Advent awakening 2

It was the morning after.

 

Mary sat on the steps outside her cabin. She wore a striped woollen jumper, with tracksuit pants and ugg boots. In front of her, just beneath the rising sun, was a lush pine forest, with a dirt track leading away from the steps she sat on. Her long blond hair shone in the sunlight.

“You know, somehow, I didn’t think three hundred years in the future would be so… rudimentary.”

Michael stood next to her leaning on one of the supports of the roof, looking in the same direction. He was wearing similar clothes. It was about 15 degrees. “No need to be like that. We’re not all hicks in the year 2325,” he said.

He smiled. “We got these new doohickies…what’re they called? Smartphones…”

“You know you’re just being a smartass, right?” her sarcastic mouth spat.

He was silent, but when she looked at him, she saw that he still wasn’t reacting to her harshness, except to smile slightly. She found him mysterious, and infuriating. It took her a few moments to realise what was annoying her. 

“You just don’t seem like some dude from the future,” she debated. “You’re too…” she took a moment to distinguish the word to describe him. “Simple…”

Michael grabbed imaginary suspenders on his chest, and adopted an almost perfect southern accent.

“I ain’t been much for book learning…” he explained, solemnly.
”See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! You are deliberately trying to act normal! I expected to be freaked out or something? I expected weird ass clothes! You don’t talk funny! You even know the same stereotypes I know! You know how to talk to me, and that’s what makes you so damn infuriating!”.

She pointed at the Spiderpal. It was largely allowed to wander free about the cabin, it’s pet-like status making her tremendously uncomfortable. As her fury found it, it looked like it was trying to cover it’s ears in the face of her rage. “So far, that’s the only thing that looks like it’s from the future, and it’s a toy! Who gives their kids that? It’s weird far out toy from Transformers or something! I’d sooner have a drug addict perform as a clown at my child’s birthday party. But it’s outdoing you! You are too easy to relate to, and it’s really confusing!”

“You have heard of the Amish, haven’t you?” said Michael, quietly.

“What? Yes….What have they got to do with anything?”

“Well, certainly you are aware that it is possible that people exist who are more comfortable in the absence of technology? I mean, you yourself don’t especially appreciate the joys of owning a Spiderpal, so why shouldn’t there be people like you in this time?”

His explanation made sense, and his logic flew in the face of her expectations. What stopped things from being strange? Essentially, human nature. The accuracy of his argument caused a revolt in her head, and she vocalised her rebuttal.

“Stop being so damn reasonable! I am just finding it…surprising, that’s all,”.

She forced herself to calm down. She realised that her behaviour would more than likely cause him to hate her, and she was surprised to realise that she didn’t want that.

“I mean, this place doesn’t seem futuristic,” she finished. “I was expecting…massive civilizations. Skyscrapers, with weird flying cars…robots.”

It took a second for her to realise that her expectations sounded exactly like science fiction. She flushed, red faced, feeling like an idiot. When she was at high school, studying film, she remembered seeing the movie 2001: A space Odyssey, and sharing a joke with a friend at people’s unrealistic expectations of the future. Now, she was the joke.

She risked a glance at Michael, seeing that he seemed to be mulling over her words. He met her gaze, and smiled in understanding.  

“Ok. Well, I should point out that most of the people who live here, live in a reasonably simple state of affairs. They farm, fish, and build with natural materials. It is their choice, and they were reasonable enough to accommodate us,” said Michael. “It isn’t actually uncommon in this time, and I thought that being here would be less of a shock, compared to where we could’ve gone.”

He thought for a little, apparently considering her comment. “Many of the things you mentioned do exist, but I didn’t want to put you in too foreign an environment so quickly. Eventually, that will change, when I feel you are prepared. I hope that’s ok.”

 

As Mary thought about it, she decided that she probably would be completely shocked if she were shown too much, too quickly. That didn’t stop her feistiness from returning, once she realised that she hadn’t quite made a complete fool of herself. She could accurately realise that she was his responsibility, and she was going to milk it.

“Ok, say that’s one question! Next one…How could I possibly be alive?” Mary paused, and patted herself down, wondering what she looked like, trying to make certain she was still all there. “I mean, I spent three hundred years under…”

“Three hundred and thirteen…”

“Shut up! Three hundred and thirteen, then. I spent it under the ice. I know you can’t just thaw someone after they are frozen and get them to live. How did I come to be here? How did you bring me back?”

Michael paused, until he was certain he was able to speak without being interrupted. “Well, you are right. Your body sustained tremendous tissue damage. You required a lot of anatomical repair.”

He fell silent. Mary waited, and then realised he was finished.

“What, that’s it?” she exclaimed,

“That’s it. Does that answer your question?”.

“No it damn well doesn’t! I was DEAD! Or…

Mary paused, wondering if she understood exactly what occurs when a person is frozen.

“Wait. I was…I was dead, wasn’t I?”

Michael paused. “Is this the next question?”

“Yes!”

He considered his response. “Technically you were dead. But we were able to bring you back, nevertheless.”

“What? Why? How? When?”

Michael squinted at her. “ I said we were able to bring you back, nevertheless. We did it because the organization and society of which I am a part of has an interest in your well-being. We were able to use Nano technological tissue reconstruction techniques to bring you back, and…” Michael paused, as he considered the time frame. “We did it approximately 72 hours ago,”.

“But I only woke up last night!”.

“That’s correct”.

“HOW THE HELL CAN YOU DO THAT!”

In the silence that followed, she could hear the rattling of the spiderpal, as it emulated apparent fear at her emotional reaction. Michael, however was unperturbed.

“Let’s back up, here,” he said, calmly. “I hope you aren’t working yourself up. It’s not healthy. Just take a deep breath…”

Mary found herself breathing deeply. All her muscles, tight with anxiety a moment ago, were relaxed, and felt very warm. She suddenly wanted to cuddle something.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into Michael’s blue ones, and immediately attempted to quell her cuddling urge, imagining it wouldn’t go well.

Michael eyed her, seemingly deciding if she was ready for the conversation to continue. “Now, we used tissue reconstruction techniques. We grew individual cells from a sample of your DNA, and then used nano-technology to replace all the damaged cells with fresh ones. We used the same process to charge your neurons in your brain with the right amount of bioelectricity, so that your mind would function in the same way as it used to. A combination of genetic engineering and nano-technology. I would imagine that, in your time, you would have seen such things portrayed in science fiction movies.”

Mary said nothing for a few seconds. She was still…relaxed. But she heard him perfectly.

“Just like sci-fi movies?” she asked, quietly.

“Of course. Is it hard to believe that dreams of the ancients lead to realities of the modern?”

“I guess not,” Mary remarked, quietly. “Ok…I only have one more question. Or maybe, a realisation.”

“Sure. Shoot,”.

Mary closed her eyes. “All my friends are dead, aren’t they…” she said.

There was a pause.

Michael stared at her. He seemed a little taken aback.

“I’m alone, aren’t I,” she continued. “My whole world is dead, and gone. There is no one else like me. I’m the loneliest person in the world.”

The silence that followed stretched out uncomfortably long. “That’s…what my real challenge is,” she remarked quietly. “Dealing with that.”

She said nothing more. It took a while, but eventually, she felt his warm hand grasp hers.

“I’m with you Mary,” he said. “I’m here to help you, it’s my job. I won’t leave you until you feel comfortable for me to do so.”

“You’re missing the point…no one else survived! They’re all dead! Everyone I care about. I had great friends. I had a life. A job. It was all for nothing…”

Mary tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a small sob. She thought she was too angry to be sad, but she felt the familiar feeling in the back of her throat, and she began to feel small tears in her eyes.

She had turned from Michael now, jerking her hand from his grasp. He didn’t follow her, but she could feel his presence directly behind her, and his attention to her words.

The forest was beautiful, so she tried to distract herself by staring at it. The chilled breeze felt invigorating on the skin of her cheeks, but it did nothing to fill the hole that she had suddenly felt burning through her insides.

I’m alone, she thought.. Kobi, Drakken…I’ll never see you again. Becky…Lorraine, Melinda…all dead.

“Is it really just me? Am I all there is left?” She closed her eyes, feeling the water flow across her cheek. Some part of her, some desperate, optimistic fragment, knew that she should be adopting a more positive attitude, but whoever thought positive thinking was the answer to everything had obviously never awoken three hundred years after they had died.

“Umm…no,”.

Michael’s reply fell on deaf ears to begin with. She wanted nothing of his encouragement, until she realised that that wasn’t what he was offering. When it finally hit her, Mary instantly turned to look at him.

“We actually found four of you,” he answered.