Transition

After what turned out to be a week more of this same cycle of waking, eating, bathroom, moving around, talk/hypno therapy, he awoke to something new, actually 3 new things the window was open on the top half that extended out like a sunroof on a car, there were what appeared to be clothes on the table, and the moss had gone into a lavender color that made him want to swim in it. He took a deep breath of fresh air and realized how much he had missed it, but also wondered what had taken so long to do this. Then the Doc’s walked in with what looked like a shoe box and set it down on the table with the clothes, the underlining hum that played lightly in the background had changed as well, and become a little more jazz infused, he found himself brightening in spite of himself. Not that he wanted to feel differently he just hadn’t registered his feelings till they started to change.

“Fam.” he said to the two visitors and they both turned and smiled, “Good morning” they both said in a way that should have been creepy in its synchronicity, but he found really endearing. “So, how we feeling this morning? Ready for the big day?” Colt said

“Big Day?” Danny replied, confused but starting to feel like he knew where all of this was headed, but really was hoping for verbal conformation.

“We’re going outside!” Colt said with joy, while Danny couldn’t help notice that Corinne did not share his enthusieasm.

“Right on.” Danny said with trepidation, he has wanted this since he woke up but now that it is here he found he was terrified of what exists outside these walls. They have (in bits and pieces) told him what to expect, and he has to this point kept all his questions about it in check for fear of it all being too much, Clearly Corinne agreed with him, even if she was going along with this. To his credit Colt picked up on the tension in the air (either that or it was the slight shifting of the moss). “Look, I know this feels rushed, but no matter when we do it, it will feel too soon, and you have been showing exceptional progress, this is the right decision.”

“If you say so doc” Danny said still not fully convinced, but ready none the less. “So I’ll just take these to the bathroom then” he said holding up the clothes for the first time and inspecting them, they were a t-shirt and sweatpants combo both a muted grey, but the fabric felt like nothing he’d ever touched in his life, it was soft and breathable, yet also substantial in a way that didn’t feel compatible, yet here we were.

“Ooooooooh” was all Danny could muster. Corinne giggled and said, “It’s not like anything we used to wear huh?!?”

“It really isn’t, what is it?” he asked

“There is time for that later, for now let’s just get you in them and then we’ll talk about whatever you want on the walk.”

“You sure about that?!?!” Danny asked mischeviously

“Yes, no, maybe, shut up and get dressed. Doctors orders.” Corinne finally said exacerbated. Danny turned and walked to the bathroom with a satisfied grin spray painted to his face.

“Outside” turned out to be the hospital garden, where all of the food they ate was grown (it turns out that hamburger and that sausage we’re made with meat replacement). Because the future. This was a hard pill for Danny to swallow. “No meat AT ALL?!?!?!” he threw his hands into the air violently. “What the fuck?!?!?!” he continued and the Doc’s allowed him to make a scene because they had prepared for this moment.

“We found that collectively, when we were able to allow the land to it gave us more than we could ever need and slaughtering animals when we could live with them just felt cruel, to everyone, well not everyone, there will always be cultural reasons for some and selfish reasons for others. Even though we have mastered the art of meat replication, it will never satisfy those who refuse to understand they already are.”

“I hate it.” Danny pouted

“I knew you would.” says his sister not unkindly. “Think about it like this, we have reversed the trend that existed when you had your “Incident” of losing major species of animals every year, I think the number was in the hundreds, to seeing the birth of new species on average 1 per year since the return.”

“the return” Danny asked

“Yea sorry the return was when all of the global capitalist projects had been defeated and the first order of business was returning the lands to the indigenous communities that had stewarded them for centuries before the monsters of capital took everything and tried to burn it all to the ground. They almost succeed as well, trying to turn around what they had wrought to humanity wasn’t easy, but collectively we survived.”

“By Global Capital you mean????” Danny asked

“Yea sorry I forget that paying attention in school wasn’t your thing, and to be fair even if you had back then they had mastered the art of massaging peoples thoughts through a constant sludge of propaganda, turning anyone with an apathetic bone in their body off from societal problems, remember Epstien?”

“Oh fuck yea, that dude was a monster. Literal pedophile an shit.”

“Remember how he had access to a shit load of powerful people?”

“Yeah?”

“Well it turns out that he was able to do all of that because of the structures of power that were put into place by the founding fathers” Corinne began before Danny stepped in “What do the founding fathers have to do with this?” “Well remember how the founding fathers wrote the constitution and formed the beginnings of the Nation that would become the United States of America?” Corinne asked “Of course” Danny volleyed back “Well it turns out that they did that to continue to own slaves, and murder the indigenous of these lands for the land they sat on and the riches it had to offer them.”

“Bullshit” was all Danny could think of in the moment to say, but he could feel himself about to burst with frustration. He knew the USA wasn’t perfect but how dare his sister talk like some damn commie. It made him… well it made him tired actually, “I need to sit down” he said, “of course” said Colt and pulled something out of his back pocket that looked like a soft ball but when he threw it on the ground it morphed into maybe the most comfortable bean bag style chair he ever seen. He plopped down with out a word, frustrated with everything happening around him at the moment. Hoping that if he keeps his eyes closed long enough that when he opens them he’ll be any place else. That the world will make sense again. When he finally got around to opening them again all he saw were his two Doc’s staring patiently at him.

The next week saw these excursions get longer and his frustrations bloom, as they filled him in on the last 60 years in the very broadest strokes. He just couldn’t believe any of it. America was his home, it was great. The place other countries wanted to be (at least thats what dad always said). So how could any of this be possible. The USA was an inevitability, was what he had always been told. Why wouldn’t he believe his father, he was a super successful owner of a construction company, and the dude’s dad listened to on all his podcasts said that no one would ever top what they (USA) had built. Sure there were some mistakes along the way they’d say, but thats the price of progress, the podcast people would say (and dad would pump his fists in agreement).

Danny knew in his heart that capitalism was the shit, bust ass, kick ass, live hard, live free, and that communism was the antithesis of that, everyone telling you what to do all the time, like being a kid forever. Fuck that. This place didn’t seem so bad though, but he remembered his Orwell from school and knew that if he just kept poking around he’d find the monster under the bed, the man behind the curtain, the puppeteer pulling the strings, and in that moment he knew what he was here to do, knew it as sure as he knew Charlie Kirk was a national treasure. He had to bring capitalism back.

His plan was simple, be a constant reminder of what freedom looked like, wear cool red white and blue shit, get a gun, go hunting, get the biggest most boss ass truck he could get his hands on make sure that bad boy sat at a near sixty degree angle away from the road. This was gonna work, these people had simply been brainwashed by leftist pansies (as his dad used to call them). Once people learned how good he had it in the past there’s no way they wanna keep this charade up. They cant be happy (I mean they all look pretty happy and every person he’s met has been super nice and helpful) he knows acting when he sees it. They just need to remember whats missing, and he’s going to be that walking reminder.

This time when he wakes up his sister is sitting there with a smile on her face that told him today was going to be something different. “Mornin Danny, you ready to go home today?” she asked, and his honest repose was no, but he said “Shit yes, lets blow this pop cycle stand” and she laughed in a way that said she understood exactly what he was saying. “Gods, dad was such a dork sometimes.” she chuckled. “that he was” Danny shot back, as he was getting out of this bed (his home really) for what he understood was the last time. He was conflicted, he knew he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in this hospital, but also didn’t feel ready to be in whatever the fuck this world was, cause based on everything they had told him it sure wasn’t the world he came from.

He got dressed, ate (B&G’s and he still couldn’t tell the difference, but he knew there was one and he knew also that he hated it), and got all of his stuff (some of the moss to wear on his shoulder as insurance against this all going south and being too much for his brain and body to handle) the moss turned a dope ass shade of red that reminded him of his dad’s favorite hat. He found out that he’s going to be staying with his sister and his nephew and his kids, and wondered how that would work, but didn’t feel like getting into a discussion about it, cause the reason for it would probably frustrate the shit outta him. It felt like everything was happening all at once even though this process has also been going forever, the only thing more intense than his fear of what was off the hospital grounds is his desire to leave.

As he walked to the door of the entrance his entire body began to revolt against the very idea of moving forward. He stood there, Corinne on one side Colt on the other looking at him in, if not pity, then whatever pities twin brother was. “I’m fine” he lied. “I just need a second, and a drink of water, and a…” his voice trailed off as he watched the front door, in fact the entire room came to him. He had to be hallucinating, but every fiber of his being told him this was really happening. “There is a lot about the future we still haven’t told you” Corinne said “Just hang on” she continued as the world came to him in a way that the greatest 3-D movies could only have dreamed.

It was beautiful, green as far as he could see, buildings that looked more like holes in the sides of hills, it looked like the place the hobbits lived in those movies his mom made him watch when he was little. Only, there were small trains, single car, and open, on tracks, all flowing in the same direction 3 that he could see immediately. It reminded him of Daniel Tiger, but these were draped in the same moss as was on his shoulder, no wait not the same at all, these were leaves, but reflective, and shimmered not strobe like the moss, but from the suns rays, like metal. They are going 5 miles an hour tops, but clearly he sees that the one closest to him is carrying two elderly people (he still hasn’t looked into a mirror enough to realize his own age), and in the front, what looks like a young boy no older than 5 with a basket of something sitting next to him.

Then it hit him like a hammer strike, there are no roads. As in its all grass… everywhere, but not a wild all over the place kind of grass and not a well manicured lawn type either, but a kind that looked as if its entire purpose for existence was to be footpaths. “We thought it would be easier to take the cart this first time” his sister said as she guided him towards it like you would a drunk person on the verge of passing out. They entered in the middle row, and all three sat shoulder to shoulder for what felt like seconds when Colt turned to him and said “We’re here” as they got off and they led him towards what looked like a whole in the side of the hill, but as they got ever closer he started to see the unmistakable markers of a house.

Inside were Colt’s kids, a woman about Colts age with long brunette hair and a pretty smile, tall, with a runners build. She rushes over to him in a way which makes Danny flinch. “Oh Danny, its so great to finally meet you, my name is Chyanne, obviously, welcome home.” and thats when he notices the banner above her head that reads Welcome home Danny! He smiles and goes for the handshake as she goes for the hug, then they both switch to what the other was doing, until finally closing on a hug. The kids were hanging back in what appeared to be the living room watching intently. The inside of the house was surprisingly spacious considering he walked through a hole in the side of the hill. The ceilings appeared to be around ten feet tall and the rooms each big enough to hold all of them comfortably.

“Let’s get him to his room so he can get acquainted with it and rest up a little before we hit him with any more reality for now.” Corinne said to the whole room as she grabbed his elbow in a way that made sure he knew he was being led and not to fuss. So on he moved as everyone collectively said “Welcome home!!” in unison which ok, now it was starting to get creepy. Before he had the chance to ask Corinne about it though they had arrived at his room, it appears they put him in the first room in a hall way of room that looked to stretch on for infinity, like in the second Matrix flick (which he actually liked better but was told by multiple people that was because he was a neanderthal). Inside the room was what appeared to be the moss from his room at the hospital which his sister confirmed to be the case, it was already familiar with him and would help with the transition. He didn’t argue as he had become quite fond of the different hums (which reminded him of his favorite lofi station for gamers he used to listen to… while gaming) and the specific hues it created for him(like the current soft lavender which was always his favorite, but he would deny it to the point of a fistfight if anyone ever called him on it). Then there was the bed, no side rails thank you lord. Looking at it made him drool with desire to jump onto it and never come out, but he knew he wanted to clean himself before resting so continued to look till he saw what appeared to be the bathroom.

“You got this right?’ Corinne asked him, “If you need anything just poke your head out and holler, we will all be just down the hall to help with anything.” she finished before he had a chance to really digest the first part of what she had said. “I think so.” he said feeling confident that he could. But wanting to hedge his bets just in case. Then when the door shut behind him he realized for the first time that he has not seen a single bit of recognizable technology this whole time, no cell phones, no laptops, no computers, he wasn’t even hooked up to any machines the entire stay at the hospital. His mind started to swim and the moss all around him and on his shoulder went to that super calming teal color it did at the hospital he felt himself stabilize. “Thanks” he said, then felt stupid because he was talking to the moss, but then he could swear he caught a single strobe pulse and somehow knew that was the same as a you’re welcome.

After his shower, which takes place in he center of the bathroom as the ceiling just starts raining on you and apparently the water cycles through the different types of hygiene needs one might have (like those old 2 in ones dad used to get and mom hated), when it cycles through it shuts off and air begins to shoot at you from every direction like at a car wash till you reach the level of dryness you desire (Danny let it go once to see how long it would and stood there for what felt to him like 5 minutes, which is a long fucking time when just getting shot by air). Then when he went back into the room he found that one wall had a shelf in-bedded into it and when slid out reveled the jumper that he had been wearing this past… however the fuck long, but in every color you could possibly imagine. He threw on a shirt and some boxer briefs and made for the bed. He fell onto it in a way that said he was going to be spending some time there, and he did.

When he opened his eyes he was in a dark room, like can’t see your hand in front of your face dark, and all he could hear was screaming and crying and explosions. He tried to move, nothing, he tried again, still nothing, but he thought he could hear a familiar hum, then it hit him. It’s the moss, he looked in every direction he could even though his body was still frozen solid… nothing, but he knows that sound by heart, he starts to shake… and he’s back in “the present” covered in sweat and blankets strewn across the floor. He looks up to find 7 faces staring at him with concern. “I’m ok” Danny said realizing he is still just in boxers and a t shirt, so he starts to feel around for something he can turn into coverage for his body. “Are you sure?” Doctor Corinne asked. “right as rain, promise” was his reply and to add emphasis he threw her his best half smile. The crowd all mumbled something about being thankful and scattered leaving just him and her.

“Now, tell me what happened, remember not only am I a trained Doctor but I am your sister, I know when you’re full of shit.”

He threw his hands in the air in surrender “Ok, fine, shit” Danny almost surprised himself with the glass shattering octave his voice hit.

“I, I think I was there, Cor”

“There, where, there?” she asked in a way that said she already knew she just needed verbal confirmation.

“The Incident… I couldn’t move and it was pitch black, I heard screaming, I could feel the explosions, I don’t think I was alone. I think the moss was there too.”

As he said this bit, the room (moss) cycled through a color scheme of pastels that made Danny dizzy.

“This has never happened before” Corinne said in a way that meant she wast just talking about this moss. “We have been studying this stuff for decades and never once come across anything quite like this.”

“What do you think it means?” Danny asked

“I don’t know” Corinne mumbled in a way that sounded like she was more excited than shes ever been in her entire life.