A New Beginning (The Faceless Future Trilogy Book 1)

By Nate Allen

President Pummel has plans to implement a system to replace currency in its entirety: “Money is nothing but a way to distribute power. The Credit Chip would render money obsolete. Debt forgotten, felonies erased... past mistakes wiped clean. With the Credit Chip, a new beginning is truly possible!” But, what’s the cost?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nate Allen
• Release date: Oct 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370619849

Book preview

A New Beginning

Book 1

Nate Allen

Copyright 2017

–The Credit Chip–

1

"My name is Tyler and I want to share with you my story. I was buried in debt. My marriage was falling apart; we were going to lose the house! I was near the end of my rope, but, then I heard about a new beginning. No debt! A brand new credit score! Was it possible? Honestly, it sounded too good to be true. Just another scheme, right? I thought, ‘Oh, how much money do I have to put into this too-good-to-be-true solution’? Nothing! Believe you me. Nothing! I didn’t believe in miracles, until one happened to me. The Credit Chip is my miracle. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself." the man on the TV changed his position, as he unbuttoned his right dress shirt sleeve and rolled it up to his elbow. On the inside of his wrist was a mark. It was something close to a barcode, but with less lines that varied in thickness, and fewer numbers: 033060330. This is no scheme. I’m going to quote our great president. ‘Money is worthless. It’s just sheets of paper. It’s just a way to hand out power. But, with the Credit Chip, everyone is equal.’ A new beginning? Equal classes? Isn’t this what we all want? A phone number appeared at the bottom of the screen. The procedure takes less time than a visit to your doctor. It hurts less than a tattoo. And it heals faster too. the man smiled. I started out by telling you a story. Now, let me finish it. We not only got to keep our house, we qualified for a better one. a woman walked into the picture to join him. "And my marriage is better than it’s ever been." they both smiled as he put his arm around her. The words Credit Chip appeared above the phone number. And then the commercial ended.

Ken Cardiff watched the TV with his eyes wide open. This Credit Chip was already too close to him. His older brother, Kyle, in and out of jail for the last few years, now owned that very thing. It was only one of the many markings on his heavily tattooed arm. But, it scared Ken. His brother had always been misunderstood. He fell in with the wrong crowd early on and never recovered.

He only wanted a new beginning, like this ‘Tyler’ from the commercial had. But, the words Rosy said only earlier that night scared him. She talked about the book of Revelation. She said the Credit Chip was the mark of the beast, and that the newly elected president was the beast himself. She said that the fact that he’d done more for this country in less than two years, than any other leader had before him, was only another sign. If what she said was true, Ken knew that his brother was already lost. But, she had to be wrong. The president was a humble man, who received people as they were. It was one of the things that made Kyle go ahead with the procedure. A new beginning. Don’t we all want that?

Even though they didn’t see eye to eye on everything, Ken and Rosy were a close pair. They met as kids. She was a giant compared to him when they were young, but now the equation was flipped. Ken was six foot three, and Rosy five foot seven. They were already thinking about marriage. Kids. What comes after. High school had been done for almost two years now. They had tried college, but debt was the only outcome. They were a close pair with many things in common, but they were also mismatched. When Rosy wasn’t around, Ken would make fun of her faith. He would say, It’s old words from an old book. Yet, on this night, all he could think about was that old book. And those old words. And how, since his brother got the procedure done, something in him had changed.

And not for the better. He wasn’t bright and full of life like ‘Tyler’ from the commercial. He was quiet and reserved. He wasn’t the brother Ken grew up with. Only two days after his procedure, and Kyle was already a shell of his old self. Sure Kyle had been troubled, but at least he still had sparks of life. Now, they were gone.

2

Rosy closed her eyes, thinking about Ken. She thought about his ocean blue eyes, his dark blonde hair, and his smile. Oh, that smile. When she first met him, that smile was more gaps than teeth. He was the smallest boy in her grade, and the quietest. But, he grew into a loving man who had hold of her heart. No one else compared. No one else had that smile, or those ocean blues.

The only clock in her room was digital. A red glow in an otherwise dark room: 1:18 a.m. She had just given nearly an hour of her time to studying the book of Revelation, and even though the bible was closed, the words still stuck with her. That mark on Kyle’s wrist could have been pulled from the scriptures. Even the numbers. Though not three sixes, it still came to it once adding the first and last set of threes together. When she thought about Ken, she also thought about Kyle. He had had a quiet crush on her for years. And even though she didn’t feel the same way, it didn’t mean she didn’t care about him. Ken was her someone, which made Kyle nearly her brother.

Jesus. she whispered with her eyes closed. Please be with Ken tonight. And please, don’t let it be too late for Kyle. But, she already knew it was.

3

Kyle laid with his face turned toward the wall. His right wrist itched badly, like the time he had accidentally picked poison ivy to wipe tree sap from his hands when camping. It was a mistake he regretted, much like the one he had now. Ever since getting the Credit Chip implanted, a voice had followed him home. He didn’t feel empowered like ‘Tyler’ from the commercial. He could only think about all of the rejections in his life, from the way his parents looked at him when he was hauled away due to possession of heroin, to the sorry smile Rosy gave him when she said she didn’t feel the same way toward him.

His life was only rejection. Fs in school. Alienation from his peers. Never good enough for anyone. Never the first choice for girls. Always the lesser choice. Every rejection he ever had was playing on his closed eyelids like they were a movie screen. And he was watching as something unfamiliar started to build up inside of him.

He saw his first days of school. He saw fights with his brother, and how his parents would always side with Ken. He saw every disappointed look his mom gave him, and every embarrassed expression his father would display. And then, he saw Rosy, and how she reacted to him telling her how much he liked her. That was right before she chose Ken. Another rejection. But, here is where it stopped. The rejection from Rosy. It started back at the beginning, when he told her he liked her. The result was the same. And when it got to the end, it started over again.

He started to cry quiet but heavy sounds. It was something close to the exhausted moan of an elephant. It didn’t stop. It only intensified. It didn’t matter that Rosy had rejected him nearly five years before, it still hurt. And he still wanted to be with her. She was everything sweet and loving that he wanted. But, of course, his little brother got her too. He got everything.

4

If Kyle had lived in a state that wasn’t so progressive, the procedure would have been illegal. But, Iowa was a progressive place. It was the fourth state to sign the New Beginning Act, following New York, California, and Florida. The state was now in a building process. The Credit Chip scanners were starting to pop up in local grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and retail outlets. Everything was free for those with that little chip.

For those without, the world was continuing to crumble. Debt was no longer a hole to climb out of. The option simply wasn’t there. The country owed too much money to other countries. And it looked for the money from its inhabitants. Money that just wasn’t there. The poor continued to lose; the rich continued to gain.

But, President Pummel set out to change that. He came from poverty himself. Always looking in from the outside, always wishing he could have nice clothes, a warm place to live, and meals that would stuff him full. His story was a best-seller: From Poverty to Power. Critics called it many things, summed up in these words: the humble beginnings of a great man.

Equality was his pitch from his obscure start in the Senate to the Spotlight. Equality. No lower class, no upper class. It baffled and amazed his predecessors how he could change the status quo in less than two years. Or at least start to change it. He had a plan that was coming to fruition, something no one else before him could claim. There were still many hurdles to overcome, but he was making progress.

5

It was late enough that nothing remotely good was on the TV. Mostly infomercials, and old reruns of shows that didn’t interest him. Ken shut off the TV. Immediately, his eyes focused on the closed door only feet away. Kyle was in there, once again having to live at home because he couldn’t keep a job. It was the second time in two years. Their mom was about second (and third and fourth) chances; their dad was about tough lessons. He didn’t agree with Kyle being at home again. But, he let him stay for the night: a very short grace period. He still had a soft spot for Kyle, because he knew the potential his oldest had. The potential he had wasted.

Ken was a body of goose bumps as he heard his brother’s moans. Slowly, he stepped toward the door. Cold air was slipping from the crack at the bottom. Cold air that wasn’t just cold, but heavy. And sad. And almost paralyzing. His bedroom was upstairs, past a dark kitchen in an already sleeping house. He was scared. He wanted to call for his brother, but he didn’t know what would answer. Something unknown was down in that basement, something Ken had never felt. All at once, the lights shut off. And he could only hear the almost inhuman sounds his brother was making. They weren’t just the sounds of crying, they were the sounds of manifestation. The unknown was surfacing.

Ken closed his eyes and ran toward the stairs on the opposite side of the basement. It was an aimless, desperate attempt to escape a fear even his worst nightmares hadn’t produced. But, he tripped and fell and was knocked out cold.

6

A peace rested over Rosy that she couldn’t explain. At times the dark was filled with weird sounds and monstrous shadows. Tonight, it was filled with peace that was undeniable, and palpable, and everything she needed. It was like Jesus was sitting at the edge of her bed, calming whatever worries she had. When she would close her eyes to sleep, she saw clean light. She didn’t see Ken, or Kyle, or the increasingly dangerous world. She saw light.

Life is but a vapor, Rosy. It was a quiet thought that fell into her mind like a small stone into a body of calm water. She knew that her life was almost done. When she opened her eyes again, she had to call Ken. She had to say goodbye. Her phone was a fancy touch screen; her background was a sun setting behind the three empty crosses on Golgotha.

She unlocked her phone with a swipe of her finger, and then pressed 2, until the goofy picture of Ken cross eyed with a small helicopter beanie on his head came up on the screen: calling Future Hubby. The words swayed across the screen. It rang four times and then went to voicemail: "Hey, you’ve reached Ken. I’m sorry I missed your call, but leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as