The Solosoma Society

In a post apocalyptic society where common human urges are suppressed, a lonely space explorer searches for something more in the stars while lamenting love lost.

There was a time when the world was teeming with human life, and all the suffering that inevitably accompanied it. Mankind was terminally flawed. Once religion and theories of existence all fell away, there was one truth accepted by all; human nature needed to change before extinction became the only plausible eventuality.

The twenty-first century became the final act of a resiliently pernicious human experience. For those who would rise to be the forefathers of a new world, it was viewed as farcical that mankind survived as long as it did, before the reset. Before everything came apart, and had to be rebuilt, life by life, farm by farm, brick by bloody brick.

Rygel was a Solo-Soldier, a young man obsessed with learning the history of mankind, and dedicated to being an integral part of its future. As Rygel willed his way through the cosmos, he took stock in volumes of data available to him at the controls of his ship. For once he was able to fully research the history of the failed mankind, a people he felt more connected to than his own.

Over one hundred years before Rygel was born, the global collapse and seemingly necessary nuclear war that followed finally proved to people nothing they believed in was of any use on the planet they shared. In the finality of a dying Earth with radioactive oceans, all they were left with were the repercussions of misguided intentions of men.

As the sole survivors of the human experiment waited underground, they formed the Solosoma Society to control the darker nature of mankind, and ensure such a fate was never to find them again. Somehow, as they formed a new people, preparing to inhabit the Earth again in the distant future, the radiation remnants of the past apocalypse faded. The reprieve was inexplicable. They were prepared and amenable to remaining underground for the remaining century, almost as a punishment, but something removed their radioactive oppression, and cleared the skies.  

Rygel had the honor and responsibility of being part of the second generation of Earth’s new iteration of mankind. They had insight into the true direction the untamed human heart could lead them. Rygel’s generation was removed from the pain of the fall of mankind. They were not tasked with crawling from underground to rebuild it, either. His generation was one in which the new way was being solidified. Curiosity and purity of thought were revered. As they formed a more refined human existence, they were still eluded by what force saved them from their subterranean exile. Rygel was part of a mission to find that answer, deep in the stars.

The Solosoma Society knew only a few human urges and emotions lead to conflict and suffering. The new society had no place for love, jealousy, greed, jingoism or any other senseless part of human existence, as they deemed them to be. Everyone lived alone and could only allow for causal contact with others, as part of therapeutic socialization. Children were conceived and raised in clinical developmental academies. There were no “parents” in this new society, as the children were raised like cattle, on a farm, being trained, taught and then fed to the anemic system in place.

As much as he tried, Rygel could not reconcile his feelings with the new way of society. He felt as if his heart belonged with another and such a foolish proposition was criminal. Yet Rygel was not content to languish in a prison cell because of love. The world was so far removed from understanding that word, he barely knew what to call the persistent emotional aberration felt when he was around her. He only knew that he wanted to spend every moment with his childhood friend, Famka.

He did not want to go home after a night with her, or make her just another woman, contributing to his institutionally prescribed growth plan of psychological and physical exploration of others. He wanted to be with her and only her; however, such a thought was equivalent to treason. Voicing his feelings led to his imprisonment. Unlike so many others of the Solosoma society, Rygel was not able to set aside his natural impulses.

He fantasized of a life with Famka. Something simple. He dreamed of going work in the fresh, peaceful and prosperous world, then coming home to Famka and blissfully falling asleep with her, every night of his life.

His dreams were unattainable in the new world. Marriage was abolished and people were not allowed to link themselves to others, in any meaningful way. Simple human predilections, such as relationships were outlawed. The Solosama Society viewed them as distractions to the true journey of mankind. Relationships, marriages, children, were all the common projects that once lead people to become complacent, draining their creativity and productivity.

Politicians and businessmen were able to operate under an all concealing shroud, due to the emotional malaise of the common man. So caught up in their own personal entanglements, the men behind the curtain were able to inadvertently construct the near annihilation of mankind.

The survivors vowed to make sure that humans were never again distracted enough to let a minuscule faction of power-brokers control the masses, ever again. Now, in the new world, to live meant to be without mental or emotional moorings. The mind was free to enjoy all that life on Earth had to offer, while always being careful not to let society devolve into chaos yet again.

Rygel represented what was undoubtedly a silent voice inside of some of the new generation. He yearned for a relationship and to possibly, one day, re-create himself with a woman and bring life into the world, the natural way. But he learned his lesson. He would never speak of his heart’s desires again. It was the only way for him to escape his imprisonment. He pleaded at every chance he received, to become a Solo-soldier.

He was gifted another chance at life by embracing his own death. He was released from prison to join the ranks of a dedicated yet doomed few. The Solo-soldiers were tasked with one of the most important missions of the new world. Their only charter was to explore the cosmos, hoping to find other life forms. They wanted desperately to locate the reason for the Earth being cured so effortlessly.

It was a one way journey for all of the Solo-soldiers. They would never see Earth again, whether they found life or failed in the mission. Hundreds of young people disbursed throughout the stars, to try and answer a question, thousands of years past due.

Rygel did not even consider his own fate when pleading to become a Solo-soldier. If he could not ever be with Famka on Earth, for the rest of his life, there was nothing left for him there, anyway. His mission was his freedom. In the recesses of his mind, there was one last vestige of hope remaining.

While he was adrift in space, there was nothing but unassigned time to reflect on the infinite possibilities that he may be greeted with. Occasionally Rygel would sit back and dream of discovering an advanced species in the cosmos that would come back to Earth and guide them down a path of true enlightenment. A path of embracing their human, intrinsic urges while maintaining a sustainable peace on the planet. A welcomed byproduct of Rygel’s daydream was, of course, his complete reunification with Famka, and the ability to call her his own, like generations before him were able to.

Rygel would pace the halls of his craft, looking out unto the stars, almost feeling betrayed by them. If there was something more in the universe, why would they save mankind only to allow them to destroy their very essence; the ability to love, and to feel? Rygel’s computer scanned for inhabitable worlds or signs of life in the cosmos. As days eased into months and months melded into years, Rygel began to pray for his own demise.

All he had ever discovered where barren, futile attempts the universe made for planets. Just for fun, to stretch his legs and feel alive again, Rygel would run, equally from his fears and towards his hope for a better existence for human beings. He would sprint through useless deserts and rainforests on planets light years away from his home, until his legs gave out.

There was nothing there for him, or mankind. Man had solved the science of hyper-space travel, only to find they were truly alone. The further he went, alone, the more apparent it became that he would die, without answers and eternally adrift. For a month, Rygel stared at the controls of his craft as it piloted him to yet another desolate, randomly formed rock in the cosmos.

Scans showed this was a planet of mostly water, with scattered land masses. It was essentially a planet of small islands. He decided there would never be a more beautiful place in the stars to end his journey. He strapped in and waited for the autopilot to initiate his decent into the atmosphere. He plotted a course for the largest island on the planet, so he could run down the longest beach possible before the end.

As the craft began to lower into the atmosphere, he closed his eyes, and a relieved grin spread across his face. No more hope, no more pain, no more curiosity. He was going to finally have answers, of nothing else, at least he would learn what happens when the common person dies. Lights began to click on and warning sirens rang throughout the cabin of the craft.

The ship began to deviate from the set path, without warning.

“Computer, adjust!” Rygel screamed, ordering the craft to compensate for the deviation. There would be no correction. The deviation was intentional and could not be undone. Rygel landed in the middle of an island, clearing a path through trees as the ship found footing on the foreign land. Incensed at what he saw as a malfunction, he leapt from the craft, without waiting for an atmospheric assessment, and tore his spacesuit off, revealing a skin tight body suit.  He sat on the ground next to the craft and took several deep breaths to calm himself down, while testing the alien air he was surrounded by.

He stood up and started sprinting for the beach, as he had planned. He just wanted it to be over, once and for all. He was so bent on his own demise he forgot he had a greater mission. He never stopped to even consider this planet could be inhabited. As he advanced towards the beach, he hit the sand and his feet sunk in, but he continued, toward his destiny.

           Rising from the water, nude, was everything he dreamed of but in this reality, it was a most disturbing sight. Famka stoically walked towards him.

“No! I know you are not here!”

He slid to a stop in the sand, and sat on the ground looking up at her as she approached.

Famka smiled, and reached a hand down to help him up, “Your thoughts are signals, even though your kind cannot read them yet.”

He jumped to his feet to get a closer look at whatever was standing in front of him, perfectly resembling his Famka.

“We thought this would be the most comfortable representation for you to see, in this moment.”

Rygel walked in circles around the being, with tears being compelled to his eyes.

“Why?”

“You are not meant to see us. It is not your time.” Famka grabed his arm to stop him in his path.

“Is this heaven, or hell?” He timidly queried.

“Humans and their classifications.”

“Yeah, this warrants some kind of classification, what the hell are you?!” He bellowed.

Famka reached down and grabbed a handful of sand and let it slowly drift out of her hands.

“You have to earn those answers, but it is not your time. Do not return here, or bring others.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her tight. “But I finally found you!”

“WE found you. You have been sending your thoughts into space as clear as radio signals. I am only here because it was apparent this was going to be your last stop.”

“So you found me to tell me to go away?”

“We found you to tell you that there is something more, something beautiful waiting for all of you, but it is not your time yet. “

Rygel began to laugh a confused and angry laugh.

“Return to Earth and fight for what you know is right. Love. Your Famka is waiting on you there. If it is any consolation to you, we know her heart is with you, right now.”

Rygel dropped to his hands and knees and finally let the tears go, spilling into the sand.

“We did not save mankind so you could become cold. Return to Earth and make them human again.”

With the flick of her finger Rygel was launched into the sky, straight up at a speed that knocked him unconscious. His ship flew above him and caught his body inside, and blasted into the atmosphere, exiting the planet.

Rygel awakened at the controls of his ship, disoriented. He checked the computer for any record of his experience.

“It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real. It never happened!”

He laid his head down on the controls. A flicker of sound came over the speaker in the cockpit. He tinkered with the controls to amplify it. The static slowly turned clear and he heard Famka’s voice panting, lightly crying.

“I don’t know where Rygel is right now, somewhere out there, but I love him.”

A smile came over his face, and he shot to his feet. He keyed in return coordinates for Earth. He had found a new species, one that was friendly to the human cause but he would never share that information. It was not their time to know. After all, they did not tell Rygel anything he did not already know. It is human to love, and human to fail. Rygel would have to do what so many simple people did centuries before him: start a revolution on Earth, for the betterment of everyone, or die trying.