PITCH BLACK

PITCH BLACK

“I’d rather have an average learner student than having an exceptional learner student who’s having issues with attitude and attendance. Do you really want to graduate? I bet you don’t even want to walk at the stage taking your diploma. You’re not even interested mister. Wanna end the stigma of being called ‘High school Veteran’? Then you must do something. I’m giving you this last chance just to scrub your troubled grades. Here’s you’re make up project- Make a comprehensive history report about the 20^th Century. Tell us how our ancestors lived on that era. It’ll be presented this 2pm, okay? Help yourself. I have the say whether you’ll graduate or not. Convince me. Make it or break it.”

�'Litany. It’s a clichéd sermon coming from my long-time adviser. I’m used to being scolded by my teachers. You’ll hear this a lot from them- “Poor him. He should’ve graduate wearing a gold medal.” But guess what, I’m not even trying. Yes, I can ace the exams without reviewing lectures written in my notebook (I don’t even have a notebook and haven’t even tried doin’ a lecture during a class). I only rely on my stock knowledge. I have the swag. I’m good. So, since I’m good, why should I attend the class ‘aight? This is what you call, chutzpah. I’d rather step out of the room, play basketball with my folks, smoke and burn my lungs, and spend the rest of my day playing online games outside. School is like a hell of quarantine and outside the fence- it’s liberty you’ll find. I am Peter Pan. I don’t want to grow up. I’ve been Peter Pan for 7 years and being a black sheep on and off campus, and regularly scolded by the faculty or what have you is starting to be boring. But today is different, Imma’ like the Captain Jack Sparrow now who wants to explore everything in the Caribbean after steppin’ out of this boring Neverland. I wanna try something new. I guess it’ll be fun. But the catch is, to make that possible- I must have a passing grade and the ticket to explore the vastness of the Caribbean is in Mrs. Cruz’s hands. What’s ironic about this is that she assigned me to do a report about the crappy old History, and I hate History! History is extremely boring. I know for a fact that Mrs. Cruz knows that I really hate that subject for chrissake! She’s that pretty clever. This is really a big challenge for me, and right now I only have 3 hours to prepare and make some visuals for my report.

History is a least prioritized subject for most of us. Something I can say that almost everyone is unfamiliar ‘bout how it goes. But given the topic about the 20^th Cents? I don’t even need to do a research for this one. Everybody knows what happened during that time! Every human being hates this topic. They know the story by heart, and, they cursed it.

We call that period “The Dark Ages”. There’s even alotta term given for the 20^th cents like, “The Self-Destruction Era”, “The Evil Times”. Et cetera. It’s a forbidden topic that if you accidentally mentioned in the streets it’s either people will stare at you, or curse you like hell, or a rock will just instantly land in your head. People right now don’t wanna remember the darkest nightmare of mankind. The period when our ancestors did all the negligence where us, people livin’ in the present is currently suffering because of them. That’s the reason behind why it will ruin someone’s day once you say it. I personally hate the Dark Ages.

Those who lived during that time were lucky. I’m mad and jealous about our ancestors. Imagine how they lived with limitless resources. They experienced swimming out on the deep blue sea, kids were free to fly kite with a radiant sunlight, camp under the shades of the green trees, and have some fresh air, simple things like that but, they just wasted it. Look at the world right now, we haven’t even experienced swimming in the sea because trashes were all around, haven’t even seen a real blue sea in my entire life, haven’t even seen a living fish, just seen it in books and online, haven’t even tried flying a kite during my childhood because the heat of the sunlight is extremely dangerous and it can burn my skin if exposed for 15 minutes, haven’t even tried walking on the streets without wearing a sun proofed jacket and a helmet, haven’t even seen or eaten a raw vegetable, haven’t even seen a real tree standing, all I see right now is a decaying world. Everything is garbage. Everything is pitch black.

I once read a vintage book from my grandpa’s library. It says that economy before was good then slowly fell down year after year. Before, a kilo of rice can cost you thirty pesos, then a year after, it’ll go up to thirty five pesos, then a year after, it’ll be forty, then becomes fifty, then becomes sixty, until you can’t even afford to buy one and end up eating sweet potatoes instead.

During 2020’s, Large oil producing countries most especially in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia ran out of petroleum. Due to oil shortage, they decided to triple the price in the world market until such time there were no more oils to produce. If only our government supported the invention of the Filipino scientist with an apparatus using natural water as an alternative for gasoline, then drivers won’t depend no more on gasoline for transportation, there’ll be no more headaches for oil price hike, there’ll be no more reason for communists and transport groups to rally, there’ll be no more polluted air to spray in the ozone layer, and there’ll be no more Global Warming to suffer.

Years 2030’s to 2040’s, Massive animal extinction occurred. Natural rainforests were denuded. Bushfires and skin diseases were rampant, the sunlight temperature rose up to 42’C identical to the number of cases of crimes recorded. Famine started in Africa then abruptly scattering to the neighboring countries. Crimes started haunting the world. People forgot to praise the Creator and started rejoicing money.

Years 2050’s to late 2060’s, a temperature of 48’C was recorded in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. The Intensive Research for Science and Technology of United Nations or IRSTUN introduced Adellugen, a specialized fluid designed to produce cold cells triggering hypothalamus every time an abnormal heat of the body was detected, to at least neutralize the body temperature against the extreme sun heat. IRSTUN mandated an “Operation Adellugen Injection” first in Mozambique and Kenya, then later on, global wide. And later that year, United Nations (UN) provided a mandatory order to prioritize Science and Technology as a primary subject on Educational curriculum to all participating countries. The aftereffect, High technology becomes feasible, large number of young scientists suddenly boomed the globe, and opened lots of opportunities for employment. Most of ‘em were science or technology related.

Same year, researchers said that numbers of species were now nonexistent to the ecosystem most especially the Aves species (bird) apparently because there are only few of the trees standing where they usually dwell. It’s even so rare now to see a Maya bird in the Philippines. And another crisis arise, the Seven Wonders of the World were now down to three due to climate change.

In the year 2063, the saddest and scariest part happened. Mega quakes with an undistinguished magnitude devastated 13 countries located in the four regions of the world. First occurred in the Northern Region, then at the Eastern, to the Western, to the South Pacific Region, Geographic experts says that it created a big scar in the map resembling like a cross. Large infrastructures and citizens were harbored by the mega quake same picture reminding you like a scene from the bible where after Jesus Christ was crucified then a rain poured heavy followed by an earthquake devouring those people who do not believed in Him. This reminds everyone that prayer is the only powerful weapon they must have. Repentance I should say.

Years 2070’s to present, we call it the birth of the High-Tech period. National leaders created a Law, demolishing all the plastic-producing factories. Companies producing Chloroflourocarbonated (CFC) products were now closed since these two is one of the major factors of Greenhouse Effect. Using any products that might harm the nature is a mortal sin. Anyone caught using this prohibited products will be dinged for a 10-year imprisonment.

Scientists made a breakthrough of using the abaca fiber as an alternative instead of plastic usage. They cultured the abaca fiber into varied forms for the society to be used. Since the Earth is running out of organic resources, they decided to clone all the remaining organic materials for it to be doubled and meet the demands of the consumers.

Everyone is concerned finding for a remedy for Global Warming. Everyone is looking for a cure to all the sickness. Everyone is finding ways to survive. There’s few of the organics you’ll see outside and most of ‘em, man made. We are living in an artificial world. This is the Nature’s punishment given to the negligence of the Wasters- our ancestors, being selfish of the natural resources they enjoyed and not thinking for preservation for the future of the next generation- us the Earthkeepers. They refused us the right to see and experience the beauty of the world. And right now, scientists were hopeful trying to create a time-traveling machine to go back to the time were people made their biggest mistake and somehow correct it, and would hopefully be the way to change the future-, which is our present. Others were intending for the use of the time travel machine to migrate in the Old World and stay there for good. We blame our ancestors; they’re the culprits of this gigantic mess. Because of them, the rich becomes richer, the poor becomes poorer. The normal rain is now a typhoon; the normal snow is now an avalanche; the sunny day is now a burny day.

I wonder how an Ipad would look like; my professor said that it existed around 2011. He said that it’s an old version of Ewok101 that is what we have right now. I wonder how it feels like playing basketball without wearing a sunlight-proofed jacket and a helmet, and also without being injected by Adellugen. If I only have a time machine… If I only have a time machine… time machine… time… time… “Time to wake up Jimmy!”  “Jimmy! Wake up you couch potato!” I heard an obfuscated whisper of a voice sounding familiar to me. Earlier it was just a whisper, then becomes a serene voice, and then becomes a disturbing shout that is banging hard my eardrums. I’m having a blurry vision while slowly opening the sticky lids of my eyes. Few seconds, I recognized the picture. It’s mom kicking me out of the bedroom tryin’ to wake me up. “Hey what’s with the yelling mom?” I snapped. “Whoa, don’t you even know that it’s past 12 and lunch is ready? And look at yourself you don’t even have the time to change your clothes.” Mom was staring weird at my dress way up and down, up and down, up and… Then I started to get confused and check if what’s wrong with my dress, it’s white, and long, and “Holy cow!” shocked after seeing myself wearing a graduation dress, for real! “Tell me mom, is this true? What happened? C’mon! Pinch me, pinch me.” I asked her with a feeling of disbelief then Mom laughed on top of her lungs and says, “Are you on drugs? Don’t tell me that it’s possible nowadays for a student who just graduated last night, and then the next day, he’ll get an amnesia?”