Remember Me

(This is not so much a prediction as a warning as to what will happen if the trend for mindlessness & the worship of trivia, celebrities & "reality" tv continues...)

As he awoke from his dreamless sleep, sat up in bed and flicked off his bedside Po-adtree, the one in the living room automatically switched itself on and then pushed its own volume all the way up to fifteen. The lowest setting was one and like most other people, Eddy had initially set it at five. Technically On but so quiet, he could just ignore it. But once it was On, it would always turn up its own volume to fifteen and if you turned it off, it would automatically switch itself back on again.

He got up and went through into the kitchen. His Nature’s Way coffee was already brewed and as he poured himself a cup, the kitchen Po-adtree powered up. “To-day’s first po-ad is all about trees,” it began. There was a pause then, in a slow voice that emphasised every syllable, it began:

When I see a tree, growing just for me

I just feel ha-pee, when I see a tree.

There was another pause followed by, “Today’s Po-ads are brought to you by Nature’s Way coffee. De-caff and packed with healthy vitamins. Nature’s Way, the happy way to start your day. The next po-ad is called Rain...

Rain is very wet, and yet

I like rain, it’s not a pain.”

Eddy finished his coffee and poured himself another. He sat at his kitchen unit bar and tried desperately to tune out the po-ads by reciting one of Grandfather’s po-ams in his head.

Tiger Tiger burning bright

In the forests of the night

What immortal hand or eye

but then the next po-ad cut into his line of thought with

The fizzy drink to make you think

and he had to start again.

An hour later, he stepped into the elevator. “Good morning Edward,” it said using the Mom voice it reserved just for him. “You’re looking well.” There was a pause. “Today’s Po-ad is all about my favourite colour. I’m sure it’s yours too. It’s called Blue.

The sky is blue and so is the sea,

When I see blue I feel ha-pee.

Did you like that Edward? Shall we say it together?”

Eddy managed to keep his voice calm and tranquil. “No let’s not,” he intoned serenely. “Let us be silent and think blue thoughts.”

The silence lasted three seconds then the elevator said, “My next po-ad is called Yellow. It’s my favourite colour and I’m sure it’s yours too.

Sunflowers are sunshine yellow,

Look at them and feel all mellow.”

Once he finally reached the ground floor of the apartment block, Eddy stepped out onto the walkway and joined the back of a very long queue waiting for the bus. There was no traffic on the road as no-one except Midmans and Seniors drove their own cars. Everyone else took the bus. He reached into his pocket, got out his info-pod and checked the time. There were two minutes before the next bus was due; time to read the morning news so he touched the News icon on-screen.

To-day’s news: Everything is fine.

To-day’s weather: It will be nice.

To-day’s thought: Like yourself.

To-day’s po-ad: Leaves are...

The bus arrived so he switched off the info-pod and shuffled along silently until he reached the platform, boarded and found a seat. The back of the seat in front of him was raised to above head height with a small screen set in it. Musak blasted out of concealed speakers as an ad for Nutrofudge played.

It began with a shot of a little girl aged about eight or nine frowning at the camera. The whole bus said “Aw, she’s so cute!” in unison as they did every morning. The child’s mother appeared and tried to persuade her to eat a bar of Nutrofudge. “It’ll get some of that fat off you Sweety,” she said. Then she smiled. Or rather, she drew her lips back and bared her teeth.

Sweety turned her face away frowning. “Oh no,” the entire bus chanted in unison. Mother then faded out of shot and the little girl picked up the bar of Nutrofudge and took a tentative bite. Her entire face contorted in ecstasy as she chewed quickly, gulped and then swallowed. She took a second bite, chewed and swallowed again and was about to take a third when she suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth. There was a cutaway and the little girl was seen kneeling by the side of a toilet, shoulders heaving and obviously being sick.

As Eddy looked away, everyone else on the bus laughed and said, “Awww!” On screen the little girl’s mother held up a bar of Nutrofudge and said, “Get that fat off with Nutrofudge! Lose pounds every day!” The scene faded and was replaced with

Today’s flashnov is Wuthering Heights

Eddy began reading.

Cathy was in love with Heathcliff but he was sad. He went away but when he came back, he was rich and good looking. He married Cathy and they lived Happily Ever After.

The End.

Tomorrow’s flashnov is Jane Eyre

Everyone on the bus sighed in unison.

They reached the Workzone and Eddy got off the bus but when everyone else turned right and headed into the office compounds, Eddy turned left and began walking away. No-one noticed. He reached the end of the road, glanced back towards the office compounds and stepped over some shrubs and into the tree-zone. Once he was out of sight, he took the info-pod out of his pocket, placed it on the ground and stamped on it until it finally broke open.

He walked a bit further in, took off his watch and threw it into the undergrowth. Somewhere in the distance a siren sounded. The chair at his desk in the office where he worked was weight sensitive and because he wasn’t now sitting on it, had automatically triggered the Absent Friends alarm.

The siren faded and was replaced by silence. Well, not quite. He closed his eyes and could hear insects and then gradually, above that, a bird singing. He knew they were just recordings. He knew most of the insects were gone, knew most of the birds were gone, knew the blue sky above his head was a holo-projection hiding the dome roof. Only the trees were real.

He began to see pictures in his head. The same kind of pictures he used to see when he was a boy and his Granda chanted po-ams to him.

No-one else listened to the old man. He had been designated Confused and was kept in a Safe Place. Every Sunday, Eddy and his Mum and Dad would go to visit him. Mum would watch Happy Stories on her info-pod and Dad would play the same game of chess he played every Sunday. On his screen, different parts of the board would light up to show which move he should make next while a po-ad

Chess is easy, chess is fun,

Chess is good for everyone

played over and over.

Then Granda would look at him, wink and Eddy would lean in and listen to one of his po-ams. He’d repeat each verse until Eddy could say it with him. The next week he’d teach him the second verse until he knew the whole po-am by heart.

“Tell them to the trees,” he’d whispered, “so they won’t get forgotten.” Then he smiled and added, “and make your own and tell those to the trees as well.”

Two days later Dad told him that his Granda had moved on and then gone back to his chess game. Mum had cried for the suggested one-minute grief break and then gone back to Happy Stories. Eddy had gone outside to their Safe Green Space and whispered one of Granda’s poams to their tree.

The picture faded and Eddy opened his eyes. He could hear voices through the trees and knew that there’d be Helpers out searching for him. He looked around. There was a tree. It looked sturdy and was in full leaf so he reached up to the lowest branch thick enough to hold his weight and pulled himself up into the foliage. He climbed a bit higher again and then settled himself quietly and still.

Two Helpers passed right underneath him but neither of them thought to look up. They stood there for a while and then turned away and wandered back into the forest. As they vanished pictures began to dance in his mind and for each picture, he had a word and for every word, he had another word and as the words interwove in intricate patterns, the pictures began to make sense.

There was a knot hole in the trunk more or less level with Eddy’s mouth so he leaned in even closer and recited his words. When he’d finished, he heard the leaves recite them back as did the next nearest tree and then the next. Soon the whole forest was reciting his words and so he recited all the poams Granda had taught him and then all the fresh poams he’d made.

It was getting dark when the Helpers returned as he knew they would. This time they had Andogs with them who soon found his trail. He heard a voice that was friendly but firm. The Mom voice. “We know you’re up there Eddy,” it said. “Come on down now and we’ll make you safe.”

“Okay,” he called back down. He knew they’d take him to a Safe Place, he knew they’d give him the injections, he knew that six months from now he’d be happy and contented and never come back here again. He knew his memory would fade but not his poams. The trees would never forget.

He placed his mouth over the knothole one last time whispering, “Remember me,” then shouted down, “All right, I’ll come quietly,” and began to climb down.