Re-Education Camp

Chapter 1: Get to Work

I was still a bit groggy and stiff from the drugs and the long train ride from the city to the countryside. It was so strange, I was on a train, and then a bus for hours, but I can barely remember it, like I dream. The noises I could hear were getting louder, doors opening, mumbled speech, shuffling feet. I got off the bed and looked around. My room was small and spartan, though it had the clean and white style that the regime favored. I was wearing white boxers and a white undershirt, I have no idea where my clothes are, my wallet, my phone, its all confiscated, but that's the price you pay when you drop out of college and become a dissident.

My smart watch was gone and had been replaced by a larger model with a steel bracelet and bigger screen. The screen had the time, it was 8:30AM, and a few numbers in the corner. There were no buttons and touching it didn't seem to have an effect, even worse there was no way to take it off and the steel bracelet seemed incredibly durable.

I saw a shadow through the small window of the door, then it opened, "EF67, put on your uniform and report to the dining hall," said a burly guard in body armor.

"Hey, what uniform, what's going on? I demand due process under the law," I said approaching the door. The guard entered the doorway, pulling a baton from his belt, I jumped back but he was too quick. A strong gloved hand took my arm and the baton landed almost gently across my chest. I felt a shock and my muscles immediately stopped functioning. He let go and I collapsed on the tiled floor, unable to move.

"Your motor functions will return in 3-5 minutes, due process has been suspended for class A dissidents. Put on your uniform and report to the dining hall. You will comply," the guard said and exited the room. I laid there unable to even move my eyes, all voluntary muscle control was suspended.

'Great, they've chipped me,' I realized. When my motor functions returned I got up and explored the room. The steel door to the outside had a large window, I grabbed the handle but it wouldn't turn. "How the hell am I supposed to leave if you locked me in!" I yelled. It was a small bedroom with a padded bunk protruding from the wall. There was a toilet, wash basin, medicine cabinet, chest of drawers and closet. I opened the top left drawer and was surprised to see plain white women's panties, the drawer under that had bras. A smaller middle drawer had regular white socks and a drawer underneath it long thin white knee high socks. "What the hell?" I said. I quickly opened the right top drawer and saw plain white men's boxer shorts like the ones I was wearing, the drawer under that one was similar white undershirts.

I opened up the medicine cabinet and found it stocked with menstrual pads, tampons, basic shaving and grooming supplies, and even first aid. Next I went to the closet and found that it contained several identical copies of a men's and women's uniform in various sizes. 'I guess it's a unisex room?' I thought. The men's outfit was a pale blue pair of coveralls and a blue ballcap. The women's outfit was a pale pink mid length dress that buttoned up the front, hanging on the side of the women's uniform was a pink sunbonnet. On the floor of the closet were sturdy work shoes in a selection of sizes. There was a chute near the closet labeled soiled wash, and another one labeled trash.

"The regime sure likes their traditional gender roles," I said and pulled the blue uniform off a hanger in my size and put it on. The watch buzzed on my arm and when I checked it said, "uniform connected." I pulled on the socks and put on the shoes and both times the watch buzzed indicating I had put on clothing items. 'This is some fancy tech for prison,' I thought.

When I returned to the door it didn't open for me, but the watched beeped. The screen said, "hat." I went and put on the ballcap and then the door opened. I entered the hallway. There was a sign nearby that said men's dining and women's dining with corresponding arrows so I followed the men's and arrived at another door which opened for me. Inside only a few men were eating from trays at long tables, two guards stood on either side of the room. There were trays on the counter of bland food so I took one and sat down. In a few minutes an older guy came by and sat down beside me. "Hey you're a new guy right?" he asked.