You wake to the sound of distant water dripping. You open you're eyes to find the air conditioning malfunctioning, "I'll get to that tomorrow," you think to yourself. Realizing you don't know what time it is, you start checking the phone next to you for anything new, a notification in you're calendar pops up, catching your eye. You take off your nightgown, take a fresh t-shirt & shorts from the washing machine, and head down from you're bedroom into the empty halls of Site-0.
Walking over to the kitchen, you see the other "staff" moving around, their components grinding & whirring haphazardly. "I'll get to that tomorrow," you think to yourself, you have a big day after all. Taking a bowl of dates & milk as you're breakfast, you walk towards the exit, sliding through the concrete with decades worth of efficiency. Your eyes stagger as the bright summer sunshine hits, you marvel at its beauty for only a moment before walking away from the site, only the sounds of birds & insects keeping you company on the trip. As the natural paradise you tread through gets more and more urban, you finally notice a sign on an old chainmail fence.
It was funny, more so today, especially, you can't believe a time when you thought this would keep it safe or under wraps at least. It all felt so worthless, I mean, it probably had its purpose back then, but it's not like anyone comes here anymore, so it was even worse than worthless, a reminder of that utopic past. Quickly rushing past the sign, you take a small decorative key from your pocket, jamming it in the grass somewhere, twisting it in a rhythmic pattern you've become so used to. As alarms blare from all around you, small plates flash past you around a giant dome shape as if a mountain itself turned red and screamed.
WARNING WARNING WARNING
ALL ACCESS FROM THIS POINT ON IS FORBIDDEN LEAVE NOW LEAVE NOW LEAVE NO-
The sound cuts off as the platform that jutted off the ground finishes scanning you.
WELCOME, O5-14 YOU MAY PASS.
The world stops flashing red as the plates that made up the dome return to floating around, sustaining their camouflage, some of them rearranging as a door right ahead of you. You sigh as the tedium of the experience sets in, "I don't have time for all this today," you think to yourself. Regardless, you march onward as the green grass beneath your feet transitions to clear sand. You quickly run ahead, almost tripping on a small dune, catching you're breath as your eyes catch a blue perimeter line. "Finally," you say, panting, looking up to find the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.
"Good morning Uriel, hope I didn't make you wait."
A soothing voice resounds in your head as you look up to the angel.
"WELCOME."
"I have a big day today, thought I'd share, all these years we haven't talked that much."
"NO NEED."
"It gets lonely in the site, you know, AIC's ain't much company."
"THE LORD IS COMPANY ENOUGH."
"I guess so," you blurt out, taking out you're prayer mat from the nearby station you built.
"YOU MUST APPLY. NOT GUESS. NOT THINK. DO."
"You're right. Guess I'm just nervous, I don't know how I can show my face to him."
"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MUST."
"Indeed." You face towards Mecca and begin to prostrate.
"Sooo, where are we off to this time, boss?" an energetic young man spoke out of his Porsche. You were never really involved in council affairs anymore, but at least they had the courtesy to hand you a circle of factotum; you enjoyed their company.
You hand the man a piece of paper through the car window.
"Wooo really? It's about time he manned up."
You let out a small chuckle.
"Well, alrighty then, get in, boss."
You took out a hardwood cane and got in the car. It was a bumpy road to say the least, you were tired, and eventually the rhythmic tapping of your head on the glass lulled you to sleep.
It was a hot sunny day, you were alot younger at the time, you would get up from the floor with the sun's rays as your clock, the mangled roof above merely a formality. Now that you look at it, you don't actually see a roof at all or the sun today. You spread onto the empty street just as you realized you had missed prayer, "I'll get to that tomorrow," you thought to yourself; you had a long day ahead after all. Rushing past you're neighbors' houses, the shopping district, the park, the central plaza, and eventually flopping onto the school gates with only a pencil and tattered clothes, swallowing the dread in your throat as you rushed inside. You headed to your classroom, hoping to see the celebrity that was set to visit the school today as a charity, something, something, Terblanche, was it? Doesn't matter, you had alot you wanted to share with the man, the things that would finally get the roof fixed, or get a new roof? No, a new house! You could barely hide the grin across your face as you swung the school door open to find……
No one, now that you think about it, you hadn't seen anyone today. Was it the weekend? No, that couldn't be it; the shopping district was empty, too. a holiday? You doubt it, maybe you were late? Or too early?…
No matter! You might as well get some breakfa-
GJJTTZTZZJJJZZ.
Now that's a sound you've never heard before. You rush to see the source of the sound at the entrance, seeing a large hole in the sky in front of you.
Next thing you knew, you were on the floor as a man in a hard hat, started screaming.
"SIR, WE FOUND A LIVE ONE, IT'S A KID!"
People rushed to form a crowd as the sound of whirring machinery dimmed. You barely started to adjust before another scream.
"KID, CAN YOU HEAR ME? ARE YOU ALRİGHT!" The man shook you back & forth, trying to get a response.
All that came out of your mouth was gibberish even you could barely understand, and as the man prodded more, another, slimmer, whiter man in a tuxedo told the man off as he hunched you over his shoulder, taking you to a nearby tent.
The man sat you down on a chair and set ahead of you, placing a small rectangular object in front of you after seemingly playing with it.
"Can you hear me?"
You nodded
"Great, it works then," the man gave a sign of genuine relief as he got up and poured you a glass of water. You didn't hesitate to oblige.
"Babel, I mean, it's a work in progress, but you know what they say, 'AI is the future,' right?"
You stare nonplussed at the man.
"My name is Fredrick Williams. Can you tell me yours?"
"A-adnan." You blurted out between your sips, surprised you could communicate at all.
"Now, now relax, Adan, there's plenty of water where that came from." The man said with a chuckle.
You kept drinking.
"Now, Adan, I'm sure you're confused; let it be known I work for an organization dedicated to the safety of the people; there's no need to be scared." You were far too thirsty to be scared.
"But I also unfortunately have some bad news."
"Like what?"
"Do you have a family, Adnan?"
"No."
"I see, how should I put this…..Samothrace has… disappeared, to say the least." You look up in confusion.
"Now don't be scared, everything's going to be alright. We don't really know what happened, but I assure you that we are doing our best to find a solution as soon as possible."
An odd feeling sets in.
"For the time being, you will be in our custody. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Okay." It was all you could muster at the time; you couldn't quite comprehend what the man said, so you just went along with it.
You'd like to think it got better after that, you joined the Foundation, rose through the ranks, watched your home be remembered as but a number on a document, saw Uriel for the first time, come to think of it, that was the start of many firsts, some you would come to regret. It didn't matter, the world kept turning as the Foundation grew and left you behind as a mere off-the-books containment specialist, some would even doubt the existence of. Nevertheless, you grew older, and by the time you hit 55, you had forgotten the administrator's face or the last time you saw him. You want to think he was led astray, that he never wanted to leave you here stranded and alone, yet you never shook the feeling that there was never a path he was on to be led astray from, that it was all calculated and intentional.
You never managed to find out what happened to you're country, perhaps if you tried harder, you would've, but that rage & anger has since faded into apathy, and you can't bring yourself to lash out, to change, left to go through the motions, lying through your teeth every day, to everyone, to yourself.
"Aye, boss, wakey wakey! We're here!"
You jolt up from you're slumber
"Oh, right, sorry."
You rub you're eyes and yawn, getting your cane from beside you.
"No worries, you've been rather shut off today, saving yerself for a long night, eh?"
You let out a slight chuckle as you get out of the car, straightening your clothes one last time.
"Not exactly. But this is something i wouldn't miss for the whole world.
