No More Learning

Two months later, the monitoring cameras of „Big Eye",

which always kept every corner in this big prison complex in

sight, including room 47 in block F, saw a broken man, lying

like dead with face down on his plank bed.

Frank Kohlhaas, patient 111-F-47, seemed to have slipped

into an endless lethargy. Meanwhile, he wished nothing

more than the end of his shattered existence.

The cruel treatment had internally destroyed him, and even

the irrational behavior and the emotional outbreaks, which

had kept him alive for so long, were over.

Over eight months of holo cell had corroded his mind so

strongly, that his body seemed to refuse its service any

longer under such inhuman conditions.

The sharp, malicious light, which tormented him 14 hours a

day, hand in hand with the impenetrable darkness of the

artificial nights, had finally crushed Frank's will to live. The

holo cell 47 in block F, this hell chamber without windows,



44



with only a plank bed, a toilet and a little hatch in the white

wall, was ultimately the winner in this war against insanity.

Not even Frank's only friend, the mutely smiling Mr.

Madness, had had the guts to stay here any longer - he had

vanished.

On 21. 03. 2028, the light was switched off again at 22. 00

o'clock in the evening by the computer-controlled system of

„BigEye".

The unconscious Frank Kohlhaas, who layed somewhere in

this cell, down on the ground, with his face in a puddle of

saliva, was swallowed by the darkness again. He did no

longer notice it.

The next day, the army of light particles started another
great attack on Frank's head. With loud crashing it surged
against his lids like a battering ram and awoke the halfdead
patient again. But Frank's will was already destroyed and
why should he be interested in another day of hundreds
more in this holo cell. He hoped, with the still smoldering
rest of his understanding, that he would meet death as soon
as possible. Kohlhaas was sure, that he would praise the
Grim Reaper like a redeemer, when he would finally come.
On 22. 03. 2028 at 9. 45 o'clock in the morning, the electronic
woman voice suddenly resounded through the brightly
illuminated cell. Frank lay on the ground like a dying animal
and hardly heard this anymore. The small part of his brain,
which hadn't been razed to the ground and hadn't been
brunt by the horde of light particles yet, was briefly surprised
for a second about the fact that there was another
announcement after the wake-up call. Then Frank's mind
switched off again. Nevertheless, this was unusual.
„l_isten, patient 111-F-47! Your holo cell has been given to
another patient by the computer-controlled administration of
„Big Eye". You will be brought to the mental hospital "World



45



Peace" in Bonn, where your therapy will be continued for
the next four years and four months. Please be
unconcerned, your healing process will not be interrupted. A
holo cell of the same type is available for you in "World
Peace"! "

The young man hardly thought about the content of the
announcement. They should freight him, whereto they ever
wanted. He would hopefully soon be dead and free.

But up to the next morning, he still lived. Or better said: His

heart refused stopping, although his owner really wished it -

"from the heart". He hadn't moved at all, during the whole

day and the following night, because he took his desire to

die very seriously.

But the three execution officials, who opened his holo cell

punctually at 8. 00 o'clock and entered the room, didn't

understand this. They were the first human beings since

over eight months, who visited Frank here - to bring him

from A to B, from one hell chamber to the next.

„The guy still breathes, but he is totally down! ", said one of

the three guards.

„Hey! Stand up, man! Don't waste our time! ", remarked

another and kicked Frank in the back.

„Hrrrr! ", hummed the prisoner.

„Shit, the guy is really broken! Uwe, look at this! " The third

enforcement officer was astonished. "Bring us some

stimulants! We need some extra help in this case! "

One of the officials departed and came back with a cup of

water and two red pills after a quarter of an hour.

„Hey! Hey, 111-F-47! Open your mouth! . Yes, good boy!

And now, down with it! ", he muttered.

Frank swallowed the pills and was able to walk after a few

minutes. He didn't understand, what happened to him and



46



hardly noticed, that he was on the way to leave the

abhorrent holo cell behind him.

„Go! Get a grip, man! Just walk! . Yes, this is good. One foot

before the other one! Forward! ", said the guard and

supported Frank cynically.

Patient 111-F-47 had to be carried out of the prison building,

more or less, because he was too weak to walk. After a

while, the policemen simply pushed the young man forward.

„That the guy isn't fit yet, after two pills of steroin! ",

remarked the officer with surprise. „Hurry up! The driver of

the transporter is waiting in hall B! "

The three man brought the picture of misery, which once
had been called Frank Kohlhaas, with the help of steroin, a
highly concentrated stimulant, and some beats against the
head to the transport van.

Frank crept over the three stages of a metal stair and sank
down on one of the seats. His hands were secured with
handcuffs behind his back and he stared at the ground.
„Watch out for this guy! He is finished! Maybe he gonna
vomit in our van! Ha, ha! ", said a guard to his colleagues.
„We will watch out for him! Don't worry! ", answered one of
the policemen with a grin.

Next to Frank were two other officers and a further prisoner
in the back area of the transport van. The cops were armed
with shotguns and tied Frank, who almost slipped on the
ground, and also the other inmate, with an additional seat
belt. Both men could only move their legs now.
The transport van started moving at 9. 00 o'clock, and finally
left the prison complex. Even if Frank had had the
opportunity, to have a last look at the hated place of horror,
which had brought him to his knees, he probably wouldn't
have done it. First of all, the back area of the transporter,
secured by lattices, had no windows anyway, and secondly,



47



patient 111-F-47 didn't care, where he would find death. If it

was in "Big Eye" or in "World Peace" or somewhere else,

wasn't important anymore. His only concern was, if it would

go fast.

After they had driven one quarter of an hour and nobody

had spoken a word, the prisoner, sitting diagonally opposite

to Frank, hissed: „Hey! Pssst! I am Alf! Who are you? "

Frank ignored the question of the man. It didn't interest him,

who still sat there. He stared at the metallic ground of the

van's back area with blank look.

Suddenly one of the policemen said: „Baumer, you crank!

Stop that damn whispering! Contact among prisoners is

against the regulations! "

J thought, we are patients? ", answered the prisoner

sardonically, giving Frank a nod.

Now the policeman reacted. He struck Baumer in the face

and grumbled: „Oh, I'm sorry, asshole! I didn't want to be

impolite. "

The prisoner swallowed some blood and saliva and looked

at Frank with psychotic eyes. However, the young man was

still mute and didn't mention the small sign of defiantness,

the other prisoner had shown.

"Alf Baumer! ", he thought briefly, then his mind sank again

into a blurred fog.

Alfred Baumer, patient 578-H-21, was a tall man. He had a

dark brown beard, broad shoulders and a tattoo at the neck.

The few hasty looks, Frank had given to him, showed the

picture of an aggressive man, who was about thirty years

old. Above all, Alf's bright blue eyes and the large scar in

the right half of his face were noticeable.

How long the trip had already lasted, Kohlhaas could hardly

say anymore. Perhaps a further quarter of an hour. Alfred

seemed to have the things more clearly in sight. He

hatefully stared at the police officers with his blue eyes,



48



baring his teeth and looking at Frank from time to time. This
man seemed to wait for something. . .



49



The Change



In a small forest, close to the highway BAS-74, four men

lurked in the rainy undergrowth and peered eastwards. They

wore camouflage clothes and their faces were hidden under

black balaclavas. Three of them fumbled nervously with

their assault rifles, while another man had a field glass and

gave instructions to his comrades.

„How much longer, Sven? ", asked one of the men.

„l will already tell you. They must soon be here! And

remeber: Jens only shoots at the tires, the rest only shoots

at the drivers! ", answered Sven. „And don't perforate the

back area of the van by mistake, got it? ", he added.

„The whole thing is damn risky. I hope, we will come home

alive! ", said one of the men quietly.

„lt is too late for such thoughts now. We will just do it! Check

your weapons! ", hissed the young man with the field glass.

The minutes passed and the four men crawled further

forward, in the direction of the road. Sven suddenly stopped,

waving the other men nearer.

„Look! Over there! It's the van! Go! ", he called.

All jumped under cover and grabbed their assault rifles. The

transport van, the four men had waited for several hours,

came closer with medium speed.

Another long and tense minute passed, full of doubts and

uncertainty in the hearts of the four men. Then it began. And

while the three policemen, who sat in the driver's cab of the

transport van, were still grouching about the fact that they

had to drive from Bernau to Bonn, just because of the

transfer of only two prisoners, they suddenly saw four

shadows, coming closer to their vehicle from the forest.



50



„Now! Fire! ", roared the scout with the field glass and all four

men raised their weapons in the air, rushed forward and

sent a deafening hail of bullets to the transporter.

„Tac! Tac! Tac! Tad", it echoed through the small forest and

the four men continued to shoot at the windshield and the

tires of the vehicle.

With a loud clank, the windows of the transport van bursted

and it turned out in hurling. Then the damaged vehicle

stopped.

„Kill these rats! ", screamed a masked men and fired at the

driver's cab. One of the two officials in the forepart of the

van got a headshot and an enormous bloodstain spreaded

over the headrest of his seat. Another policeman was also

hit in the arm and tried to find cover behind the engine

mount, searching for his weapon in panic. The third tore up

the passenger door and fired wildly at the masked attackers.

A salvo of two assault rifles finally sent him to the ground.

Meanwhile, the four men had come so close to the vehicle,

that they could also fire from the side at the policeman, who

huddled between the seats. One of the men raised his rifle

and executed the official with an angry burst.

. . Destroy the detector! ", screamed one of the masked men

and the guy, who was called Sven by the others, jumped

forward and shot with his pistol at a radio-like thing in the

front part of the transporter.

„Bolt cutters! Hurry! Hurry! ", he yelled and the four men ran

to the backdoor of the vehicle.

The sound of gunfire, coming from outside, had not been
unnoticed by the two police officers, who guarded Frank
Kohlhaas and Alf Baumer. Even patient 111-F-47 seemed
to have briefly lost his mental confusion and looked around
with surprise.



51



„What the hell goes on there? ", said one of the officers,

loading his shotgun. Then he opened the door of the van's

back area. The other policeman followed him.

„Help me out! ", roared Baumer at the top of his lungs and

gave one of the officers a kick in the abdomen.

In the same moment, the door was broken up and light fell

into the darkness of the back area from the outside. One of

the guards fired out of the van and hit a masked attacker,

who tried to enter the vehicle. The head of the man

exploded like an overripe melon and Frank stared at a cloud

of blood and bone fragments, while he staggered to the

ground.

The remaining three attackers answered with fire bursts of

their assault rifles and killed the policeman, who stumbled

on the street like a bleeding sieve.

Meanwhile, Frank began to cry like a tormented child. He

shrieked in pain and wildly pulled, in an accumulation of

unrestrained rage, on his additional seat belt, tearing it out

of its holder. Then Frank hit the second guard's face with a

high kick and the man tumbled down.

Now the inmate squealed like a pig and started then to

laugh loudly.
Finally, the laughter became an insane

screaming. Suddenly Frank's eyes were clear and gory, and

before the three other masked men had come into the back

area of the vehicle, he had sent the last policeman to the

ground with a headbutt. His hands were still bound on his

back, but he stomped on the guard's face and the man

broke down again.

Frank swooped down on him and bit in his cheek like a wild

animal. A shot from a handgun followed, which had almost

hit the crazy Kohlhaas - then also the last policeman was

dead. Frank howled and still kicked several times in the

head of the dying man. The other men finally pulled him out

of the van. His white dress was blood-smeared and Frank



52



reminded the masked men, who confusedly stood in front of

him, rather of a mad butcher than a prisoner. Now he

seemed to fall in a state of blankness again and sat down,

totally exhausted, on the metallic stairs of the transport

vehicle.

„Well, what's up now, man? Come on! Or do you want to

wait for the next policemen? ", asked Alf.

Baumer trailed him and followed the three other men into

the forest. Now it was important to hurry, because the

operation had lasted far too long and, moreover, such a

slaughter hadn't been planned.

Furthermore, they had lost a man and it was just luck that

no other car had come along the country road, otherwise

the bloodshed would have been much worse. The three

disguised men and Alfred, who was trying to propel Frank,

fastly ran through the thicket.

„Move! ", roared one of the three masked men. „Dash it!

What are you waiting for? "

Alf Baumer gripped Kohlhaas at the collar and ordered him

to run faster, but the confused young man still walked slowly

behind him.

„lf your buddy does not hurry a little more, I will shoot him,

Alf! I mean it! ", yelled one of the three men, who was

running ahead.

Alfred stood before Frank, vibrated him and growled: „This

is your only chance, you idiot! If they get you now, you are a

dead man! Come with me, trust me! "

Frank Kohlhaas hadn't been able to trust anyone in the last

months and the mental bleeding, the holo cell had

demanded of him, had been enormous. But the word „trust"

sounded like a gentle balsam in his ears, that had only

absorbed poison for such a long time. The fresh cold forest

air, he was inhaling now, slowly showed him that this

opportunity to attain freedom, should not be thrown away.



53



Suddenly he ran, ran and ran, catched up with the others
and disappeared with them in the thicket of the forest. The
five men reached a large field after some minutes, where
were an old looking and small airplane was waiting for them.
They jumped into the flier and shut a rusty door behind
themselves. All were totally exhausted and wheezed loudly,
while the plane took off.

„Who is that guy, Alf? ", asked one of the three liberators

with an unfriendly undertone and pulled the balaclava from

his face. The young man was blond, with short hair and a

boyish face.

J have no notion! He has been transported together with

me! ", answered Alf.

„Tell us your name, man! ", demanded the blond man and

regarded Frank with a searching look.

„Frank Kohlhaas, citizen 1-564398B-278843. . . . ", hummed

Frank and closed his eyes.

„Your citizen number isn't interesting for us, buddy! We

don't need to have this shit! ", hissed the young man, who

was called Sven by the others. „We are free men and no

slaves with citizen numbers. "

„Well, I think this man has been in a holo cell. That's the

reason, why he is so abstracted! " Alf tried to explain.

„Such a cell. . . ", stammered Frank.

„A holo cell? That thing, which is currently tested by the

GSA in all prisons worldwide? Really? ", asked one of the

three rebels with surprise.

„No wonder, that you seem to be on drugs. These things are

the worst instruments of brainwashing of our time. How long

have you been in this hellish cell? "

J think, since August 2027. . . leave me alone. . . ", hummed

Frank quietly and hid his face behind his knees again, as he

had done it so often in the last months. Then he turned to



54



the side and dozed in his usual half-sleep, although the
outdated airplane made a big noise and vibrated during the
whole flight.

In the year 2028, it was not easy to organize an operation
like this, because of the almost perfect air surveillance in
"Central Europe". However, this flier was inconspicuous,
because it had been registered as an outdated, but
nevertheless permitted transportation in the Baltic. If the
plane was scanned by the computer of a satellite or an air
surveillance station, it was just shown as the transport
aircraft of a man called Matas Litov, a Lithuanian farmer, in
the data bases of the European monitoring servers.
The chip card of the plane had been changed by a highly
gifted computer hacker, who had made it perfectly
inconspicuous. But even the arts of this man had their limits,
and one day the constantly improved monitoring could
probably also recognize his tricks.

Anyhow, the authorities hadn't been prepared for such a
brutal attack on a prisoner transporter. And it was also just
luck, that the operation had finally been successful.
Frank Kohlhaas, whose citizen number was no longer of
importance, flew with the others over Poland towards the
the former Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Meanwhile, the three abolished national states had been
summarized with other former countries of Eastern Europe
to a single administrative sector.

In Eastern Europe, the complete monitoring of the
population and the entire public life was so far not as perfect
as in North America or in Western Europe. Many states of
Eastern Europe had refused to blindly obey the instructions
of the World Government for a long time. This new power
had been established in the western regions at first and so it



55



just took longer, until a complex monitoring network of
western standards could be installed there.
But the World Government also planned the same extensive
system of total control for Eastern Europe. And it did
everything, to build it up, as soon as possible.
In the year 2028, the British islands were the most sharply
supervised area of the world. Here, the doom had built up
its first strong bastion in the past, from where it had come
over the rest of mankind.

In England, the World Government already tested and
introduced the next steps for global domination. For
example, the complete prohibition of sexual contacts
between men and women, the total destruction of any family
structures, and even a breeding of the population after the
defaults of economic necessity.

Who wanted to fight against this tyranny, was really a
dreamer and had to have a good relationship to his maker,
because the propability to meet him soon, was very high.
Like Alf and his fellows, who apparently thought, that they
could change something. Anyhow, Frank Kohlhaas was with
them now - and enjoyed it. He was just happy to breathe
fresh air and had the feeling, that he had been born again.
How often he had begged the Grim Reaper to come, to end
the torture of the holo cell. But the Gevatter apparently did
not want him yet. Now, everything had changed. . .



56



Outsourced



. . Outsourcing" was one of the infamous terms of

globalization, which had broken loose with all its power at

the beginning of the 21th century. Now Frank had also been

outsourced somehow. He had left the administrative sector

. . Central Europe" and was "stored" elsewhere.

The old airplane flew over the area of the former state of

Poland, over the city of Kaliningrad, the old Konigsberg,

which had meanwhile fallen into ruins, and finally was on its

way to the Southern Baltic, in order to land in a rural area

north of Vilkija, in a little village called Ivas.

The five men were exhausted and hardly noticed the

landscape below them beyond the windows. Frank was still

disturbed and could only occasionally understand, what was

happening to him. He suffered under strange muscle

cramps and was, despite his constant fatigue, not in the

condition to sleep for longer than half an hour.

His eyes were always half open and he felt, as if someone

had put a bag full of cement on his head. After the airplane

had landed, Alf helped him to step out and led him to an

rundown house.

„Can I sleep somewhere, or just lie down? ", asked him

Frank.

„Yes, don't worry! I have found a place to sleep for you! ",

answered Alf and pulled the young man into the building.

„We have to discuss something, Frank. You can rest here -

see you later! ", said Alf and showed Kohlhaas an old bed in

an untidy and halfdark room with a dark red, peeling

wallpaper. Frank turned to the side and tried to sleep. He

hardly made it, but nevertheless, the young man had the

feeling that he already felt better. After he had been in a



57



condition of dozing for some hours, he finally nodded off. He
did not dream about anything. It was just black in his head.
As black as it had always been in the holo cell, in the eight
artificial hours of the night.

Next day. . .

„We have escaped the next cops by the skin of our teeth, as

I think. I feel sorry for Rolf Weinert, a good man, only 29

years old", said Alf to the others. „Thank you, that you have

delivered me from this hell. I know, I always seem to be

hard and tough, but I was also close to the end in "Big Eye".

That other guy is simply wasted, but it would probably be

the same with us all, if they would cage us in a holo cell for

eight months. This Frank is a poor creature! "

„We haven't planned the liberation of a second man, Alf! ",

remarked a young man with red hair.

„So what? What should have been done? Would it have

been right, to let this Frank just die? He would not have

survived one more week in "World Peace", got it? ", returned

Baumer.

„Well, actually the fate of an unknown man is not interesting

for us. The only important thing is our own thing, okay? ",

said another man sternly.

J will care for him. What will he do? Call the fucking

Lithuanian police? ", grumbled Alf with an angry face.

„This is a real problem, Baumer! If the guy becomes a

safety risk, we must kill him. You know about our rules! ",

said a blond man.

„l know that, little boy! You don't need to tell me our

principles! I have already joined our fight in a time, when

you were nothing but a panty wetting baby! ", hissed Alf in

the direction of the young fighter.



58



„Peace, people! You were successful and you are still alive!
Meanwhile, only the big armored busses are used for
prisoner transports since two years. This has been an
exception! The fact that they have used an outdated
transport van this time, was just because only two prisoners
had to be transferred to Bonn. And a bus would have
exceeded the budget for such an unimportant trip. These
new tank-like monsters are not so easy to stop. You need a
rocket launcher or something like that, to bring them to a
halt! ", said a tall man in the background. He was perhaps
about fifty years old.

The man had come later to the small group. His name was
Thorsten Wilden, a former businessman, who had fled to
Lithuania some years ago. Slender, gray haired, with an
oblong face and a remarkable pointed chin. The man
seemed to be very rational and impersonal, and gave the
impression that he had already gone through a lot of
hardship in his life.

. . However, the boy is right. Tomorrow I want to become
acquainted with this Frank. I hope, he won't make us
problems here, otherwise we have no other choice than
silencing him", said the tall man, who apparently had a
leading position is this group of men.
„He won't make problems! Nevertheless, the boy is totally
exhausted! ", meant Alf and rolled his eyes.
„Where is he now? ", asked Wilden.

„ln my house. Thus, I mean, in John's house. He is
sleeping! ", muttered Alf. "I will keep him in sight and I will
also bain for him. Is this enough now? "
"Okay, men! ", shouted the leader of the group. "In the next
days, the good old routine in our village will return for you
all. We have to resow and to do a lot of other work. Alf can
help this new man to recover and I want you, to leave him
alone with this task. By the way, HOK told me, that the



59



release operation has been on TV in "Central Europe",
yesterday evening. We should watch this report, HOK has
recorded everything! "

"Yes, have fun with it, I go home now and want to be alone
for the rest of the day", groaned Alf and left the room.

Dusk was falling and Frank lay between some unwashed
pillows. A great burden slowly fell from his soul and his
mind, which had swollen like a red, throbbing growth. Now
the pain began to fade away. In the next room he heard a
rustle, shortly thereafter loud smacking and the sound of
cutlery on a plate.