They wanted to keep the masses obedient. They wanted to keep the people miserable. They didn't want them to learn to think for themselves. They wanted the people to be living parts for their industrial complex. Then role play gaming came in. When power outages would occur, to "protect nature" of course, gaming systems would be useless. They forbade most board games for being "damaging to young minds" and the high ground of "wanting to stop gambling". But this new game... it was insidious, the books for the games were banned, confiscated, burned. It encouraged people to learn to read past the necessary after all. The dice were banned, confiscated, melted and burned. It could lead to gambling. But yet this game continued. Charts and maps hand drawn, alternatives to the dice found, people were starting to think strategically, learn to escape the misery and see it in a new light. The people were starting to realize where the real power was. The gatherings of gamers were banned, no explanation given this time just coldly banned, there were massive arrests, just to try to stop the spread of the games. But people now had a taste for it, and a taste of what could be. And in the darkness a voice whispered to the people who played the games, "Roll for Initiative, set yourselves free." -- DaniAndShali
[AN: This story harkens back to this thing ]
This is a box. It is the sole authorised box of the authority. It is a window to the authorized version of reality. It is the window to the news that is important to the Authority. This is a different box. It is illegal. You should not be allowed to have it. Needless to say, there are pockets of resistance who make and distribute copies. Secret clubs who make things for it. Art, adventure, objects... it's hard to control people willing to exchange information amongst the like-minded.
When the goal is to encourage spending, to sell more shiny new toys, it's very hard to stop the infection of creativity. Small wonder, then, that people forbidden a thing work out multiple ways in which to make their own out of any available material. The Authorities have tried their best, but there is no spirit more indomitable than a nerd who likes to know things. They ask around. They network. They know a person who knows a person.
Of course, since the Authority controls the power, and the authorized boxes, the resistance finds other ways. There is no way to hack paper. There are thousands of ways to hide books. Even digitally. Scans and copies and even hand-copied calligraphy. Because the Authority encourages art as a means of controlling the public's means.
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