Jason and the World

Jason plopped onto the grey fabric sofa after a long day at soccer practice. The large bowl in his hand was filled with chips. He was surprised to find that his favorite TV Show, The Amazing World of Gumball: Revised, had brought new episodes. Turning the volume up, he undressed his shoes and untied his green tie, unbuttoned his white shirt and undid his blonde hair. With his legs folded on the couch, and his head in his palm, he began eating the chips with leisure. Linda, the house aide was a sweet old lady that seemed weirdly agile and flexible for a lady of her age. She helped Jason with his homework at a pace he had never experienced before. Her quick wit and copious amounts of will power was an astounding feat of human intelligence. Strangely enough, she did not know how to tie a pair of shoelaces, and she would stand dead still at an odd angle in quick burst for short periods of time.

‘Yes Mrs Argo,’ Linda was on the phone to Jason’s mother. ‘He is just fine, bye now.’ She smiled and the wireless communication bleeped, signalling that the call had ended. She walked over to the sofa and plopped down to enjoy an episode of The Amazing world of Gumball. At about six O’clock, Jason’s parents arrived home from work.

‘Hello my sweetie,’ Mrs Argo, an eccentric tall blonde woman who spoke in a thick English accent, greeted Jason. Mr Argo, a timid tall American man, pulled the pin from Mrs Argo’s immaculately tied hair and it fell to her shoulders in a golden splendor. Mr Argo untied his tie and was off to the kitchen in search of a tall glass of water. The fridge opened autonomously. Mr Argo took the glass gratefully and downed it in a second.

‘Hi mum.’ He greeted, and was up off the sofa before his dad took a seat. He sped to the room and sat down at his desk to complete his homework. He looked up briefly to think of an argument and spotted a crack in the wall he had never seen before. He expelled the thought and was back to completing his argument.

After a handsome amount of time was spent on his homework, he submitted his homework to the schools “homework” section of its website and closed the application, looked again at the wall where he saw the crack but it was not there. He shook the thought again, mistaking it as a result of his exhaustion. Tired though he was, he had to take a shower, for he had soccer practice that day. What better way to calm the muscles and reflect on oneself than with a hot shower? When he had finished, he was off downstairs to have dinner with Mr and Mrs Argo. Rice, Roast Chicken, Green peas and a healthy green salad was prepared with grace by Mrs Linda that afternoon, and they were to enjoy her gracious handiwork together.

‘Come take a seat why don’t you Mrs Linda?’ Mrs Argo gestured for Linda to take a seat.

‘Well, Of course,’ she replied, looking pleased as she dried the last dish in the sink and wiped her hands off the hand towel. She scurried over to the large glass dining table to a seat across Jason as Mrs Argo was about to say a little prayer.

The next day, Jason was on his way to school when he saw a white fur ball hop across the road. He turned to look, but there was nothing. The pearl white flying schooling bus hovered beside him, and he clambered in excited to see his friend, Ralph, who sat right at the back in the corner of the air bus. Jason habitually took his seat next to Ralph and took out a pack Pokemon Go playing cards. They chatted for the ten minutes they had on the airbus about school, homework and food, as boys usually do. He unraveled a sweat and offered one to Ralph. He gladly accepted and nearly inhaled it.

They arrived at school at just a quarter past nine, when Ralph quickly pointed to a furry white object that was staring at them with bright blue eyes and intent. Jason chucked the wrapper on the ground, and it floated gracefully downward until it kissed the ground.

‘Just another rabbit,’ Jason shook it off.

‘Fair enough,’ replied Ralph. They proceeded into the school through the gates that glowed blue with electricity. They walked to the front of the school, huge iron double doors sealed shut the glass building that was an institution of learning.

The school day was over as quickly as it had begun and the boys had taken to the streets, made of recycled plastic, on their daily after school stroll. An eerie silence befell Belle Avenue when they had reached Jason’s home. There was a ruffle in the bushes behind them. A white fur whipped out of sight from behind the thick tree log when a Tesla passed by them.

‘I’m getting a little freaked out by this,’ said Ralph.

‘Let’s just get out of here,’ Replied Jason.

They hurried up the Avenue and towards Jason’s home. They arrived shortly at the crossroads. Jason bid Ralph a good night and they parted ways. Jason trekked away to his home and he could see it in all its magnificence. There was no pleasure to be had, as all the houses were solar powered smart homes. A necessary addition to the future of the world was to be expected. The sun was at its lowest, and it was about to brighten the other side of the earth.

 Jason had arrived at his glass home in one piece. He entered through the front door after verifying his voice. Upon his step on welcome carpet, embossed with recognition chips, he could see the flat screen TV from where he stood, the smart refrigerator awoke and the virtual home operator spoke, ‘Welcome home, Jason.’ It addressed Jason. ‘Your download has completed.’

The fridge opened as Jason walked up to it and it dispensed a bag of chips and a can of Coke. He grabbed his Media Pad from the kitchen counter and sipped every other step on his way to his room.

A night light by the bedside cast a rounded glow on the brightly painted blue walls. He let his finger guide his eye to the end of the page, yawned and minimized the four thousand word eBook, memorizing page one hundred and forty. He rested the large tablet on the bedside table and pulled up the sheets to cover his shoulders. A dreamy but brightly lit field strewn with jumping sheep overtook Jason’s mind. A sudden thump startled him out of his daze and quickened his heartbeat. He jerked his body into an upright position. Sitting up on his bed, he looked around the room, but could see nothing. He heard the familiar squawk of a sulphur-crested cockatoo perched atop a tree branch beyond his blue curtained window. A tall figure appeared from darkened hallway. The figure moved slightly and the lights decking his ceiling flickered to life.

‘Hello?’ Jason asked shaking. ‘Who are you?’

The figure was silent. It moved forward slowly from the shadow of the hallway and showed itself. It was Linda. Her robotic replacement eye shone a brilliant blue. A little slit in her arm opened up and from it she pulled a golden key. Jason sat flummoxed at the brilliant being. It resembled a human most realistically. In all honesty was not the first time he heard of one. However, it was the first time he had encountered one. Linda the robot spoke with her human voice, ‘Take this key,’ it said. Jason got up slowly, baffled by the presence of the robot. He grabbed the key and curled it into his hand.

‘Now unlock the slot,’ she commanded, its eyes still a brilliant blue.

He took the golden key in the uncertainty of its use and attempted to insert it into the slit that had opened in the robots arm. The key turned in the slot and a white light erupted from its crannies, dazing Jason into a trance. A familial crack in the wall seemed to tear more and more until the room exploded into an empty space that was a white room. Linda appeared beside Jason, taking him by his arm and leading him into the brightness of the seamless room. Within an instant, Jason saw a sight for sore eyes. Confused, he questioned, ‘Linda? What is this place?’ It seemed as though Linda was floating.

‘This,’ she rested her metal hand on his shoulder, ‘was earth before the World Revolution, led by Sir James of old. What you are looking at, is the after effect of global warming. A strange anomaly, I must say, which is caused by the callousness of humans when using non-biodegradable materials.’ she continued. The both of them had taken to strolling on the weakened ground. Jason was baffled by the rotting smell and the ground beneath his feet that wobbled as he stepped. ‘Why did global warming happen?’ he asked with curiosity. ‘You see, humans are a greedy species. They want money, food, housing, and education, all of these, without considering their primary home. All these come at a cost to the environment around them. As a result, it is said that the earth had had enough of its puny inhabitants, thus it was to self-destruct. Fortunately, an assassin eliminated its primary threats. The world’s most greedy. Those in power went first, then the rest. With that out of the way, Sir James of old was able to expedite a, sort of cure for the earth. He injected artificial water into its core that was said to heal the earth of its wounds. It seemed to work at the time. He then was able to repopulate the earth with its survivors and gained control of the technological world we live in today.’ Jason walked close to an immense crater in the ground, perhaps suggesting a considerable amount of meteors having fallen from the sky.

‘I’m ready to go now.’ He said to Linda. She turned to him and smiled.

Jason awoke the next morning in a dizzy pursuit to find Linda. He stumbled across the balcony and saw that Linda had been making breakfast. He walked down the staircase and right into the kitchen, eyeing Linda as he sat down by the kitchen. He looked at Linda’s arm where he had inserted the key. A small slit could be seen which had been covered over with skin. He looked at Linda in confusion and awaited an answer. Nothing. Linda was a robot after all. He got up and took his Media Pad with him and was through the front door. He left his beautiful glass home for the streets as he ambled along the solar paneled road made of plastic, waiting for the airbus to hover beside him. As he strolled, he spotted his neighbor walk his dog. A daily routine one must respect. He licked on the ice cream bar with his free hand, while the other gripped the leash. His neighbor wrapped the leash securely around his forearm and properly undid the wrapping paper of the ice cream bar. He replenished his grip on the leash and let go of the wrapping paper. Jason watched in terror as the wrapper kissed the patch of grass and the sky ripped open.