35
Blood smeared from Jason’s hand onto his pants leg as he panted for breath behind the old building. He didn’t know how long he just ran for, it was all a blur. Jason couldn’t believe his number was called. They would be searching for him now, and he knew that they probably already found the wallet he cut out of his palm. The teenager had no idea what to do next. Without his wallet he couldn’t buy food, clothes, or even a room for the night. All he could do is run. So he did
Garrett. Phillips, Jason’s father, was an early investor in CitizenCoin (CTZ). The investment had paid off handsomely, with over 1,000 times profit from his initial seed money. Mr. Phillips smiled as he remembered vividly his ex-wife throwing her wine glass against the wall during dinner when he told her about the investment. In her defense, Phillips thought, I did refinance the house to do it.
On Jason and Alice’s 13th birthday, he had surprised them with their very own CTZ wallets. The twins were ecstatic; after all they were two of the last kids in their classes to get them. Garrett never dreamed of the wealth that CTZ would provide him, and he sure as hell never dreamed that his son’s address would be among the monthly conscription alert. The war had been going on for almost 20 years now, and it wasn’t going well. Just three months ago, President Farris lowered the conscription age from 17 to 14. There was no push back. There was never any pushback. Not since the rebellion of 2037 at least. If his children didn’t already have the chip, it would have been mandatory anyways after this Executive Order.
The IRS agent sitting across from Garrett cleared his throat, bringing the red-eyed father back to reality. Mr. Phillips cleared his own throat, trying to push the lump down and be strong for Alice. God only knew how scared she already was without him having a breakdown.
Garrett Phillips looked back up at the seven IRS agents in his house; four wearing full body armor and carrying short barreled rifles, and three sitting shoulder to shoulder on his expensive leather couch, wearing identical suits. All three suit jackets had identical bumps on their right sides when they were sitting. Three more guns. Garrett had never even seen a gun before today, and now he couldn’t turn around without a nameless stranger carrying one in his own home.
“We need to find your son sir.” The agent in the middle said in a low voice, not a quite whisper but somehow threatening in its delivery. “It is treason to remove yourself from the Blockchain. This is for his own good.” Almost as an afterthought, the agent added “And for your own good as well.”
Garrett nodded, unable to speak. His eyes kept drifting down to the miniscule pill shaped wallet on his glass table between the agents and him. The pill was covered in blood. His son’s blood. Garrett couldn’t hold it in anymore and tears streamed down his face.
Jason had removed himself from the CTZ Blockchain. He was now considered a ‘Bug’.
There was only one thing that the government did with Bugs.
