本帖最後由 高秉辰 於 2011-8-11 15:44 編輯
PLANET LEGENDSOrigins – S’mores
Chapter 1 Existence Meet Josh, a male human child lost in space. This is a story of his vivid existence.
On planet “S’mores”, the world is divided into “Urban” and “Abandoned”. The people who live in “Urban” lead their life with wealth and all the resources, and those who live in the “Abandoned”, aren’t so lucky. Rules were made long ago that the two different worlds shall never cross the other, and so the “Urban” regions kept closed to the world around it. Unfortunately, Josh was left in an agricultural settlement in the “Abandoned” region, somewhere on this planet, in the Saloma desert. Shanty towns dotting the dry plain like oases in deserts and in the center of them, is the settlement where Josh lead his life. People here try to visualize a life they would have if they were raised up in the “Urban”.
Just like usual, Josh wakes up at 7 in the morning of a sunny Sunday, and hikes up to the top of the hill nearby his tiny house.
Just like usual, misery is wildly displayed in this massive view lying before his eyes. An old man lying dead on the street, a boy sits and cries in the middle of a road, a grocery store filled with homeless people; these are just daily routines for an abandoned area. But right on the edge of the far north he can see, an urban stands into the sky. It’s mighty is beyond anything Josh has ever seen. Due to the rules and laws, he and his people are strictly banded from the city. Demonstrations and conflicts happen the most on the outskirts of the urban cities in this period, when winter strikes and wipes out whole towns with massive sandstorms. People outside the city walls cry out for help and the right to survive, but never gets any answers but death and exile.
Winds are blowing through his old, color faded T-shirt. His blond hair floats up frequently while the wind blows. He tries to absorb as much of the scene in front of him as he can before he has to leave. The great city, the blue sky, the shining suns, the river Ki’ halai on the edge of his sight, and the sand right under his feet.
Finally, the wind’s big enough to blow up all the sand and forces him to follow down the path went up. He glances at the north one last time, imagining he could live in the urban consisting of luxury, wealth and happiness.
Josh spends his time wandering all over the streets of his settlement the following afternoon. All the scenes of the streets seem to build up a painting with a strong, yellow, and brown background. He keeps his eyes on both the streets and his cell phone. Watching instant news, he discovers a riot occurring just a few miles away, at the Cranker’s, the biggest prison in the region.
The suns are setting. He goes back to the top of the hill again for the beautiful scene of the sunset.
“Odineas” and “Zuseos”, those are the names of the two suns. He recalls the legendary tales told by his grandmother years ago. It is said that the first group of humans on the planet came from a far place called “Earth”. They gave the two names of the suns from the “Norse” and “Greek” mythology.
He extracts some joy every time seeing these numerous views on the hill. Just before the light of the suns is hidden, he spies down at the greenhouses and buildings shattering around the bottom of the hill. The whole world in front of him is finally eaten by the shadows. He sighs.
He walks between the bright lights standing on the streets after coming down from the hill. He finally realizes that he’s got to go home to make dinner for his 10-year-old brother, James. He quickly runs home for the little brother who depends on only him. He won’t allow himself to fail James, not again.
“What are the ingredients I need for the nutritious pizza? ” He mumbles.
“Damn it! I got no onions left.”
“You shouldn’t swear! It’s rude.” James says to his big brother.
Josh regrets letting his little brother watch him cook.
“Is it fine if there’re no onions in the pizza?” He asks.
“Well, it’s fine… I remember you saying the onions are expensive as hell.”
“Hey! Don’t say that. It’s rude to use the word ‘hell’.” He tells James while taking out bread, cheese, gorsa meat, and venaseal form the cabin.
After the dinner, he tells a bedtime story to James before turning off the lights of his bedroom.
“You’re ready for the story?”
“Yep.” James answers with his eyes full of expectations.
“Here it goes.” He whispers,” Once upon a time, a far place on the planet ‘Earth’ called ‘United States of America’ was controlled by a corrupt government. The people under its control felt confined to law and the highly pressured society… ”
What Josh doesn’t know is that, this tale isn’t just a tale. It led to a revolution in the U.S.A approximately 200 years ago, and during it, their ancestors came to S’mores with another group of French. They avoided the government’s apprehension of resistance and were repelled by the destructive battle. But that’s another irrelevant story…
After he finishes convincing James to sleep quietly, he returns to his room next to James’.
His room is one and a half yards wide, three yards long, containing a bed and a small desk with a small computer. He sits at his desk, turning on the computer. He keeps track of the riot at the Cranker’s, in the Centorien basin. It seems like it’s not over yet. Police and the criminals are combating in Cranker’s limited space. A police officer states that they are taking advantage to dismantle the organized rival gang in prison, lead by Francis. K. Nolan.
“Francis. K. Nolan…”He whispers with his lips barely moving.
He keys in the name “Francis. K. Nolan” on a research website. He then discovers Nolan is a French guy who escaped from the police of an urban he sees in the north. It is said the police forces never got out of the city after he went deep in to the Saloma desert. Just as Josh is getting more interested, the screen merges into a small cube and turns off. It looks like the authority has cut the electricity supplies again. He then turns to his bed and lies on it, with his brain stuffed with question circling around Nolan.
Early in the morning, he gets up to make cornflakes with milk as breakfast for James and himself. Right after the quick breakfast, he then sends James to the school for learning math and language.
“Have a good day!” He waves to James, and James waves back.
After a morning full of leisure time, he has a simple lunch then makes his way to work. He works in a farming industry by the assembly line. His job is picking out scrap, rotten leaves from the crops and products, which will be made into cans of vegetables.
The factory is made up of a gigantic green house, a ware house, and four big chambers for the food manufacture and its labors. In one of these four chambers, is where Josh works and gets paid. Though the building is old, the structure of it is still strong. The steel and concrete are the things which support it after decades, and still haven’t given up. Josh can tell these buildings have a long history from their cracks of their pale walls. This is the biggest factory in the region, owned by a corporation named “Treesource”.
Josh walks to his locker and gets dressed, ready for work. The subsequent is as ordinary as it could be. Working beside a huge, black, and disgusting vat for the last two hours of a day’s work is the worst part of his job. The smell of all different kinds of rotten plants’ mixture is even worse than corps. The paycheck of a whole afternoon’s work is only enough for him to keep James and himself from starving to death.
Leaving the factory and picking up James mean the suns are about to descend. The orange light shining from the west edge stains the streets and buildings with a red atmosphere. Josh loves showering in the red with James, it gives him an opportunity to let go of the facts of this deficient life.
After finishing a simple dinner with James, he starts to work on the chores. Dish washing, vacuuming, and trash throwing, they’re all a part of his daily routine. As long as James has homework to do, the silence fills the house. When all the things are done, he goes back to his room. He turns on the computer to see if the riot has come to an end.
It seem like most of the prisoners are either killed or captured after a 12 hours conflict. But what catches Josh’s eyes is Francis, the leader of the riot and also one of the few criminals who escaped successfully. The police department has announced a wanted list and keens to bring them to justice.
“How interesting…” He speaks to himself.
“What’s so interesting?” James asks with innocence.
Josh answers without caring,” Nothing, just a guy running away from police. Have you finished your homework?”
“Ya… But I don’t know the answer to this question.” James hands in the math homework.
Josh quickly solves the question and tells James to get ready for bed. He is possesed of an idea, a bold one.
“What if this Francis guy can get James and I into the urban?” He thinks.
“It’s a possibility, right? After all, he ran out of it, he must know a way back in.”
He says to himself just before the computer turns off in front of him,” He sure is an existence, isn’t he…” |
分享
收藏
分享
