...
"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"
(Edgar Allan Poe)
...
I sat in an empty passenger cabin, no one but me in the transport craft. The air was cold, bone chilling, to the point where I could clearly see my breath. My coat seemed to do nothing heat-wise, and my jeans fared even worse. I stood up and walked around in an attempt to get my blood flowing and to see if I could find the pilot. He should be fired for making his passengers endure conditions like this.
I opened the cockpit door only to see my old house. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and walked up the stairs, subconsciously checking for my keys. They were exactly where they were supposed to be, hanging off my right belt loop. I was unfazed by the fact that there was only one key. I inserted the lone key into the lock on the thick wooden door with a satisfying click, turning as I savored the clunky sound of the old oak door unlocking.
Opening the door, I was greeted with the smell of my mother's French toast. I followed the scent to the dining room, where said French toast was sitting on the table between three empty sets of plates and utensils. I turned my head to the sound or water rushing from a faucet, seeing my mother standing with her back to me, washing something in the sink.
"Mom! Mom, you have no idea how happy I am to see you." I said, walking towards her. She didn't respond, causing me some worry. "Mom?"
As I inched closer, she turned to face me, revealing a horrifying sight. Her face was half decomposed, rotting with bits of skull visible with worms and maggots eating away at it.
"N-n-no." I muttered in pure horror as the thing charged towards me, everything going dark around me.
...
Somewhere over the United North American States, November 14th, 7:02 AM, 2180
...
"…ean, you getting up anytime… t-time soon?" I vaguely heard as my eyes darted open, my heart pounding through my chest.
I looked up to see Dan, letting out a deep sigh as I acknowledged they fact that I had experienced yet another screwed-up dream. One of many, and certainly not the last.
"Um… are you alright?" He asked, a look of genuine worry forming on his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little hungover." I casually lied, not wanting to talk about what I had just conjured up in my own head.
"Then hurry up and g...get your luggage, we've arrived." Dan remarked, throwing on his backpack. "I need some real food in my system before we go… go out into the county."
"Right." I agreed, banishing the dream to the back of my mind as I pulled my bag out of the overhead compartment. I slung it over my shoulder, following Dan out of the transport. The cloudy sky was being pierced by the sunrise, bathing everything in a warm, amber glow.
I was more than a little shocked to see that Baltimore was relatively unchanged, though there were still a few things that I noticed immediately. The biggest thing right off the bat being the water. Back in our time, the waters in the Chesapeake were very much brackish, filled with sediments, chemicals, and other foul human byproducts that had accumulated over the decades, ready to kill both people and fish indiscriminately. Now, the water was much cleaner looking, the brown color and mild stench gone. It had more of a "pacific" look to it now, though previous hardwired programming dictated that I still stay far away from it.
The second was the area, the spot where we were currently standing, where the spaceport was located. I knew from looking at the Key Bridge off towards the left that this area must have been Sparrow's Point, the land once dominated by one of America's greatest steel mills in the past. Back when Dan and I had just gotten accepted to MIT, they had just finished demolishing the last of the mills after decades of use, Amazon buying up much of the land to build more facilities. It made many people in the state sad, seeing those icons of industry go, but I had to appreciate the new purpose of this land. A name like Sparrow's Point was much more befitting to a spaceport.
In the distance I could see the heart of Baltimore City, which was largely unchanged despite all the time that had passed. Most of the old buildings were still there, though they had seen heavy modifications and the city now had large "green spaces" that complemented both human and alien biology. It was quite pretty, to be honest. In particular, the World Trade Center, with its pentagonal shape, had been upgraded with planters in the grooves above and below its windows, and the concrete façade was scrubbed and washed to a bright grey color, compared to its original aged tan-and-brown.
"Hmph… I don't believe for a second that it's any less of a shithole than it was before." I remarked with a tiny smirk, deliberately mischaracterizing my true thoughts to better coerce a meaningful counter argument from Dan.
I was lucky, I caught Dan in one of his rare sarcastic moods.
"Is that your pr-professional opinion?" He replied in a deadpan as we looked out over the harbor.
"Maybe." I shot back, being intentionally vague as my voice rolled over to the sarcastic side. "Come on, how much could possibly have changed over 150 years?"
"Heh… I don't know, I'm sure there are still plenty of board… boarded up townhouses and vacant lots everywhere." He replied in a deadpan similar to mine, leaning on the railing. "Oh, and let's not fo...forget the famous Highway to Nowhere…"
I laughed, unable to keep my straight face any longer.
"Come on, let's go find some breakfast." I urged as we peeled our gaze from "Charm City", walking over to the waiting taxis.
…
Double T Diner, November 14th, 7:56 AM, 2180
…
Jumping out of the shuttle next to the vastly changed Route 40, Dan and I walked into a childhood favorite of mine, Double T Diner, which was miraculously still here all these years later. The place was modeled after the 50's-style diners of the olden days, and had simple, 24/7 service. It couldn't have been a better choice, all things considered. More comfortable than one of those posh breakfast joints run by those yuppie types in the city, and more "official" than... say, going to McDonalds for Sausage McMuffins and hash browns.
I was genuinely surprised. Other than some seriously upgraded computer equipment, everything looked the same. Everything. If anything, the reflective, "chromed" surfaces looked even shinier than in the past. I took in a big whiff of the air, exhaling with a smile. It even smelled the same.
"Well, I've never been in a p-place like this before." Dan remarked, looking around at the chrome decorations as well. "It has quite the… style?"
"Oh, my grandparents loved this place like you wouldn't believe." I said, as a young, pretty-looking waitress ushered us to a table for two.
"I can see why. There's en…enough old people here to fill a retirement home." Dan insinuated, noting the large number of senior citizens eating here as the waitress handed us both menus and walked off. "I mean, look. They even have re…record players in the booths."
"Oh shut up, you won't be talking smack once you try their food." I shot back, deflecting his idle chatter as I opened up the menu and took a look at the massive list of choices I had. Dan was obviously taken aback by this, and I loved seeing that look of confusion on his face. It reminded me of the looks my "fellow classmates" gave me back in elementary school. They were the ones they would give me when I said something that none of them understood. Even to this day, I found that look priceless.
"Hm… what would you say likely has the most meat on it?" He inquired, scratching the back of his ear.
"What do you mean?" I grinned, wanting to see where this would go as I leaned on one arm.
"Well, they have all… all these omelets, but three of them focus specifically on mea…meat. They have a Meat Lovers, a Philly, and so…something called a Tom Turkey." He explained, turning the menu so I could see it. "And what the hell is Lox?"
"Lox is brined salmon." I answered casually, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.
"Disgusting. I h-hate fish, let alone a brined version." He grimaced, looking as if someone had farted in his face. "People actually put that in their omelets?"
"I wouldn't know, the only fish I ever eat is canned tuna." I replied bluntly, folding my arms. "Just get a Meat Lovers with a side of bacon, toast, and a glass of water. I know you'll like that."
He pondered it for a little, leaning while before the waitress came back.
"So, what can I get you guys to drink?" She asked, holding a slightly smaller datapad.
"I'll have some Pepsi." I said, locking eyes with Dan.
"A glass of water for me." He quickly replied, setting his menu down as I smiled.
"OK, you ready to order as well?" She asked, tapping away at the datapad with a stylus. We both nodded to each other.
"Yeah, I'll take some eggs, scrambled, without the home fries, along with extra bacon." I laid out as she scribbled the order onto her pad.
"Alright, and you?" She redirected, looking at my friend who quickly averted his gaze, avoiding eye contact.
"I'll take the Meat Lovers with a side of bacon and toast." He said, fiddling with the corner of the placemat, one of his numerous nervous ticks. "And a grapefruit."
"Alright, I'll go get your drinks, and the food will be out soon." She finished, slipping the datapad into the large pocket on her apron.
With that, she walked off. Dan and I were left to our own devices yet again.
"I fuckin' knew you'd do it." I quietly boasted with a smile, getting him to roll his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. "You just couldn't resist ordering what I suggested."
"Screw you." He huffed, crossing his arms as he turned to the window. "We've eaten most of our meals to...together for years, obviously you know what I like."
"I guess you have a point there." I conceded, knowing not to push his buttons too hard.
Letting the conversation end, I opened up my omni-tool, doing what I had been holding off on as much as possible.
I started searching through public records, going through death certificates and obituaries as I went about the grim task of looking up my mother and father's names. I had to search deep, but I eventually discovered that they were buried at Loudon Park Cemetery. I would have to find out where exactly at the cemetery itself, but that was another task in itself.
"That's odd…" Dan remarked, looking through some records of his own. He had an almost fearful look of confusion on his face, which didn't bode well at all.
"What's wrong?" I inquired, looking over at him as I took a sip of my Pepsi.
"I've found my mom and dad's records, but…" He paused, the look on his face intensifying as he read through the documents.
"But what?" I lead, trying to keep him going.
"I can't find any re-record of my sister." He said, scrolling through several pages without even pausing. "Not one de…death certificate, obituary, or even her damn Driver's License. Nothing."
"That is odd." I agreed, looking over at Dan's omni-tool. "You spelled her name right and everything?"
"I checked five times already." He finished, leaning back in his seat. "She's… just gone. Its like the entire family tree dis-disappears at her name."
I didn't know how to respond to something like this. I sat there with an expression comparable to Dan's as silence filled the void between us. I couldn't imagine what must have been going through Dan's head, he cared a lot about his little sister, and I considered her a sibling too after so many years. This was one hell of a blow, but I knew Dan was fuming.
"Here you go, gentlemen." The waitress said, snapping my mind back to the world around me. She placed our respective orders on the table along with some extra toast, the smell instantly driving my stomach to the point where it practically begged me to eat.
"Thank you." I dismissed quickly as she walked off, turning back to Dan. "Come on, eat. You'll think better on a full stomach.
"Yeah..." He agreed, closing his omni-tool and sighing deeply.
Grabbing a fork and digging into the scramble eggs, the nostalgic taste washed over me, bringing me back to the age of nine. I smiled, quickly feeding a piece of bacon into my mouth and grinding it into the scramble eggs. No insult to the chef on Aldrin Station, but this was the best meal I had gotten in a month.
I stopped, looking over at Dan. He was, to my expectations, enjoying the food. While he had a look of pleasure on his face, I could see that he was still in deep thought about his sister. I could always tell by the way he stared into space, focusing on one object in front of him to prevent his surroundings from interfering with his thoughts.
For now, that was still his problem. While I understood his situation, I had enough of my own problems to deal with today. He needed to solve his personal problems on his own, just like me.
…
Louden Park Cemetery, November 14th, 9:42 AM, 2180
…
I slowly walked through rows and rows of gravestones, looking for one solitary name. Michaels. Unfortunately for me, Michaels was a grossly common last name back in our time. It made my task much more difficult, but god forbid I made a mistake and passed it.
I clutched a bouquet of real roses in my left hand as I walked through this section of the cemetery. I wanted nothing but the best for this "occasion", and I meant the best. There was no way I was going to half-ass any of this, I owed that much to my mother and father. There was no way to make up for what happened, but I could at least try to make amends. Not just for my sake, but theirs too.
I finally found it. I stood at the foot of a reasonably sized gravestone with an engraving of a Baltimore police badge between the two names carved on it. Gary Michaels and Kathleen Michaels.
Something snapped in the back of my head seeing those names. It was almost like a switch.
I slumped to my knees and began crying. Despite how much I told myself I wouldn't, I couldn't stop myself once it started. I began tearing up, hunched over as they ran off my cheeks. This lasted until I was unable to make any more, face and eyes red. I looked back up at the stone, putting my hands on the edges of the hard granite.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I never meant for any of this to happen." I stammered out, looking hard at the etched names. "I should have been there, I should have been there for you two… I've made so many mistakes…"
I couldn't continue as tears began rolling again. I kneeled there for what felt like hours as tears landed on the moist grass, disappearing into the morning dew.
I pushed each of the roses into the soft ground in front of the gravestone, stand back up and looking down at the stone.
"I promise that I will always do my best." I said, trying so hard to think of the right words. "I'll always help others, I'll build things to make people's lives better, I'll…"
Losing my words, I stopped myself and stood straighter.
"I'll always love you two. Thank you for everything." I finished, rubbing my hand on the top of the gravestone. "Goodbye, guys."
With that, I walked away. A great weight on my chest slowly begin to lift as I made my way back to the rented shuttle. I started feeling better, even if there was still a massive void left in my heart where they once were. I could only hope from this point on to do right by them. I had to be a good example of humanity, use my talents to help people, make the world a better place. Maybe this project we were working on could be just that, a catalyst for a new age of peace? I didn't know.
And one day, maybe I'd even carry on my family's name. Meet a nice girl, have a few kids... I knew my mother and father would have wanted that, for me to not be the last Michaels.
Hopefully... they'd be proud of me.
…
Baltimore City, November 14th, 11:32 AM, 2180
…
I walked through the city to Dan and I's apartment in Charles Tower, taking in how unrecognizable it all was on street level. While all of the city's buildings from our time had been preserved, almost all of the ground-level establishments had either been retrofitted or outright replaced. I was also surprised at how many of the old streets had been outright demolished and replaced with those foot-traffic only "green spaces." Even in the fall, these genetically-engineered trees stayed green and didn't falter through the winter. I found that to be kind of unnatural.
I had been surprised by just how many aliens were here, too. Compared to L.A., this was nothing, but nevertheless it was still interesting. There were a lot of Asari around here, and even a few Turians and Salarians. I didn't expect to see so many in what I would have thought to be a backwater. I even spotted what I believed was a Quarian while I was walking, keeping pace a little farther ahead of me. It was such a cool thing, seeing this city in a good light for once.
My thoughts and conceptions were shattered as I turned to the sound of commotion to my left, watching the Quarian I had spotted earlier get pulled into an alleyway by several men. I ran over as everyone else ignored it, putting my back to the wall so I wasn't exposed.
"You think you can just walk around our city without us noticing you, suit rat?" One of the men said in a threatening manner, brandishing a metal baseball bat. "Where'd you get all this junk, huh? Did you steal it?"
"I didn't steal anything!" The quarian cried out as I continued to watch, trying to decide what I should do. "What do you want from me?"
"We want everything that you stole, including your backpack and your omni-tool." The second man said, smiling with crossed arms. The third man held the Quarian, keeping him from moving.
"I don't know about you, but I wanna see what these rats look like!" The third one said as the second pulled out a switchblade.
"No!" The Quarian shouted in utter fear, trying to get out of the third man's grip. "Someone please help!"
I couldn't let this go on. I walked out of cover, moving into view.
"Hey! Keep your nose out of this, buddy! This doesn't concern you." The second man threatened, pointing a knife at me.
"Oh, I think it does." I shot back, plucking the SPD-issue Kessler V out of my shoulder pack and pointing it at the trio.
While the weapon was originally set to send out an emergency signal whenever it was deployed, I found and removed that modification, instead adding shredder ammunition and lightweight materials. It also had the added benefit of being coded to my DNA thanks to Dr. Vsevolod.
"Let the Quarian go and drop his belongings." I ordered, walking towards them as they all visibly tensed up. "If you do not comply, I will not hesitate to blow your fucking brains out."
"Shit, run!" The leader of the trio shouted as the third man dropped the Quarian, running away. Once I was sure they were gone, I holstered my Kessler and helped the quarian back to his feet.
"Keelah, I can't thank you enough!" He said, hunched over due to lack of breath. "If they had taken off my mask or breached my suit… I don't even want to think about the infections."
"It's alright, I've got you covered." I reassured, picking up his backpack and handing it back to him. "What's your name?"
"Lenlo'Ferna nar Havvano." He said with a nod, briefly throwing me off due to the sheer length of his name.
"Dr. Sean Michaels, it's nice to meet you." I properly greeted, shaking hands with him.
"I have no idea how to repay you… I have nothing to give …" He started to say before I held my hand up to stop him.
"Don't sweat it, I don't need any kind of reward." I stopped, giving him a small smile as I looked harder at him. He had a green-accented envirosuit wrapped with black cloths. His mask was a reflective green like the suit, though I could still see his bioluminescent eyes. "I'm just happy I could help out someone in need."
"I can't thank you enough." He continued, obviously still a little shocked by what transpired. It was obvious just from looking at him that he was one of those ones that were off on their Pilgrimage, the Quarian "Rite of Adulthood." I could tell that he must have been having a rough time.
"Here, take this." I said, handing him a 5,000 dollar credit chit from my pocket. "Go get yourself a gun and something good to eat, you look like you need both."
"R-really?" He stammered out in disbelief, looking at awe at the credit chit.
"Yep." I smiled, giving him a pat on the back. "Don't worry, man. Not all of us here are like those assholes."
"I am in your debt." He said, pocketing the chit. "If we ever meet again, I will repay it in full."
"Who knows, the galaxy is a small place." I finished, smiling and nodding as I put my Kessler away. "Goodbye, Lenlo."
With that, we both sent our separate ways, leaving me with a good feeling in my chest. I'm sure my mother and father would be proud of me, sticking up for someone like that. My Dad would have slapped some cuffs on those bastards and thrown them into a paddy wagon, but unfortunately I wasn't a police officer.
Several minutes later I arrived at the Charles Tower, punching the button for the top floor. Once inside the apartment Dan and I had rented for the day, I decided to occupy myself by looking out over the busy city. I found it was fun just listening to the Blade Runner soundtrack while I watched the traffic go by and the people scurry about. Even though this was one of the lesser spaceports on eastern seaboard, it still didn't lack in traffic.
I eventually fell asleep as I sat there, slipping gently out of consciousness.
…
Charles Tower, November 14th, 2:22 PM, 2180
…
I was jolted out of my sleep as the apartment door slammed shut. I leaned up quickly to see Dan storm into the room, throwing his backpack on the ground.
"Whoa, what the hell is going on?" I asked slowly, still slightly .
"There is some…something going on, something is fu…fucked up right now." Dan explained, coming very close to yelling. "By all regards, my…my sister doesn't fucking exist! That does…n't just happen!"
He slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a sizable indent in the wall. To say he was pissed off was quite the understatement.
"Holy shit, man! Come on, calm down-" I started to say, before he turned around and pointed his finger in my face.
"Don't tell me to...to fucking calm down!" He yelled hard enough for me to smell his breath. "This is my goddamn si…sister we're talking about!"
I just held up my hands and backed off, not wanting to get on his bad side. I wasn't going to try and say anything else unless he asked me, knowing not to push it.
"You remember who h…had their personal information hidden like this, right?" Dan remarked after taking a moment to calm himself. He looked me in the eye as I thought about it.
That's when it hit me.
"Us." I said simply, sitting up straight as I looked back at him. "When we were delisted, they took all of our information off the public databases. Which could only mean one thing…"
"…at some point, my sister joined DARPA." He finished, rubbing his forehead in obvious frustration. "See where I'm going with t-this?"
"Lynda said all of DARPA's files c-carried over to the UNAS, then the Alliance, and then the SPD, so that means she must know more about this." I pieced together, causing him to lift his head up.
"In that case, there's so…someone I need to have a chat with." Dan said, going into his omni-tool and punching in Lynda's priority contact information. Two minutes of waiting later, she popped up on vidcom.
"I hope this is important, Dr. Nemo, I have a lot of paperwork to sort out before you return from vacation." She started off, looking between me, him, and an unseen document.
"Yeah it's important." Dan replied matter-of-factly as I stayed of Lynda's view. "I'm having trouble finding my sister's personal information here on Earth, and came to…to the conclusion that she was delisted."
"So, that's what you and Dr. Michaels decided to do with your free time." She remarked with thinly-veiled surprise, getting serious as she tented her fingers in front of her face. "Yes, I was made aware of her delisting shortly after you two "arrived", and…"
She paused, looking off to the side as she clearly pondered her next words carefully.
"And what?" Dan demanded, looking harder at her and trying to keep his composure.
"I'll be blunt with you, it'll be easier to explain in person." She said with finality, looking back at him. "Return to the station whenever you want, then meet me and Dr. Karpyshyn. I'll be ready by then."
"I'll be there tonight." Dan finished, cutting off the call with even more anger in his face. "An...anything else you need to do before we leave?"
"Nope, I fulfilled all of my obligations." I confirmed, holding my hands behind my back.
He nodded in satisfaction as we both pulled our stuff together and threw on our backpacks. After a few minutes of traveling, we arrived back at the spaceport, popping our non-emergency pickup beacons and waiting for our transport to arrive. I looked over the harbor one more time, mentally saying my goodbyes as our ride arrived.
I would never see that harbor again if I could help it. Too many painful memories.
…
A/N: So Sean got to deal with his personal demons for now, but Dan still has other obvious problems to solve. The next chapter may surprise you if I play my cards right. I'm trying really hard to do proper characterization, and if anyone has any good suggestions, please tell me in a review or PM.
Finals Week here is coming to a close, and I cannot wait. This will likely be my last "true" summer of carefree fun before I throw myself to the wolves. Maryland has such a shitty job market, I swear to god.
I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned.