The Future is Coming

By Chris Bunton

The Future is Coming is an ebook of fictional short stories about what could happen, or what could be happening right now. It is about dystopian worlds that could come to pass. It is speculative fiction that makes us think of where we might be going. Because whether we like it or not. The Future is Coming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris Bunton
• Release date: Aug 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223873488

Book preview

Dystopian Stories by Chris Bunton

These are works of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in the works are either the products of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

COPYRIGHT©2023 Chris Bunton

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author/publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN:

Published by Chris Bunton and The Yard: Crime Blog

COMPILED BY THE YARD: Crime Blog.

https://theyardcrimeblog.com/

Introduction

Istarted writing these stories sometime during the lockdowns of 2020. You can see the influence of the pandemic on several of them.

I have been interested in the last days since I was a child. My favorite movies were post-apocalyptic films, and dystopian worlds. I studied survival, and still fully believe we are headed toward something apocalyptic. We are overdue.

My belief in God and Biblical Prophecy plays a part. But like I said.  I have ALWAYS been interested in the subject. Even studying history led to subjects that fell in line with the destruction of civilizations, or corruption of society. I just like doom and gloom, I guess.

I have studied conspiracy theories, and have thoughts of my own on the matter. All of that plays into the things that I write. Along with my spiritual and historical beliefs.

I have a history of writing mostly non-fiction for a lot of years. I like to give my opinion on things or instruct people, or tell others what I’ve discovered. But I recently started writing fiction. Or I should say picked it up again. I wrote fiction in my younger years.

I remember being in Mrs. Karnes’s 4th grade class, when she started having us write stories using our weekly spelling words. I loved it. I wrote stories that caused the kids to cheer. That is a memory that led me to start writing fiction again. Course, when you are an adult, the competition is a lot stiffer than it was in the 4th grade.

I’ve published poetry and flash fiction in magazines, both print and online. But, being sort of a rebel I have decided that I don’t need to wait for the approval of others before I live my life. So, I self-publish, and I blog.

I honestly believe that is the future of publishing. The internet and electronic publishing mediums will eventually drive the big publishing houses into a place where they have to release some control. I think eBooks, online magazines, online blogging sites, and the ease of self-publishing will set writers free.

I think that environmental concerns will turn everything to electronic. eBooks, use no paper. They do not need to be shipped. They do not need packaging. They can be made quicker and cheaper. Not only that but, with everyone having a phone. They can also carry their entire library of eBooks with them everywhere. The same goes for magazines, and everything else.

I love paper books. I have a whole library full. But the fact is that The Future is Coming. And the reality is that eBooks and internet methods of publishing are the future and it’s here. I honestly believe it creates some freedom, while also putting on some restraints. I think it promotes creativity. It can bypass censorship or be a tool to impose it. It allows written words to travel the world with the press of a button.

But, in keeping with the theme of this book, it can also bring about possible dystopias. It can allow ideas to spread globally. It can let lies travel faster than light. It can be a tool for propaganda and control. Despite the possibilities for good, there are also the possibilities for it to be used for evil.

Not only that but with everything going electronic, and with more and more important documents and communications being done through electronic means, there is the real possibility of information being altered. A person’s words being changed. A fake video. Fake pictures. All designed to destroy someone and there’s no other proof. Except the electronic info. that has been altered.

What about the dystopian idea that all our history could be altered or banned with a button stroke? What if all the eBooks vanished just because a website crashed or the entire internet was taken over. What if it all went bye bye with a push of a button, or the collapse of the global electrical grid.

Many things could happen with this miracle of electrical publishing that could help foster or create a dystopian world. And that’s why I still have a library full of beautiful paper books. It’ll be safe unless we have a Fahrenheit 451 type dystopia. I imagine I’ll be in trouble for sure. If the future goes weird.

For Your Protection

Flash Fiction

T racy and David Santos , come out of the house! A voice spoke through a loud speaker.

Tracy and David both jumped up from the couch in their living room. They looked around in terror.

Their favorite show flickered on the TV, and the image was replaced by a message which read.

David and Tracy Santos. You are being placed in quarantine by order of the CDC Health Safety Mandate. Please step outside and speak with the Health Collection team.

At that moment, both of their phones started emitting a high-pitched squeal and displaying the same message.

Tracy grabbed her phone from the coffee table and tried to clear the message, but it would not stop screaming, nor change the screen.

David and Tracy Santos, step outside! the loud speaker echoed again.

David looked at his wife, and then his head dropped down to look at the floor. He never thought it would get this bad or this real.

I guess someone reported us he said over the squealing from the phones.

What are we going to do? She asked looking around for a hole to crawl into, knowing there was none.

I don’t know. What choice do we have? Just pray. He said.

He reached out and took her hand. Then, they walked across the living room to the front door and opened it. Then, they walked outside together.

IT WAS JUST AFTER DARK, and there was a little light showing in the west from the setting sun. A spot light blasted them as they stepped out of the house, blinding them to some extent.

After blinking to regain their vision, they stood on their porch and looked at the scene before them.

Standing in their front yard was a robot, about 5 feet tall. It was bipedal with two legs that resembled metal ostrich legs. It had no body above the hips. Only a platform.

The platform held several devices. A speaker, a camera, a screen, a scanner, a spot light, a tazer, a netgun, and a shotgun with a drum magazine. The robot had the spotlight on them.

Tracy almost fainted at the sight. David gripped her and held her firm. She started to weep.

David looked around them, and saw 2 four legged robots that resembled panthers came around from the back of their house. The cat-like robots were on both sides and were ready to prevent an escape from the back or sides of their home.

The robots set up on both sides of the couple, tazers and guns at the ready.

A black van was parked in the street, right in front of their house. The top of the van held several types of devices and antennae. Two humans sat in the front seat watching what was going on through cameras and infrared scanners, which viewed into their house. They also hacked every camera available on the property.

The passenger looked out the window and spoke to them through a handset, which he raised to his bearded mouth. The voice came out through the speaker on the bipedal robots, platform before them.

Place your face in front of the robot’s scanner for facial recognition. The speaker said.

Tracy weakly moved forward to comply, while David looked down the street of his neighborhood.

Vans were parked in front of several houses and the exact same scene was occurring at each location. Spot lights, robots, and families weeping, with black vans on the street.

David stepped forward and let the robot scan his face.

The speaker spoke again.

By order of the CDC and FEMA health mandate, you are requested to step into the van, for relocation to a humanitarian site nearby. This is being done for community safety reasons.

Why David asked.

You have refused to be vaccinated, despite all evidence that they are needed for community health. This act has put you in violation of the Community Health Initiative, and you have been deemed mentally compromised, and part of an extremist ideology. You are detained for your safety and the safety of the community, until such time as you can be re-educated and restored to normal life.

Tracy started moving weakly toward the van. She cried as David took her arm and helped her.

Across the street he