SWNOVELS Chapter July 20th, 1969
Yuri Gagarin (The first man in space) was killed last year flying a MiG-15 jet. Apparently he was in training for another space flight at the time.
But today the radios and TV stations are repeatedly and proudly announcing that, ‘The Space Race is over.’ It’s July 20, 1969 and Neil Armstrong has (once again) said those famous words, ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’
How ironic that the space program will never achieve much more than a dozen moonwalks (The last being in December of ’72), a half dozen space stations, and put a couple of fancy telescopes into outer space. One would have thought that 30 years on, by ’99, we would have at least put a man on mars or even established a permanent and significant base of some sort on the moon. In 2014 they were still arguing over the budget and the futility of deep space exploration. And by the time my consciousness was sent back in that same year, there was still no evidence of other intelligent life in the universe. I guess we must accept the fact that mankind is permanently stuck on this third rock from the sun. I may not be able to get off it, but I certainly know how to travel to a different version of it; a past version. If I must compare the sixties to the early 21st century, I would say that both have their pros and cons. If placed on a scale I would probably swing towards the 21st century and its technologically advanced state; especially the easy access to information [The information superhighway as Senator (Later to be the Vice President) Al Gore coined the phrase in 1978]. But, then again, my judgment is seriously impaired by the fact that I have had to live through this time period again as a minor (i.e. a child). One thing is for certain though, all the radio stations play great music now. In the early 21st century you’re hard-pressed to find a single station playing decent songs. It’s all hip hop, rap scrap and messed up cover versions of all the good old stuff. Which reminds me, even the TV shows and movies (Although the technology had improved tremendously) had become unimaginative and repetitive. Everything ‘new’ was suddenly a remake or a part 2, 3, 4, or even 6. The only things really new and impressive were the video games. These had managed to reach a sublime level of reality. Who knows what they’ll be doing with that by 2020. I hope to make it there this time round; not just because of the video games, mind you, but to see what mankind is capable of inventing in general.
With any luck the technology of the twenties will enable me to perfect the mind projector. And hopefully then, the next time I take the journey back through time, I’ll be able to control the process with far more precision – going to an exact point in time of my own choosing and not that of fickle Fate.
The years 1920 to 1929 are known as The Roaring Twenties.
Will 2020 to 2029 be The Soaring Twenties or The Boring Twenties?
Only Time will tell!!!