Dominatus by D. W. Ulsterman

Especially ones with military service connections.”
     
    I then asked Mac a question I asked myself often.
     
    “How did it go so bad for America back then?  How did we go from a place of freedom, democracy, liberty, all of the things we once stood for into something…something so different?  The New United Nations, the mandates, loss of freedom, how do you think that happened?  How did it happen so fast?”
     
    Mac looked back to the photos on his wall.
     
    “Well, that’s a complicated question, a whole lot of things happened, were allowed to happen to cause all that.  And it didn’t happen quick.  It was a gradual process, year after year.  When places like New York banned things like soft drinks, smoking, when the federal government started telling people what they could eat and drink, what activities they could do, all in the name of the public good…that’s when the slope became slippery enough for what followed.  People…I guess people just got tired of wanting the freedom to think for themselves.  They wanted to be told what to do.  I don’t know, I’ve thought a lot about that myself.  Again, ask the Old Man.  He has a way of putting things that makes sense to us up here. 
     
    “I got a little room just outside here, door on the right.  Has a cot, a blanket.  It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and with the blanket should keep you warm enough.  We’ll be up early and to the meeting by 7:00, so be ready.  Tomorrow is gonna be a busy one.”
     
     
    IV.
     
     
    Despite the strange surroundings, the narrow and uncomfortable cot offered by Mac, and the apprehension of tomorrow, sleep took me quickly and when I awoke, I sensed the morning was already underway.
     
    I stood up and stretched, noting I had come with no supplies, per Mac’s instructions, and was hoping fresh clothing and toiletries would be available to me.  Upon opening the door I looked down on the floor and found that wish granted with a pile of winter clothing, boots, and a small bag containing a toothbrush and toothpaste.  I peered into the next door down in the hall and discovered it to be a bathroom with a small shower, sink, and toilet crammed into a space no more than seven by seven.  Regardless of the limited space I was grateful for the opportunity to clean up, but made sure to do so quickly.
     
    By the time I was showered and dressed, music was playing from the tavern’s main room again – an ironically upbeat but apocalyptic song titled Bad Moon Rising from another long ago group named Creedence Clearwater Revival. 
     
    Mac was behind the bar again, the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling the room.  He looked over at me coming down the hall and smiled broadly, his hand slapping the top of the bar in time with the beat of the music.
     
    Mac offered me a large bowl of cereal and what tasted like rehydrated milk, as well as a cup of coffee.  I began wolfing it down before he even had a chance to ask if I was hungry.  The coffee was particularly rich, quality rarely seen in the now heavily regulated consumer markets most had to choose from throughout the world.
     
    “Where’s this coffee come from?”
     
    Mac smiled again, and pointed to my cup.
     
    “That’s our own brew.  We grow the beans here. Well, a facility just a mile or so from here actually. The Old Man loves good coffee.  We produce almost everything ourselves up here…food, fuel, water supply.  We use and re-use whatever we can.  The less we have to go outside Dominatus the better.  Other things are picked up at the reservation.  They trade with us regularly.  Good people down that way.  We have stockpiled frozen fruit, vegetables, dairy products, everything we would need to get us through for a while if we needed to.”
     
    “How do you get your own fuel?”
     
    “That heating stove over there is coal burning.  We have enough coal stored away up here to last us at least a few years if needed.  This place and