The pounding on the front door was relentless, but Dr. Jasmine Davis was in no rush to open it. She was quite used to the routine by now, and knew the two military men would wait for her to let them in, regardless of how long she took.
She rose from the burnt orange Chesterfield sofa, cracked her neck, and slowly made her way to the door, unlatching the chain lock and greeting the stone-faced visitors.
“Hello, fellas,” she said. “I was wondering when you’d pay me an unfriendly visit.”
The youngish men bore the branding of the Empire of Freedom on their brown uniforms, and they were part of the patrol that worked Sector HA-One, a southeastern geographical area of the continent.
“We’re here to enforce compliance,” said the tallest of the two, whose name tag read “Reed.”
“Of course,” she said. “Time to make sure everyone is doing their part to support the Empire. Nothing screams ‘Freedom!’ like forced patriotism … am I right?”
She stepped away from the entrance and allowed Reed and the other soldier, Markum, to enter her sparsely decorated living room.
“It says here that you are Davis, Jasmine, age 38, black female, doctorate degree, university instructor with a specialization in world history, ID number 4151947,” Markum read from a small red notebook. “Is that correct?”
“Everything is correct except for the ID,” she said. “That’s what the Empire tagged me with, and I don’t recognize it because I’m a person, not a number. So, you can go ahead and mark me as non-compliant there. I’m not gonna wear the bracelet. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”
Markum made a check with a small pencil.
“According to our notes, in the past six months you have been in violation of the Empire Flag Display Act three times, did not participate in the Empire Freedom Appreciation Day Assembly last year, and there have been reports that during some of your classes you have taught prohibited subject matter as defined in the Empire Freedom Bill of Facts. How do you answer these charges?
Dr. Davis eased back over to her couch and sat down.
“Hmmm … how do I answer these charges? I answer them as I always answer them. I don’t own an Empire flag. If I did, I wouldn’t fly it. I don’t participate in the Empire Freedom Appreciation Day Assembly because if I have to participate in the Empire Freedom Appreciation Day Assembly, I’m not free. And as for banned subject matter, not everyone is afraid of knowledge. Fortunately, there are people who want to learn what the Empire won’t teach, whether you or anyone else in the Empire likes it or not.”
Dr. Davis got up, walked over to a table near the front door, and picked up stacks of paper.
“See these? These are all citations you people have written me for various ‘offenses,’” she explained. “I can either pay the penalty, or go to one of your luxurious Reform Camps. Or – and this is the option I’ve chosen – I can do none of the above.”
Dr. Davis dropped the citations back on the table.
“Dr. Davis,” Reed said. “There were two members of our patrol who came here a couple of weeks ago and never reported back to base. Would you know anything about that, by any chance?”
“You guys are always coming here,” she said. “What you do after you leave is none of my concern. Why don’t you try calling them.”
A hallway off of the living room was bare except for a small blackboard attached to the wall. Dr. Davis walked to it and grabbed a piece of chalk.
“I need to remind myself about the lesson plan for tomorrow,” she said. “Excuse me.”
In large capital letters, she wrote “RED TAILS.”
Markum grinned, and after taking the chalk from Dr. Davis, he wrote, “SPIT FIRE.”
In another time – and another country – those phrases were associated with the Tuskegee Airman, African-American military pilots who fought in World War II.
Today, they are passwords used by those attempting to thwart World War III.
She went back to the living room, lifted up the green area rug, and revealed a hatch. Once opened, concrete steps led to a massive underground facility.
Dr. Davis walked down first, followed by Markum and then Reed, who closed the trapdoor behind him.
The two “missing” patrol members from the last visit was there, along with several other soldiers and civilians. Some were manning computers at an elaborate control center, others were loading supplies onto electric carts, and still more were working feverishly to extend a tunnel system, which was already several miles long.
“Glad to see we have two more for the fight,” Dr. Davis said, shaking the hands of her two newest recruits.