The manifest of the International Spy Academy, year 2110, a short story of fiction

When we are kids, we go through professions that we think we want to occupy, veterinarian, doctor, policeman, fireman, builder, spy, president, teacher, car racer, archaeologist, hacker. Back then most of us did not think of jobs as tiring or hard, and sometimes even dangerous or boring. Most of us change our minds when we grow up and most of us learn about the dark side of some of those ''dream'' professions.

Spy movies are full of fight scenes and car chases, tiny gadgets and beautiful women. Only the bad guys die. But who are the bad guys? How can one side say that they are the ones doing the right thing? I served a country once, I thought that everything I did was to protect my people, I killed by the order of the President and I dealt with my nightmares on my own, I had the reassurance that I did it for my country and that made it a little easier. But then the world changed, first it was my own world, and then the world all-together.

Being a spy did not mean loads and loads of exciting car chases, it does not mean shooting a gun every five minutes, still you can get killed, or worse. Being a spy meant blending in, wondering all the time, what they would do if they found out. Discreet photos and late night visits to an office to download files that did not belong to me. Being a spy was boring and heart pounding at the same time. It was something that only some could handle.

I used to follow my countries orders blindly, like so many others did back then, I assumed that they did not lie to us and we only did what was necessary to keep us safe. There were missions to kill, but mostly there were missions to get or protect information. Information was the gold of 21st Century. Information changed the world completely, like guns had done once before.

There have been many great Empires in the past, The Romans, The Russians, The Ottomans, they all have something in common, they all fell. But people just tried again and again to grab that power and it was possible for short periods, still, they always ended up loosing. When I was young, I did not believe my country could fall, it was the greatest, and it did everything right. I had seen all the spy movies, James Bond, Jason Bourne, even the Kingsman, even after it turned into a franchise with one movie more ridiculous than the other. I wanted to be a spy and so I started doing activities I though spies would do.

I was sixteen when I was approached, it was the end of the second Cold War, year 2067. Being young and full of admiration towards my country I agreed to work for them, it was what I had always dreamed about. I had some talents and not after long I became one of the best students, there was determination in me that made me try harder than anybody else. I was living a double life and even though I felt tired some evenings, I got over it, because I thought I was doing something for the good of my people.

My first mission in the field was when I hit 21, I went into an College exchange program to another country, I was guaranteed to be there a year and that was the first time I actually was scared to be found out, the first time I had that feeling of a black pit in my stomach. I studied technology just for this mission. There was this huge company with the most innovative tech that had a program with the university I went to study in. I had to take whatever I could, and I did. I was young then, the only thing I knew was that we were the good guys and they the bad.

Years went and my experience grew, I was still strongly standing right by my country, but then the real information age came. I remember that day completely, I was back at home from an assignment when everything was leaked. Every mission, every plan, every lie ever told. The government blew out most of the electricity to prevent us from reading, but they only could do so much, there were more Internet satellites out in the space than our government could control. People had more back up solar panels and wind turbines than they could reach. There was not even an uprising, there was not much people who stayed by the sides of their governments.

That was the day the information age destroyed some of the greatest Empires of the 21st century. Conspiracies were one thing, reality was another. I learned of people I had killed that were trying to do good for the world, but we just wanted to be the first ones to do it, so they were a problem to be disposed of. I learned of the great race that day and I learned of the reasons why great Empires crumble. There was more lies and censorship, more greed and selfishness than ever imagined. We had no real freedom.

There was mostly no panic on the streets, the only thing people did was look at all the information and feel empty, at least that is how I felt. Years and years of information, years of corruption, embezzlement and injustices. There were many to blame and some of them were already dead. But my biggest problem was me, how had I not seen it all? How could I have such a blind mind? Why did I have such strong belief in my country? I had stolen and killed believing in greater good, but all I had done was taken, how could I put one person higher than other?

That day I decided to work for nobody, but the people, the real people, all of them not just the ones inside my countries imaginary borders. There was no real difference, we all had governments that had lied to us in some way, that had taken advantage of something. And we had let them. But now people could not pretend to be blind anymore, they had to go out in the streets and voice their opinions.

The funny thing is, it was always said that the power was with the people, but at that moment most of us realized that we were just sheep following a shepherd. All of us had common obstacles to overcome and the world of open borders was created, by finding a common enemy. Still, humanity could not be without leaders, we elected new ones that seemed to be more trustworthy, we changed laws, demanded transparency. I had seen it all up close, though, I had taken part in it, I was not completely sold on the idea that the world could change in one day.

So I contacted the people I had built my network with and I created the agency. The agency that had one interest, the interest of humanity all together. We did not listen to one leadership or the elected International World leaders, we looked at the world as a whole and we are doing it still, to this day. No matter the language you speak, no matter which district you live in, if there is a global injustice done because of selfish reasons, we will find it and we will show it to everybody.

Today and always
______________, the leader of International Spy Academy.

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The story is set in an imaginary world somewhere, but I do agree with the statement I wrote, that humanity can not change in one day. I created a universe with a lot of injustices towards people, partly it may resonate with us, but who knows what the actual future will bring! Oh and you can choose your own person to be the main character, I was not sure about the gender or the qualities, maybe it is actually an evil person trying to take over rte world! The choice is in your hands!

Have a great day, week and life,
Linda