Future Shock

By Garry Johnson

Three friends, in love with life, navigate their conscience through an uncertain and disturbing reality.

The sins of the father continue to plague the children.

New frontiers beckon change in an ever-progressing universe.

Earth is challenged to survive. Only those with character question the ethics and morality of their lives.

Welcome to the futurea world of infinite possibilities and advancements. New technology anesthetizes everyone. Times are hard for many, but the rewards draw everyone into the game being played. Hope and promise still live in the hearts and minds of those expanding the human race into space.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984537638

Book preview

1

It was the middle of the night and dark as hell outside.

The moon

was hidden behind a sky full of clouds,

slowly drifting, stacked for miles.

The cold silence was frightening.

The temperature was lower than the night before.

It had dropped every night for the past week.

The days had been no better,

there was a gray overtone to each one.

The sky was written in dark blues

with streaks of white bordered charcoal clouds.

Many had fallen prey to the gloomy moods.

The mind sulks in the rain.

Granted, there are many moments of fantasy

and daydreaming

when the weather is foul and isolating.

Passages and pathways

in the brain

find pleasurable hideaways

when the body is restricted.

Still,

the mind sulks

on those cold, cloudy and rain soaked days.

In Swimming attire,

standing in the deep snow of a constant snowfall.

The mind cries out and only masturbation is a release.

The monotony of his existence

gave Titan

more time to think,

recollect and get healthy.

He needed to put his thoughts together.

There had been so many days of fuzzy consciousness.

He had been comatose for three months.

Presently, he had been in the hospital for six months and was just starting physical therapy.

Everyday was a pain filled struggle to regain his life.

The good news was that he was progressing miraculously.

The injuries he had suffered

were serious enough to end his life

and he had several.

The medical staff was beaming at his progress.

He was a Police officer injured in the performance of his daily duties. The story of his attack by assailants unknown was big local news. The world was changing rapidly and there was a strong nationalistic movement asking more of each citizen.

It was the year 2098.

This is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

There were many new challenges in the world.

Sixty-five percent of all people,

ages 16 to 39,

were in industry, educational preparation

or scientific research preparing to travel into space.

There was of course the Mars colonization

which started seventy years ago.

Expeditions have left

and others will follow

as they attempt to reach and colonize other planets

which scientist have identified as habitable.

The Earth that is left behind

has had to realign its resources and way of life.

Criminals and modern day terrorist

have tried to redraw the globe.

Some want to relive the exploits of iconic criminals

and rule over vast markets and territories.

Some foreign countries have experienced grave issues

stressing the resolve and resources of the remaining

international military complexes.

There is a drive in America to solidify the infrastructure and preserve the lifestyle, borders and resources within the continental and legal jurisdiction of the country.

Titan Hall had been investigating a case

which spoke to the hopes of this new America.

There was a movement to control and influence key political

leaders and when coercion didn’t work, assassination was

the result.

Titan had been following some leads

when he was beaten, stabbed

and shot by multiple weapons.

For the record and not the press,

all those murdered/ compromised were politicians.

The victims were subjected to horrifying deaths including

lynching, burning with acid and electrical cords.

Symbols in blood,

biblical numbers representing the devil

and passages within the bible

were scrawled in the boundaries of each crime scene.

Most troubling,

there were pictures taken of the tortures

with hooded and masked villains

pictured enjoying the carnage.

The victims were often stabbed, castrated and mutilated.

These were public servants who were instrumental in

changing the fabric of government service and its

performance for the citizens.

With the change in many metropolitan areas

fighting inside corruption,

securing/protecting good employees

was monumental.

All of what had happened to Titan was fuzzy in his mind.

The reality was that his memories

were surrounded in mysteries.

It was hard to recall what was real.

He had vivid dreams where he was running, climbing, swimming. He remembered these dreams as if he was an animal. He remembered smells and a surge of adrenaline from the hunt. He had landscapes in his mind which could only be visualized from vantage points high up in trees or

soaring like a bird of prey.

He also lead a dream life

where he was an ancient African philosopher/warrior

and even a Japanese general.

He envisioned great loves and battles.

Reconciling his thoughts and memories he struggled.

He remembered the names Sakanouye Tammamura Maro and being called Antar, as easily and fluidly as he remembered his friends, Emerson Baines and Scott Nixx.

Titan recalled a musical concert the three friends had attended together. They had seen Slap jaw Jenkins.

Slap jaw was an artist from Louisiana who produced a jazzy

zydeco hip hop Caribbean sound.

The three men had traveled to New York city

to enjoy the artist

and that night was filled with memories of parties,

pretty woman, alcohol, marijuana

and some unforgettable sex.

These dreams of parties

and relationships with beautiful woman

confused Titan

because he also recalled his job.

It was the pride of his life.

He was ecstatic about his job.

Yes, it was an endless daily drain of paperwork,

long investigations and routine nonsense

but the upside was helping people who needed help.

That routine nonsense could be very stressful

and often placed him in a precarious position.

He had to stay aware.

His job took all of his concentration

and monopolized his time.

This was a different day, the department had been through

years of abusive use of authority, corruption and

misdirection.

The past failures were behind

and though new horizons and hopes lay ahead,

some of the same old problems had to be addressed.

Titan felt important,

as if his participation could contribute to something

wonderful and meaningful.

Still there were no memories of any successful relationships.

He couldn’t picture a face

or remember a name of a true love.

The images he had in his mind

from exploits around the world throughout time

were puzzling.

There he loved and commuted with nature.

There he could feel at peace and harmony.

There the sun shined everyday

and he lived happily,

over and over again.

From those images he felt strong and secure;

loved and respected,

safe and mentally sound.

From those images

he found love

which he could not identify in his actual life.

What he did realize was that he had experienced love,

He had parents, a sister

and a few relatives spread across the world.

There were memories of cousins, aunts and uncles.

Often the thinking caused considerable headaches for Titan.

He could see the outside world through a large window but he lived in this building governed by internal heating and

cooling with constant schedules and activities.

After three months Titan was just regaining his voice

but his words were slow forming,

his mind was speeding

but his communication

was stumbling over each thought.

Miraculously,

Titan was healing beyond the expectations

diagnosed when he came to the hospital.

There had been great fear and expectation

that he would be a quadriplegic for life.

Now there was hope

that he would regain some use of his limbs.

He had also suffered from brain trauma.

It was thought impossible that he would ever recover,

yet here he was thinking,

dreaming

and trying to speak.

Drifting back and forth from sleep,

every thought was questioned.

There had been many nurses and doctors.

Titan had his favorites.

He had learned much from the daily conversation

of the nurses and the staff.

The early recollections of being in the hospital

are those of being in the dark hearing voices.

The nurses talked to him everyday.

They talked about the news, they talked about each other.

There was Ms. Minndie.

She is a very amicable Caribbean woman.

She was full of sunshine and bright smiles.

The sound of her voice saying, You’re doing good!,

or Good Morning, made Titan glow.

She made Titan feel happy.

She made sure

the staff took measures

to provide excellent service for him.

She treated him like a hero.

Titan could feel her appreciation for his sacrifice and

he could identify with her own quest to make a difference.

Ms. Minndie took good care of Titan

and he felt safe in her care.

Then there was Nurse Betty.

Nurse Betty was a full figured,

big boned, large blond haired woman.

He loved when she took him to her bosom

while sitting him up.

She had smooth warm skin

and she always smelled like a floral bouquet.

There was something sexy about Nurse Betty,

she stimulated his sexual being

and that made him feel alive.

Titan loved the attention and care from these two woman.

Through their conversations

he knew that there was no love or lover, in his life.

Apparently his friends had shown up,

his sister, Angela, who lived in Chicago had visited,

but no girl friend.

Titan found all of the nurses to have been different

but one thing they all agreed on,

they all loved his Uncle Jerold.

Apparently his long lost,

traveling historian, anthropologist uncle had visited.

This was shortly after Titan had

been in the hospital for the first month.

Titan’s sister had been there for several days

but the demands from her children/husband

and career pulled her away.

Uncle Jerold came and automatically made himself welcome.

Titan could remember his uncle from when he was a baby.

Uncle Jerold was a fun guy. He was always traveling.

Titan’s dad, Uncle Jerold’s brother,

told stories about his brother’s travels.

Five years ago

Titan’s dad and mom died in a freak tour bus accident.

Uncle Jerold was no were to be found.

The nurses say that Uncle Jerold was a joy to have around.

He had stories and recollections from around the globe.

He seemed to invoke ancient African Gods of antiquity.

He would chant and even dance around some.

He told stories of spirits and Angels.

He told stories of optimism, love and joy.

Uncle Jerold is an old man, to Titan’s knowledge,

but the memories of the nurses

display him as a young sexy

mysterious scoundrel.

Based on everything that Titan could remember hearing,

his uncle, slept and ate in the hospital for weeks.

Two weeks after uncle Jerold had come to the hospital

Titan had awaken from his coma

and was experiencing a miraculous recovery.

Titan was still months away from fluid speech.

He could not remember his uncle’s visit at all.

He just heard the stories the nurses would tell.

Uncle Jerold was known to be in the act of prayer

continuously during his visits with Titan.

He used certain oils and often sang.

All of the nurses and staff could sense the sanctity and

seriousness in Uncle Jerold’s persona.

There was little said or known about when Uncle Jerold left,

where he was going and just why he left?

There were so many questions building up

and Titan’s level of communication was poor.

He could not write or speak,

yet his brain was working overtime.

The days and weeks starting passing rapidly.

Looking at life through the eyes of those who visited

and those he saw from his window,

colored his world and filled in some blanks.

The quest was endless.

Each day for hours he struggled.

The only encouraging thing he knew

was that after numerous tests,

one word kept resounding.

MIRACULOUS!

2

Emerson was feeling good.

He had called Titan’s nurse

and she was full of sunshine and hope.

Titan was getting better each day by leaps and bounds.

Emerson spooky Baines was on a short list of people

eligible to get information from the medical staff.

There had been many dignitaries and well wishers who had visited Titan. There had been a large contingency out front, for days, hoisting their signs of hope and thanks.

Titan was a symbol of this new age.

Everyone wanted to make a difference.

Children were being raised with their eyes towards the skies.

Most people dreamed of creating a new future in the stars.

Those who planned to stay earthbound were seen as caretakers of paradise while those who chose to travel into outer space were seen as explorers and adventurers of the

human spirit.

It was thought that these explorers

would create new empires

expanding on the greatness which was born on earth.

Earth was supposed to be guarded,

respected and preserved.

Titan Hall represented that legion

who would give their lives for those beliefs.

Emerson and Titan had been friends

from the age of thirteen.

The two boys developed a friendship

which was real and honest.

Emerson had always been a sensitive person.

He was very shy and soft spoken.

There were numerous occasions in Emerson’s life

when his personality was challenged, bullied or pressured.

Titan had always been a supportive friend.

Emerson could affirm that the qualities which made Titan,

a hero to many, were present when they were young.

The two friends attended High school together

and that is where they met Scott.

Emerson grew several inches, during those teenage years,

and his divine curse turned him into a mutant.

At least, that was how he felt.

Then he was seventeen, now,

thirteen years later they were still very good friends.

Emerson rose from the chair behind his desk.

He had stayed home to work on some details

for the next event

at the Pennsylvania Conference and Convention Center.

Emerson was an Events director for the center.

The center would host events for buyers of technology.

The Center ran skills classes

and marketed skilled individuals to groups,

seeking talent for upcoming space assignments.

The Center

displayed presentations of designs and innovations

for space travel and colonization,

its Convention Center facilities were second to none.

Emerson enjoyed bringing investors together

with emerging technology.

Emerson’s divine curse was the real reason

why he had stayed out of the office.

He knew they were having some problems satisfying the requirements of a new presentation.

He knew the project floor director would work it out and he also knew that if he was there and available he would be probed constantly for approval or advice.

It was his style of management

to know the entire staff,

his curse made it more intense.

Emerson’s grandmother called it a Divine Curse

She noticed, early on, how Emerson expressed himself.

She had seen such reactions and abilities before.

Emerson could feel emotions stronger

and often he would have visions.

Emerson still winced at the childhood memories

of how his Divine Curse played out with his friends.

The nickname spooky was how most saw him,

he had lost or ruined relationships

due to his peculiar abilities/emotions.

Throughout it all Titan and Scott remained his closest friends

and helped him to stay grounded.

Emerson walked around the room.

There was so much on his mind.

Emerson was in constant contact with architects, engineers, educators, scientist, cybernetics specialist along with tons of people in robotics.

He constantly was fighting his feelings,

reconciling his knowledge with his abilities.

The demanding stream of work helped him to contain those psychic emanations from within, but then again often one fed off the other.

It was 10:30am

and he had a very important business video conference

at 1:30pm.

He was involved with Doctors and scientist who were

discussing medical experimentation with human subjects.

It was believed and promoted that experimentation and research in space would produce advances in life longevity

and health.

Living in space was hypothesized to prolong

the natural life cycle which was expected living on Earth.

There was an uncomfortable feeling

in hearing and discussing

much of this for Emerson.

The prospects were huge and too important not to pursue.

It was his curse that was exerting itself,

warning him of horrors and dangers.

Emerson walked throughout his house.

Yes, he needed to straighten up, he thought.

In reality he was a compulsive cleaner

and his house was immaculate.

He had plants which required some water.

He checked to see if the shades were open

and they were receiving enough sunlight.

Emerson’s home office

was full of office equipment and entertainment devices .

He had turned on a personal musical play list

which was relayed through several speakers

throughout the house.

The music soothed his mind.

He could and would often immerse his soul

in the music or lyrics

and become free of his curse.

Emerson inspected each room upstairs,

his office was the room across from his bedroom

and there were two other bedrooms on that floor.

His feet were bare.

He was wearing soft satin blue pajamas

with several gold stripes accentuating it.

The carpet was warm and fuzzy to his feet

as he descended down the stairs.

The first floor was also very tidy.

Emerson had gorgeous paintings on every wall.

Sexy nudes, glorious landscapes and scintillating portraits hung among personal photographs of family, friends and vacations.

Living alone,

Emerson existed in a museum of precious possessions.

There was a place for everything

and everything was in its place,

or soon would be.

Basically, Emerson lived for his work.

He had worked so hard trying to live with his curse

that he never given in to love.

His house exemplified a man living alone.

He had experienced so much heartbreak trying to find love.

He was a shy man and most women found him attractive.

He was too personally reclusive for the ones he liked

and too boring and pompous for the ones that liked him.

Those women wanted to change him

but he had rescinded to the belief

that his life was predestined

and could or would never change.

Stepping off the stairs,

the polished wooden floor felt cool to his foot’s touch.

Sunlight was flooding the edges of the curtains and shades.

One by one, he opened the house up to the light.

His stomach growled.

There was a coffee maker upstairs

but Emerson needed to eat.

Emerson had remodeled his kitchen.

He was royally rewarded by his job and he also enjoyed the benefits of savings swollen by inheritance and smart business contacts.

He and Titan still lived in the Wynnefield area of the city.

Emerson had thought about moving into some luxurious center city high-rise condominium but he decided to stay in the neighborhood where he had grown comfortable.

The kitchen was bathed in sunlight.

The appliances were all shiny stainless steel.

They caught the sunlight and bounced it off of each other

and the white walls and light oak cabinets.

What was it that he wanted to eat?

The music playing was a hard bop sounding arrangement.

He loved jazz

and its ability

to calm and organize his thoughts.

Eggs, hash browned potatoes with onions and Turkey scrapple, with buttered wheat toast served with cinnamon

spiced tea, won the mental decision.

Emerson started gathering the ingredients for his breakfast.

It was now 11:15am.

Emerson did not even consider any alternative,

he loved breakfast food.

He also chose the mixed fruit already sliced

and in a bowl in the refrigerator.

He nibbled on them while preparing his meal.

The music changed and he felt the urge to swing and sway.

He moved his feet back and forth.

He dipped his hip and imitated a soulful moan.

As he danced around he turned to look out the window.

This window faced his back yard but it also gave it a view of

his neighbors yard.

Despite the beat of the song playing,

Emerson’s pace slowed.

There she was, outside in her yard. It was Grace.

Grace Childs was gorgeous.

She was the sexiest, most alluring and intelligent woman that Emerson had ever met and secretly he was hopelessly

in love with her.

Emerson had his share of love interests which fizzled or ended in true hatred. The woman who tried to change him pushed him to act ugly. He hated that.

He rebelled against them

and often they responded with sincere revenge.

Those women saw him as pliable and he wasn’t.

They believed they could control him and when he rebelled the relationships ended in violent words and accusations.

Grace looked exactly how Emerson pictured

the concepts of Grace and Beauty.

She stood almost six feet tall. She was a firm, full figured woman. She was flamboyant and charming, she had an eclectic fashion sense.

She exuded a natural, colorful, very playful persona.

She had inherited a cosmetic business from her mother.

She was an independent care-free individual.

Emerson and Grace shared a great relationship.

Whenever Emerson would be depressed, Grace would make him feel better. He, often, would seek her out in those times and she never seemed to be too busy or unhelpful.

He appreciated her opinion and found her easy to talk with.

She had watched his house when he was out