No one really knows what path they’ll take in life. Some people are born into nothing and become the next big thing, some go from riches to rock bottom and others just live a simple contempt life. The secret is to know how to go with the current of life and adapt to your surroundings, lest you be lost in the ocean that we all swim in. For Chris it was less an ocean that he found himself swimming in but more like a pool, a big fizzing pool of potent alcohol. The ripples and waves pulled him under as the towering plastic container jerked causing him to collide with the sides of the plastic walls or the stem of the straw that was floating around the liquid like a demonic tendril, rising from the pitch black depths of a doomed sea. This was not right, he shouldn’t be here and he knew it, but nonetheless he found himself as part of a simple beverage that was not destined to last much longer. The music grew quiet and both the air and the liquid slowly cooled as the container he was trapped was taken outdoors. A thud sent a shock wave through the cup as it was placed down once again causing the mixture of cola and vodka to drag him down once again. He struggled to find his bearings but fought to reach the surface again, breaking through will as much force as his tiny form could muster and glance up at what loomed above.
Far above him a face beamed down, smirking at his struggles in her cup. Lindsey couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic he looked as he tried to not drown in her drink while she sat very comfortably on a wooden back garden bench. This was possibly the first sign to Chris as to how far he had fallen, how worthless he now was. He was literally trying not to drown in a cup that was small enough to fit in a hand. He continued to stare up at her near godly form as she sparked up a cigarette the size of an Apollo launch module before taking a long drag and exhaling with an audible sigh.
“Only idiots get shrunk hey?” She mocked down at him, echoing back his own words. She leaned to the straw and took a sip, her cheeks tightening as she pulled the toxic mixture into her mouth. For Chris it was far less pleasurable as the liquid levels dropped slightly thanks to the strong pull form below. “And if they can’t prove their worth then they deserve what they get if i remember right” She continued before once again leaning in for another sip. Though she was only taking small amounts at a time Chris couldn't help but feel unnerved, even more so thanks to the fixed stare she had on him as she drank. It wasn’t a cruel or cold stare as such, but definitely an intense stare of someone deep in thought. “No more games, nice and quick, I promise” she muttered down at him. Her left arm rose, lifting the straw out of the liquid; the droplets from above dripped down making the surface of the liquid once again uneasy. Though either through luck or experience Chris managed to stay a float. After steadying himself slightly he looked up at Lindsey once again as she reached for the cup, this time raising it to her face. Her locked gazed slowly disappeared as the top of the plastic walls obstructed her eyes in its ascent higher and higher into the air until only her smuggly expressed mouth was in view. she whispered down to him in a cold breathy voice, “bottoms up...”.
The pink glossiness of her top lip met the top of the cups rim leaving a small gap, or to Chris a sizable flood gate for the liquid and him to pass though. Her breath felt like cold faint gusts of wind and smelt like smoke and ash; like the first icey draft you might feel as you enter a decrepit crypt, though in this unconventional case death meets the prisoners of this graveyard after they enter as opposed to before. Her bottom lip jerked the cup as it made contact with the other side of the rim and held itself firmly in place so as to not spill a single drop of her drink. Then, slowly plastic prison began to tilt bottom side up as her head leant backwards. The drink flowed down the slope and through the open maw and into what could only be described as an all consuming dark abyss that followed. Chris tried as hard as he could to fight the current but it was no use, he was being dragged back further and further…
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One week earlier...
Earth, a blue ball full of liquid and dirt. We call it home and have done for a long time! We have lived through many ages as humans but for the most part we were at odds as separate nations at war and conflict. No more do we negotiate for peace and sanctuary, but instead forge it as the N.W.G.G. Now you may be wondering, “Where do i come into this ?”, Well the answer is right here, right now!
Now begins the most important time of your life! To prove that you can be a trusted member of society. Today you begin final tests to prove you have what it takes to help continue to make our world great!
The words of the orientation video droned on in the background as Chris day dreamed away. His hands rested on his cheek, his eyes glazed and his mind casted away into yet another fantasy realm to release his boredom. This wasn’t unusual behaviour really and had been a terrible habit of his for almost his entire life, anything pointless or boring weren’t worth his full attention after all. His thoughts were broken for a moment as he shifted in his seat. Out of the corner of his eye sat the many textbooks given to each person as part of the test programme. These books weren’t your standard curriculum based text book that you’d see in high school however, these were all books on politics, law, careers, economy and much more. The professors who roamed the auditorium said that they were everything a person needed to learn the world from the comfort of a classroom, not that anyone bought it. Chris had read through each book at least once but rarely found himself revisiting most of them unless he really had to, he never was much of a study buff to begin with. Despite this he did find himself intrigued by one book, The complete History of the N.W.G.G.
The New World Global Government (N.W.G.G) became the seat of global power almost 70 years ago as the second world war drew to a conclusion. A world at war suddenly became a series of united nations signing papers to combine into one power that seated itself atop a wounded globe. Many thought that we could never really recover from the scars of the war and that we had lost too much to just join hands and unite. Many brave souls were lost due to the horrific acts of each side of the battle making the bloodlust in the hearts of each nation strong. But over time an otherwise fractured population healed, as for the first time in history the power that be worked to seek nothing but lasting peace and not dominance. Peace, however, is a hard thing to maintain in any society.
Though it seemed the days of war were over, the infectious ways of the lesser members of society still plagued each country. Crime, unemployment, debt, disease, overpopulation; all of these issues grew larger still as the N.W.G.G struggled to find a solution. As a result, various research groups and institutions were hired to look into new ways to enrich and maintain the peace in society. One of these was the aptly named future enrichment institute (F.E.I). They suggested something no one else has thought of experimenting with, let alone implementing into a societal structure. Every person has a dormant gene that generally goes relatively unnoticed their entire life. This loose bit of code in the human DNA was dubbed “the shrinking gene”. Every so often throughout history a phenomena has occurred in which a segment of the planet's population experiences an activation in the gene which results in these people shrinking. Due to this a new species of Sub-humans known as “shrinkies” became recognized. Over the years they grew in numbers and today the shrinky population greatly outnumbers the human population, it’s just a shame that the world and the law see them as lesser beings. The F.E.I successfully managed to isolate this gene to a point where natural activation was impossible and it could instead be manually triggered, and it was through this manual control that their plan came into effect.
It started small, Convicts first. Once they were shrunk they were allowed freedom as a tiny. Unfortunately humankind found shrinkies to be very fun to toy with, extremely useful slaves and even a tasty snack. Soon prisons no longer existed and the fear of being shrunk caused crimed to rapidly fall. Eventually the idea of crime became something people didn’t really fear anymore. Once this milestone was achieved the F.E.I proposed phase 2; Population control. This phase would see the population levels maintained by shrinking a portion of them annually. To determine who was to be shrunk and who wasn’t, a test was developed. Over the course of 4 months every 19-20 year old would endure physical, practical, theory and work based examinations to ensure they could be worthy to society instead of draining its resources. Of course this was met with initial backlash from the public which caused protests and riots...unfortunately riots and protests disrupted the peace and that was illegal and thus the protesters were shrunk. Surprisingly however, through strict implementation over the next few years, the populus did come around to the idea when it became evident that the economy was vastly improved, poverty was decreasing and resources seemed limitless. For the first time in human history the world seemed perfect. And so the new order of the world came into play and has remained ever since.
Chris snapped out of his recollection of the book’s events as the presentation reached its last few minutes before finally ending, allowing the auditorium to be dismissed for the day. The other hundred or so attendees all shuffled in their seats slowly as one by one they began to get up to make way for the exit. Chris followed suit, not wanting to waste anymore time in that place only to be caught in the stream of waddling bodies walking in an organised que across the curved rows and down the one of the sets of steps that linked the stacked seats and desks that filled over half the Hall. After traversing a narrow corridor and passing through the reception of the building he made it to the doors and exited swiftly. His un adjusted eyes were blinded for a moment as he was met by a blast of white day light beaming down from what could only be described as an incandescent blanket of silver clouds, the sheer brightness most likely a product of the bleak gloomy hall he had just been trapped in. “Overcast as usual” he thought to himself as he lamented over the consistent dull weather the town seemed to be famous for, obviously this was an exaggeration of sorts. Chris reached into his pockets and as if in a western shootout swiftly drew a box from his pocket, popped it open in one fluid movement and inserted a fresh cigarette into his mouth. You could call it a skill or maybe a talent of his but regardless no one could deny that though not the strongest or the brightest Chris was certainly dexterous with his hands, and somewhat proficient in the art of sleight of hand.
He lit the cigarette as he strode across the car park until he made it to his friend's car before proceeding to assume a leant up position against it as he waited. He gazed into the distance, across the sizable car park and back at the building he had just exited; a grey lifeless cube surrounded by smaller snake-like hallways that linked the various classrooms and offices. Calling them classrooms was a bit of a stretch as for the past few months they seemed more like test chambers. The words Future enrichment institute could be seen plastered along the top of the large cube building in the center of the site. Its eeriness made Chris shudder as he took another drag of his cigarette. He wasn’t alone in this sense of creepiness and dread that he felt as he looked on at the building. Generations of 20 year olds all experienced the same thing as him. He thought about all he was taught regarding the institute as he gazed at the sign in his trance. For someone who wasn’t much of a history buff he couldn’t help but recall it all vividly, afterall the N.W.G.G and the F.E.I were the biggest pillars that held up humanity. He lingered in his headspace for a while longer before a voice called out to him.
“My Dude!!!!” Shouted the energetic male voice in the distance. It was the unmistakable voice of Troy, the token fuck boy of the group. Obviously this title was somewhat in jest, but it was no secret that Troy has a way with words and women. It’s not hard to see why thanks to his honey brown eyes, chiseled jaw and side swept black hair, hell he even wore dinner shirts and suit jackets casually as if he didn’t already ooze style. “I’m playing taxi today then” he laughed as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket. Chris sighed and shook his head
“Come on man, you know Lindsey cant stand me”, upon finishing that sentence he looked past Troy to see the other 3 group members walking toward them. “Speak of the devil”
They still were some meters away but it was clear who was who. To the left was Billy, standing at 6’4” he was easily the tallest member of the group but yet somehow he was also the skinniest, his red head of hair and bushy ginger beard could be seen for miles as if they were a flame atop a light. Troy believes that Billy is the direct descendant of some kinds of scottish highland giant, this hasn’t yet been proven. Next to him was his girlfriend Lindsey. She was a stunner, hourglass figure, straight black hair that touched her shoulders and deep dark eyes that could trap even the strongest willed men. All of this was dragged down however by her demoness personality, according to Chris anyway. Lastly there was Tilly, the token blonde air head of the group. She was only 4’8” and was by far the most sensitive one of the group. They all would protect her with their lives.
“Best behaviour boy, I mean it, no shit” Troy said pointing the tip of his key at chris.
“What do you mean? I didn’t start it last time” He responded in a high pitch tone of surprise and astonishment “or the time before that” he added as he opened the car door and got in.
Troy stifled a laugh as he too got in “Then I trust you won’t start anything this time”.
The 3 stragglers made their way to the car parked next to the troys, all making gang gestures as they walked past the window.
Troy lowered his window before shouting “To my house losers” as he started his engine.
Lindsey tutted “We all live on the same street, what does it matter?”, Chris shook his head slightly, typical Lindsey response if ever he heard one. Troy however was unphased and continued as normal.
He reversed out of his sport and revved his engine before shouting “ONWARD!!!” as he sped out of the car park and off into the distance.
Chris watched the world pass by as the car raced through the town, the building blurring into one as he once again zoned out. The white noise of the road became the soundtrack to his thoughts and for a moment he considered what was happening in his life, and he didn't like how fast it was moving at all.