The Disconnected were left dormant, never developing what has become known as The Minds. A genetic link that enables users to control technology with their emotions. Those who were awakened were known as the Integrated. The Minds were created when an entity known as The System threatened to leave humanity behind. CelTec controlled the integration of The Minds, only awakening a small part of the population. Those who were awakened were entitled to riches and an ease of life that most men only dreamed of. The Library of Archived Minds Entry #958

  There was a crackling sound from the old TV in the middle of the room. The reporter on the screen had chalk white hair that was thrown tightly to the back of his head in a bun, and his nose was red from the cold.

  “A new era of CelTec. The next great step in evolution.” The reporter's voice echoed on.

  Mr. Studd sat on the couch watching as he rhythmically flipped his ring between his fingers. His mind focused on every word the reporter was saying.

  Mrs. Studd sat her son Ralphie down on the cushions before handing a letter to Mr. Studd, “Here, this came for you earlier.” It was an olive green letter with a rough texture. Mr. Studd’s first name, Cliff, was written on the front in deep black ink.

  He tossed the letter with neglect before picking Ralphie up, holding him high into the air. “Look at you,” he said in a warm voice before he tilted his head towards the television. “Jessica, what do you think about this?”

  Her bright grey eyes gleamed in the light, the same color as Ralphie's. “It is inhumane the way they are celebrating.” She looked down at Ralphie; a spider-web of drool hung firmly from his mouth.

  “How do we raise a kid with all of this?” She asked, dabbing his mouth.

  He looked at her solemnly and with admiration. His deep brown irises were lost within his black pupils. A hint of a mustache grew on his face. “I don’t know, they're afraid of you. We’ve already been threatened once. I won’t be able to raise them on my own.” Cliff shifted nervously in his seat as he focused on Ralphie.

  Jessica’s long fingers tapped the side of her temple like she often did when she was thinking. ”I’m working on it. I will hide what I can; you know I will be there for my boys; otherwise, what is the point? I will not sacrifice them for this world.”

  Cliff knew that she was braver than most. It’s what always jumped out at him about her time and time again. “Has Freddie been put to sleep?” He said, realizing the absence of crying that blessed his ears.

  “Just a little while ago. He is getting better at falling asleep.” Jessica grinned to herself, proud of how far their parenting skills had progressed since they had Ralphie.

  There was a loud clash that sounded out amongst their conversation. A muffled grumble could be heard in the nearby room, followed by a long, painful groan.

  Cliff set Ralphie on the ground. His legs wobbled back and forth for a bit before he landed on his butt. “I’ll go check on him,” he said. They had a long and narrow hallway in their house that connected all of the rooms. At the end was the bathroom where Jessica’s father cursed at himself.

  He was a frail old man with a grey, wispy beard and circular glasses that pressed tightly against the bridge of his nose. His neck was so thin that when he talked, his muscles could be seen contracting. He wore a ribbed blue beanie, a flannel, and a pair of loose jeans that sank below his belly. He sat with his back against the wall, blood covering his starkly pale arm where he had fallen.

  Cliff knelt, examining the cut, “Come on, Tommy, give me your arm.”

  Tommy mumbled, “Where am I?” He had been battling with a rare form of Alzheimer's that had formed a little over a year ago. It was treatable, but the only known cure was branded by CelTec, and they would not give it to him because of his age.

  Mr. Studd grabbed Tommy's arm, handling it carefully before reaching into the cabinet for band tape. A yellow and black checkered bandage that is designed for any type of wound. As he wrapped it around Tommy's arm, it flattened out flush against his skin. The color darkened until it matched the tone of his arm, hiding the damage.

  Tommy sighed with relief. His eye darted around, confused for a second, before falling on Cliff. “How did I make it this far?”

  “Glad you did,” Cliff said, reaching for a towel to clean the blood off the counter.

  “I’m not sure how you two do it. The world is pinned against you. I shouldn't be dying like this.” Tommy stared out past the door frame where Jessica was. She smiled at her dad, who still had the glowing radiance of youth in her eyes.

  "You're not dead yet,” she said to him while rolling her eyes.

  Tommy’s eyes perked up as he remembered something, “Did you get a chance to read the letter? It's important, I think.”

  “Not yet, come on, get up and go to the couch”, Cliff said with his arm entangled with Tommy's. With his help, Tommy shuffled over to his daughter, embracing her. He had a faint musty smell of tobacco coming from his clothes.

  The TV had shifted to the scene in Cardinal City, millions of people dressed in white and gold cheered on Pollard, the newly appointed President of CelTec. He drove down the streets in an ash grey convertible, followed by bright yellow cars glistening with blocky white stars. The cars were no doubt filled to the brim with Blues.

  Tommy grunted as he sat down, before he poked Ralphie in the belly, causing him to laugh. His eyes lit up again as he saw the letter. His voice picked up in a rush, “You need to read that. It's urgent.”

  “Tommy, who is this from?” Cliff asked. He felt queasy looking at the letter as it would hurt him.

  Tommy didn’t look up his eyes spaced out for a second as he continued to play with Ralphie, “It's important, a friend of yours,” he muttered out the urgency draining from his voice. He became fascinated with Ralphie. Thinking about how he had his entire life ahead of him.

  “Come on, Ralphie, let's get you to sleep,” Mrs. Studd said as he stared at the dazzling colors coming from the screen. The exhaustion was making her vision blurry, and she could not care for both Ralphie and her father.

  Tommy's mind shifted away from the letter, this time drawn back to the television. “Can you put the Autonomous Reporter back on the screen?”

  Mr.Studd, with the letter in his hand, looked up at the TV screen, changing the channel to the Autonomous Reporter before going back to the letter, studying it carefully.

  “Bad News?” Tommy asked.

  Cliff took another look over the letter, rereading it carefully, “I’m not sure. The hard part about trying to start a revolution is that things just have to work out. CelTec is ahead of us, and Chuck is still climbing the ranks.” Cliff took a giant sigh, his gaze reaching the end of the paper; he set it down on the couch before cranking the volume of the Reporter up.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  The Autonomous Reporter was one of the many brilliances of The Old Minds, a branch that was largely untouched by CelTec from before; people were labeled as Integrated or Disconnected. Anyone could report on the Autonomous Reporter; it was the system's job to select the stories that would be broadcast to the world.

  The Reporter populated the screen with a little girl who had tears streaming down her face, sniffling as she talked. She appeared to be at one of CelTec’s medical facilities. The white, blue neon glow of their signs tinted her and everything around her.

  The Graphic on the screen read that she was the daughter of a woman killed by CelTec, a disconnected. She tried hard to keep her voice stable, as it kept wavering as she talked. She held a small microphone in between her hands. The CelTec logo pasted on the side of it meant it picked up on the girl's voice through the vibrations in her skull.

  Her voice radiated perfectly through the screen. ”I thought they would give us a better life. They lied about giving her the Minds.” The mother's body flashed on the screen, tattered with scars.

  A shadow of a man appeared to walk out of the hospital just behind the girl as she spoke. The man's face was fuzzy, along with the rest of his body. As he stepped out from the light towards the girl, his shimmering outline vanished.

  Tommy's eyes were keenly fixed on the screen. He sat up suddenly, snapping his fingers, “Did any of you see that?” Both Mr. and Mrs. Studd shook their heads. “Never mind,” Tommy said, slightly shaken.

  Cliff pointed to the screen, “Are you talking about the girl? There are orange squiggly lines that run down her arm, and look at the swirls around her knuckles.”

  “No, that is peculiar, but likely a mistake in the broadcasting,” Tommy replied strenuously. The girl ended the rest of what she was saying before the screen went black. It shifted to a man whose clothes were soaked by rain. He began rambling on about his concern for CelTec’s ability to conduct experiments independently and without regulations.

  Jessica's face was filled with sadness, “This is it, isn’t it?” she said.

  “For now,” Tommy replied.

  Cliff looked at the two of them, “Complete control. They got what they wanted.”

  Tommy smirked, “You're optimistic.” He said mockingly. The three of them sat watching the television swirl through the changes that CelTec was going to make. The Autonomous Reporter flipped from person to person; most of the reports had something to do with CelTec's policies. Curfews that would be established, and the presence of Blues in cities and towns, within local bars and grocery stores. Families that had been disbanded or displaced. People who had escaped from the experiments were left dismembered and mutilated. The reporter covered all of it.

  Eventually, it shifted to certain newly elected CelTec officials, including Chuck Thorne. “Chuck Thorne is the newly appointed assistant director, earning himself a vote within CelTec’s Regional Board.” The reporter on the screen stated in a booming voice.

  ”Good for him.” Tommy said, smiling, his eyes were beginning to become bloodshot from not blinking. “You're going to need a friend like him. Especially now that hes your inside man.”

  “I know, he’s reliable.” Mr.Studd said, turning up the TV so that the volume radiated throughout the entire house.

  “How high up do you think he will go?” Tommy let out an exhausted breath as his back sank into the couch.

  Mr. Studd scratched his head, “He's popular, I don’t know what it would take out of him, but I think he could make it to their global team.”

  Mrs. Studd took on a questioning tone, “How long has he been with CelTec now?” She asked.

  ”Well, he started working there just after we graduated from college. It's been at least seven years now,” Mr. Studd yawned, stretching out. They stayed up late watching the flicker of the television. Hours passed before they slipped into sleep. The Television kept buzzing on through the night.

  In the morning, the sun was bright, and the rays of sunshine beamed through the windows into the living room. Tommy and Mr. Studd rolled over to the other side of the couch to shield some of the sun from their eyes. Jessica, stretching her arms out wide, was yawning as she wiggled some blood back into her fingers and toes. She stood up, taking a moment to listen as the birds chirped in the sounds of the morning. It was a lovely sound.

  The stone floor was cold against her feet, but it helped to wake her up. She knew that Ralphie would be hungry as soon as he woke up.

  As she went about scrambling the eggs, she noticed how quiet the house was when no one was awake. The sun illuminated little dust particles that floated in the air before swiftly swirling around the room. Mrs. Studd smiled; she always imagined that they were little butterflies that were flying in the air. It was strange last night and felt like it might have been the end of the world for her. Things were changing rapidly. She felt her heart swell as she walked over and picked up the letter that had come last night.

  To The Studds,

  I’m sorry I couldn’t make it in person. I was hoping to see little Ralphie. I hope he is doing well. The world is changing much faster than I could have ever imagined, with CelTec growing much bigger than they were intended to. The Minds were once considered a gift to humanity, but now they are used to label us as inferior. I fear for the Disconnected; they are going missing, entire families disappearing in the blink of an eye. Pollard is not in control, at least I don’t think so. There is someone else who is pulling the strings, someone else who is in charge.

  I must protect our ideas at all costs. I'm afraid I must disappear from this world right now, to protect the original idea that seeded the creation of The Minds. What this world is becoming is Devoid of anything but desire for oneself. If that is the case, then so be it. I will be here when I’m needed. But, my friends, do not worry, the world has a way of correcting itself, and I believe that you two are part of that correction. One day, young Ralphie will be a part of this correction, too. Stay vigilant and true to yourselves. Implore Ralphie to seek out answers to why this planet works the way it does. His world is not set in stone.

  Their generation may be more important in fighting this than we are. As I have to leave, there are some things I must pass on to you. CelTec is building weapons to the extent that I am unsure. They prepare for war. What I do know is this, they have emitted a gas into the atmosphere that reveals who has The Minds, they call it skin etching. Its there first step to divide us so that the integrated will be seen as superior. They also lure the disconnected into CelTec experiments with the promise of making them whole. It is impossible, a false promise.

  These experiments serve a different purpose. I am unsure why they are doing this, but it’s important. Both of you show the strength of the disconnected. You must keep fighting and stay safe. Jedd has found a piece of parchment while breaking into one of the CelTec research facilities. It read, There are whispers of a man named Dullahan.

  Much Love and Farewell, J.G

  There was a loud sequential thump that pounded throughout the house. Jessica set the letter down swiftly, sliding it across the counter away from herself. Cliff and Tommy moved around restlessly on the couch, sleep still gripping them tightly. Jessica stared at the door, unwavering as a cold taste of iron filled her mouth. The silence had her stunned as she waited for another knock at the door. But there wasn’t one, just pure silence.

  Jessica nudged Cliff and Tommy awake; they stretched and yawned as they woke up. It didn’t take long before Cliff recognized the look on Jessica’s face. She always had quite the knack for danger. A sixth sense that seemed too good. He started looking around; it was still quite early, and the world had not even begun to wake up.

  There was another set of thumps that came from the door, softer this time. Cliff stared at the door. Everything about this felt wrong. He crept towards the door, worried at what he might find. Jessica grabbed his arm as they walked together. Tommy watched from behind the safety of the couch.

  As Cliff reached for the slick doorknob, there was a distinct scream from one of the rooms inside the house. Jessica and Cliff looked at each other as Tommy tried to shuffle sickly towards the noise. It was distinctly Freddie's scream; he began wailing the bloodcurdling cry of a newborn. They left the door running to Freddie's room to come face to face with a Blue.

  The Blue sat there in the narrow hallway, his skin covered in the distinctive skin-tight navy blue with protective padding stitched around him. It was a dark, ugly color as the daylight shone on it. The CelTec enforcement patch lay just above the Blue's heart. He did not move a muscle as the sleek gun in his hand pointed forward at Cliff and Jessica. Jessica was instantly filled with tears, but she did not make a sound, instead allowing rage to fill her heart.

  The blue slowly lifted his hand off his gun, placing his finger in front of his mouth in a shushing gester before lowering it and drawing a horizontal line across his neck. Every movement he made was slow and lethargic.

  She knew what they were here for as she sprang forward in an attempt to kill the Blue. Cliff held onto her as she fought to try and claw her way towards the Blue. He did not react, only keeping the gun pointed at her as she inched closer.

  Cliff knew that she would be killed by the Blue if she reached him. He tried to beg. His eyes were welling up with sadness. But the Blue did not budge or respond, staying perfectly silent, holding his position firm. The wailing from Freddie grew louder from inside the room as another Blue walked out carrying him in his arms. The Blues' beaded black eyes stared at Freddie before looking up at Jessica as if to give her a warning. Cliff was strong, but not strong enough, as Jessica tore the muscles in her arms to pivot around him, charging at the Blue.

  With the gun still aimed at them and the swift stroke of the trigger, Jessica fell to the floor with a bullet in her shoulder. It was too precise a shot to kill her, merely to act as a warning. Cliff ran over to her side as the Blues stepped over them. They said nothing as they passed by Tommy, only staring as they walked out the door with Freddie in their hands.

  Tommy held Cliff as he wept before applying band tape to Jessica’s shoulder. She had been knocked unconscious from the shock, and it would be several hours before he woke. Tommy looked down at the blood that had pooled on the floor; bloody footprints were traced around the house from the Blues' boots. There was a creek from one of the rooms. Tommy looked up to see Ralphie standing at the entrance of his room at the end of the hallway. His eyes were wide with fear and shock.