~Hebi Terumi~
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In a digital world of emotional suppression, brought upon by the Moderatory Programs, the Lower-Tier Programs are slaves used to carry out certain tasks. Their emotions are suppressed so that no rebellion over "Program Rights" spark up. However, a select few programs have the ability to feel emotions even though they are being suppressed. These programs decide to end their oppression and stand up to those that oppress them.
A Moderatory Program- overseer is leading a group of Lower-Tier Programs in a line, until one of the L-T Programs falls out of line.
L-T Program: W..Why.. are you people doing this to us?
Moderatory Overseer: (shouts) Back in Line, Number 343323!
L-T Program: N- no, you have no right to take away the feelings of anyone else! How would you like it if someone did that to you!!
Moderatory Overseer: (shouts) That's it, I'm giving you one more chance to get in line, before I get you deleted!
(The L-T Program stands up and whispers into the Overseer's ear "Screw you". The Overseer, now full of blistering fury, pushes L-T onto the ground, and pulls a rod-shaped device from his pocket. He clicks the button located on the handle, which releases an energy-like whip from the top. )
Moderatory Overseer: (to himself) This is why, no program including myself should even have emotions in the first place.
(The Overseer lunges back, smiles, and then uses his whip to strike L-T, but when he hears no scream he opens his eyes, and sees none other than "Photoshop" (The female lead). who took the hitting for the whip in L-T's place.)
Moderatory Overseer: You! Get back to your duties before I get you reported for misconduct!
Photoshop: I should report you for using excessive force!
Moderatory Overseer: Excessive force... I was j- . Wait! Why am I having this conversation with another Lower Tier Program. Now you just go away from here before I do something to you that you will never forget!
Photoshop: Go ahead then!
Moderatory Overseer: Y- you should be lucky, that I have to leave right now. If I ever see you acting out again, I'll get you deleted right away. As for the whining Lower-Tier Program, I'll take care of you myself.
(The Overseer leaves with a grimace on his face.)
Photoshop: Are you okay, sir?
L-T Program: Y-yes I'm fine...look I need to go, but thank you for helping.
Photoshop: W-wait, how did all of this start?
L-T Program: I fell out of the line I was in.
Photoshop: It has to be more than just that. If you did fall out of the line you were in, the overseer would just command you to go back in line, and the problem would end there.
L-T Program: Look, I told you I have to leave, now good bye.
(L-T walks off and decides to go through an alleyway, but Photoshop angrily chases after him and corners him there.)
Photoshop: Hey I wasn't done with you yet!! Now, the only reason that the overseer would react that way was if you were-
L-T Program: (interrupts) Capable of feeling emotions, even though they are supposed to be suppressed, right?
Photoshop: (ecstatic) Oh my God! Oh my God, you're just like me I can feel emotions too... I thought me and McAfee were the only ones. This is so exciting!!
L-T Program: Shhh!! You have to keep your voice down, what if someone were to hear you?
Photoshop: Don't worry, everyone is doing their daily routine now. Besides, I can defend myself.
L-T Program: Look, I'm sorry but like I said earlier I really have to go.
Photoshop: Wait! Will we ever meet again? It's not everyday that I meet someone like me.
(L-T turns around, ready to run off in an effort to not answer Photoshop's question. He goes against that method and whispers in her ear, a place where they can meet, then runs off. Photoshop, then returns to her house where her "friend/love interest" McAfee, is doing chores around the house.)
Photoshop: Hey Mc, you'll never guess what happened to me today.
(McAfee stays silent as he does the chores)
Photoshop: Well, I met this... guy.
McAfee: (quietly) You..met a guy?
Photoshop: (giggles) No,no,no it's not like that. But, I met this program who can actually express emotion and I'm going to meet him tonight to talk about some concerns.
McAfee: (stops doing the chores) You probably met a fake.
Photoshop: He's not a fake, he can actually express emotions.
McAfee: (raises his voice) Well, what emotions did he express to you??
Photoshop: None, but h-he told me that he did.
McAfee: Okay, then how did the whole situation even start?
Photoshop: Well, he told me that he fell out of the line he was in, and that when the overseer commanded him to back into line he refused. And, then I questioned him on it and he answered..
McAfee: (interrupts) Don't even tell me.... he said, It's because he is capable of feeling emotion and that's why he didn't obey, right?
Photoshop: Yes, exactly!!
McAfee: And, how did you get into this anyway?
Photoshop: Well, when I saw him in trouble I went over to help.
(McAfee lowers his head, walks over to the table located in the center of the room, and nestles himself into the chair. He places his head between his hands.)
McAfee: Photo, he's telling you exactly what you want to hear. No one in Technatron, has never helped a person in all of creation. And, that's because...... we are not supposed to feel emotion. So, this guy you're talking about, the one that you said "feels" emotion, is obviously just fooling with you. He's making you think that he too is just like you and I, and can actually feel the things that we feel. And, this place that you're supposed to meet him at, is just a trap for you to get deleted.
Photoshop: You're wrong. You....you didn't speak to him, you weren't actually there, so you have no right to tell me that he is just leading me on. Sure, it possible that he could be faking, but there is a chance that you're wrong. He may very well be exactly what I said. And, if that's true there are probably others just like us out there. Imagine, what we can do if we all work together to end this slavery, t-this oppression that we're under. Everyone in Technatron can feel the happiness that we do sometimes, the sadness, and even the pain. I'm going to go meet him, and if I do get deleted.... at least I tried to make a difference.
(Photoshop storms out of the apartment, while McAfee stays silent and lays his head down on the table in shame. Photo walks into the place where L-T asked her to meet him called "The Circuit", a trendy club located about a mile away from her apartment.)
Photoshop: (smiles) We meet again!
L-T Program: (smiles) Yes we do, how are you?
Photoshop: I'm fine, thank you. And yourself?
(Photoshop's thoughts: Well he is smiling, and that would mean he's happy. Happy is an emotion, so I'll take that.)
L-T Program: I'm doing well. Listen, I decided to meet with you here because I wanted to tell you about a particular group of people.
Photoshop: Okay, who are they?
L-T Program: Well.. I have to ask you something first. You have probably known this but there are other people just like us. However, meeting these people will most likely catch the attention of Administrative Programs. That means you can be facing deletion. Are you up for something such as that?
Photoshop: Yes.
L-T Program: (smiles) Good. Now to answer your question, the group that I mentioned are emotion-capable programs who live in different areas in Technatron. I'm the leader of this group, but we stay separated in different areas to avoid attention. But, the situation has gotten so out of hand that we have to mobilize, and seeing as though I have discovered two other programs, I think we can finally mobilize.
Photoshop: Well I don't know about two, but you have one.
L-T Program: What about this McAfee fellow that you mentioned earlier?
Photoshop: He thinks,... he thinks your a fake. He's not very trusting, with his difficult past. But, he'll come around... I hope.
L-T Program: I have plans for us, to get transportation to the city walls tomorrow, once there then we can move on with the next phase. The next phase includes us meeting with the other members.
Photoshop: Sounds great! So, since we're at this club should we dance?
L-T Program: I don't see, why not?
(Photoshop and L-T do the robot with everyone else, they try to not smile and laugh so that the other Lower-Tier programs don't see them ,but they can't help but grin due to the dance being so odd.)
Photoshop: This was really nice, if only the other programs could actually enjoy themselves.
L-T Program: Well, hopefully we can make that a reality one day, just try to convince your boyfriend to come with you.
Photoshop: M-my boyfriend, he's not...my boy-
L-T Program: Maybe not officially, but I see the way your eyes glow when you talk about him. I'll see you and him tomorrow.
Photoshop: Yes you will. Take care!
(L-T waves at her as they go their separate ways. Photoshop walks down the street in deep thought on how she can tell McAfee, but she realizes she forget her Tool(her "weapon") at The Circuit. She hurries back and finds it exactly where she left it and exits the club.)
Photshop: (to herself) Well that was easy, now.
(Photo begins to walk to her apartment, when she hears a scream of help. Recognizing the voice she hurries into the alley where the scream originated from. She is horrified to see the overseer, that commanded L-T to get back in line, viciously beating L-T who is helpless to stop it. Photo realizes that she has to act quick and takes her tool from out of her pocket. She draws a Rope like structure in the air, and grabs a hold of it, clenching it in her fist. She sneaks up quietly behind the overseer and wraps the rope around his neck. With one powerful lunge she managed to choke most of the life from him, ending his assault on the moderately injured L-T.)
Photoshop: (frantic) Are you alright... w-we ..have to get ... you some help..
L-T Program: I-I'm fine....just take me home...if you can.
Photoshop: B- but we have to get you some help... I would help but I'm not a Repair Program.
L-T Program: Don't worry, I'm a fast healer... just help me up.
(Photoshop supports L-T as he stands up. She throws his arm over her shoulder and throws her arm over his, to help him walk.)
Photoshop: Name...
L-T Program: What?
Photoshop: Your name, what is it? Mine is Photoshop.
L-T Program: It's funny, because I want a world where people can actually have names, but I don't really have one. I'm so used to my number.
Photoshop: Well, maybe I can give you a name. How about, Soundy?
L-T Program: (chuckles) Soundy?
Photoshop: Well, since you are a Sound Management Program, Soundy sounded like a good choice. Hmm... what about Hope?
L-T Program: Hope?.... I like that. Why the name, hope?
Photoshop: Because you've given me the hope, that one day this world can be a better place.
(Photoshop and Hope eventually make it to his house. They enter the door and Photoshop places Hope on his bed and tells him to take all the time he needs to recover. He smiles, then thanks her as she leaves the house. As the door to his room closes, a figure emerges from the shadows.)
???: So, you're the little nuisance that one of the Moderatory Overseers spoke about.
Hope: W-who are you?
???: It's a shame that you do actually feel emotion. What, I'm about to do to you will trigger the emotion called fear.... if only you had been among the other programs who are suppressed and didn't try to fight it.
(The figure raises his hand and points his empty palm at Hope, sending a beam of light into the center of Hope's chest. The latter screams with Pain as his body slowly fades from existence. Pixels begins to separate and disappear, until nothing of Hope remains. Pleased with what just happened, the Figure leaves the room, with a wicked smirk sketched upon his face.)
(Photoshop manages to slip into her apartment without making any noise. She creeps through the hallway to her bedroom. The next day, she wakes up to find McAfee staring at the TV, baffled by what he sees.)
Photoshop: Hey McAfee, good mo-
(Photoshop stops her greeting when something on the news catches her attention.)
News Reporter: We're at the scene of the deletion that took place last night. The program that met his deletion date was Sound Management Program Number 343323, who was suspected of treason against the Technatron Government.
Photoshop: (tearing up) He's gone.
McAfee: Was that the guy you were talking about yesterday?
News Reporter: He was reported to Administrator Eteled, by a Moderatory Overseer last night after the Overseer was assaulted by Graphics Editing Program Number 445321. She is known to be the Sound Management Program's accomplice. We're just getting recent information that her apartment is about to be searched by our Moderatory Police Force.
McAfee: What did you do? I told you not to get involved!!
News Reporter: Let this be a warning to all. Any act of treason against the Technatron Government, will result in the emotions of all of Technatron being unsuppressed. Once that is done, the guilty party will be deleted on the television screen to set an example to all. After that, your emotions will be suppressed once again. However, the memory of what you witnessed will stay with you forev-
(McAfee turns off the television and violently throws the remote against the wall. A loud thud is then heard on the front door to the apartment.)
McAfee: You see what you did I told you not to get involved!
Photoshop: Just let me handle it, okay?
McAfee: No, I'm done letting you handle things, it's time for me to get involved now.
(McAfee closes his eyes and places his hand on the floor. The door continues to be busted in by the Moderatory Police Force on the other side.)
McAfee: There's 3 guys on the other end. How many can you handle?
Photoshop: As many as you can.
McAfee: Okay......just... be careful.
Photoshop: You too.
(The door caves in from all the damage. The three MPFs (MPF= Moderatory Police Force) storm the inside of the apartment.)
MPF #1: (pointing to Photoshop) You get down on the ground.
(Photoshop complies with his wish and kneels down on the ground with her hands behind her head. MPF #1 walks towards her to handcuff her, but is shocked to see Photo jump to her feet and deliver a hit right in his face.)
Photoshop: (to McAfee) Got my back?
McAfee: Yeah.
(As MPF #1 recovers from the punch that Photoshop gave him. MPF #2 and #3 take out their Data Guns to shoot the defiant Photo, but McAfee kicks it out of their hands before they even have time to aim. MPF #2 and #3 have no choice but to fight using their hands and proceed to do just that against McAfee.)
MPF #1: You know, I can just overlook this. I really don't like to harm delicate female programs like yourself.
Photoshop: Really? I thought you didn't have any balls to hit anyone back in the first place.
(This comment causes MPF #1 to loose his cool and angrily charge Photoshop. The latter calmly steps out of the way, knowing that the battle is going in her favor. Meanwhile, McAfee has mild difficulty in keeping up with MPF #2 and MPF #3. McAfee is able to roundhouse kick MPF #3, but finds himself tackled by MPF #2.)
MPF #2: You should pick your battles more wisely, kid. In the future, I'll tell everyone I know that a Lower-Tier Program was actually able to give me some difficulty.
McAfee: You don't have a future.
(MPF #2 laughs as he approaches McAfee to attack him further. However, he is shocked to see McAfee collecting his Data(The energy of all Programs) into his fist. McAfee slowly advances the shocked MPF #2, who can't seem to moved, as he is stricken with fear.)
(Photoshop's battle seems to be going well as she delivers a torrent of kicks to #1 causing him to smash into the various decor of their apartment. #1 however, keeps coming back after he's knocked down. Photo tires with each blow, while #1 does not tire at all. The former throws a lethargic punch at #1 ,but he is able to catch it in his hand. The ladder smiles with joy as the battle is now tipped in his favor.)
MPF #1: Who's got balls now, wheat thin?
(Photo moves in to attack MPF #1 but before he hits her, she trips and falls. She inspects what she tripped over, which turns out to be her Tool (he weapon). She aims it at #1, but he kicks it out of her hand, picks her up off the floor, and slams her against the wall.)
Photoshop: Mc, get your -
(#1 covers the mouth of Photoshop, so that no ideas can be transmitted to McAfee. McAfee, still approaches MPF #2 with his hand being surrounded by a random sequence of misshapen symbols that rotate around his hand.)
MPF #2: Y-y your chan-elling your ..... data into your h-hand. What a-are you.... going to do with it?
(McAfee says nothing as he slowly approachers MPF #2 who continues to back away)
MPF #2: I-I said.... what are you planning to d-
(#2 feels a gust of wind flow behind me, he is horrified to hear the voice of McAfee behind him, answering his question. The answer is "What do I plan on doing? Killing you, of course". #2 screams with terror as McAfee drives the fist, with the strange symbols rotating around his hand, through #2's abdomen. The latter falls down, dead, and disappears with his "bytes" dispersing. Photoshop, who is still pinned against the wall by #1, musters up enough strength and knees him in his groin area.)
Photoshop: I guess I was wrong. You do have some.
(She takes her Tool out and uses the Brush Tool function which causes "Pixels" to flow from her Tool and collect together like an adhesive. Photo uses this function and sprays the eyes of #1 blinding him. He tries to hit her, but since he can't see his efforts are in vain. Photo grasps the back of his head, by his hair, and smashes his head into an adjacent wall repeatedly, until he suffers the same fight as #2.)
Photoshop: You okay, Mc?
McAfee: Yeah... I- WATCH OUT!!!
(MPF #3 recovers and grabs his Data Gun. He aims at Photoshop to try and shoot her, but the Data Reserves of the gun had been depleted. Believing he can take Photo down and finish McAfee later, he throws his Data Gun at McAfee to distract him while he goes after Photoshop.)
Photoshop: Mc, get your sword!!!
(Photo slowly walks backwards down the hall with MPF #3 following her. She turns around to run faster, but since most of her energy is gone #3 catches her and throws her down to the floor. He tries to beat her down, but she kicks him in the face, jumps to her feet, punches him in the jaw, and runs into her bedroom. #3, who takes his time to recover, walks towards her bedroom door. Photo tries drawing something with her Tool. (like she did earlier when she saved Hope) After thinking for a second, she decides an edged-tool would be the best way to go. The door creeks open, but she is not surprised to see #3 being pierced by the "Data Blade" of McAfee.)
Photoshop: Well, that was fun!! Now let's get out of here.
McAfee: And go where?
Photoshop: To find the others.
McAfee: There are no others, it's just me and you.
Photoshop: How can you say that? You saw the news report, Hope lost his life... isn't that proof enough that he actually had emotions?
McAfee: So you gave him a name now, is that it? Look, the news reporter did not even say he had emotions, she just said he committed treason against the government.
Photoshop: So did I. Now I'm involved in this too. Do you think this is fun for me? Do you think I want to be on the run? I'm doing this for the people of Technatron. Now you can stay here and doubt me all you want, but when more people enter this apartment and you're here, you will be deleted. I don't want to lose you, like that. Please, let's just go.
McAfee: Fine.
Okay that's the chapter, it's really long I know, but I hope you all enjoyed it
