The land of the free and the home of the brave.** **What a bunch of bullcrap. We have no freedom anymore. We have the intelligence to make our own choices, but the ever-knowing eye will dictate every action of our lives. Every action anyone takes is monitored and reviewed by a series of AI machines, deciding whether or not what we did was right or wrong. Instead of people choosing their own lives, FAITH now controls ours. And that is something I hold no faith in. 

Just as the twenty-first century started, so did the world's downfall. In 2001 the Patriot Act was enacted, laying the foundation for FAITH. Crime started to rise around 2050, and by 2200, crime had risen by almost eighty percent. In 2217 the government had enough of it, and a group called FAITH stepped in to do the work. They amended the Patriot Act, making it so government officials could access almost every part of a person's life in an instant, mainly through technology, and do whatever they want to it. This doesn’t violate the fourth amendment, because the FAITH Patriot Act bypasses that. Now, in 2243, crime has dropped rapidly, and in the next fifty years, the crime rate will be back to how it was. All thanks to FAITH. 

All of this monitoring is done through technology, so one may wonder why we cannot boycott it. Yet the government makes almost everything in life revolve around the use of technology, making it impossible to avoid it. If one avoids technology for a day and an NSL isn’t recorded on you, then the administration officers will come after you and make you use technology. NSL’s are letters that the government gets which tell them what you’re doing online. Most people send in hundreds each day. We are all prisoners in a terrain of technology. 

School is a schlack. That’s slang for a doozy if you don’t know. I try so hard to get good grades, and yet they seem to evade me just as much as a happy life. I have a good lot of friends though. It’s hard not to when you’re six foot five and stronger than most of the other kids. Yet for all of the friends I have, most of them just use me and are jorkers. Those are like phonies. You see, my father is a government worker who helps enforce FAITH, while my mother is a lawyer trying to dissipate it. Even with the little freedoms we have, the first amendment still exists, meaning that people like my mother can still use legal methods to fight back. However, people like Autumn’s parents can’t. 

Her parents are part of the movement against FAITH and the laws that have changed America. They are part of a secret society called Lilah. That is the name of the ground because Lilah was the girl who started it all back in 2219, two years after the amendments were passed. She fought for twelve years to stop the program that was stalking, terrorizing, and irrationally killing people. She was killed in 2231 because of her illegal actions. Her bravery has inspired many. Anyone who follows in Lilah’s footsteps may be considered heroic to some, but are just paving the way to their graves. 

I decided to sit down on my couch and turn on the television. This television is holographic and shows the images in a lifelike form, but I like to keep it small so I can see all of the action. The television doesn’t have much action, though, as all forms of inspiring or reality television shows have dissipated. What remains are news channels and documentaries of how FAITH has saved America or other programs rewriting history that our ancestors have already written. 

The newscaster on screen is currently describing a new building which is being designed in New York City which will have one of the new antennas which all buildings will soon have. These antennas help give wifi to people and all and serve to collect all transmissions, but since the government changes, have allowed for the widespread collection of information around a fifteen mile radius. These were first created in 2235, and have been slowly added to every building in major cities. It is the easiest and most efficient way for the government to control us.

Suddenly an image flashes on the screen. It is a short video, which plays on the chime of every hour of every day. It is of the Statue of Liberty, a sign that is everything but. The statue now wears a button shirt with a golden patch below the right shoulder, written on it the same message it screams every hour of the day. 

“You are all under the impression of FAITH. You are all under the watch of the United States of America’s Government. You must obey our laws, or you shall be punished. No one is above the law. No one can hide from the law. No one can beat the law.”

The statue goes away, and the newscaster quickly continues his message about the building. Just a few seconds later he moves onto his next segment, where he is discussing the case of a criminal named Mat Donovan, a man who murdered a group of three women in an alley in Florida, but was terminated by an administration officer just four seconds later. The body of Donovan was burned with a lighter from the officer's pocket. 

Three loud knocks are then heard on my door. I bound up from the couch and moved towards the doorway. I swung open the door and saw Autumn Silverstein staring back at me. She is far shorter than me and her wavy white hair flows in the wind. Unlike me, she does well in school, but her friend count is far lower than my own. Having white hair is unusual for a sixteen year old like her, and many people at school bully her for it. Further, she is very judgemental of everyone else, making it even harder for anyone to like her. I don’t even like her. Nevertheless, she is my English tutor, not by choice but by the force of our teacher, and we have become _friendly _throughout our sessions. However, I planned for no study session and she carried no notes or materials. All she had with her are puffy eyes and a box of tissues.

“They’re dead,” she tells me. “My parents were killed by the administration.” I let her into my house, and just as I shut the door, she collapses onto the floor and sobs. I just watch. There is nothing I can do to help. Her parents found the end they knew was coming for them. I do find some comedy, even, in how she only revealed her feelings once I shut the door. It is as if she thinks that keeps people from watching. 

That’s funny. Someone is always watching.