Looks

The air was filled with fear and uncertainty. It beared down on the countless people huddling together. Most of them didn’t even know how they got here, none of them knew why they were here. The room they were brought in was small and windowless. There was nothing in there except the humans trapped between the gray walls. They’ve tried talking to the man standing on the opposite site on the door, but he would not say a single word. So all they’ve done for hours is wait. For what, they didn’t know.

During their first night they heard voices from above.

”Are they all here?” someone asked.

”Yes, Sir. We have black women, black men, some fat people, Muslim people, ugly ones, Asians, other immigrants and some people that just looked weird,” another voice said.

”Excellent. Prepare the others and have them ready by twelve.”

And surely in the morning the door opened to reveal five white men in black suits with slicked back hair. The humans scrambled away from the door the fear almost touchable.

”Good morning, everyone,” the man in the middle greeted them enthusiastically. Two other men closed and locked the door behind them and stood on either side of it. The other three walked further into the room.

”I am delighted that so many of you have found their way here,” the man said and smiled at them. ”I’m sure you’re wondering why you are here. Let me tell you.” The humans looked at each other. None of them said a word.

”Consider this place,” he stretched out his hands. ”your prison.” Shocked, the humans whispered to each other until the man interrupted them. ”All of you are, in fact, dreaming at this moment. This place is a place in your mind. It is as real as you want it to be. We are doing you a favor, to be exact. We are here to show you how the world works. You all look different. You will have problems in this world because of the way you look. We want to prepare you.”

The humans exchanged confused glances. Still, none of them spoke.

”This place will teach you how to live in the real world. It is in your mind, so you can come here whenever you want. We will show you how to handle what the world does to you. This is your prison, and we are the voices in your head.” He smiled at them.

And finally, one of them spoke. ”That’s… That’s not how it’s supposed to work…” Other voices mumbled their agreement, a little bit of anger mixing into their fear. The man shook his head. ”You have to follow the rules made for you. They are to protect those that are better than you.”

”If this is in our mind then we can get out of this prison,” a woman spoke. And suddenly encouraged by those words it was like a switch being flipped. Together with one voice that consisted of so, so many more the humans spoke. ”We will not succumb to the system.”