The day that changed my life started like any other day. Of course, I'll start with the day before the day that changed my life. I was woken up by the government radio broadcast, which played nothing but music that praised the "Lawd". Sorry if I offended any of you out there, but I was never one to follow the beliefs of the government. Besides, I thought the way he pronounced "lord" was pretty funny. I could hear my mom at the just outside my room telling me to get up. She had made me get a job at the Holy Library in what was once known as the Loop area, which is where I had to work today. I had read that many years ago, young men and women would gather in these places of higher learning known as "universities", where everyone lived away from their parents. I am 20 years old, so if I were living then, I'd be in one of those universities. Too bad they're all gone. Dammit. I drove to the Holy Library. It contained literature pertaining to Jesus Christ and other Christian figures.

I made my way to the entrance, where a priest was waiting for me. He led me to a place where I had to sort a whole bunch of stuff. Dammit, mom! It took me 3 hours to sort about half the stuff there. At noon, the priest entered the room with some food. "I thought you might be hungry, dear boy." He said.

"Thanks." I sarcastically replied. Soup. I had grown tired of that crap. I wanted something else, like an apple, but the damn government outlawed it because apples caused the so-called "downfall of man". I finished my soup, which, by the way, tasted terrible, and went back to work. The Holy Library also contained books that the government had not banned, like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia books. I hated them, because they sucked. The priest walked up to me, and said,

"If it makes you feel any better, you have the whole day to sort these." Great. He's masking his laziness to make it seems as though he's sympathetic. I groan in disappointment. I want to get the hell out here ASAP! Strangely, he sees my disappointment. "I see you don't want to be here." I nod. "Well, I'm sorry about that, but you signed up for this job." Frak! I sighed and went back to work. I could not believe my mom signed me up for this job. It was all just a bunch of religious scripture that was all that stuff. I had no interest in it. I guess that's why my dad always told me that if I didn't fall in line I'd end up either living on the streets, in jail or whatever. I didn't care. Another 3 hours later, and I was done with that room. I was thankful that there were other people working in the Library so that I wouldn't have to do the whole thing.

The priest took me into another part, which contained Christian history, including history of America before Evergreen took over as President 100 years ago. They never really said anything about what America was like back then, pretty much saying that before he took over, America was not a pretty place, and the government was "satanic". That was all they said. Soon, however, those statements would be exposed as lies. The books contained were simply books that glorified Christianity. Too bad they didn't condemn the "burning times." This room was a little smaller than the other one, so it didn't take me too long to finish sorting the books, only 2 HOURS!!! Yes, I am mad. Finally, my day ended. The priest came into the room and approved of my work. "You'll get your pay today." He said. That was the first thing that actually made me smile.

"Why thank you." I replied. I was hoping I could get some cash so that I could go to a nice restaurant that served Italian Beef sandwiches. Damn, I loved those! The priest led me out. Then, suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a door that looked kind of strange. I had no idea what it led to. But I was going to find out sooner or later.

My wish for the good amount of money that I'd receive came true. I had never heard of anyone getting their pay on their first day of work, but since the priest liked my work, he paid me $150. Hi-oh! I ran out of the Library to the nearest place where they sold Italian Beef. The streets were filled with hover cars, which debuted six years before Evergreen came to power. I got to the restaurant and I saw the scene. It had mostly guys in suits and stuff like that. 50 years after Evergreen came to power, things like Italian Beef, barbeque, and other food like that were subjected to higher prices, which prevented the common man from enjoying these foods, but the elite could-in other words, government officials, businessmen and clergy. I was part of what was left of the ever-dwindling middle class. The place was filled--not to the brink--with the kind of people who I hated. However, if I could get some Italian beef, then so be it. When it was my turn to order I stepped up to the counter and said, "Italian beef and a medium pop." A few minutes later, I got my sandwich. It was AWESOME!!! I had not had something like this in ages. I ate it slowly in order to savor every bit of it, as well as the dip that came with it. I was upset when I finished it, but at least I got something that I loved instead of some crappy soup.

As I stepped out, I noticed the sun was starting to set. I had to get home soon. Since my mom wasn't cooking dinner tonight, I was free to have my heavenly Italian beef. Out on the street, there were signs and billboards of Jesus EVERYWHERE. You literally could not walk a single foot in America without seeing a picture of Jesus. Distracted by those eyesores--since they get annoying when you see them WAY too much--I did not see a hover car coming right at me until a second before it would have it me. I jumped out of the way, yelling "Watch where you're going!" Jerk didn't even stop.

I got back home, which was in the former area known as the Beverly Neighborhood. The area was one of the last bastions of middle-class America that still existed at the time. I walked in the door, saying, "Mom, I'm home!"

"Hello, dear." She said to me. I went upstairs to my room. "How was work?" She said.

"It sucked." I replied. I make my way to my bedroom and plop down on my bed. I begin to think about that door. What did it lead to? My curiosity would get the better of me. And change American history.

The next day-the day my life changed forever-I drove to the Library again. This time, the priest let me roam around for a while and told me that I could stay later in the night--he was really saying that I had to stay until midnight. I don't think all priests are jerks, but this one sure is. I called my mom and told her that I wouldn't be home tonight.

Later that night, when most of the people had left and I was on break, I headed to the room with all the history stuff in it. I browsed through some of the stuff that was there. I was bored, anyways. At some point, I leaned against what I thought was a wall. Turns out it was that very door I saw the day earlier. Surprised, I jumped when I felt the cold metal of the door. As I said before, I am a very curious individual. I looked around to make sure not one was looking, and I opened the door. The door fell off its hinges. I looked around. The room was pitch black. I found a light switch. What I found amazed me: books that had been out of print since the mid-21st Century when the theocratic government took over. Not wanting to get caught, I put the door back on its hinges, closed it and repaired the hinges. My dad taught me how to do it. I looked around. I saw one book that interested me. The book was a history textbook for American schools in the 21st Century. I opened it up and I landed on a page that had the text of a document that Americans for many years had held sacred. It stated:

"In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." My eyes widened. All men are created equal? Unalienable rights? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Holy crap! This was so fresh! So amazing! So…radical! I loved it! I kept reading. "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Woah! The right to overthrow a government!? Amazing! This thing was so awesome! I kept reading. The document was a declaration by the Congress of the British colonies of North America, stating that they would not live under British rule anymore because of actions by the King of England that angered the colonists so much that these guys were willing to risk their lives for what they believed in. I felt something in my eye. It was a tear. It was so…beautiful. I was getting inspired. The reasons for revolution reminded me of living under this tyrannical theocracy. I kept reading. I found another document. It started:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." I was, shall we say, intrigued. I read the whole document, which stated what the former federal government can and cannot do. Then I remembered former president Evergreen, who had basically VIOLATED this entire document. In fact, the whole government was the exact opposite of what these people had intended. Evergreen had stated outright that America was a Christian nation. I saw none of that in this document. The people who wrote it CLEARLY intended it to be a secularly run government. I also read the Bill of Rights, which gave Americans freedoms that the government could not take away, including freedom of speech, religion, assembly, due process under the law, a quick and speedy trial, a fair trial, unlawful searches and seizures and—while being brilliantly masked—separation of church and state. Unfortunately, the dictatorial government a century ago had removed the freedoms. I thought about what life was like back when Americans actually had freedoms.

I read the book long into the night, catching up on American history. The book talked about key moments in American history: the American Revolution; the American Civil War; slavery; World War I; Prohibition; World War II; the 1950s, '60s, 70s, '80s and '90s and '00s. One thing in the book reminded me of today: George W. Bush. He reminded me of what happened with Evergreen. In fact, Evergreen may have reminded people of Bush. I could see virtually no difference between them. Of course, it's possible that Jim Evergreen was worse than Bush, considering Bush was a lame duck for that last two years of his presidency. However, one bad apple did not dim my new view of old America. I also saw another figure who seemed to match Evergreen: Adolf Hitler. I don't have to tell you about him, you already know it. The history that was being taught in schools about Evergreen was that he made America better, but now I could see that it was a lie by the government to keep the kids under control. I wanted to keep this book. I left the room and went for my backpack. I put the book in my backpack and exited the room and closed the door. I looked at the time. It was 10:00. I still had some work to do.

I finished at 12:00 midnight. The priest who ran the library came up to me. "Done already?" He said.

"Yeah." I replied. I took a deep breath. I had a burning question on my mind. I decided to ask him. "What's freedom?" I asked. A simple question in the early 21st Century, but apparently, in the mid 22nd Century, it was practically taboo. The priest's eyes widened.

"Freedom?" He asked, his voice quivering.

"Um, yeah." I said. The priest took a deep breath and said,

"Freedom is what nearly killed this country. The people who founded it felt that people could go gallivanting around without fear of repercussion. They turned people into beasts that felt that they could do anything they wanted. Our current government civilized this country. You should be grateful to them for instilling a fear of God in the people and calming them down." I was shocked. Freedom nearly killed America? What? I couldn't believe my ears. "Why did you ask?" He said. I said,

"Just popped in my head. I don't know what I was thinking." I fooled the priest, who let me go. I left the room. Now I was worried that I would get caught. I exited the library quickly, then, as soon as I left, I ran. I ran all the way to my hover car. I ran because I was afraid I would get caught. I got in my car and closed the door. I took some time to gather my self. I had just stolen a book that had been banned and put into a vault to keep people from finding it. "Get a hold of yourself, Jack!" I said out loud to my self. I started up the car, and backed out of my parking spot, looking for cops. I left the parking garage; the streets of Bethlehem-AKA Chicago-were empty. I drove home that night with a new found political philosophy. I hated the government now. I wanted to live in an America where I could say what I wanted and not get arrested for it. I wanted to be able to live freely, but the current government would not let me.

I got back to my house at about 12:20. My mom and dad were asleep in their bedroom. I trudged upstairs with my backpack, tired from the day's events. I changed into my pajamas, slumped into bed and fell asleep instantly.