Science Fiction Story

The Dream

As I started to open my eyes, I was blinded by a bright light that seemed to be shining directly at me. I wasn’t sure where I was or what was happening as I tried to walk out of my little personal tube that I had evidently been in for quite some time.  As I looked around I noticed that this place looked fairly familiar but the technology that was being used around the room was something that I had not seen before. I was told by an older looking woman in a lab coat that I needed to give myself a little time to recover and gather my bearings before I went out on my own to explore this new world. I wasn’t really sure what the woman meant when she said I could go out and explore this new world so I kindly asked her for an explanation of what was going on. She explained to me that I had just been woken up from being frozen for 100 years and I couldn’t really believe what I was hearing. After having some time to think about what was going on, and I guess collect my bearings, I was set free to start living in the world that I had apparently last seen 100 years ago. I was expecting to see everything look completely different and look like I was from another planet but I was pleasantly surprised to see what the world was like.

                I stepped out onto the ground that looked as familiar as ever and could not believe how similar the world still appeared to be. The buildings were just as tall maybe a little taller and the ground was just as dull and dirty as ever. The sidewalks and the streets were still crowded with people and I had to quickly move out of the way to avoid being run over by the fast-paced pedestrians. All I could do was sit back and take in all that was going on around me. As I watched person after person move quickly past me I once again noticed the new and different technology that was being used. The phones that I was familiar with had only just begun to have the means to video chat, but here in this new world you no longer just heard the voice of the person you were talking to; a virtual image of them would pop right out of your screen.  It was like the movie that I had seen before being frozen called wall-e where you never really had to be with the person to talk to them face to face because technology could do it for you. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of this crazy and unfamiliar thing that I had just seen but I just couldn’t take my eyes off of it.  

Although, the world that I was living in looked, smelled, and felt the same as it had before I was frozen. I couldn’t have felt like more of an outsider. After the initial excitement and enjoyment of seeing the world again I remembered that I do not know anyone in this new world and I didn’t have anyone that I could turn to and talk. I felt my pockets to try and find something that was familiar from the world I had once lived in, and felt my iPod and cell phone. I knew that my phone really wouldn’t be much use in this new place and I didn’t have anyone to talk to so I pulled out my iPod instead, and turned to the thing that I knew would always be there for me no matter what; music. I crossed my fingers hoping that this now ancient iPod would turn on and to my surprise it did. I felt a wave of relief and I was once again submerged in something that was comforting and familiar. As I was walking down the street it was almost impossible not to smile and dance around when listening to my coveted music but I didn’t want to act like as much of an outsider as I felt.  As I let the music fade into the background, I took in all that was around me and tried to study the new ways of this world. As I continued to walk along, I clutched the tiny piece of paper that contained the address of my new home. I couldn’t help but notice how much my mouth was watering every time I passed a fast food restaurant, or really any restaurant for that matter. Despite my better judgment, I gave into my nagging hunger and entered into a cute little diner on the corner. Again I was taken aback by the technology that was being used in this new place. At this diner they didn’t have any waiters come up to your table and take your order, you would type it into the computer screen and a robot type machine would bring your food out for you.

As I sat there and enjoyed my food that really didn’t taste as good as I remembered it to, I couldn’t help but think about how much I missed my old way of life. I quietly sat eating my food listening to my music when I saw out of the corner of my eye someone approaching my table. At first I expected it to be the waiter checking up on how I was doing and if my meal tasted ok, but I soon remembered that waiters didn’t exist in this new life or at least at this diner. I tightly clutched my iPod and just waited for the stranger to pass by my table however, the person stopped right next to my seat and just stared down at me. Although I was getting an uneasy feeling from this strange person, there was something about his stare that made it impossible to avoid looking up. As I slowly moved my eyes up to meet this mysterious person’s gaze, I noted that this person was a boy and he looked like he was in fairly good shape. When our eyes finally met, I realized why I could not resist his gaze. His eyes were the prettiest green that I have ever seen and I had to blink a few times to make sure that I was seeing correctly.

“May I sit with you?” The boy asked

I could not hear what he had said and I quickly took my ear buds out and asked him to repeat what he had just said. He once again asked if he could join me and I swiftly replied yes. In the life I had been living before my freezing, it was not like me to welcome strangers to come and join me while I ate alone but I couldn’t resist those piercing eyes. I quickly wrapped up my headphones and put my iPod back into the safety of my pocket. As I finished this quick little task I noticed that the boy was staring at me with wonder in his eyes. I wasn’t sure if I had something on my face or if I really looked like that much of an outsider. After a few awkward and silent moments I was able to ask what he was staring at. It took him a few moments to respond but the boy asked me
                “What was that thing?”

It took me a few minutes to understand what he was asking and I simply replied that it was my iPod assuming that he knew exactly what it was. By the look on his face, that simple explanation was not enough for him to understand. I went into further explanation as to what it was used for and he just started to laugh. I then learned that in this new place to listen to music, all you had to do was put a small chip into your ear and tell the device what you wanted to listen to and it would be right there playing in your ear. We sat there for what seemed like only a few minutes but once I looked down at the time I saw that we had been there for hours. He had told me all about what life is like in this place that is new and unfamiliar to me and I told him that the life I had known was much different than the life I had woken up in. I told him that I needed to go off and continue the search for my new home but that we would meet again. As I walked away I was starting to feel that life wouldn’t be that bad in this new world.

                I walked and walked until I finally found my new home and I couldn’t wait to just lie down and think about all that had happened to me today. When I opened the door I was pleasantly surprised to see that this little apartment was just like one that had been in the world I used to live in. I feel asleep right when my head hit the pillow. The next few days past and I wasn’t quite ready to venture out on my own so I stayed in my apartment and attempted to figured out all new technologies that had caused me problems. Life seemed to be going quite well and I was getting the hang of all the new things this world had to offer but I soon realized that I once again missed the life I had been living and all of those that were in it. I had met a new friend and we got along quite well but it was nothing compared to my love for my friends and family that I had before I was frozen. I also realized that I couldn’t really remember the time that I was actually frozen. I seemed to remember all the time that was leading up to it but I couldn’t quite recall the exact time that I had climbed into that tiny tube of mine and was frozen for 100 years. As I sat and thought more and more about it I realized that I couldn’t quite remember ever agreeing to being frozen, nor did I remember waking up 100 years later. With that thought now planted into my mind I couldn’t think of anything else. I tried my hardest to bring back the memories form when I had been frozen but nothing seemed to come to mind. It was as if someone had forced me into the tube without my consent and made sure that I didn’t remember. After days passed where I didn’t leave my house I figured that all the time spent cooped up in one little area was causing my mind to wander off to crazy places and I needed some fresh air.  I gathered my iPod and the money that they had left for me and I set out to go get some things that I needed for my cozy little apartment. Right as I stepped out of the building I was greeted by the mysterious man that I had spent hours talking to just a few days ago. Again like the first time we met I was given an uneasy feeling. However, I ignored it and just told myself that his company and the fresh air will help clear my mind from the crazy things that I had been thinking of earlier. He asked what I was up to and I told him that I was out running a few errands and once again asked if he could join me. I was longing for someone to talk to, so again I quickly replied yes and we were off. As I looked into his eyes today I saw something that I had not seen the other day in the diner. Although they were the prettiest green I had ever seen there was something deep inside of them that made me believe something was lurking behind his nice and friendly façade.

                After we had walked for a while and stopped at a few super markets we sat to grab something to eat. We continued our conversation but today it did not seem the same as is had a few days ago. He noticed that something had been bothering me and he asked what I was thinking about. I told him that I didn’t think that I willingly chose to be frozen for 100 years and this comment seemed to make him quite uncomfortable. I continued to talk about what I had been thinking about for the past few days and I noticed that the more I talked about it the more fidgety and uncomfortable he became. I knew that something wasn’t quite right about this mysterious man that I had met and I was now starting to find out why. I asked him over and over to tell me how crazy that sounded and he would tell me that it was a little crazy but never really sounded like he believed the words that were coming out of his mouth. After awhile I told him that I needed to be headed home. He offered to walk me home but I could tell that he really didn’t want to. When I noticed this I knew that I had to take up his offer and allow him to walk me home so I could continue discovering the secrets he had been hiding.

                As we approached my building I told him that I had a wonderful time and enjoyed talking to him again however, he was not as animated as I was. Before I walked up into the building I asked how he knew that this was my building earlier today and he quietly and timidly said that it was just a lucky guess. I knew that this was not the truth but I accepted it and went on my way. That night as I sat in my apartment I started to feel like I was figuring out what had happened to me the night I was frozen. I knew that I needed to spend as much time as possible with this man that I still didn’t know the name of and crack the shell that held the secrets of that night.

                The next day I again met up with him and we continued to talk like nothing had ever happened. I sensed that he was much more aware of what he was going to say and the information that he was going to reveal and I knew that I had to just work that much harder to get it out of him. As we walked down the street I felt that someone was closely following us and every time I turned around to check, I saw that no one was even pay attention to us. I noticed that he was once again wearing the chip that played any song that you wanted to listen to and I asked him if I could try it out. He immediately and forcefully said no then calmly explained that it is personalized to fit only in one person’s ear and it would not work if I tried it. I didn’t believe a single word that he said but I played it off like it was the most truthful thing I had ever heard. As the day passed I watched everything the man did very closely and he continually made this hand movement that looked like he was telling someone to back off or to stay back. I asked him what he was doing and this is what finally cracked the once strong man. He sat me down and explained that the night I was frozen I was taken and forced into the tube full of gas and ice that would freeze me for 100 years and make sure that I wouldn’t remember a thing from it. The gas was supposed to make it seem like it was something I had chosen to do and that it was the best decision I had ever made but it wasn’t quite strong enough to have the same effects on me. Soon after his confession a group of men surrounded the two of us and before I knew it the man was gone. I was taken back to the lab and was shown all that I had gone through. I could not believe everything that had happened to me and I felt like such a fool for being so easily tricked into something like this. I told them that they needed to send me back as soon as possible and they explained to me that that was not an option. I was to live in this new and cruel world for the rest of my time and I could not believe what I was hearing. All I was able to do was to fall onto the floor and cry. I couldn’t imagine living in a place that I had forcefully been thrown into and I could not seem to stop the tears from flowing.

                I soon felt hands shaking me and telling me to get up but I wasn’t going to do what they were telling me to do. The hands continued to fight me until they won and turned me over. I was again blinded by a bright light and I was soon looking up at a face that seemed quite familiar. When I heard the persons voice I knew that I was no longer in the place I had once been and when my vision cleared I looked around and realized that I was in my room and had just been woken up from the worst dream I had ever experienced. My mom asked what I had been dreaming about and I simply told her that it was not a dream that I wanted to become reality.