The Yarn Wars, Part 10

I hope you are not Yarn Warred out.  This one is perhaps my favorite part, because I finally get to explain things to you.   This is the last part from Lynnea’s point of view…you get a new character in the next part.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The document finished loading, and Lynnea could tell at a glance that it was indeed the correct one.  At the top it said ‘Origin of Yarn Segregations’, and below it was some small type.

Before Lynnea began to read, she touched the ‘print’ button so they would have a copy to show Harriet.  And then she started reading, and her whole world changed.

January 10^th, 2034: On Yarn World [a popular crochet and knitting website], people have been having fights about which is better, crochet or knitting.  Comment moderators have been called in to sort out the arguments.  It is of little concern but I thought I should note it down nevertheless.

January 21^st, 2034: Who knew that yarn battles could get so big.  There’s a good deal of bad language, insults, and trolling, and other annoying behaviors.  It’s not just old ladies either, people are starting fights outside JoAnn’s and the like.

February 8^th, 2034: The Yarn World battles have not ceased, and there is great worry over the upcoming Yarn World Convention that more serious fights will take place.

February 9^th, 2034: The Yarn World Convention is tomorrow, and I am being called over to help control the crowds.  I never thought two crafts once only used by old ladies would have so many people fighting over which is better.

February 10^th, 2034: The Convention was a disaster, there were 10 deaths and countless injuries, somewhere around a thousand.  I think the whole population is being stupid about this whole thing.  They are two different crafts.  It’s not worth fighting over.

February 28^th, 2034: Tomorrow, the government-issued plan will go into order.  We will be sectioning off Seattle, Washington for our plan.  Nobody will be allowed to enter or leave.  We will separate knitters and crocheters and treat the knitters better for purposes of experimentation.  (Better housing, yarn shops, education, etc.)  Then, around 3000, we will attack the knitters posed as crocheters.  This will instigate a war.  Whichever craft wins the war will be the only one allowed from then on, the other one will become illegal.  This is an easy fix for our yarn problem.  Although, who knows how long it will take to win the wars.

Lynnea leaned back in the chair, feeling dizzy.  Beside her, Kira was having the same reaction.

They ruined my life.

It was by chance that she lived on the south side, by chance that she was deemed a crocheter, by chance that she got the short end of the stick ~ or hook ~ every time.  By chance that her life had been sabotaged by some stupid government plan.

“There’s one thing they forgot,” Kira pointed out, her voice shaky.  “How’d they get everyone to go along with it?”

Lynnea pointed to the screen, saying nothing.  She wasn’t sure that her voice would work anyway.

March 30^th, 2034: There has been some resistance. Some people don’t want to relearn a craft.  Forgot to mention that the North Siders are knitters and the South Siders are crocheters, even if they weren’t before.  The resisters say they don’t want to be limited to only one craft, or that they liked the other one better.  Our response is that they are allowed to move to the other side if they want.  When they refused, we got our backup plan.

During a mandatory doctor’s visit, all Seattle residents were given microchips that hook up to our computers.  We can insert opinions into their head, such as the idea that knitters and crocheters must remain separate, there’s simply no question about it.  Which is precisely what happened.  The resistance is gone.

All babies will be microchipped right after they are born.  It will continue this way until the war is won.  Then we’ll microchip the entire population with a preference for the winning craft and an intolerance for the losing one.

“No!” gasped Kira.  She stood up, snatching the stack of printed papers to her chest.

Lynnea felt contaminated.  Did she have a microchip inside her, influencing her decisions?  Was she being controlled by it right now? Were these even her own thoughts?

“If they can control our thoughts,” Lynnea pointed out, “why are we here right now?”

“Very good question,” said a voice from behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t forget, I still need a few more testers for the Harriet Hat!  If you’re interested, check out this post to find out how to test.

Have a splendiferous day!