Voting MangaHelpers Art Contest #21-22: Dystopia Short Story

MangaHelpers Art Contest #21-22: Dystopia Short Story

  • Zeref Spriggan

    Votes: 10 38.5%
  • riki

    Votes: 7 26.9%
  • kira

    Votes: 4 15.4%
  • Gryffindor

    Votes: 4 15.4%
  • Asia Run

    Votes: 2 7.7%
  • SilverLugia345

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Barrier

    Votes: 1 3.8%
  • WithYouInSpirit

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • Organizized

    Votes: 5 19.2%

  • Total voters
  • Poll closed .
Not open for further replies.


13th Zodiac
MH中毒 / MH Chuudoku / MH Addicted
Aug 23, 2015
Reaction score
MangaHelpers Art Contest #21-22: Dystopia Short Story
Voting Details:
  • Voting will automatically close on August 13th at 11PM GMT.
  • You may only vote once and for up to TWO of the submissions.
  • Announcement of winners will be done soon after voting closes.
  • If you have any questions regarding voting, they can be addressed HERE.

Entry 1 by Seraph was eliminated due to plagiarism.

Entry 2: Rewrite by riki

Amidst the bustling noise, Jessica began to stir. Her eyelids fluttered as she slowly woke up with an agonizing headache. Groaning, she went to raise her hand to her head when she realized that she couldn’t lift her hands. Now fully alert, she opened her eyes and found herself restrained in a reclining chair; her wrists and ankles were cuffed while a metal bar was strapped around her waist. Her head was also restrained with some sort of transmitters attached above her ears on either side so she could barely move her head in any directions. The chair was attached to a large machination. The cylinder machine was in the center of the room. All around the circular room was glass panels, where she could see several people in lab coats were monitoring her, and machinery, which blinked and beeped sporadically.

Where was she? As if reading her mind, someone shouted, “Ah! Good afternoon, Ms. Ryan! Enjoy your little nap?” Surprised, Jessica looked down to find a group of men in black suits walking up to her. The one in the middle, who looked vaguely familiar, continued, “In case you’re wondering, you’re in a secret government facility in Sector 4.”

Secret government facility? “Who are you?” she managed to muster.

The man smiled. “Don’t you recognize me? I’ve been on TV for the last few weeks, but then, your head might still be foggy so I’ll reintroduce myself. I’m President Benjamin Linden. You know, the leader of this godforsaken planet?”

“President…?” Her eyes widened at that realization. Her heart skipped a beat. “What is the meaning of this!?” Jessica demanded at the same time a voice over the loudspeaker announced, “The Personal Identity Overwrite program is almost ready, Mr. President.”

“Oh, good! It seems the system is nearly charged,” the president exclaimed. Turning his attention back to her, he explained, “You see, before he died, the renowned Dr. Stephenson has figured out a way to use psychic waves to alter a person’s brainwaves and thus changes his sense of identity. He even designed a machine in order to do so. As a matter of fact, we have been using this machine on several people. It has done such a splendid job since its creation.”

“But why?” Jessica asked as she struggled to break free.

“Isn’t it obvious? To maintain order! We can’t allow anyone endangering the stability of our fine country, can we?” President Linden exclaimed. “By giving them new identities, we give them a second chance in life as well as sustaining the laws of this great society!”

“By getting rid of someone’s sense of who they are!?” she shouted.

The President shrugged. “It’s better than being dead. Of course, if you’re useful to us, that is, and you’re still very valuable. By the time I see you again, you’ll be calling yourself by a different name.”

“Wait!” Jessica started to shout when she felt her body jerked backward. The hydraulic pumps hissed and whistled as the chair began to lift up toward the ceiling. No! There was no way she would let them change who she is! While she struggled against her bindings, the retractable ceiling slid away, revealing a bright light that nearly blinded her. Strange symbols and images soon were displayed on the monitor, and she felt a strange buzz coming from the transmitters on her head. Was this part of the Personal Identity Overwrite?

Just as she was thinking that thought, a shrill whistle reverberated through her head as something struck her inside her head, which caused her to scream. It was as if something erupted inside her head. At that moment, Jessica couldn’t think nor feel. All she could do was stare at the strange imagery displayed on the monitor.

Entry 3: Cruel Wor-- by kira

All my life
I've lived in this cruel world
A place I call hell
where I can lose my life any minu--

Entry 4: Welcome to Your Dystopia by Gryffindor

Matthew sat at his desk bored, passing the time by drawing doodles in his notebook. The topic of today’s lecture was a discussion involving Dystopia’s from what little he heard. As class ended, Matthew glanced at the whiteboard to see what everyone thought a Dystopia meant and sighed in disappointment. All the things written were the typical answers you’d get from watching sci-fi movies and the like. He groaned at the naiveté of his classmates. Jake asked Matthew for his thoughts on what a Dystopia was but he refuses as the two exit the facility.

Matthew and Jake are the best of friends, they’ve known each other for a hefty 10 years and have stuck with each other through thick and thin, Jake considers Matthew family, Matthew is, after all, dating Jake’s sister. Matthew lately has engrossed himself in social work where he volunteers frequently, his reasoning being that he doesn’t want to see families end like his did. Jake has always been cautious not to pry into that certain topic with Matthew, he doesn’t know much about Matthew’s family other than it completely fell apart when he was a child, his sister went missing is the only thing he knows.

As the years pass by, Jake and Matthew venture into successful careers, Matthew himself has taken over the business run by Jake’s father and has become engaged to Jake’s sister. To celebrate the occasion, Jake invites Matthew for some drinks to celebrate the event with some friends, a guy’s night out if you will. On the drive home from the event, Jake, who is alone begins to feel weary despite not drinking, suddenly he blacks out momentarily and the next thing he knows he’s ran a red light with a cop chasing after him now. As Jake pulls over, he gets tested for intoxication, the cop asks for his registration, Jake reaches out for the glove compartment where the papers are, he opens it and a bag of drugs falls out much to his surprise. “This isn’t happening” is the only thought running through his mind at the moment as he is detained. Eventually he’s able to reach Matthew and explain the situation. Jake can hear the shakiness in Matthew’s voice, “a normal reaction” Jake states, “it’s just like him to worry” he remarks. After a long arduous process, Jake is finally let go, but not without consequence. No job, a stained record, and the feeling of not knowing how all this stuff happened, who put something in his drink? Where did the drugs come from? To help him cope, Matthew was able to introduce Jake to a woman he would eventually fall in love with. However, this woman was very manipulative and took advantage of Jake’s fragile mental state, eventually he succumbed to the allure of alcohol and drugs, and as a result his health began to deteriorate. Then she cheated on him.

Several days later, what began as a bright, sunny day turned into a heavy downpour of rain as Jake entered a hotel room where he was to meet his girlfriend in order to amend their situation. A short while after her arrival, someone knocks on the door. “Oh, I invited someone who has things you might want to hear”, she gets up to open the door. Standing at the entrance of the door is a man wearing a Buzz Lightyear mask, the man grabs a chair and sits down facing directly at Jake. The man begins to write something down on a piece of paper. He hands it to Jake. It reads:

The woman you thought was your girlfriend is actually my sister. I purposely hooked you up with her so she could sabotage your life. I’m the person responsible for everything bad that has happened to you. You once asked me what I thought a Dystopia was. It is the everyday struggle of one’s existence. The struggle people have with employment, economic situations such as debt, relationship problems, family problems, health issues, legal troubles, all these issues encompass one’s own personal Dystopia unique to that individual in question. I’ve controlled you for 17 years, along with my sister, this is our revenge, for tearing our family apart. Welcome to your Dystopia.

Jake was lost for his words, he didn’t want to believe it but he knew the answer, he knew who lay behind the mask. This individual now had full control over the family business and was essentially a brother-in-law. Jake wouldn’t believe it, he refused to. Why was his family being blamed, did something occur that he didn’t remember. It was at that moment that it hit him, and as he came to the realization of a certain event many years ago, the man began to take his mask off and his face was revealed.

Entry 5: Eyes of Horus by Asia Run

The first thing on his line of sight was his own reflex on the tube filled with some sort of strange liquid. He touched the glass, trying to assure it was not a dream, his short black-hair and brown orbs were reflected there. Where was that place? Why was he there? He could not remember, but felt something lingering on his mind, a brief memory that could help him understanding what happened.

His mind started hypothesizing, but soon a deafening sound stroke his ears, forcing him to cover it with his hands. Everything went black when he closed his eyes to overcome the pain and ended up losing his senses.

The man opened his eyes in a hurry, his heartbeats raced and he sat up on the bed, out of breathe. He hurriedly looked around, trying to find a hint of where he was by scrutinizing the surroundings and surprisingly, he found himself at home. What? Was it his bedroom? Yes, and after some seconds, he calmed down passing his hands on his forehead covered in sweat.

Had that been a nightmare? Probably. He finally took a peek at the clock by the side of his bed and again, he was in haste. This time it was for a completely different reason, he was late for work. After spending not more than twenty minutes in a bath and taking breakfast, he rushed to take the transport as a good executive.

That day seemed exactly like any other, a clear sky, the glorious sun, expect for the fact that, his sight seemed strange, he narrowed his eyes a bit, but the colors looked so bright and he could see everything in details, as if he was looking at a high quality image on TVs or cameras.

Suddenly, he felt a sting on his nape and massaged the area. Why was it hurting? Could it be he slept in a bad position? No, it burned a bit, but it didn’t seem any sort of pain you’d get for sleeping in a strange position, rather it was like…

His eyes slowly widened when he touched the back of his neck, it was a bit swollen. A cut? No, it seemed something was inside his neck. He gulped with the eerie though and shook his head, he really must have been feeling tired, after all, under the façade of an executive, he had been working as a salesman of a new developed system created by an organization called “Eyes of Horus”.

The technology produced by that organization was basically a system which involved spying people by using people as “eyes” and “cameras” through a brand new method…

At that moment, his steps halted, his head spontaneously turned to the side, to look at the glass from the shop he was passing by. On the back of his nape there was a tattoo of a small eye of Horus. His eyes became void as the recollections came fast as a confuse succession of images: he was talking to his superior, the experimental tube, the eye of Horus and a single phrase:

“Do you want to become our eyes?”

“Yes.” a greedy smile was born on lips.

His eyes were not his anymore, they were theirs.

Entry 6: Disappearing Hope by SilverLugia345

Drip. Drop. Acidy rain pelts the ground as two teens with suits and air masks seek shelter. Buildings around them crumble and crack from dense atmosphere pressure. The older male glances at the weeds between the pavement cracks and takes out a scanner. While the younger one knees down, scooping up purple sludge laying over a broken baby’s rattle.

“Riku, the breakdown is getting worst”, he says.

The older teen looks at him.

“Dellen, we have a mission stick to it.”

Riku scans the area. Ping.

“We got a hit. This way.”

He runs and Dellen follows after him. They both climb a mountain of rubble, before peaking over the top. Savage wolves sniff and ravage everything around them. Riku gets out a bow and motions to Dellen.

“You go left and I will go right.”

He points to a medical case on the far side of the destroyed plaza.

“Our goal is that case. Don’t mess up.”

Dellen nods and creeps away. Riku sets his focus on a large wolf in the center overlooking the rest. He gets his bow ready.


A scream erupts and Riku sees two wolves dragging Dellen over to the center of the plaza.

“That fool.”

He clicks his tongue and jumps onto the platform. The wolves prepare to jump Dellen but are shot by Riku. He focuses on the leader as it snarls at him.

“I’ll be taking the medicine you stole.”

The wolf charges at him and snaps at his arm. He dodges and brings an arrow into the wolf’s side. It howls in pain but chomps on Riku’s leg mid-turn. Ignoring the pain, he drives the arrow deeper and sends the wolf to the ground. Dellen lays on the ground in shock, bleeding from his arms and legs. Riku limps over to him and uses his coat to put pressure on the bleeding. He also uses a cover to prevent infection from the atmosphere around them.

“Our goal is in sight? The cure’s, there right?” Dellen asks.

Dellen grips his legs and throws his head back, his eyes shut tight.

“I’ll get it. Hold on. Then we can get out of here and get you patched up.” Riku says.

He opens the medicine case, all medical vials fall out, empty. Riku sits down, slamming his fist into the ground and the last empty vial falls, breaking on the ground.

“It was all for nothing. Our only hope has disappeared. Mission…failed”

Entry 7: Survival by Barrier

This world was ok 20 years ago. Then a catastrophe hit and humans above 15 years of age died. Humans and animals alike. It wasn’t a sudden death; it took a couple of months for all of them to die. This is not a mystery novel were we go and investigate the cause of this disease and cure the people. Everyone knew from the beginning who was responsible for it. The powerhouses from each country such as the FBI, investigated together and found the root of the problem within weeks. It turned out that it was a genius scientist from India, who accidentally made a virus 15 years prior to these deaths. The virus lays dormant for 15 years before killing is host. Anyone born after that developed immunity in the womb, scientists realised this too late before they could make a vaccine. The Genius was the first one to die.

Then it was the era of the kids. At the start of the era, there was some weeping and suicides, but most held on. Most kids after losing their family decided to contact their friends and live together. I have read enough novels to know that you cannot trust humans. When I was a kid, me and my parents met a weirdo (dad’s friend) who had an underground safe room which could withstand huge earthquakes and was filled up with canned food. He believed that the world would end due to virus and he was right, but sadly he was over 15. To my surprise, the room was already occupied by two other kids, both male, one of them the man’s kid and the other is the kid’s friend. They saw me, they were shocked, I explained how I knew of this place due to my dad. They let me in but I had a feeling that they weren’t pleased to see me but both had lewd looks on their faces which made me understand why they let me in. I couldn’t help but live with them since it is the safest place I knew of. Food and water supply was available. If it was outside, even If I found food and water supply, then another group could easily snatch it away from me. One day after a night of deep sleep, my body was in pain, mostly my private parts. I instantly knew the reason, they fed me sleeping pills and the rest anyone can imagine. I let it carry on, they did not threaten my life. Good friends during the day and their play thing during the night. Then I noticed that my period stopped. Fear crept in. Couple of months passed and those guys understood that I am pregnant with one of theirs after seeing my bulging stomach. They finally understood that I knew what they did to me. I secretly heard them say that the baby will bring trouble by consuming the food faster, so they decided to kill me after using me one more time, this time without sleeping pills. I did not mind the latter but the former meant I will die. Even if they did not kill me but kick me out, I will still die. Murder and rape were common. No laws to bind these kids. In the beginning, hero guys did step in to interfere, but now they are all dead. I did not want to die, so I went and picked up one of the gun’s the man had stored. Those guys have used these guns plenty of times on other humans to keep this room a secret. Now it was my turn to use it. I waited for them to get me. They came in with an arrogant expression and told me what they did to me all this time. I act scared, they tore my clothes and did it on the bed as I predicted, I let it go on for a minute to feel it for the first time what I should have felt all this time. I felt the gun under the pillow, I waited for the perfect opportunity. 2 hours later, standing naked in the shower, blood and dirt washed off. The bodies buried, where all the victims of the guns laid.

20 years later, I still use the room but mainly I use the whole house with my daughter. Food has run out years ago but there is still water coming but I don’t know for how long. Farming is the only food source, the man had prepared it all (written all in a guidebook called ‘farming for noobs’). The land at the back of the house is fertile, but I had to find the seeds. Found some potatoes and grew them since I found them the easiest to farm. This attracted many people, unlike before, people have matured and realised their mistakes. We did not go back to the ‘early humans’ stage but close to that at the beginning, but in just about a decade we revert back to the 21st century humans again.

Everyone did what they could do to survive.

Entry 8: The Fool by WithYouInSpirit

Yore, thither wast a fool.
This fool hadst grown up in the slums of a city that hath no name,
Whither desperation, greed, violence, amorous rite wast rife.
For this young fool, these things wast but facts of life.
The actions of others didn’t concern that gent,
For that gent wast a killer,
His services hath paid for in blood and gold.

That gent hath lived in a most wondrous empire that needn’t beest named.
Its people fraught with unhappiness.
For thee see,
The sir who stoodeth at the pinnacle of this mighty empire, its Emperor,
Wast a menace with less remorse than coequal this fool.
That gent forced high taxes, public executions, racial segregation, sexual abuse upon his people.
There's few or none will entertain it hath happened to that gent after that gent hath met his own end that gent didst not care for.
And so hadst been the way of life of the citizens of the empire for 30 years.

But despite the Emperor’s Tyranny, thither wast still some desire.
The Emperor’s Son. A kind and benevolent sir who strongly opposed his father.
that gent would beest the one to succeed the Tyrant, bringing peace to the empire.

But alas, this wast not to beest.
The Emperor wast greedy. that gent didst not wanteth to beest succeeded.
So that gent hadst his son convicted for treason and executed.
The people of the Empire wailed in despair as the blood of the Crown Prince drained onto the Gallows Deck.
The Fool wasn’t an educated sir, and didst not care for matters of Sovereignty and State, but still the people hath reached out.
“Oh, Masterful Fool please holp us. taketh the life of our vaward, the earth wanteth his blood! ”

The Fool wast hesitant. What wast that gent to gain from assassinating the Emperor?
“We wilt still hold thee in divine grace, mine lord” hath said the people.
The Fool wast shocked. those gents would rather see a killer who hath worked in earnest on the throne than this sir those gents hath called Emperor.
And so that gent concurred.

Under the cover of darkness, the Fool slipped past the guards of the Imperial Palace and found himself in the Emperor’s Chambers.
The Emperor was a wary man, and noticed the approach of his killer.
“So you have come at last, Killer of mine”
The Fool is amused. This man had foreseen his arrival.
The Emperor makes no move to preserve his own life. He merely sits upon his bed and looks at the Fool.

“Fool, thee art aware that this crown wilt changeth thee, correct? ” The sir grins.
“Like ends like, and like becometh like…”
The Fool groweth not restful of speaking to the Tyrant and ends his life with a crisp slash to the throat…

As the sun crests the following morning, the Emperor’s Personal Guard enter the Throne Room only to beest hath met with the sight of their lord strung up upon the most wondrous Sword placed above the Throne.
Upon this throne sitteth the Fool, a crown resting crookedly on his headeth.

The first orders of the new Emperor art then spoken.
“Bring me those who would plot against their lord. The ones who hath paid me to doth the deed. I would killeth those folk myself”.
And so, a new Tyrant is born…

Entry 9: Plugging In by Organizized

”Establishing connection, please wait. Thank you for your service to uVision.”

   The familiar sting of thousands of microscopic needles piercing my scalp. You’d think after going through this process once a week for almost a year, I would have gotten used to it by now. You’d be wrong, though. There’s no getting used to this.
    It’s not just the plug-in process. Hell, that’s the easiest part. If that was all there was to it, everyone would be signing up. Though… recent numbers show the number of applicants has increased tenfold. It was bound to happen, I guess. There’s just no other work out there. Sure, some of the mines are still open, but the fatality rate grows with each week, the deeper they have to go. The farms are facing much the same fate. No one will say it, but everyone knows: the earth’s natural resources are all but depleted. Soon the only way to stay alive is either plug in, like me, or work (or rather, slave) for the Establishment.

    The Establishment is, put simply, everything. They control food and clothes rations; they’ve monopolized what little there is left to be bought. Mainstream media; law enforcement; health care; the educational system. Everything you can think of is just a subdivision of theirs.
    Everything except entertainment.

"Initiating transfer, please wait. Thank you for your service to uVision.”

    uVision was created just before the Establishment’s reign began. It started as a counter-measure to the, since long, steady decrease of originality in mainstream films. In other words, to put an end to the remakes, the reboots, the rip-offs and the spin-offs. They were developing a system to scan people’s brains for ideas and transfer them into films. Common people. Average Joes.
    "Could your mind blow everyone else's?" To most, it sounded ludicrous, but some desperate souls signed up in a last hope of survival.
    The results were immediate; the effect on the entertainment industry astounding.
    Due to their incredible success just before the Establishment took over, uVision managed to stand their ground. They became to entertainment what the Establishment is to just about everything else. They were as much a symbol of rebellion as a workplace alternative to the Establishment, a way to escape their clutches. With short-term job contracts only binding for one single year, paying a 'one-time fee and one per-mille of your mind's box-office income', they've given thousands of people a new opportunity of life, albeit one much less 'colorful'. Like this world had such a broad palette to begin with...

Transferring data. Approximate resource remaining: thirty-nine percent and decreasing.”

    Images flash by my mind’s eye, too many and too quickly to even begin to comprehend. It’s simple data being transferred, they tell you. That’s all. So why does the pain alone make me scream like a madman every time?
    I don’t scream today, however. Today I can take the pain. My contract is up. I’ve devoted a year of my life to mental exercises and testing, I've sacrificed almost two-thirds of my brain’s active imagination, but financially I’m set for at least fifteen years. Today I endure all of the pain, and smile.

    No… I don’t smile. I can’t. I’m trying to, but I can’t. My muscles aren’t responding.

Approximate resource remaining: seventeen percent and decreasing”

    Seventeen...? One session is not supposed to... drain more than one or... two..
    ”Hey… What’s going…” What’s the next word? ”What… hey….”
    Did I just say something? A question… I think. I… wh...

”Approximate resource remaining: zero percent. Thank you for your service to uVision - a subdivision of the Establishment.”
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