WHEN MUSIC WAS A THING

Mikala Jackson stared out of her history class window letting her thoughts wonder away about the world. She looked beyond the array of students sprawled across the campus lawn engaged in deep signing conversations, pass the rows of mini semi-conductors that lined the coast, and stared at the distant ocean. This world was nothing like the world she read about in her History of the Old America course. The old America seemed so vibrant and alive. It was so much to do, so many ways to interact with each other, and most of all, the world had sound. In her world, all she knew was silence. No one could speak or hear in the world she lived in. All communication was through American Sign Language. In fact, the entire world had not spoke or heard a sound since the year 2025. It is now 2525.

From what she read; it started in her province of America that was once a country. It was during a time where there was freedom of speech, human civil rights, and communities for humans that demanded respect for their genders and sexual preferences. It was a time where people could show infuriation about your skin tone to which melanin was not good to have. This old America listened to words spoken and responded. They even could make something called songs with words they spoke. It was truly a fascinating yet dangerous time.

However, the emerging technologies of the world caused the planet to overheat, and things fell apart fast. Despite the warnings scientists gave, they were motivated by this paper called money. The only thing she knew about money was that it was good to burn in the fireplace during the winter months. They kept stacks of it in her home. Well, it was something to die for back then. Scientists used this money to fund a computer that turned everything smart from your home to your car, and even as nanny bots to look after children. Those who had money bought one or had one built to their preference.

Next came these semi-conductors and then the quantum computers were everywhere. Some countries had better ones than others and that caused greed and war. A big war at that. Each country used some sort of pitch frequency to interfere with sound waves and when you have over 30 countries using tech as a weapon everyone loses. Something went very wrong. The world experienced a pitch so high that it ruptured the eardrums of everyone to the point of deafness. After the piercing frequency pitch, the world began to hum like a gong vibration that was nonstop. It went on for years and it drove humans even crazier than they were. It was described as a strong ear ringing that vibrated through the entire body causing neurological defects and enraged humans to attack each other. The only ones it didn’t affect were those who were born deaf. They had to destroy their hearing aids as it picked up the humming and drove them mad. The government with the help of audiologists and genetic scientists developed a way to alter human DNA to block hearing and speech to save mankind. They were able to create a new human with superior intelligence but no ability to hear and no vocal cords. Overtime, we evolved to which no human has been able to speak or hear in over 425 years.

“In my current America and world, we train to become teachers of the great survival. What we love is what we learn, what we learn is what we teach, and what we teach is what we love.” She thought.

 Each province has a specified duty to the world. The Asia province is the quantum computer creators and maintainers, the Africa province is farming and agriculture, which is required by all the provinces to know, but Africa is the main place. All of us must study there at some point. They are the most important to us all. America is to preserve the history of the world. All historical documents are programmed here. I want to be a programmer of musical history. I long to listen to what a melody would sound like, to speak words into a song to express my feelings as the old America once did.

Mikala jumped as she felt a firm tap on her shoulder. It was the Edubot instructor Ux. She looked up at it as it was signing aggressively for her to pay attention. Oh, how she hated those Edubots. Such lifeless creations. They were nothing like the Jambots she read about that played all types of music and humans danced to it. She turned and focused on the lecture. Her heart fluttered in fascination as her crush, Rio Gordy was signing about the music of the old world and the weird devices humans used to make these noises that were harmonic to their voices. She adored him for his curious mind of old devices, and longed that their friendship could be so much more. He once told her she had a special energy and if he could sing a song it would be about her. But she couldn’t see how as she was just Mikala Jackson, student of programming historical documents.

Once class was over Rio ran up to her and asked her what she was going to do later. Mikala smiled and signed back saying she was heading home to work on her presentation as she was up next tomorrow, and it had to be amazing after his. They both laughed as Rio signed that he was just teaching information. Rio was heading to the local tech junk store to find scraps for his latest project he was building he had some copper wire he had been collecting and saving to trade for something a bit better.

“Say Mikala, want to stop by the store with me, I want to show you something.” Rio signed. Mikala rolled her eyes but also felt a spark of excitement that Rio wanted to hang out with her and show her his intellectual abilities. She glanced around hesitating a bit shifting her weight from one side to the next. She really didn’t like going to that junk store. It was in the Trenches or what the old world knew as inhabitable grounds due to the junk and debris form discarded waste. They also would have to walk through the grounds to get there. The guy that ran it was an old fellow named Atom, that reeked of burnt electricity and was always talking nonsense about how he will bring hearing and speech back with one of his inventions. Rio spent most of his time with this old fellow and looked up to him as a mentor. Rio even stated he wanted to start his own quantum computer company one day in America.

“Well?”, Rio signed in her face. “Please come Mikala. I must show you this, but you must promise me that it stays between you, me, and Atom the Old.” Mikala sighed and signed a frustrating Ok. They walked a few blocks, sneaking through the tech trench areas which were only allowed for cleaner bots and purge bots. She wasn’t worried about getting caught by the cleaner bots. They would work around her. The purge bots would detain them and alert the Province Police. She and Rio would be taken to the council for violating the laws and exiled to the desert lands with no technology. Atom the Old, was deemed a senile with a damaged neurological system to which he was left in the Trenches to fend for himself. There were a few other humans that lived there, and you would often see them scavenging around for survival needs or mostly looking for Audilin, a potent drug that you drop in your ear canal that causes severe hallucinations and false euphoria. It was said that excessive use caused the ear to rejuvenate its cochlear and for a moment they would hear the hum of the earth before dying from an overdose.

              They kept their eyes on the sky ducking and hiding from the drones patrolling over the area and ran down a small alley of old large steel containers into a door that led to the junk store. Atom the old was sitting on a rusted bucket working on a large microchip. Rio walked up to him and touched his arm softly. Atom the old looked up at the two and smiled a toothless grin.

“Who is the lovely lady you bring?”, Atom signed.

“This is my friend Mikala Jackson. I want to show her what we have been working on.”, signed Rio.

“I don’t approve of your request, Rio!”, signed Atom aggressively. “I told you this was between you and me. I never should have shown you! If this gets out, we are all as good as dead. I’d rather spend the end of my life cycle here than in the desert lands. So, if you aren’t trading for some items then I suggest you both leave.”

“Please Atom sir. I have a pound of copper wire I have been collecting. I will give you all of it as it will help what we are building and more. It could work this time.”, Rio pleadingly signed. Atom the Old glanced at Mikala standing against the wall whose eyes were terrified and curious at the same time, and he signed to her, “Can I trust you? Your friend here must be very fond of you to bring you in on our secret.” Mikala nodded her head and placed her hands together as in prayer, then signed, thank you.

Atom then signed, “Wait here.” Atom got up and went through an opening that connected to another container. Mikalya looked around at the metal room filled with tons of microchips, wires, cables, and other tech junk and noticed that they were in one of 4 large steel containers that had been welded together to make a home. She felt guilty and a bit sad looking around at how the old fellow lived in filth, exiled from the modern world due to his eccentricities and possible Audilin use. She looked over at Rio who was staring at her and glanced away as they locked eyes.

Atom returned with a small disk large enough for 3 people to stand in and he placed it on the floor. He then opened his hand and motioned for them to each take one of the 3 small copper balls and place them in their ear. Atom placed one in his.

“What the tech is this?”, Mikala signed, looking worried. “I am not placing this in my ear canal. Is this some new drug?” What is going on?”

Rio and Atom the Old each grabbed her hands and rubbed them softly to ensure that she will be ok. Mikala obliged and placed the copper ball in her ear.

Rio then took the copper wire out of his jacket pocket handing it over to Atom. Atom shook his head and smiled. Rio placed the cooper wire back in his jacket looking confused.

Atom grabbed their arms and signed, “It works. I figured it out a few days ago. I tried it out with a gene bot first connecting one earpiece to the bot and placed one in my ear. I sent the bot back to 2005 and found my ancestors. I was able to listen to them have full conversations. They spoke of politics and issues they wanted to make better if they had a moment to be part of the government that made order. The machine also has a clocking device, so they never knew it was there. Rio! You helped solve the missing piece of this machine by telling me that fuel in the form of copper can work as a conductor to keep it running. I used the last of the coils and it turned on. So, keep those coils safe in your jacket. We will need it to get back.”

“Get back from where?”, signed Mikala. “Where are we going and what is this machine? Rio! Tell me now!” Rio looked over at Atom the Old and he nodded, gesturing him to explain.

“Mikala, this is a quantum teleportation device. Sir Atom and I found a way to teleport back and forth through time, but that isn’t just what it does. It also is a hearing device that allows us to hear everything happening in the time we go to. We can hear conversations, what the animals sounded like, and best of all we can hear music from the old world.”, Rio signed passionately. Mikala grabbed her chest. She couldn’t believe it. Atom the old and Rio glared at her with deep emotion waiting for her to sign something, anything. But she had nothing. She was speechless. Literally and physically.

“We must take the gene bot,” signed Atom. “It will need a sample of our blood to find our ancestors and to create our cloaking device so that we are never seen.” Mikala slowly gave her finger to Atom and the gene bot, shaped like a small insect crawled out of the sleeve of Atom the Old and pricked her and Rio’s fingers. Mikala, terrified, looked at Rio as he nodded to her grabbing her hand that things were going to be okay. Mikala couldn’t believe what was happening. To go back to see the old world before the great Hum was impossible and forbidden. But they were about to do it. She had to go. She had to see it in real time. She had to hear it for the first time. She stepped on the platform and motioned for the guys to join her.

“Rio, step on the center button on the platform to turn this baby on,” Atom signed. Rio obliged and the device sent a wave of vibration through their bones while lighting them all up like an iridescent cluster of lasers. A holographic screen appeared before them and Atom typed in the year 1995. They secured the copper beads in their ears with their fingers and their bodies jerked in and out of view then blipped away. They landed in a field of a large mansion where for the first time, Mikala heard laughter. There were hundreds of kids around with their families at an amusement park with the name Neverland Ranch engraved in the gate. She looked at Rio who also heard the voices of fun. Atom was the first to walk towards the festivities. They followed sticking close to him as they were afraid to wander to far away in this primitive land. As they walked into the gates they heard a delightful sound of some sort. Mikala signed excitingly, “Is that what music is?” Atom nodded and Rio smiled at Mikala to agree that he loved it too. The gene bot floated between the 3 and began to speak.

“Mikala, we came here first because you are the descendant of a man by the name of Michael Jackson. You are his great, great, great, great, great granddaughter. He tried to unite the world with his music. He died tragically from drugs but not before he left a legacy of music that humans listened too up until the great Hum.

Rio your great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Berry Gordy, started a company called Motown that recorded the voices of humans in song mode. Michael Jackson and his brothers were one of the voice donators.  It appears that the family were a musical group and paved the way for other groups with melanin in abundance. It is a part of the entertainment records your read about in History of Old America.

Today they are celebrating family day. Mikala, this is all your family and their friends including Rio’s ancestors. The gentleman you see in the black slacks and rouge jacket is the great Michael Jackson. He is playing a song now called Earth Song. It predicted the future of mankind.”

Mikala listened for the first time to the most beautiful singing voice. She felt the melody touch her soul. Atom and Rio grabbed her as she fell to her knees in tears. The guys both were fighting back those same tears as they listened. As they sat there in the field watching and listening to music of the time, Mikala turned to Atom the old and signed to him, “So who are you connected to in this glorious old land?”  He looked at both Rio and Mikala and stood up.

“My full name is Atom Ionus Obama. But my story is for a different day. Just sit back an enjoy the music for now.,” signed Atom.