“Ms. Day? We’ve just landed. Mr. Rackoff is waiting for you outside.”
The “ball rocket” (as Kelcie called it) landed on a large circular platform, with large white flashing lights all around the perimeter. Up ahead Kelcie could see out of her door that there was a huge metallic building. Kelcie climbed down the ladder sluggishly. She forgot how much flying made her so tired, even though she had done it so many times for volleyball tournaments.
“Here’s your book back Mr. Jensen. I didn’t get very far into it, but I found the first chapter very interesting…”
A smile warmed on his face.
“Well, I’m glad you liked it.”
While Kelcie was walking to the building she felt that every breath she took was stifled.
Why does the air feel so dirty? How could this be D.C.? I’ve heard of pollution but this is ridiculous!
“Ow… what?”
Kelcie bent down and saw that a small rock had fallen on her head. The rock was completely covered in dirt.
Well, maybe I’m not outside…..
As soon as Kelcie opened the door to the building she felt like she stepped into the Death Star or something. Small lights were flashing, and there were touchable holograms hanging from the ceiling. As far as her eyes could see there were computers and agents. Kelcie saw one white robot ball that rolled to a desk. The ball began to hover and then dropped a small disk on the desk.
Hmm…. The government must be really into robotic balls at the moment…. How could all of the technology possibly be achieved already? And if it has why has the government kept it from us?
“Kelcie. Where’s your uniform?”
Mr. Rackoff’s cold voice rang in her ears.
“I just landed, I didn’t have time to put on a……a uniform? What uniform?”
He rolled his sullen eyes, and spoke with an aggravated voice
“Your uniform. Everyone who works here wears a uniform. Now please go put it on.”
“Yes, Mr. Rackoff, sir. Oh I was wondering…. Where are we exactly?”
“Ever heard of the White House?”
“Well yeah, of course.”
“If you stay quiet and put your head up to the ceiling, then maybe you can hear the President bowling.”
Mr. Rackoff walked away as Kelcie stared at the ceiling.
“Kelcie! Go put on your uniform.”
“Oh, right.”
Kelcie wondered how she would ever find her room. It could take years for her to stumble upon it.
“Umm…. Mr. Rackoff?”
“Your room is in that hallway there; the third door to the left. Now go on.”
Kelcie quickly walked away, to find her room.
“Third door to the left…. No that’s my right, this is on…..the left….woah.”
The room was huge, and it was nothing like Kelcie had ever seen. She was more used to the ratty comforter with beanbags piled on the floor. This was different. There was a bed that looked like a white dome, and on one wall side of the bed was a huge T.V. Along the wall was a box-shaped white leather couch. Kelcie walked over to her closet and pressed the button that would open the doors.
“Well, this is….nice. Eeew this is my uniform… Ugg I wouldn’t be caught dead in this ugly thing. How come everything here is black? Why not a little color? Ya know like blue or something….You’d think the government was going through a serious state of depression or something.”
On the ottoman lay a card with the initials KD written on it. Kelcie ripped it open and read.
‘To Our Dear Friend Kelcie Day:
We heartily thank you for your cooperation. Enjoy your new room.’
“Ha! ‘Cooperation’. What cooperation? I was forced!”
She tore the card to shreds and flopped herself on the bed.
Kelcie’s muscles tensed as the straps in her chair were tightened. A doctor stood in front of her scribbling on a clipboard.
“For the record state your name, and date of birth.”
“You know my name.”
“For the record.”
Her jaw was so tight that she practically spoke through her teeth.
“Kelcie Day. June 2, 1997.”
“Thank you….”
He finished his scribbling, sat down his clipboard and picked up the needle. Kelcie’s heartbeat was so loud she could hear it pound in her ears. Her breaths were short and stifled, as if they weren’t just taking the blood from her but also her oxygen. The needle pierced through her skin and she tightened her eyes.
Stay calm….stay calm… you can do this….Oh I hate needles!
With her eyes closed she could intensely feel the blood being drained from every vein. Every quickened heart beat was another pain, when her heart tensed so did the needle. Everything was spinning. She felt like she was falling and spinning, and that everything in her was being sucked out of her by a vacuum cleaner. Her head was throbbing, it was pounding harder than her heart at this point.
It’s OK….you can get through this!
She opened her eyes and saw the clear bag now almost half red.
“STOP! Stop it! I can’t do this! I will do the surgery! I’ll do it! Just stop this thing!”
The doctor gave a smile of satisfaction, and flicked on a switch. Kelcie could feel the blood pouring back into her veins. She winced from the pain, and again closed her eyes.
“Well, well Kelcie. I knew you’d come around eventually, just needed a push in the right direction.”
Gene’s voice added to the pain that she was already feeling.
“The surgery will take place tomorrow. I will see you then.”
He shut the door and Kelcie’s head fell down. Her heart was consumed with tears.
I can’t fight this anymore…..
“Is everything going as planned?”
Mr. Gene was pacing back and forth with his phone in hand. On the other end was Mr. Rackoff.
“Yes sir, everything is going just fine. The operation is tomorrow.”
“Good. Listen, if anything happens I am blaming it all on you. I didn’t spend 20 years of my life working on that microchip, waiting for you to make some stupid mistake.”
“How could anything happen? Even if she tried to pull something dumb, she couldn’t get away with it. We have surveillance on her 24/7. But remember I get my end of the deal. No cuts.”
“Yes, yes no cuts. You get all I promised you! But Gene, this chip, it only has one purpose: complete control over the brain. Do you know what that means?”
“I think I do.”

I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
Kelcie was strapped onto a hospital bed in a surgery room.
“The surgery will begin in ten minutes.”
The doctor said behind the curtain.
Should I have died for what I believed in? Should have fought to the end? Is this really all that bad? Well, it can’t be good….I mean they’ve already done horrible things to me. Oh God please help me.
Her chest was heaving so much from the hard and heavy heartbeat. At the top of the room, a large glass window showed the faces of many eager people, waiting for the ten minutes to end.
“Ah, there’s our little poster girl now.”
Mr. Rackoff smiled.
“Can’t you just see it Gene? ‘Young girl decides to implant micro-chip that changes her life.’ If the world sees the perfect girl do it, I’m sure they’ll want to do it too.”
They all watched as a long needle was pressed into Kelcie’s arm.
Oh man, I hate needles……
Soon her eyes were shut and they began the surgery. A flap of skin on her right hand was opened, and a small black chip was slipped inside. All the while she knew and felt nothing as her eyes were sealed tight. She knew nothing of the chip that would damage her more than anything in the world.
Kelcie’s eyes opened, but I shouldn’t really call her Kelcie at all, it wasn’t really her. It wasn’t really her mind, and hardly her heart.
“How are you feeling Kelcie?”, Mr. Gene questioned her with a curious face.
“Fine.”
Her smile was so unlike Kelcie, without the twinkle sparkling in her clear blue eyes.
“Well the surgery seemed to be a success and you’re taking it all rather well.”
“Thanks.”
“Now Kelcie, can you tell me what you remember happening before the surgery?”
“Well, I… I remember you and Mr. Rackoff coming to my house and taking me here to the government base. You wanted me to get this chip because it would be like the “new best thing” or something. Ya know the next big fad, and I was gonna be the first girl to get it. I guess I am now.”
“You mean… you didn’t remember anything before that?”
“Ah not really….but I mean it’s not that important, right?” A smile grew on his face.
“Right. Hey kiddo, guess what? We are throwing a dinner party in your honor, for the success of the chip.”
“Really? When?”
“A week from now. And after that we are going to take a few publicity shots—“
“Publicity shots? Of me?”
“Of course. Kelcie you are going to be more famous than any 16 year old girl on the planet. Everyone in the world is going to know about you. Not only that, but they’re gonna love you. I’ve got a meeting to get to right now, so I’ll see you next week at the party.”
Wow, a dinner party….oh and I could wear a dress, and pull my hair back! I could look so elegant and sophisticated and drink wine and everything!
I’m sure if the right mind of Kelcie had heard those thoughts she would have screamed. At this point in time there really was no more Kelcie. Not the true heart, soul and mind of Kelcie Day.
“I must say Kelcie you look lovely in that dress.”
“Thank you Mr. Rackoff.”
Kelcie held herself with such a dignified air, that any of her friends would think of her as “unapproachable.” Her eyes weren’t a raindrop from a clear blue sky but more like an icicle that if you looked into too deeply could cut your very heart out. A dark line was rimming her eyes making her look like an Egyptian tigress ready to pounce upon prey. Her dress was like the wing of a crow draping to the floor. When she moved in the light the the ceiling would dance with dark colors from the sparkle reflected off her sleeveless gown. Her porcelain skin was brushed with fake colors, and her lips were painted with an almost black violet. The long hair that Kelcie loved so much to feel and brush against her face was tied back in a tight bun with just two curls framing her face.
“Excuse me, may I please have your attention.”
Mr. Gene stood on a large platform, as a thousand heads turned to hear the speech.
“I would just like to say thank you for all the hard work that went into this project. Hopefully in the near future, we can see every American get the privilege that Ms. Day has had.”
Applause rang through the cold air.
“Why don’t you come up here right now Ms. Day and give us a speech.”
Kelcie walked to the stage, stood at the center and looked blank for a moment. Her mind was trying to put together the right words. Or should I even say “her” mind…..
“Thank you all or choosing me to have this awesome privilege that no one else would have given me. Everyone else would have said you’re too young or it’s too dangerous. Well I can tell you right know that this,” she held up her right hand in the light for all to see, “is not dangerous. I trust Mr. Gene and Mr. Rackoff with my life, and I hope that soon all of you will come to the same conclusion. Thank you.”
Mr. Rackoff whispered in Gene’s ear.
“Didn’t I tell you she was the perfect poster girl?”
They both smiled, as the evening sky continued to darken.
“It’s too late—“
“It’s never too late David, let God be the judge of that, not you.”
“I have to get off the phone now before they start tracking it.”
“Listen to me David Jensen, tonight is a perfect night. Almost everyone is at the dinner party,the distraction is perfect. You could possibly get her out tonight. Take the chance. You’re the best pilot we have; and you’re only one to save her.”
“Ok. I’ll do it. I gotta go know, bye.”
David shut his phone and sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair as his back was leaned against the wall.
“Hey David, what are you doing back here?”
“Oh, hi Carol. I just—I just had to make an important phone call.”
“You always work too much. Tonight is supposed to be fun, our night off! And you know how seldom these days come.”
“All right. Hey have you seen Ms. Day? I wanted to have a quick talk with her.”
“Yeah she’s in the ball room talking with some men about her publicity shots tomorrow… If you ask me I think that little girl is getting a little too much attention! There acting like she’s a model or something. I mean she’s not even a blonde…..”
Their voices faded as they left the room and shut the door.
David quickly walked to the ball room and saw Kelcie standing there. He kept running through his mind what he should say.
“Excuse me, Ms. Day? I was wondering if I could have a quick talk with you?
His voice was unwavering, but he was still terrified for the future of this girl that rested on his shoulders.
“Sure David, can you wait a sec?”
“Actually, it’s very important, so I was thinking right now would be the best time.”
Kelcie sighed, and set down her glass.
“Oh alright. Will you excuse us.”
The man standing next to her nodded his head.
“Thank you Ms. Day. It has been a very charming evening.”
“Oh! Well, thank you.”
David chose one the farthest rooms away from the party that he could without rousing Kelcie’s suspicion.
“So you wanted to talk to me?”
David nodded his head as he shut the door.
“Yes—privately but first, let’s drink to your success.”
He handed her a glass and she giggled.
“This is probably about the hundredth drink I’ve had tonight.”
“Yeah well, this one is special.”
They both drank their glass, and Kelcie spoke up.
“So you wanted to talk to me, about what?”
“About…. if you give me the honor of being your trainer.”
“Trainer? I didn’t think I needed a trainer.”
“Every beginning agent needs a trainer.”
“Am I a beginning agent?”
“You will be one day.”
Kelcie looked away from David and her face changed. She looked like a computer that ran across a bad virus in its files.
“You know David; I’m remembering something about you, something sort of strange….”
David became uneasy.
“Something….something about a note—“
“Oh yes I remember that note…. I think I said something like: ‘You’ll be fine. Don’t be afraid of the surgery.’”
“No, no it said: ‘Don’t be afraid. I will protect you Kelcie.’ What were you trying to protect me from? The government? Mr. Rackoff? Or my success?! You David! You were trying to take away my chance—my only chance of success! And you were trying to stop the power of this.”
Kelcie held her right hand out in David’s face.
“This is the new power of the world, and I am the first women to have it. Don’t try to stop it.”
David shook his head.
“You’re not a women. You’re a sixteen year old girl who has been used and manipulated by the government. You’re not even in your right mind Kelcie!”
“I am in my right mind! And I know that you deserve death for the betrayal and treason you have shown to the government!”
Kelcie turned around and ran to the door, but David grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her back.
“No!”
Kelcie tried to scream, but David muffled it. Kelcie being the fighter that she naturally was didn’t give up easily. She tried to use her mind and chip to connect to the base, but she was getting out of breath. The air became thin to her, and then the room went black as her eye lids closed shut. David sat there holding Kelcie. He knew that she would be out for awhile, because of the sleeping powder he slipped in her glass, but that still didn’t give him much time. David gently laid Kelcie down as he scanned the room. He knew absolutely every passage way that there was, even more than most of the agents at the base.
Ok, so I remember this room in the blue prints…… let’s see, how do I get out of this room……
David remembered there being a specific way to get out in each room. He had memorized all of them but in his mind they were all running together. Above the table there was a huge portrait of Hitler. David walked over to the picture and stared at it for a while. A gold button on Hitler’s uniform caught his attention. David reached up, and rubbed away the paint. A gold button popped out of the picture and he cautiously pressed it. David heard a groaning metallic sound, as the picture moved down to the ground and a small flight of stairs came out. David could see a long dark hallway lit with faint lights. He slipped his phone out of his pocket.
“Hey Tana? Yeah I’m in room 201…..the one with the picture hidden staircase…. I need you to see if you can disconnect the cameras in the passageway. The last thing I need is footage showing where I’m going. Transportation? I have a B.O.L., I think that will be good enough. It’s small, and if I go fast enough it may look like a shooting star or asteroid or something. I’ve got to go now before Kelcie regains consciousness. Ok. Bye.”
David lifted Kelcie into his arms and carried her down the passageway. He feared that every move he made was being tracked. That maybe even his brain waves were being read.
Oh God Please. Please, let Kelcie come back to who she was. Let us come out alive.
David was “outside” in the underground earth, as he signaled for his B.O.L. a small ball of light sailed through the air right in front of David, and then rested on the ground. Its form changed to a much larger ball and it went from an eye piercing white light to a light grey. A little door folded out making a plank for David to step onto. It was so small David felt that his inmost being was becoming suffocated. David traveled as far as he could from the base until he saw a tall dirt wall. The B.O.L. went as fast as it could and shot straight up, shooting a hole into the dirt ceiling. The B.O.L. made a white streak against the sky, and many people remarked at what a lovely “shooting star” it was.
“Mr. Rackoff. We can’t…..we can’t find her.”
“Who?”
“Ms. Day….”
“What?!”
“We looked everywhere. That GPS that we put in her micro chip isn’t sending out a signal. We think that she must have run away with that man, David Jensen. He is gone as well.”
“Impossible! The mind-control was perfect. She never would have left willingly.”
“There’s really no way to tell sir.”
“Years of work, and for what?! To have my project run away! This will never happen again! I will never let the other one out of my sight!”
“Nurse, may I go see her now?”
David had been pacing for five hours after Kelcie’s surgery, still wearing his tuxedo from the dinner party. He had been too concerned to waste time changing.
“Of course. I must warn you though. She has suffered brain damage. Kelcie will have to re-learn many things. It may take her years to recover.”
“Yes….umm thank you.”
David pushed open the door and tapped on it.
“May I come in?”
“Yeah.”
Kelcie’s voice was so feeble, he could hardly recognize it.
“Do you remember me?”
“A little….hardly…. I don’t really remember much of anything.”
“My name is David. David Jensen.”
“It’s nice to meet you. And I suppose you know my name.”
David chuckled.
“Yeah, I kind of already know your name. Kelcie, can you tell me what you remember?”
Kelcie sighed and nestled into her covers.
“I remember a home, and being taken away from it by the government. A surgery….and I vaguely remember a party….”
“I’m sorry about everything that’s happened to you.”
She looked away to the wall and tried counting the flowers on the wallpaper.
“I’ve learned to accept it. Life is life, and life is tough. But ‘easy lives don’t make great stories’. I guess my life is gonna make a pretty good story huh?”
“Yes Kelcie. I think it will.”

“Alright Kelcie, how do you feel.”
Kelcie sat in a small simply furnished room. It had been 4 years since she had her micro-chip removed, and her brain was still recovering from everything that had happened to her.
“I’ve been able to remember things a little better. I’ve been doing my simple reading and math everyday…. A lot of the time I get really bad headaches, and—and I don’t know what to do about them.”
“Ok well, don’t take any heavy duty drugs. I will contact your doctor and we will figure something out for you… But over all, how do you feel?”
“Better… a lot better.”
“Hey Kelcie, I’m sorry I know your busy but I need you to see something right now.”
“Oh she can go David, her sessions over. I’ll see you next week Ms. Day.”
“Alright, thank you.”
Kelcie followed David out of the room; she could hardly keep up with his pace.
“What is it David? What’s so important?”
David sat at his desk and had a video ready to play on his TV.
“I found this today. Check it out.”
The video played, and all Kelcie saw was a beautiful young highschool girl, while David saw so much more.
“She’s beautiful, so what?”
“Ssh. Just listen.”
“Hi my name is Carlie Wile, I am 17 years old and I am the first girl in the world to have this little microchip right here in my hand implanted in me.”
“So Carlie why did you decide to take this chip? I mean wasn’t it risky?”
“No, there were no risks getting this. Ok like maybe a couple but it is like so worth it!”
“What is so great about this micro-chip?”
“Ok get this. I can’t txt people, I can watch movies, I can buy things—“
“How do you buy things?”
“I just scan this little finger right here and woosh it just does it for me. It is so the coolest, I don’t have to deal with cash any more, no credit cards or debit cards. It’s the best.”
“All right everyone there you have it. The new micro chip that will out-do any Smart device. The question of the day is: When do we all get ours?”
Kelcie was now sitting and her eyes were down.
“I can’t believe this is happening. This can’t be happening. It can’t be happening.”
It’s OK Kelcie, just calm down.”
OK?! Calm down? The government is trying to get everyone in the world to be mind controlled and you are telling me to calm down?!”
David walked over to Kelcie and sat beside her.
“Well freaking out about it isn’t going to do you much good.”
“What are we gonna do?”
“What can we do? Nothing.”
Kelcie let out a gasp as if tears were just about to come gushing out of her eyes.
“We can do one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Pray.”