There was a lot of talk about what we could and couldn’t do. Nobody seemed to know what was going on and if they did or could show where they found information no one would believe them or want to listen; no voices could be heard over the deafening fear mongering. Fear was everywhere, its stench pervaded everything, seeping from TVs, radios, computers, phones, and fixed in wide-eyed expressions across the city.

The consensus was nobody knew anything, only to be afraid, also most accepted that questions were now unacceptable. Don’t ask, don’t try to make sense of anything and most of all don’t think about it, thinking was no longer encouraged.

Official websites appeared with pages to scroll though mandating rules of dysfunction that took hours to decipher. The finer points changed with regularity leaving readers in a state of confusion.

‘It didn’t say that yesterday’ was a common response from any who attempted to play by the rules by reading official websites. Rules were made to be broken was typically an idea embraced by rebels not those who made rule after rule after rule. The rules weren’t set in stone, they existed in flux in a sketchy arena where the goal posts moved so often that they were completely off the playing field in no time.

There were many rules but they made no sense.

• You must follow the rules but nobody will check on you.
• You must only follow directions from authorities to manage your health even though the authorities are the ones spreading the sickness along with fear.
• You must not question but you must vote.
• You do not need to understand that is not required or encouraged.
• Trust no one only organisations.
• Spy on your neighbour to promote a sense of community.
• Isolate because socialising is dangerous but reach out to others for your mental health.
• Keep 1.5 metres apart at all times except when grocery shopping; being a good consumer will protect you from any health threats.

Those with discernment searched for verification of the narrative but found only a mish mash of hysteria and contradiction. Facts disappeared into the ether along with the need for medical minds to address medical problems. People obeyed, people listened, people embraced the fear huddling as a hive mind alone together.

Temporary tiptoed into permeance as lives slipped away taking a chance at bouncing back with it. Trust became elusive, lost in a needy hope that it was all going to be ok, that it would all make sense, that nothing like this had ever happened before so there had to be hope and not hopelessness.

More and more the news made no sense. The people paid the price for the government’s mistakes, they took the blame for decisions they played no part in making, they hanged tough and stayed strong or so the news said.

Stories of suffering were bandied about. Everyone knew someone who had been coerced into the lies or who’d taken a payoff to comply or that ignored the rules with no consequence. If not they’d heard it on the news but no one could quite believe it to be true.

It had to end soon didn’t it? People looked forward to the end but it wasn’t in sight all that was there was a man in a mask with a carrot on a rope dangling it in plain view of every ignorant ass that looked that way. It wasn’t a pretty picture so many turned away and just stopped looking. The view out the window had become common place, the neighbourhood blocks began to resemble prison yards. With no hope in sight most stopped seeking cues from the outside world and went within meditating on their sanity.

Fantastical stories were on every channel, they littered the internet and competed for attention trying to out do one another. Disillusioned with the illusion more and more people stopped tuning in to the news and instead chose their own fantasy stories. Others stayed vigilant searching for a hint of truth online but the internet failed even though the connection was fine.