New People, Old World

Something I wrote in class that I want to expand on

Darya: It was the year 3000 when the world exploded. One day I woke up and everyone was gone, except for my friend Alexander and myself. We have been friends since we were born on September 1st, 2982. Oh, sorry you don’t know who I am, my name is Darya. This is technically the year 3000 but it doesn't look like it, everyone thinks it is the year 1500. Alexander and I are the only people who know the truth, and we are still enjoying most of the technological advances. We are living in an old world with new things. I don’t like it, and we are running from the past and chasing the future.

In middle and high school, I studied science, but Alexander studied literature. This created deep controversy, so this was something we have discussed for hours on end. Alexander thought that science was destroying our imagination, but I thought that science was helping us improve our life with technology. We had times where we were in such a deep argument that we would stay up way too late talking, and then our microchips would “yell” at us for not taking care of our bodies with sleep.

Alexander: I don't exactly know what Darya has told you, so I will start at the beginning. My name is Alexander, but you can call me Alex for short, I am 18 years old and the world exploded taking our whole lives with it. Now all that is left from the world we used to live in is Darya and me, as well as computers, cars, microchips, iPhones, a 3D printer, and so much more. We were in our last year of high school and about to graduate, and then we were going to college. I was going to study literature and Darya was going to study biochemistry. We always argued about our different majors. I definitely still think that science is ruining our dreams, but Darya thinks that science is helping to improve our lifestyle. I’m pretty sure that when microchips are keeping people alive for eternity and not letting our bodies  be able to run their natural course with life and death.

Darya: I am not sure what is outside of the woods we are living in. Alexander and I are not brave enough to venture out of our little covert we are calling our home. Not that we need to; we can print out any food we want with our 3D printer. Really that is providing everything we need to live. We should never have needed to leave our little home, but sometimes we would get bored. We are still teenagers, especially Alex. He was still trying to see how far he could push the limits. He was wild, crazy, and free, I wish you could have been there to see him. Alex would run out of our house and his goal was to climb a tree as high as he could before the timer went off, and I, being the sensible one, would not. Then he would jump from tree to tree for about half an hour before I called him back because it was getting dark and it would have been harder to see if someone came around.

Alexander: I wouldn't necessarily call Darya a control freak, okay so maybe I would, but she never lets me stay out after dark, she would not let me talk to anyone no matter what, and she even wouldn't let me hunt and gather like normal pilgrims, even though I am sure I knew we were not.

Darya: Alex is always pushing my buttons, testing the limits, and breaking the rules. He has no respect, sometimes I just need a break from him. So I will climb high in a tree, sit there, and think, oh and watch the deer and birds. I find that very peaceful. Sometimes you just need to be alone. Please don’t tell Alex this, but sometimes he will try to find me even when I have hinted to him that I need to be alone.

Alexander: Sometimes Darya would be so weird, she would spend half of her time each day just sitting in a tree staring off into space or reading books. Even though I was the one who studied literature and she was the one who studied science, she can easily out read me. She would read 5 books a day, and I mean like thick 10,000 page books; I am lucky if I can read a book every month. We were lucky we had the 3D printer because she could print any book she would want to read. If you saw our reading log that she made us keep you would think that Darya was the literature major and I was the science major.

Darya: I love to read, I can normally read 50,00 pages a day, or 5 books. Alex likes reading but is just a much slower reader. Most people who knew us and knew that one of us was a literature major and one of us was a science major, think that I am the literature major because I always have a book, and Alex would never be caught reading. I just love sitting in a tree reading a book or sitting by a window reading a book. I just love reading.

Alexander: So yesterday something scary happened, or, at least, something Darya thought was scary. I was out trying to hunt and gather. While hiding from Darya I came across something strange, it was a trap, not a trap for a human but a small trap, probably for a squirrel, maybe a raccoon. Then out from behind a tree came a man, and I panicked; I didn’t know what to do and so I grabbed the man and dragged him back to our house and locked him in the basement. Then came another man, and another, and another. One by one they were locked in the basement until I had 30 men locked in our basement. Darya was so mad at me but glad that I didn't get myself killed.

Darya: The other day Alex was outside, and I was in my bedroom. When I came down to make dinner I heard a lot of commotion, and apparently he had trapped a bunch of pilgrims in our basement who had just moved from England and didn’t know what was going on. I was furious with him. I really dislike social situations, and I was not in the mood to host 30 pilgrims. The day that happened was probably the worst day for him to lock 30 pilgrims in our basement, I had been having major panic attacks that day and so that was why I was in my room before dinner. I pulled Alex aside and said,

“What in the world were you thinking, we don't have room for 30 pilgrims.”

“I wasn't thinking about that. They came up behind me and I panicked,” said Alex.

“You were panicked,” I said, “ I have been having panic attacks all day and I am not prepared to host 30 pilgrims.”

“I’m sorry, but look at it this way, if we have a war we have already started to build our army.” said Alex.

“Ha ha ha,” I said sarcastically, “ Now you better find a space to sleep and something to eat, because we can't very well let them go, so you will have full responsibility for these 30 men you have torn from their families, children, and lives. You are so morbid, you are leaving young children fatherless. Children need fathers. You know I never had a father.”

Alexander: Darya was so mad at me, and I don't understand why, she can sometimes be really annoying, she went on this really long rant about how I was taking fathers from their families and most importantly, their children. She is kind of sensitive about fathers because she didn't have one for 14 years until her mother remarried another man. She thinks that that is why in 11th grade she got her first A in Family Life, she has always gotten A+s, and she will never forget it.

Darya: I am so fed up with Alex. How could he think it would be okay to let 30 perfect strangers into our house for dinner. He knows I have problems with people, especially large groups of people. I don't think the 3D printer can make enough food to feed 30 men. After that argument, I stayed in my room for a week. The next day I went outside, and there was a man standing to stare at the sky. Great I thought to myself, one of Alex's pilgrims ms must have gotten out. Then he turned around and looked at me. Then before I knew it, I was running back to our house and grabbing Alex and all 30 pilgrims and we were arguing with the man and his 30 other pilgrims. Alex had the idea to grab the pilgrims, but I wanted them to stay inside. The man introduced himself as Willem. He is very old fashioned, and I guess that makes sense because he is from the past.

When we were fighting we both had different ways of fighting, we try to use our technology and they tried to use verbal way of fighting. I really did not enjoy this way of fighting.

We fought/argued about technology and then we lost. The past beat us and I am okay with that. However, I am not okay that we died and so now we are writing this in heaven. I hope you enjoyed our story and will come back for more.