Okay, bear with me here...
What if the futurist of the 20th century were right? What if, come the year 2000, things really did change exponentially? Technology didn't just advance, it literally skipped most technological generations. No, literally it went from floppy disks to holograms and sentient A.I. There were no CDs or any in betweens; it was a sudden change that no one could explain. No one cared to explain because it was beyond their comprehension. Blind ignorance, however, tends to not skip generations. People went along with it as if nothing happened and honestly, nothing really did change. The world still went through its horrible, horrible phase of late 90s to early 00s boy band-alternative-grunge-punk-rap-hip-hop music that somehow was really popular then. Like Brittany Spears and N-Sync; they were just a lot flashier and techno-ish.
Blind ignorance is the plague of humanity.
And suddenly, with its vast stores of technology and lack of vast knowledge, the Earth had become worthy of the acknowledgement of other civilizations, other alien civilizations. But, what one would expect were advanced civilizations with vast knowledge that would vastly out vast our own vastness was actually totally not. That's it. They weren't anything worthy of expectations. They were different looking, had different cultures, had different traditions, but were relatively in the same boat as us. Full of hypocrisy and political infighting to the teeth with ample amounts of oppression and suppression that people didn't really mind because it wasn't change. It wasn't totally veering off from the path they were born on because woe is he who actually sees with his or her or its eyes and thinks with his or her or its mind. The universe was a tragic place, but it was okay.
You want to know why it was okay?
Because it really didn't matter if it was okay or not. So, why not be happy with what ya' got 'cause it ain't gonna get any better, no way, no how. It's always going to be survival of the fittest and society judges who the fittest is and society is... man-made, but somehow all encompassing . It would seem like that social construct would inevitable clash heads with nature and just utterly fall apart until life is totally eradicated. For some reason, the law of physics overlooked it or simply didn't care enough to fix that one glaring fallacy of the human condition. Nope, no, it was totally okay that nature is dictated by something made by man because why the hell not? It wasn't like nature existed trillions of years prior to the rise of man. Only one person in history questioned that particular law of nature. He was sucked into a paradoxical wormhole and was either shredded a part or transported to a world that actually made sense. No one wonders why because he's gone and what you can't see can't be real. Except for a lot of things.
This is the world as it is today, messed up and worthy of being imploded from the inside out in the most agonizing way possible. Sadly, this is where you live... and you aren't getting out. At least the technology is great and there is an abundance of people to discuss mindless dribble with as you go along your meaningless life until you ultimately die a slow and painful death. The good thing is, you're ignorant enough to go along with it, no questions asked because if you did ask questions then that same paradoxical wormhole that Gary was sucked into, would consume your too curious self whole and unmercifully. There are two possibilities despite the infinite potential of a paradoxical wormhole: shredded to pieces or transported safely to a world that makes sense. 50-50 chance, right? But why take that chance? Isn't it better to cling onto your meaningless and minuscule life like a fool? What'll happen to your material things when you get sucked into a paradox? Who will miss you? (Hint: No one) And most of all, who will live in your place?
Yeah, better to live in the totally fucked up place you currently reside in now, than to take a chance on something that probably will make your life a whole lot better in the long run.
This story takes place in this particular universe. At about 2000 something, but before 3000 something.
What's this story? Well, it's a story a lot like one on TV that has been cancelled various times before and possibly a book that tells you plainly not to panic. You work one job and that job is to deliver things. You deliver things to places. How terribly dull? Want to make it worse? Yes? You're paid about $2.75 an hour and given no insurance whatsoever. You work hours that should probably be against the law. Would you like to panic now? Well, you have no breaks, so I'll have to dock your pay, but go ahead! Feel free... for as long as you like because you're just gonna end up paying me anyways.
Is that it?
Pretty much.
Did I hire you yet or am I just assuming things? You being here probably means that you ran out of options, so no matter what I say, you're taking this job. Right? Yeah, I'm right.
But, hey, we hire practically everyone! No resume required because we're kind of desperate to kick start this long dead delivery company. What's the company's name, you ask? Uh...
Shit...
Don't ask that and you'll get the job.
You're tasked with delivering whatever the hell I want you to deliver to wherever the hell it's supposed to be delivered. To get you there, you'll be flying a state of the art, generic, cookie-cutter spaceship designed specifically for delivering crap. It used to be a mini-battlecruiser, but it was misplaced in an unfortunate accident about a few years ago, of which I cannot divulge any information on. However, I've disabled everything but the life support, some of the electricity, and the engine because I forgot how to turn on everything else. What are your hours? Uh, I really don't know, but they're long and hard and tedious. You come to work and if something happens, it happens... I'm sorry, I can't give you that one because there's no real guarantee that people will want us to deliver things. Apparently, teleporters have become the best way to transport goods and services, making us completely and utterly useless. But, I recently put out an article about how the particles in the things you teleport become super radioactive, so much so that it renders men unable to have sexual intercourse and makes woman more prone to producing children. It's a good thing no one likes ED and no one likes getting people pregnant, despite the fact that there are more single mothers in this universe than there are actual people. Oh and I have a Ph.D and people believe anything I put in a well worded article in a news journal or a magazine, sometimes the newspaper because they believe me to be smart. The irony. Is that irony? I think that's just idiocy.
So, got any questions?
Mainly, do you want the job?