2055

      I am writing to tell you what life is like for me now. I have been living these last twenty years or so in silence. I have no one with me here in the jail which I was placed in many years ago. Once there were people in here with me, but they did not last long. At first the conditions here were very bad and we were put through many difficult tests, but things got better as our captors weeded out those they did not want to keep. Why I was kept, I don’t know. There are other people near me, for I can hear their voices from time to time and noises which suggest that people are moving about. My food is brought to me on a plate, which, when I lick it clean, I am able to get a slight glimpse of myself. I have grown quite a bit of a patchy beard, for I have never been able to grow facial hair very well. I still have colour in my hair, but at this point, I’d be willing to shave it all off because of the oil and grime which has overtaken my head. My teeth are all gone due to lack of oral hygiene, but at this point it doesn’t matter much. I have not been given solid food for many years. I have very thick wrinkles across my face. I had always known that I would have the wrinkles, and looked forward to the day they would be this pronounced. Now that my wife is dead, I do not have as great a desire to crinkle up my face and show off the deep crow’s feet around my eyes. There are deep lines in my forehead from the days I spent thinking about what word next to put on the paper. My captors have allowed me to write and have encouraged me to do so every day.
      Each day they bring me fresh sheets of paper and a pen with which to write. At first, I wrote angry letters about what was happening. Later, after I had written all the anger out of my system, I continued to write after that just so that I could remain sharp and not just wither away into nothing. During this period, I have written many stories, countless poems, and numerous stories about what life used to be. This is my first attempt in a very long time to attempt to write about what life is like for me now. I am given a newspaper every day so that I can keep up to date on the current events. This is what I use to write some of the things that I do.
      Life is so different for the people now. After the war, it took the world a long time to completely settle down. There are new rivalries and new alliances. The United States is still one of the largest super-powers, but now that Brazil has equaled them in using their resources, the two of them are a very powerful team. The UAS (United Arab States) and China are equally strong foes. The former Soviet Union was further broken up after the fall of the “Iron Curtain.” The balance of power can almost be described as the Americas and Eastern Europe against Western Europe, Asia, and Africa. Since the oil supply from the UAS has been cut off, there has been many improvements in the use of solar energy and the harnessing power created by thunderstorms. There are many advantages for this concerning the environmental problems created in the 20th century, but new problems have arisen since the atmosphere is being robbed of most of the energy it once held. New research is being used to find yet another alternative, but as of yet, nothing has been found.
      Because most of the people in my generation died, fighting the war, I am one of the few people in the eighty and over group. Most of us are locked up, as I am, but there are a few out there. The free ones are worse off than I am. As I read about how the elderly are laughed at and told how worthless they are, I think I’m lucky to be here, where I am. I have a roof over my head, free food, and at least some medical care. The ones outside the wall are stuck. They are forced to work till they can’t continue, at which time they have only the money they have saved to that point on which to live. Governments are not supporting their elderly. It has been decided that until the generation that knew life before the war has all died off, they are not going to try and keep the elderly around. Because the people will be able to describe accurately the way life was before the war, they are dangerous to the new system of government.
      As I said, I was lucky, down here. When I was captured, I was not treated very well. It may have been because of the things that I was writing, but I for whatever the reason, they struck me where they new it would hurt. Having heard about my fear of not being able to walk, they would occasionally tear some cartilage or pull a ligament in my knees or ankles. Because of all of this, I am no longer able to walk. I have a wheelchair, which is the only seat in my room. Since I was chosen, I now get medical treatment instead of torture. I am now better off than I probably would have been if I was outside on the streets. The care I get is pretty basic, like I said, I have lost all of my teeth, and I can’t walk, but other than that, I can’t complain much about my health. During the war, cures were found for most types of cancer, and so I have been cured of several types which had begun to develop while I was much younger.
      Of course the real question is if I really want to continue living. I have learned to live under my current situation pretty well. At first I was all alone and it was depressing having no one to talk to, but I have found other forms of recreation which help me survive the hard times. After I got my poem called “Sir Lancelot”¹ published in the newspaper, the editor of the paper was flooded with letters from people wanting to play me in chess. Each morning the white player has until noon to make their move, where it is published in the afternoon paper. When the paper comes out at 1400, black has ten hours to make their move and have it in for the midnight deadline of the paper. I am doing fairly well in the matches, but there are clearly some people who are much better than I am. But I now have an outlet to the people, so I’m happy.

¹ “Sir Lancelot”
Have you ever wondered where thoughts come form?
Have you ever thought maybe your original thoughts weren't that original?
Maybe it's because we are all pawns in a chess game.
Except for me, I'm a knight.
Quick, agile, able to leap tall castles in a single bound.
Of course landing on all those religious people hurt.
They carry those crosses which end up in the darndest places.
But hey, it beats being a king that runs and hides whenever danger is near.
And we all know I have the love of the true queen.
She is beautiful and powerful.
But I stay on her good side cause she can be nasty.
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