Mark sat on a bench and stared out into space. The stars looked amazing and his mind started to drift a little. He was waiting for clearance to board a transport to satellite B9746FD. The waiting area was fairly large and extended all the way up to the clear dome that surrounded the colony. He had been living on colony H8745DS for about three years. The dome gave an excellent view of space and it was one of the things that he enjoyed about living there.

The colony had been constructed on a moon that orbited a gas giant. It was fairly distant from the planet’s sun so there was little to no light most of the time. All the light was artificial. The colony maintained a population of around 3 million and anything you could possibly think of doing you could do there. The colony was self-sustaining. Nothing was imported and nothing was exported. Everything that the colony needed to survive existed on the moon. People did come and go however and transports arrived and departed on a regular schedule.

Mark had been interested in cryptography. Ever since he was a small child he had shown an aptitude for solving puzzles and mathematical problems. It was a specialized line of work and it gave Mark a lot of free time between jobs to explore his other interests. He was an avid reader of history and the events of the past fascinated him to no end.

There had been an exciting discovery. An artificial structure had been found on a moon. It was the first time anyone had ever discovered something non man made. There had been markings on the object that had been sent to Mark for analysis. Mark had analyzed the markings and decided that he needed to see the object for himself before coming to a firm conclusion as to what the markings meant. It was an exciting event. Man had been colonizing space for two hundred years and had never come into contact with alien life. It was a huge deal.

So Mark sat waiting for the transport. He had been on transports before and it really was no big deal. He didn’t have any belongings to take because no one had any belongings. He did have clothes that only he himself wore so in a way those items belonged to him but he had no other possessions to concern himself with.

While he was waiting a young woman sat down beside him. He engaged her in conversation. He asked her where she was going and what her interests were. She spoke to him like they had known each other forever but the truth was they had never seen each other before today. Mark explained the exciting news about the alien structure. The woman was fascinated by the discovery. She knew that it was only a matter of time before something like that turned up.

There was an announcement that the transport was ready for boarding. Mark and the young woman both got up and walked toward the boarding area. Once inside the transport, Mark fastened himself in. Once everyone had boarded, they released a gas into the cabin which caused everyone to fall asleep. Once the transport had cleared the moons orbit, it engaged its propulsion system which caused the ship to increase its speed exponentially.

Mark arrived on satellite B9746FD ninety six hours later. To him however, it seemed like only a moment had passed because he had spent the entire time asleep. His actual destination was outpost K754FD. The only transport that went to outpost K754FD was not scheduled to leave for another twelve days. A room had already been reserved for Mark’s use so Mark went up to a display station in the waiting area and checked to see where he was staying.

The waiting area had an open concept design. The ceilings were high and there were several corridors that led to different places in the building. Mark picked one and started walking. He didn’t really care where he was going. He didn’t need to be anywhere and he didn’t need to do anything. He stepped onto an automated walkway. The walkway left the waiting area and entered what could be described as a glass tube. The glass tube was high in the air and extended to another large building further toward the center of the colony. Mark looked around. Below him he could see buildings with patches of green space between them. Mark guessed that the lighting was 60%, which indicated it was close to evening. He proceeded to cross the glass tube and entered a large building which contained places to eat and be entertained. Mark checked the directory and selected a place to eat where he could sit down at a nice table and relax. He hit the button to indicate that he wanted to reserve a table and the display told him a table would be available in 30 minutes.

Mark walked around. He wasn’t going anywhere specific, he was just checking things out. He was in the mood to listen to some jazz. He noticed that there was a little place that had live music and he decided he would swing back this way when his meal was done. Mark entered the restaurant and woman greeted him as soon as he walked in. “Hi, I’m so glad you are decided to dine with us tonight.” The woman smiled and took Mark’s hand. When she did she scanned his id but he didn’t notice. “Come right this way Mark, I have a nice table for you right over here.” She sat Mark down at a nice table. There were warm dinner rolls already waiting for him. There was a candle and there was nice plates and utensils. A glass a water was also waiting. Mark took a sip. The water was pure and refreshing. The woman continued “Your waiter will be with you shortly.” And then she walked away.

It was not long after that, that the waiter did appear. He had a fine shirt and tie. He took his responsibilities as a waiter very seriously. It’s not because he earned a lot of money as a waiter. He actually did not get paid anything. The fact was nobody got paid for any work that they did and nothing anybody did cost them anything. The only requirement for living in the colony is you had to do something. The waiter got his compensation from the satisfaction of doing his job well and from the prestige that people afforded him by their praise of his work. The waiter asked Mark what he was in the mood for and upon securing that information, suggested several meals which would satisfy his appetite. Mark decided on a steak with potatoes and for desert he had something which included chocolate. Mark sat leisurely while he ate his dinner.

When Mark was finished he went back to the place which had the live music. Mark enjoyed live music because it included the imperfections which gave the music its quality. When computers played the music, it sounded crisp and clean but there was no soul. It was too perfect. There were three people who were playing. There was a drummer, someone playing the saxophone and another person playing a stand- up bass guitar. After Mark had been there a few minutes, People engaged him in conversation. The days past where there were strangers did not exist anymore. Everyone was a friend. It was always exciting to find out what people were doing and what they were interested in. Mark participated by telling everyone about the exciting discovery on outpost K754FD. They were all fascinated by the discovery.

Mark settled into his room. It was a standard room, it had a bed, and bathroom and a living area. It also had a small kitchen in it where he could prepare meals. It was only around 900 Square Feet but because of its open concept design, it seemed larger than that. Mark settled into his bed. He adjusted the firmness and when he had finished that, he had the computer play some soothing music to help him fall asleep.

Before reading this chapter, you can catch up by reading the first two chapters

https://theprose.com/post/214881/relics-of-the-past-chapter-one

https://theprose.com/post/216841/relics-of-the-past-chapter-two

The Twelve days seemed to last a long time. Mark was anxious to get to his destination. He didn’t really have anything to do while he waited. He did make a tour of the colony and it seemed like all the other colonies he had ever visited. He occupied some of his time reading and he did a lot of walking around. Finally the day came and like before, he sat in the waiting area waiting for the transport to take him to his destination.

It took seventeen days to reach the outpost. The outpost was at the edge of known space and it took some time to reach it. For Mark however, it still seemed like but a moment because everybody on the transport was asleep except for the crew. When Mark arrived, He was greeted by the Project Manager and the Project Manager wasted no time in getting down to business.

The non-man made structure was roughly 3 meters long and 2 meters wide. It was also 2 meters deep. It seemed to be connected to something that was buried below the surface which provided the structure with power. They had tried scanning the structure but nothing they did seemed to penetrate its hull. There also didn’t seem to be any way to enter or exit the structure. There seemed to be no purpose for the structure. There were some markings on the side and that’s why Mark was here.

An atmosphere had been constructed around the structure so that it could be studied without anyone having to wear protective gear. Mark walked around the structure and studied it carefully. He looked for anything that might have been missed in a previous inspection but he didn’t find anything new. All he found was a single inscription that contained some random symbols. When Mark was done studying the structure, the team retreated to a conference room to discuss his assessment.

Mark had come to the conclusion that the markings were an identification number. Mark explained that the symbols were nothing more that the equivalent of a serial number for tracking purposes. Mark thought that this structure was mass produced and the markings were there to distinguish it from all the other structures that probably looked just like it. When the project manager heard Mark’s assessment, she was not happy. The team was no closer to figuring out what this structure was than they were before Mark’s arrival.

Mark asked if they had thought about cutting the thing open and just looking inside it. The Project Manager wanted to avoid damaging the structure as much as possible and decided to wait for Mark’s assessment before deciding upon violence. There was no way of knowing if the structure had some sort of defense capability or would simply blow up if messed with. Since Mark had not provided anything useful the Project Director decided they had waited long enough.

A shield was constructed around the structure in case the structure did decide to explode. Once that was in place, a large cutting device was installed and then the cutting began. All of this took several days and Mark was anxious the entire time. He really didn’t have to personally come but he wanted to be here when history was made. When the day finally came, everyone was on pins and needles to see what was inside. The structure did not put up much of a fight, in fact it didn’t put up a fight at all, the cut was clean and they were able to pry the structure apart. What they found inside was a chamber and inside the chamber there was something being preserved. The something they found was alive but not awake. As soon as they open the structure however, the thing that was alive started to shake violently. They were all shocked when they discovered the thing alive inside was human.

John woke up. He was completely disoriented. He tried to get up but his body didn’t respond to the commands his brain was sending it. Mark was sitting in a chair nearby watching him. When he noticed that John was awake, he got up and went to his side. “Don’t try to get up. You’ve been asleep a long time. You need to take it slow.”

“Where am I?” John asked.

“You are on Outpost K754FD. We will get you up to speed. For now just take it nice and slow.” Mark answered.

“But I was dead.” John mumbled to himself. The doctor came in and gave John something to drink. Once John finished drinking it, he became more alert.

“Is that better?” The doctor asked.

“Yes, I do feel better. When do I get some answers?” John asked again.

“We will debrief you shortly. Let me show you to your room where you can take a shower and put on some clean clothes.” Mark led John out of the medical bay and down some corridors. Soon they arrived at a room and they both entered. Mark showed John how to use the shower and where some clothes had been put for him to wear. “You’ve been asleep for a long time. Your brain scans show that you were alive before the awakening.”

“The awakening?” John questioned.

“The awakening is the single most important event in history. Don’t worry, it will take time but you will get up to speed. Go take a shower and get cleaned up and then we will debrief you.” Mark left the room. He locked John’s room from the outside.

John was in shock. He expected to be dead. He could remember clearly the alien girl crying at the thought of his death. She loved him and now she was also dead. John felt empty. It seemed like a moment ago that he had lost the people that made his life worth living. He wanted to end his life because he was a prisoner, now he was alive and he still felt like a prisoner. What kind of reality did he wake up in and how long has it been?

John did feel like he needed a shower. He got cleaned up and put on clothes which seemed to fit him perfectly. Then he sat on the edge of his bed and waited for his captors to debrief him.

John sat at a large table. There were several other people who sat around the table. They were all looking at him like he was a museum piece and they were anxious to study him. The only person he recognized was Mark. Mark was the only person he had any real contact with since he woke up. The program director spoke first and she talked in a very business-like manner that made John nervous.

“Can you tell us anything that would help us understand how you got in the structure we found you in?” This was the first question that was asked and it came from the director.

“I was abducted by aliens. I was put in some kind of cage as a pet. When I realized I would never see my family again. I asked them to let me die. I thought that they had done that but you can see I was mistaken.”

“Did you see the aliens?” This question came from another person sitting around the table and so Mark looked at the questioner.

“No. The aliens appeared to me as illusions in human form.”

“Did the aliens tell you that you were a pet?” Came a question from still another person.

“Yes.” John responded.

“Were you mistreated while you served as this pet?” Came yet another question from another person.

“No.”

“What year was it on Earth before you were abducted?” Came a question from still another person.

“2012” John replied.

“That was over 3 hundred years ago.” Someone else commented.

“Did you see anything while you were in this cage that you think might be helpful?” Another person asked.

“I saw a planet, it was blue and green and it had life on it.” Mark replied.

“If you’re referring to the planet we are orbiting, that is unlikely.” The director answered.

Mark walked over to a window which allowed him to view the planet. The planet was like a huge rock floating in space, like all the other huge rocks floating in space, it was devoid of life. “But that’s not possible.” Mark responded, bewildered. “The stars seem to be in the right place. How can this be possible?”

“It could be that it was all in your head.” Yet another person John did not recognize spoke, “You say you were in some sort of cage yet we found you confined in a chamber which from what we can tell, there was no room for you to change your position. The evidence suggests that everything you thought you did while you were in this cage was all in your mind.”

John had a hard time believing what he was hearing. Everything he did in the cage felt real, seemed real. It had seemed that in the last few days he had been abducted, killed but not killed and now he is 300 hundred years in the future. This was hard for him to process. “I need some time to think about all this.”

“Of Course”. This time it was the director speaking, “We can talk again later.”

Mark walked with John down the corridor to his room. “You have to understand.” John told Mark, “That I was with my wife and children in what seems to me to be just a few days ago and now you’re telling me over 300 hundred years has passed.”

Mark and John reached John’s room. “How do you know I was asleep for over 300 years?” John asked.

“Your brain scan shows that you still have the capacity for greed and selfish ambition. Those traits were eliminated from the human brain 300 years ago.” Mark replied.

“You’re telling me that no person alive today is greedy and selfish?” John asked

“You’re the only one.” was Mark’s reply.

“How is that possible?” John asked in astonishment.

“300 years ago. Scientists mapped the brain and discovered that certain traits like greed could be pinpointed in a certain place. When that place in the brain is changed, greed disappears. The same thing is true for selfishness and a lot of other different things. The scientists then figured out how to eliminate those traits and keep them from being passed on. Since greed and selfishness has been eliminated, mankind is now free to reach its full potential and for 200 of those years, we have been spreading across the universe, building colonies and outposts like this one.”

“What about ambition?” John asked, “Without ambition, how could you achieve all of this.” John made a motion with his hands to indicate all the things around him.

“That’s another thing the scientists discovered, when the brain is changed, the interests of the person is also changed. Different people are ‘programmed’ to be interested in different things. So instead of ambition driving them to gain wealth, they are merely pursuing the thing that provides their life with satisfaction.”

“What about you? What provides your life with satisfaction?” John asked.

“I am interested in the lessons of history. When we know what history teaches us, we can avoid making the same mistakes. But we know that a lot of the mistakes of the past were committed because of self-interest. I am also interested in puzzles and mathematical formulas, that’s the reason I am here. The structure you were in had an inscription on it and I was given the task of figuring it out.”

“Did you figure it out?”

“Yes, it was a serial number used to distinguish this structure from any other structure like it. The implications are that we will eventually encounter another structure like the structure you were enclosed in.” Mark could not contain his enthusiasm when he said this and John could not help but notice.

“This sounds like paradise.” John commented, “To be able to do the thing you enjoy because you want to and not because you have to. What about money?”

Mark replied, “There are enough minerals mined in a single asteroid to make each person a multi-millionaire and it costs so little to produce anything that it doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone does everything for free and receives everything for free. I know it will seem unworkable to your mind but you have to understand that everybody takes only what they use and nobody owns any possessions because there is no such thing as greed anymore.”

The next day John was called into the director’s office. The director wanted to talk to John about changing his mind, literally. The director said that they could enhance whatever John was currently interested in and eliminate his ability for greed and selfishness.

John protested and John and the director got into a heated debate about what makes a person who he is. John made the same argument with the director that he made with the little alien girl and her father. If his brain was changed he would be a different person and he wanted to stay the way he was. The director agreed that he would be changed but the only way he would be different is that he wouldn’t feel like screwing over people and collecting things he didn’t need just for the sake of having them.

The director said that he had no choice if he was going to live in their society and that it was all for the better, however the director did agree to allow time for John to think the matter over and try to understand why it was important for him to have the procedure done. John agreed to think about it and returned to his room.

John had to cool himself down. It seemed like in the last few days he had been jerked around a lot and he was tired of it. No matter how he thought about it, they didn’t have the right to make him somebody else. He may be imperfect and he may have undesirable tendencies but that didn’t mean he couldn’t control himself. He needed to get some fresh air, the thing was there was no fresh air to get. He was on an outpost on some rock in the universe somewhere. He tried to leave his room but he found that it was locked. It was clear they didn’t trust him. John decided the best course of action was to take a shower and go to bed. So that’s what he did.

Mark was in an observation lounge. He could relax and stare at the stars which he always enjoyed. It didn’t matter where he was in the universe. He could always tell where he was by looking at where the stars were. It was another interest of his and he was becoming pretty good at it. He was sipping some hot chocolate and eating a meat pie. The director came in and told Mark about the conversation he had with John. Mark told the director that John was probably feeling pretty overwhelmed and that he needed time to adjust to his new surroundings. The director said that made sense and retired to her room.

Mark wasn’t in the mood to sleep. It wasn’t every day that you got to meet someone from the past. Mark became excited when he thought of the conversations he could have with this relic from the past. The things he could learn and think about were almost too much for him to express. As he was thinking about the possibilities, an alarm sounded. Mark went to see the director to find out what was going on. Alarms were rarely heard because nothing hardly ever went wrong.

Mark got to the director’s room to see the chief security officer had already gotten there. When Mark entered the director’s room, the director was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. It looked like murder. The security chief immediately ordered a lockdown and everybody had to stay in their rooms. There was only one person who could have done this, Mark thought to himself.

The Security chief was thinking the same thing, so they both went to John’s room. John was the only one who still possessed the ability to contemplate murder. It had to be him. When they got to John’s room he wasn’t there.

The security chief went to the control room. It was a simple procedure to locate where everyone in the output was located. Everyone was in there own room except for Security Chief, a few Security Personnel and Mark. John was found in a storage container and was taken to the medical bay and strapped down to a table. Mark went back to his room.

The doctor performed a brain scan on John. The scan showed that the part of his brain responsible for violence and irrational behavior was highly active. The doctor compared this scan with the scan taken when John first arrived and noticed a huge difference. John’s brain had been altered on purpose by somebody on the outpost and was used as the murder weapon. The doctor concluded that it was unlikely that John could have prevented himself from taking action even if he was aware he was being used. The question was how somebody other than John could even contemplate wanting the director dead.

The next thing the security chief did was check the security logs. John was locked in his room and somebody had to let him out. He couldn’t have gotten out by himself. Once the security chief checked the security logs, he checked the logs for the food dispenser in John room. He discovered that the same person that let John out also tampered with his food. A compound was added to John food to make him more violent and less reasonable.

Once the person who was responsible had been identified, the lockdown was lifted and everyone gathered for a meeting. Once the evidence was presented to everyone, there was a debate about the motive for the crime. Everyone’s opinion was considered and after some time had taken place, a conclusion was made. The sentence that was decided upon was that John would have to have his brain altered. If he were allowed to retain the ability for violence, more people would be at risk. It was not only for the good of the community, it was also in John’s best interest to be free of the pettiness and selfishness and greed that he now harbored. Mark was chosen to give John the verdict because He was the one who John was the most comfortable around.

Mark entered the medical bay where John was still strapped down. He was awake now and disoriented. “How are you feeling?” Mark asked.

“What happened? Why am I strapped down like this?” John asked.

“It’s for your own protection.” Mark responded.

“I’ve heard that before” John insisted, “You going to change my brain aren’t you?” John asked, knowing the answer.

“Yes, it’s what’s best for everybody, including yourself” was Mark’s answer.

“But I won’t be myself.” John protested.

“I know.” Mark said, “You’ll be better. You’ve been through a lot in a short amount of time and soon you’ll be free of all your frustrations.”

“Tell me what happened?” John pleaded.

“You murdered the director.” Mark replied.

“I don’t remember any of that.” John said.

“I’m not surprised. You were in such a rage that it’s amazing you could even function.” Mark said

“Why would I kill the director?” John begged.

“Because you were programmed to.” Mark answered, “Someone put a compound in your food to make you violent and irrational. When you argued with the Director, the rage inside of you had something to focus on and you violently carried out the murder of the Director.”

“You mean somebody used me?” John seemed confused.

“Yes. You were merely a tool to make a point. We are a community. We all have different interests and we all do different things but the one thing we have in common is that we do what we do for the common good. When we enhance the lives of everyone around us by doing the things that we enjoy, we are enhancing our own lives. Everybody benefits. You however, are not part of the community. You do not do things for the common good, you do things for your own good, which may not be what’s good for everybody else. We do not have to force anybody to do what is good for everybody because they do that naturally. You are different. We have no laws or courts like you are used to having. We communally decide the direction we want to take. The director could not force you to undergo the procedure if the community disagreed so to force the community to agree, you had to do something violent.”

“So I never had a choice, did I?” John said resigned to his fate.

“No. It isn’t in the best interest of the community for you to stay the way you are.” Mark said. “I’m sorry it had to be like this but the decision was taken out of your hands.”

“By who?” John pleaded.

“The director.” Mark answered. “The director sacrificed her own life for the good of the community. She must have believed that it was too important to leave the choice up to you.”

“That’s crazy!” John exclaimed. “The directory used me to commit suicide so I would be forced to undergo the procedure?”

“I’m afraid that seems to be the case. The directory was acting in the best interest of the community. Now that you know the verdict. The doctor is going to perform the procedure. When you wake up you will be a different person.” Mark said.

John didn’t say anything. He was scared of becoming somebody else. First it was the aliens who wanted to change him, but they changed their minds. Now he was in the future and his own people decided he was too much of a threat to be left alone. There was no hope for him now. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he woke up but he was scared.

John was put to sleep. The doctor performed the procedure and John was returned to his room to recover.

John woke up by himself. He felt really good. It was like a burden he never knew he was carrying had been lifted off of his shoulders. He wasn’t anxious anymore. He wasn’t scared of the future anymore either. He got up and took a shower. He noticed that he was no longer locked in his room. His captor’s no longer were afraid of him. He understood. It seemed to make sense now. He knew why he didn’t want to have the procedure performed but the feelings associated with it were all gone. He felt peace.

John got dressed and left his room. He walked down to the observation lounge and stared at the stars. He looked at the planet that was without life. He was sure there was life there but he was wrong. There never was. He didn’t know where the aliens who had captured him were. He didn’t know how he was put into the small structure that he was found in but it didn’t matter. He was no longer struggling with it. The sting of what seemed like the past few days to him had been removed. Mark was right, he was better.

Mark entered the observation lounge and joined John. “How are you feeling?” Mark asked.

“I feel really good.” John replied.

“How do you feel about being a different person?” Mark probed.

“I have mixed feelings about it. I feel like a burdened has been lifted off of me. In some ways I feel different and in some ways I feel the same. I remember everything that has happened to me, I just don’t look at it the same way now.” John replied.

“That’s understandable.” Mark replied, “Now all you have to do is find out what interests you and spend the rest of your life doing it.”

“All that ever interested me before was caring for my family.” John still felt some sadness at the thought of his family being gone forever.

“In the world you lived in before, there were strangers, now there are no strangers. Everybody is part of your family. I’m going to be leaving and returning to colony B9746FD. You should come with me. There are around 2 million people that live there. Everything you need to get up to speed and find your place will be there waiting for you. We can make you an appointment with someone who can guide you and help you sort everything out. What do you say?” Mark started getting a little excited about the thought of returning to a fully functional Colony again.

“All right.” John said, “I have to start somewhere and I guess that is as good a place as any.”

“It’s settled then.” Mark said. After three days had passed, Mark and John boarded the transport to Colony B9746FD. Once they arrived, the person with whom Mark had made the appointment for John was waiting for them. John and the person walked out of the transport station to start John’s new life.