Kaleidoscope Revolution, Part 5

THE KALEIDOSCOPE REVOLUTION
by uciboy

NOTE TO READER:  This is a continuation of "Kaleidoscope Eyes" published June
30, 2002 and "Kaleidoscope Eyes:  The Gathering Storm" published November 9,
2002.  This segment also contains characters from "The Hong Girls" published
July 8, 2002.  My thanks to Loring Holden for some ideas about plot
development.


PART 5

Kim and Angela were amazed at the rapid speed at which the Anti-smoking
government fell to the New Society.  Though sporadic fighting continued in
some regions of the country, most Americans hid in their homes.  There was no
place they could flee as Canada and Mexico immediately closed their boarders
and the world community imposed a quarantine on America to prevent the
mutation from spreading outside U.S. borders.

As the hours passed, millions of Americans who had not yet been converted
waited.  What would happen next?  There was nothing on the television or
radio airwaves except rebroadcasts of Sister Kim's past sermons.

The New Society Church, however, had already made contingency plans to be
implemented as they took control of the major urban centers.  A Provisional
Government was quickly established in New Orleans with Sister Kim assigned as
the new nation's Spiritual and Supreme Leader, with Sister Angela as second
in command.  The task that awaited the Government was immense:  a new
governing structure would need to be created; tobacco growth would need to be
dramatically increased to meet the demand of over 200 million new smokers;
and, of course, those who awaited conversion would need to be re-educated.
Plans for the latter goal were put into play immediately as regions came
under control of the new Provisional Government and re-education camps were
set up to bring the unconverted into the fold.


As some communities began to receive word that the process of re-education
and purification would begin, non-smokers were ordered to report to the
pick-up centers around their neighborhoods.  Most went passively, but those
who didn't were forced onto the busses at gun point.  More than a few bloody
altercations had occurred when the Militia Units carrying out Sister Kim's
orders faced resistance.

It was a long bus ride between Baltimore and Richmond along highways that
were now choked with burned out vehicles from the fighting.  15 year old Lynn
Nakamura sat between her parents on the crowded bus.  She feared the men with
the diamond eyes and their big guns, but knew that there was little she could
do.  Her parents sat stoically, staring straight ahead, unaware of what would
happen next to them and their daughter.  The local officials of the New
Society Church explained that they would be well taken care of as long as
they didn't resist.  This relocation was only temporary, they were told, and
that they would be back safe and sound in their homes in less than a few
days.

Lynn looked out the window as the bus turned off of the highway into the
massive Philip Morris headquarters property.  The bus continued to drive down
a small road, however, until it came to a gated camp.  As the bus paused for
the militia units to open the fence, Lynn had an opportunity to read the sign
above the gate:  "Smoking Makes You Free."

The barracks were nothing more than temporary shacks and tents, obviously
erected quickly and recently.  As it was nearly 10 p.m., the camp seemed
deserted except for a group of civilians boarding a bus that was almost ready
to depart.  From a distance, she could discern something glowing in their
hands, as if they were each holding a pen light.  As the bus moved closer,
she realized that nearly all of the passengers were holding lit cigarettes,
even the kids except for the youngest.  

Lynn was filled with an instinctive sense of disgust.  Her parents had always
told her how awful smoking was, and of course this message had been
reinforced throughout her school years.

"Mom," she asked, "why is everyone smoking?  Don't they know how bad it is?"

"Shhh," her mother, Suki, responded in fear.  "Just be quiet Lynn."

When the bus came to a stop in the courtyard of the camp, floodlights
suddenly lit up the scene.  The guards on board the bus told the passengers
to stand up and prepare to disembark.  "No one is going to get hurt as long
as everyone follows the instructions," he said firmly.  "If you are split up,
I assure you that you will all be reunited soon."


When the passengers began to come off the bus, they were met by the camp's
administrator, who spoke no words as he chain-smoked through one cigarette
after another.  All he did was point in one of two directions:  children 13
and above were instructed to go left, adults 18 and over to go right.
Children and mothers started screaming as guards pulled them apart.  "You'll
be reunited soon," the guards counseled, but such words were little comfort
for a mother seeing her child taken from her.  

Lynn's mother held her daughter close.  "Whatever happens, Lynn," her mother
whispered in her ear, "don't smoke.  Hold your breath."  Lynn was confused
and didn't understand what her mother meant.  But before she could ask for an
explanation, she and her mother were separated.

"Mom," Lynn cried out as the guards pulled her to the left, "where are you
going?  Stay with me."  Her mother began to cry uncontrollably, begging the
guards that Lynn be allowed to stay with them - but to no avail.  Lynn's
father pulled his wife close to him as the guards pushed them down a path
leading into a large tent.  "Hold your breath!" Lynn's mother screamed.
"Hold your breath!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

The November air was cold and Lynn shivered in the night as she and 50 other
teenagers were marched to the far end of the camp.   Scared more than any
other time in her life, she didn't know what awaited within the tent that she
and her cohorts were being directed to.  What she found inside, however, was
not a cold and frightful place, but rather a warm and friendly atmosphere.
Streamers and balloons were hanging from the ceiling, heaters kept the tent's
temperature toasty, and a table of refreshments was set up near the entrance.
"Is this a party?" Lynn asked herself.

"Help yourself to punch and cake," a friendly young man in sunglasses
encouraged the teens as they walked in.

Never one to refuse sweets, Lynn picked up a piece of cake, poured herself a
cup of punch, and sat down in one of the chairs to survey the room.  At the
front of the tent was a small platform with a microphone.  Hanging on the
walls next to the streamers were large posters of happy people smoking.
"Smoking is Beautiful!" read the caption of one poster.  "Smoking is Fun!"
read another.  At the front of the tent was a large poster of a young Asian
American girl in a white gown smoking a long, white cigarette.  Lynn
recognized her as the girl giving non-stop sermons on the television over the
last few days.  The caption on the poster read, "Together we will build a New
Society."  Lynn nibbled on her cake, wondering what was about to happen next.


As the crowd of teens started to grow more at ease in this non-threatening
atmosphere, an Asian American teenage girl smoking a Capri 120 walked out
onto the stage.  It was Michelle Hong.  After converting her mother the day
the revolution began, this early and unshakable follower of Sister Kim
contacted a branch of the New Society Church in Baltimore to volunteer her
services.  By her side was her sister Patty who stood quietly smoking a
Saratoga.  Both wore sunglasses to try and put the teens at ease.

Michelle had been leading these orientations non-stop since the camp opened
the day before, but she didn't look tired at all.  Indeed, she considered it
a privilege to be able to spread the mutation to her generation.  And Patty,
of course, was especially honored by the Church for her services performed at
the White House that brought the quick downfall of the government of the
Antis.  Both would go on to prominent positions within the hierarchy of the
Church, and eventually the Provisional Government itself.

"If I could have your attention please," Michelle said into the microphone.
"I know it's late and that you are all tired and probably frightened, but I
promise that this portion of your re-education is relatively quick.  You'll
be reunited with your parents tonight.  Then tomorrow you'll attend a series
of seminars about the New Society Church and our savior, Sister Kim.  After
that, you can all go home."

Lynn's fears were considerably eased.  She'd be with her Mom and Dad soon,
and they'd be on their way home in no time.

"First of all," Michelle continued, "as a time saving measure, let me ask
whether we have any closet smokers in the room, or even 'wannabe' smokers?  I
don't want to be preaching to the choir here."

Some teens raised their hands confidently, while others did so with a bit
more caution.  Michelle counted 10 and responded, "I'm going to ask you to
follow Patty into the next room.  You all get an accelerated orientation."
The ten stood up and left confidently that they were special because of their
status as smokers.

"Well," Michelle began as she lit a fresh cigarette, "I want to welcome the
rest of you to the New Society."  At this point, she took off her glasses,
revealing her kaleidoscope eyes.  Lynn had seen these eyes in the guards who
forced her family on to the bus and was frightened by them.  But here,
belonging to a girl very close to her age - and with both Michelle and
herself being Asian American - Lynn felt oddly drawn to these shimmering
eyes.

"I know you're scared right now - and that's okay.  'Change' can be scary.
But I want you to look at the poster behind me.  This is Sister Kim, the
leader of our revolution.  She has taken us to the mountain top and shown us
what awaits in the valley of smoke below."  Michelle took a deep puff and
opened her mouth for all to see the ball of smoke in her mouth.  She closed
her eyes and snapped it back, and then slowly exhaled a creamy stream into
the light above her.  "Pleasure," she said as she closed her eyes in ecstasy.
"That's what awaits you in the valley.  Pure pleasure."


Michelle didn't pretend to have the extraordinary speaking skills of Sister
Kim, but the audience of teens did listen intently as she told them about her
own experiences of becoming a smoker.  "As I look out onto this audience, I
see my former self sitting there, thinking, 'This person is wrong.  Smoking
is bad for you.'  Like yourselves, and like Sister Kim at one time, I used to
be part of the 'Anti-Smoking Establishment' and worked towards a smoke-free
society.'  But I was wrong."  

Michelle gave her cigarette a tap, dropping ash onto the stage before
bringing the Capri up to her lips for another puff.  "Lucky for me I had a
mother who was willing to let me openly embrace the power of the smoke.  And
now, Sister Kim wants you to embrace that power.  Soon, you will bring your
parents into the fold, as well."  Michelle stood silent for a moment,
surveying the faces of the audience.  "Who will join us in building this New
Society?"

Immediately one teenager stood up and walked to the front of the room where
Michelle awaited with a fresh cigarette in her hand.  Michelle walked up with
a kind smile and said softly, "Welcome brother."  She took a hard puff on her
Capri, wrapped her hands around his face in a healing gesture, and blew a
cloud of smoke that engulfed his head.  The non-smoker couldn't hold back a
short cough.  She then placed her cigarette in the side of his mouth and
said, "Breathe in the power."  

The audience watched in rapt silence the conversion before them.  Michelle
turned the young boy around to the audience.  "Behold," she said, "the
Transformation that awaits you."  As the new convert opened his eyes, they
shimmered like diamonds.  At that moment, Patty led the 10 previous
volunteers back into the room, all of them holding lit cigarettes and their
eyes shining like kaleidoscopes.

"Don't be afraid my brothers and sisters," Michelle counseled the teens as
the newly converted fanned into the audience.  "Embrace the power of the
smoke."

Lynn felt a tremendous sense of apprehension.  Smoking suddenly didn't seem
like such a horrible thing now, but her mother's voice continued to ring in
her ears.  "Hold your breath.  Hold your breath."  Lynn sank into her chair
as the teens around her one by one accepted conversion into the New Society.
Suddenly, Michelle came up to her and smiled.

++++++++++++++++++++

Suki, with her husband by her side, sat sobbing on the cot in their dark
make-shift cabin.  "Lynn's all alone," she cried tearfully.  Then the door
opened and in the darkness stood the figure of a small girl.  "Lynn!" Suki
cried and ran to her daughter, kneeling down to hug her.


"I held my breath like you told me, Momma," the girl said quietly.

"You're a good girl," Suki replied between sobs, grateful that she could hold
her daughter in her arms.  "You're a good girl."

Lynn continued to stand motionless in the darkness.  "But I couldn't hold my
breath for very long."

Suki stopped crying, suddenly gripped by fear.  She slowly let go of her
daughter and lifted Lynn's face up towards the light.  She gasped when she
saw the girl's shimmering eyes.

"You were wrong about smoking, Momma," Lynn said as she watched her mother
stand up and begin to step backwards.  The young girl pulled out a pack of
Capris from her pocket and proceeded to light one of the long, thin
cigarettes.  "It feels good."

Suki and her husband held each other, terrified of the little girl walking
towards them.  "Don't be afraid," Lynn said to her parents.  "Smoking makes
you free," she said as she brought the Capri to her lips for a deep draw.

****************************************************************

By the fourth day of the Revolution, very little of the country was not yet
under the control of the Provisional Government of the New Society of
America.  And Kim, physically growing weaker by the day as she felt
increasingly debilitated by her mutation, thought it imperative that she
address the public.  "My time is growing near," she cryptically said to
Angela, "and I need to address my followers."

As all of the media outlets (the first target in any revolution) were now
controlled by New Society forces, Kim and Angela arrived at a television
station in Sacramento where her address was to be broadcast live nationally.
As she did for all her public appearances, she wore her white gown and sat
upon an ornate thrown as she looked into the television camera and said the
following words.

"It is written that a child will lead them...and so my brothers and sisters,
it is with great delight that I tell you that today is the beginning of your
new lives in a new society.  

"I am Sister Kim, your savior.  I offer you salvation; the freedom to feel
pleasure without guilt or remorse.  For those who await conversion, be not
afraid.  We welcome you into the smoke as friends.  For those who resist us,
you will fail."  Kim, her eyes shining as bright as they ever had, paused to
let her words resonate.  "Never again will the Anti-Smoking forces divide us
between smoker and non-smoker - for we will all now be united in the power of
the smoke.  


"There is much work still to do.  Even as I speak, a Provisional Government
composed of my devoted and trusted followers in New Orleans is building a
government that will work to spread our revolution beyond our borders.  Some
will oppose us, but they too will fail.  In time, everyone will come to love
and obey the power of the smoke.

"Together, my brothers and sisters, we will build a new society, not just
here in America, but throughout the world."

Kim brought the long cigarette up to her lips, holding it perpendicular to
her mouth as she took a slow puff that made the tip glow.  The camera faded
to black just as smoke began to cascade down through her nostrils.

++++++++++++++++++

Angela walked over to Kim, still staring into the camera which was now turned
off.

"We did it, Kimmie," she said softly with a broad smile.  "We fulfilled your
destiny."

Kim looked up at Angela and smiled.  Then she slumped over and fell to the
floor.  Pandemonium struck the studio.  "Kimmie!!" Angela shouted as she
crouched down to where Kim lay.  Kim was breathing hard, gasping for breath.
Angela held her friend's head in her lap and watched her skin turn ashy grey.
"What's wrong Kim?  What's happening to you?"

Kim blinked several times, trying to keep herself from losing consciousness.
"I don't feel very good Angela.  I'm so tired.  So tired."  Somehow, Kim knew
she was dying.  The painful headaches had been hinting at this for weeks.
Now, with her entire body feeling as if it were about to shut down, she knew
that the time was near that she would pass on.  "Angela," she whispered with
as much strength as she could muster, "you must continue the revolution.
Don't let it fail."

Tears began to form in Angela's eyes.  "Kimmie, you can't die.  We need you."
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffled.  "I need you.
Please don't go."  

Within seconds, an explosion rocked the studio and gunfire erupted.  Angela
covered Kim with her body, seeking to protect her friend as people in the
room ran screaming, trying to flee the bullets flying through the air.
Angela watched as black uniformed paratroopers ran into the room, automatic
weapons at the ready.  The troopers wore large gas masks and were a hideous
sight, embodying all the qualities of the "Antis" that the revolution was
being fought against.  

As a dreadful calm returned to the scene, a man in slacks, a dress shirt, and
a bullet-proof vest walked forward and removed his gas mask.  It was Governor
Bruce David.

"Sister Kim," he said with a smirk on his face.  "Please, don't get up."

Willing to give up her life if necessary to protect her friend, Angela stayed
kneeling by Kim's side, holding her head tight in her lap.  Kim, aware of
what was happening, reached for the cigarette that had fallen to the floor
when she collapsed.  David stepped on it and ground it to dust with his shoe.
Then he pointed to Angela.  "Take her out of her," the Governor barked to one
of the paratroopers.  "In fact, clear the room."  Then he knelt down beside
Kim who remained immobilized on the floor.  "Sister Kim and I need to talk."
David handed one of the paratroopers his gas mask who set it on a nearby
table.  

The paratroopers cleared out the remaining people, including Angela, and
locked them into the control room.  Through the large viewing window that
looked over the newsroom, Angela watched her friend lay helpless, gasping for
breath.

Kim looked into David's face.  "You can't stop the revolution," she said
haltingly.

"I beg to differ," the governor replied as he pulled a syringe out of his
pocket.  "You see, I know a scientist who feels certain that he can create an
antidote to the mutation by resequencing your DNA.  So, if you have no
objections," he said while reaching for her arm, "I'll just take a little
blood sample here," and he viciously jabbed the needle into the soft flesh of
her wrist, eliciting a cry from Kim.  "Oh, I'm sorry," the Governor replied
as he drew blood, "did I hurt you?"  Then he added bitterly, "I would have
thought you had become numb to pain after all the blood you've spilled these
last few days."

Kim's eyes burned with hatred for this Anti.  She only hoped that this man
could be defeated by her followers after she was gone.

He held up the syringe in front of her face.  "Here it is, Sister - the
genesis of your destruction."

In a death grip, Kim grabbed his arm.  "You will fail," she growled defiantly
as the life drifted from her.  And then she was dead.

"Kimmie!" Angela tearfully shouted from the control room, pounding on the
glass window.  The converts around her began to sob uncontrollably.  Their
savior was dead.  What would become of them and their revolution now?


David, still kneeling by Kim's side, looked down at her disdainfully.
"Smoking will kill ya," he said sardonically as he sought to remove her grip
from his arm.  He noticed, however, that smoke was emanating from the
puncture wound made by the syringe.  Smoke also began to drift upwards out of
Kim's mouth and nose.  The governor watched in horror as Kim's entire body
began to decompose rapidly in front of him like the ash of a cigarette.  He
began to cough from the noxious fumes as he tried to break free of her grip.  

The room was quickly filling with smoke, and he reached for the gas mask on
the table, gasping for breath as he struggled to put it on.  As Kim's hand
decomposed into ash, freeing her grip, the governor staggered backwards from
the burning corpse, dropping the syringe and crushing it under his foot by
accident.  "No!" he yelled, knowing that whatever chance there was of
reversing the mutation now lay splattered on the floor.  

David became disoriented, continuing to cough violently into his gas mask.
Paratroopers ran to his side, but it was too late for the governor.  His
lungs had already breathed in to much of the smoke and he felt his burning
lungs filling with blood and mucus.  He couldn't take another step and
collapsed.  As he lay on the floor panting, he watched the remains of Kim's
body burn before his eyes - and then he died.

With the governor dead and their goal to take a sample of Kim's blood a
failure, the paratroopers aborted their mission and evacuated from the
building.  In their delay, however, the New Society Militia had formed
outside of the building.  Few of the paratroopers escaped the fire-fight
alive.

Angela, still locked in the control room until help could arrive, simply
stared at the pile of ash that remained of her friend.  "The Revolution will
continue," she whispered to herself, holding back tears.  "People will
remember you, Sister Kim.  I promise you that we WILL build that New
Society."

END PART 5

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