[ WP ] Our world has become one with advanced technology . The natural world as we know it no longer exists through the human eye , banknotes and cards are a distant memory , employers control our emotional levels in the workplace , and governments across the globe have the ability to tax our emotions .

They warned us it would come to this, the Independents so long ago had begged us to see what his could come to, but we simply ignored them. The idea of having a computer in our heads, becoming the science fiction characters we read about be simply too tantalizing. Before long, the Independents had been silenced; perhaps some by natural forces, but most by those who did not approve of them. 
 
 I am the last Independent, or rather my father was. I do not know who my father was, as he died before I was born, but I know that he fought for the cause of keeping humanity human. My mother told me that he had been the last person on the steps of the courthouse, calling for an end to the “ cyborgization of humanity ” as he called it. He was eventually struck down by an assassin. The police ruled the shooting as a “ stray bullet, ” and failed to investigate further, but my mother and I knew it was technology company trying to eliminate his voice, to prevent move from following suit. 
 
 Every night, my mother would read to me from a book she called “ our bible. ” I do not the know the true name of the tale, but I did know that, while it had been written long ago, it predicted a world where the thought police patrolled the street, where Big Brother watched every move of every single person in the country. 
 
 Perhaps it was a prophecy; for one day, the government caught up to us. They did not approve of my mother teaching me about the faults in this world. Because my mother had had one of the computers implanted in her head at birth, we both knew it was only a matter of time before someone came to silence her, and perhaps me as well. She taught me how to not only care for myself, but also to fight. She was as worried as I was about what would happen to her. 
 
 I was not around to see them take her; I only saw the aftermath. I had been out stealing something for us to eat that day, when I returned to our home to find her gone. There was no trace of her, or of the bible from which she read to me. 
 At first, my twelve-year-old self wanted to cry, scream, and beg someone for help. But a voice inside my head told me that it would not help. So, I vowed retribution instead. 
 
 I dug an old weapon out of the attic. It was an ancient relic of the days before the implants, and it would require some care to get it running again, but I knew this was my only way. 
 
 So now I have been here for years, honing my skills, waiting for the perfect time to strike, as well as figuring out how I can strike. It was on a cool summer day when I figured out exactly how, or rather who, I would strike. 
 My target was a man known as Robert Strom. He was a worker bee in the government security center. His job was to monitor all the citizens of the world, and be sure that none of them were even beginning to think of rebellion. The perfect target. 
 
 I turned to my weapon, my computer, and swiftly deactivated his implant. I then allowed myself to speak to him, just as the implant has. 
 Now, let ’ s see how the government works when I have a man who has worked for them all his life, working against them. 
 
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