Visions of Dystopia- Phase Ten -Part One

Phase Ten - Part One

The heavy steel security gate bangs behind Jepson with a clank as he
makes his way down the alleyway that winds down to his low-rise flat.
CCTV camera's watching his every move as he fumbles for his keys and
enters the disheveled pit that he calls home. It wasn't always like
this when the archaic structure had been built in the late 1970's - it
had been designated for professionals, young doctors, lawyers, teachers
and the like. You'd even needed references to get in here one of the
old men who lived here since the complex was built had told him,
pitying the state of what it had become. That was long before the
creation of the Phase's and the electric fences that divided the areas
of EM1.

Jepson shivered as he made his way on to the balcony and observed the
grim surroundings. Rattling already he took out the bottle he'd
collected from the People's Chemist down in Phase 14 and poured a 15ml
measure of green sticky liquid into a vial. He downed it and lit up a
scraggy dog-end, as the Methadone was absorbed he felt immediately
better, calmed but somehow nulified into his permenant dysphoric state.
He looked over EM1's polluted skyline, the ruins of what was once
Victoria Heights - home to the Democratic Vigil during the brief
rebellion of 2024, once a shopping centre during the last century he
mused. Ironically a bastion of the last stand of capitalism during the
golden ages. Jepson went back to his room and picked up a tatty book.
Books were his most important possessions, only the higher classes that
lived outside the perimiter of the Phase's normally possessed these
items of luxury. Jepson took pride in his literacy, most of the schemes
inhabitants could barely read and he was looked on with reverence in
the area because of this rare ability.

W.S Wrigley's "A Political History of the Twentieth Century - The
Golden Age of late Capitalism; from Attlee to Blair" was it's title.
Jepson was interested in this period of history immensely and wanted to
re-read the chapter called "The Grey Years - Britain under Major and
the decline of the Conservative party." He squinted at the pages as he
could not afford spectacles, but his concentration was impaired by the
Methadone. He thought deeply however about the events of the last fifty
or so years and why humanity had fallen into it's current mire.

Problems started in the early 80's when the surrounding sink estate
that had once been called St Anns broke into dischord. High
enemployment, distastorously designed community housing had made the
place a rabbit warren of alley's for drugs and prostitution. As the
factory jobs were destroyed the effect was to produce a black market
culture as the young men aped the material greed of the decade. Market
forces came into play for the ultimate and most profitable commodity -
drugs, became the main economic mainstay of the place. The yuppies in
the area once known as Marple Square moved out to the leafy suburbs and
the local authority desperately needing revenue let the dealers, the
whores and criminal underclass move in. Things deteriorated throughout
the 1990's and early into the new century.

There were attempts at community projects and regeneration that were
seemingly successful but on Black Thursday and the ensuing world
economic crisis when the stock-markets collapsed - the third Blair
government resigned and chaos reigned, that's when the riots began.
First of all in Handsworth, Birmingham (WM1) but then the other
inner-cities followed suite. In Liverpool (NW2) martial law had to be
established and in Leeds (Y1) several hundred protesters were shot by
armed police, after a political rally by Peter Mandelson. Mandelson had
reinvented himself as a quasi Marxist advocating immediate
renationalisation of the entire economy and a Four Year plan to solve
the crisis, he was arrested imprisoned and beaten, but later released
when the public outcry about the massacre took hold.

The St Anns riot of January 2010 was the first to erupt in EM1 (
Historically known as Nottingham ). Snowstorms had cut the city off
from all transport and for 2 weeks, the token shops ran out of
food.

The National debt rose to incredible proportions and public sector
funding almost collapsed entirely. Inflation was running at 30\% plus
and this meant all social security payments became almost worthless
overnight. The hospital system was on it's knee's the transport system
at the mercy of strikes and for the Summer of 2009 Britain was plunged
into darkness periodically as the electicity system based on the
ridiculous notion of trading and bidding by pool, to encourage psuedo
competition failed as the Fat Cat bosses eloped to Jersey. The high
perimiter electric fences had at this time started to go up in the
arrears of the affluent and stun-guns and other maiming devices sales
soared.

The National Government of Kennedy, Straw and Portillo had been
ineffectual in dealing with the economic crisis. Although the Straw's
Civil Disobediance Act and suspension of habeaus corpus had been the
most reactionary tactic used in Europe, it had saved some semblance of
order in the country. In France there was now total anarchy, people
killing each other in the street just for a loaf of bread. Paris had
been
Sanctioned off by the military, but chaos and barbarism broke out in
the rest of the land. By 2011 Mandelson and the disgraced former
chancellor Gordon Brown had devised a plan - there would first have to
be a coup'd'etat to seize power. Brown used his influence with the rump
of Labour MP's in opposition to the government and Mandelson went on a
crusade round the country delivering speechs and seminars to the
crowds. Public Speaking had become the new art as TV was strictly
limited to 3 hours a day. His pamplet - "New Marxism - New Britain! - a
solution to the economic crisis" sold out amongst the gathering of
middle class intellectuals who turned to him, seeing that some kind of
new social and economic order as the only way out of the mess. His
spin-doctoring skills were to prove invaluable at the time.

Eventually faith in the government waned - Kennedy resigned as did
Portillo - Straw however fought tooth and nail using his police
influence to surround Parliament and even threatening execution for the
traitors from his party who had forced the 'vote of no-confidence in
the government." Straw it seemed was destined to be the first dictator
since Oliver Cromwell, but on the third day of the seige, Chief
Inspector Whitemoor - an upright and moral man influenced by his
concious and suprisingly libertarian values ordered the armed police to
shoot Straw and his handful of cronies at point blank. Whitemoor then
killed himself by swallowing two cyanide capsules. Democracy was
restored and a general election was called immediately.

Mandelson, Brown and their new party of marxists, born again socialists
and a handful of Liberals - Kennedy was to join forces and this proved
influential - romped home with a massive majority.

The new radical coalition was to prove the most sucessful in Europe in
assembling some economic order. Initially war time conditions were
restored, private property abolished in terms of major enterprises and
all major industries taken under government control. Brown was wary of
this as he still was more of a social democrat at heart, but everyone
co-operated desperate to end the mess. Inflation was down almost
straight away due to the extreme pricing controls Mandelson as
chancellor had implemented. Good weather and the like had meant that
social discord was limited. Kennedy as Home Secretary repealed Straw's
reactionary policies - on the condition of good behavior from the
masses.

Brown argued as things became more stable the government would give
leeway to private concerns and a mixed economy would again be
established. Meanwhile on the other side of the water the aged
President H Clinton, was concerned about the frighteningly turn to the
left of the British government. The States had been fortunate enough to
have the natural resources and wealth at home that most of the
Europeans did not have. Any dissonance was curtailed with alacrity and
apart from in some of the Southern States, food was plentiful and
private enterprise was still viable and productive, despite the major
recession and fall in living standards.

Some economic stability was established and the IMF began to pester
Britain to adopt a strict monertarist policy. Brown refused but
outlined a plan based on Keynesist demand management, he argued that
until social stability had returned it was pointless adopting strict
anti-inflationary policies. At the G9 summit, he won over the Europeans
and even Hilary Clinton conceeded that his plan deserved a chance. In
Europe extremist political violence had become the norm. Right wing
groups openly torched jews, blacks and non-europeans in public in
Germany (EU1), whilst the communists took cities in the North in the
East, Franz Heller took up the mantle of Hitler and the Nazi's to great
success. The Netherlands was the only country apart from the UK to have
any degree of stability. In 2005 they had legalised all drugs and the
inhabitants although starving and broken stupified themselves with vast
quantities of Diamorphine as conditions became tough. Although
political and economic unrest was apparent in Amsterdam during some
unrest, police and protesters slouched and gouched, hugging each other
high on MDMA and then tapered themselves off by smoking Heroin openly
on government issue foil.

France was in a terrible state though, only after President Hilary
Clinton had ordered the troops over was any stability restored. Rebels
however tried their best to stop the occupation. France's nuclear
arsenal was formidable and in 2012 a medium range missile was
jettisoned with London as the target. Fortunately it did not reach that
far but Hastings, Brighton and Dover were ravaged by the bomb, one
million dead and the South East of England declared a no-go zone for
the next hundred years. London was also exvacutated for some time and
Parliament moved to Oxford (WM4) where it still remains at Exeter
College.

The US and Russia ( the least affected of the major powers as her
economy was already chaotic) took control. Charles Dupont was set up as
leader of a puppet government, but even the yanks conceeded that a
total redistribution of wealth was necessary to restore the country to
normality. Mandelson was instrumental in this process, with his four
year plan being adopted by the Dupont government to test the water with
his newly aquired Marxist fervour.

Eventually the World's major powers had managed to curtail the worst of
the situation although in Europe rationing and controls were still in
effect. Millions had died during the various civil wars in Europe, more
had starved or died from dieases. The outbreak of Ebola in the
Mediteranean countries had almost halved the population of Southern
Europe. America once more was the saviour though and provided funding,
flexible loans for redevelopment, medical and military support. Things
had returned almost to normal when the next tragedy occurred.

The Japanese, had been watching the weakness of the West for some time.
Yuko Quri the prime minister was eager to exploit the situation. The
economic crisis had of course affected Japan as much as any of the
countries in the G9 - but the social cohesion and loyalty in Japanese
culture ensured that the social effects of the economic decline were
minimal. Indeed, several nerve gas attempts were made by rebels in
Tokoyo, but they were soon put down. Quri's mother had died of cancer,
like her grandmother who had survived Hiroshima, although her left eye
had melted from the heat of the bomb into a sticky goo. Now he thought,
the time is right for a lesson to be told to our American cousins. The
Japanese do not forget or forgive he thought and revenge is a dish best
served cold. A rebel under government custody was conferred with - he
hated the Americans more than the government. He was crazed and wanted
not only notoriety but fame. Quri visited him personally and confessed
his shortcomings, he told him, "You my son, have a chance to get
retribution against the evil Americans. We'll fly you to San Francisco
and organise the provision of a massive nuclear device - probably 1,000
more powerful than the device those bastards used in Hiroshima. My
family has been afflicted for decades from what they did."

The rebel was touched his wife's mother had been frazzled by the evil
turd Enola Gay had dropped from the sky and he was impressed that the
prime minister had come to talk to him personally. This was his
mission, his chance to earn historical recognition!
The deal was done and dusted to use a hackeneyed phrase, but it was
organised by both extremist and government meticulously.

A week later, the inhabitants of San Francisco were told of their fate.
A police helicopter went arround warning them of their dilemma. "You've
got Ten Hours to Evacuate within a 15 kilmoter radius." Panic on the
streets ensued and in some ways it was good that the police had
misinterpreted the gibbering of the Japanese rebel, ten minutes he'd
tried to convey in truth in his broken English but it was not to be. As
the crowds panicked and cars tried to get way the device went off - 8
Million dead in seconds. 150 Million Km was affected and this was what
broke America.

Hilary Clinton tried to remedy the situation with a tour of the
Southern states, the survivors riddled with cancer, AIDS (which had
taken a frightening new form affecting HIV sufferers immediately after
their exposure to extreme radiation.