Krishna kumar Mani: SFS2: Science Fiction Short Stories

After I successfully logged in I wished to view my video again but I was not alone. I got a message via short message service or SMS.

“Government knows you’re alive. They’ll try to kill you again, perhaps with the police. Be careful – Ex. Army”

I had no idea what was about to happen. I set the video up to be scheduled for 6 pm. The news was only a few minutes away from starting. The intercom rang and I answered it.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Two police officers are waiting for Michael downstairs.”

I thought for a second about the seriousness of the situation.

“He left around 5 pm,” I told them. “He went to the fire station regarding the fire at his house last night.”

I disconnected the intercom after that. Suddenly my mobile phone rang. It was the office number. If the police were calling from inside the office I could not go out. I had to hide somewhere. I entered into the ladies restroom. The police might search many places but they wouldn’t expect to find me in there. In the mean time the news started. I saw the news through my mobile phone.

The kidnappers had cheated me. It wasn’t the news about the UFO attacks at all. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I listen to these guys? I should have checked the video!

The news ran on and on. It stated that the world was not destroyed by aliens. It said that the president had been the one that destroyed all the countries by going to the past using a secret time machine. He used the latest technology and killed people all over the world except for the people in his own country. Everyone thought that it had been a war against aliens, but really it had been a war with the future against the past. It was about resources and who could monopolize them. The top army officials were involved in this and the government decided they needed to kill off the ex-army officers one by one.

Some of the officers who had kidnapped me appeared on the screen. There were other there too, a lot of others. They apologized for their part in the war. They showed a lot of evidence on the video.

The news continued to play.

I came out from the rest room to see what was going on out here and why the feed hadn’t been stopped. Everyone had headed to the presidential building. Even the police. Everyone was rising against this government. On the television an army officer said that if we captured the time machine we could go back to five years ago and stop the operation and save all the people. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like anyone was watching the television.

After an hour, a flash news bulletin appeared. The president’s office had been set on fire. They seemed to believe that the president had escaped to the future using the time machine. They also reported that the time machine itself had been destroyed in the fire. The president was no where to be found.

The president opened his eyes. He guessed he was in a village based on the houses and people he says. It seemed to be an under-developed country somewhere. He was wounded and exhausted and lost consciousness. Some poor people came and helped him. They gave him water and placed him in a bed and gave him medicine.

After a few hours his health had been somewhat restored. He could not understand their language nor could they understand his English. He believed the problem with the time machine was that it transported you to some place in the year but he was unsure where. He checked the time machine’s remote control but ti wasn’t working. He figured the time machine had been damaged in the fire. His remote wouldn’t work. He’d have to make due here. At least no one wanted to kill him here.

He didn’t know what country he was in though and that bothered him. They had left him at an old house and told him to rest. He noticed a calendar that had the day on it. 28-Oct-2595. He had traveled five years in the wrong direction. The date that all the countries had been destroyed.

Everything had been on fire and he had only a split-second to get to the time machine. He must have pressed 05 backward rather than 50 forward. He cried out and tried to tell people what was happening. But no one understood what he was saying. He came to the street and saw the sky and started to cry. I am about to kill the whole world and myself, he thought. No one understood his language. They thought he was mad and simply went off to bed. He cried and watched the sky along with the clock as he counted the time.

My name is Steve. I’m a former professional athlete but I currently work for a space research organization. I actually got the job at the space research organization after I had done an interview on how they prepare astronauts for space travel. Someday I hope that they’ll send me to another planet and my name will be written in history for all to see. I pretend that I’m brave so I’ll be picked for this mission. But up until now they haven’t even sent me to a satellite. The space organization has a tough time finding jobs for me. They don’t know that I’m multi-talented.

I was at the office as usual, reading and sharing useless news on Facebook. My co-worker Ben came to my desk.

“Hi Steve. Got some urgent business, the chief needs you.”

“For what?” I asked. I didn’t look at him. I just kept checking Facebook updates.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s urgent. You need to come quickly.”

I knew it probably didn’t relate to a space trip, but I ran along with him. He knocked on the door and we entered into the chief’s room. He was on the phone and didn’t even notice us. It was obvious that he was having a serious conversation. Ben stood silently, but I coughed mildly to get the chief’s attention. He noticed us and he motioned us to two chairs.

I immediately fell into the seat and lounged back. Ben couldn’t have been more different, he was on the edge of his seat waiting excitedly. I didn’t pay attention to what he was talking about on the phone. He was wasting my time by calling us in here. I could have been checking Facebook. We waited for a while until the chief hung up the phone.

“Urgent job for you, Steve. No time to wait. A secret government agency contacted me.”

His phone rang.

“Hold on, army captain is on the line,” he said as he answered.

He seemed to have completely lost his mind. We research space and now the chief thinks that he’s been getting calls from a secret government agency! Talking with some army captain or whatever? Probably just wasting my time. I looked over at Ben but he was listening intently to the phone conversation. I started listening as well but the chief had his back to us so we could hear only if we strained ourselves.

“His name is Steve. He’ll be there soon.”

“….”

“Yes, by helicopter.”

I’m going in a helicopter? To where?

“Steve, you have to get ready. You’re going to leave in just a few minutes. You will go to the border of our country. The terrain is forest. There will be fifteen army officers there to assist you but you will be in charge.”

Now I knew he was crazy. How could I lead fifteen army officers? I didn’t have the training. Had he gone crazy? Maybe I had gone crazy and was dreaming this. Either way I didn’t answer him.

“Oh sorry,” he said after he noticed my confusion. “I haven’t even told you the job yet! There really hasn’t been enough time. Anyways, listen. Our government received a secret message from an Unidentified Flying Object that landed in our neighboring country. Our enemy captured it but a small animal escaped from that UFO. It’s an alien animal. You’re the bravest of our organization so we’ve selected you to go. Again you’ll have fifteen army officers there with you to help you find, catch it and bring it back here.”