Terra-Formed 04/06/2014

Past Voices, a Collection of the First Colonists

Chapter 3 – Sarah Essary

You always hear that the dinosaurs were obliterated due to a massive piece of rock hurtling itself at the Earth from the Heavens. It could happen again, at anytime. As the populations of our little Terra became more advanced, governments consolidated and technology became imperative for daily life. We honestly felt more threatened by the, at times, unpredictable natural disaster than that of the outside space. Space didn't change, well, not in real time at least. Changes out there were seen in the past and from distant view points. After all, we had flying cars, tiny robots that lived in our blood stream and robot butlers to do our bidding. Supposedly we had the ability to find these lethal asteroids or brain sucking extra terrestrial hundreds of thousands of light years away. Not only that, but we could pinpoint their path down to an error of a mile or two. Personally, I was a big believer that those supposed super volcanoes you always hear about would erupt, casting a huge cloud of smoke and ash in the air. It would block our Sun's light, starve our crops and in turn starve us. But it turns out we were wrong. Our technology failed us. We were hit. Asia was obliterated. Our atmosphere was barely even recognizable. My doomsday prediction was right about one thing though, the Sun's light has been unable to penetrate our atmosphere for ten years. Ten long years. We were forced underground, like rodents and fungus I always imagine. Colonies, all connected, networked and webbed their way through the continents. Outside was no longer safe and our fearless leaders constantly monitored the unknown world. Our home. Once with trees, cars, and breezes, the human experience was now reduced to the same institutionalized classification that reminds you of hospitals and research facilities. It's everywhere, in perfectly color coded trim of course, but still ugly. We all have jobs. We all have food. We all have materials that we need to live. But under the Earth's poisoned crust, in this grand network of monotone colors and complacent dirge of existence, well… yes..we survived. We just haven't remembered how to be human.

Sarah Essary, age 35 Approximately 2040 A.D.

Haruno Sakura looked at the book of highly addictive, ancient diaries before closing it. She loved coming to the library in her free time, about 12 hours of the standard 24 hour living day. She turned her head, tucking a lock of auburn hair behind her ear, to look the dark green strip that snaked around the top of the large rectangular room. All information storehouses, libraries, computer labs, and schools had the color green she recalled idly. Long gone Sarah Essary was right, everything was color coded. Her attention was long immune to it though, as subconscious as breathing. She vaguely wondered what it must have been like to live in a world that wasn't coded and classified. How did they ever find their way around? Surely she must have appreciated the ease and comfort of knowing where she was. She looked down at her orange bracelet, marking her as a young adult. Everyone thankfully knew who she was by the name tattooed on her left hand. It was voluntary of course. She just preferred to have her name permanently on her and not wear a name tag and risk being in violation if she lost it. How embarrassing that would have been if it showed up on her record every time she went to get food out of the cafe or take the elevators. Maybe others weren't as nosy as she was, but she rather preferred to look at the small screen above the M-bot. It recorded all of the members' whereabouts in colony D. When you scanned your chip that was inserted in your left forearm, the small screen above would flicker all of your demographics, schedule, and if possessed any violations on your record. She remembered Sarah's last sentence, about how after 10 years in the safety of the underground complex they forgot how to be human. Lennox was slightly offended by the girls words. Their world was comprised of consistency, safety, and her needs were well met. How could anyone think this isn't being human?

End preface

Hi friends! I decided to take a trip down dystopia rode and get this plot bunny out of my head. Leave some feedback if you wish. LOVE!