A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
FROM GLOBAL-1
October 13, 2025

Kayla Reed spoke directly into the camera as it closed in on her earnest face.

“When I turned seventeen, I couldn’t wait to get my bar code tattooed to my wrist. It was my way of showing I wanted to become an active, responsible member of society. It was the first thing I set out to do on the morning of my birthday … but as it turned out, I turned seventeen on the same morning that Gene Drake, the Global-1 agent who was doing the tattooing, went insane and opened fire on the crowd. He might have killed many people if the Global-1 police hadn’t been able to take him down so efficiently.”

She paused, letting the full horror of the scene fully impress itself on the minds of her viewers. She quivered with emotion but regained her composure. “The event left me extremely upset and confused,” she continued. “It caused me to do things I now regret. Many months later my Global-1–assigned therapeutic counselor has explained how this violence affected me. I was deeply traumatized by the shooting. In my fragile state I was easily brainwashed by members of Decode, the group dedicated to wiping out the bar code tattoo. I even joined the bar code resistance myself.” She cast her eyes downward in a show of deep shame and remorse.

When she looked up again, it was as though she had been reborn with a blissful inner joy. Her lovely face glowed with the zeal of one who has come into a new and glorious light of realization. “My life is so much better now that I’ve seen the advantage of being tattooed with my own personal bar code. I’ve rejoined society and regained my self-esteem. Those horrible days are behind me. I love my bar code tattoo … and I know now that everything is going to be all right.”

The screen turned blue. Words appeared on it. Above them were the black, parallel, even lines of a bar code. A warm-voiced announcer intoned, “That was Kayla Marie Reed, former bar code resister, giving a testimony to the good things brought to you by Global-1 and the bar code tattoo. Global-1, making friends around the world! This has been a public service announcement from Global-1.”