Secret Technology,
Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
© December 2021
- Written by David
Wicker
Please do
not reprint without permission
CHAPTER 2 -
"BACK FORWARDS"
Slice Of Life (12-11-21)
Hello ! Hello ! Yes I am back into writing and you clearly are back into reading !
My it's been some time since I wrote in here. So how many whiskers have you gained in my absence ? No, you don't need to tell me WHERE. :)
A lot has been happening. I'm not going to dump out the entire months of activity, suffice it to say. Life moves on whether you want it to or not. Even if you stay cooped up in your house working on whatever - life will still hit you in the face, on the phone, by doorbell, whichever it might be - it's there.
So what all has happened ?
I'm back into programming for Pico-8, and despite having not finished writing the videogame I had in mind, I =DID= manage to write up a nice program to give you 256-colors in a system that always only had 16 - and you couldn't change the colors.
Being able to write both this and a utility to access these colors through rapid image swapping does give me a certain degree of pride and feeling of accomplishment.
So what's with the family ? Everyone is getting older. Me too, I mean I just had my Birthday 12-days ago from today. Outside of pulling a muscle in my leg which is still healing, everyone is not doing so well, except for my Godfather. He is 87 and just about as healthy as can be.
My aunt though is getting quite dangerous and crazy, my step-grandmom is off of her meds despite our insistence she take them. Just today we went to a nice restaurant, she needed to use the bathroom she said, and I found her wandering around outside the establishment in a bit of a fog.
And my niece ?
Well I suppose she's fine. Growing up with the full opinion that the world owes her a living. Selfish, stingy, vain, vengeful, starts FIGHTS at school every week, expects everything to be handed to her on a silver platter, and has her head in her cellphone all hours of the day.
I guess you get that at 12-years old in these modern times. At times God could she use a real honest-to-goodness spanking ! That is forbidden these days though it seemed.
It did backfire on her this week though. Some boy came up clearly remembering her from a previous fight and smashed his foot down on hers before running away, and now she's got a broken foot. The doctor says it will heal in time though ...
Yet it's interesting to see the differences between us. When Dad brought me up and I was her age, he made it very clear that I would need to be the one to owe the world a living. That education was EVERYTHING - and that it was fun and a grand adventure to be explored through intelligence !
In that, do something unusual, fanciful, USEFUL, something no-one else has done that I can get credit for. Make your mark in the world he said. Be original and be aware that things in life aren't free. You have to PAY for everything even if it seems free you'll pay later.
Also if I ever got into trouble I got BEAT with a belt and while I hated it at the time, today I am very grateful for it, to straighten me out and make me a productive member of society, someone who knows how to be polite, be respectful, and generally fun to be around.
I imagine you can completely relate to nothing in the world is free especially when it comes to MICRO-TRANSACTIONS.
Oh yes that very ugly word very new to this decade. Where you can indeed download a free game for your tablet or cellphone and then later wind up paying quite a bit more than you would if you had just bought the fool thing to begin with.
Micro-transactions. Pretty sure the devil thought those up.
Is that the future for us ? Everything will be free but tagged on with micro-transactions ? I hope not .... . .
What else. What else ? Well I have gained a keen interest in the old videogames, oh I don't mean Nintendo 8-bit or even the Atari 2600. No before all that. Red LED and black LCD games. Like Game & Watch, like Tiger Electronics.
The mystery and awe you get in playing a game with red LEDs, what do the lights mean ? And the pre-drawn LCD elements that make-up a game. It's fascinating stuff for me and sometimes difficult to find to play on the PC.
My favorite Tiger Electronics game being GAUNTLET (seen above with all pips lit). And yes I actually bought and played the frick out of this handheld game years ago. I found it thoroughly delightful and even set out to make a board game based on it years later.
Though I was working one of these kinds of games myself. A digital version of Baseball that Radio Shack made back in the day when electronic handheld games that used red LEDs were the thing. At some point I plan to finish - for now though I am definitely back into my writing.. . .
So in what direction will Future Barrier go ? Well unless I can think of a whole new angle on Dev back with his family, this should be the last book in the series, and I will return to finish up, "Dating Wyona."
. . .
Who knows ? In time I may even return back to Dream Diary. It's not like I haven't had a gazillion weird and lurid dreams since I closed the door on that writing years ago. I still take seroquel so I have, as they say, a very full head and strong sense of nonsense.
. . .
With that, let's begin ...
. . .
I felt as if my insides were turning inside-out. The centrifuge was going so fast it was as if I was going to throw up and then somehow be forced to swallow it again as the G-force was so strong on me that I couldn't gurgitate properly. There was a blinding light, clearly me dying and of all his organs being crushed ... then ...
I found myself lying on my back and staring up at the sun for a moment. I put a hand up to shield my eyes and smelled - strawberries ?
I
raised to a sitting position to look around me, blinking my eyes in disbelief. I was somehow sitting in a rather nice strawberry field and around me were clear pieces of the centrifuge device. I stood shakily to look, picking up one piece of the metal and strangely saw it was rusted, as if it were hundreds of years old.
I also heard a sound. I couldn't quite place it and then I did, someone impossibly on horseback ! I dropped the metal to look and was almost run down by a fully armored horse being ridden by someone in chainmail ! Was this a joke ? Was I losing my mind. Is that what happens when you die ? You go to crazy land ?
"You there !" the knight demanded. "What - what are you doing !?"
I was silent, facing him for a moment when suddenly he reached to the side to grab a lance and pointed it heavily at my chest. "Answer me at once, peasant, lest I run ye through !"
"Run ME through ?" I asked, not just correcting his speech but surely he wouldn't murder me on the spot ?
"Yes, run YE through, knave ! Dost though know where thine beist ?"
I looked around and shrugged, "I guesseth I beist in yon strawberry patch, milord." I said respectfully trying to adopt the same speech and mannerism as him. I had always gained a great deal of respect for someone and tried to be their friend - especially if they threatened my life which he was doing so.
He nodded keying to the word, "Milord." and lowered the lance seeing I was not going to give him any trouble. He spoke grimly now, "Ye be trespassing, varlet ! Here, put on these chains and follow me hither to prison !"
He threw a heavy set of manacles I guess to wrap around my hands. Without thinking I clipped one side to my pants to try and put my hand through when I suddenly fell over in a heap, my pants easily slipping off showing my Captain Circumference underwear.
Despite the severity of the situation the knight laughed at the bright color of my undies. "God what a fool you are, knave ! Get up ! Get ! Up !"
He raised his visor now to regard me, still grinning at the embarrassing sight. "Why you're just a boy." He looked to my clothes. "And you don't seem to be a peasant at that. For one thing - " he sniffed the air, "You don't SMELL like one ?"
"Me, smell ?" He turned a fierce gaze, "Uh, I mean, milord. Why no, I bathe every day !"
"Every day is it !" the knight scoffed. "What a teller of tall tales you are !" I tried to pull up my pants with the manacles still clipped to the side but wasn't strong enough.
Suddenly he dismounted and drew his sword, "Make no move knave lest I cleave you twain !"
I didn't know what a twain was but pretty sure I didn't want it cleaved, so I lay on the ground perfectly still. "Raise your arms." he told me. I did so.
"Now step back." I removed the shackles, and standing stepped back. He stooped down and picked up a penny which must've fallen from my pocket.
"What is this ? It cometh out of yon breeches." he asked me with curiosity.
"A penny, milord." I said.
"A farthing you mean ?" he tried to correct me.
"I think so, milord."
He held it to the light to observe more closely, "Look at this stamp on here. It's - so shiny, it's not copper, neither is it silver or steel. The detail is so fine and delicate ... What - metal is this ?"
"I think it's aluminum, milord."
He looked to me for a second as if trying to decide something.
"I don't think you mean any harm. Yet you are clearly out of place here. This is not the coin of the realm but clearly - from some place much farther."
I had my pants half up until he reached down to pull out my belt. Of course my pants fell down then but he was more interested in my belt.
"Ye gods this is incredible craftsmanship of leather ! How come ye to these possessions ? Are you a thief, bychance ?"
This was too much madness. I had to know. "May I ask milord a question first ?" I queried.
I think he was becoming fond of me, especially my high-pitched and innocent voice.
"How are you called ?" he asked me.
* * *
"Dev. Dev Borne, sir. You may call me, err, I mean YE."
He didn't seem interested in my confusion of the Old English dialect. He sniffed a little haughtily, "Ask your question but be quick about it, Dev Borne !" he said, plunging his lance into the Earth standing stoicly by it trying to maintain a professional demeanor as a proper knight.
"What year is it ?" I questioned.
He laughed causing his armor to clatter slightly, "What trickery is this !? You know very well the year, fool ! It is the year of our Lord and master, 623 AD !"
I was indeed surprised to hear this but I felt it important for him to know where I came from. "Look at the penny." I told him.
He started to scowl, "I mean - milord, please, look at the - yon - penny." I added.
"Do you see that written in the corner there ? 2021. That's the year I'm from."
"2021 !?" he spat in surprise. "Surely ye jest !"
"Nossir, milord, that is the year I'm from. I was in a centrifuge and I guess the G-Force carried me - back in time - to here."
The knight now stood to regard me. As if I was the greatest liar he had ever met. But his gaze softened. Finally he spoke evenly, "You are either mad or ... there is truth to what you say and if there is it could mean ..." his voice trailed off in thought. Finally he threw the belt back at me and bid me dress. I did so.
He then hopped up on the horse patting behind him, his heavy weight squeaking the saddle. "Join me back to the castle. We'll sort you out soon enough !"
I came up to him and TRIED to get on. I kept falling off. He could see it was not deliberate that in fact I had never ridden a horse in my life.
The look he gave me now was not of anger but of pure wonder - that some man from the future could visit and - does not know at all how to ride a horse let alone even mount one !
He jumped down, clearly eager to leave this bewitched place. "Here, Dev. Place your foot in my hand."
"Won't I get it dirty, milord ?"
"Dirty !?" he said and laughed. "God just how clean is this future you come from ? Is there no dirt or mud there ?"
I nodded, "It's really clean, milord. Like we bathe every day in showers. We even have microbiotic cleaners for our cellphones."
He didn't pretend to understand the words but more and more he was beginning to believe I really was a time traveler from the future and not some clever liar. The words I spoke did not sound made-up to him. That these were words from a true time if even he did not understand any of them.
He put his clasped hands out again. "One more time, Dev. Up on my mount. Come on, boy, here we go !"
This time i stepped in his hands and fell clumsily on to the horse, my arms almost sprawling over and I had no balance.
"Easy !" he said making sure I didn't just fall off again as that was where I was headed. We fussed with that poor horse long minutes. The mare whickered uneasily at my sloppy movements before he finally could get back up without me falling off again.
"Hold on to my waist, tightly ! it is clear, Dev Borne, you have never ridden on a horse before ?"
"Yessir, that's correct."
He didn't bother to insist me calling him, "milord" as I still showed him respect.
"Well, sir, you are graced to be in my presence - for I am Sir Pelinoire of Loxshire ! To the castle then !"
With that the whole animal started to lope and I gripped my fingers tightly around his own belt, made of some kind of metal I noticed - and was bouncing up and down as he made rapid progress out of the forest. Despite my growing queasiness of the movements I did look around and saw - well, absolutely clean forests.
I mean I know we had parks and forests where I lived, but you could always find a piece of trash, or some burnt out campfire, or SOMETHING to take away from the nature.
"It's beautiful !" I said breathlessly.
He turned to look at my expression clearly seeing first time wonder - and for him for no apparent reason.
He turned to face the road and laughed deep in the back of his chest, "Haha ! Dev ! I think you will like our time ! If it turns out you are telling the truth, and I think you are, I will want to spend time with you and learn about this 'future' from whence you came."
He spoke thoughtfully, You could be of great benefit to our kingdom ! Especially if you can tell us what will be." We rode on.
Suddenly a castle came into sight. Not a tourist castle or even that nice one they had at the water park I saw years ago. A real honest-to-goodness castle ! Stone walls, moat, with pennants and flying banners.
He held up his sword aloft and yelled, "Welcome, Dev Borne ! To Castle Dalamier !"
END OF CHAPTER 2
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