Future Findings

Then it dawned on me. I was broke, hungry, and homeless. But I didn’t get too scared. I had spent my fair share of nights with greasy hair plastered to my forehead while I rested my head on the brick of some shady building.

My first order of business was to figure out where I was. And the best way to find that out was to ask someone. I checked my hair in a store window, and adjusted my somewhat wrinkled blue button up. I didn’t remember putting this on before I got into my coffin, but it didn’t matter.

When I was done making myself look approachable enough, I searched the crowd for someone that looked friendly yet knowledgeable. There were just so many people. People in full black robes, people in chrome-looking suits, men and women wearing next to nothing other than skin tight bras and panties and boxers, children dashing around in polos and bell-bottom jeans. It was like a carnival, or a fair. There were people here from every age; every country. Except they were all from the same place, and from the same century. I was the outsider, though nobody could tell.

Hundreds of people rushed by, and I was caught in a complete and utter daze. It was just so beautiful. There were no fights or riots between all the different people, no arguments, not even rough or anger-filled looks. It was amazing, to find out so simply and easily that everyone was equal here. No matter what you looked like, or what you wore, you were the same as everyone else. A crowd of black people, seemingly a large family, rushed in front of me. Their bright, peacock colored jackets knocked me out of my momentary stupor. They were all quietly talking to each other, in some sort of language I couldn’t understand. When they had finally passed, I saw her. She was on the other side of the street, next to a shop that looked to be selling glasses.

Except the glasses were made entirely of glass, and flashed bright colors and images when you put them on. My eyes had strayed from where she was, but only for an instant. Soon enough, they were back to where she had stood. Yet she wasn’t there any more. I knew who it was, though. It was Laura. Her shiny, pitch black hair was unmistakable flowing across her tanned face. But her clothes seemed completely foreign on her body. She had been wearing a brown leather jacket, and blue jeans. I’ll see you later, she had told me. And I guess she had been right.

But why was she here, if only for an instant? Because she wants you to find her, I told myself. And so I would. But first, I needed a few things. I needed to figure out where I was. I needed somewhere safe to rest. Most importantly, I needed money. Money made the world go round, and I knew for certain that that hadn’t changed in the few hundred years I’d been away.

I headed down the street, searching for a subway or dimly lit place to proceed with my crime. I wouldn’t be proud of doing it, but I justified the action with the thought that there was really no other alternative besides begging or starving. I would not be on my hands and knees at the mercy of others, and I would not be wasting away.

But before I found somewhere for some choice pickpocketing, I saw them. I think that back in the time I came from, they would most certainly be called cyborgs.

There was a group of them, at least six in all.They swaggered by people, knocking them aside and maintaining an utterly oblivious attitude towards everyone. The man in front-- a giant of likely six and a half feet, had no hair. His scalp was instead a network of interlaced wires and 90 degree angles, all laying flat against his head. On top of that, his eyes had a very ominous quality. His left was a kind, blue like seawater. Yet his right was pitch black. It was so dark, I felt that if one wasn’t careful, you could slip right into it.

The rest of the group was similar to him, only with their own set of enhancements. A few had clearly robotic arms, one with a robotic leg, and more than a few with wires and metal on their face. They didn’t hide their gears. Instead, they flaunted them. They paraded them around.

Once they had passed, I took a look up at the sky. Smog. It was the color of shit and tree bark. It was a wonder that I could see more than a few feet in front of me-- as the heavy clouds blocked out the sun. I knew that if there weren’t plenty of lights from streetlamps and stores, I would have a much harder time maneuvering around this metropolis.

Eventually, I found a set of stairs that travelled underneath the city. Plenty of people were coming both up and out, and down and into the place. I briskly walked in, trying to blend in with everyone else. I tried to copy the blank, busy stare everyone had. But once I was inside the subway station, I had no option but to abandon the look for one much closer to amazement.

I guess I hadn’t noticed the large amount of stairs I had descended, because the subway seemed to rise more than 100 feet into the air. Trains rushed by from above, below, and on both sides of me. Holographic ticket scanners stood every 5 feet or so, and elevators quickly transported people between the floors. It was so busy that I almost didn’t notice the multitude of bands playing all across the station. Trains were designed in bright colors, depending on where they were headed. Red seemed to head upstate, and Blue seemed to be going south. The other colors, including purple, yellow, and orange, seemed to be local. This was where I found out where I was. I was home.

I was in the exact same city I had fallen asleep in. And yet, I could find not even an ounce of resemblance. Amazing, I thought to myself. When I fell asleep, we didn’t have a subway. We didn’t even have a building higher than 8 or so stories.

It was so busy, I doubt it would be difficult to pickpocket someone. After all, I had watched many videos about stealing when I was younger. A perverse fascination, I supposed.

I spotted a man of about 35. He was bald--which seemed to be a large section of the population-- and couldn’t have been any taller than me. He wore black jeans and a button up. The jeans were tight, but he let them sag so that the back pockets were barely touching him. And in those pockets, his wallet was clearly visible. I started walking, slowly gaining on him. When I was just behind him, I slipped my left hand out of my pocket, and into his.

“Halt!” an unknown voice screamed. The man in black jeans kept walking, but I stood still. His wallet stayed snug in his pocket, and my hand remained empty. Everyone around me, at least a few people, rapidly dissipated. I was too shocked to do much more than look around. Then I discovered that where the other subway goers had been walking, three police officers stood around me. One, obviously the leader by the grizzled face and medal on his coat, stepped forward.

“Okay, dirtbag. We saw you trying to steal!” he yelled. Welp, he had caught me red handed. No point in denying it. So I put my hands up and waited for one of them to come over and slap some cuffs on me. But it didn’t happen.

Suddenly, a man dressed in an ungodly green turtleneck came bursting down the stairs.

“Quick! Officers! There’s a man out there with a knife! He’s already stabbed two people!” the stranger said. The two younger cops gave shocked expressions, then rushed upstairs. The older one looked at me, gave me a look as if to say It’s your lucky day, kid. And headed after his colleagues. When their steps had dimmed away to nothing, the crowd was back. People were still walking, talking, ignoring everything.

I still had my hands up. I bet I look like a fool, I thought, and laid them down at my sides with a blush.

“Now what?” I asked myself. Then, the man that had alerted the police lightly touched my arm. I jumped, more surprised than scared.

“Why hello, Abid,” the man said. How did he know my name? I gave a complexed look and replied.

“Who… are you?” I began looking around the subway, searching for a way to escape. The only way he could know me is if he was trying to capture me and put me back in my coffin. And I wouldn’t have that. Evidently, he could sense my anticipation and put his hands out in an effort to calm me when he talked.

“My name is Eddie, and don’t worry. I’m here to help.”

“What?”

“I know who you are, Abid. I know where you came from, and I know that they want to put you back in one of those machines,” he smiled at me, and let his hands fall. Finally, I thought, someone on my side.

“What do you mean?” I asked. But he shook his head.

“No, not here. We need to do it somewhere quieter… somewhere safer.” At that, he reached out and grabbed my arm. His touch was gentle, yet firm enough to pull me towards him. I trailed behind and off to the side of him while he navigated us throughout the subway. He took me through crowds of people, into and out of the ticket stands, and onto a blue train-- headed south. I had no better idea of navigating this unknown world, so figured that following the man who had saved me from jail was a good an idea as anything else.

I didn’t make much small talk, there was no use. I knew he wouldn’t give me any info about where he was from and who he was. So instead, I criticized him on his style.

“Where’d you get that turtleneck from? The 1950’s?” I said with a smirk.

“Well actually, yes! It’s one of my favorite stores,” he replied. Eddie was completely oblivious to my attempt at poking fun. But then it hit me. All those people wearing clothing from different countries and eras? They all had to have bought them somewhere. So, stores sold clothing from specific years, as well as specific places. Well then what is the style for this era? What was the fashion choice of the 2300’s?

We rode the train for greater than 20 minutes, passing by four stops. When we had arrived, Eddie ushered me through the station before I had the chance to read any of the signs. We ascended a staircase, and the sunlight felt great upon my face. It was bright, too bright to allow me to fully see any of the magnificent skyscrapers without having to squint. Eddie hustled me onto the sidewalk, which we spent a good while walking down. Finally, we entered a black car that seemed to be waiting for us on the street. The transport was obviously older, as it still had wheels. Most everything else on the street seemed to operate using magnets in the chassis, that repelled away from the street. Once we were in the back of the car, Eddie finally spoke.

“I saw you on the news, you know. And on some scanners my friend rigged up. And I was told by some powerful individuals. They want you back. But we want you more,” he told me. Huh.

“Okay…” I reply. I guess that explains how he found me.

“I’m sorry I’ve got to do this pal, but I can’t let you know where we’re headed quite yet,” he said as he reached into the pocket that hung on the back of the driver’s seat.

“What? What do you me- owwww!” I squealed. He had stabbed me with something, right above the elbow on my arm. It hurt like hell at first, but quickly smoothed over.

“...the hell?” I asked. My head was getting foggy.

“It’s just a little something to calm you down. See you when we get there!” Eddie said with a smile.

“What did yo dooo?” I questioned. The skin around my lips was becoming numb, and I felt an almost unbearable urge to close my eyes and sleep.

“Just shut your eyes, take a little nap,” he told me. And, I did. It wasn’t anything like going to sleep in the coffin. This was a calm sleep. A quick sleep. It was very similar to laying down after a hard day’s work-- and being out like a light almost immediately.

“Hey… Hey. Hey!” somebody called from far off. They were loud, screaming at me. But I just wanted to sleep some more.

“Five more minutessss,” I whispered. But somebody shook me, hard as they could. Still, I tried to go back under a blanket of unconsciousness. The person seemed to leave, allowing me to go back to sleep. But they returned soon after. Cold rushed over my face and neck, drenching me. My eyes popped open, and I jumped up as fast as I could. When the tired finally left my eyes and I could see, Eddie was standing in front of me with an empty bucket. Empty except for a few ice cubes laying down in the bottom.

“Glad you’re awake,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah… me too,” I said quietly. Eddie walked over to me. He laid his hand gently on my arm.

“Abid, I’ve got some people to show you,” he told me. I didn’t bother to respond-- sleep was slowly crawling back in-- and I had no energy to waste on speaking up. He relinquished his grasp on me, and started walking away. I finally had a chance to take in my surroundings. What. The. Fuck. The walls were made of stone, and the floors were as well. It was damp and cold in this place, and the only comfort seemed to be the bare mattress that I had been laying on. Iron bars encased the doorway that Eddie led me through. Outside of my prison, there was some decent lighting. However, it was all from fire.

I refused to step much farther than a few feet outside.

“I’m not moving,” I exclaimed to Eddie. He stopped in his tracks, refusing to turn around.

“What?” he asked, as if he hadn’t heard me. We both knew he heard me perfectly fine.

“I said I’m not going with you. Get me out of this place.” Eddie turned around, and slowly made his way to me. His warm face was now ice cold.

“You think you have a choice? You think you would still have your freedom if I hadn’t gotten you out of there? Abid, you owe me. You’d have been thrown back in that cryogenic chamber if it wasn’t for The Elders making me go up and save you. They knew you needed help, and they sent me as your savior. And besides, you’re safe here. With that, he spun around and started walking again. I reluctantly trailed behind him.

Is this a sex dungeon? I wondered perversely for a second or so. Am I a stuck in here? Torches and lanterns lit the hallway, which seemed to lead on forever. It was like I was in some Dark Age underground world, right in the middle of the future. I followed behind him for quite a while. I got to the point where the walls no longer interested me, and instead paid attention to Eddie’s hair.

His hair was parted on the right, all the way down his head. It hung over his ears and curled upwards at the ends. It’s golden sheen was very evident in the dimly lit hallway. It reminded me of my mother’s hair, after she dyed it. She was born a brunette, but dyed it when I was in highschool. A sort of midlife crisis, I suppose. But where her’s was fake, his was real. It only made me like him more. Out of all this danger here, Eddie seemed to be the small bit of assurance and comfort I was allowed.

“So…” I said. He slowed down and looked back at me, but kept walking.

“Almost there, I’ll explain everything when we get to the office.”

Office? But this was like a castle, or a dungeon. Why would there be an office in here? But before my thoughts got away from me, we took an abrupt left. Eddie opened up a solid oak door, with a brass knob. Inside, it was about as bright as the room I woke up in. God, I thought. How do they not get headache from all this shitty lighting? Eddie led me to what seemed to be a table. It had multiple lanterns on it, which seemed to be the only source of light in this room.

Once my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I was able to see the handful of people in the room. They had masks on and dark robes, which only made Eddie look more out of place with his light hair and shining grin.

“Hi everyone! This is Abid, the person I told you about,” he said.

“We know who he is,” somebody in one of the outfits said. Though I couldn’t tell from which body it came from.

“Tell him,” another one said.

“Tell him everything,” one of them stated. Whether it was the first or second one to speak, or one that had remained silent up until this point, I didn’t know.

Eddie clapped his hands together, and spoke. “Will do!” He gestured for me to take a seat in one of the old wooden chairs that surrounded the table, and I did so.

“We, as in these hooded figures, a few other people, and yours truly, are part of Automation and Mechanization Opposition. You can just shorten that to The AMO, or just say it like ‘ammo’ if you’d like. We exist here to stop the way the world is changing. Every single day our Earth becomes more and more infested with technology. Technology that destroys our ecosystem, rips apart the biology of living beings, and could very well lead to the extinction of the entire human race.

“So, we live down here. We use no technology whatsoever, asides from my buddy Beck, in order to make sure that there is no way we can be infiltrated. Our goal: put an end to the reign of technology on this Earth. Return the natural order to our world. Why, you may ask? Because it is the cause of our desolation. And once you decide that technology should not be the future, you’re an outsider. You’re hunted down, quieted by those that need your silence,” Eddie finished his speech with a smile towards the masked people, then to me.

“So… why am I here then?” I inquired. Eddie’s smile fell off.

“What do you mean?” he returned.

“Well, why did you take me here? What am I supposed to do? Am I expected to help you or something?” I asked. Eddie’s smile was back.

“Oh! We understand that you are from the past, a dead era. We also understand that you are hiding from the people that imprisoned you in that time capsule, because they want to stick you back in it. We can keep you safe, and you can help us fight the tech-lovers!”

Eddie was obviously waiting for a response from me, judging by the look in his ocean blue eyes.

“Thank you.” I said. “What can I do to help?” I asked.

“You can help by getting to know the complex. In a few days, we’ve got a big day ahead of us. You, me, and a few other members are heading north. We’ll be examining the Baker building, and searching for a way in. Simply a scouting mission. But first, you need some training and understanding. I’ll be helping you with that. ” The Baker building? I bet it’s run by relatives of the Bakers. Or maybe, Laura herself. Regardless, these people can help me find her.

“Scouting for what?” I replied. Eddie sat down in the chair next to me, and set his feet up on the table.

“Scouting to find the best way to get in there, and pull the plug on the whole thing. They’re the megamind of all modern and future technology. Putting a stop to them would be a major win for AMO.”

“But then… why did you chose me? Hell, why do you trust me?” I asked the Elders, but looked at Eddie. He responded.

“They trust you. That means I trust you,” he responded matter-of-factly.

Eddie put his hands behind his head, and looked to the other members. “Go have a look at the facility, I’ve got some things to discuss with the elders.” And with that, I left the room.