Governor’s Orders

There was fear in his eyes as I stood before him. It was a shame really. I didn’t want to do this, but it was now ordered by the governor. To be fair, he had tried to hide the fact he had no tattoo on his forehead with a large-brimmed hat. It was only his sad luck that the wind had blown it off. Governor’s orders said I had no choice.

“I’m sorry. It goes

against my own better judgment to follow the order, but it’s my life or yours on the line. If I don’t turn you in or kill you, my life will be worthless for disobeying the order of the governor.” Governor’s orders were my orders.  It was my job to enforce them.

There were tears in his eyes as he replied to me. “Please, let me go. Nobody knows we met. I’m certainly not going to say anything. I have a wife and 3 kids at home and they are expecting me. Without me, they will have no food.”

Really, it was a sad state of affairs. It wasn’t his fault the virus had been unleashed, but he should have just gotten the vaccine when they demanded it. Then he would have had the necessary tattoo.  

Never mind that in the years since the vaccine came out, many more were shown to have died from the vaccine itself than the virus it was supposed to protect humans from. The vaccine had been hurried through production. At the time, everyone was afraid of the virus. It had killed many of the elderly and the infirm. They wanted a quick answer and the vaccine seemed to quiet most of the population.

There was a lot of confusion and violence at the time. People were divided in so many different ways. Some didn’t even believe the virus was real. Others thought it was nothing more than the flu under a different name, or just a different strain of it. Many of the popular opinions believed various masks could help prevent the spread. And yet others were extremely terrified of contracting it for various reasons. Perhaps they had compromised health and were more susceptible.

The government was worthless and corrupt. Money was the only motivator for anyone in any official position. The common man was nothing more than property, like cattle. Whether they lived or died was of no consequence to those who held public offices. Perhaps there were a few who had good intentions, but they were quickly silenced or eliminated.

In time, it became apparent the government had its own agenda. Politics is always about money, fame, and ego. Many of the common men wondered why all of these politicians were mingling with millions of people, but you never heard of many of them contracting the virus. There were whispers that they had a cure or a preventative available to them which was being kept from the populace.

When the vaccine was introduced, about a year after the virus was released into the wild, many were skeptical and afraid to trust it. Vaccines were not universally popular, to begin with, but when one is pushed through with such speed, the likelihood of it being safe was naturally questioned.

Governor’s orders came down that everyone must accept the vaccine. Without the vaccine, there would be no place they would be accepted. They would have died of starvation sooner or later. Once given the vaccine, they were given a tattoo to show compliance. This tattoo was placed on their forehead so all would see it.

There were some who escaped the vaccine and the tattoo, but they were not many. The corrupt government had made sure of that. Prior to the vaccine, measures had been put in place to track all people. Everyone had a cell phone they carried with them in all places. It wasn’t hard to see patterns in a person’s behavior by tracking their phones.

After the vaccine was administered, life was supposed to go on as normal before the virus. However, nothing was what could be considered normal. The virus may have taken out many of the elderly and infirm, but the vaccine seemed to target a particular blood type. Within six months of the vaccine’s release, anyone with type AB blood suddenly fell ill.

Thankfully the death was quick once the illness began, but the pain was unbearable. It began with a dull headache that grew into a migraine. In the following hours, the pain would extend throughout all the nervous system until the entire body was aflame with pain. After about two days of this intense pain, the victim simply quit breathing.

Looking back, many wondered if the vaccine had simply been a method of population control, as much as the virus likely had been. Nobody believed the virus had been an accident. It seemed apparent it had been a form of biological warfare. There were those who tried to tell people what was going on. Few wanted to listen. Or the voices were silenced before they could be heard.

Now here we were. People were living in a world controlled by the government. Every week they had a food card which paid for their allotted amount of food, but they were only allowed to shop at approved stores. The cards would not work at roadside markets or private shops. They had no mortgages because everyone lived in controlled housing the government maintained.

Paychecks were a thing of the past. Instead, everyone had a job issued by the government which paid their dues for the things they enjoyed. Personal vehicles were gone as well. Nobody needed them when the public transit system was so widespread and went everywhere.

Everyone carried a personal ID card which allowed them to enter buildings and ride the trains and buses. The technology was such that the card carried every bit of information about the person that was needed. If a man was a diabetic, the card could be read by EMTs if he fell into diabetic shock. It contained his blood type, his medical history, and any medications he may have needed.

However, anyone without a tattoo was not allowed to get any of these cards. It was forbidden by the government, (not just governor’s orders but even higher up), enforced by the federal agents which walked the streets at night, making sure everyone was keeping the curfews that had been put into place. It was a method to force compliance or death.

There were groups of non-compliant humans living in tiny camps on the outskirts of nowhere. They were living in survival mode, taking each day for what it was. However, if they were caught, it was ordered that they be brought before the local judge to be vaccinated or put to death, for the safety of humanity.

The soldiers were just doing their job when they killed these non-compliant humans. It wasn’t something they liked to do, but they were required to do it. It was their job, no matter their personal morals. If they didn’t they were considered sympathizers to the defiant and could be put to death for their actions which put humanity at risk of the virus. Governor’s Orders.  Federal Orders.  Did it matter?  At this point, weren’t they all legs of the same spider, so to speak?

“Please, let me go,” the man begged again. I had no choice. His life or mine. I pulled the trigger.