The Rebel

My name is Dawn McKenna, at least that is what I call myself. I have lived in UtopiA(I), once known as Toronto, all my life and I know nothing else. This place is meant to be the “perfect” city, but it feels so suffocating here more than anything. Growing up I never saw a life for myself here, but I was always scared to admit that out loud. It feels like someone, or something is always listening to me. Even to my thoughts. It is definitely my paranoia though because I am not chipped, nor will I ever be.

My identification code is 683685. Everyone has one whether you get chipped or not. That is how the government and president X keeps track of everyone. It makes things so impersonal. They claim though that it Is meant for keeping order, but everyone knows that it is a lie, but no one wants to admit it, at least I think so. They use it to keep track of who takes the chip and who does not because for those unchipped they dislike and make it a hard time for “us” to live.

For the students that are still in school, the government sees as hopeful that we will take the chip, even though there are not that many of us without it. You can take it as early as when you hit puberty, or during your schooling period but it is looked down on the later the wait. Hence why school becomes so horrible the longer you are unchipped. Most teachers see us as rebels and pick on us so much, or it is the opposite. They will not grade our stuff (since they see us as incompetent) or they just ignore us completely. I do have moments that I want to give up and just do the roles that are assigned to unchipped people but that is not a life. I do not see myself in a life like that. I know I am smart without this chip, but it feels like I cannot prove it since they never seem to grade or care about the work, I put in. There is one teacher though that pushes me through it all. I do not understand why though. She could get in big trouble for doing that (something I could never imagine because it would scare me), but she always has so much faith in me. Me, an unchipped teenager.

I was a rebel though. In the for front I acted proper and pleasant even when they tried make me feel like I was nothing. There is a group of us at school that do the same, very small of course maybe 4 others, but outside of school there more of us and we were going to be the reason change happens. Maybe not in my lifetime but there will be. The group is called the imperfects. My parents were part of this so-called rebellion to. This group was a place where humanity can conquer, and democracy can prevail. It is a place where relationships can form and grow. That is all I ever wanted. I want a family of my own that it not be kept in secret. Unfortunately, my community is a secret and though. Everything we do is under the radar, and it is so hard for us.

I want there to be change. I need there to be change. A chipped life is not one’s own, but in a society like this, that is how you get the job you want, the house, car, money. At the end of the day I did not care, because at least I had love and support something the chipped will never understand.