Tyrant

"I decry the fact that our fear, and our ignorance," he paused for dramatic flare, "cannot speak for themselves." The room was silent as he paced on the long wooden stage. "They cannot voice their weaknesses. They cannot expect to be heard even if they could speak. There is evil in this world, and it is in the censors you place on us—on humanity. I decry the fact that we cannot speak out."

No one spoke. No one dared clap or applaud. No one dared to even breathe, waiting for the next word of treason. The speaker whirled suddenly, facing the crowd and pointing an accusing finger at them. He seemed to point at all of them, and his glare seemed to pierce all of them. "So why didn't you speak for them? Why didn't you stand up for your fellow man and speak for their fears, since yours can't speak for themselves? Why do we all stand together, yet are all completely alone? We can't speak for ourselves, so we can't speak for each other?"

A woman was brave enough to stand up. "We are esteemed by society because we are committed to the principles of law. We cannot throw that away for another man, when we do not know if they will speak for us as well!"

"How selfish are you that your reputation and humility means more to you then the freedom of your brothers and sisters? How selfish must you be to refuse to speak out against government for fear of the government? You are committed to your principles, yet government regulations compels us to die, and to deteriorate. And no good laws are appointed." The speaker spat out each word like venom,  his emotion invigorating the whole audience. "You are a coward. All of you are cowards. You are afraid that people are not as noble as you, so you refuse to be noble. If a tyrant pushes you down, you do not push back, because you're afraid no one else will push back. And this, this horrid truth that all of you must face, makes you pathetic."

"The legal councils!" A elderly man joined the young, vehement woman. "They oversee our personal and financial affairs. They signed an order authorizing intervention of any signs of rebellion. They appointed a 'just guardian' to oversee our justice should our overseers deem us unfit for society. What are we supposed to do in the face of this tyranny?"

The speaker bared his teeth in a feral grin. "You push back you trembling fools. You fight back. Shove their 'just guardian' up their anuses. Spit in their mouths. I will not stand such cowardice in the face of tyranny. So speak up for your fellow man, because if you don't, who will?" He gave everyone a cold, heartless grin as dozens of armed men poured out of doorways and crashed through windows, screaming orders. Their black masks shined in the dim light as they converged on the terrified crowd.

"Fight back you idiots! Protect your freedom! Speak out for your fellow—" Half a dozen men opened fire, and their bullets ripped through the speaker. Blood spattered across the front row of the crowd. The speaker's crumpled corpse collapsed in a bloody heap, and a pale man with an officer's uniform marched up and unloaded several rounds into the corpse's head.

The audience went home that night, sleeping with their loved ones. The following day, new laws were passed and many of the people who had listened to the speaker met horrid accidents. But the spark was still there, and courage rose up out of darkness. The people who had escaped identification whispered of the speaker's words, and of his gruesome death. Dissent was spread, and slowly it became more open. Dozens more people mysteriously died, and many were killed openly in public. But the rebellion still flared, and still breathed. More speakers rose up to preach their truth. And the people pushed back.