The World in 2030

My name is Jen, Genevieve for short, but it is hard to pronounce for a lot of Americans, so everyone just calls me Jen. The year is 2030, and the world has been permanently changed due to the electrovirus crisis of 2020. I was still a child when it happened. I was supposed to continue my college, but due to my father losing his job and my mother’s income not being enough to support our family, my college fund was used to support our family. My father was a head chef in a restaurant. At first the government told us that we would be allowed to reopen our restaurant after just two weeks. They told us that it was meant to “protect the medical system from collapsing” so we believed it and closed our restaurant to takeout only, for the “greater good”. Little did I know that we would lose our family home and be moved to a subsidized housing in the projects, and that I would have to get a retail job to save money for college and contribute to the family.

It got even worse, because my mother had an injury and was unable to get the medical treatment that she needed since a hip injury was not considered essential. Basically, anything that was not the “electro” virus, was not considered essential. So, my mother still has a broken hip today, since she was placed on a ten-year waiting list. She uses a crutch to get by, but it is honestly not the same as before.

I was totally shook when this happened. My dreams of going to college were damaged by this virus. I saw people dying due to their medical treatments not being considered “essential” and children being denied an education. After being unable to secure a Pell grant and FAFSA student loan money for the next school year, I decided to put my education on hold “just for a bit” to be able to help my family. After all, they told us that this was just “temporary” and to save lives. Little did I know, was that the world as we knew it was about to change for this “new normal” that was planned by politicians as far as fifty years ago.

Going back to first year of college, I remember what James told me. We used to go to class together, whatever classes we had together anyways, and then study all night. As a first-generation child of immigrants, the value of succeeding in school was drilled into me from a very young age. I wanted to be a software engineer and work with the latest technology that was changing our world. The other thing that got me interested in software engineering was being able to program websites or apps and design anything that you wanted by giving the computer or code a set of instructions. I know this is super nerdy, and not many girls are into this. I remember talking to Megan, my friend who was studying nursing and when we met, she told me “Oh my gosh, can you like, fix my computer??!! You are so smart.” But I do not really believe that I am gifted in any kind of way, I admire her for being able to work with bedpans and sick people, things I could most likely never do.

When the news of the lockdowns hit, we all thought it would be just for two weeks, but after it lasted far longer than two weeks, I started to suspect something is up. The only thing that was consistent during this time was James. He gave me a heart-shaped locket for my birthday, and he wrote on a letter that “no matter what happens, I will always be there for you. Keep this so that you do not forget. Happy Birthday babe.” I mean, it is really kind of corny for a guy to buy a locket and I remember thinking it was kind of cheesy at the time. I had no idea that for the next ten years, it would be the one thing that gave me comfort in a world that was permanently altered and in which half of humanity was gone.

The restrictions kept on getting worse. We were encouraged to rat out our friends and family who were not wearing masks in public places, and the government even tried to pass a bill to limit what we say to each other that went against the prevailing narrative. The population at large was desperate for some semblance of the old “normal”. We were told that if we had weddings, birthdays, or any kind of social gatherings, that we were contributing to people dying. After some political pressure, they released a mysterious “electro vaccine” in less than a year. Now, just to clear it up, I took all the vaccines, but this one made me really sketched out. Even then, I was willing to take it, but the way that the government was going about it started to truly terrify me.

At first, it came with bribes such as “if you get the vaccine, we will give you free hot dogs.” It seems harmless, right? But it was not as harmless as it seemed, because people who had health risks which made the vaccine not recommended for them were sent to concentration camps and killed. The government succeeded in creating two classes of society, one for the “vaccinated” and one for the “unvaccinated”. Their intention was to have extreme control on the population to take away our assets and increase taxes. If you got their rushed vaccine, then you could live in a privileged class of society which was the old normal. If you did not, they would come after your assets and property and send you to a state-controlled prison, where you would not be allowed to work and would have to depend on the government until they decided to kill you since you posed a “danger to society”.

My family was from a small rural area in the American Midwest. They rolled out the vaccine passports, and since we were not vaccinated, our family was targeted by the US Military. They came to knock on my father’s door, and we were taken to prison for not having been vaccinated. Those who were vaccinated got to eat delicious food like beef, chicken, and fresh vegetables. We used to grow our own vegetables, but the government tried to take that away from us too. My father refused to give up our family home to the state, since we were not against the vaccine, but we were against the coercion and bribes. As a result, we were put under house arrest indefinitely for the rest of our lives.

Fast forward ten years later, and here we are. I still have this locket as a memory of my old life. You may ask why I did not just forge a vaccine document. This worked for about two years, but it was linked to a chip in your state health card and eventually, the documents that I created for us was not enough. Besides, since we were not registered in the system, we showed up on the unvaccinated list and were taken to the state-controlled prisons. I was sort of hoping Jamesy (my nickname for James) would refuse to get the vaccine, but he wanted to travel abroad so he did. I do not blame him since I would have done the same if I were in his position.

Me and my dying father are fed three meals a day, of a green paste. I long to eat a proper homecooked meal, or even a restaurant cooked meal. There are times Jamesy comes to see me and brings me and my family nonperishable food items from the world outside, like canned beans or donuts. I always share those with my family. I cannot believe he is still coming to see me in prison. I have done nothing wrong, I have committed no crime, other than refusing to take a vaccine that I did not need in the first place. Sometimes he has asked why I do not just take it, after all he is safe and still alive. I am not against taking a vaccine that could prevent me from getting into the ICU, but for me, I held out this long because it was a matter of principle.

After hearing this news and the new regulations, I was praying that this would be fought in court. They masked us so that we could not speak, now they used it to create a segregated society. There was massive outrage to this, but the courts ruled in favor of the global elite. This just goes to show how corrupt our system is. The ironic thing is that the vaccine only marginally stops you from transmitting the virus, but it does not stop it completely. This was even confirmed in a medical journal.

Sometimes I still cannot believe Jamesy continues to come and visit me in prison. A few weeks ago, he was even able to sneak me out for a bit by bribing the security guard. We are usually not allowed outside, but Jamesy bribed the security guard so that I could get to come out for a little bit to spend time with him. I honestly do not know why he even bothers to come and visit me. He is good looking, smart, and funny, and could be with literally any woman that he wants. Every time I see him, he asks me, “Jen, do you have your locket on you? Do not ever lose it. This is a reminder of the before times, of our days in college, of the day that I promised you that I will always be there for you.”

I have no idea what the outside world looks like during the day. Ever since I refused the vaccine, I have been stuck in this holding cell here, with four walls. We are not allowed to get any exercise because the authorities tell us that we will “spread the virus”. At times I can see trains from my window. Private vehicles were no longer allowed after 2025 because the government wanted to impose a climate change agenda, and many countries around the world imposed a ban on private vehicle ownership. The only way to get a private vehicle was if you were part of the military or the government. Sometimes the police were allowed to have private vehicles, but after 2025, no regular class citizen was allowed. So, you may ask how did James come to see me? He took the train, and then walked. The trains are even reaching into the sky, and everyone lives in these mega-cities. It would have been one thing if I were from a large city, but as someone from a rural area, everyone needed access to a vehicle since public transit was limited and not available after certain hours of the day. However, I have never been outside of my holding cell during the day since it is controlled, and the guards can only be bribed at night.

As I sit here in my holding cell with the grey four walls and eat the green paste that is served to me, I remove the locket from my neck for a moment, and I open it to this picture of me and James. I am awake late at night. My heart is racing, and I cannot sleep. I want to escape this prison, but I am stuck here forever. The only company I have is my cell mates, my family who is in separate cells, and the rare occasions when Jamesy comes to visit me and sneak me out of this, even just for a temporary escape. I hear his voice clear as day, “Do not ever lose it”, and I reminisce of the before times.