Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull
The year was 2149.
It had already been 9 years since the greatest war
of all time, which ended in massive chemical warfare.
Lakes and rivers dried up.
Governments fell apart.
And billions of people died from the poison in the air.
The only survivors were people like me lucky enough to live
in a sanctuary pod.
While I wouldn't characterize my former life as lucky.
It was anything but.
Good morning, Darwin!
Please hold still for retinal scan.
Resident KR201 is asleep.
Hi mom. I wish you were awake.
I really need...
...want to talk to you.
Hi mom! Please call me back. Darwin.
Would you like your shower now, Darwin?
Start digging in sector 7.
As with any great disaster comes opportunity.
At least, that's how the World Authority saw it.
In exchange for food, entertainment and shelter,
we were put to work mining for rare minerals used
to build more sophisticated pods.
10-minute break.
Welcome to Ambrosia Meal Makers.
What can I get you today?
You have selected fish sticks.
Please confirm.
You have selected chicken à la King.
Please confirm.
An excellent choice. Would you like it delivered
at noon?
Thank you for choosing Ambrosia Meal Makers.
Attention please!
Air tests continue to show high levels of contamination.
Mandatory confinement is still in effect.
You will never be able to get enough of Tarclore
the most addictive game ever made.
Can you beat the computer?
Back to work.
As each day went by, I felt more and more detached
from the life I used to live.
End of work day.
The mindless work rotting me to the core.
I needed more from life.
The only reprieve was unlimited gaming.
But even that couldn't fill the void growing inside of me.
Congratulations! You have reached paradise!
Resident KR201 is asleep.
Good night, Darwin.
Have a good sleep.
My father left long before the bombs dropped.
Leaving my mother with a devastating choice to make.
Either stay together and find a way to protect me from
the poison in the air or be separated forever
but safe in sanctuary pod.
Come on, mom!
She told me: "Son, you are the future.
You will grow old and you will love and you will one day
understand why I must leave you here".
Good morning, Darwin!
I hope you had a good sleep.
Please hold still for retinal scan.
Is there a problem?
- No. - What are you doing?
I hit the wrong key.
- Continue working. - I will.
Continue working now.
I will. Sorry.
- What is the problem? - There is no problem.
- I will keep working. - You can easily be replaced.
Please, don't replace me. I will work properly
from now on.
Electrical overload.
Shutting down.
Backup battery engaged.
Power for life support and emergency lights only.
50% battery power remains.
20% battery power remains. All power diverted
to air purification.
5% battery power remains. Air purification will go offline
in 15 minutes.
Battery power is at 0%, air purification is offline
and pod is shutting down. Goodbye Darwin.
If the lightning storm hadn't destroyed my pod, I'd still
believe the air was poisonous. Lucky, maybe...
And then I thought, perhaps that's why my mother didn't
answer my calls.
Come on, mom!
May be she knew about the clear air as well
or maybe she needed my help. I had to find her.
I hadn't walked more than 10 feet in the past nine years.
My legs were weak and my mind as fragile as the young boy
who first entered the pod. So, navigating this fractured
land was going to be a struggle.
But I had no choice.
Five units per transmission.
Credit unavailable. Credit unavailable.
I walked for what felt like days in the sun without food
or water.
I was in dire need of shelter.
And then, in the distance, a familiar sound.
I couldn't be sure if I was dreaming or not.
But the sign of life gave me hope.
Who are you?
You talk?
Come on RT, let's go.
RT, come!
Go!
RT! RT, come!
What is it?
- A person. - Male or female?
- Male. - Dweller?
Looked like it.
- Could he speak? - Didn't seem so.
I don't think he was seen.
If he'd been seen, they'd be here by now.
So you don't think he's with the police?
No, I don't think so.
It's all clear! You can come out!
Suzie, eat your dinner.
We set a place for you.
Steven.
Thank you.
Stop it.
Would you like some dessert?
Oh, I'll get it.
I'm Lillian Bale, by the way. I think you've already met
my daughter Dara.
We'd like to communicate with you if we could. Do you speak?
I'm sorry, we don't have any computers here.
But you understand what I'm saying?
Good.
Did you enjoy your dinner?
You were very hungry, weren't you?
I don't know where you were planning on sleeping tonight,
but we have a very comfortable mattress in the house.
Or we could move it outside if you like.
Would you like that?
I hadn't seen a living person in over 9 years. I hadn't
uttered a word in just as long.
And even though I was surrounded by people who made me feel
normal again, I swore to myself that this stop would only be
temporary.
Have you had tea before?
- Try some honey in it. - I'll do it.
So, we'd like to ask you some questions
about who you are and what you're doing outside.
Would that be okay?
Just... hum, put your hands on the table, out on the table,
like on a keyboard.
Good, okay and then Steven's going to come and he's going
to put his hands on top of yours and then you can just type
whatever you want to say.
It's okay.
You have to go slower.
My room was hit by lightning and it destroyed my computer
and my emergency alarm at the same time.
I guess nobody ever considered the possibilities of both
devices going out at once. I never did.
What's your name?
Darwin.
- Hi Darwin! - Hi Darwin!
Hi Darwin!
Hi!
Here.
This is important.
You put it on your skin so you don't get burned by the sun.
See? Just like that.
You're a little pink already, but I think you'll be okay.
- You're it! - Suzie! You know how
to play tag?
Okay, well Susie touched you, so you're it
and now, you touch me. Go ahead, touch me.
Okay, now I'm it and I have to touch somebody else!
You're it!
Suzie, you're it!
My mother... what happened to my mother?
I don't know. Did something happen to your mother?
I kept thinking she would send help. I thought she would
contact the Authority and Tell them to come and save me.
She never did.
Goodnight, Darwin.
We just want to help.
If you want to go and see your mother no one's going
to stop you.
Do you want to maybe get some sleep first?
Goodnight.
Mom?
Can I come in?
Hello! Are you in there?
Where have you been, Darwin? You have been
missing for 23 days. How did you survive?
Please leave us alone!
You can speak, Darwin. Where did you learn to speak?
Leave us alone...
Who do you mean by "us?"
Where did you get those clothes? Darwin?
Leave me alone!
You have no right to do this!
There appears to be five of them. Dispatch cruisers
to sector M402.
You have no right!
It's okay... it's okay.
Hey, it's okay.
For so long, my dreams were the only thing
that felt real, like windows into another world.
But that slowly changed as I began relearning
everything I once knew about life before confinement.
Oh!
- What happened to you? - It's okay. It's okay.
- You help him. - Okay.
- I'll get the mop. - Are you okay? Come.
You turn these both back and forth until you get
the temperature you want. Then you step into the shower,
you take this bar of soap and rub it all over you.
Then rinse it all off. These belonged to one of my uncles,
but I think they'll fit you.
We have tons of old clothes.
Are you versed in the ways of shower taking?
You dry yourself off with that towel and then just put
- these clothes on, okay? - Do you need help
- getting your suit off or... - He'll be fine, Dara.
Let's go.
These go on under your pants. Okay? Under.
- Steven? - Yes?
- Give me that. - Sure.
Catch.
Well, don't you look nice.
Shhhh!!
Steven?
It's nothing.
Don't worry. Um... So, are you wearing sun walking cream?
So do you think maybe you'll stay with us for a little while?
Are you planning to go?
Okay, um... so this is "yes."
This is "no," right. Now, if you want to say "I don't know,"
you go like this. You try it.
Okay, not bad. But you have to actually
press your lips as you do it. Like... not too much.
You're getting there. Steven, come here.
He'll do it. You just have to relax.
- Yeah. - I don't know.
Kind of like that.
Almost, that's almost it, okay. You'll get there, promise.
So now, are you going to stay?
Yeah... okay, good.
And you can sprinkle some seeds.
Dara was one of the kindest people
I'd ever met. Well, not that I had met many people
at this point in my life.
But as the days passed, my voice got stronger. I sensed
a fondness for my new friend, I'd never felt before.
What's new?
- I'm working on my comm skills. - Try it again.
And now, I am standing up and...
Ahem! Okay! I think dinner is just about ready.
Could I ask you two to set the table, please?
- Sure. - And now, I am standing up
and we're walking to the table and I am going to set the table.
So Darwin, are you hungry?
Yes!
You've never tasted anything as good as this before, have you?
No!
And what do you think we'll be having for dessert?
I don't know.
I don't know!
Dara! It's very good, Darwin. It's very, very good.
Beth!
Mommy, can we have dancing? I want to have dancing.
- Yes! Let's dance. - We haven't danced in a long
time! Beth, would you get the music?
Why am I the one that has to do everything?
Ah... Dara, would you get the music?
- Naw, I'll do it. - Here Steven, let's move
- this table back. - Here, I can get it.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
Okay!
- Darwin, do you like to dance? - Yeah.
Suzie? Are you going to dance with me?
Here you go.
- Do you know how to waltz? - No.
- Do you want me to show you? - Yeah.
Come here. So you put one hand out like this
and the other hand goes around my waist. Good. Now, step
with your right foot, you always have to start with your right
foot. Okay, and then you do two hops, one, two, then left,
hop, hop, good. Hop, hop and now I'm going to try a turn, step,
hop. Step, hop, hop. Step, hop, hop! Step, hop, hop!
Good! Hop, hop, step...
Sorry, that was me!
How's your voice?
It hurts.
But you're doing incredibly well for someone who hasn't
spoken in 9 years.
I read that if a child doesn't learn how to talk by the age
of 6, it will never learn how.
I used to talk a little.
When you were living with your mother?
- Yes. - My father's name was Mark
He was really funny. He used to make us laugh
a lot and he went to live near the ocean.
Apparently, that's where a lot of the families are.
Before the war, the world's population had
plummeted by millions. So, just like Dara's father,
my father was sent off to help repopulate the Earth.
But once the bombs dropped and confinement became law,
families were fractured across the land.
Did you cover that bare patch in the middle?
- Yeah. - Good.
He's going to bring them here. Isn't he?
What do you mean, Beth?
They're going to come looking for him and they're going
- to find us. - No!
No, I don't think so.
I hope not.
Hope can be a powerful force.
It gave us something to believe in.
But hope can never replace the truth and Beth was right,
if I stayed, something terrible would happen.
Are you sure we're safe out here?
That's what I've been wondering.
I think we are. We're down in a deep valley surrounded
by dense woods. No one's going to see the fire.
If they ever found us, they would...
Beth! I think Darwin is aware of what the police cruisers can do.
I know what they do to criminals.
We are criminals, Darwin.
I don't like the police cruisers.
I know sweetheart. That's why we just have to be careful.
We don't let them see us.
What if they're actually looking for one of us?
I don't think they are, Beth.
Wow, the river looks nice today.
And dip your wings in the water to wash them and shake them off!
Kwak! Kwak! Kwak!
My mom says that in the olden days, people used to stay
together even after the children were born. Instead of travelling
around and making new families, the father would stay with
the mother and they'd stay together for the rest
- of their lives. - Really?
- Yeah. - That's a good idea.
I'd like to do that.
- Really? - Well yeah.
You'd have to find the right person though.
Yeah.
I remember when Steven first came here. I had this weird
feeling like somehow he was meant to come and live with us.
He could have wondered in any direction, but he ended up
coming here. Do you think it's just a coincidence?
Do you think it's just a coincidence that you came here?
No.
Really?
Dara, you know that construction site at the edge of the forest?
Yeah.
I used to work there. I used to operate one of the front end
loaders. One day, when I was working, I saw something
on my monitor, something unbelievable.
There was a person there.
You came here because you were looking for me.
I don't know why I haven't told you any of this. I'm sorry.
Do you hate me?
No.
I think I love you.
♪♪ B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-o ♪
♪ There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o ♪
♪ I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name-o ♪♪
Shhhh! Shhhh! Shhhh!
What? Imagine that.
Guys, shhhh...
Okay, we're clear.
Oh no! Look at this. Somebody wants to switch towels with me?
- How about you, Darwin? - Your towel is fine, Beth.
I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Darwin.
- No don't, your towel is fine. - If it's fine, trade with me.
- I don't think so. - Come on, Dara.
Stop it.
- Switch towels with me Steven! - Why?
- Just do it. - It's mine!
- Just do it! - Why?
- Give me the towel Steven. - Fine, you happy?
You got your towel.
You guys, we're clear.
Drone!!
Darwin!
Hide!
In there! Go! Go! Go!
We can't ever go swimming again. We can't ever have
campfires and go for walks or do anything anymore.
- Beth... - We're just going to have
to stay inside our camouflage house for the rest of our lives.
This is the world we live in. We can't help that.
Yes we can! Darwin can leave. Someone must have seen him come
here and they're looking for him. How else did that cruiser
- know where to find us? - Beth, calm down.
I'm sure no one saw me come here.
Someone must have seen you.
- We've had close calls before. - Not that close.
That cruiser knew right where to look for us and it almost caught
us and it's all because of Darwin.
I think we all just need to calm down and you're right,
Beth, we have to be cautious. We have to stay out of sight.
For the next little while, we'll all just stay inside.
- I don't like the drones. - It's okay Suzie. Don't worry,
we won't let them find us. We're safe here. Okay?
We're safe.
Watching the clouds?
They make me feel so small.
I saw your bed was empty.
I thought maybe you'd gone.
- I just came out here to think. - About what?
You...
...my life here.
Sometimes, I feel like everything here has been
a dream.
You're going to go, aren't you?
Dara, I can't stay here knowing that you're in danger.
I can't be the reason that you and your entire family get
caught and taken away.
But we're going to work it out. We're going to stay inside
- like my mom said and... - And you'd be living
in the exact same world that you've spent your entire
life trying to avoid.
I am so sorry.
I've always known that men leave. I've always understood
it and I've tried to accept it as much as I can, I just...
I just wish you hadn't told me that you were different.
- Dara, I don't want to leave. - Yeah, you do.
It's your nature.
I found it, it's universal so, it should work if it's not
too old.
Thank you...
- ...for everything. - You're welcome, Darwin.
I'm going to find a cottage like this for my mother.
Show her what life is like on the outside.
That would be wonderful.
Tell Dara goodbye for me.
I will.
Tell her I love her.
Goodbye Steven.
Goodbye Suzie.
Bye Beth.
Don't get caught.
I won't.
Come on.
My mother's sanctuary pod was back
where I used to live, a two-day hike, easily.
I passed by relics of my former life.
The stark reminder of my years in confinement.
Hello mom. Please let me connect.
I'm at the comm station and I'm using the last
of my units. Please.
Request to connect granted.
Code B3348721946, it really is me, mom.
- Alive? - Yes. I am alive.
Mom, I'm coming to visit you. I'm on my way to your dwelling
- now. - Why?
Trust me. Just make sure you open the door when I get there.
Mom? It's me, Darwin. I'm here. Can I come in?
You don't have to worry about letting the bad air in. I'm
breathing the air right now and it's clean. Please. It's me,
- it's Darwin. I'm your family. - I...
Freeze! Identify yourself.
33348721946, retinal scan verification.
Records indicate you vacated your dwelling sometime before
may 19th. Where have you been? Where did you go?
Here, with my mother.
Why weren't we notified?
My mother notified you, didn't she?
- No. - She told me she did.
Please forgive her.
Who pressed the emergency button?
My mother. She said she heard someone breaking in. So I came
- outside to take a look. - Aren't you worried about
- breathing the air? - The air seems fine.
A false report is a serious offence. Don't let it happen
- again. - I won't.
Your name will be deleted from missing persons.
Okay. Sorry, this will never happen again.
Please stand back from the vehicle.
Thank you and have a nice day.
The police let me go, mom. Even they can see I'm not a threat.
I know you would too if you would just let me in.
Please.
Hi mom!
It's me, Darwin.
Are you still playing Tarklore?
I haven't been playing any games because my computer was
destroyed. Did you notice when I disappeared off the Web?
Mom, what if there was a world where it's safe to go outside
where the air was clean and the sun is bright and warm?
The world is a different place than what you think.
Would you mind if I used your computer for a few minutes?
Here, I'm just going to check something here, okay?
It's okay.
Welcome to World Authority.
Access denied.
Can't send your message.
Where are they?
Employee access code B3348721946.
Archive access granted.
Home surveillance cameras.
1 kilometre radius.
1 to 5 kilometre radius.
Sector 7 construction site.
If they could see me, why couldn't they come help me?
10 to 20 kilometre radius.
Nobody is watching.
They could have come and gotten us at any time.
Nobody is there.
Goodbye, mom.
I love you.
- Darwin? - Yes, mom.
Did you ever finish playing Steam Drifters?
Yeah. I reached paradise.
My mother had completely lost her bearing
on reality. She was a by-product of the fear mongering peddled
by the World Authority.
And she wasn't alone. Even after the government
fell apart, thousands of people stayed inside their pods
afraid to venture outdoors. They didn't know any other way
of life.
But for the majority of us, it was the beginning
of a brave new world without confinement
and without the lies.
People in every center were finally breaking free.
Is there a problem?
Continue working.
- No. - Continue working now.
No.
You can easily be replaced.
Okay, replace me.
Please keep working.
Is anybody there?
My mother once told me: "Son, you are the future.
You will grow old and you will love."
And she was right.
When men leave, do they ever come back?
Not usually.
It gets me every time when I think about how I used to be
confined to a ten-foot sanctuary pod, afraid to go outside.
And how I then found the courage to reintegrate into a new
reimagined society with my eventual wife, Dara,
the most beautiful woman I'd ever met.
I guess maybe I did get a little lucky after all.
Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull