Free Electronic Gags by Kudakwashe Muzira Page A

world’s most
powerful country. Ten Districts security agents had the population firmly under
control during all the twenty-three years of Brandon Ward’s rule and there was
no need for these expensive toys. The president is becoming paranoid, the general thought. Age is catching up with him. General Robinson had
harbored presidential ambitions for a long time. Maybe now was the time to
start thinking about a military coup.
    Director-General
Sullivan looked at his colleagues with unexpressed delight. Since the CIB ran
NASP, gagging soldiers and policemen would put them under his control.
    “Patriots,
do you have further questions about NASP?” the supreme leader asked.
    Silence.
    “Patriots,
cross-examine the professor,” President Ward said. “We have to close all
loopholes in NASP.”
    Silence.
    “I
guess this means you have no questions at the moment. Let’s go to other
security matters.”
    Professor
Reed listened as the High Council, the security ministers and the security
chiefs discussed the army, air force, navy, police, CIB and prison services.
Although there were times when he thought he had good points, the professor
remained silent, careful not to antagonize the security chiefs. By attending
the National Security Committee, he had invaded their territory and he didn’t
want to rub salt into their wounds.
    *
* * * *
    Brandon
Ward Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife reserve in the Ten Districts. For
someone who didn’t give much value to human life, President Ward had surprising
love for animals. During his reign, he advocated for the preservation of
wildlife and enacted harsh anti-poaching laws. He also banned the exploration
of oil in wildlife refuges.
    The
transformation from the modern world to the scenic, natural environment struck Melissa.
Here the air was so clean and so fresh that she felt like she was on another
planet.
    Scott,
Freddie’s colleague was waiting for them in a Land Rover at the bus stop. His
mouth gaped when he saw electronic gags on their necks. “This is my first time
to see the device on someone I know,” he said. “They have decided to track us
like animals.”
    “Scott
, if I were you I would go and get a tracker on my neck before the deadline
expires,” Freddie advised.
    “I’m
going tomorrow,” Scott said. “I dreaded having the device on my neck but seeing
you with it gives me courage.”
    “Scott,
this is my mother.”
    “I’m
pleased to know you, ma’am.”
    “Me
too,” Melissa said, shaking Scott’s hand.
    “My
mom is normally very sociable. Forgive her if she appears distant… she is
worried about airtime and so am I.”
    Scott
started the car and drove into the wildlife refuge.
    “Is
the tracker painful?”
    “Sometimes,”
Freddie said curtly, worried about airtime. “I will give you the manual.”
    Melissa
looked around as the car sped into the refuge. The dust road was the only
evidence of human activity in the natural landscape. The land had no trees and
here and there where patches of snow that were stubbornly refusing to give in
to the rising temperatures. In the hills snow appeared untouched by the rising
temperatures of fall. The car stopped when a herd of bison crossed the road. Melissa
watched with excitement as the big beasts majestically galloped across the road.
Scott moved the car after the last of the bovines had crossed. He didn’t give
the same respect to the pack of gray wolves that crossed the road ahead of the
Land Rover a minute later. He accelerated the vehicle, sending the wolves fleeing
to safety on both sides of the road.
    Suddenly,
there was a fenced clearing that looked like an ugly scar in the natural plain.
This was the wildlife refuge’s headquarters, which consisted of an
administration block and staff cottages.
    Freddie
carried his mother’s bags to his cottage, which was the biggest of the staff
cottages. Melissa was glad to discover that although the cottage looked
battered from outside, it was