Flashback - S1#3

Finished 12/25/2022

Part 1

Larya waited as her brain was scanned. The machine hummed and whirred as it encircled her entire head. She couldn’t see anything. Dreading the worst, her life up to that point flashed before her eyes. Had she been a good girl? Surely, she was kind, sympathetic, and caring for others. Never mind the one time she had exploded with anger in science class a few years ago. Would that be enough to tip the scales?

Reality flooded back to her, and she stopped worrying over something she couldn’t control. The results would only be shown in a week. But now, her mind drifted to the others in her life whom she knew. They had white robes of righteousness on, white as snow. In comparison, she only had filthy rags. There was no way she could hope to compete with angels.

If the worst came to worst, she could get on her knees and beg and beg to convince other people that she could change. But how would she ever stand before them?

“It is finished.” The words jolted her out of her speculations. She could see the daylight streaming through the window again. “You may go back home now. Expect results in one week.”

As she left through the door, she skipped through the tall grass around her. How red were the khalends waving around in the wind! And there was her mother, standing at the door of her house, calling out to her! “Larya!” “Larya!”

“I’m here!” She ran to her mother.

“How does it feel to be Memorialized? I’m so proud of you, my dear. Such an important step to becoming the perfect citizen I’ve always wanted.”

“You were right, it didn’t hurt at all. It was just a little too dark for my liking.”

“Back in my day, the process took two whole hours. Imagine sitting there in utter blackness for that long. And the machine made such a hideous noise that I thought I would croak at any moment.” They shared a laugh.

“And what about my grandmother? I don’t think that she ever had to go through this process.”

“Yes, my dear, those were the truly dark and dangerous years indeed. Who knew who was who? People could leave their past behind them, as if our actions could simply fade away and be forgotten. Your grandmother told me that one of her coworkers at her job was actually a convicted litterer who had escaped prison and disguised himself. How lucky we all are to be living in the golden age, when actions have consequences!”

Part 2

“Hello, Proxima Endertossis! Nice work, Shawn! This sure looks like a nice, clean planet to relax on.” Drew looked out the window.

“I’d rather thank Cichernus for the map. It’s habitable, all right.”

“Proxima Endertossis is just like Earth! A blue ball with green painted on it. I can’t believe that a sister to my home planet really exists. Let’s get down there as soon as possible!”

“Except that it’s part of a huge binary star system,” injected Shawn. “You want to go see a double sunset?”

“I certainly would. What technology do the inhabitants have?”

“The map states that it’s quite similar to Earth. Nothing like the glitz we saw at the Cerulean Prism. You very well may feel quite at home. Endertossis doesn’t know of any extraterrestrial existence, however. We’ll have to descend down there cloaked.”

“I’ll just keep in mind that I’m millions and millions of years away from my home. As in, expect the unexpected, you know.”

“I think we should go toward the poles of this planet, where the climate is more moderate. The equator must be roasting. The ice caps are pretty small. In a moderate climate, we should be able to find a forest to hide in.” The excitement built up inside Shawn.

“Well, what are we waiting for? I got everything we need in this bag. Let’s relax in the sunshine!” Drew fired the thrusters. The V-5 began closing in on Endertossis.

“Don’t forget the shields for the atmosphere! I don’t want to be burnt to a crisp,” Shawn laughed.

Drew was an astronaut aboard Apollo 11, ready to return home, the final step to prove to the world that mankind can safely step foot on other planetary bodies. The blue ball grew and grew and grew, a precious crystal sphere, and engulfed his eyes. He had been one of the few chosen to experience the heavens, and now he was coming home. Home! Oh, what would he do when he sees his family again? He would not even try to explain the wonders of the second heaven. How much greater must the third heaven be?

And just like that, he was streaking through the blue sky at over twenty thousand miles per hour, faster than the speed of science. But his target was not the blue but the green, hurtling by in a jumbled-up haze. Is this the final ending of the dream, as he returns to beloved terra firma, to hug and kiss the grass…

Part 3

“Isn’t it so lovely? Basking in the sunshine. And the breeze too!” Shawn galloped around, soaking up the fresh air.

“I suppose it’s been over forty thousand years since I’ve had a nice picnic. I couldn’t have asked for more.” Drew pulled out a cookie and sat down on the grass.

Shawn looked toward the horizon. “Sunset already? That was too fast. The first sun is going down right now, and the other one isn’t far behind.”

“We’re quite close to the poles,” Drew replied. “Imagine a day in Finland during the winter. We only have eight hours of sunlight up here. Followed by twenty-two hours of darkness. 305 days per year, so it somewhat balances out.”

Shawn began rolling down a hill. Drew opened his arms, as if raising sails to catch the wind. The wind responded by embracing him. There was a place in the universe for him.

A shrill scream pierced the breeze. Shocked, Drew whipped around to see a middle-aged woman pointing at him from far away with the look of horror on her face. She screamed again. “It’s… It’s them!”

Drew began walking closer and focused his ears. The breeze calmed for a moment. She opened her mouth again. “It’s… men!”

“Hello, how are you doing? Do you need any assistance?” Drew shouted across the fields.

“Hurry! Get him!” A group of people dressed like police officers emerged from the forest behind her.

“Hands up! Stay where you are. Do not move. What is your reason for being here?” The first officer walked up to him, the others holding guns.

“My reason? I’m just enjoying myself out here in the breeze. How about you?”

“Don’t get smart with me. Under the WWW act of year three thousand seventy-two, you are under arrest. Take him back with us.”

“The WWW? Oh, you mean, it’s a world wide web? I sure seem caught in it at the moment.” The laughter spilled out of Drew.

“And that’ll be an additional charge for insolence to police. You’re in big trouble, man.”

Part 4

“What is your name, man?” The sheriff glared at him.

“Andrew Baker. Need anything else before you’ll let me out of here?”

“Age?”

“Forty thousand years old.”

“One charge of lying to police.” He pointed to a deputy. “Get the database online now!”

“Yes, sir.” The deputy walked into a room behind him.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from Earth.”

“Earth? First time I’ve heard about this Earth. Listen, you man. Am I a joke to you? Perhaps I should remind you that the charges you are facing are not jokes. You’re already here for draft dodging, and you think that you can lie your way out of this? You’ll be spending the rest of your life in prison – if the judge is merciful.” The sheriff rose.

“Do you have one of those polygraph tests? I’m not lying; you can see to that.”

“We’ll find out soon enough. Guards, be on alert while I’m gone. I sense something’s up with this man.”

As he left, a pamphlet caught the corner of Drew’s eye. It read, “History of the WWW – From 3045 to the Present.” He got up to try to reach for it, but ran straight into a guard instead. “You aren’t going anywhere, man.”

The sheriff and his deputy returned. A hologram appeared in front of them. “Zero mentions of Andrew Baker,” reported the deputy.

“Scan his eyes,” the sheriff barked. The deputy took a weird-looking instrument and held it up to Drew.

“Have fun with the truth!” Drew laid back as a light shone on his eyes.

“Scans are coming back negative. He’s never been registered. Probably means that he’s never been Memorialized, either.”

“Make a new case file for this man! I want him registered and Memorialized as soon as possible. I must find out what secrets lurk in his mind. In the meantime, throw him into a cell!” The guards grabbed and lifted Drew. “Can you be careful? I am a bit fragile here,” Drew spit out.

No sooner had those words left his mouth when the power went out. The mayhem of darkness descended upon the room. One guard was flung against the wall. Another was knocked out by a right hook to the jaw. Drew grabbed his confiscated stun gun from a guard and zapped the last one. He jumped through the window and took off sprinting.

He was greeted to a world full of alarms and sirens. Officers began to emerge and shoot. Drew leaped behind a car for cover and returned fire. In rapid succession, he dispatched a few officers. But where a few had fallen, a dozen took their places.

He continued to run through the streets, back to the fields where he had been taken from. The meadows of Asphodel loomed in front of him, the grey, dull grass swaying in the night. But Asphodel would not be his final destination, he vowed, as his legs worked to continue his endless run. As his limit approached infinity, his soul would never diverge from the ground…

Part 5

“Larya, the electricity is out again! I can’t wash your new skirts!”

“Again? These power outages are becoming so common now. The first time it’s happened twice on the same day!” Larya sighed.

“I’m sure the electricians will figure it all out. Our society has been running for so long, I can’t imagine that our electricity would simply just stop.” Her mother walked back up to her room to relax.

“If these outages keep increasing at the current rate, we’ll all be out of electricity permanently before this year ends. Does anyone know what is happening?”

“My dear, please stop trying to alarm me. Life will always go on as before, and the world will keep spinning.”

Their conversation was cut short by the ring of a doorbell. Larya walked over to look outside through a window. To her shock, it was a boy, standing out in the cold. “There’s a little… boy… standing outside!”

“A boy? Just give him directions to the Academy, and be done with it,” her mother called from upstairs.

Larya opened the door. “Hello, are you fine? Do you need anything? Are you lost?” She spoke softly.

“Do you, by chance, know what the WWW is? And why are there no boys for me to play with around here?”

“Oh, you silly goose. The WWW is-”

“Don’t waste your time on strangers!” her mother hollered.

“I’ll be right back.” Larya closed the door.

How peculiar! Larya had not seen a male, perhaps not since her earliest days. Her memories of her brother and father were incredibly vague, as they had departed long ago at the beginning of the War. She absolutely had to talk to him, or she may never have a chance again. How would she find a way out of her house? An idea flashed through her mind.

“Actually, I think I will take the clothes to the local laundromat myself right now,” she replied.

“Are you asking me for permission? You’re too sweet. Just don’t run into any trouble! Take the flaming sword just in case.”

She grabbed the clothes and the sword and went out through the door. The boy was waiting for her. They began walking toward the fields, cloaked by the midnight.

Part 6

“What is your name, boy?”

“My name is Shawn. How about yours?”

“I’m Larantalyia. People call me Larya. How are you out here?”

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised. Let’s just say that I’m a newcomer here.”

“Really? I’ve never met one. Anyways, all males are supposed to be serving in the WWW. The World Wide War. If you’re caught outside like this, you’ll be sent to the Academy of Warfare, since you don’t look to be of fighting age. It’s been like this for twelve years, when the WWW Act of 3072 became law. All the men were sent to battle in a faraway land, all the boys were sent to the Academy. It’s 3084 now, and I only have faint memories of my father and big brother.”

“That’s terrifying. Has the world been in conflict for that long?”

“Early on, we received frequent news of the War. Over time, however, the news coming back from the front lines gradually decreased until we never heard back again. It’s been five years since we last received anything from the government. They keep saying over and over again that the situation is well under control. But given the recent power outages here, I’m not so sure now. Something is wrong.”

“I recently saw a man get arrested. I watched it from a distance. Something does feel quite wrong indeed.”

Larya raised her eyebrows. “How interesting. My mother caught one today. Her cry of terror was so great, as if the enemies had arrived.”

“I must have followed her back to your house.” Shawn nodded.

“One more thing.” Larya looked at Shawn gravely. “Everyone here is registered in a huge database called the Memorial. It contains all of our memories and experiences, and it is public record. I was scanned by that hideous machine earlier today. Anyone can search up my name and know what I’ve done. Permanently.”

A moment of silence followed.

A figure in the distance began racing through the fields toward them.

Larya shrieked and pulled out her sword. But Shawn noticed that it was clearly a man. “I think I know who this is!”

“Shawn, is it you? Who is that next to you? I don’t have a clue about what’s going on. Do you know anything?”

Shawn laughed as Drew finally caught his breath. “Let’s all get back to our ship. There’s plenty I must tell you!”

“What ship? I think I better get this laundry done and go back home. Nice meeting with you!” Larya began to back away.

“Hold on a minute. I don’t think you know that we are alien travelers from another world. Saving this planet surely takes precedence over a bag of clothes.” Drew’s heart rate finally began to slow.

“Prove to me you are both aliens, or I’ll call the police and have you both whisked away.” Larya crossed her arms.

Shawn stepped forward. “We are two males who just so happen to turn up. There’s no way we could have evaded your security forces for so many years. We don’t even look like we’ve been in the wilderness. If that isn’t proof, I don’t know what is.”

Larya sighed. “Well, you’ve got me. I’ll come.”

Drew couldn’t help it. “What is the WWW?”

Part 7

“So are all of your questions answered now?” Shawn turned to Drew.

“I know mine aren’t,” interjected Larya. “All of this technology. It’s just incredible and unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” She wandered around the lounge of the V-5, touching the walls.

“I think I’m filled in for the most part,” responded Drew. “But what we need to know is the cause of the electrical blackouts. Something must be stopping the power from getting through.”

“Or perhaps,” Larya began, “something big must be overloading the grid. And it has to be getting bigger, since the blackouts are so much more frequent these days.”

“And you said that you were Memorialized yesterday?” Shawn jumped in.

“Yes, everyone, both male and female, do it at the age of seventeen.”

“So maybe the Memorial is being overloaded with too much information!” Shawn announced triumphantly.

Larya froze at the realization.

Drew broke the ice. “I guess our target will have to be the Memorial. Imagine having your life recorded and set in stone forever. No opportunity for redemption or second chances.”

“But what about all of those men and boys, far away?” Larya inquired.

“That’ll have to wait until we find out more. There’s something fishy about this World Wide War. Namely, I didn’t notice any signs of warfare while approaching this planet.”

“We need to find the location of the Memorial. And before we destroy it, we need to find out what happened to the males. Drew, I assume you know how to find the Memorial and hack into the database?” Shawn started the engines.

“Sure can. I can lock onto its power source. I’ll need some time to hunt through some memories to find out what is going on. But aren’t the memories public domain?”

“Virtually our whole population has looked up the memories of our president. He’s spotless, along with his chief party members, as if they are angels. There’s a reason why our president has been elected for four terms in a row,” Larya responded. “No one can argue with his perfection.”

“But no one is perfect. Not one. Not even on our home planets. Let’s get our ship into the air and find the Memorial!”

Shawn fired the engines. The ship rose as Larya’s eyes were fixed outside at the ground falling away from them.

“I got it!” exclaimed Drew. “We need to head east, twenty or so miles. The power source is hundreds of feet underground.” He pointed to the holographic projection which emerged from a computer in front of him. “I can look at the memories on my end, there are millions of them. However, I can’t go any further. Something is blocking me.”

“Well, we won’t be able to bombard it from the air. Very clever.” Shawn pushed the throttle forward. The V-5 plunged into the night sky.

“Are they going to see us?” asked Larya.

“We’re cloaked for now. When we land, I’ll stay here and access the memory banks. You and Shawn, get in and take out the supercomputer which is stopping me from finding out any more. Only detonate the Memorial on my command. I need to find out the truth about the men and boys who departed.”

Part 8

The spacecraft landed in a forest right outside another open field. “Just another one of those random meadows, and exabytes of information happen to be stored right under this one.” Drew opened the hatch. “I think you’ll be needing this.” He tossed Shawn his stun gun.

Larya pulled out her sword. “It lights on fire. I think I’ll be good, unless you have another piece of alien technology to offer.”

“I almost forgot. I have explosives from Cichernus, which can do a great deal of damage.” He handed Larya a large bag. “Happy hunting!”

The two walked off through the fields toward the underground installation. Drew re-cloaked the ship and set off accessing the memories.

Larya turned to Shawn in the darkness. “I can’t believe you’re doing this. I’ve never seen anyone so brave.”

Shawn smiled back. “First time?”

“So you mean, you’ve done things like this before?”

“Explosives are my passion. I almost killed myself with them on one occasion. It’s our full-time job to save worlds, I suppose.”

“It must be an exciting profession. I can’t imagine that you’ve been doing this for very long, given your size. Perhaps you can take me to your family on your home planet one day.”

Shawn grabbed her hand firmly. “We’re both exiles from our planets. That’s specifically the reason why we are wandering the universe. We just happened to stop by this one, since it looked almost exactly like Drew’s planet.”

They approached the front door. It was a small and lonely one-story building, out there alone in the desolate meadow. The door opened by itself, as Drew had obtained control of the entrance.

Inside the building were a group of elevators. Shawn pressed the down button. As they walked inside an elevator, a light began to flash. “Insert ID Here.”

“Well, it didn’t take long for us to get stuck.” Larya looked at Shawn.

“Wait.”

The flashing stopped. Shawn pressed “Cybersecurity Operations” and the elevator began its descent into the underworld.

Part 9

Drew found the memories of the president. “Here we go,” he muttered to himself. Upon opening up the database, he found countless examples of “volunteering”, “maturity”, “love”, and even “heroism”, as he had saved a little girl from drowning in a lake. Zero responses to searching “greed”, “anger” or “hatred”.

He searched the parts where “high emotional response” was detected. The top memory stood out amongst the rest, labeled “Heroism and Grief.” He entered that one, featuring a memory of the future president and his father hiking together on a cliff at the edge of a great canyon. The president was a grown teenager by now, which couldn’t have been long before his Memorialization.

“A lovely day. I couldn’t have wished for a better one,” his father remarked.

“It is truly an incredible sight. The hills have never looked greener,” he responded.

Without warning, his father slipped on a rock. He fell forward into the gorge. With a shout, he desperately grabbed onto one of the rocks jutting out of the cliff. “Ahhh- Help me!”

The future president grabbed a rope, tied a knot around himself, anchored it to a large rock, and began to climb down the cliff to help him. “Don’t worry, I’m coming!” He rapidly moved down, coming closer and closer to his father. He reached out his arms to grab him.

But it was at that moment when his father lost his grip. He fell and the canyon swallowed up his body. “NOOOO!” He began to tremble. The memory faded out of view, then stopped. A button labeled “Continue?” appeared on the screen.

Drew froze in horror. A moment later, Shawn’s voice came through, jolting him away from the tragedy he had just witnessed. “We’ve set charges on the computer and are ready to blow it at your timing.”

“Blow it. Now!” he ordered.

A few seconds later, Drew felt a dull thud. He reinjected his code into the system. This time, the hack was successful. “I’m in!” He accessed the president’s memories again. What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

The “volunteering” memories were still there, mostly untouched. But the “love” memories vanished. And no memory of him saving a girl from a lake. Drew searched up “greed”, and a sea of results appeared. An innumerable number of lunch money thefts, of course. Monetary thefts from his father, who was once a wealthy politician.

Drew searched up “hatred.” He preyed upon those weaker and smaller than he was, bullying them to extraordinary amounts. Next, “deceit.” Cheating on tests repeatedly. Drew downloaded many of these files.

He went back to the Heroism and Grief scene and replayed it.

Same start. “A lovely day. I couldn’t have wished for a better one.”

“It is truly an incredible sight. The hills have never looked greener.”

But the rock in front of him was missing. The president tripped his father, sending him flying into the gorge. “Ahhh- Help me!”

The president grabbed a rope and slowly climbed down to his father. “Do not fear, I will make our family’s name ring throughout the world.” He kicked his father’s head, sending him careening into the canyon.

Drew wondered why he ever had the motive to kill his father. Then he noticed a short preceding memory which had not appeared before due to being “forgotten”. Drew entered it and saw that the president had taken his father’s key to his government account from behind before knocking him over into the canyon. He downloaded this all and prepared to alter Proxima Endertossis forever.

Part 10

On the twentieth floor of the Memorial archives, Shawn ducked under waves of gunfire and flung a grenade. Larya was pinned behind a wall of memory banks for cover. She set her last charge against the wall. “Shawn, get out of here! Run back toward the elevator!”

“No! I won’t leave you here. I can’t!”

“You must! You said that it is your job to save worlds across the universe. You must stay alive!”

Shawn saw what Larya was about to do. She reached into her pocket for the detonator. Suddenly, the big screen above them whirred to life. It was the point of view of someone walking with his father. The guards stopped shooting and looked upwards.

For the clip was well-known and famous across the world, an example of the president’s experience of life. The perfect, spotless president, the most righteous man who had ever lived. He kicked his father off the cliff, sending him to his death below.

The smoke cleared, revealing a group of thunderstruck guards shaking their heads. But they were not the only ones who saw such an abomination. Millions upon millions saw the sequence of events unfold on their television screens. The shock wave rolled through the land.

The president suddenly appeared at the other end of the hallway. “What are you all waiting for? Guards, execute these intruders now!”

The commander of the guards slowly turned toward the president. “Shall I do so in the manner in which you killed your father?”

The president turned pale. “I- I-” but no words came out.

“You are no god. The World Wide War is long over. I trusted that you were making the correct decision by prolonging the war indefinitely. You have separated families for twelve whole years in the name of an emergency. All of your men and boys out there, stationed in garrison towns deep inside occupied territory. Our families long to be reunited. We used to support you on the belief that you are like an angel, incapable of doing wrong. After all these years, we discover that you found a way to rig the Memorial and get away with murder. You, along with the Memorial, must die.”

The president tried to run but was quickly caught and dragged toward the guardrails of the Memorial archives. “You can’t do this to me! I have been the president for fourteen years! Stop! I’m begging you! Have mercy on me! Please!”

The commander approached him as he was hung over the side. “Do not fear, your family’s name will ring around the world all right. Release him!”

“NOOOOooooo…” he yelled as he fell down twenty floors.

Conclusion

Drew, Shawn, Larya, and the guards watched from afar as the Memorial was destroyed. A half century’s worth of memories and experiences, wiped out at the press of a button.

The first sun began to poke its shy rays into the twilight sky. A fleet of small ships appeared on the horizon. As they grew nearer, Larya squealed with delight. The ships were in fact helicopter-like aircraft with four propellers. They soon began to circle the site of the Memorial and descend.

One by one, the helicopters landed in formation. Filled with men who hadn’t seen their wives for twelve years. Brothers who hadn’t seen their sisters for twelve years.

One of the helicopter’s doors opened.

Larya started running across the field.

That one was the best yet!

Very nice! I would only suggest that you fleshed out a few things with more details first if you plan on publishing this later. One disconnect I saw was where Larya was suddenly put into a role she had to play with no explanation of her past that would have qualified her for that role. 

The story was quite gripping. I read it from start to finish in one sitting. Great job, Holo! (I also noticed it was shorter than the other stories (I think), but that may not be a problem. 

I see each of these episodes as a chapter in your book. If you have 20 chapers -- 20 worlds that are saved -- you have your first science fiction novel.

"Hi, ho! Hi, ho! Off to find a publisher I go!" Holo

P.S. Your name for publishing your novels could be "Holo." I think it has a nice ring to it! ("Mark Twain" for Samuel Clemens. "QuillPen" for me and my children's stories.)

20 could be a bit much, 12 would be better, imo at least.

I probably wasn’t able to add every single detail / explanation as I wanted to post this on Christmas Day before leaving for vacation. I succeeded a few minutes before midnight.

I’ll see how many stories I can get in before I go off to college, as I’ll be writing a lot less during the school semester. Perhaps 1 story a month.

“Holo” sure has a ring to it. A great suggestion.

Classic Doctor Who seasons typically had 5-7 stories + 1 special. After that, there was usually some change, either the Doctor, his companion, or some screenwriting personnel changed. 

It is my hope to one day perhaps *change* either the human or the alien child and pass the storyline on to another author.

BTW, I don’t really like the rebooted / modern Doctor Who format as there isn’t much of a chance for the plot to thicken in 1x45. The 4x25 is better imo, but not very friendly to today’s format.

Wait what grade are you in?

I am currently a junior. Will be 17 tomorrow.

Happy birthday!