Resistance
Cockiest
Red Planet Trilogy Book 1
by
A.S. McGowan
Genre:
SciFi
What
would you do if the laws allowed anyone with money to Trademark an
everyday word? Or the copyrighting of a name, so no one could ever
use that name again?
Over
a hundred years ago, Earth was dying. A few rich men and women banned
together to create a kingdom on Mars. They hand picked the people who
would join them in this new kingdom. Then they brought their arrogant
beliefs and made them laws. The Trademark Commission was established
to allow anyone who could afford it, the ability to trademark any
common word. The laws stated that once a word was trademarked no one
could speak that word again. The Naming Commission ensures that all
names are copyrighted and no one uses another person's copyrighted
name. Fines and even prison time are given to those who violate the
trademark and copyright laws.
Kathryn
5.0 was pregnant with her first child when the word 'baby' is
trademarked. Forced to refer to her baby as "little human"
she is tired of the 100 year old laws. Reaching out to friends, she
works to create a resistance. Together they fight against the
trademark and copyright laws. Battle lines are drawn and it is family
against family. Those who resist the laws are branded "Bullies"
while those who support the ancient laws wave the "Victim"
banner.
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Kathryn
5.0 walked down the hard-packed, red dirt streets. The heat wave sucked the air
from her lungs. With her hands under her swollen belly, she tried to elevate
some of the strain on her back. Only three weeks to go and her baby would be
born. She should be excited, but she was worried. The Naming Commission told
her today that the name she wanted has already registered. Sadly, Luna was
registered last month to someone else’s baby girl. The only option they offered
her was to name her baby Luna 2.0. She did not want her child to be a point
anything, she wanted her child to have a unique name. To be the first
registered.
When
she reached her house, she darted inside. The cool air was a blessed relief
from the outside heat. The sweat on her body practically froze on her skin.
Plopping down on the bright teal wooden bench, she removed her shoes. She slid
them under the bench then stood and shook the red dust from the bottom of her
long blue skirt. It was a daily struggle to keep the dust out of the home,
especially when it clung to everything. It seemed all the women in the kingdom
sported the red stains upon the hem of their skirts. She hated it. Not long ago
she had petitioned the Fashion Commission to allow shorter lengths to prevent
this. They shot her down instantly. The women who sat on the Commission were
the fashion superiors and their word was law.
Inside
the living room, she sat on the bright yellow sofa. Her feet propped up on the
white wooden coffee table. She put her earphones in and clicked the button on
the sound system remote. She was that way when her husband came home. She noted
that he had removed his shoes but still wore his cream-colored cotton pants and
matching tunic work suit. He joined her on the sofa, placed his hand on her stomach,
and smiled. She took the earphones out and turned off the sound system.
“How
did it go at the Naming Commission?” His voice held a hint of anticipation. His
smile lit his face up.
“Not
good. The name we wanted was already registered. I want a unique name for our
baby.” She looked at him, her eyes pleaded with him to offer up a unique name.
“Well
you need to stop referring to the child as ‘baby.’ I heard on the city speakers
that the word “baby” is now a registered trademark. We can’t afford to be sued
for using the word.” He shook his head.
“Surely
the use in our home if acceptable.” Turning she faced him, her eyebrow lifted.
“There
are eyes and ears everywhere, Kathryn 5.0, we can’t risk it. Use the term
little human from now on.” He lovingly patted her stomach again. “So, what’s
for dinner?”
“I
thought we would have cucumber soup. With this heat, a chilled dish would be
most welcomed.” She hated the way he deflected from the subject at hand. She
knew he was looking forward to the name Luna just as much as she was. Instead,
he focused on a trademarked word and violations.
“Kathryn
5.0! You know that James 3.0 registered a trademark for the word soup a couple
of months ago. Remember, it is liquid puree now.” He looked at her the way a
parent would look at an errant child.
“I
am sorry, Matthew 7.0, of course. Dinner is cucumber liquid puree.” She smiled
at her husband. He was more concerned with the Trademark Commission and all the
trademarked words than she was. Then again, in his line of work as a lawyer,
she could see how such things would affect him more than her.
They
ate their dinner in silence at the small table in the kitchen. Finishing his
dinner, Matthew 7.0 disappeared into his private office. She remained in the
kitchen to clean up. There were nights like this where she wished she was one
of the Elite. The Elite were allowed various servants to take care of daily
chores. Uppers such as herself were denied these luxuries.
She
was placing the dishes into the dish cleaning machine when her husband came in.
He had changed out of his work suit and now wore a sage green tunic with
matching pants. He was smiling the smile that always meant he had big news to
share. She couldn’t help but smile back at his infectious smile.
He
grabbed her and spun her around. Laughing and squealing, she begged to be put
down. When he put her down, he kissed her. Breathless, she smiled up at him.
His sparkling blue eyes mesmerized her, pulling her in.
“I
have the perfect name for our little human.” He was giddy. “Minka!”
“Minka?”
She scrunched up her nose. What kind of name was that?
“You
wanted her to have her own unique name. I think Minka would be just that kind
of name. What do you say?” He gave her those puppy dog eyes and smiled at her.
His dimple gave him a boyish look that reminded her of when they were young.
He
was right, it was very unique. What would be the odds of someone already
registering that name? “Okay, I will go to the Naming Commission tomorrow and
register her name as Minka.”
“Good.
Good. Now our little girl will have a name.” He smiled again and left the
kitchen to prepare for bed.
She
finished loading the dish cleaning machine. With that chore done, she grabbed
the floor sweeper and swept up the light traces of red dust. She looked at the
floor washer and sighed. She remembered when it was called a mop and one simply
mopped their floors. But about ten years ago someone decided to trademark the
word mop. Some people get use to the words being trademarked
and forbidden to be used by anyone other than the trademark holder. Kathryn 5.0
was not one of those people. She hated the practice and wished people would put
a stop to it.
She
wondered what life was like before the practice as she slowly made her way
upstairs. It seemed that each step was a struggle. She wished someone would
have told her how difficult simple tasks were when one was at the end of their
pregnancy. When she finally made her way to bed, she settled in and made plans
to go speak with her grandmother in the morning.
After the death of Earth people moved to Mars the few people
that were able to make the move were hand selected by the ones who made the
move possible.
When they moved to Mars new laws were created leaving the
old laws of Earth behind. A couple of the new laws were that words and names
could be registered and no one was allowed to use that word or name again. If
anyone was caught using a registered name or word then they would be punished
with a fine or in some case imprisoned.
Kathryn 5.0 is pregnant and wanted to give her baby oh wait
I mean little human a unique name but when she goes to the naming commission
office she finds that the name that she and her husband Matthew 7.0 wants to
name their little human has already been registered leaving her little human
without a name.
Kathryn 5.0 is tired of the words and names being registered
and taken from them and all the laws that have been infect for over a hundred
years. She decides that she is going to do something about it. She gathers up a
few of her friends that just as tired of the laws as herself to help her start
the steps to changing the law.
I agree with Kathryn 5.0 you have to stand up for what you
believe. If something is not right then you have to fight to change what is
wrong and make it right or at least try to make it better. There are good laws
but there are also bad laws and there are some laws that are only used to
control people. Having the naming and word laws in Kathryn 5.0’s world was only
taking away their freedom of choice.
Resistance is a very short read but it is packed with a lot
punch that will hold your attention from beginning to end an ending that will
leave you wanting more an ending that sort of shocked me.
If you are looking for something that you can read on say a
commute from work to home maybe then look no further as Resistance is that
book. It is a little book filled with lots of meaning and depth and maybe a
hidden message as well. Hmm…. Pick up your copy today! Maybe you will find
something I didn’t.
I
am a wife and mother, who lives in a small Southeast Missouri town. I
am the author of the Centaur Agency series. Currently I am working on
book 3 in the series The Making of a Centaur which will publish in
July 2017. I also have plans for a vampire trilogy that I am working
on. I will be publishing the trilogy after I finish the 4 book
Centaur Agency series. From there I also am working on a Werewolf
series. So much planned with a little bit for everyone.
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1 comments:
Sounds so interesting!
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