So the last section ended with Altair discussing methods used by the government to erase oppositional viewpoints. Now, we look more into Altair’s rebellion of this prompting Matthew to re-evaluate how he sees society.
“That’s terrible!”
After a pause to collect himself from his sudden emotional outburst Matthew continued.
“I still don’t understand why you don’t wear a tie though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 1-star without a tie before.”
“That question has a simpler answer, and the story is not as interesting I am afraid. Simply put, I don’t wear it because it is a symbol of conformity. The tie is issued as the final piece of the uniform, forced upon us before going to university. A place that was once meant for self-discovery has now become nothing more than a training facility for people who have unknowingly already been initiated into the government’s meticulously managed machine. The ties are used to remove people’s differences. No one is unique, which may make some feel safe, but it also means that no one can question anything. No one can be creative, or independent. The only difference is the stars. A single marker, categorising people into indisputable classes.”
The following silence lasted a couple of minutes as Matthew took the time to process what he had just heard. He thought back to all the 1-stars he had seen in his past but found that he remembered none of them. Any one of them could have once been a politician’s son or a retired policeman, but he had never looked closely enough to notice. Remembering the rules he was given with the job, Matthew sighed before speaking again.
“Look, I’m not really supposed to give jobs to 1-stars.”
“Of course not. Heaven forbid anyone opposing the government can find means to survive.”
Seeing the downcast look on Altair’s face after his sarcastic outburst, Matthew quickly continued.
“I’ll see what I can do. There are a few places in need of workers quickly. I can’t guarantee it will be permanent. You will most likely be fired once you’re no longer useful but it might be enough to get you through the next few weeks.”
There it is! Part 6. I don’t know why but I feel like the instalments are getting shorter… despite the fact that this is one of the longer sections (if only by a handful of words). Oh well, it just means that I’m just as excited for the next part as if would be if I were reading it. Seriously though… Every time I reach 300 I have to force myself to stop because otherwise I’ll keep writing ‘one more paragraph’ for hours until I finish the story. Ok well anyways… part 7 will be up tomorrow!
Ok Bye! Hope you enjoyed it and check out some of my non-writing posts that I’ll be posting over the next couple of weeks!
