Maybe We Could Be Rocket Boys
A/N: Have any of you ever read Rocket Boys, or October Sky as I think it has come to be known as? I haven't, but there are quotes from this book that make me feel pangs in my heart. Thus inspiration struck.
I had discover that learning something, no matter how complex, wasn't hard when I had a reason to want to know it.
-Homer Hickam, Rocket Boys
In a world where nothing was no longer impossible, where science had proved things, was able to do things that in the past was only seen as magic, there was an abundance in curiosity. Technology advanced to the point that it was accessible to everyone, no matter the age. Children no longer felt the need to create things, imagine things for themselves, they had iPads, tablets, apps. Teenagers no longer needed to remove themselves from their homes to visit friends, to communicate with them. There was no sense of closeness in people anymore. There no longer was a need for it.
In this day and age, the thought of imagining and dreaming was now a novelty, left for those who really needed to escape from their lives or who didn't see the need in technology. People who dreamed were few, people who were imaginative, fewer, and people still curious, still questioning, almost non-existent.
Butters allowed himself to dream of such pointless things, of being in a world of imagination and new ideas. He fooled himself in thinking that this was ok, that he could go into this world at any point of time with no fear of being judged. He couldn't see a world where he couldn't dream, where he wasn't allowed to be curious. He noticed his friends around him change, grow older, forget the simple things in lives, forget their dreams and move onto doing only what was expected of them, or what they thought was right. He noticed that when asked what they wanted to do in the future they would answer with what my parents want me to be, or whatever gets me the most money. He noticed that none of them had dreams anymore, they just went along with the flow of the world.
Butters had been sitting with Tweek one day, noticing that even he had changed. He no longer twitched, no longer cried out randomly, no longer was anxious or nervous.
"Tweek, what do you want to be when you are older?"
"Well, I don't know, my parents expect me to take over the family business so they can retire. So I guess I shall be doing that."
"Really?"
Tweek noticed that Butters was upset by his answer, or more like, concerned about his answer. He realized that he didn't like it, that it troubled him more that he planned on doing what his parents wanted him to do, instead of him not knowing what he wanted to do.
"Well yes, I guess it just has always been like that, my parents had me so that I can continue what they started. So I just always assumed that is what I will be doing in the future."
"I mean, I understand what you are saying, but, Tweek. Don't you think that there is something more for you out there? Like, maybe you don't need to do what is expected of you. Maybe what your parents want for you, or what society expects of you, isn't actually what you should be doing. Will you be happy taking over that business Tweek? Will you?"
He couldn't answer that, Butters had a point, but he couldn't say a word, he had never heard anything so aggressive come out of his mouth. He always thought Butters was a passive, go with the flow sort of person, but maybe he had him figured out all wrong, maybe he was more than that.
"I am sorry to ask a question, I just can't help but think that there is more for us out there."
"Then what do you want to do Butters?"
"I want to explore space, I want to go out there, see the things that so few have seen, discover things that will excite people, make the more curious than they are now. I want people to think about what could be out there. Not what they have right now."
It was true, Butters had dreamed of going out into space ever since he first heard of people who had. He thought about how they must have felt, going out there, reaching places no one has ever been before. The ground breaking result of hard work and science. That day, that year, was when the world should have been the most proud of itself. The day when dreams became a reality.
"I have always admired the work of those brave people, they made dreams, more than that. They made us believe in things that we would have never believed in before. They made us strive for more. I want to be one of those people."
"Maybe, maybe we will get there together Butters, maybe we won't become what we have been told we have to be. We could be spacemen."
"I would like that."
A/N: Hell, this made me kind of sad, I wrote this with a lot of feelings, and trust me it was hard to write, it took me over an hour to write this. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this.