Kehtil stirred in his bed. He couldn’t fall asleep. He decided to head to his study. Kehtil tried not to wake Georgiana up. She looked like she was in a deep slumber. His beloved sweetheart.

When he got to his study, he picked up his favorite book ‘The Count’, (a story of a young man who ends up meeting a strange ruler who lives in a castle on a hill in Transylvania). Kehtil turned to the Prologue, and before he started reading something that sparkled caught his eye. Hmm. He got to his feet and walked away from his reading desk. Kehtil had never seen this ancient lamp before. Maybe Georgiana had bought it while he was out & about in the busy town.

The lamp seemed to be calling his name. ‘Kehtil.’ He scratched his head. Huh. This was truly strange. Kehtil placed his book on the shelf, and held the lamp. He rubbed it a few times. For a short while, nothing happened. Then the lamp glowed with such brightness that Kehtil had to shield his eyes with one hand. In a snap, right before Kehtil’s eyes~ there stood a powerful spirit. It was the genie.

Kehtil: (in shock) Whoa! (stares at the genie).

Genie: (stretches her hands) Woo. (spins around) How long have I been in that old thing? (points at the lamp).

Kehtil: (shrugs) I have no clue.

Genie: (sighs) Let’s get this over with. I hope you’re familiar with the wish granting process. I am the genie. (smiles) You have one wish that you can request to be granted. The only catch is that I will only provide a solution to a problem. Now what’s your one wish Sir?

Kehtil: I..ey. I don’t know what to wish for. (strokes his chin) Wait. (laughs) I’ve got it!

Genie: Oh. Wow. That was quick. What is it?

Kehtil: (calls the genie forward) Can you grant me this one wish? I want to get to have access to Georgiana’s head.

Genie: (chuckles) You want to know what she’s thinking all the time.

Kehtil: Yes. (frowns) Well, sometimes she looks at me...& I don’t have the slightest idea what her expression means.

Genie: (places her hand on Kehtil’s shoulder) Listen, I don’t think you have to worry about that. It’s all part of your life and growth together. You shouldn’t stress about it. Just find time to communicate. Talk to her to figure out what she’s thinking. Don’t be afraid to ask her, too.

Kehtil: (takes a deep breath) Okay. I think you’re right. Thanks for listening Genie.

Genie: (winks) No worries. Are you still going to make that wish?

Kehtil: No. I think my problem can be easily solved. I shall take your advice, Genie. Thanks again.

With those last words, the Genie bowed her head, and went back into her lamp. Kehtil looked around the study room, the lamp was no longer there.

#ENIGMA

What anniversary party?

That all humans died a hundred years ago. That’s a reason to celebrate?

No, that isn’t a reason at all.

But as sure as I sit on my throne I tell you now what the real celebration is about.

On this day, a hundred years after humans screwed up and blasted each other to pieces with their so-called masterful technology and advance weaponary, a hundred years after all humans turned into dust ... our 900 billionth baby rat was born and she was named Ratte’.

Now that is a reason to celebrate.

Yeah. You might get it now.

The mass hysteria and explosions mutated us into another higher-grade life form. And we are the only life form left on the planet, and amazingly, I am the Boss. Just as my fathet and Grandfather were. And when I die, my son will sit in my stead and rule.

What a life, I tell you. What a life.

My name is Jackson Stone. I’m a survivor of the Disaster. It all happened 100 years ago but the effects haven’t gone away. I’m told the outside world used to be beautiful and safe, but ever since I was born it hasn’t even been close. 100 years ago, maybe it was, but then the Disaster happened and it’s never been the same. Here’s what happened.

100 years ago, America was strongly disliked by many countries. Still is, in fact. Some things didn’t change. Anyway, most countries decided to leave us alone and let us solve out own problems. But some countries disagreed and tried to solve our problems for us. Now, you might think that it’s a good thing, having all of America’s problems solved. That’s where you’d be wrong. You see, those countries used extremely destructive tactics to solve the problems. Tactics by the name of nuclear weapons. The assault, which was a joint effort between North Korea, Russia, Iran, and a few more countries, was devastating. I was told the missiles were launched from a sea base and shot toward America extremely quickly. By the time we could react, it was almost too late and the nukes had begun their descent. Our nation’s leader at the time attempted to hit the foreign missiles with some of our own and succeeded in hitting a couple, the rest of the shots going awry. We could not stop the rest.

The fallout was devastating. The country is a wasteland, filled with impact craters, radiation, and rubble. The radiation that remains is still powerful enough to poison the unprotected. Our current protection isn’t strong enough, but we need to fix our land. I’m telling you this in the hopes that one day you could fix the chaos of the outside world. Maybe, when you get older, you can look out a window without shuddering. And maybe then we can learn from our mistakes. But until then we will live and die in confinement, wondering how this all went so wrong. Good luck to you. May you not share my doomed fate.

"Everything smells so delicious," Mindy said as she helped her mother get their table ready for supper. "Tell me again what was the world like when you were my age?"

Mindy's mother gave a small laugh, setting a rather large roast on the dinner table.

"It was a much, much different time, Min," she said. "Back then, people were dying of all kinds of disease and there were wars and pollution and racism and sexism." Mindy cringed at the thought.

“And people killed animals for meat??” she asked incredulously.

"Yes, can you believe it? Things looked extremely dire back then. Most everyone I knew had given up hope."

“But then came Darius!” exclaimed Ash, Mindy’s younger brother.

“Yes, that’s right,” replied their mother. “Darius M. He was the scientist who came up with the exact formula that would set not just our country, but the whole world on a new, better track.”

“And tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of his discovery?” said Mindy as they all sat down to eat.

Mindy’s mom nodded, reaching forward to slice the roast with a knife. “Yes it is. We are now able to use the sun to power everything that used to run on gas and coal and electricity. Take this knife for instance. We use lasers for common everyday tasks now to precisely cut meat and bread and cheese and you never run the risk of slicing your finger or anything. When I was a child people were constantly running to hospitals to get stitches from all sorts of inflicted injuries.”

“What’s a ‘hospital?’” Ash asked with a mouth full of food.

Mindy laughed and said, “Haven’t you learned about hospitals in school yet, Ash?” He shook his head while continuing to chew.

“Hospitals are where people would go if they were sick or hurt,” explained their mother.

“I know it is hard to imagine, but there was a time when the earth was not safe and human life was fragile. A child your age could become deathly ill or die in a car accident or starve from not having access to any food. We are so lucky that none of these things happen anymore. And we have Darius M. mostly to thank for that.”

“It’s sad to think he will be gone in fifty years,” said Mindy after a bit of silence.

“Where will he go?” asked Ash.

Mindy’s mother tried her best to explain this as gently as she could to a seven-year-old. “Do you remember when Grandma turned 150?” He nodded. “And we had that party for her and she danced with you and then you saw her get that injection that made her go to sleep?” He nodded some more. “Since the amazing advancements in medicine and technology were making it so that people lived longer and longer, the world was becoming too crowded.”

“So, a world vote was taken,” Mindy took over explaining, “and people decided that at the age of 150 every man and woman of that age would be laid to rest with a humane injection that would put them to sleep peacefully and with dignity.”

“So, Darius will be dead in fifty years?” Ash asked looking a bit worried.

“Yes, but that isn’t anything you have to worry about for a very, very long time,” said their mother. “Although it is still possible for people to die before that age, it is very, very rare, Ash. So, you and your sister don’t have anything to worry about. There is a peace that comes with knowing exactly when your time here on earth will be up...and a lot of wonderful things can happen in 150 years.”

#scifi #sciencefiction #future #futuristic #family

Earth, 2119. It’s the 100th anniversary of human extinction. The gods have taken back the place, literally.

Here on earth, the Buddha is carrying out his daily meditation routine on a fine high chair in a temple.

Just after he closed his eyes, his iPhone rang. Knowing who the caller is, he tut-tutted and picked it up.

Jesus: Hey Buddha!

Buddha: What?

Jesus: It’s 2119 today! Are you going to Zeus’s party? They are taking out the humans for fun!

Buddha: Humans? I thought they were extinct...

Jesus: It turns out that Elsa froze some of them!

Buddha thought, Okay, he is clearly drunk. Shouldn’t have picked up the phone in the first place. He put down the phone and before he hangs up he heard, ‘Drink my blood oh dear!’ and some smashing sound.

When he thought that he could finally focus on his mind, a woman sobbed behind him. He turned around and sighed, Nüwa is standing here. She eyes are swollen as if she put two hard-boiled eggs on her pretty face.

(In case you don’t know her, let me Google it for you: ‘the goddess of the order who created humans and saved the world from destruction in Chinese mythology’. But wait a minute, where was she when the world is out of order?)

‘Nüwa...’

‘Did they do that? Frozen my babies?’ Her silk handkerchief is all wet and when you look closer you can see tears (or it could be snot...) dripping on the floor. The Buddha try to suppress his internal scream for Nüwa ruining the altar wood floor, he looked at her eyes (though he can’t actually see them), and said, ‘Nüwa, you just need to let go.’

She threw down her handkerchief which landed right on the floor, the Buddha stood up immediately, trying to examine whether the translucent liquid is tears or something else. She screamed, ‘Enough! Everyone is telling me to move on! DO YOU GUYS EVEN KNOW HOW THE HELL DID THEY ALL VANISHED! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!’

The Buddha tighten his eyebrows, ’Vanished? I thought the nature...

Nüwa interrupted, she is now sitting on the floor, ‘How would you feel when you work really really hard, try to fill up this whole, large land. And your work is criticised not only by other gods but the humans themselves! I know! I know they realised that they are from different gods and separated into different races! Some of the mines hated the others while some of them...they...they tortured each other! What do you expect? DO YOU THINK IT’S EASY TO MAKE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM UNIQUE! AND THEY FORMED SOME RIDICULOUS HIERARCHY!’

Buddha clarified, ‘You mean they thought some of them were more good-looking...’

She gasped and continued, ‘You try to fix this problem for your whole life...then someday...someday they just... gone...’ Her tears streaming down her face.

When Nüwa is trying to clam down meanwhile her body is shaking, the Buddha texted his helpers to come cleaning the floor. It would take a while for them to walk here.

He got down and patted her shoulder, ‘It’s never your fault, Nüwa. You’ve done your very best.’

She pursed her lips, ‘Did you know what happened to them?’

He shook his head, ‘Honestly, I don’t. No one knows what happened. One day they just disappear. It’s been 1...’

Suddenly someone called him, it’s Jade Emperor. Nüwa stared at his phone incredulously, ‘Is that iPhone 6 I am seeing?’

He nodded, ‘You’re right.’

Nüwa’s jaw dropped. ‘How on earth are you still using it? Call Steve Job’s spirit out now and we could...’ The Buddha ignored her and answered the call.

‘Hey Buddha, Jade. We need to have an urgent meeting with Zeus. YOU need to join us RIGHT now.’

’Got it,...

Before Buddha continues, the great glass elevator flew to him.

‘Sir, please.’ Two teenage angels emerged, they are wearing a pink grown, which means interns. The girls came out, bowed their heads and signalled Buddha to go in.

So, What do you think the Buddha is facing?

#justforfun

My Name is Orion Casselli. I am fourteen years old and I broke down the Walls. I killed people and I will never forgive myself. This is my story, the story of the future, the story of how it all happened.

***************************

“Look, a shooting star!” Orion pointed up at the sky. His sister next to him sighed.

“Make a wish,” she said, rubbing her eyes, trying to stay awake a little longer. Orion closed his eyes, held his breath, and made a wish.

“What’d ya wish?”

“That all my dreams would come true,” he answered, pulling her into a sideways hug.

“That’s a good wish,” she paused. “But nightmares are dreams too.”

Almost as if what she had said had triggered something, a blinding white light shines down from the sky. Orion felt himself being yanked off the ground, pulled away from his sister who had been hanging onto him for dear life. The world disappeared in a wall of freezing white. Orion was suddenly floating downwards, yanked back up, and pushed back down. It felt like he was drowning. He couldn’t breathe. Darkness hit him, leaving his eyes seeing spots and his ears ringing. Silence. Perfect silence.

“What?” his mind was a befuddled mess. He tried to move but his legs and arms were restrained. So was his midsection, around his stomach. He tried to yell out but it seemed that his voice just bounced back to him, no one else hearing.

“Code 378, patient awakening. I repeat, Code 378, patient awakening!” The words blasted across Zora’s headset. A gentle rain fell on the streets outside as she hurriedly paid for her coffee and ran back to HQ.

“Zora! This one’s yours!” another voice came over the headset. Officer Deman.

“Yes, sir,” she responded.

She ran as fast as she could, trying to keep her coffee from splashing out of its cup and onto her. She finally made it to the sliding front doors. Drying her boots, she stepped inside and out of the rain. She set her coffee on her desk in her cubicle and hurried to the elevator.

“Come on, come on,” she nervously waited for the elevator to reach the basement.

She had a sneaking suspicion she knew who was waking up from STATIS. He had been in there longer than anyone else due to some brain damage as a baby. STATIS took a little longer because it had to make repairs to the brain. She smiled. She hoped that’s who it would be.

The elevator jolted to a halt and she was out the doors before they were completely open. She half ran, half jogged down the hallway until she got to room B26. She stopped outside and took a deep breath before she pushed it open. The lights were on dim, and in the middle of the room, there was a capsule. In big bold letters up the side was the word STATIS. She reached forward and gripped the handle. A scanner read her thumbprint and unlocked it. She gave the handle a yank and the door came open. A steam escaped from inside, running along the floor like a snake. Once it cleared Zora was able to see inside the capsule.

“Hello,” she said, peering forward. A boy, maybe around fourteen, opened his eyes and looked at her.

“Help me,” he croaked, his voice almost gone.

“Oh, that’s what I’m doing,” she started undoing the straps around his arms, legs, and midsection. “Don’t move and don’t say anything.”

“Where am I?” he went to say but Zora cut him off with a glare.

“I said don’t say anything.”

He nodded.

She continued to undo the straps until he was completely free. She reached out and took his hand, helping him out of the capsule.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Zora.” She left him standing there for a second as she grabbed a Data Pad. She rolled up the sleeve of his right arm and then typed something into the keypad.

“What’s that?” he pointed at a tattoo on his right forearm. 100|264.

“That’s your identification number,” she said as she scrolled downwards. “Your the 264th person to wake up from STATIS this year.”

“And the 100?” he ran a finger over it, confusing masking his face.

“This is the one-hundredth year that we’ve been doing it. In fact, today is the one-hundredth anniversary,” she said. Her eyes glazed over but only for a second.

“The anniversary of what?”

“The Apocolypse,” she answered, looking him dead in the eyes.

“The what?!?” he gawked. The world for him started to spin. Where was he? Who was he? What happened to his sister?

“A hundred years ago, these..... things showed up. They seemed to be peaceful for about twenty-four hours as they scoped out the land. After that period, it became a bloodbath. Thousands died in the first day. After about a week the government finally drew something up to save the human race from going extinct because of these things.” a tear dripped down her dark-colored cheek. “I wasn’t alive then, obviously, but I’ve heard the stories and I’ve read the accounts of survivors. It was terrible. Compounds were made and people were distributed among them, all over the world. We’ve just grown accustomed to living in them and nobody goes outside of the compounds anymore except to go to the Capitol.”

He stood there in silence, processing everything he just heard.

“Where’s my sister? Is she okay? What’d you do with her?” he asked her, an urgent edge in his voice.

“Your sister?” Zora asked, looking down at the Data Pad again. “You don’t have a sister.”

“Yes, I do!” he insisted. “Her name was Emily, twelve years old, brown hair, about this high.” He held his hand about five feet from the ground.

“She was a part of the dream that STATIS created for you,” Zora started to explain.“Anything that happened in your past life has not happened. It’s a fragment of your imagination.”

The boy took a step closer to her. “So you’re telling me the past fourteen years of my life have been fake, a little charade to help you!” He was about an inch away from her and Zora was not backing down.

“Yes.”

He went to move forward but Zora put a hand on his chest. “I wouldn’t. I will leave you paralyzed for the rest of your life if you do not stop right now and listen to what I have to say!”

She said it with such authority that he stepped back and sat down on a chair.

“Thank you,” she said sweetly. “STATIS prepares you for this, for what you’re about to participate in. By helping your brain to develop properly, it institutes an induced coma and provides a life that you “live” in. You learn to talk, think, eat, etc, in that so when you wake up, we don’t have to teach you that stuff. Normally, a person wakes up around the ages of 5-7 but you had brain damage as a baby so STATIS repaired it, which means it took longer for you to get ready.”

“You said compounds. Are we inside one right now?”

“Yes, it’s too risky to go outside of the walls right now. The government has been working on a solution to these monsters for over a century. You may leave the compound to go to the Capitol but chances are when you leave the compound, you don’t come back. That is if you even make it to the Capital.”

He was silent for a moment, mind wandering in thought.

“My name is Orion Casselli.” He stuck his hand out for her to shake it. She did. “Your Zora.”

“Yup,” she smiled. “You’ll be in my bunker for the time being until you learn the layout of the place. Okay?”

He nodded.

“We have a few rules here in Compound 298. Rule 1: Never go over the Wall or even near the wall at that matter. Rule 2: Never go outside your barrack after curfew. Rule 3: Do your part and try not to get in trouble. Simple rules. If you follow them, you’ll make it easier on yourself,” she smiled at him.

“Gotcha!” he smiled back. Although his mind was still searching for answers.

“Come with me, I want to show you some things,” she said as she motioned for him to follow her.

“Um, clothes?” he asked. He was still in a hospital gown type garb.

“Find something that fits and then follow me,” she pointed at a tall wardrobe.

“Thanks,” he said as she shut the door.

Orion quickly changed into something that fit and was comfortable and then joined Zora outside the room. He heard the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the roof as they headed back through the long corridor.

They stepped outside the building and as rain splashed down on him, he smiled. He loved the rain. Something about this rain was different though, it felt more... real. His heart continued it’s little thumps as they quickly dashed through the rain towards a little house.

Zora pushed the door open and hurried through. “Mina! Come here!”

Orion stood awkwardly by the door, not sure what to do until a girl came bounding down the stairs towards them. She looked to be thirteen at the most with brown hair. She reminded him a lot of his dream sister Emily. He took an instant liking to her before she even said a word. She just had that aura of craziness he loved.

“Yeah?” she asked, skidding to a halt before she crashed into them.

“This is the noobie, Orion,” Zora nodded to the left at him. “He’s gonna hang out with us till he gets the layout of the place.”

“Mkay,” she nodded. She turned to Orion and extended her hand. “I’m Mina but you can call me Min for short.”

“Nice to meet you,” he shook her hand. It was as if he was looking at a doppelganger of his sister. They didn’t look exactly alike but close enough. Same face structure, same high cheekbones, and same excited eyes.

“Get him some food, Mountain Dew, get him settled,” Zora instructed her. She went to continue but was cut off by a message from her headset.

“Copy that!” Zora snapped into action. She was out the door in a second, leaving Mina momentarily shocked.

Mina motioned for Orion to follow her as she headed out the door after Zora. Orion, not knowing what to do, followed her in spite of what his brain was telling him. Zora was so focused on the task at hand she didn’t realize they were following. Mina and Orion made it through the front doors and into the room marked “Restricted” before they finally found out what the big problem was. An array of screens covered the wall around them, all of them with various views outside the wall.

“Why is there a code one?” Zora asked, a tinge of panic in her voice.

“See for yourself,” the person in the control chair next to her answered. They tapped a few buttons and the main screen was switched out for a different one. This one showed a semi-tall creature with a bit of a hunched back. It turned its head towards the camera and it was all Orion could do to not shout in shock.

It had a terrible face. Slopper and blood dripped out of the creature mouth and it didn’t have any eyes, just slits of black where they should have been. Long, elongated fingers extended from their skeleton hands. Sharp, almost dagger-like fingernails tipped the edge of the fingers. It also had no ears, just pin holes.

“What is that?” Orion finally managed to ask Mina in a whisper.

“That’s a Heliosang,” she whispered back.

“A what?!?”

“Heel - - li -os -- ang!” she pronounced it slowly, purposefully.

“It’s disgusting,” he declared.

“Get the drones online, send three to get a closer look at it. Normally the Heliosang don’t get this close to the wall unless they’ve gone rogue or on a scouting mission. Anyways, it’s bad news for us,” Zora commanded.

“Yes, ma’am,” the person obeyed. “Drones online, going in now.”

Once again the main screen switched to the drone’s point of view. Tree branches whizzed by until they arrived at the spot of the creature. It spotted the hovering device and dashed off back into the forest.

“Follow it.”

The camera raced along after it, narrowly missing tree branch after tree branch. The

The Heliosang ran at a steady pace until it came to a shuddering halt in the middle of a clearing. Behind it was more forest but in front of it was a tall building. Roads winded around it. The windows were still in tack. The building showed no signs of being there for a century.

“But..” Orion was confused.

“That’s not a government facility,” Mina whispered in awe. “What is that?”

Zora seemed to stiffen.

“But if no ones been outside of these walls for a century, why does that building look like it’s been in use?” Orion didn’t say it in a whisper. Zora whipped around, panic and surprise written on her face. She pushed him back until he was up against the door.

“What are you doing here?” she was right in his face. He looked into her eyes. She was just as confused as he was about it all. She had no answers.

“I followed,” he gulped. He didn’t want to throw Mina under the bus. “Mina.”

Zora glanced over her shoulder but where Mina had previously been standing was now

empty.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she growled, face inches from him. “So I suggest you leave and forget you saw anything.”

The door behind him suddenly opened and he went stumbling backward into the main lobby. The door slammed shut, keeping him out.

What was happening in there? What were they not telling him? Who was he? Where was he? Was it even real?

Arthur C. Clarke said, “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

It’s 2119 and it’s the 100th Anniversary of the day we learned that the second possibility was not equally terrifying, but far more terrifying than anything that we could have ever imagined. I was six and the year had been really scary. In 2016 the Russians had hacked the US Elections and by late 2018 cyber attacks were occurring globally. Economies collapsed.

By 2019 the world was on the brink of a world war. There were major famines and climatic catastrophes on the news almost daily. Mom and Dad were always talking behind closed doors or watching the news. The day before they came, Dad had decided that we needed to load up the Dodge Caravan and the Envoy with all of the food in the house and things we just couldn’t leave behind and drive to Grandma Murray’s near Knoxville. She had a big farmhouse with lots of rooms and was far enough from the city that he felt we would be safer. Mom and he would go back for a second load after Heather, Jason and I were at Grandma’s.

We had packed the vehicles and the plan was to leave early in the morning. Mom turned on the news to check the traffic. The words BREAKING NEWS kept scrolling in big red letters across pictures of cone like objects falling all around the world. “They’ve been falling since before 5:00 AM Eastern and seem to be falling everywhere”, the newscaster was saying. Dad took one look at Mom, scooped me up in his arms, and yelled for everone to get to the cars. “We have to go now,” he was yelling with panic in his voice, “I’ve seen Independence Day enough times to know this is not going to end well.” He strapped me in the car seat of the Caravan and jumped in the front seat as Mom, Jason, and Heather climbed into the Envoy.

It has been one hundred years since the day I stood in the doorway with the wind clawing its fingers through my hair and turned, finally, into its hungry embrace, deciding then that I would never look back at you.

It is the anniversary of the day I fled into the woods surrounding our cottage, woods that used to protect me, but now suffocated me, the trees lashing their branches together and spitting water down upon my shoulders as if they mourned for me, but still could not let me go.

I ran until my feet tracked blood behind me along with the remains of my soul, unspooling from me like silver thread still caught between your fingers.

It has been one hundred years since I stumbled through the rain, and the edge of the chasm yawned before me, and I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the fall, but I never did. Instead, when I opened my eyes, the stars swam before me like rungs on a ladder, and I tangled my fingers around their sharp edges and pulled myself upward. Their light lodged beneath my fingernails and my blood stained some of them so red, the astronomers peered up in shock and could not explain their unexpected jump to supernova.

When I reached the overarching dome of the universe, I banged my fists on the glass, crying for entry, but I was just a soul trapped beneath the ice, and I couldn't climb any further. The dust of the cosmos lodged in my throat and with its bitter taste in my mouth, I swam back down towards where you waited.

I lived in the branches of the trees above where you walked, I wove the stems of flowers together into crowns to adorn my hair, just to have something mortal still about me. I watched you grow older from afar, watched the life bleed out of you naturally, not like mine, not like the knife wound in my shoulder the night I fled.

When your soul shed your body like snakeskin and, shaking itself, began its own upward climb, I watched the stars until their molten silver dripped onto my cheeks like paint, allowing me the facade of tears. I saw you swim through the dome that's trapped me for, now, one hundred years. Kneeling above the Milky Way, I knit crowns out of stars, and sometimes, when I'm moved to, I place the stars in the eyes of mortals who remind me of who I could have been.

Once a upon a time there were cartoons screened

but now at the 100th anniversary of society functions

is the end of all cartoons and children games, oh yes

now earth is celebrating its childrens biggest dreams

by hosting successful young billionaires, oh yes, yes

every children is now a millionaire or billionaire

by their own will or by governments innitiative

some own ferraris, some own porsche, but oh yes

their bank accounts do hold millions of dollars

and even their assests count as billions, oh yes,

gone are the days that children simply went to school

watched spongebob when they arrived from school

now they own tall towers and sit behind leather chairs

they hold a pencil in their hands, or a parker pen

devious are their minds and competition looms ahead

its so exciting to be the CEO and its exciting to earn

millions of dollars and hold billions in assets, oh yes,

there is a huge function and alas, all of them come

better in style than actors or actressess, in black and tie

in silk gowns with matching heels, proud and fierce

the children of earth 2119 are here, pops the champagne

and shouts, “Who dares to be above me, forbes or vogue?”

and everyone yells, “The children of earth 2119, super strong!”

this is when the huge red porsche cake is cut and, oh yes

its party all night and sadly the last of spongebob cartoon

is thrown away in the river Thames, sinking at the bottom!

Gas masks? Check.

Nylon suits? Check.

Headlamps? Check.

Two men in white walked along Route 66, now abandoned and thick with dust. Their heads swiveled left and right, blindly scanning their gray surroundings. The dust thinned as they reached the end of the old highway.

"Hey, Micah?"

"Yes, George?"

"Ain't it funny how this here road was famous back in the day?"

"Oh? Back in your day?"

"..."

"Thought so. Now keep looking. We don't have time to waste before the cap'n leaves us on this hell of a planet."

The two struggled on through the sideways storm, searching every street and building for anything - anything that could have survived the great storm of '50. Finally, they stumbled upon a small shack on what once could have been a grassy hill. The door, which had somehow remained closed and intact all these years, revealed an old tool shed. Now empty and forgotten, the shed only contained mounds of filth and rubbish. A cloud of the dust enveloped Micah as he scooped through each mound, hoping that his gloved hand would make contact with something. Anything.

Meanwhile, George dug in the shed's corners, silent as to not distract his partner. His hand touched something hard. A yell of shock and surprise escaped his lips as he unearthed a small, dusty jar. Micah rushed to him and they shouted Eureka to the heavens as they playfully tossed the jar back and forth, back and forth. After twenty gleeful tosses, enough dust had fallen off the jar to reveal faded markings. Catching the jar one last time, George brought it to his goggled eyes to get a closer look.

Clover Honey. Manufactured 05-01-19.

"Hey Micah?"

"Yeah, George?" Micah wheezed, out of breath from his celebrations.

"What's today's date?"

"First of May."

"It says this honey was made on the first of May...a hundred years ago!"

"Ah geez, George. You gonna sing happy birthday to it now?"

"Not a birthday. Like an anniversary."

"Well, happy anniversary to your jar of honey, George, you sappy twig. Now let's get a move on. The winds are coming in fast."

"Yessir. On it, sir."

#honey