R A D I O F R E E A M E R I K A
A Science Fictional Tale
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The Story
The Near Future
The year is 2050 and Earth, the spectacular marble in space, is no longer visible to the human eye. A group of humans known as DJ’s (Dimensional Jumpers) have survived the Great Data Dump of 2030, one of a series of earth-shaking events leading up to Earth’s disappearance, and traveled to an off-planet outpost named RFA, short for Radio Free Amerika.
Here, transmission signals mysteriously come and go from the landmark radio tower at RFA Headquarters, giving clues to what transpired on Earth between 2030 and 2050. What led to the Great Data Dump (GDD-2030) and the subsequent 20 years has inspired legendary tales among the DJ’s. The need to figure out what happened has become imperative.
To put the story together you have to listen carefully...
The Present
Back on Earth it is the year 2021. A young skateboarder known as Tob (pronounced Tawb, an acronym for ‘The Odd Boy') is riding the neighbourhood on a sunny Southern California afternoon. All things on the outside seem normal, like the previous year, except for one. 2020 ushered in the Corona Pandemic Era and entire world governments responded with lockdowns, ordering humans to stay at home except for essential necessities, to wear masks, and socially distance at all times, in public and private. Tob would wear his mask where he had to, like at the corner store, but today he was mask free.
Tob is enjoying a smooth ride when suddenly he hears, coming from some bushes in front of a house, a loud meow that breaks his meditative state. Grabbing his skateboard from under him he comes to an abrupt stop, feet firmly grounded. He looks around but there is no sign of a cat. Instead he sees what appears as a faded playing card on the sidewalk. He picks it up to examine it closer.. and that was how he found his first mystery Playing Card (PC), the first in an enigmatic series he would discover over the course of the year.
The PC's would lead him to clues, the kind a curious mind loves to pursue. He puts the card, an artist’s rendering of a rat like character, in his back pocket to inspect later. When evening comes he takes a better look at the card and discovers on the back, in barely legible letters and typed on what looks like an old typewriter, the website www.RadioFreeAmerika.org. He checks the site. It is active and password protected. Somehow he knows he will find the code. He keeps the cards and the site to himself, for the time being.
That night Tob falls into a deep sleep and dreams of a place unknown, yet eerily familiar. In his dreamscape the wind swirls from behind while in front a bewildering horizon stretches as far as the eye can see. Far below stirs a glorious, sapphire blue ocean where barely perceptible waves rhythmically strike the colossal rocks. He stands at the edge of this precipice in mid-suspension with a feeling of great anticipation and every time, just as he is about to jump, he wakes up. He dreams this recurring story for months. He starts to refer to this dream by name. He calls it The Cliffs.
Over the next few months, one by one, he discovers more cards. And he begins to see the patterns, and he begins to connect the dots.
The Future-Future
300 years have gone by.. the Earth is visible again. But now she is being run by a Super A.I. situated on a mega space-station close to Saturn. Most humans are automatons of the human/machine hybrid type known as BOTS (short for Robots). A.I. has achieved God like status. There is no memory of life outside AI, or of once core human values such as independent thought, free speech or the right to self determination (to be continued)