Michael hated,detested his government given name. He tried his best not to think it let alone say it.
Plus it was so hard to pronounce in that language. Writing it was impossible. Then again hardly anyone wrote anything anymore. First you have to have the material to do it with and then,what do you write? Why write?

Those incessant loudspeakers seem to go night and day and drowned out any thought you tried to stay with more than a minute. They were everywhere now,not just on the towers that had sprouted up even here in Kansas City. Whoops! Dont say that name out loud! Use the new name. Bah! I can still think it!

Michael was trying to get home after working at the small food shop where he had been for the last 12 hours. Not hard work,just had to make sure that the 'visiting tourists' from the head nation of the world were waited on with humility. No eye contact! Speak politely and quietly but loud enough where you wouldnt get hit with the 4 foot long stick they carried and seemed eager to use if you broke what seems like the thousands of 'laws' and 'rules' that there were to keep the infidel citizenry in place.

Infidel shouldnt have been used. We all had to change our religion Michael thought. But it didnt matter,we were still the infidels.

About a block from Michael's apartment he saw the two police officers in their long blue robes. They were on the other side of the street but walking towards him.
Oh Please! Michael thought,Dont let them stop me and make me empty my pouch!
I'll be dead before the sun can go down which is only 3 hours away.

Just about then 3 teenagers came around the corner and almost ran into the police. Both police officers started hitting the 3 boys to the point they all went to the sidewalk and tried to cover their heads from the full bodied blows that were being used on them.
Michael was relieved. Isnt that a shame that all I feel is relieved when I see the boys being beaten? They didnt deserve it at all but that was the way it was now.

At least I can get home Michael thought. Home. What a joke! A one room flat that wasnt much more than 10X12 feet with one bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. That was only usable maybe 2-3 hours a day. In the early morning and for just a short time right after sunset. No running water. That was a shared item at the end of the hall and was used by anywhere from 30 to 50 people in the other apartments.
His bed,really a cot and a small table and 2 chairs made up the rest of his 'home'.

Tonight though,Michael could put that all aside. He had amazingly 'found' a small device that would play his DVD! He had to hurry home while there was still electricity to use it!
He couldnt believe his luck getting that device. It would play the DVD and had a small 3X5 inch screen and earphones to play the sound as well.
No way did he want a speaker on it. If the neighbors heard this DVD through our paper thin walls,Michael knew he'd be dead. Everyone was a snitch nowadays. Why not? Michael had even turned in a guy down the hall who hadnt prayed before he washed in the community washup room. Got some extra food for that.

Michael made it to his room. Yes,his breath was coming fast and he was trying to control it but he just couldnt keep his excitement down!
Michael was sure he had the last porn movie on the whole planet!

Michael went to his hiding spot in his room and pulled the baseboard trim from the wall making sure that he didnt disturb anything else. Reaching in almost to his elbow he found his treasure! Pulling out the cloth wrapped recording.

This player has to be at least 45-50 years old Michael thought. No one makes anything like this anymore and haven't for many years.

It wasnt needed 'they' said. Prayer is enough to get you through your life 'they' said.

Michael carried his treasure over to the cot and laid it down and plugged it in to the only working plug in the room. He let the player run for awhile just to be sure nothing would harm his DVD.

He was ready! He didnt have to worry about someone peeking in his window at him. There was no window for him! He couldnt make enough money to have such a luxurious room with a window.
Finally Michael slips the DVD in the appropriate slot and pushes the play button.

The screen lights up and at first it was hard to distinguish what he was seeing. It had been so long since seeing an image on a screen. He couldnt have been more than 10 years old and that was a long 50 plus years ago.

After getting his eyes adjusted he could see that this was more of a home made movie than a regular production.
But there was music squeaking and squawking in his ears with the high pitched horns and thumping drum for the rhythm playing. That was alien enough. He couldnt even remember the last time he had heard music either,if this was called music.
There! The figure came on the screen! A woman in full flowing robes swirling and stepping to the beat of the music. Well as much as you could to that noise.

Faster she whirled and her robes billowed out from her. The problem was that they were so heavy you still couldnt see her feet even.
Cmon Michael yelled in his mind. Take it off! Take it off!
The dancing and music went on for what seemed an eternity and without any fanfare the music stopped!
Michael,if it was possible,stared harder at the screen. The camera started zooming in closer.

The woman's eyes were staring straight at the camera.
She reached up with her right hand to the left side of her head and slowly slowly,teasingly started bringing her hand down with the scarf dangling below her fingers. She seem to stop for a second but then completely lowered the scarf that had covered all but her eyes.

There in all its beauty,her face,totally uncovered!
Not a beautiful face by old standards but a bare face nonetheless.

Michael took in a sharp breath that was almost a sob and then realized that his body was responding to this nakedness. The scene went on and seemed like hours but was only seconds when the screen went black. There were tears in Michael's eyes.
If they would have been clear he may have noticed that there was something new to his room. A very small camera lens in a corner near the ceiling and just over his right shoulder looking down at him.