Hoax and Change

By LL Saenz-Garrett

We thought these truths to be self-evident...
Hoax and Change is a political passion play, a cautionary tale of what the future could hold for America.

What would happen if the government...
...kept you healthy by monitoring everything you ate?
...defined your social position by the clothes you wear?
...rewarded you for your ideology rather than your ability?
...put policy ahead of people?
...gave you so much for free that you lost your freedom?

The Players:
Jack (the yellow stripe) - A skilled worker in the petrochemical industry, he and other employees of “dirty” industries have been ghettoized by government takeover of their former employers. By wearing a yellow stripe on their clothing, they are entitled to free housing, food, and basic needs, but no longer participate in the free economy.
Ariceli (the greeno) – An idealistic college student, she has joined Team Green, intent on making the world better while also benefiting from government favoritism.
Aaron (the Golden Bill) –A white collar worker in the financial industry, he and his colleagues have been blamed for income inequality. Erosion of private property rights has left him without hope.
Ed (the Forgotten Man) – A remnant of the proud working class of the past. He understands what the country has lost. America has forgotten men like Ed, but they have not forgotten America.
The 1%er – A nameless representative of the wealthy business class who have fled overseas. He continues to influence and profit from afar.
Green Hoody – The mysterious manipulator behind the President’s control on popular support.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LL Saenz-Garrett
• Release date: Mar 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465898104

Book preview

Hoax and Change

LL Saenz-Garrett

Copyright 2012 LL Saenz-Garrett

Smashwords Edition

www.hoax-and-change.com

Chapter One: May, 2046

Jack

the Yellow Stripe

It was a crappy old bus. It shuddered and surged, trying to get to the top of the bridge, but ultimately it failed, as it did 3 days out of five. Jack didn’t know if it had been a crappy old bus before the greenos made the company go electric, but it was sure crappy now. The passengers sat, knees folded, heads scraping the ceiling, on a two foot stack of batteries that didn’t hold a charge long enough to get them home again at the end of the day. There were four video screens in the center ceiling. The driver sat in his glass box at the front, the only place with air conditioning. His face and his stupid floppy green hat showed in a corner of each video. He wore the hat all the greenos were so proud to wear. Hand knitted in some commune out of organic hemp, dyed green in clover juice or some shit like that. The screens were supposed to show inspiring video while the driver educated them, improved them, enlightened them. But really...the same crew, the same bus, the same driver, every day. The screens were mostly always black, the driver not even bothering to talk to them anymore.

Finally the driver eased out the side door. The greenos claimed to love nature, love the outdoors, love the earth. But this guy was smearing on sunscreen just to walk to the back of the bus. He yanked up the back hatch, fiddled with something, and the diesel generator began to crank and cough. At least today the idiot had left enough battery to start the generator. It spat like a cannon and blew black smoke up along the roof. The guys sitting at the back, half asleep after a long shift at the plant, got a good face full of smog. They were lean, tough, sweaty. They were beyond giving a shit. They breathed this stuff all day. They were yellow stripes. No sunscreen on these guys.

The driver got the diesel to high idle and went back to his box. With the power on again he would have his air conditioning back. Jack leaned his temple against the window and stared out. They would sit here for an hour, maybe more, holding back one lane of traffic until the crappy old bus got enough charge to hump on over the bridge and get them home to