Planet Earth According to Citizen ZX12

• Science fiction

								
That night, I lay restless, staring at the stars beyond the glass roof of my chamber. The same strange words repeating in my mind, “When you’re ready, close your eyes.” They were the words of an old mentor, the man who taught me the macrocosmic dialect. Reminiscing about my experience at The Academy, I remembered the pendent that Professor Collins provided me with at my graduation. Reaching for the small, white stone that dangled by a leather cord around my neck, I closed my eyes and whispered, “I’m ready.” My clutch on the pendant grew tighter as I felt my heart begin to burn and my eyes, unable to open. With each heavy breath, my muscles relaxed further and I felt my body begin to sink into the cushion beneath me. 
Incapable of movement and speech, I allowed my soul to relax at the same level as my body. One by one, each exposed thought in my mind fizzled away like sugarcubes being dropped in a hot cup of tea. It was one of the few skills I was able to master at The Academy, one that I assured myself I would never use. Yet there I was, unsure of what was happening to me. Each problem I faced was one that Professor Collins had prepared me for. I was not prepared, however, for what would happen next. 
My heart dropped as a gust of wind broke the piercing silence. In an instant, I was enveloped by a warm light that glazed over my eyelids. The darkness of my chamber was gone and as I opened my eyes, I beheld a bright orb shining among the bluest sky that I had ever seen. The velvety cushion of my bed had been replaced by the raw surface of a green field. The words “unable to determine location” appeared through my intelli-lenses and I sat up to fully absorb my surroundings. The closest I had gotten to experiencing a place so pure was in the textbooks that Professor Collins had shared with me in secret. They contained photographs from long before the robotic war. Images of animals, real animals with the capability of birth and pain and death. And mountains with white caps of snow, unlike the gray slush of the winter that our society was used to. Photographs of farms that contained fresh crops unlike the artificial fruits and vegetables that were crafted in carbon-dioxide and methane emitting factories. 
As I soaked in the warmth of this new world, I felt a wet substance run down my face. I reached up  and touched my cheeks with my hands, ‘How strange,’ I thought, then laughed at my discovery. The unfamiliar liquid was excreting from my eyes. Professor Collins had informed me of a marvelous time before the practice of daily anesthetic. It was refusing to take the mind-numbing prescription that killed him. My Professor was a bold character. He refused to slice himself into the citizen that our government desired for him to be, and I believe that they assassinated him for it. 
Suddenly, a message flashed across my intelli-lenses that read, “Tracking system activated.” Puzzled, I pressed the sensor on my frames and said, “Deactivate tracking system.” A moment later, another message appears saying, “Unable to deactivate tracking system. Location disclosed.” Panic began to swell in my heart as I came to the realization that another source had tapped into my unit. ‘The government must’ve noticed my intelli-lenses disappear from the radar!’ I thought. Pressing the sensor once more I asked, “Where am I?” A moment later, my intelli-lenses read: “Val D’orcia, Italy, Planet Earth,” I had never heard of such a place. Areas in our current society were assigned number sequences, not names. I remembered Professor Collins telling me something about the word Earth and how it had gone extinct, along with the numerous species of plants and animals that existed long ago. With hesitation, I removed the frames that I had grown so accustomed to wearing and laid them among the abundance of green life on the surface. In one stomp, I crushed the lenses with the bottom of my boot, wincing at the sound of buzzing electrical death. 
Immediately, I felt liberated. Picking up my legs from the ground and pushing myself forward with all I had, I ran. The world around me contained colors I had only seen in my professor’s books. My eyes stung as I dashed up the vibrant hill and tumbled down, stopping abruptly when taking notice of a city in the distance. It was very small and unlike anything I had ever seen, made up entirely of tiny buildings. They looked as if they were made of stone. Not glass, or steel, or even the old-fashioned concrete, but stone! I marveled at it for a moment, then raced across the space between me and the miniature city. When I arrived, I was met with the most delightful-looking people I had ever laid eyes on. But when they saw me, the citizens crept into their little buildings with fear. This was certainly understandable, but unfortunate. For I would’ve so enjoyed asking questions about the society they flourished in.
Exploring the city, I discovered a building unlike the others, which bore a symbol in the front of it, resembling the letter ‘T’. Upon entering, I was greeted with the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. It was the sound of many voices, combining into one pleasant fusion. Citizens were seated at long benches in rows and rows in front of the many voices. Admiring, I suppose. Joining them, I sat down and listened, closing my eyes to focus on the sound. The unfamiliar liquid began excreting from my eyes once more, and I smiled. I never wanted to leave. 
However, as Professor Collins had taught me, nothing good would last forever. Not unless someone found a solution to the mass destruction of our world. I believed that he was working on creating that solution. Perhaps the pendant he gave me would’ve been a part of it, but it was too late. Society had been declining rapidly and the only thing I could do was save myself. ‘I’m not going back,’ I thought. Suddenly, the doors swung open and a violation officer marched in, his white armor glittering in the yellow rays of light. “Citizen ZX12, reveal thyself or face the consequence of execution,” his mechanical voice bellowed. Pressing myself against the bench, I closed my eyes and felt for the pendant around my neck. But it was too late, I was torn from where I hid and dragged by my suit to a clearing outside. 
The officer picked me up and threw me to the ground. “How did you gain access to polymathic travel?” Certain that he would take my life either way, I replied, “I don’t know, sir.” Pointing his equalizer at me, the officer said, “That answer won’t please my men.” Unsure of what to do, I remembered Professor Collins’ words, “When you’re ready, close your eyes,” this time, I was ready to face my consequences. I had lived my life in the pursuit of knowledge and had experienced the marvelous things of the past. I was ready to die. With my eyes closed, I said the words, “I’m ready,” After a moment of tension and telling myself, ‘it’ll only hurt for a second’, I opened my eyes to the sight of Professor Collins, the glossy white helmet tucked under one arm. The bright orb in the sky shone behind him, causing him to glow in the glorious light of day. “You’re right,” Professor Collins said. “I believe you are ready.”
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