The Heart-Shaped Lockett:

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You are now reading: "The Heart-Shaped Lockett: Excerpts from Lockett’s Utopia: The Rise & Fall of America’s Perfect Society"

Introduction

Editor’s Note: the following document is a collection of excerpts from Lockett’s Utopia: The Rise & Fall of America’s Perfect Society (Inika Varadkar, 2191). Lockett’s Utopia examines the cultural, political, and economic patterns that incentivized the rise of the Lockett Era (competitively known as the Heart Era) that took place between the years 2061 and 2122.

Varadkar is a 2nd Generation Post-Hearter & Indian-Californian historian born in San Francisco, California in 2149. She is a free-market analyst & writer known for her books covering the Lockett Era ("Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box" & "Duel of the Fates: the False Dichotomy of the Jedi & Sith").

Excerpt 1

What is the prevailing lesson from the Lockett Era?

Perhaps it’s the economic stagnation & depression that defined the majority of that 61-year period. Perhaps it’s the authoritarian regime that stripped the American people of their Constitutional Rights under the guise of social unity and economic equality. Perhaps it’s the forced Empathization of the American people, creating a society that was, simply put (and quite factually) frozen in fear.

Excerpt 2

Generally speaking, we have a big-picture understanding of what happened during that 61-year period. But, when it comes to the intricacies & the causes of the era, we do not have a satisfactory understanding (due in part to the Lockett Regime’s tendency to destroy early-era oppositional work & the Regime’s eventual state censorship).

Excerpt 3

Let’s go back in time to the year 2060 – one month before the Lockett Era began (thank you to all of the anonymous internet users who maintained the multitude of online archives during this time).

America in 2060 was in a state of disarray. The political sphere was divided down the middle, with two clear political parties controlling many aspects of American life.

Editor’s note: This state of disarray had been growing for the greater part of a century, since the 1970s in fact. But it wasn’t until the 2010s that these issues were brought to the forefront of the public consciousness. For a full examination of these issues, please refer to Varadkar’s complete text.

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These conflicting ideologies worsened over time, and the social experience in the early 21st century was marked by a widening chasm of politically charged rhetoric.

Most Americans chose their side and stuck with it, refusing to view news or media produced by the perceived “other side”. In doing so, Americans blinded themselves to reality.

Each half of America viewed the other half as evil, close-minded, ignorant, brainwashed, and lacking in empathy. For example, a popular meme in 2021 compared Conservatives to flies - “the conservative will always be attracted to shit, no matter how hard you try to convince them otherwise”.

Editor’s note: we do not have time nor space to delve into the opposing political mindsets here. For a full examination of these views, please refer to Varadkar’s complete text.

Excerpt 4

In 2053, a private company named Bioxine created Empathezlamine. A large portion of America, namely Liberals, immediately supported the drug.

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Empathezlamine was an Empthay-inducing drug that created an overwhelming sense of empathy, love, and understanding for others. It was to be taken once per day for as long as the user desired.

Editor’s note: Empathezlamine would later evolve from this basic form. During the middle & late Lockett Era, users only had to take the drug a few times during their lifetime. We also now know that the Regime increased the dosage to far greater levels than what was originally recommended.

Notable direct and measurable effects of Empathezlamine included a decreased sense of anger & rage, an increased feeling of love & understanding for others, an increased sense of self-worth, and a decrease in depression & anxiety.

Early cultural effects included a decrease in crime & violence, decreased political & social division, increased economic activity, and increased cooperation.

Editor’s note: these early cultural effects are just that – early. As we will later explore, Empathezlamine had far greater negative effects.

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At first, Empathezlamine was primarily adopted by Liberals. Few Conservatives used the drug in those early years (many nicknamed the drug the “Commie Pill” and believed it would lead to laziness and a further entrenchment of ‘group-think’ ideology.

Excerpt 5

John Lockett was born on September 17, 2022 in Miami, Florida to a Cuban mother and an Irish father. There was nothing special about his upbringing – his father was an accountant and his mother worked for a local nonprofit. He grew up in the Miami public school system, attended a public state university, and eventually worked for the local government.

Looking back, no one would have picked him out of a crowd. Yet, somehow, Lockett would go on to be the nation’s youngest president & lead the Lockett Regime until the succession of his daughter in 2101.

Excerpt 6

The Presidential Election of 2060 brought about a profound and euphoric era of change to the American public.

Editor’s Note: again, we do not have time to discuss the vast division experienced by the American people at this time. The division was deep, often violent, and destructive. Outside consideration must also be recognized: the advent of new technologies, climate change, outside influence from other countries, and a number devastating terror attacks. For a full examination of these hardships, please refer to Varadkar’s complete text.

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Before Lockett entered the Presidential race, he was not liked by Liberals – in fact, most Liberals hated him. He defended the free-market ideology and the Conservative belief system. And he did it all in a well-spoken & galvanizing style.

Editor’s Note: Lockett’s political style was unique for his time. And his abstract, data-driven approach was a welcome change to the emotional rhetoric previously exhibited by Conservative groups.

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Then, something incredible happened. Lockett’s rhetoric changed. And the man who was once seen as a divisive demagogue quickly became recognized as a unifying idealist.

All Lockett had to do was acknowledge the nation’s deep systemic flaws.

In the first Grand Old Republican (GOR) primary debate, Lockett stated, “We can no longer ignore the flaws of our capitalist structure. Don’t get me wrong, I love capitalism. Love it. It’s the greatest thing. But it was created using a flawed governmental system. And this flawed system created oppressive and restrictive legislation that continues to exist today. And not only that, but even when those policies are repealed, the mindset remains for generations…when all things are equal at the starting gate, the free market works well. But that’s not how things are today…How do we address these inherent inequalities without adding further, needless regulation?”

He then proposed a profound idea: that Empathezlamine could help create a world that was more equal at the starting gate. No government regulation or lop-sided incentives were necessary to correct a broken market – by taking Empathezlamine, the free market would be more fair for everyone.

Editor’s note: many people on both sides were hesitant to accept Lockett’s words at face value (& many protests eventually occurred). For a complete examination of this opposition movement, please refer to Varadkar’s complete text.

Excerpt 7

Lockett’s presidency began with a burst of energy. He undertook a large movement to make Empathezlamine cheap and available to all. Public institutions, pharmacies, and hospitals soon offered the drug for free (the NHA even offered the drug to all newborns).

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As Empathezlamine entered every American household, so too did a wave of love and empathy. Lockett’s first term as president was marked by a period of Euphoria: outdoor gatherings – a sashaying of Liberals and Conservatives alike, soaring happiness indices, increased spending, decreased violence…(editor’s note: the list goes on for much longer)

As more and more Americans began taking Empathezlamine, the boundaries between Liberals and Conservatives began to blur. Liberals extended their empathy to Conservatives, and, in response, Conservatives extended their empathy to Liberals.

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People carried around heart-shaped necklaces to denote this new era of Euphoria (President Lockett was only too happy to refer to these necklaces as ‘heart-shaped Locketts’).

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It was, simply put, a beautiful experience. An amalgamation of empathy, new ideas, love, art, and culture.

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In just under four years, the rate of users taking Empathezlamine increased from 14% to 83% of the entire US population. And why not? Empathezlamine single-handedly saved America from self-destruction. As Lockett himself put it during one of his weekly fire-side chats: “We are in the middle of a vast reawakening of American culture. The individual spirit, with just a little empathy, has put us on a path toward something truly wonderful”.

Excerpt 8

Empathezlamine quickly became associated with American success. There were no downsides to taking the drug (at least, not yet). Empathy had extended to all areas of the country, and everyone was better for it.

But too much empathy does have its drawbacks.

Allow me to illustrate this point with a brief example:

You’re the conductor of a train. On the tracks ahead you see the tracks split: one set of tracks has a single person tied down, while the other set has three people tied down. You must choose whether to divert the train and kill either one person or three.

Users under the influence of Empathezlamine will freeze when confronted with this scenario. They refuse to choose. They empathize with both sides of the track and their empathy sends them down a rabbit-hole of non-confrontation and excessive empathy.

Excerpt 9

In the run-up to the 2064 Presidential Election, nearly 85% of American were under the influence of Empathezlamine.

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That May, Lockett made Empathezlamine a required medication for every American by law.

Immediately following this, Lockett eliminated the 2064 Presidential election process.

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Nobody, except for the unmedicated 15% of the population, protested.

Imagine the scenario. You are under the influence of Empathezlamine. Lockett makes Empathezlamine a mandate. You understand and emphasize with his decision. It’s for the greater good. Lockett is simply doing what is best for the American people. But you also empathize with the unmedicated 15% of the population. You understand their actions. Nobody should be forced to take a drug they don’t want. People want to be free!

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When faced with these two options, the American people froze. And by doing so, they allowed authoritarianism to take hold.

Excerpt 10

The remaining 15% of the American population, nick-named the Forgotten Fifteen, fought back, at first through protest, then, eventually, through physical violence, bloodshed, and, in many cases, death.

A collection of placards from the time highlights the increasingly dire situation facing the Forgotten Fifteen:

One flier reads: “John Locke, not John Lockett.”

As the situation became more desperate: “They are killing us right in front of you.”

And, finally: “Please. Save Us.”

Editor’s note: there are very few pieces of evidence that exist from this time-period (due in full part to Lockett’s nation-wide censorship). What we do have is a scarce compilation of government documentation and poorly-preserved protest flyers & posters, hidden away by the few members of the population who remained unmedicated.

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We do not know what exactly happened to the Forgotten Fifteen - we can only surmise. Based on future atrocities committed by the Lockett Regime, it seems as if the Forgotten Fifteen were either forcibly administered Empathezlamine or were outright killed by military forces.

Editor’s note: we now know that a large number of government leaders were not under the influence of Empathezlamine during the Lockett Era (including Lockett himself), which allowed the Regime to strip others of their rights without experiencing an overwhelming sense of empathy themselves. (Also included in this group was a small selection of the US military – whom we suspect were the forces sent in to ‘deal’ with the Forgotten Fifteen).

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