Project: Seed Zero

Every morning, they would receive their delivery at exactly 8:15am. John would scan the code with his arm. This would cause the screen to turn on for home class time. You heard that classic hum, and the insignia would show itself. Then, for 1 hour, we had to speak with the television. It would ask questions, teach lessons and evaluate if we learned. Every time you interacted with this thinking-picture, you just knew that it was somehow taking a part of your soul; capturing every detail about you. Facial recognition, voice pitch, body language, past behaviour vs. current behaviour, moods, known relations, interests. Finally, once it was over - the box opened.

This was a decent one. A pack of ramen noodles. Jerky smoked. Classic cokes. Fried potatoes. A white loaf. And some compost-worthy items.

Then the work began. Screen-work can be tiresome. The blue screen turns red and you keep going on some pre-work or post-work drink. They give you your first pill and it actually helps. More please.

They then told us that we were sick. That we’d need to take more pills and needles to stay healthy. Apparently we had developed a condition somehow. They said that our guts were leaking and that they could help us. They had other tricks too. They would either give you money conditionally or take your money and say that it was good. They made sure to teach you just enough so that you wouldn’t know.

It wasn’t fair. We were sick.

--

--

“Tell me a story Dad.”

“Well, let’s see here… okay, I’ve got it. But first, I need to tell you something. It’s important you know that they’re watching your every move. Where you’ve been, who you know, what you do, what you eat, what your values are, what your interests are, what you’ve been curious enough to search online, what you think about the world and about yourself, who you are. They know you better than you know you. We’re starting to realize. It’s not just about simply getting us to buy things here and there. Now, they're brainwashing us.”

“Yes, yes, I know that. Please dad, a story.”

“Okay, okay. Once upon a time, there was a man named Julius, and he had all the power in the land he set foot in.”

“Was he a King?”

“Well, not exactly, but there was no one to defy him. You see, Julius lived all by himself, and he had no form of money.”

“No money? But what did he do? How did he survive?”

“Julius worked the land. It was hard work. Every day he would work on the land to make sure that food would grow.”

“Oh he’s a farmer. He grows the food and then sells it.”

“Well actually, he doesn’t sell it. He just eats it. That’s how he survives. You see, Julius was truly alone. The only thing that connected him to the rest of the world was a long dirt road. His neighbour lived 1 hour’s drive away, and Julius didn’t own a vehicle. All he had were his two feet and his horse.”

“His horse?? No neighbours? How long ago was this? Or where?”

“I would say… not very long ago, and not very far away. But it does seem strange doesn’t it? In fact, I would say that there are still some people in this world that live in a similar way.”

“Why don’t we live like that?”

“Well, that’s not really an option for us. In any case, you wouldn’t like it very much.”

With that, John took his round glasses off and wiped the lens. He could feel June hovering by, waiting to have a word with him. “We’ll need to pick up on the rest of the story another time. Goodnight Janus.”

John walked away, but in the distance, Janus could hear his parents arguing.

“Why do you fill his head with nonsense? You know what this will do to him right? He’s always going to want to find a way to make his own food. It’s ridiculous. Why can’t Janus just have a happy life? Don’t you want that?”

“What I want is to restore some sanity to this world. Janus is our only chance of finally living in peace again. It’s not about me, or you, or him - this concerns all of us. Who else will do it? You used to believe in this cause.”

“Yes but the whole point is that we want freedom. What choice does Janus have in this when you feed him that kind of information? It’s manipulative.”

“No, it's teaching. He still has a choice - all I’m doing is providing him with truth and knowledge!”

“It’s not truth if you don’t explain all of it - and you might not even know the whole truth. Most people don’t you know. He doesn’t deserve to have his whole life dedicated to fighting what you couldn’t.”

“No one deserves this, but someone has to do it.”

Janus was old enough to understand. He knew that he had to make a choice. To live a life where he fought for the liberty to live free and eat from the land, or live a life where he would be very comfortable, all needs met, and go on being who he is.

That was the choice he had, and while fighting against the system seemed impossible, he felt that he had to do something. He would have a lot of work to do. Already he imagined several scenarios for what he could do. Although small, he knew he was not powerless. But Janus didn’t want to live a life of pure work, nor of pure leisure - perhaps there’s a way to combine the two.

Janus suddenly thought of all the video games he had played. He would choose a character and level them up with missions and experience. He would need to turn his life into a role-playing game. In RPG games, he always wanted to progress the fastest - to do this, he would always form a party, then a guild, and finally perhaps an alliance. And before any of that, he had to go through his own personal training.

With this new real-world challenge, he would learn all there is to know about the ways of the old. He would find friends and teach them what he’s learned. Janus could feel the pain of his parents. He would do everything in his power to make his dreams come true.

--

--

It’s been 15 years since Janus had envisioned a world where you could grow your own fresh food. So much time.. planning, recruiting, learning, deploying projects, and reflecting. Now he looked outwards to a sea of vegetables consisting of eight long rows. They grew potatoes, carrots, squash, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, and peanuts. Those are all the items they’d been able to find so far. Each seed or plant requiring a covert operation; to acquire these, they had infiltrated heavily guarded storage facilities.

Even the warehouse they were in now had heat dampeners to avoid detection. It was also accessible through an underway passage - that way, no one can tell who works there, or how many people there are. Operations are becoming increasingly difficult. We’re considering our next steps and treading carefully. There was always the likeliness that they had already been discovered.

--

I later realized that there were many stories John hadn’t told me about. Before he left, I had managed to find an old journal of his. Maybe he had left it there on purpose. One passage in particular struck me. It read:

> It’s like they reached into me and picked my locket-shaped heart. At my core, I had things in there I cared about. I had love, values, beliefs, even an identity. We agreed to be governed for safety in exchange for freedom; now, that freedom does not exist anymore.

One day, they did the unthinkable. They asked us if we wanted freedom. Most of us simply replied no, in fear of free speech. I told them that I didn’t know. I didn’t know what it would mean. Later that week, I was chosen. They said that they would show us freedom - me and about 50 others.

It wasn’t long before we were standing in knee-high grass. It was all quite sudden. We were lifted into the air, and then he had landed on this sea of green. In the near distance, you saw rows of strong tall bushy trees. It felt like one of the world’s wonders. The peace and calm of this natural scenery.

The man in the yellow jacket then spoke into a microphone. “You are hereby free. Congratulations!” And with that, they were off as quickly as we had hit the ground.

I was mostly just completely stunned. All of confused, bewildered, and especially in awe at the sight. This land had no concrete. Only the elusive Nature. Even the sky looked more blue.

By nightfall, it wasn’t all pretty anymore. No shelter, rain and wind. And the nocturnals too, making their sounds. At first, we were feeble and afraid, but we soon got aggressive. We developed a hodge-podge hierarchy based on strength, status and wit. It only took 40 hours for bloodshed to take place. I was afraid for my life. I knew that it was over for all of us. We were all going to die. If not by each other, then by the elements in this space.

Still, most of all - I was still in awe at the natural beauty that surrounded us; it rested in plain sight, in the midst of the horrible violence that took place. I rather not.

Eventually, they came back to observe the damage. I’d say it was only two weeks or so, judging from the nightfalls. There were 11 of us left. They asked us if we still wanted freedom over security. You could hear them grinning behind the question. Finally, nine of us came back, while two of them had chosen freedom to the death.

Those were the kinds of odds we were up against. It was a bleak fact. But knowing the reality helps. Our freedom was still worth it. We could work together for it. A common goal. <

---

Now, Janus was starting to wonder if it had all been worth it. The years had been long - many sleepless nights. There were few people that he could actually trust. So why do all of this? For what… a few rows of goods? He could be comfortably sitting at home sipping on some crack drink and snacking on cancerous foods. Maybe pumping in some smoke for good measure. Just to make sure he truly wouldn’t feel the pangs of wasted time.

But deep down, he knew this was worth it.

He can still recall the look she had on her face. She looked at him quizzically and then back down quickly.

In my hand, I held out a tomato for her to have.

“How on hell did you get this beautiful fruit?”

“Trade secret. Quick - take it please.”

Still in a dazed splendour, she grabbed it into her bottom dress and folded it in.

“Enjoy the fruit,” said Janus with an infectious smile.

Still at a loss of words, she just bowed softly with a slight incline. Janus could tell she had one of those Mona Lisa Smiles.

Janus looked around quickly. “What’s your name?”

“Jane”

“Jane. Do you mind if I lean in to inspect that?” Janus pointed below her neck.

In a few slight movements, Jane hesitated, considered, and inspected Janus. He stood plainly. Convinced, she leaned in closer. He too came in and cupped his hands around this ornament. It was an old heart-shaped locket - that classic metal with ornate twine designs around.

Janus opened the locket, and reached into his pocket. He then placed three seeds at the center of it and clipped it shut. He looked into her eyes.

“When times get tough,

remember that you’ll always have these to live by.”