I Pledge Allegiance

A short story, about 6100 words.
Keshawn Bolling lives in a future of total government control. His religion, his education, even the length of his hair are dictated to him, Worse, his own father is one of the enforcers. He wants out; rumor says there is freedom to be had in the orbital habitats. But getting there won't be easy, and freedom is a slippery thing to define...