The Autobiography of Officer Wunn by Wunn
 
Prelude: At the Wall “But why must we risk that wall? Now that we are free why should we leave the city instead of hiding inside?” From out of nowhere, walked Officer Wunn and the other man who had not revealed his name. “Because the government would find us,” the man said. “Now it is more important than ever for them to stifle resistance. They think us more powerful than we are. “That is the short explanation. But the long one I must tell through the eyes of Wunn,” he said as he pulled out two scrolls. One had markings that he knew to be Reiting, and the other was a map. “I have just taught the Officer to Reit, so reading will be slow because of spelling…” Part One. My name is Officer Wunn—at least it was “Officer” last month. It’s been so long since I heard my first name, I have forgotten it. I worked for The Zenith for many years, in multiple positions. Only recently did I receive a unique promotion, to the position of Head Coverer. My job was simple: don’t let the war be known. If anyone was entering the city, either through the great river, or through the city limits, it was my job to listen as they were questioned, and find out if they knew or not. If they did know and I was not convinced that they would not tell, the Coverers with me would say: “Leave willingly, or the government will have to make you leave using force.” Sadly, the latter happened most often. I always wondered why we were at war, and whom we were fighting against, but I was unable to ask my questions, considering I am mute and the government did not allow Reiting. On October 15th, 2157, I was outside, wearing my government shirt with the Zenith symbol because I had just come from work, when I saw a group of about thirty marchers dressed all in black. This was not a Zenith support rally, I realized. As I listened, it dawned on me just what this was; before I could run or shed my shirt I was seen. “There’s one now!” the leader said. I ran from the anarchist mob as fast as I could, heading straight for the Zenith headquarters. At this moment, the concrete and metal building looked like a safe refuge as opposed to its usual unfriendly image. Using my all purpose key, I entered through a side door and then locked it. I turned around and was scared by what I saw. I was so shocked I wished that the mob had caught me for having anything to do with this conspiracy. I was so disgusted I thought about joining the anarchy I had just left behind. But I should tell you how a person like me ends up in the government. My family got along fine financially until “The Shortage.” We rightly blamed the government, but we thought they were limiting the intake of supplies because they wanted more employees. (Zenith jobs pay higher than most.) We reluctantly gave in, and I went to work for them. It was only later that I discovered the true cause of the shortage: most of the supplies were being sent for the war. I never had a great love of The Zenith, but I never thought to openly oppose them. It was the same with my parents, and their parents, and most of the community. There is one belief that is common for every city member: if you leave the city without an Outsider with you, chances are you will die. I was taught this as a child, just as everyone—civilian, government worker, or rebel—is taught. Running from the anarchist mob that day, I found myself in the largest of the government’s prisons. I looked around and saw horrible torture contraptions that I could not guess the nature of. I realized there and then that whoever the secret leaders of The Zenith were, they were not just selfish. They were evil. Part Two. I kept doing my job well for two reasons: information is easier to get from a leading position in government than from a prison cell, and wide spread panic would do no good. However, one day when I was debating when, how, and to whom I should tell my secret, my assistant, Yui, came in. “Word got out!” he said. “We need you now.” We drove to the scene of a demonstration. When we arrived, a man was in the street, speaking to the crowd from the top of his car. I pointed to the soldiers with their guns trained on him and shook my head. Their commander saw me, and ordered them not to shoot. “What can we do?” my assistant asked. I thought for a minute, and unable to speak, I knew I had to somehow communicate. I then motioned at the man on his car, bent over and retched, shook my head and pointed at my head. After many failed guesses, Yui said, “His sickness is making him crazy?” I nodded vigorously. “Is this sickness contagious?” I nodded. “How does it spread?” I touched him. “I see.” After making sure that the soldiers would not fire, we went back to get rubber gloves and safety jackets to protect us from this man’s “sickness.” When we came back, Yui told the crowd: “This man is very ill, and this is making him extremely delirious. If you want proof, just use your common sense. How could we keep a war secret from an entire city? You have all seen travelers, and we do not control what they tell you in any way.” This seemed to satisfy the crowd, though they looked frightened for the man as we took him away. Once inside the Zenith Headquarters, we stopped securing him with our hands, and held him at gunpoint instead. “I was right, wasn’t I? That was very smooth how you got out of that jam,” he said. “Well, if you are going to shoot me, shoot me.” I dragged him away towards the jail. Once we were there, I laid down my weapon. “What did you do that for?” he asked. I took off my Zenith uniform, put it with the gun showing that I was through with it all. He got my point. “Are you able to talk?” I shook my head. I set to work freeing the prisoners and he followed my lead. There was no need to worry about whether or not we could trust them because they were all political prisoners. There was no resistance because the cells were inescapable, so there were no guards. We worked quickly, freeing all three jails. “Where will we go?” a prisoner asked. I showed him on a stolen map. “What country is that to the west?” “That is who we are at war with,” my new partner replied. “The country of Léber.” We traveled a long time trying to leave the city, for we constantly had to hide and we could not take the roads. Finally I heard someone yell, “Look ahead! There’s a giant wall!” Ahead of us I saw a fifty-foot wall made of thick pale stone. To the left I could see one of the four guard posts in the distance. I knew that we had reached the city limits so I pulled out my map. End of Book I.
Friday, March 9, 2007