Richard Stephenson - Resistance

At first, Sterling’s measures seemed strict and imposing, but Ben and the other terrified citizens sat in quiet acquiescence. Someone needed to bring the hammer down on the degenerate thugs who were in the way of progress. Curfews weren’t really a bad thing either. Ben was smart enough to know that darkness is the coziest blanket for evil. Ben became a bit wary when more and more of the country became compartmentalized. President Sterling declared that crossing state lines required a passport. If you were caught in Tennessee with a Florida driver’s license and no passport, you had some serious explaining to do. Ben questioned the restriction, but drastic situations called for drastic measures…right?

Like most people, Ben harbored an underlying hatred and mistrust of anyone with olive-colored skin. He kept these feelings buried beneath a façade of indifference and certainly never acted on them. A decade of progressively deadlier attacks by The Silent Warriors had fostered his racism and kept the perpetual internal flame burning just beneath his skin. During The Thanksgiving Day Massacre, Ben was at his parents’ house watching the Cowboys game with his siblings and their families. Like every year, his dad kept stalling the start of the meal so they could sit in front of the TV just a little longer. With less than two minutes to go in the first quarter, breaking news of the sniper attacks interrupted the game and had Ben screaming at the TV. Once Ben and his family truly grasped the severity of what they were witnessing, Thanksgiving would never be the same. When the Super Bowl Massacre of 2023 brought about the demise of the National Football League, Ben joined millions of enraged fans and didn’t object in the slightest when the Middle Eastern internment camps were erected.

Benjamin’s aversion for the UAE deepened as rumors of mass executions ran rampant. The massacre of thousands of internees, including innocent women and children, generated an alarming, caustic side effect-the eradication of free speech. Sterling was far too cunning to provoke the Empire while they were busy conquering Europe. Censorship reared its menacing head, and the ugly truth withered, its silent death unreported. Once Sterling had an iron grip on the media, he could unleash his madness free from accountability.

New flocks of refugees arrived at Disney World each day, offering passionate firsthand accounts of Sterling’s lunacy. Everyone knew the president’s first measure of “social reform” would be to clean up the Obama Camps. Benjamin Black had been earning his keep since he was sixteen years old and had made an honest living ever since, so he viewed the Obama Camps with disgust. They were filled with lazy bums who expected hard working people to take care of them. Ben hoped President Sterling would kick these indolent losers square in the ass and force them to find employment, however menial. Sterling had a simple, quite efficient solution: The Unified National Guard marched in with flamethrowers and burned the camps to the ground, no eviction notice or other advance warning provided.

Benjamin faced a serious dilemma. On the one hand, he was glad the problem got cleaned up, but was appalled by the method Sterling used. He didn’t know how, but he was going to stop Simon Sterling and help bring down the UAE. He knew he couldn’t form a militia and go on the offensive; he would be slaughtered before he could make a dent. Sterling was exactly the type of dictator the former United States of America would have toppled without a backward glance, the irony of which provided Ben a momentary bright spot in an otherwise terrifying reality.

Someone had to stop the UAE, and Ben was determined to help make that happen.

Ben was proud of the double life he lived. While he plotted and schemed against the UAE in the shadows, on the surface he was a model citizen, loyal and supportive. He treated UAE officers like celebrities when they came to Disney World and made sure they were afforded every luxury; the UAE officers idolized him in return. Over time, Ben was able to manipulate them into believing he was their ally, and many soon sought his counsel on a variety of topics. While they poured out their souls to him, Ben used the vital intelligence to undermine their efforts.

Captain Nedry Brown was by far the easiest mark. Ben found the man to be an incompetent officer. He was ignorant and had low self-esteem-both characteristics unbecoming in a leader. Thus, the soldiers under Brown’s command had no respect for him. Ben cashed in on the man’s insecurity and did everything possible to boost his fragile ego. When the good captain finally began to display a measure of confidence, Ben would snap him like a twig, even a minor slight enough to break him. The vicious cycle had the poor officer’s mind coiled like a spring around Ben’s little finger. Captain Brown craved Benjamin’s approval like a son would a father’s. He wasn’t alone, sadly, as many others found themselves in the same needy predicament. Ben prided himself on his skills at psychological manipulation and could have instructed a master class on Machiavelli with little or no preparation.

With his top lieutenant, Jessica Bradley, away investigating the mysteries in southern Florida, Ben had a bit of a problem on his hands. He needed to get inside Captain Brown’s head to find out what was going on, but he needed Jessica to do it. Nedry Brown was quite unattractive and turned into a bumbling fool around women. Jessica was far too proud to whore herself out for some cause, no matter how just and honorable it may be, but when it came to Captain Brown, all Jessica had to do was show him a little kindness and respect. Nedry nearly hyperventilated at her beautiful smile, and she would pretend not to notice, giving the man the misguided impression that he was a charming storyteller. This simple distraction allowed Ben to play Nedry like a fiddle. With Jessica gone, the task would prove more difficult.

Ben and Nedry were sitting in the captain’s private officer’s suite at the Wilderness Lodge. Ben knew Nedry craved brandy and cigars. Ben had crates of the stuff on hand but always gave Brown the impression that he went to great lengths to procure this special stash just for him. Nedry smiled at the first-class treatment as he put the cigar in his mouth and allowed Ben to light it.

“Ned?”

“Ben, please.”

Ben sat down across from Captain Brown and lit his own cigar. After enjoying a slow, smooth sip of brandy, he began again. “Ned?”

“Ben, c’mon. I already told you what you need to know. You and yours are safe. Relax! You have nothing to worry about.”

“Ned, you know me better than that! Something this big? You had to know I’d be curious about it. What’s going on?”

“You give me too much credit, Ben. I really don’t know much more than I told you earlier.”

“So, you do know more! You gonna make me beg?”

“Don’t be silly. You know I can’t just spill my guts to you. All I know is something big is happening in Miami.”

“When?”

“Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“What are the rumors going around?”

“A secret meeting of some kind. I’ve heard Beck is surrendering. On the flip side, I also heard Sterling is surrendering to Iran. All of it’s probably bullshit, but my gut tells me it has something to do with the sudden interest in the slave trade. The timing is just, I don’t know…”

“The slaver thing is really that big of a deal? I thought it was just some PR stunt to make the UAE look more civilized.”

“I don’t know, Ben, I can’t help but think the two are connected somehow. They’re making a huge deal about the liberated slaves you got here. Seemed to take an interest in some orphan girl, thought maybe they found her parents.”