Why are you like this?

The Angel Why are you like this?

The Duplicator

The Duplicator Why are you like this?


The Angel Very funny. I’m not the one going on about mind control lasers, pirate moon bases, and humans.

The Duplicator Those are all very real, and as a Government employee, I know you know it.

The Angel What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. Just answer the question. Why are you like this?


The Duplicator Well, supposing you were innocent, you would deserve to know the truth about your employers. I’ll humor you.

The Angel Ugh.

The Duplicator Or you can keep interrupting and never find out.

The Angel Yes, fine, just tell me where your ideas come from. Go.


The Duplicator Everything the Government does – every last thing – serves the ultimate goal of keeping you under control.

The Duplicator Laws, money, schools, public works, housing, all of it.


The Duplicator By the time you finish school, you have a name, a job, a gender, a uniform. All elements of a carefully planned and controlled life, which the Government will use against you from then on.

The Duplicator They tell you your choices aren’t permanent. If you’re unhappy, just fill out the corresponding form. They’re lying.

The Duplicator For all practical intents and purposes, you’re stuck the moment you enter the workforce.


The Duplicator There’s layers and layers of defense to keep you in your box.

The Duplicator Friends and family will peer pressure you to stay.

The Duplicator You have to request the forms by name, and the names are long and hard to remember. If you try to look them up, the information is hidden in the most counterintuitive spot in the Database.

The Duplicator Each time you try to file, you spend hours of time in the Hall of Records, built specifically to be the most unpleasant building in existence. Convoluted floor plans, harsh lighting that imperceptibly flickers, awful airflow, and itching powder on most surfaces.

The Duplicator Then they reject your forms for the slightest reason, so you have to go through it again and again until you give up.


The Angel Or you can file online.

The Duplicator No you can’t, and stop interrupting. I’m not done.


The Duplicator You can’t trust your friends and family. Most people have bought into the propaganda and will keep you in line “for your own good.”

The Duplicator You can’t trust celebrities. All of them are bought and paid for, or at least all the ones who are still famous. A celebrity’s job is to give you something simple – controllable – to strive for. Isn’t it odd how the word “success” is taken to mean “fame and wealth”?

The Duplicator Speaking of, you can’t trust the wealthy. They rigged the Economy based on the Government’s exact specifications. There’s a reason most people have never heard of recycling!

The Duplicator You can’t trust athletes. Sports are designed to make you turn off your brain instead of thinking about the awful state society is in.

The Duplicator You can’t trust psychologists. Especially not Government-licensed ones. They say therapy is for understanding yourself, but it’s really about keeping you functioning as a cog in the machine.


The Duplicator You certainly can’t trust ninjas. Ninjas spy on you from the shadows, observing, reporting, manipulating, sabotaging.

The Duplicator Did you know that citizens aren’t guaranteed their monthly allowance of filament? There’s an intentional loophole in the regulations, but most people never find out unless the ninjas catch them stepping out of line.

The Duplicator If you’re too far out of line, suddenly here comes a pirate raid! Your house is wrecked and half of it gets taken to the Moon. You blame the pirates and never even consider that they were working with the ninjas.

The Duplicator And finally, the Government comes back and offers you a new house on the condition that you get back in your assigned box.


The Angel About done? Because I have a question.

The Duplicator Their motive? I’m glad you as-

The Angel Do any of your stories happen to include evidence?