Dreams...part 1
23 Jan 2021Max Thoreson
It is believed that as a human dies their whole life flashes before them….As I drift off… I begin a vivid dream. I’m floating above a park that is in the outer ring of Titan City. Below me I see a figure.
As I get closer I realize it’s a younger me. Memories start flooding back…as a 12 year old I would lay in this park and watch the ships fly back and forth through the airlock…large ones, small ones, and everything in between. The ship color and light combinations that each commander used to personalize their ships made me wonder who they were. I would daydream about what each one of them would be like…guessing if they were Pirates, Space Truckers, Explorers, or whatever else they could be.
I remember now why I found solace in this place. It was peaceful and quiet and no one ever bothered me. It allowed me the ability get completely lost in my thoughts.
I never seemed to be able to fit in. I was roughly the same height as kids my age, but everything about me was thicker and denser. My hands and feet were much larger then my peers. My bone structure was thicker and heavier then theirs. The muscles in my arms and legs were thick and defined. I looked as if I had no neck. My hips were wide and my core was heavily muscled. The orphanage uniforms I wore were modified from much larger men’s clothes and hung sloppily from my frame making me look even bigger. I didn’t look like anyone else…and lets just say its true...children can be cruel.
Many of the adults in the orphanage conjectured that I must have come from a group of humans that spent generations on a very high “G” planet. They said Genetic tracing of my DNA was inconclusive. “My DNA was not found to have any significant common ground with the majority of the humans in the bubble, but parts of it could be traced back to Sol…” was what I was told.
There was one girl that was a couple of years older than I that didn’t care what the others thought. Erin was slightly taller than me. She was graced with the body of a dancer. She was lean and athletic, with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a tomboy that enjoyed more of the things boys enjoyed. Thinking back now I remember the other girls in the orphanage didn’t care for her…she was a bit of an outcast…and likely why we developed a friendship.
But as I continue to dream….my thoughts are turning dark. I hear Erin screaming. I look around and see a couple of men grabbing her and dragging her behind some bushes. Her voice was filled with terror. I jump up and start to run towards her.
I crash through the bushes to find Erin pinned to the ground naked from the waist down…and her shirt pulled over her head. One man is pinning her shoulders to the ground and the other is…on top of her…with his…pants down to his knees. I remember the confusing smells…freshly cut grass…Erin’s body spray…beer…and sweaty male body odor.
The anger is welling in my sole…and my vision is turning red. I hit the man on top of Erin with my left hand in the ribs above his right buttock…and I can feel his ribs breaking. I grab his right shoulder with my right hand and flip him off Erin like he is a rag doll. He is howling in pain as I strike the second man in his left cheekbone with my right hand…feeling his skull break apart under my knuckles. The second man goes stiff and hits the ground. I pull Erin’s shirt down off her head…and I see her confused and terrified…I hug her and begin to cry…
I’m sitting in a gray hallway on a steel folding chair next to a door. Voices behind the door are having a heated discussion…
”He’s just a child” screams a female voice. “He was defending Erin…SHE WAS BEING RAPED for God’s sake Commandant!”
A male voice sternly retorts “He killed a man and severely injured another! He is not a normal 12 year old! He is a danger to this facility and the children in our care!”
The female pleads “The authorities said he was only defending Erin and himself…they cleared him of any blame…and those two men were armed as well! They were both wanted in multiple systems…”
The man interrupts and softens his tone “I understand what you are saying but I fear for this facility…and the children we care for. This child is a proven loner…and is missing the social skills needed to get along with our general population. I will relent if you allow me to move him to a private room in the isolation unit…”
I drift on to a point a couple years down the road.
What little I get to see of Erin I can tell she has changed. She is not as friendly…more distant now…and withdrawing from others in the orphanage. At the ripe old age of 16 you get put out of the Federal Orphanage System…and Erin’s 16th birthday is near.
I too have changed…I have become less trusting of the humans around me. I prefer mechanical beings…ones that operate within the parameters I set…bound by scientifically proven principals. Machines are the one thing I can trust to act the same way every time…outside of occasional mechanical breakdowns that I can easily fix. I can change their programming whenever I choose to meet my needs...a feature that no human can provide.
One of the other female orphans starts beating on my door. “Max are you awake?” “I am now” I reply. She starts sobbing “Erin…Erin took her own life a few minutes ago. I thought you should know. The Security Forces have been called…”
I fly through the door…heading to the girls wing of the orphanage. Tears are welling in my eyes…I struggle to see. I push through the throng of bystanders to see Erin lying on her bed…eyes and mouth open…with her skin having a soft blueish tint. Sobbing I ask the nurse standing over her what happened…and she says something about an overdose.
I stand there staring at one of the few humans I had a connection with…her 16th birthday is in 2 days...and I can’t fix her…