The Incomplete Guidebook for the Intellectually Challenged on:
How to Undermine, Destroy, and/or Escape a Totalitarian Society.

Introduction
What does it mean to question your Totalitarian society?
If you find yourself questioning your totalitarian society it must mean that you are feeling suppressed by your Party in some way. If you have picked up this book and already begun reading then congratulations are in order because you have already taken the first and most difficult step. Chances are you need to be more careful hiding how you truly feel now. Also don’t get caught with this book.
As you may or may not know, freedom of thought can get one into far more trouble then some think it is worth. However, the mere fact that you are thinking these things has already gotten you into trouble. You might as well go through with it. However, if you’re already thinking of backing down there is no use. You just might not be cut out to be a “freedom” fighter so put the book down, pansy, and go outside to the police.
Now if you’re still with me you might have a chance of becoming a cause for good in a society that has slowly reduced itself to a sink hole. If you feel you have been treated unfairly and that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way “they” are making you live your life then its time for you to do something about it. It’s time to get up and try to subvert the system!
What does it mean to subvert the system?
This is a very good question that should probably be addressed before we continue onto part one. Subverting the system literally means to overthrow the existing government. This will require more then just an introductory section to cover it; this is a reason why this book has been created. Now, please allow me to help you better understand what overthrowing a government is all about.

Part 1
Undermining a Totalitarian Society

Step 1: Gain as much Knowledge as Possible
As you may know one of the functions of a totalitarian society is to keep the people ignorant. If you did, congratulations you have begun the path towards gaining valuable knowledge. While your totalitarian society might make it difficult to learn, they will never be able to extinguish the existence of and ability to gain knowledge. The truth is out there about what this society is really doing and your goal is to find out as much about the past as possible.
While this may seem like a daunting task at first, it is important to be prepared to be sneaky, deceiving, and above all: willing to break the law. The act of gaining knowledge may not be as difficult as you think. It is important that if you have received some education to use what you have learned to further your knowledge. Obviously reading and writing are fundamental learning tools that you can use to advance your knowledge. If you cannot write, that’s ok. If you can’t read… well… none of this makes sense to you anyways.
Chances are good that you live in a time and place where history is hard to find. Its quite possible that there has been book burning, and a department has been set up to deliberately alter history. If this is true, the best thing to do is to try and find a safe space where you have complete privacy. Some place that is similar to what Equality 7-2521, found in Anthem, by Ayn Rand. Now, you may not have direct access to this book (or any other book). if you do then great. Start reading! All of the books that will be discussed feature characters just like you. They have similar goals, and while some fail, others do succeed. Remember not to be too hard on yourself. Totalitarian societies are set up to keep the people as ignorant as possible. If you can come out of this in one piece and not a mindless- zombie then this book (and you) have done an excellent job!

Step 2: Find Others in your Society with Similar Feelings
Now, on your journey for more knowledge, it is important to try and find some like-minded people. Again this could be dangerous because you can never truly trust anyone you meet, but if you have heard whispers and rumors of an organization that is trying to bring the government down it’s most likely true.
Actually finding another person with like-minded goals can often be a challenge. The most important thing to keep in mind is body language. You can usually tell from a person’s outward appearance if they are uncomfortable with their living conditions. An important thing to remember is that these people most likely under surveillance by the government and frankly, you might be too.
A big problem with finding people is to not speak publicly about your dissention for the government. It is very important to a private place where you can go to have such discussions. In 1984, because the society was totally controlling of the peoples’ lives, it was important to constantly change where your group met. Also it is important never to trust an upper class member of society. They are most likely a member of society who will cause the downfall of your little rebellion. Never trust someone higher up than you; they are more intelligent, better looking, and more likely connected to the government!

Step 3: Find What it Means to be You!
As you may or may not know, each person is an individual. Everybody has different likes and dislikes. In a effort to undermine your totalitarian government it is important to figure out who you are as a person. Individual freedom is something the government is trying to take away from you. By suppressing who you are the government has made it easier to control you and everyone else. This obviously creates a problem while you attempt to gain knowledge and distinguish yourself from others. By making yourself different you are also making yourself a target at the same time. Yet your individuality is the saving grace that you need to enable yourself and others to free yourselves of the shackles of your society!
When you have figured out what it means to be an individual you have completely undermined your totalitarian government. And you have in fact already broken the governments hold on who you are. It is now important to never forget this. Even if you get captured and tortured you should never let go of who you are because as soon as you do the government has won and all hope is lost!

Part 2
Destroying a Totalitarian Society


Step 1: Become a Super/Masked Hero
This step may be difficult or altogether impossible for several of you who are reading this. If you still wish to find a way to escape your government, then please just move onto the next section. If your still wondering, there are several reasons this may be impossible. 1. Your society doesn’t have anything in the ways of science. 2. You can’t get your hands on any spandex. 3. You have nowhere to make your personal bat-cave. Or 4. The people don’t need rescuing, you do!
For those of you who have the means and will to follow through with this step there are several approaches you can take to realize your super hero potential. Not only does magic become a possibility for some of you but so do some other abilities such as extra strength, cool gadgets, and the ability to understand a parallel time continuum. For those who don’t wish to accidentally experiment on their bodies in order to become another “Dr. Manhattan,” you may just want to consider donning an ultra-tight outfit and start and beating up street-gangs. There is also the chance that you have already been captured by the government for experimentations. In this instance it would be best to use your new found abilities to strike terror into the hearts of the Party leader. Also these powers can be used to create an all encompassing plan to destroy the Party from the inside.
Something else to remember when becoming a super hero is to diligently protect your identity. Your true self is the one thing that could be used against you, especially if you live in a society that de-emphasizes the individual. By keeping your identity secret you are essentially becoming a symbol of hope for the oppressed. As a symbol of the freedom of choice or of a new direction of thought you have the unique ability to become the face of change. You can inspire others to realize they can also attain freedom.

Step 2: Plan and Carryout Political Assassinations
While this step may seem like a bad idea to some of you, committing political assassinations weakens the power of the party. Now, you shouldn’t go out and start killing everyone you see because that defeats the purpose of this step. You mostly want to target the upper class and the heads of government. Some of these people may be hard to get to, but this is where being a superhero comes in handy. For instance, if like Dr. Manhattan you have the ability to move and shift molecules it becomes easy to assassinate anyone you wish. However, if you think that you are more like a V character, it becomes more important to know the inner workings of the party and catch these people when they least expect it.
The most important aspect in planning an assassination is choosing your weapon of choice. There are many different ways to kill people and each is unique. By now you should know your preferences for violence. If you don’t assassinating someone is not a good way to find out. The simplest and sometimes cleanest way to kill someone is with a gun. Guns may not be readily available which can cause even more problems for you. Poison is also another “clean” way to kill someone but, again, the ingredients to make a poison may not be readily available to you. One of the messier methods is to kill with a knife. This, while not only messy, puts you in physical danger because you have to get very close to the person you wish to kill. However, knifes are more readily available (as you most likely use them to eat your food with). Another option that will also put you in grave danger is one-on-one combat. Not only do you have to be physically strong but you must also be prepared to take on an enemy and kill them with your bare hands.
Political assassinations should not be preformed for the sake of revenge. Emotions muddy a situation and can place you in harms way. They should serve a greater purpose, which is to cause detrimental damage to the government. It may also not actually be necessary to kill the person, but just break them down to a point where they can no longer function as a member of society. To pull off an assassination successfully it is important to study your target while not getting caught. This is a circumstance when it is helpful to be a superhero because you already know many of the best ways to avoid getting caught. While studying your prey you should take note of their routine (where do they go, who do they see), what they eat (morning, afternoon, and night!), and how often they are alone.

Step 3: Promote New Political Agendas and Ideas
When trying to destroy an entire political party it is important to give society different options. Without other political ideas to grasp onto the people will not really understand what you are trying to do. It is essential to get your message out by any means possible. Some of you may only be able to disperse information by word of mouth. This retelling of stories can serve in your favor to not only promote your ideals but also make you more of an ideal. When people talk about you they will exaggerate when telling stories and make you seem larger than life.
First maybe we should discuss the type of political ideology you feel will work best as your platform. It is important that while you pursue your education to learn as much about the past as you can. There are many political strategies that actually work in providing the people freedom. Several ideologies that could work for you are democracy, bureaucracy, theocracy, confederation, or even anarchy.
After you have determined which ideology works best for you it is of course important to promote it. As mentioned earlier, one way to do this is by relying on word of mouth. The problem with this is that your government could suppress any one who tries to spread your ideals. A better way, if the technology exists, is to take over every television, radio, and tele-screen in of the nation. If this is possible, every single person with access to these technologies will hear and know your ideology. This serves as an excellent way to gain support and let the people know that they are being oppressed.

Part 3
Escaping a Totalitarian Society

Step 1: Prepare for Departure
As you know by now, taking down a totalitarian society is not that easy. The government, if set up well, should have contingency plans for every possible disastrous event. If you find this to be the case it might be a good idea to just forget it and figure out a way to get out of there before the situation get worse. It is important to keep your plans a secret. While this may be hard because of all the monitoring that takes place in your society, it is still possible.
One very good part of the plan to figure out is where you can go. With all of the knowledge you hopefully have by now you should be able to find a non-totalitarian society. If you find that all of the other nations are run by totalitarian governments, it might be a good idea to get a boat and try to find a deserted island. If you feel there are no deserted islands, wandering about in the woods is still a better alternative than being worked to death and starved by the government.
Now after you have determined where to go you must figure out what you need to bring on your journey. Food will be essential especially if you have never hunted or are unable to tell one plant from another. Also, if you don’t know how to start a fire now would be an excellent time to learn. If you think you can survive sufficiently without bringing too much food, clothing should be your next consideration. Clothes allow you to keep warm as well as protect you from bugs, and other wild life that may think you are tasty. If you would rather travel naked, well that’s totally up to you, but not recommended at all. Water will also be a good thing to bring if there are no water sources near by. However, if you are following a river with fresh flowing water you will only need to bring a canteen. If you find these things to not be worthy of bringing just bring whatever you can get your hands on that might be helpful!

Step 2: Bring a Buddy
Yes, you should bring a friend. Obviously they should come of their own free will. If you feel this is irrelevant than at least make sure that they can’t hurt you. The importance in bringing a friend comes down to basic survival. Not only will there be two sets of hands to do manual labor, there will also be two sets of eyes. Most likely that your government doesn’t want to let you go. With two of you, then you can be better prepared to watch out for each other. This is another reason why you should bring someone who actually wants to go with you.
Having a buddy also keeps you from getting lonely. People who get lonely tend to do stupid things. You don’t want to do stupid things, so having a buddy will help keep you safe. This being said you should probably make sure your buddy is someone you don’t mind spending the rest of your life with. While chosing someone with survival skills is essential, consider being attracted to them an added bonus (especially if they find you attractive as well).
If you and your buddy do become “good” friends then great! Not only have you chosen a life partner but you can now go about securing the future of your genetic line. According to evolution that is the basic point of mating. If you find you and your buddy are not compatible in this way then that’s ok. There is always a chance you will find someone else, or even rescue someone later.

Step 3: Finding a New Home
Probably the most important step after actually escaping is to find a place to settle down. If you are lucky, like some people (Equality 7-2521), then a house will just be waiting for you in the wilderness. If you aren’t that lucky then you should be prepared to build your own home.
Building your own home can be a complicated task. So you want to build somewhere far away from your old society. The place you chose should be remote as well as protected by natural wildlife. When building a shelter it is important to have at least four walls and a roof. The most attainable building material will most likely be wood. Wood must be harvested from trees therefore you must devise a way to cut them down. If you are unable to do this it would be a good idea to find a cave to live in.
If you still think that building a house is to complicated there is always the odd chance that you may be fortunate enough to wander into an established village. If you do find this village, then please come down to the third shelter on the left. I’ll be inside waiting. Then you can either thank me or slap me. And yes I did build it myself…





Conclusion
Let me remind you this is a totally incomplete guidebook. Hopefully you have learned enough to evade getting killed or tortured. If you do get killed or torture I am in no way liable, and I’m sorry you weren’t smart enough. I hope you found this helpful, and also not too confusing. I know for some of you the concept of individuality is a tough one to face, but I hope you embrace it and really make it your own.
I would just like to say that for those of you too lazy to actually read the entire book, but went straight to the end points: Shame on You! Now I would like to end by thanking the books and stories that made this guide book possible.
Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell, Anthem by Ayn Rand, V for Vendetta and Watchmen by Alan Moore, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, and The Giver by Lois Lowry.









Major points
Gain Knowledge
The truth is out there about what your society is really doing, and you need to find out as much about the past as possible.
If you have received some education, use what you have learned to further your knowledge.

Find Others
This could be dangerous because you can never truly trust someone else, but if you have heard whispers and rumors of an organization that is trying to bring the government down it’s most likely true.
Usually from how a person looks and acts you can tell if they are uncomfortable with their living conditions. An important thing to remember though is that most likely these people being monitored by the government and frankly, you might be too.
It is important to find some place private where you can go to have discussions.
Never trust someone higher up than you; they are more intelligent, better looking, and more likely connected to the government!

Find your Identity
As you may or may not know each person is an individual. Everybody has different likes and dislikes.
In making yourself different you are making yourself a target. Yet your individuality is the saving grace that you need to enable yourself and others to become free of the shackles of your society!

Become a Super/Masked Hero
This step may be difficult or altogether impossible for several of you who are reading this and wish to still find a way to escape your government if this is the case, then please just move on to the next section.
Not only does magic become a possibility for some of you but so do some other abilities like extra strength, cool gadgets, and the ability to understand a parallel time continuum.
An important thing to remember when becoming a super hero is to always keep your identity a secret. Your true identity is the one thing that could be used against you, especially if you live in a society that de-emphasizes the individual.

Plan and Carryout Political Assassinations
While this step may seem like a bad idea to some of you, committing political assassinations weakens the power of the party.
The people you want to target are mostly the upper class, and heads of the departments of government. Some of these people may be hard to get to, but of course this is where being a superhero comes in handy.
The most important thing in assassinations is your weapon of choice.
To pull of an assassination successfully it is important to study your target, while not getting caught.

Promote New Political Ideas
Without other political ideas to grasp onto then the people will not really understand what you are trying to do. It is important to get your message out to the people through any means possible.
It is important through your education to learn as much about the past as possible and to realize that there were some ways that never really worked well.
Several ideologies that could work for you are democracy, bureaucracy, theocracy, confederation, or even anarchy.

Prepare for Departure
The government if set up well should almost be resistant to all forms of destruction. If you find this to be the case it might be a good idea to just forget it and figure out a way to get out of there before things get worse.
Figure out where you can go; a different nation, a deserted island, or maybe just wander around in the woods.
Now after you have determined where you are to go, you must figure out what you need to bring! Food is a good option especially if you have never hunted or can’t tell one plant from another.
Clothes allow you to keep warm and also protect you from bugs, and other wild life that think you are tasty. If you would rather travel naked, well that’s totally up to you, but not recommended at all.

Bring a Buddy
Yes, you should bring a friend. Obviously they should come of their own free will, but if this is irrelevant than at least make sure that they can’t hurt you.
If there are two of you, then you can be better prepared to watch out for your buddy.
Having a buddy also keeps you from getting lonely. People who get lonely do stupid things.
If you and your buddy do become “good” friends then great! Not only have you chosen a life partner, but now you can go about securing a future for your genetic line.

Find a New Home
If you are lucky like some people then a house will just be waiting for you somewhere in the wilderness.
If you aren’t lucky then you should be prepared to build your own home.
The location should be remote and well protected by natural wildlife.
When building a shelter it is important to have at least four walls and a roof.