Rose colored glasses (ch. 14)

CHOP-CHOP...CHOP-CHOP


“Looking out the window, I can’t see the disorder. 


“I still see lights in houses,” remarked Bernard. 


“They said there’s been trouble, with- 


CHOP-CHOP...CHOP-CHOP


“-conflicts, on the surface roads lately,” said Mark changing the subject. 


“I’m sure it’s exaggerated, really think about it.”


“I have thought about it. You are going-”


CHOP-CHOP..CHOP-CHOP


“-to have to take off those rose-colored glasses Bernard.”


“What?”


“They aren’t going to protect you from all of this,” finished a serious Mark. 


All the while the train chopped closer to the end of its time. 

Scatter (ch. 13)

Two, maybe three in the morning, the hours during which anything unexpected can leave a person in a haze. The seas were as they had been, slowly rolling, while the ship was quite alive for the hour.


“FLOODING! FLOODING!” whined the intercom system.


People rushing about, trying to find where they belonged during such a scenario, left plenty of confusion for the two responsible parties to scatter. At that hour no questions are asked, no assumptions made.


“FLOODING! FLOODING!” The cracking voice repeated over the intercom. 


“So it’s done,” said John to an anxious Francis. “Hopefully it buys us time.” 

Ship has sailed (ch. 12)

"I just want to know when I get to go home?


“Really we’ve been here for two weeks now,” started Mark, emphatically.


“I’m sure this whole situation will work itself out soon enough, and we can return to a safer home,” finished a confident and positive Bernard.


The stale air stagnated within the stuffy offices and cold meeting rooms which made up the large government building. All those who were able to make it before the transit system collapsed, have been there since.


“I’m not so sure this can be worked out,” I think that ship has sailed, thought Mark. 

Flooding (ch. 11)

Waves rocking the boat steadily from forward to aft only reminded the crew they were close to home, for however short a time.


Down below the decks somewhere two voices whispered within the metal, while up above all was dreary. The consistent gray sky of the winter, and the thought of such a short stop at home, left a somber tone with the crew.


Down below somewhere:


“Is it done?” She asked.


“Yes, hopefully this works,” said the other


Up in the pilothouse:


“What’s that light on the panel over there?”


“Flooding!?”


“GENERAL ALARM, GENERAL ALARM!” Echoed through the ship. 

Since When (ch. 10)

Since when did you start to care? thought Mark.


“...and that’s the thing, we just need to stay optimistic,” said Bernard, looking hopefully out the window of the large official building.


“I was optimistic, “ you ignorant fool “until I realized something.” 


“What did you realize?”


“The same thing you realized,” started Mark hotly. “This situation, our fate, it’s all hopeless. At that point, exactly that point, I ceased to be optimistic, while you - you just began to be optimistic.”


“Seriously Mark, get a hold of yourself. We, this country - we”ll pull through this.”


 “Sure we will,” spoke Mark sarcastically. 

New Project (ch. 9)

"You where there, Francis. You can’t tell me with a straight face they aren’t trying to keep something from us.”


“Wait what do you guys mean?” asked John frantically.


“About a half hour ago, CSO was telling us about our new research project. It was as if nothing ever happened, a complete blank slate for this trip.”


“I just don’t get it, what we saw was something never before seen. The world needs to know about it,” argued Andrea.


“Do you still have your copy of our findings?” asked John. 


“Yes”


“Do they know,” I sure hope not “about it?” 

Courier (ch.8)

A quiet rap at the door, someone wanted in.


“Who on earth could that be?” don’t open it “We aren’t here.”


Peering out the window, Mark noted, “I don’t see any rioters down there, so it’s probably safe.”


“Well, go on and answer it then, Mark,” spoke Bernard cautiously.


The large heavy door opened to reveal a courier bearing a small envelope. He briskly handed over the message and vanished from sight.


After quickly glancing at the contents Mark began, “So it looks like they’re afraid to use the phones now. There’s an Emergency Council Meeting scheduled next Friday”


“Finally.” 

Far South Coast (ch. 7)

The cold gray January sky dominated R/V Forward. Just one day off the coast, the ship was cold and the crew anxious.


“Did you hear we are only stopping for a few hours in home port?” she asked.


“I can’t believe this, why would they be sending us down off the far south coast? We need to be back where we came from!” Francis seconded angrily.


“There’s something they aren’t telling us, there’s something we need to know,” said John.


The ship lay asleep that morning, while those three wrestled with their reality out among the white capped swells. 

Unrest (ch. 6)

Staring out the window Bernard could see unrest over by the corner. This part of the city has been increasingly prone to riots lately.


“The cops,” started Bernard “why wont they do anything?


“This has been going on for weeks now.”


“At least a third of them agree with those in the crowd, statistically,” argued Mark.


“Bernard looked over at his fellow delegate in despair. What happened, to them, to him? He thought.


“The people can’t get over their differences anymore, thats all,” said mark the mind- reader.


“They will next Friday, they have to.” 


“Don’t count on it, Bernard.” 

Your copy (ch. 5)

"John, something isn’t adding up!


“I watched in awe today as CSO (Chief Scientific Officer) did a purge audit of our findings,” said Andrea in a hushed tone as she cornered John in the forward passageway.


It had been three days since they turned back east and they were due into home port within the week.


“So it’s all gone?” I can’t believe he did that! “All that work purged?” he asked. 


“Well... no.


“I sort of copied it when we turned back east,” she replied smiling a bit.


“None of this makes sense... do they know of your copy, Andrea?” 

Crucial Time (ch. 4)

Mark could feel it in his shoes as he walked down the stark corridor.


“There’s not much hope for our nation, our way of life - all that we know, is there?” he asked of Bernard.


“Why would you say something like that now? This is a crucial time, we need to be optimistic!”


“Can’t you read it?” elicited Mark.


“What do you mean...” stop that right now, I know what you’re thinking! 


“The writing, it’s all over the walls. Something is going to change.”


“Don’t seal our fate yet, Mark,” said Bernard, as the two approached the emergency council meeting. 

Back east (ch. 3)

Why are we heading back east? A thought shared by all those among the group.


 “There’s so much more to learn about it, you know,” said John.


“I was thinking maybe we needed to recover more data, but we are too far for that now,” seconded Andrea, staring the computer printout in front of her.


“There’s no sense in it, this is the opportunity of a lifetime!


“Thing is, no one up stairs is talking, so what can we do but speculate?” ended Francis, watching the swells roll off below the stern of R/V Forward.


Something isn’t right here. 

Blue dotted lines (ch. 2)

Blue dotted lines have divided the land. 

“The trick is trying to see what comes next. Really there is no sense in holding on to what we have, that is only transient now.” 

“I don’t get it though,” said a concerned Mark. “Things where so stable here, it seemed as if nothing would ever change.” 

“Forget it, kid! It’s all about band-wagons now,” I wish it were still stable here “just keep your eye out for one. Maybe it will lead to some place better than this.” 

 “What do you mean by that?” 

“Just look out for yourself, alright?”

Found (ch. 1)

“So there it is.

“Just think - four weeks ago, no one in the world would have believed this possible,” so sad a thought “and now everything changes.” 

He mused sitting atop the flying bridge of R/V Forward. It was overcast that morning, and the swells lightly rocked the ship across the beam. The whole scene there was in stark contrast with everything believed to be true in the world. 

“I don’t know just how we’ve missed this for so long, but I’m glad we’ve found it,” said the other up on the fly bridge. 

“Something doesn’t seem right, though.”

Patriotic Explosions

I'm all for the 4th of July and uninhibited 'patriotism' in the form of small explosives, but to light off earth-shattering fireworks displays [in a neighborhood] at 0001 (12:01 a.m.) on a weeknight is a little excessive.

Heres to not using patriotism as an excuse for being a completely inconsiderate jerk! 

Fun facts and figures