by Pete Thorsen
The news programs on Thursday evening also relayed some other information concerning the US military. It seems the government had been closing down many US military bases that were located in foreign countries and moving the troops and equipment back into the United States over the last several months. Some foreign bases that were deemed vital to US security would remain open and in many cases were beefed up with additional men and equipment from other foreign bases. US Naval Forces were also being redeployed.
Many Navy ships were being stationed near our active foreign bases to provide additional security to those vital areas. The bulk of the rest of the Navy was being brought back near the United States to patrol and protect the USA. It was also announced that all US consulates were being closed, some temporarily and many permanently.
The US was withdrawing from the United Nations and had asked them to relocate their organization to another location outside of the United States. We were also withdrawing from NATO though the government did say if there was a war the USA would support other countries if it was in the best interest of the United States to do so.
If that wasn’t enough of a shocker the news on Friday certainly was.
“This is a special bulletin from the US government. The SNAP program commonly called the food stamp program has been terminated. Realizing the need to help feed the many citizens in the United States we will be opening food distribution centers in most cities. Citizens can come to these centers to receive food rations if they are unable to provide for themselves and their families.
This food will be passed out but it is not free. Records will be kept and at some point those that receive this food will be required to either reimburse the government for the food or will be required to work off the incurred debt. To receive the food, go to one of these food distribution centers with all members of your family who wish to receive food. Bring identification with you for each family member.
Each person receiving food will be required to be injected with an Identification Chip. There are no exceptions. No chip equals no food. This chip will prevent people from receiving food at more than one location. The chip will also act as a credit card to allow you to both receive food and receive credit for work performed. In larger cities there will be many of these food stations that are open every day and in small towns there might be only one that is open only one or two days per week as needed to handle the number of people applying for food distribution.
We will be opening these food centers as fast as we can and the locations will be broadcast by all radio and television stations. The locations will also be posted at many local stores and offices. Work details will also be posted at these locations when work is available.”
Over the weekend we debated the two major announcements from our government.
“The steps taken by the government seem logical enough though chipping the citizens seems rather harsh.”
“The scary thing is the fact that this has all been planned out for a long time. Look at the closing of the foreign bases, the manufacture and distribution of the several million of the chips along with the machines that will read and implant those chips. The locations of the food distribution centers have likely been in the works for some time and they probably have the food already stockpiled in those centers.”
“It makes one wonder what all those chips are capable of doing. Are they just information holders of your name and other information or are they also location beacons. Or are they capable of administering pain to the wearer on demand.”
“They are never going to put one of those in me.”
“Well right now it is basically being left up to the individual. If they want the food they have to get chipped. I could see other requirements in the future. Maybe in place of your driver’s license you have to be chipped or if you just want to buy food you have to be chipped. Or eventually if you want to live in the United States you have to be chipped.”
“They sure did an about-face in regards to illegal aliens. In the past they welcomed them with open arms and gave them just about everything. Now they can’t seem to get rid of them fast enough.”
“I think they served their purpose. The illegals helped bring down the United States and now are no longer needed. At this point to the government they are just excess baggage that are eating our food supplies.”
“How did they help bring down the USA?”
“They took jobs away from citizens and paid little or no taxes. They got free health care, food stamps, welfare, and many also received money like the ‘earned income tax credit’ all of which added tremendously to the financial burden of the state, local, and the federal governments.
Often most of any money they earned was sent out of the USA back to their home country instead of being spent locally to help build our economy. They were mostly all driving with no automobile insurance which cost all the other insured drivers again putting a strain on our economy.
They filled many of our jails and prisons and clogged our legal system, again costing all of us through higher taxes to pay for that. And they illegally voted for those running for office that promised to give them even more free stuff.”
“So you think the federal government planned this whole dollar collapse out in advance?”
“Yes and no. I believe they knew very well it was coming and maybe knew that for several years. Just look at those chips that they are going to put in people. Those chips had to be first designed, then tested, likely then redesigned with changes, and then mass produced way ahead of time to insure that they would work and that the government had plenty of them. Think how long that had to be planned out. It would have taken several years at least for all that to happen.”
“I have to admit that chip deal had to have taken a long time to get ready and the government certainly did have a major change in regards to the illegal aliens.”
“I doubt we will have elections this fall and maybe never again. I fear the United States ‘the land of the free’ is gone, possibly forever.”
“If that is all true are we going to fight? I for one am never going to have one of those chips put in me.”
“Calm down little daughter of mine. We will take this one step at a time. Can you guys connect to the internet out here?”
“Not right now. We could go into town and use a connection there. That would be better anyway because it would be much harder for the government to track who it is then. I assume you want to try to get some un-tainted information?”
“I think we are on the same page. Try to find out anything you can about what is really going on but try to do it as safely as possible. I would say that extreme care should be taken. I do not trust our ‘new’ government a bit.”
“I have a couple ideas that will help shield us from the government’s prying eyes.”
“That’s why I convinced Amy that she should marry you. I sensed an intelligent and cautious man. Perfect to take care of my daughter.”
“Oh that is so funny, Dad.”
Sunday we all went to church and I carefully got an idea how the other members of the church thought about the doings of our government. Naturally they had a mix of feelings but I felt that most were now looking at our government with a much more cautious eye.
On Monday I started listening at work to see what people there might think about their government. Monday morning Mac had told me he would spend some of the day in town checking things out on the internet. That night at home I was surprised at the extent Mac went to in an attempt to remain anonymous while on the internet.
He first checked a couple bulletin boards in town where people posted notes about things they had for sale and lost dogs or whatever. On one of them he found a used laptop for sale from someone who needed money (which was almost everyone at this point).
He called them from one of the few pay phones in town so they would not have his phone number and then met them at a gas station in town. He parked a couple blocks from the station so they would not ha
ve a chance to see his car. He wore a hat pulled low and sunglasses so any video cameras would have a tough time getting a clear view of his face.
After a quick check to see if the laptop worked he bought it with cash after haggling the cheap price down even lower. After the seller drove away Mac wondered around a little in town and used several different free wifi hotspots without going into the actual buildings. He only stayed online at each spot a half hour or less.
He never checked his own email or checked his bank account or anything that might tie him or Amy with this new used computer. He kept the hat and sunglasses on the whole time. After he was done with his surfing he wandered around some before finally going back to his car and coming home. Then he told us some of what he found out.
Chapter Ten
“Anyone who has ever been on the internet knows it is a haven for anti-government conspiracy theories and with what we now believe about our government it is hard to discount hardly any of them. Hard information is very sparse on the internet right now. And many more people on there are very wary about what they say anymore.
The amount of distrust in the government has sky rocketed and I think rightly so even if it is a little too late. I regret none of the effort or expense I went through today just to get on the internet. I made not a single comment on the net but instead just read and tried to learn. And I tried to separate fact from fiction. The last was the hardest part and was pure speculation on my part.
Many, many people believe that the plan is to chip everyone in the USA. And many expressed the same statement as Amy that they would never allow themselves to be chipped. I think there is going to be another civil war in America’s future and it will not be far away if the government does not change.
It was said and I believe it is true that everyone currently in the armed forces as been chipped. Several people said the troops were told it was just another inoculation against a new virus that had started in the Middle East. This seems to be very plausible and would not even raise an eyebrow to those in uniform. The location of the shot was strange because instead of the arm or butt it was between the shoulder blades. This was the only thing that those troops found curious but not alarming.
Nobody I thought was credible on there had any hard knowledge on the capabilities and uses of this chip. The government has done an excellent job keeping it all totally a secret. There were many theories about what it could and could not do but I think they were all just guesses or malicious disinformation.
Other than that what is now on the news seems to be true. There were no credible stories of any cover-ups in any part of the country. Word out of other countries was on par with what we are now seeing on the nightly news.
Everyone on the net seems to be waiting for the other shoe to drop or something big to happen. There is a lot of speculation about Martial Law coming soon but it is mere speculation and no one has any concrete proof of anything. And that is about all I found out today.”
“I think you found out plenty and I thank you for the effort. That fact that they chipped those in the military to me means they have every intention to chip every single one of us at some point in the near future.
The fact that this chip deal is such a highly guarded secret makes me want to think that the chip does more than just store a small amount of information. But that is obviously just speculation on my part and guessing about what it might do does us no good at all.”
“I think we should do an internet search once a week to try and stay on top of what is happening and maybe learn what is going to come next.”
“I agree once a week is a good plan. We could go in to get a few groceries and other shopping plus a little listening to what others are saying here locally maybe while you do your thing on the internet. Then we could pick you up so your vehicle was not just sitting there where it might eventually draw some unwanted attention.”
“That is a good plan and we could split up with us ladies casually talking to other ladies who might be a little more open with their views.”
“Saturdays are always the busiest and would likely be the best day. Both for the most contact with others in the community and more people would provide more cover for Mac.”
So that is how we started our weekly reconnaissance runs to town. We talked about how to draw out others while saying very little ourselves. We all decided we had to do everything very low key. Better to get no information rather than draw any undo attention to ourselves.
The rest of my last week at work I listened closer to what everyone was talking about. I really had little work to do because the place would be shut down in just a few days.
It was supposed to close on Sunday with that the last day of work for everyone but the administrator quietly asked me if I would come in and work on Monday to do everything necessary to ready the building for an extended vacancy with no power and heat in the building. Naturally I said I would be in on Monday. I was told my last paycheck would have to show I worked on Sunday as that was the last day he could schedule anyone. I said that was fine with me.
Most of the talk at work was centered on how everyone would get by without a job. This led to discussions about getting in on the food distribution and this led talking about getting a chip. Most everyone was afraid of the having a chip put in. Some even said they would starve first.
Of course that was easy to say now when they had a full stomach. They might be eager to get a chip after a few days without any food. Even the most liberal of the workers seemed to now have a little fear of our government. Patients were being shipped out everyday and by Friday when I left there were only a few patients left.
On Friday afternoon the administrator came to talk to me. He double checked that I was coming back on Monday to permanently shut everything down. I assured him I would make sure everything was shut down and ship-shape before I left on Monday afternoon. Then he told me the real reason he stopped to talk to me.
He said it was very doubtful if the place would ever reopen again and I should feel free to take anything left in the building on Monday. He said he would be here on Sunday and would be giving away all remaining food to everyone and the remaining medications to those nurses he trusted. I was to take anything that was left here on Monday if I wanted it.
He said to bring my truck and a trailer if I had one and clean the place out. There might not be much left anyway because he would be giving stuff away on Sunday also. I thanked him and said I would clean up some of the stuff. He said lock the door on the way out Monday and throw away the key then he thanked me for all the years I had worked here.
Saturday afternoon all of us came back to town for our first reconnaissance mission. Well it was really just trying to get an idea of how the local population felt about their government. Happy, sad, fearful. or even angry; what was everyone’s opinion of the US government. At the same time Mac would see what he could find out on the internet.
We all split up and we did do a little shopping but mostly just listening. At the agreed upon time we all wandered back to the car and came on home. That evening we talked about what we had seen and heard. It seems many people are now distrustful or angry at the government and all were angry about the chips, even those that did not need any hand outs.
Mac said there was no new information that he could find on the internet. Everyone was mainly just worried and complaining on there. The grocery stores in town had very little on the shelves. The shelves were not bare by any means but selection was poor and stocks were thin.
This was likely just due to people stocking way up on food which everyone we talked to now seemed to think was a good idea. Nobody thought there was shortage of food but they wanted just to have a little more on hand at home. I think many thought that our money might soon be worthless (a very real possibility) so best to spend it now.
On Monday morning I did hook my trailer behind the pickup and Mac said he would ride with me and help out on my last day. I did all the work that needed to be done w
hich went much faster with Mac’s help. I then called the Minister and asked him if the church wanted a big bunch of blankets and bed linens that they could pass out come fall. He thought it would be good idea and said to bring all I could.
So Mac and I first loaded the pickup with the bedding and hauled it over to the church. It was quite a load and the Minister said he thought many people would need more blankets this next winter with the way things were shaping up. Then we drove back and started loading the pickup and trailer. We took everything we thought we might use or that might have some value for selling or trading.
There was even some bulk food left in the kitchen area that we brought home to add to our stores. By the time we were done both the pickup and the trailer were loaded high and we carefully tied them down for a slow careful ride home. It was supper time when got back home and we left everything loaded so we would have something to do the next day.
The rest of the week went by swiftly. The weather warmed to way above average and we got a warm rain one day. The stuff packed on the truck and trailer we found spots for in some of our sheds. On Saturday we all went to town again. This time Mac did buy a fishing license so he would be legal to fish even though fishing season was not yet open. He had to buy a non-resident license which was quite a bit higher but he wanted to be totally legal.
We all did a little shopping. There were three stores that were having ‘going out of business’ sales with huge mark downs on their prices. Another one was already closed and boarded up. There were few shoppers though and the whole town looked more like a Tuesday than a normally busy Saturday. There were also very few cars on the streets and roads.
