The chronicler showed up in New Orlando yesterday. He wanted to hear Xander’s story. Of all the people, Xander was probably the least interesting. He couldn't figure out why his story was wanted in the first place, but denying the chronicler a request had terrible consequences. They sat down in Xander’s very plain living room, on his equally plain chairs. Are you comfortable, Xander asked him. Would you like some water, or tea? The man had on a style of clothing that Xander had never seen before. It was a uniform of some type, he had metals and badges pinned all over the left side of his chest. Nothing for me, but thank you. He was setting up a pad, and pen on the small table in front of him. Getting his work space ready for the production of his art. Xander was fidgeting, he didn't know exactly why he was nervous, he had literally nothing to hide. He lived a rather plain and boring life, he followed all the rules. He always met his quota of livestock, and produce. In all honesty, he was probably just suffering from pod anxiety. He had not been outside in four months. He had spent almost the whole last 3 months in his greenhouses.
The day was so hot that the birds and small animals were hiding in the shade. The pets and people in the neighborhood came out of their air conditioned home blocks only briefly. A quick trip to the mail boxes, or running out to grab the daily rations, then it's straight back into the temperature regulated environments of the house block. If it was just a passing heat wave, their lives would be so much different. This is the normal day, at least it is now.
The history books tell us that the temperature only broke 100°F in the summers before the shift. They also tell of four seasons, with one called winter, where frozen flakes of fresh water fell from the sky. They called it snow. We have no way of knowing if it's actually true. If this snow really existed, or there was a season called winter, all evidence of it was wiped away in the shift. It's hard to imagine that there were once homes and stores on the continents of America and Europe. Seeing pictures of them now as the vast deserts, and wastelands pockmarked by nuclear bombs and fire, makes anything before the shift seem almost like an absurd fairy tale.
The Story Begins.
So, are you ready Xander? The look on his face was serious. Xander became flustered. Ummm, should I start with my parents, or my birth? I'm not sure how this goes. The serious man gave him a partial smile, it was the first sign that Xander got that the man was human. Just start with now, tell me how you see society, and life. Then work your way around your life, and family however you see fit. Just let it flow, and I will attempt to add some order to the chaos afterwards. Xander nodded, he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath, and then he let it go. The floodgates of his mind just unloaded.
The only real evidence we have of a different age previously existing, is the folk tales passed down from the grandparents and elders who saw it first hand. They speak of days when Antarctica was just a glacier covered, unpopulated continent, an empty frozen tundra. I know, it's hard to imagine now that we are all living here. He sat silently for a second, not sure how to continue. He looked up to see how the man was reacting, and he was just sitting there silently writing. So he continued talking, my parents tell me that when they were kids, the coast line still had some glaciers, and the mountain tops were covered in ice. They also say that when the shift happened, the wall of sea water washing over the majority of Antarctica melted some of the snow and ice. They tell us that all this vegetation was just frozen under it. When everything thawed these new types of vegetables, and mushrooms just started growing again. How did they get there? Who built all of the underground tunnels? The serious man froze, and he looked up at Xander. Those were left here by the creators. They knew that we would one day need a new home. You know this right? Xander nodded, yes I do, it just seems odd. They build all of this, then sealed it in ice for tens of thousands of years? The man stopped writing all together. Yes Xander they did, but when you are telling me this, try to refrain from asking questions. Especially inflammatory ones like that. Just tell me what you know, anything passed down from your elders is great. Even the old folk tales and myths from the old religions are fine. Xander nodded in confirmation, then continued.
When our great grandparents, and grandparents survived the shift, it was because they were the only ones living on high enough ground. The waves washed away everything on the coast lines, the cities, neighborhoods, and parks, were just gone. It continued moving inland, and the thousand foot tall wave ripped more trees, farms, and people from the places they had been born, built up, and living for hundreds of years. Shoving them further inland untile they were nothing more than a jumbled heaps of flesh, stone, metal, and splintered wood. When the waters fully receded, the smell of billions of decomposing corpses and the spread of diseases caused by them, forced the first waves of migrations.
Anyways, my grandparents were born in Argentina on the way here. Their parents, my great grandparents were living in the Smokey mountains when the shift happened. They were in the first caravans. They hiked, moved and marched for almost ten years to get here. The last 6 months were done with my grandfather as an infant. Luckily, they made it onto the ferries, and were almost arriving at the coast when the volcanoes started going off. They made it here, and found the caves where they later discovered the city of the creators. Again, luckily found right before the dark year started. By the time my parents were born, the rumors about an Arctic population began to spread like wildfire. They tried to send a few parties out to see if it was true, but it's assumed that pirates killed or enslaved them.
Our parents generation found the atmospheric energy tech of the old ones, and now we have no worries about the old wind turbines, or the solar panels wearing out, or overheating. My mom and dad work in the energy temple and tunnels as maintenance staff. I drew the lottery for food production, and ever since I have produced more than my quota every quarter. Just last week, I found out that the Guardians have found me a genetically matched mate. She is supposed to arrive later today. I'm nervous about that I suppose. The new system is confusing. The chronicler startled him when he laughed, the man had been almost undetectable other than the scratching of his pen, silently sitting there just writing for quite a while. Then the loud genuine laugh made Xander jump.
The man stopped laughing and looked at him with the most serious expression possible. It is confusing, and they are… very unique. Xander’s face lit up, so you have met one of them. Yes I have Xander, the man replied. And, they are much different than I imagined. The young man's face screwed up in confusion, how so? Okay, we are off the record here, and he man put down his pen. Well, the chronicler said, they have a much larger presence than you could ever imagine. Not just their size, but everything about them. The one that was assigned to me arrived last week. I was boiling some eggs in my kitchen, and then there was this crackle of static in the air, when I turned around there she was. I was in shock at first. Are they really as tall as the other guys say they are? Yes, yes Xander they are, but only at first. Once they touch your mind, they physically become your idea of a perfect mate. I always admired the looks of my math teacher in college, and she took on all of her physical characteristics. She even smelled like her.
Xander was sitting there with his mouth hanging open, staring in amazement. The man continued to explain his encounter with one of the priestesses. Xander began to wonder who his would change into. He had never given much thought to what a perfect mate would look like. Would she have brown hair, or blonde, would she be tan, or pale… The chronicler snapped his fingers, and Xander’s brief daydream quickly ended. So, as I was saying Xander, I will come back on Friday, and Saturday. I want your story to continue after you meet your priestess. Today I am just building an introduction. The thing I really came to document, is your experience with her. Along with how it changes the way you look at things.
Xander was lost in thought now, with everything he just heard, his mind was racing pretty bad. The rumors were true, and in just a few hours, one of these priestesses will be right here in his home. The chronicler began packing up his notebooks and pens. So, tomorrow at mid-day then. He grabbed the bag, and headed out the door without another word.