Nebulae and Cosmic Filaments - A Second Anthology of SF SD Shorts

Part 2 - A Dark History

"Are,...are all of those tanks back there filled with people like me?" he couldn't help asking as they continued down the hallway.

"Sadly, no," Kinsey quickly replied, looking over at him.  "And that's the problem, Mr. McCarty.  So far, you're the only one we've successfully assembled."  As he looked at the old man in confusion, Kinsey went on.

"Let me explain.  You see, Mr. McCarty, it's currently the year 2308.  Humanity, while we possess the technology to do so, haven't left our own star system.  Historians claim there were a number of reasons why.  But I know the truth.  It's because we no longer can."

"I,...I don't understand," McCarty said, his face a mask of confusion.

"That's because you weren't part of what happened, Mr. McCarty.  Which is one of the reasons we chose you."  Kinsey made a dismissive wave of his thin hand.  "But I'm getting ahead of myself.  It suffices to say that we had the capacity removed from us."

Kinsey paused as the two of them came to a halt in front of a pair of heavy doors.  A wave over a glowing plate in the wall and the door irised open.

"You see, there was a war about two hundred years ago.  A nasty one, where millions of people died in an uprising against a brutal, totalitarian regime.  And when that regime won the war, it set about to remove humanity's aggression so they wouldn't have to worry about ever fighting another war against its own people again."

"Removed their,...?

"Aggression, yes, Mr. McCarty.  The government bred aggression out of the human race.  They possessed both the power and the ability to do so.  And so they did.  Unfortunately without aggression, we no longer possessed the drive to explore and push outwards.  And so here we stayed."

"They,...they altered their own people?" he stammered, not wanting to believe his ears.  Kinsey nodded.

"And that left us vulnerable for what came next."  The old man stepped into the room, which had filled with light coming from unseen sources as soon as his foot touched a sensor plate set into the floor at the entrance.

With the flood of light, McCarty could see the walls of the octagonal chamber, two stories in height, were covered with racks of equipment.  Equipment that included what appeared to be pieces of clothing made out of metal and reinforced plastic and devices that were harsh and angular that he couldn't identify.

"Welcome to the station's armory, as poor as it is," Kinsey waved at the equipment racks.  "From here we will equip you for your mission."

"Mission?" McCarty repeated, silently growing frustrated at hearing so many things he didn't understand or comprehend.

The old man favored him with a quick look then sighed.

"I see by that confused and frustrated look on your face, that the basic engrams that we gave you to get you started, aren't enough to assist in you keeping up with my dialogue.  My apologies."  He drew a small hexagonal device from a previously hidden pocket and held it up for McCarty to see."

"This is a neural regulator.  You've been fitted with what we call a 'wet net', or electronics hardwired into your brain.  The regulator links with this wet net, allowing us to stimulate or suppress activity in certain parts of your brain.  We can shut down pain, increase strength and speed.  Or activate previously buried memories.  Here, turn around," the old man directed.

Hoping that device would give him the answers McCarty found himself craving, he nodded and complied, turning around to give the old man access to whatever he was looking for.  And almost immediately he felt fingers probing at something at the base of his skull.