Six: The Mark Unleashed2004

[first lines]

Brody Sutton:
I still remember. Saturday morning cartoons, must-see-tv, news, fair and balanced. I also remember the first two Gulf wars, the second great depression, school shootings, and the music. It's the music I miss the most. There was freedom then. Freedom to do terrible things, but freedom all the same.

Beautiful Woman:
You will find that such primitive emotions and ideas as jealously, rage, sexual possessiveness, and monogamy have been eliminated. Your new implant has made you part of a collective whole known as the Community. In the Community you are truly free to move among partners, male or female, as you choose. Your pleasure will be your guide.

Brody Sutton:
I had a girlfriend once. We were going to get married. I remember being excited about that. She was killed in the first "purge" of the Leader. Rumor has it that 80 million people died in one day. One day. And that was just in North America. The death toll in third world countries was reported to be much higher. Not that you could confirm such rumors.

Beautiful Woman:
The most significant health aspect of the implant regards aging. Each one of you can reasonably expect to live far longer than 200 years of productive life for the Community. As such is the case, the implant also functions as birth control. Only by the will of the Leader may you procreate. Praise to the Leader for the freedom he has given.

Brody Sutton:
Praise to the Leader? 10 years ago I watched my mother die of cancer. She grabbed my hand in her last moments, wanting me to stare out the window. She was seeing something that I couldn't see. But as she passed her face was truly peaceful, even in the midst of all her pain.

Beautiful Woman:
Those whose old jobs are no longer necessary will receive new assignment for the good of the Community. Information on how to do these new jobs will be downloaded into you through your implant.

Brody Sutton:
I remember my job, before *he* came on the scene, before all of this. I was a designer, engineer, and for Chevrolet. I was part of the team that designed the engine for the last Corvette ever manufactured. That was only a few years ago. Before the whole world went insane.