Daily Free-Write October 2, 2020 (Patreon)

"Good morning Grandovia. And I hope it is a very good morning for you, living under the heel of our dictator state. If you're like most Grandovians, you are growing weary of these propogandists and spies littering every street corner like a pox. I have some homework for you. I have deposited banned materials on street corners all around the city. If you see them, take one and hide it. The watchers will be busy all day trying to recover those materials. And that's what it's all about. Disrupting the status quo. Keep them busy, folks, don't give them a chance to rest. Let's show them that we're not children who can be told what to do. See you in the streets!" 

Another session on pirate radio complete, Johnny Smarts quickly made his way into the crowd. Ever since he had gotten lost on tour, he was stuck in this country, so different from his own. Living in apartment blocks under the thumb of a literal nanny state that would knock on your door if you had a wet bed or cursed, or stayed up after lights out was no picnic. And then he found his calling when he was repairing his headphones - Grandovians had to repair everything time and time again, as they couldn't just go out and buy replacements all the time. A few bad connections cut, some wires twisted together and covered in a little elecrical tape and it was good as new. Better even, because he suddenly discovered that he could broadcast to the airwaves - any radio station he chose! 

And he always stayed one step ahead of the Grandovian watchers. Or so he thought. As he walked down the street, still glowing from his morning act of sedition - it was better than coffee, really - a van that said 'superior medical transport' pulled up along side him and two men in white uniforms walked toward him. Sensing danger, he quickly turned tail, but a large woman in a fur coat pushing a pram blocked his way. It was a set up! He was grabbed from behind, gagged, and tied onto a stretcher.

"Nothing to see here, folks. This man is in need of treatment, that is all." 

Inside the transport van, his clothes were quickly cut off and he was put in a big thick diaper. 

"Sorry, little man, but you've had your last speech as a free adult. You've been a very naughty boy so we're going to have to start from square one with you!"

He mumbled at them through his gag, and the men were amused. They took it off and let him speak.

"I'm not afraid. What are you going to do?"

"What we do with all naughty boys. We're going to regress you into a little baby. That's right, you'll have lots of fun in daycare as you unlearn everything you know about potty training and feeding yourself. Oh, I can tell you're going to be a cute one, isn't that right, Arkadiy?" 

"Yes, comrade. He's going to be cute baby for sure!" said the other man, his face serious. 

He would surely figure a way out of this. Surely. But a month later, there he was sitting on the colorful nursery floor trying to figure out which peg went into which hole. He had lost most of his potty training, and hadn't been allowed out of mitts since he got there. And he was no closer to escape. 

"How's my favorite little boy?" asked one of the nannies that supervised the big baby daycare. 

"I can't do it," he said, throwing down the peg in frustration.

"Aww, let's see if nanny can help. Look, baby boy! This one is blue, and so is this hole! Let's see if you can put it through this one! No, silly boy, not that way, this way! There you go! You did it!" 

She clapped and he smiled, proud of his achievement. The small part of his old self that remained screamed at him that this was not an achievement. That this was a joke compared to what he could do before. But that voice was fainter and fainter with each passing day, and it was quickly swept aside as nanny picked him up.

"Uh oh, somebody smells stinky! I think this little boy needs a change!" 

"No! No change! Wan' pway!" Johnny yelled, squirming and pushing at the nanny. 

"Oh, boy, somebody is cranky. I think it's naptime for you little one!" 

She carried him off to be changed and locked into his crib. It was hard to see any resemblance between the intelligent and dangerous seditionist he once was, and the adorable little boy he was now. His new uniform was a cute romper with dinosaurs, and snaps down the legs. His new mouthpiece was a pacifier. And all he heard through his headphones now was hypnotic suggestions that trained his mind further into infancy and dependence, wiped it clean of any adult intelligence whatsoever. His life of intrigue had been replaced by dirty diapers, tantrums, and plenty of snuggles. Of course he'd be allowed to grow up and return eventually, that is if the cutie wasn't adopted by a well-to-do party member. 

As she finished taping up his extra thick and colorful diapers, she left him in just his onesie, dropping his romper into the hamper nearby. 

"Okay, my little treasure, into your crib you go!" 

He was one of the staff's favorites, with his cute antics, giving speeches in baby babble and pounding at the highchair tray as if he was making an important point. Yes, they would make sure that they kept him around a little longer than the other babies who passed through the program. Poor Johnny 'too cute for his own good' Smarts wouldn't be ready for potty training for a long long time.