Flight of Fancy

It was easier convincing people to join them than David had imagined. He thought he would have to walk around houses like a Jehovah’s witness, harassing people until they finally gave in. However, the people that were intended to join them were more than willing to leave their usually shitty lives behind to search for a brighter future, even if it meant on another planet.

From his discussions with Wolf, who still paid sporadic visits, all the ships were now full and it was up to the people to decide where they wanted to go. David always hated the painstaking process of agreeing to do anything with other people. Usually, they all had their own ideas and nobody would give an inch to the other person. With this group, however, the debates were much more civil and productive, with everyone getting a say in the proceedings. They had pretty much come to the decision to settle on a planet in a nearby galaxy, which wouldn’t require a long travel time. Wolf hadn’t exactly explained if they would be doing light speed or beyond. It seemed he was trying to evade the subject as much as possible.

Never mind.

In any case, the computer had calculated the travel time and it would only take them a few months to get there. David didn’t care about the equations and how it all worked out. He trusted Wolf enough now to believe everything would work out for the best.

In the mean time, the whole troupe was busy working in the gardens, enjoying in cultural activities and getting to know one another. David couldn’t imagine the ship would become such a vibrant place, full of interesting people, all eager to get to know one another, while all the while respecting other people’s differences. David always felt like his introverted nature was respected and his quiet demeanour taken into account. Sometimes it took time to process his thought. Usually, people wouldn’t give him enough time, but here he felt like they really wanted to hear his thought and were willing to wait the extra few seconds. There was no hurry. Nobody needed to be anywhere, there were no jobs to be late to, no appointments to be missed. The artistic community was in full flow, with musicians, writers, painters and all other artists sharing their art with one another and with people not fortunate enough to be artistically gifted. But even the less talented ones took up one form of art or another. It was purely for the joy of it. They didn’t need to be good at it, they merely enjoyed it and that was enough. David was like that with his music. He knew he would never be a proficient musician or composer, but he enjoyed it nevertheless and enjoyed the input from other creative types.

I can’t believe it’s been only two months after I picked up Ana.

The community was in full flow, he was happy with Ana and their cat and his parents seemed to have settled well and were enjoying themselves. He knew this was only the start of their adventure and wondered what the future had in store for them.

The age of mankind was moving onto its next phase, as far as he was concerned.

As Jack Dawson was walking into his office, he counted his blessings again. He couldn’t believe how it had all turned in his favour. After being convinced that the mess with the arrest would go against him, he got the promotion he wanted. Not straight away, but in a few weeks he got the call and he couldn’t wait to replace the small desk of his old job with a brand new office.

Keffler said that his good work didn’t go unnoticed and got him into the agency on permanent basis. There was loads of field work and a little bit of paperwork. Dawson felt he was getting quite good at it, although it seemed like merely going through the motions lately. Not much had been stirring on any fronts lately, hardly any fires to put out. It seemed that the only thing they’d been concerned with in the last few weeks had been propaganda. He had no idea how much actually went into it, from utilising commercials, music videos, movies and TV shows. Everything was used to move their agenda forward. There were also a few false terrorist attacks to set up. At first, that made him confused, but Keffler explained that it needed to be done to discourage any real ones and to keep people occupied and not questioning the authority of the government and the various agencies. That satisfied Dawson and he was happy to get stuck in.

As Keffler told him when he first hired him, that bitch Kemp was rotting in a jail cell somewhere.

Good riddance.

He didn’t care where it was, as long as she stayed there. From Keffler’s description, it sounded like she wouldn’t be getting out any time soon.

It seemed like it was finally time for people like Jack Dawson to shine.

After the failure of the multiple missions throughout the world, Number One was expecting a barrage of attacks from the alien force.

Nothing.

They waited and waited, thinking the invasion would come at any time.

Still nothing.

A few months had elapsed and it seemed like the alien force had forgotten about their planet once again. However, a deeper look into what was going on revealed something to the Sages. There was a substantial number of people disappearing, many of them troublemakers on social media. Social media as of late was abuzz with selfies and mindless chitter chatter. At first, this pleased Number One, however as of late he had started missing the conspiracy theorists and the trouble makers.

I suppose it is for the best.

His job had been made very easy as of late. But he was not at ease. He was still expecting the alien force to surprise him at any moment. The unpredictability of their actions made him very wary. He was only hoping to live the rest of his chairman years peacefully, to hand over the baton to someone else. Then it would not be he who would be remembered as the Sage who lost them their position. Sometimes, there would be nightmares troubling him and he would wake up in a cold sweat. He would never remember the dreams, as he never did, but the feeling of something terrible remained.

The ship was preparing to leave the orbit. As David looked at the planet he had called home for one last time, he couldn’t help to think that it had been a missed opportunity. It was a beautiful planet with rich resources, but the people couldn’t agree on the best way to go forward. He would miss Earth and was sure many others would as well. Despite the flaws of the governments and various devious groups, he had believed the future would be bright for the people of Earth. As it was, only a fraction of its population might have a brighter future.

With Ana in his arms, tears in her eyes, David couldn’t control his emotions any longer and started sobbing as well. He hadn’t cried since he was a boy, but didn’t feel any shame. He had left most of his friends and family on the planet, to fend for themselves in an oppressive system, while he was on a ship heading towards the unknown with the woman he loved and all the freedom in the world, or so it seemed at least.

There was a sense of sadness and regret for all the people left on Earth and he hoped they would live out their lives happily and without too much anger and regret. He was sure his future with Ana would be difficult, yet filled with happiness and joy for most of the time. He looked at his lovely wife, who had learned to live with all his quirks, and embraced her, realising he was a very lucky man indeed.

THE END.