In the first quarter of the 21st century governments began to realise that the energy crisis was soon to be a reality, leading to a mounting tension between ideologically opposed nations. Control of the last remaining energy reserves was becoming paramount and reference to weapons of mass destruction become more and more frequent in the media. Eventually a skirmish erupted with the use of atomic weapons, the first time since Hiroshima. As was to be expected, neither side could claim victory, with tens of thousands of lives lost. With globalisation well and truly entrenched, the two nations involved were sent into a staggering economic decline.

This was a wake up call for the rest of the governments around the world. The use of violence was no longer a viable means of control and power. But how to keep control? The answer of course was obvious. The unmistakable success of the mass media to persuade peoples beliefs through electronic means was undisputed in the later half of the 20th century, and so a top secret project code named "Last Strike" was established, and I, much to my regret, did become a part of this project.

The purpose was to devise a weapon that would control the minds of the enemy, making them conform to the beliefs of the government, turning them into economic allies through identical ideology. To control the will of the individual.

Through the advances of bio technology and the wealth of information contained in the mapping of the human genome, such a weapon was realised in only four short years. For technical reasons the weapon itself was not perfect, but we had achieved what many had thought was just pure science fiction. The weapon was not conventional, partially mechanical and partially organic, the 'Strike X-1' had to be grafted into the nervous system of an 'approved' operative. Directly tapping into the ideological mindset of the bearer, the weapon would blast out a psychic wave of energy, altering the beliefs of any individual caught in its path. The mental energy required to fire the weapon was immense. By potentially influencing the will of many others, an operative in turn would lose their own will. They could only use the weapon once.

Naturally we were concerned about the power of such a weapon, but fortunately it was possible to restore a victims beliefs by a second blast from an operative with the same original ideological background. It was possible to counteract the effects of the weapon, or so we thought.

The incident happened just recently during a routine training session. The instructor in charge, for reasons unknown, had disengaged the neural block on the supplied Strike X-1's. The trainees were unaware that their weapons were active. Not only did we lose potentially good operatives on that fateful day, but we also discovered another secret. One of the trainees was hit by a simultaneous blast from two Strike X-1's and despite many attempts to restore this persons ideology (at great expense of Strike X-1 operatives) we could not do so. A persons beliefs could be changed permanently!

My part in the project was to devise a simulation that would help train a Strike X-1 operative in the strategic requirements of the weapon, to help recognise in the field exactly when was the best time to strike. The simulation did not originally contain the 'permanent conversion' of an individual. Now that I know this is possible, I have re-engineered the simulation to take this into account. When I played the first 'game' of the new simulation, I suddenly realised the awesome power of the Strike X-1. Perhaps it can be used for good as well as evil?

I deeply regret my part in this project, I was blinded by the excitement of the new technology, not fully understanding the means to which it would eventually be used. I now know the truth. Thanks to a colleague in the Ministry of Temporal Science, I now have a chance to seek solace. Although I cannot alter what has already happened, I can at least make an attempt to forewarn those who have yet to exist.