Gravel crunches under Mellow’s boot, former parts of the caved in wall. He looks back at the gaping hole he climbed through and regards the tree-filtered sunlight that falls through it. The room it illuminates is a jackpot of pre-migration memorabilia, just like his friend Cory had told him. He walks over to the collapsed shelf and wipes the dirt off one box. Records, 50 of them at least in this box alone.
He pulls one of the records out at random and turns it on, hoping the slim metal cover has protected it from the elements. A holographic interface pops out the side. It seems a little pale but still functional.
Mellow reads the cover out loud, “Alternate State – Monument In Ruins” and connects his sonic sphere to the metal stick via his homemade adapter. He can’t help but smile at the success this trip has already turned out to be, since this is already the second treasure to take home. On the way here, he had talked to a couple in the closest inhabited settlement. Even though they didn’t understand why he was so keen on it, they were happy to part with authentic 20th century paper money they’d stumbled upon. Mellow pats the outline the single bill traces in his pocket, selects the play button on the record, and closes his eyes in anticipation.
Track 1: Follow Blue
The music, lively in tone but melancholic in text, stays with Mellow as he walks further into the small apartment. The person who lived here was quite the collector. Their corners are strewn with various bits and bobs, one shelf is lined up next to the other, and the rare area of unobstructed wall left is covered with posters. Mellow even finds one with the members of Alternate State on it. An all human band, interesting. He squints his eyes at the singer on the poster and imagines him singing out the chorus. Mellow can feel the singer’s struggle. He tries so hard to hold onto the song’s titular Blue, what- or whoever that might be. Machines couldn’t convey that kind of longing – not then, not now.
Mellow opens the front door of the apartment. The staircase has crumbled away, the clunky and ancient-looking lift drones lay at the bottom long out of order.
Glancing at the six stories below him and the three above, he weighs his options. He fancies himself a bit of a pre-migration archeologist, so climbing has become second nature. The option of using a transport drone removes any challenge and the familiar adrenaline rush that comes with danger, which makes it an easy decision.
After surveying the wall for footholds, he tucks the record away and begins his careful ascent towards the broken glass staircase cover. When the song ends, it skips back to the start. Mellow rolls his eyes. It’s a bug he’ll have to fix later, but really, he doesn’t mind a repeat.
Mellow pulls himself up and takes a second to catch his breath and take in the beautiful view from the roof. The apartment complex used to consist of 14 more buildings exactly like this one, dozens of small flats crammed into each, truly an eyesore in their day. Now, though, the drones are in the process of slowly but steadily disassembling the buildings and planting seeds everywhere, creating overgrown ruins ripe for exploration instead.
Satisfied with today’s adventure, the archeologist lets his gaze sweep across the sea of tree crowns just below him. Unexpectedly, he notices movement on another one of the roofs two buildings over. He ducks instinctively, but then shakes his head at his reaction. “Come on, Mel,” he scolds himself and strains his eyes to try and see what moved.
Mellow hadn’t anticipated seeing another human on his trip today. This city is usually abandoned. But there they were, two hundred meters away: black hair, blue jacket, casually sitting on the ground, and leaning against a piece of debris. Always the optimist, he thinks maybe a kindred spirit, and decides to introduce himself. He doesn’t get many opportunities like this to meet new people, and with ‘Follow Blue’ still echoing through his mind, this person with the blue jacket feels like destiny.
The gap between the neighboring structures isn’t generally very wide, but the building between him and the stranger is crooked, as if it was bowing its head towards the one on the other side. Mellow spots a long ladder on his roof and lays it across the chasm. Outings like this will eventually kill me, he thinks. He wipes away both the sweat on his hands and the intrusive thought. Again, Mellow glances at the other person. They haven’t noticed him yet. They might only be looking for some alone time, he speculates. Or… Cory and I have finally found someone else who cares as much about pre-migration history as we do.
The chance of this stranger being one of them encourages Mel on his way over his makeshift bridge and across the slanted roof of the neighboring building. Up close, it’s in much worse condition than the building he just came from.
With more urgency in his step, he tries to get a better view at what he can now almost certainly identify as a woman. The circular shimmer around her head reveals the presence of a sonic sphere just like Mellow’s. Trying to make his presence known, he waves and shouts, “Hey! Uh… Blue!”
Track 2: Mad Scramble
The sonic sphere fades out and the woman sits upright, looking around for the source of the noise that just snuck past her transparent soundwave barrier. She sees Mellow standing on the roof beside hers and jumps to her feet. She shouts back, “What are you doing?! Get off there, that building is this close to collapsing.” In large strides she closes the distance between them, at the same time typing something into her PARSE terminal.
Mellow watches her before he realizes that the ground beneath him is moving. Small vibrations become more noticeable tremors. They travel up his body, and are accompanied by an increasingly loud scraping noise. The ladder he just came across on tips over the edge and falls for several seconds before impacting the ground below with a clatter.
“Damn! Help me up, Blue,” Mellow urges the stranger, who has arrived at the edge of her own roof now. His request stops her in her tracks and a puzzled expression flashes across her face. The single moment of hesitation is too much.
Like an ancient giant being brought to its knees by the final blow of the sword, the building begins to falter and come crashing down in a thundering cacophony. The ground beneath Mellow’s feet breaks off from the adjacent parts. And so, he falls.
Mel’s nervous system commands his arms to grab onto anything at all, but there’s nothing solid within range. He grasps at empty space. Falling backwards to the rubble below, he can only watch Blue’s body shrink beyond his reach.
Time seems to stretch. All his thoughts and feelings run in parallel. From the profound of his most treasured memories, and fear about his sudden demise, to the utterly mundane annoyance that he technically called this death and no one will ever know. The rising cloud of dust swallows him. The last thing he sees is a personal transport drone zipping past the brink of the building next to Blue.
Mellow feels his body slam into something. He realizes it’s not crumbled concrete but the cushions of a seat. The drone the mystery woman had called managed to break his downward plunge just in time. While he was tumbling helplessly, precise algorithms calculated how to catch him as safely as possible in the remaining space. The drone lifts him back out and delivers him to Blue dutifully.
“Not a good idea to go exploring without backup, stranger,” she says, looking him up and down.
“Mel,” he corrects, dusting off his clothes and shaking out some stiff limbs before adding a sheepish “Thank You.”
Blue pats her little handheld computer in response. Her eyes stay on Mellow as he pulls out the record.
He breathes a sigh of relief that it’s still there, only to immediately curse when he sees that his adapter antenna broke off.
The woman looks at his gadget and nods, acknowledging the workmanship. “I have tools, you can use them to fix this,” she offers.
Mellow gratefully accepts. He can get tools anywhere, but she clearly knows what she is talking about, so this arrangement would be far more interesting.
To his surprise, Blue doesn’t call for another transport. She instead leads him through the roof access door that’s still intact in this building, just like the interior staircase. Her laboratory, as she calls it, is located in the apartment right beneath the roof. It is filled with tools and complex contraptions the usually more or less tech-savvy Mellow has never seen before. He picks the few familiar items he needs from the cluttered shelves.
It’s not a large repair, and ten minutes later the device is ready to be tested. As he listens to the second song, he takes a closer look at her collection, careful not to touch anything he shouldn’t. This track might best be described as experimental with an almost chaotic instrument arrangement. The lyrics tell of a relentless scientist trying to change nature.
Track 3: The Merits of a Flawless System
When the song ends, Mellow announces that the repair was a success. He had noticed Blue unashamedly watching him from her workstation. He turns off the sonic sphere and leans against the wall next to her desk. Motioning at the room in a sweeping gesture, he asks, “What do you need all this for?”
Her previously relaxed expression turns serious and maybe even a little threatening, “I can’t tell you.”
The secrecy gives Mellow pause. There are plenty of interpersonal reasons for secrets, but none of them involve high tech gadgets. Criminal activity is the most reasonable conclusion. Mellow swallows and takes a step away from the desk. Her eyes follow him, but she doesn’t say anything. His brain kicks into high gear for the second time today.
He’s never had to deal with a criminal before. A hefty chunk of crime flat out disappeared when everyone’s needs were taken care of and only 10,000 individuals were allowed to stay on earth anyway.
“You don’t have to tell me. Also, I really should get back home, my friends are expecting me,” he assures her.
Blue raises an eyebrow, “You’ll report me to the government, won’t you? What I’m doing won’t harm anyone, I promise.” The poorly concealed doubt on his face doesn’t hold up to her piercing gaze. She sighs, “Look, I’ll tell you, but you cannot speak of it to anyone else, okay?”
Mellow is still nervous, but willing to be proven wrong. She did just save his life after all. So he nods, and follows her back outside to the roof at a safe distance. Once there, she puts on a vest made of highly reflective material. Its surface is adorned with odd pieces of electronics.
“Call a transport drone,” she instructs, and promptly clarifies, “Two passengers.”
Mellow is happy to comply, reasoning At least I’ll have a quick way out if things go south. If he’s honest with himself, it’s probably also his curiosity growing larger than his concerns.
A minute later, a transport drone appears on top of the tree crowns and sets down in front of Mellow with a soft thud. The woman gestures for him to get on and sits down next to him.
“What now?” he asks. His question is answered by the drone printing out his name and a question on the display ‘Proceed with one passenger?’ Mellow eyes Blue and her strange vest.
“It doesn’t… recognize you,” he says and Blue nods, “That’s the point. It’s a cloak for PARSE’s sensors.”
There’s pride but also a certain kind of spark in her eyes, “I finished it just yesterday… Mel, I don’t want to hurt people, I want to set things right. It’s wrong that only a fortunate 10,000 get to live on earth. The cloak will help me break into the data center and schedule some transports from the colony, and it’ll shield the returning population from detection.” She pauses and rubs her temples, “I know, loads of people are happy enough to carry on and the government prides itself in providing everything a person needs. That’s a bold-faced lie. They’re providing a living space, not a home. There are people out there right now who would give anything to get back on this planet.”
Mellow is taken aback by the intensity in her voice. Questions bubble up within him. Does he owe anything to the colonists because he gets to live here on earth? Can the council mandate an unfulfilling life for the benefit of the planet and future generations?
He is lost in thought for a while, but is abruptly brought back into the current moment by Blue hopping back off the transport drone.
“Don’t tell on me,” she implores, before pressing the button to confirm the single-person transport back to Mellow’s housing unit.
In need of a distraction, Mellow turns on his sonic sphere to a track that feels like a continuation of the song before. The difference is that this one is more orderly, but more aggressive and angrier. The singer wants everyone to know that the titular flawless system is a joke and that life’s a lottery draw after all.
Track 4: Passerby
The wind, though dampened by the presence of the sonic sphere, is still ruffling Mellow’s hair on the way to his own settlement when the next song starts playing. This track is much more calm, almost distant. The lyrics tell of someone on the move, unsure of the destination and perpetually unable to feel at home in a strange place. Mellow himself can’t remember ever feeling this way. He is a wanderer, much too interested in unknown places to be dissuaded by a vague notion of homesickness. Blue’s impassioned speech pops into his mind. She must feel differently if home is so important to her.
The mystery woman is undeterred by her confrontation with Mel. She sets off on her scooter, hoping that at least she’ll have bought herself enough time to fulfill her plan before he speaks to anyone. Like her cloak, she’d constructed the vehicle of salvaged parts.
The roads aren’t in ideal condition. They are strewn with debris and riddled with cracks where the roots of plants have come too close to the surface. But they are still serviceable for small, maneuverable craft like Blue’s. The advantages outweigh the issues. Even though a flight would be three times faster, this method will allow her to avoid electronic and human detection. The organic prying eyes mostly use drones that fly above the canopy and she can avoid the collective settlements.
By her calculations, the drive on her scooter would give her six hours to enjoy the scenery. The reseeding drones have done a magnificent job on her route. Looking toward either side of the street, the plethora of green and brown hues that make up the temperate rainforest almost hide the remnants of glass and concrete buildings. The plants and animals were allowed to run wild everywhere except the designated collective settlements.
The soundscape is equally pleasant: the reliable whirring of her motor (and the occasional drone flying overhead), the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the calls of birds.
As time passes, the forest recedes along Blue’s path. It gives way to low shrubbery and eventually the restored peatland next to the data center.
Track 5: Down to the Core
Blue gets off her scooter and takes in the data center, marked by massive white letters over the dark façade. ‘PARSE’, she reads, and below that in a smaller, blocky script ‘Predictive and Reactive Scheduling Entity’.
This was the first building built by drones, for drones, back just before the migration. Its design is not exactly human-friendly. She’ll have to do a lot of climbing through narrow ducts and likely find herself in several dead ends before she reaches the data core.
A knot forms in the pit of her stomach at the difficult path ahead. But no one is going to do this for the colonists if not her. Her people’s future is in her hands.
She feels the data drive in her pocket. It will introduce the virus that will allow her to adjust the colony transport schedule and get her people back home.
Its shape, sharp-edged and rectangular, reminds her of the building in front of her. She grits her teeth, straightens her shoulders and makes her way inside.
Mellow’s drone has delivered him back to his housing unit. Recently, on a whim, he’d decided to have the construction drones redecorate into a pre-migration Mediterranean house style. He runs his fingers along the rough exposed stone wall until he arrives at the sofa. He plops down on it. From its well-hidden spot in the coffee table, he pulls out the communication terminal. He needs to talk to someone.
While he waits for the teleconnection to his friend in the colonies to build up, Mellow listens to the next song on the record he brought. This one really shows its age, he realizes. The singer appears uncomfortable with the idea that drones are setting up his home and he notes a prominent mechanical rhythm in the instruments.
Slowly, a young woman’s face phases into existence in front of Mellow. She grins at him, “Mel! Did you find the apartment I told you about?”
“Cory!” Mellow echoes, “I did! I just got back, actually. You were right as usual. There were a lot of artifacts there. And, as usual, I have to thank you for being my eyes and ears in your housing unit.”
Cory leans back, giving Mel a satisfied half-smile, “Yeah, I really had to dig deep for that one. Talked to a lot of seniors until this lady told me of the apartment her grandson had. She went on and on about how she had her children ‘the old-fashioned way’.” She grimaces but then focuses back on Mel, “Anyway, show me what you got.”
Mel pulls out the record and the money bill. “Just this. I got distracted, sorry. But I can go back and get something to send to you,” he offers apologetically.
Cory waves her hand dismissively, “Nah, it’s all good, man. What was the distraction?”
Mellow briefly recaps meeting Blue and then tells his friend, “So, I guess I asked myself if people thought it was unfair that the colonists can’t come back to Earth.”
Cory cocks her head and answers, “It has its pros and cons, like everything. I mean, the terraforming got us pretty close to earth conditions here. Not all biomes, obviously, there are no animals larger than a mouse and the habitat ends at some point. Still, they did a pretty good job. Plus, people get plenty of entertainment here too. I personally couldn’t imagine living with so few people around, I love the city.” She stops for a second and concedes, “I have heard citizens saying that it’s not the same thing at heart, so make of that what you will.”
Track 6: Smaller
After the call ends, Mel shifts uncomfortably, staring into the empty room in front of him. In his heart he knows he wants to do something. He either needs to help Blue or stop her. The conversation with Cory hasn’t helped at all in deciding. Fueled by restless energy, he arranges for transport. He’ll have to go with his gut feeling when the time comes.
Just over an hour later, the drone pulls up at the PARSE building. The large solar panels that cover the structure reflect back at Mel as he searches for any signs of Blue’s presence. He finds them in the form of a ground based vehicle, haphazardly discarded next to a gate.
He knows his transport drone will refuse to return to its hub with him still sitting in it, but this is a problem he anticipated. He picks up a piece of metal he brought from home to jam into the engine intake. From his experience, issues like this lead to the machine immediately setting down the passenger and accessing the nearest hub to have repairs performed. He is counting on being fast enough to slip through the gate while it’s open for the unit in need of fixing.
The drone starts malfunctioning, making all kinds of clanging noise and even emitting a slight wisp of smoke from the engine compartment. Mellow watches as the gate opens. He leaves the drone problem to the maintenance machinery and sneaks in. He begins searching for a path from the external access hub to the data core – if there even is one.
Blue doesn’t seem particularly surprised to look up from her work and see Mel peering at her, attempting to squeeze through a gap.
She gives him a nod and asks, “Here to help?”
Mellow hesitates. It turns out his gut instincts can’t make the decision on the spot either, so he decides to tell the truth, “I don’t know yet. Listen, can’t we take this up with the council?”
Blue laughs cynically, “The council are the ones who made it this way. The ones who are keeping it this way.”
“For good reason,” Mellow counters with an exasperated tone. He fails another try at freeing himself from the small opening.
Blue shakes her head and replies, “Yes, they created the system for good reason, but people have a right to freedom. There are a few areas on Earth that are only still on Level One of rehabilitation, but there has been incredible progress.“
Mellow finally manages to push himself through the gap. He takes a couple of steps towards Blue, careful to not disrupt the neatly arranged PARSE servers. “The people living in the colonies have good lives, probably better than they would have if everyone stayed here. I don’t think it should be your decision what is and isn’t enough progress.”
Still engrossed in her terminal, Blue responds, “On the contrary, I think it’s my destiny.” She pulls two things out of her pocket, and hands them to Mellow. “My biological mother left me these things as an 18th birthday gift and asked the people who picked her embryos for population upkeep to give them to me.”
Mellow takes a record and a note from her. The worn out piece of paper reads, ‘I wrote these for you. I would have loved to be able to stay on earth but I cannot. I leave you here in hopes you get to one day live your destiny.’
In his other hand, he weighs the smooth metal record cover and opens it with a foreboding feeling. The holographic image of ‘Alternate State’s ‘Monument in Ruins’ popping out the side hits him like a punch in the gut.
Blue finally shifts her attention back to Mellow, her eyes searching his face. “She wanted me to set it right. And now, so many years later, I finally can.”
Mellow shakes his head. His mouth opens, spilling out several half-sentences accompanied by aimless gesturing.
His dumbfounded stammering is interrupted by a deafening bang. The entire building shudders and the PARSE servers’ carefully ordered contents tumble into disarray. Mellow and Blue are thrown to the ground.
Mellow pulls up his arms to cover his head. He listens to the building shift as a shower of debris patters to the floor. The clattering stops quickly but the creaking persists. Cautiously, Mellow peeks out. Blue is laying next to the source of the ominous screeching, a tilting data core tower. Her eyes widen in horror as the massive metal frame tips, then slams down, pinning her hips. Blue’s cry of pain sends a jolt through Mellow’s body.
He scrambles to his feet. Turning to the gap in the wall behind him, Mellow realizes that he doesn’t have time to get out and find other humans to help. He springs into action. The two of them may have differences in opinion, but none so stark as to let her die.
Another option then. A drone should be able to lift the tower off of Blue. He types the command into his PARSE terminal, then lets out a frustrated groan when he discovers it won’t let him order one into this restricted area.
His movements become increasingly hectic. He spots a broken piece of metal on the floor, grabs it and tries to lever off the massive weight pressing into Blue. She pushes as well, but their efforts are in vain. He’s not strong enough.
A string of expletives escape him and he kicks at the tower.
Blue’s struggle is getting weaker. In a tired voice, she tells him, “This is not how it was supposed to go.” She winces in pain. Her hand shaking, she holds up the small device she brought, “Take the data drive. Use it.”
He reaches down to take the drive from her. Comfort is the only thing he has to offer now. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted to do right by your people.” He takes a deep breath and sits down beside Blue, taking her hand.
Tiny maintenance drones dodge their organic bodies and mill about: cleaning, sorting, rearranging the mess. With the mechanical sounds of their work in the background, Mellow plays the last song on the album for her. It contains more intricate, technically challenging music than the other pieces, and the lyrics speak of being on the outside looking in.
Her mother’s words lull Blue to rest for the final time.
After the song ends, Mellow sits in quiet contemplation for a while, shaking his head slowly now and again. His temporary stupor is interrupted by a notification sound. His handheld terminal lets him know he has received a message from Cory with one attachment. ‘Check this out’, it says.
Mellow opens the file. It’s a decades old article from a music magazine, featuring an interview with Dawn J., the Alternate State songwriter and guitarist. She talks about moving from Earth to the colonies, and how she reflected her anger and sadness in ‘Monument in Ruins’ as she was writing it.
Mellow stares at the article’s headline. It reads, ‘The process was hard but I’m happy now.’
N.B. is an Austrian lover of all things weird and sci-fi. In their first published short story, they merge their passion for worldbuilding—previously applied to self-published tabletop gaming material—and their background in the earth sciences to imagine one possible future for our own planet.
The Kismet Magazine 