A Flash of Fiction, A Story From New World

Hey all, here is a Flash-Fiction, story I wrote and dedicated to my wife on our anniversary. It has nothing to do with here or us other than I wrote it on the morning of our anniversary and posted it on my blog for her. She is my biggest fan.

Blog entry for 7 November 2017

Perhaps it was a dream, she thought. Perhaps if she pinched herself, she would wake up. But she didn’t want to wake up. She wanted to stay in this dream world where there were no personal cars, just wide-open walks and bike paths and electric cabs for long distance travel. It seemed a small corner grocer on each block, a couple of cafes, and multiple other small shops of differing merchandise up and down each side of the streets. So quaint yet packed with the modern wonders of the world she left behind. A screen in each person’s hand, continual Wi-Fi access and the ominous, ever present security force in the grey scale urban camouflaged and motorized armor. The wide-open walks and bike paths of the quaint hamlet styled streets punctuated with large green spaces almost made one forget about the several thousand cameras, covering every angle, visible of every open space private and public, as well as those whizzing about on the thousands of drones, the security forces operated each and every day. It was hard to complain though, Laura thought; there had not been a violent crime in new world, ever! No Rape, no murder, no terrorists exploding themselves and others, no theft, and no police brutality. As she sat sipping her coffee wondering if she made the right choice and contemplating the new life she was embarking on, she decided to get her fifteen minutes of monitoring for the day out of the way. Each citizen was required each day to log into the security network pick an area of New World that had yet to be monitored and observe the security footage. Reporting any oddities, social infractions, or misconduct of the security forces, was a right and responsibility of the citizen. “It is how we do our part to maintain a safe, secure and peaceful home.” Her sponsor said during her orientation. She took a deep breath and tapped on 32nd and State, one of the green highlighted zones, indicating that it had yet to be monitored this morning. She leaned back, relaxed took a sip of coffee and enjoyed the fresh clean air, bright sun and cool breeze. I don’t think I will need to pinch myself, she thought.

Author T. Mark Mangum,