Corperate Takeover

[Gifted]

"It doesn't. I thought I might get a different answer." Owen sighed. "I just need to know you're not going to go running to the government if I show you this, because they won't think very highly of me having it." He withdrew the Walkman, but kept the black, featureless bottom facing Ryan out of percaution.

[Raven]

Ryan frowned. "Put it away and come inside," he stated, recognizing it wasn't something they should be waving about in public, mostly from the way Owen was acting.

[Gifted]

Owen nodded and hid the Walkman again.

[Raven]

Ryan quickly led Owen inside the secret library. The path was rather long, and it was clear they were deep underground by the time they got there, but most of the warehouse-style lighting still worked. It was a large cavern, essentially, filled with shelves stuffed with books. More than anyone could probably read in a lifetime. "Now we both know secrets, you see why I don't like the government, Apple?"

[Gifted]

Owen was astounded. All those books! and none were textbooks, either, the names were too different. He read a few of the spines as he passed by. The Secret Garden, James and the Giant Peach, The Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room, Mockingjay, Animal Farm...
"There are more books here than textbooks in every school on the continent! This is amazing!" This was way more than he bargained for. He pulled the walkman out. This was more than enough evidence. "Come here, I'll show you what I found." this time he didn't bother to hide it, pulling out the headphones. "You're supposed to listen through these. They sort of... sit in your ears or something, I dunno, they work, trust me. I'll turn it on." He made sure the volume was low so Ryan didn't have the same terrible first expirience he'd had, and set it back to the song he'd been listening to earlier.

[Raven]

Ryan confusedly put the earbud to his ear, but he had trusted Owen with his secret, so there was no point in not trusting that the little ear-chips would work. It very slowly registered what he was hearing. "Music, right?" he asked. "It sounds.. different than what I expected."

[Gifted]

Owen nodded. "That's what I thought, too. But listen to the words. This stuff was supposed to be public, right? Everyone heard it? But the stuff they say... we'd get shot if we said it today! and they went PUBLIC with it!"

[Raven]

Ryan listened. He slowly tried to put words to what he felt they were doing. "It sounds like... they were.. warring.. with the government," he struggled.

[Gifted]

"If not warring, then certaintly insulting... it's insane. There are others in there too, just like that song. One talks about how terrible it is to be a soldier. Evertything we're told is that it's awesome to be a soldier! You're just not supposed to say otherwise! What made them so different? How could they do this without being killed?"

[Raven]

Something in his mind clicked. "They had freedom. That's why they had music and these books, and why they could say what they wanted, in a book or in a song. I read one book about a war with the government -- it's called a rebellion," Ryan stated, the words coming quickly.

[Gifted]

"A rebellion?" Owen was glad to finally put a word to what he was thinking. A rebellion.
"I didn't even know people could live with so much freedom... if we can, then why aren't we?"

[Raven]

"Because things changed. The people in charge decided they didn't want people thinking like that," Ryan answered, then realized it might have been a rhetorical question.

[Gifted]

It was indeed a rhetorical question, but Owen continued like he'd meant for Ryan to answer it.
"And people were okay with that? Letting a few elitest people have all the power? People today have no idea they could live another way. Those people did! So why didn't they...start a rebellion? Or something? Change it!"

[Raven]

"They might have thought it was for the better," Ryan answered. "And you can't start a rebellion if you don't have enough enthusiastic supporters."

[Gifted]

"Well, pretty clearly it wasn't." Owen looked around. "It doesn't make sense, how can the government just make this stuff dissappear? And why are we the ones to find it?"