2035
Chicago, US.
Unification Day…
Yeah, it was that time of year again for Occupied Chicago.
Across the brightly lit and rain pelted city, " Unification Day " , the anniversary of ADVENT's founding, was being all but shoved down the locals' throats. Streets were closed off, and the lampposts along them adorned with banners bearing ADVENT's insignia. Display holograms and billboards carried proud slogans like " ADVENT will guard your future ! ", and " Unification strengthens all of us ! ", accompanied by jingoistic pictures of rows of ADENT troops standing at attention, one arm crossed over their chests and Mag-rifles to their shoulders. Meanwhile, the actual soldiers, clad in matte gray armor, face concealing helmets and polished mag rifles in hand, were doing their damnedest to reinforce that image of ADVENT being an immovable, potent force: they stood at rigid attention at the rather sinister looking checkpoints that occupied traffic intersections ( with private cars outlawed under the ADVENT administration, said intersections were the ideal for regulating and controlling the flow of the citizens..).
As police states went, this one was even more rigid and inhospitable than most. Iconic elements of everyday life, like playgrounds and Starbucks', were gone. ADVENT had torn them out, determined to remake the city the way they wanted it, and run it the way they wanted too. Everywhere you went, seemingly harmless and ordinary things were now illegal, for no discernible reason. ADVENT had banned the sale of coffee, forbade people from owning dogs, and as a final insult, they'd imposed strict curfews. Anyone caught outside after the designated time could expect to find themselves on the business end of a shock stick, and then the interior of a prison bus.
To reinforce their harsh regime, the local garrison had constructed a plethora of " Security towers "; same height as a lamppost but instead of lights, they were equipped with x-ray scanners and high-res, night vision enhanced cameras, both of which constantly surveyed the area around them and everyone who moved through it. With one on every corner, the city's ADVENT ruling council could observe and track anyone and everyone they wished, at anytime, and at anyplace.
Or so they thought.
What they'd failed to fully take into account, was Chicago, being the city of its size, was riddled with small side streets and alleys crisscrossing it like the lines of cracked glass. Narrow and full of shadows, they'd escaped the attention of the collaborative government for being insignificant in the face of the gleaming boulevards and high rises that housed most of Chicago's inhabitants. None of said inhabitants ever ventured into those alleys, and ADVENT patrols had found nothing inside them aside from shuttered and abandoned stores, rodents, and rotting garbage.
Insignificant, and not worth their time.
That was just perfect for the lone, tall man making his way down one of said alleys. He moved with confident and measured strides through the rain, letting it slide easily off his camouflage patterned poncho he'd put on earlier. His hiking boots splashed lightly through the puddles that had collected in the rutted ground. A few rats scurried out for cover at his approach, ducking into the gutters and storm drains.
The man ignored their squeaks, focusing on the alley's mouth, and the brightly lit square beyond.
It was full locals, dutifully attending the Unification Day speech that was always given by the appointed ADVENT Councilman who ran the city. Emphasis on dutifully, since it was illegal not to attend a public ceremony on Unification Day. However, most of them seemed content, even happy, to be there. They eagerly milled around the main speakers platform, waiting for the councilman to arrive.
" Groveling sycophants. ".
The man in the shadows ground out his brief judgement of the crowd out the side of his mouth. He was disgusted at how willingly everyone seemed to be bending over backwards for the new world order. They went along with it, content and ever seemed to challenge or oppose ADVENT, at least not publicly. On the contrary, it was becoming common practice to do the opposite: people would personally thank patrolling and guard duty troops for their " noble and selfless efforts in protecting our way of life. ", and they'd even voluntarily turn in anyone even suspected of dissent.
Or worse…revolution.
Becasue tonight….at least for Chicago, the first sparks of it were about to be struck.