside the white house, the Kremlin, at every place that the government held office at and they waited. There was no violence, there was just mass amounts of people showing up in force... and they stayed. A few days later, the existing government was abolished. All the officials were forced to step down and a new government was formed.

The Humanitarian Act 112735 was abolished that day as well. There was no formal session to vote on it. The new leaders simply just ripped it up and deleted it from all records. And after a time people started to live again. Society advanced at a steady pace, new medical technologies helped to rid our race of all the illnesses and diseases. We were able to cure almost anything. People learned how to help one another again. Our aging population were revered and respected, and we learned how to take care of the disabled as well. Family became an important element in our lives once more, we now spend time with each other and enjoy it. Not because we have to, but be because we want to.

The biggest advancement though was we learned what is was to be human again...


Thanks,
blend57

a reply to: blend57

Michael looks up and sees the fully expected PM envelop light up. Smiling, he clicks on it and reads the Mod warning...soooo worth it! Logging out...he begins to write up his opening post.

a reply to: blend57

Sarah and Mark were my favorites!

Well done.

What an amazing writer! Wow!