In the past, people were brought up by their parents, people who loved them, cared for them, had waited for months, even years to have them. Now, we all grew up in a government funded facility where they had complete control over our lives and everything they taught us. Growing up in a government facility was extra strange, because they were constantly contradicting what they taught us. It’s as if different people all shaped a cover story that they taught us for part of our education without figuring out what the others were teaching. History was the worst, it was a discombobulated mess that even instructors were confused over.

There was perfect uniformity too, hair was cut the same length, we wore the same clothes, and no matter how old you were, you had the same curfew. It’s not as if curfew was late either, starting at 8 PM and ending at 7 AM. I think this sort of schedule was similar to something they had in place for prisons 20ish years ago. Wake up at 7, role call at 7:10, breakfast at 7:20, first class at 8, lunch at 1, then more classes until 5, then chores, then dinner at 7, and finally lights out at 8.

People who broke the rules were sent to separate classes with even stricter rules. They weren’t allowed to decide what to eat, there was absolutely no flexibility in schedule, they weren’t allowed to talk, and even more rules, on and on and _on._

When we got older people got sorted into these “higher education” departments and when they graduated they’d get sent to a different facility to become whatever the government told them to become. A few people had managed to escape in the transfer, but most weren’t able to. I was getting sorted later this year, my last year at this hellhole. They said they wanted me in “reasearch” but everyone knew that’s where all the useless people went. Hire people to be eternal lab assistants and they’ll stay out of the way. The labs never discovered anything anyways because we apparently “already knew all we needed to know.” It was stupid and everyone knew it but thats the way it was. The way it still is.

The week of our assignments i was packing my things and preparing for a life of eternal boredom and tedium. It went just the way i expected, they assigned me to research and said i would be spending 4 years getting a degree in becoming whatever type lab assistant they wanted me to be and then moving to my permanent assignment.

There wasn’t a lot of anticipation to get out really, but i wanted to know what the outside world was like, so i waited. There was nothing left to do here anyways, no one had any friends, and no one had ever been brave enough to want any. So we all waited patiently until the end of the week and then we got on our buses and that was that. I went on something that used to be called a subway, i think it used to be for public use, but now it was just transport for new graduates heading to their assigned jobs or colleges.

The only thing graduation did was make me eager for my next assignment so i could finally live in peace. There was only one major assignment left after this, and that was getting an arranged marriage. It didn’t mean much though, and marriages were never really romantic. Any kids you had would be taken to the education facilities and you would never see them again, and past that all you did was live in the same housing quarters. There was never any personal connection because, to put it bluntly, no one had enough freedom to get a personality.

I got off my train and walked out of the subway. And i was… shocked. This was the first time i had seen outside in real life, and it was so… dull. It was nothing like the vibrant pictures they had shown us from the 2020’s, everything looked dead, the plants all withered, everyone in a hurry to go somewhere. I walked quickly to my higher education facility and kept to myself, i did not want to draw any attention. This was fairly easy, as no one was giving me any anyways.

I got to my new facility, got my room key, and unpacked in my new room. I would have one roomate and i was curious to find out who it would be. I knew other lower education facilities had more freedom, and i was interested what someone from one would be like.

I didn’t have to wait very long though. After only about 30 minutes a girl showed up. She was pretty, with longer hair than i had ever been allowed to have, and she walked with a confidence i had never seen anyone have. Ever. When she saw me she smiled and stuck out a hand for me to shake, a traditional greeting from older times. I shook it and we introduced ourselves. What sort of facility had this girl come from? I had never imagined one so relaxed.

I slowly worked up my nerve to ask, because i was too intrigued to let this go.

“So,” i said, as nonchalantly as i could, “ where are you from? What facility, i mean.”

She laughed, “I didn’t grow up in a ‘facility’, i grew up at home, with my parents. I got to choose my assignment too.”

“And you chose this one?”

“Of course. This is the one with the most rebels, and i’m here to catch them in the act.”

She winked and walked away, and i wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. I hadn’t even known there were rebels, and now there were enough to need a secret spy? Part of me wanted to know more though. If i joined this antirebellion, would i get special privileges too? Only one thing was for sure though, she had me hooked. I was suddenly _dying _to find out.