The Know 2

   No one on the bus moved they didn’t look back to stare at the girl. They just kept on looking strait ahead. It was almost robot like. People no longer acted like people, some even twitched like robots, continuously repeating a motion over and over again. In a way it was like obsessive compulsive disorder, except the cause was the immense stress that came with knowing. Sadly it was our choice to know, but then again in a way it wasn’t. When one person found out, and started acting weird, another would get curious and then they too would choose to know. And when half the population isn’t functioning, of course doctors and others would want to help. Unfortunately they thought knowing the “great known secret” was the only way they could attempt to help these people. They were wrong. It only made them act the same way. People say jealousy is the worst human trait, but I believe its curiosity.

   Although in these times, you would expect everyone to act this way, emotionless, and instinctual, there are others. Others like me who can handle the pressures even if the silence overtakes us as well. We blend with the crowd, not drawing attention to ourselves. Like everyone else. The one thing that sets us apart from the others is that we still value the human life. We are the ones who quiet and calm those who cannot help themselves, as I did for Bella, just to save them from being beat or even worse… killed. And yet maybe we are the people torturing them, maybe death is better than life in these horrible conditions. There is no telling what the other side is like.

   I have seen others like me on the subways and solar busses. They move a bit more normally, and seem less tense. Everyday I see at least one save another human being. We are not an alliance, or a club, or even a group, we just are.

   Bella was now gliching as I call it. She was twitching, subconsciously calming herself down. With her head and an angle, she would quickly jerk it from side to side, her eyes locked on the seat that was shielding us from the view of others. I let go of her, unwrapping my arms from around her body. She was stiff and tense like a board and as soon as I let go of her she tipped towards the window her head hitting it with a bang. Now that she couldn’t move her head, as it was leaning against the window. She raised her arm to a 90 degree angle and began moving it and her hand in circles as if she was washing a table.

   The extra stress that her actions had put upon me began to wear off. Everyone had a certain level of stress they carried with them and adding more caused exhaustion. Taking a deep breath I sank back into the seat. Feeling slightly dizzy after the ordeal. Right on queue the driver of the school bus walked slowly up the three steps to his seat. Practically dragging himself into the chair, not bothering to put on the two government required seatbelts, or the helmet. It was Friday so the GSS or Government Surveillance System was off for repair. In a painfully slow way he pulled his arms to the top of the steering wheel and started the engine. Every time the bus was started the vibration seemed to calm everyone down even if all that meant was a blink or a deep breath. It always made me think about the past. When stress was called drama, when it meant school work or family problems.

   Suddenly a red light on my I-GLASSES began flashing. Words popped onto the digital sunglass screen. 10/11/5008
;;;:THOUGHTS RECORDED:::;.,dr2t ;;;NOW PRINTING DATE ONTO TAPE;;;’;;:PLEASE INSERT NEW MEMORYTAPE;;;667d;

…:;,NEW MEMORYTAPE INSERTED;;;’’’;  “”:;;:’PLEASE WAIT:;;;;;   ;::THANK YOU, THOUGHTS WILL NOW CONTINUE TO BE RECORDED;;lkl.

   I placed the used memory tape into a pocket inside my coat to upload onto the computer later…