GENESIS
By MaDmAN12435
Chapter 01
?'s POV
Hello, my name is Ivan VanHoss. I am... was, a scientist working on a project called [Redacted] Now? I'm just a string of ones and zeros. Anyway, it all began quite a while back... or should I say it will begin? Eh, screw it, past tense is better...
June 25, 3468. 12:05 PM, New Berlin, Germany
"Ivan! Get up already!" A shout pulled me from my dream, and I turned my head to look at the girl in my doorway. "Did you forget what today is?"
"Saturday?" I asked, prompting her to walk across the room to me, and punch me in the nose, "Ow! What was that for, Anna?!"
Anna gave a smug grin, "For forgetting. We're supposed to be somewhere right now."
I took a glance over to the clock next to my bed, and nearly fell out of bed in surprise. "It's already noon?!" I shouted, leaping into action, and pressing a button on my dresser, causing a beam of light to form around me, as a white nano-cotton Tshirt and blue jeans formed (weird how denim stayed in fashion for over a thousand years.), "Let's get going." I said, turning back to Anna, who was beet red. "What?"
"Wh... Why were you naked?" She managed to get out, her eye twitching.
"You mean you wear clothes when you're asleep?" I asked, giving a mock-confused look, "Weirdo. Then again, you didn't exactly avert your eyes." I raised my eyebrows suggestively at the last part, prompting Anna to slap me.
"Sh... Shut up! I'm not the one who ends up flashing whoever would come in!" Anna exclaimed angrily.
"Yeah, yeah, well, let's get going." I muttered, my cheek bright red from the hit as I clipped my miniaturizer to my belt. "Don't want to miss the demonstration, do we?"
Allow me to explain, this was the day an invention called the rift manipulator was to be showcased to the world as the first public teleportation device. It cost me almost three thousand credits (Equivalent to 2140 USD) to afford a pair of front row tickets. I had saved up the last two months salary on my job as a delivery boy to make it to the demonstration. The designs for it were also leaked online by the group so that anyone could build one wherever people wanted it. As for who Anna is, she was a childhood friend. I liked her... you know, in a 'more than a friend' kind of way. I never told her that. I was always waiting for the right time...
"Will you hurry up? Do you want to miss this?" Anna nagged as she urged me forward, and then ran ahead, breaking the concentration I had on the toxin-filled skies.
"It doesn't start for another half hour anyway." I grumbled to myself as we came to the registration scanner. I placed my wrist up against it, as did Anna, and we were both allowed in, and through security, where a man was being pulled out by the police for having a knife in his back pocket.
Half an hour later...
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you would please take your seats, we are about to begin the presentation." A voice said, being transmitted throughout the area, and directly to each person. Attention immediately went to a stage in the middle of the room they were seated in, upon which two devices, no bigger than an extended doorway, were seated. Next to said devices, were three scientists. "Up until today, teleportation has either been too expensive, too fragile, or simply too dangerous to use. Today, we change that. Today, we give you, the Void Manipulator Mk 6." As the man spoke, the other two began to set up the devices
"What happened to the first five?" A voice in the crowd called out.
"You don't wanna know." The co-inventor said, "Anyway, we've ironed out every flaw in the system so far, and have come to the conclusion that it is now safe, durable, and above all, cheap. Now, would anyone like to volunteer for a demonstration?" Immediately, my hand shot up, and the scientists looked towards me, one of them walked over. It took me a moment to notice that Anna's hand had also shot up, and she had a twinkle in her eye. Knowing better than to get in her way, I reluctantly lowered my hand. The scientist came over, and held a hand out to Anna, "And what, miss, is your name?"
"Anna. Anna Tessentino." Anna smiled brightly as she spoke.
"Well Anna, just hop into the device on the left, and we'll begin." As he finished talking, Anna stood up, and jumped onto the stage, taking a moment to bow for the audience, which got her a couple whistles from the crowd.
Anna skipped across the stage, into the teleporter, and two of the three co-inventors went to a pair of control panels, and began muttering to each other. After a few seconds, The machines began to glow a light shade of blue, an instant later, Anna was no longer in the teleporter on the left, but on the right. There was no transition, no flash of light, just A and B. Anna stumbled out of the teleporter, and gave another bow to the audience, before walking back to the seat next to me. "Let's give a big round of applause to our volunteer, Anna!" Even before he was done speaking, the audience was practically roaring with approval.
"Wow, that was fun!" She practically squealed.
Lucky you I thought to myself, before paying attention again.
"Would anyone else like to try it?" Once again my hand shot up. This time, a lot of other people did, so I decided to take a step further, and stand up. "Well come on up then, mister..."
"The names Ivan. I've been following your blog. Good stuff." The scientist flushed a little with embarrassment with the compliment, but did a good job hiding it.
"Well, Ivan, step right into the one on the right, and we'll begin."
I gave a small nod, and stepped into the device. While I was in there, I heard the two scientists at the control boards say, after they started to glow blue 'what do you mean they aren't ready for two way transport yet?' My eyes widened, but I assumed that they were just trying to scare me.
A moment later, there was nothing. Nothing but the same shade of blue as the glow of the teleporters, and a noise, sort of like the ticking of one of those really, REALLY ancient clocks from about the year 2000. Anyway, I don't know how long I was in there, seconds, hours, days, months, years, I couldn't tell. But when I could see again, I passed out from exhaustion before I could really look around.
I awoke to see a man standing near me, wearing a torn up jacket, shirt, and pants that was covered in so many stains I could immediately tell he was a transient. A look around made me realize how many other homeless people were nearby. The man who was nearby walked over, knelt down, and said, in french "Are you alright? We found you deeper in the sewers. You're lucky the rats didn't find you before we did."
I had an urge to cover my nose due to the stench of his breath, "Ugh, where am I?" I asked, looking around.
"Hyeres France, you've been out for a few days. Happy new year. I hope that 1988 has some good stuff in store."
I gave a nod, "Ah, Fra... Wait, WHAT?!" I screamed, practically jumping to my feet before I sprinted outside, and looked up. No toxin gas clouds, none at all, just puffy white water vapor. This is impossible, there is no way that guy could have been right. This has to be a joke. Ryan could have set this up, couldn't he? Yeah, it must have been that. I thought to myself I must be in a virtual reality. However, I pinched myself on the arm, just to make sure. "OW. Ok, not VR or a dream. Damn, that means... holy crap." That's when I fully accepted what had happened.
I had gone back in time.
You know, I never thought living on the street would be something I would have to deal with, I mean, I came from a decent-income family, I was (slightly) attractive,and I got good grades. Imagine how surprised I was, and I wouldn't say it was an entirely bad surprise, just... unexpected. Also, did you know that a lot of the homeless in the area fished? Neither did I until they started teaching me how. Hell, they didn't ask for anything in return. I guess when you've lost it all you truly see how people can work together.
Nobody's POV, January 8th, 1988, 5:10 PM, Hyeres France undercity, fishing spot
"Aha, I think I got breakfast!" Ivan shouted excitedly, pulling back hard on a fishing rod made of a single wooden plank in his hands. Moments later a nice, plump trout came out of the water, flailing wildly on the hook made from a nail that had been bent about 90 degrees. Ivan was wearing the same clothes he had on the day he arrived, with the addition of a thin brown coat the others homeless people had given him.
"Nice catch, I think that might be a record for you." The man who was with Ivan when he awoke, named Slim, commented, admiring the catch.
"I know, right? I didn't even know there were ones this big here!" Ivan had found fishing a good way to get rid of the stress he had gotten from the whole 'time travel' thing. Ivan quickly whipped out a wooden stake about a metre in length, long since sanded to the point where there was not a single splinter, and charred black, and took the fish off the hook and ripped it's belly open with a shard of metal, effectively gutting it and removing the organs, before running the stake down it's gaping mouth, before running to a fire several two other 'fishermen' were sitting by, and stabbed it into the ground so the fish itself was sitting over the fire to cook, and sitting on a small pile of rubbish.
Glancing around, Ivan thought back about his first couple days, and how surprised he was at the society the homeless in the area had made; they had no leader, and worked as a team. They had houses made from thrown out metal appliances that had been melted down and spread out to form thin, but durable metal sheeting, and held together with melted plastics. They had no economic system, and simply shared. A small group set rules and they even had a group that worked similarly to a police force, almost every item there was able to take the place of something else. It was sort of like how communism is supposed to work: Everyone works, and everyone gets the same benefits.
Just by looking at the fat trout, Ivan knew he wouldn't need the whole thing, and began thinking of a good way to cut it up into four equal servings. By the time he had decided the fish was already done cooking.
"Wow, this is a good one!" One of the fishermen he gave a piece to exclaimed in shock, "You should join us more often, if you're going to catch all the good ones anyway."
"Oh, please, you guys are much better at it, I just had beginner's luck." Ivan said, blushing as he scratched the back of his head.
"Beginner's luck? Quit lying, you're a natural fisherman! You've caught nothing but good fish!" The other said between bites, savouring the flavor of the fish. "What kind of bait are you using?"
"Feathers." Ivan said, still a bit embarrassed by the compliments. "Why?"
"... Feathers, eh?... I never thought of that." He said, before taking another hearty bite out of his piece of the fish.
Ivan cocked his head to the side, sort of like a curious or confused cat or dog, "Really? I just saw the fish going after a couple feathers that had fallen in the water, so I tied one to the string like a lure, and tested it out."
"Well, kid, you've got a knack for fishing." The first one said through a mouthful of fish, and was about to continue, when a man with greying brown hair, with a mustache and eyebrows a shade darker approached. I couldn't see his eyes due to the glasses he was wearing, but he wore a green turtle neck, brown pants, and red shoes.
"Ivan VanHoss?" The man asked, in an aged, yet powerful tone.
"Depends on who's asking." I said coldly, trying to see his eyes, but his glasses perfectly blocking them from sight.
"My name is Franz Hopper. I have some questions I need to ask you."
A/N:
Hello everyone, this is MaDmAN speaking. This, while I could have used the idea for an original story, was too short, so I decided to make it part of a fanfiction. Anyway, for certain purposes, throughout the story I will rarely use 1st person POV, and stick to 3rd. Exceptions will be for certain points where characters are reflecting back on what's happened, generally speaking directly to you, the readers. Anyway, I hope you like the story.
Exit, stage left, MaDmAN12435.