Mad Hatter Society

Abriana Tuller writing as A.F. Tuller

I detest the word mad when describing how people act. My view of the world, especially in my society, is correct. Everyone has become so used to being controlled, that they refuse to fight for a better life.

In my neck of the woods, I am called the Mad Hatter. I fight against the establishment.

The world was not always this way. People of magic were respected. Different beliefs were valued. Individual people could create movements and make a difference. Something changed that dynamic. People began to lose interest in reform. It became easier to accept the slow tyranny that was taking over.

Alice In Wonderland wasn’t a fictional story. It was an account from one of the founders of my secret society. Through time, we fought for equal rights and social change. Some causes were noble, while some were not as efficient as they could or should have been.

Hundreds of years have passed; the torch passed on to the person or people who wanted to take on a cause. We all knew the chances for failure were great. Some failure ended in death.

It was my turn now. There were not many left in our society. Like the rest of the world, they too had fallen to the belief that wanting a better life was not worth the fight.

The year was 2086. Civil wars had been rampant for many years. No belief was safe. No equality existed. The government, if you could call it that, was silent. The government refused to restore order as if it preferred the mayhem.

My task was to teach people calm protest and reform. It was risky because our past of making change even included instances of violent anarchy.

Stepping through the portal, the world as I envisioned it was even worse. Chaos reigned. Innocent people sought shelter. Government officials stood by with a gleam in their eyes. Why control the masses when the masses could eliminate what the government deemed a problem?

I transformed into a government official. My blue polo and gray pants helped me to blend in with the other officials. I walked over to the truck parked on the side of the road. Inside was a bullhorn.

“Attention everyone! This chaos has to end now! Destroying the place we live resolves nothing. We need to restore order and implement changes in a nonviolent way.”

Suddenly there was absolute silence. The only sound coming from the buildings burning around us.

The leader of the mob approached me.

“Who are you to ask that of us? Do you not remember that we were like that until the government tricked us?”

“Tricked you how?”

The memories flooded into my mind from the mob leader. Peaceful protests that turned violent. People speaking the truth, disappearing. Evil running rampant through the souls of those who had agreed to protect and serve the people.

“We are not destroying things because we want to. We are destroying things to end our imprisonment.”

Suddenly my eyes were opened. What had started out as a simple black and white mission was now seen for what it actually was — another form of control and deceit. The society, in an effort to maintain power had truly become mad.

Slowly, with my newfound revelation, I joined the crowd in their destruction.