The Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev : Totalitarian Rule

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Journal Entry I
DIES MARTIS A.D. X KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
- Steve Jobs

When my brother was a teenager, he had a journal in his possession. He wrote in it every night, and I'm honestly not sure about what. We grew up on a farm in Southern Russia, what was there to right about? I can imagine him saying "Oh, the chicken laid five eggs this morning." I always told him I wouldn't start a journal, perhaps due to that rationale : We lived on a farm, nothing interesting ever occurred. However, now I am in City Eighteen, and I do not live the cleanest of lives, and am not the most loyal of people. My life is more interesting than my brother's life was when he was a teenager, with that red velvet journal with "Life" in Cyrillic on the cover. My brother never was a very important figure in my life, perhaps he will be soon. This journal isn't just here to mark events in my life. It is also here to track.....business. Business inside the city that relates to operations outside the city. Operations that may one day liberate us from the rule of the Combine.

Today marks a new era of my life, and perhaps in time, a new era in history. Today I go from smuggling for Merriam DeSanto to starting my own...business. Let's face it here. It's not a business, it's a gang of sorts. I have connections with Resistance members outside the city. This gang.......will remain un-named. I don't intend on running it like the idiots you see running around these days. Idiots that end up in detainment cells in the Nexus or on a razor train to Nova Prospekt. The issue with those gangs is that they think they need guns that make them conspicuous, and overall they don't know what they're doing. They're acting like gangs of the old days. Instead of helping people, they're trying to fight the Combine, and in turn hurting the people. It works two ways. Instead of trying to fight the Combine, they could be helping people, and in turn hurting the Combine. But no, they are too uneducated, ignorant, or naive. So, I and fellow members will be helping people. We may eventually get a name. But until we are organized enough, there is no point.

My brother will be transferring to City 18 from City 14. There was an exogen breach, they evacuated the city. He is the key to this operation. He has time and experience with the Lambda Movement. He spent time exploring the lands outside of cities, where most strangers don't dare go. He's seen the world as it is now. And his experience will be needed. He willingly entered City 14 to escape the dangers of the world. He is our connection to the outside, our lifeline. I've realized I never got around to our......business.

The business involves smuggling. Not smuggling weapons, that would be idiotic. If we smuggle weapons, every citizen gets a weapon in the city, riots start, shootings, murder, and then Overwatch gets called in to purge the city and we all die. That would be a poor attempt, to no avail. So we will smuggle mainly items of nourishment. The purpose and importance of this, is that civilians who rely on us for nourishment, and not rations distributed by the Universal Union. They contain memory-dissolving agents. Through proper nourishment, civilians will be able to remember more, focus more. We will also give medicine. This nourishment and medicine, such as antidepressants, allows for people to focus, and be exuberant when the time comes to overcome the Combine, at least in our city. And if you give people who are against resistance, such as loyalist, proper nourishment, whether it be willingly or by force, they will soon realize why they should not be so loyal. It stops people from joining the Union Civil Authority, and creates more resistance-willing members of society. It's all in due time.........it will require innovation from those exuberant members of society to distinguish the leaders from the followers, as Steve Jobs would put it.

Business Entry I
DIES MARTIS A.D. X KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

x5 Bottles of Water
x1 Melon

Tracking # : 000001

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Tracking Page - Listed by Tracking Numbers


Tracking #000001
Current Location : Stockpile City - Sold
Destination : Undetermined. City - Sold

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Journal Entry II
DIES MARTIS A.D. X KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe


"Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil."
- J. Paul Getty

Things have gone well since I wrote my first entry earlier today. I met up with a man who had a very nice home. A whole security system including cameras. Very interesting. I tended to his home and am there currently. I'm not sure where he ran off to. Another person I met has come to be a very trustworthy subject and perhaps will be willing to work for me. Sadly, I met up with a person from my past. His name is Ace. I nearly had to kill him, after I caught him eavesdropping. My brother should be arriving via train later today or tomorrow. I ought to catch some shut-eye. Good night.

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Journal Entry III
DIES MERCURII A.D. IX KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was late last night when the razor train arrived from City 14. My brother, Konstantine, found his way to the base with no trouble. With him he brought two boxes of .357 ammo for my revolver, and a medical uniform that I will hold onto for my dear life. I visited the stockpile early this morning to pick-up some medical supplies. I do believe I grabbed five bandages, five cans of steroids, and five health vials, although I don't remember the exact amount. Today, I've been in District One, hanging low, trying to stay out of trouble. If I get caught with these items while I'm in District One, I will not be safe for long. I am relying on patience today. I haven't seen Rob or Jason, but I may enter District Two later today when I get the chance.

Being in District One, I've learned something. Shit is a lot worse here. I entered the UCH and immediately saw a man mugging another man with a pistol. People who spend their time in District Two, have a general understanding for each other. We don't use our guns on each other. We don't use our guns on civil protection. We use our guns as a defensive measure, and never as an offensive measure. Every once and a while, an idiot gets a pistol from a civil protection recruit who got his ass kicked being some arrogant shithead. Those idiots come knocking on the base, and Jason, Ulrich, Konstantine, and myself teach him a good lesson. Yesterday, we were able to smuggle and distribute bottled water, Chinese takeout, melons, and antidepressants into the city. It all went well, and most of the items were distributed - for free of course. Currently, the smuggler's ring consists of me, Konstantine, Rob, Jason, and Ulrich, although he is usually off doing his own things. To my knowledge, Rob doesn't have a weapon yet, and I wish to keep it that way. He is more nervous than a dog during a sever thunderstorm, and giving him a gun could be trouble. He's also really annoying, always talking about his plans to escape the city, even though I have my own plans, and his plans will get us killed. Lucky for him, though, my morals prevent me from firing a round into his skull. I need to get in contact with Jason and Rob later to see how the base is doing. Periodically, Jason takes it apart to go run errands somewhere, so I never know if the base will be there, and if Jason will be there. Rob always seems to be there when I arrive however.

So for now, I'm waiting it out patiently, and later today I will go into District Two. It may be later today or early tomorrow that I make another entry from District Two. Au revoir.

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Journal Entry IV
DIES MERCURII A.D. IX KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

"After being Washington's aide for four years and becoming the hero of Yorktown, Hamilton was viewed with a great deal of suspicion because of his association with Tories."
- Ron Chernow

I returned to District Two today. Still no word from Jason. I saw Rob in District One, and I don't think he'll be working for me anymore. I asked to have a word with him and he said he'd rather not. Later on, I was picking up some interference on our frequency so I changed to another one. I'm thinking Rob may have compromised it. I've began changing our escape plans in-case it has been compromised, and I no longer use the base we used to - although I may begin using it again at a later date. I've started giving medical aid to other citizens in District Two. I hooked up a working washing machine using some old car batteries, copper wire, and some Civil Protection stunbaton batteries. I connected it to the water line that goes to the freezer to allow for automatic ice-making. I intend on only using the washing machine to clean the clothes of those injured who I give medical aid to. I don't want to waste the washing machine and the power of the car battery on my clothes or others who will be fine without it. I'm keeping down low for now. This compromise of information has really hurt the smuggler's ring. We will recover, however. Hopefully I'll see Jason or Konstantine, tomorrow. Who knows where Ulrich is. Goodnight.

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Journal Entry V
DIES MERCURII A.D. IX KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIX A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

"You have to believe in yourself."
- Sun Tzu

The man fell as the bullet plunged into his skull, now becoming a perpetrator to his flesh. Blood splattered and smeared on the freshly painted white wall, and the cleanly finished wooden floor.....

....I've not been having the best of days you could say. I was in District One again today, due to a sweep in District Two. The UCH was scorching hot, and with no air conditioning, people could really use some deodorant. I used my car battery to power a small electric fan in my apartment. All around was crime, more than I had ever seen in District Two. More than I'd even seen in Moscow over a month lapse. Rape, murder, and well....more rape and murder. There was a man who I saw drag an unconscious woman into his apartment. He continued to pull out a knife from the cabinet. Being the medical professional I am, I asked him if the woman was okay. He immediately ordered me to leave the room. I yelled at him, and he ordered me again and I left. He continued dragging more women around. Later on, he approached me while I was upstairs in the UCH. I asked him if the woman I had seen earlier was okay, once again. He pulled out a knife from the sheath on his soldier. The blade was bent, unintentionally, and the material the knife was made of was rusting. It had a small drip of blood on the tip. The handle of the knife was the complete opposite. It was a well-kept ivory handle with six lines running through it and a golden cap at the bottom. The man lunged forward with the knife, attempting to stab me in the gut. He missed however and fell over. When he got up, a man who had crept up from behind grabbed him. The assaulter tried to lunge at me again, but the other man held him back. As they privately fought each other, I reached into my bag and pulled out my well hidden .357 magnum. It was very dusty so I blew it off. The metal shined under the light-bulb hanging above. I reached into my backpack and struggled as I tried to pull one bullet off of the belt I stored in there. After pulling it out, I hit the release with my thumb, allowing the cylinder to fall open, and I inserted the bullet into the slot that would be chambered upon the pull of the hammer. In a one-motion jerk of the wrist, the cylinder slid back into the place. I slowly brought the thumb of the hand I was wielding the weapon with, and ever so slightly pulled the hammer back, until I heard the click that I hadn't heard since the Afghan-Russo war in the late 80s, the last time I had ever fired the weapon. The Kremlin emblem etched into the side of the cylinder was glowing, and in a way, so was I. I prayed to God the weapon still worked. I slowly moved my right index finger back, until I felt the trigger. I stopped for a moment, sweating as I was, and thought for a blink and said a little prayer in my head, and then squeezed the trigger. The bullet flung out of the cylinder, through the main corridor of the barrel, and out into the oxygen-filled hallway. It continued for a few feet until reaching the soft flesh of the head of the former assaulter, and now victim of self-defense. He fell to the ground with a thud, and the man who was holding him back looked at me in awe. I knew I wouldn't have much time for escape. I threw the revolver into my backpack and fastened it. I ran downstairs to the lobby and remained there. It had been nearly twenty years since I had last shot a man, and I had some second thoughts. But, then I thought. Justice had been served.

[tics]

Journal of Arkadi Chernyaev
Totalitarian Rule

Journal Entry VI
DIES VENERIS A.D. VII KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIV A.U.C.
City 18, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

"A lot of people don't realize that depression is an illness. I don't wish it on anyone, but if they would know how it feels, I swear they would think twice before they just shrug it."
- Jonathan Davis

The death of that man has affected me greatly. Mentally and physically, I am feeling ill. Very ill. I have extreme headaches, I'm having heart issues, and stomach pains. I have pain all over. In all my years as a medical professional, I have never seen anything like it. My vision is becoming blurred, and my hand iss shoking su much I can hurdly forn letters fully.

The end is near for me, and I don't want to suffer. A wise man who I can't remember the name of once said, "Suffering is a side affect marking the end of a life well spent." Perhaps I have spent my life well. I am not even middle-aged but I don't think I'll last much longer among civil protection, and if I even made it out of the city, I'm sure I would've been killed.

I leave this last entry in the loving memory of the man who fell victim to my unnecessary acts of defense. I have breached my morals, and I hope I will be forgiven. It's been a good run, and as I lay this book and this pen down, I will take a moment to think. I will then overdose on my medication, and go to bed. As I have said many times before, au revoir. Life has been great. In the words of Louis Armstrong, what a wonderful world. [The pen leaves a trail line of ink at the end of the sentence.]

[tics]

Postmortem Record of Citizen #11485
The Wake of the Storm

Record I of I
DIES VENERIS A.D. VII KAL. IVL. MMDCCLXIV A.U.C.
Nexus Block, City 18, Ukraine

A recruit walks into the apartment, finding a man lying, dead, but comfortable. A peaceful way to die is always beneficial. The unit calls for NOVA. He then searches the man's backpack to find the contents to be : one medical resistance uniform, empty cans of steroids, and an empty bottle of heavy sleeping drugs with the label scratched off. a revolver, and forty-two .357 magnum rounds.

The NOVA DvL runs in, and quickly prompts the recruit on what happened. The recruit sarcastically replies reminding the DvL that he was the medical professional, not the recruit. The DvL bent his arm over and slapped him on the back of the head. The DvL picked up the body and carried it back to the Nexus block until reaching the designated treatment room. He began his autopsy like any other. He took a blood sample and ran it through the system. However, unlike most autopsies that require the hassle of removing a bullet from the flesh, the blood sample gave the DvL his results. Arkadi had died a forced drug overdose. The DvL was almost shocked that he would think to do this, and began searching through Arkadi's backpack to find a degree rolled up. A bachelor's degree in medicine from the University of Warsaw. As emotionless as the DvL was, he couldn't help but crack a grin. There was also another item in the backpack. A note.

To whom it may concern :

I took an overdose of drugs instead of shooting myself to save you the trouble of cleanup and removing the bullet.

Your welcome,
Arkadi Chernyaev

The DvL laughed. He put the blanket over the lifeless corpse, tagged it, and sent it off to the regional morgue, where it would be stored until cremated.

Arkadi Chernyaev was never able to fulfill his dream of escaping the city, but he couldn't stand the physical and mental torture he was enduring. For the few that knew him, may his memory live on forever. In the wake of the storm, may people learn of his struggle, his fun times, his happy times, and his creative times.

Thank you for reading this journal,
Nikolai

[SkeptiK]

Very good read, keep up the good work.

[YankeeSamurai]

This writing receives a 10 out of 10.