Symbols of the Future

Symbols of the Future

Caroline Read


GBP 13,30

Format: 13.5 x 21.5 cm
Number of Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-3-99048-472-2
Release Date: 02.06.2016
T.R.I.G.O.M. rules the blue planet.Physical exertion and interaction between humans is discouraged. Most of the humans retreat into Avatar worlds to escape reality. Only a chosen few are still looking out and observing the dramatic changes occurring on the planet known as Earth. But even they are terrified of the threat of the Red Zone…
Prologue

Peace in the Middle East had been celebrated after many years of human sacrifice and suffering. Many had asked if the death toll had really been worth the centuries of fighting, loss of life and all the sorrow that had ensued. Eventually, the realisation dawned that there could be no winners, only losers, whatever creed. Those leaders which had reigned with fear and violence had long since been eradicated and the climate of the world had changed, some would say, beyond recognition over the last 50 years. Egypt was no longer the desert-like country that it used to be in the last century and of which the peoples of the late 1900s would remember. Rainfall had increased dramatically and desert land was fast disappearing. Rivers now flowed past the great pyramids and the Sphinx was surrounded by a vast lake, in some parts as deep as a small ocean. Sadly these holy lands which had been renowned for their structural wonders, where tales of early miracles and intelligent life had been born, were now of little interest. They had once been at the heart of many archaeological expeditions, evoking thought and theories that perhaps mysterious beings may have once inhabited the Earth and built these wondrous structures, maybe even inspiring the growth and evolution of our ancient ancestors.
Certainly climatically, the changes were very profound and some islands that had once flourished and supported a significant eco system to give life to human and the animal populations had disappeared under water, lost forever. Major devastation had occurred decades ago, causing astronomical changes for mankind. Technology, which had been growing steadily until that point, was forced through necessity to advance at a greater pace to another level and in this transition came the birth of the Transnanite Regenerating Intelligence Governing Over Mankind; generally referred to as T.R.I.G.O.M. … This in turn marked the beginning of the greatest change the Earth and its inhabitants could ever imagine possible but perhaps not even the most advanced technology would be its saviour and only ancient knowledge could truly ensure the continuation of Mankind.

Chapter One

EYGPT – 2183
Torri looked up at the night sky and as ever was in awe of the vastness of the universe. She had always appreciated the beauty of the many constellations of twinkling stars. Although she knew that they were millions of miles away, they looked so bright and vibrant, almost as if they were there to light the way to some secret place. It was here on the banks of the Nile, alone on her favourite spot by the shimmering light of the Egyptian moon that she found time to reflect. It was when she was here more than anywhere else that she felt the loss of her grandfather, she missed him so much. His protective arms around her whenever she needed comfort; his words of wisdom, whenever she felt lost. Oh she missed him so much. She had been only fifteen when he had passed, but she had known that it was going to happen, she had seen it in one of her many visions. It had come to her one evening, quickly and without warning, as they always did. She had been unable to contain her tears but knew that she could do nothing to prevent what must be. She had reached the tender age of three when these visions had first started and as a young child she had been frightened and bewildered, not understanding what was happening. They were so vivid that many times she felt that she was physically there, witnessing whatever event was being shown to her. At f irst she had not been able to tell anyone, in fear that she would be ridiculed or even that she would get into trouble. Her grandfather had been the first person she had found the courage to confide in with the hope that he would make things better as he always did. He, more than anyone had understood her and accepted her “gift” as he explained it to her, which had made her love him even more. He had never judged her or lost his patience; her kind gentle grandfather had given her the precious gift of his unconditional love. Reflecting back now and although at the time it hadn’t seemed strange that he had shown no surprise at her revelation, she was sure that he too had a gift and so he had been able to understand her completely.
He had been her guiding star, helping her along, what started out as a rocky path, before she was able to finally accept her “gift”. A gift that sometimes made her feel alone and vulnerable, she felt different, even from her own mother and father but even at her loneliest times she could feel her destiny beckoning and it gave her hope. Spiritualism was nothing new and it had been fairly widespread and accepted many years ago but now, not many people actually practised it or made it common knowledge that they had such a gift. Torri believed that perhaps it was not looked too kindly on by the T.R.I.G.O.M. board, but after all it was not controllable. She often had an overwhelming feeling that her destiny was connected to her gift and during some of her visions, her conscious mind faded from reality so that she was actually in the place and time of the event that she was being shown, feeling, hearing; all her senses alive with the moment. It was not uncommon for her to feel weak and nauseous for some time after but she had learned how to cope and tried to live her life as normally as possible. Now, years later and after having had many experiences of this kind, she knew that whatever role she had in the future it would take all of her courage and faith but that she was becoming stronger and stronger and so she had learned not to be frightened; instead she embraced her gift, knowing that one day it would be needed.

Chapter Two

Most of her childhood education, as with all children of her age, had been spent alone in her computer room, her parents providing her only guidance but at the age of eight she had been overjoyed when she had found out that she had been chosen by the T.R.I.G.O.M. learning council to be one of a select few children to be given an opportunity to attend an experimental learning class. This had been set up on a trial basis to assess whether or not physical activity could promote a higher level of learning. She was so excited that instead of being alone by the computer, she would actually get the chance to meet and interact with other children. Although her parents had not seemed too keen on this idea at first, she had managed to persuade them to let her try it.
Torri secretly thought that they had consented in the end to get some peace from her constant chatter. She hadn’t been able to stop talking about it and had bombarded them with pleas to let her go. She was not the usual quiet child of the time and frustrated her parents by her insatiable appetite to learn. She would always be asking questions if there was something that she didn’t understand and added to her liking for the outdoors her parents had become very worried that she wouldn’t fit into the society created by T.R.I.G.O.M. They just could not understand her and where possible they tried to discourage her outdoor activities so that attention would not be drawn to them. She was so thankful that they had allowed her to go to these classes and, whatever their reasons, she had felt overjoyed and couldn’t wait to tell her beloved grandfather that they had finally said yes. She knew that he would be pleased for her.
This opportunity had given her the chance to make friends with other children of her own age, share their interests and play together, which was now a thing of the past. She had been nervous on her first day but as soon as she entered the learning room her nerves disappeared being replaced with excitement, expectations and an eagerness to learn. She loved the days when she attended these classes and made many friends but she had also experienced first-hand, childish cruelty and adult prejudice when her “gift” became common knowledge. Many times she had come home full of the things that she had learned and eagerly talking about her friends but there had been days when she came home in tears after being teased by a fellow classmate or rebuked by one of the adult overseers. The adults were less understanding of her and who didn’t seem to have much time for this strange child, as some of them cruelly thought of her. Once again her grandfather had always been there with a hug and words of reassurance, making everything better. Now at twenty-four she was able to look back and cherish the times that they had spent together, ref lecting upon his wise words which had always given her so much courage. Her other comfort and whom she had been able to confide in had been her friend who she had met on her first day at her learning class all those years ago. She had arrived with her brother, a quiet boy prone to sulking and who didn’t seem to like the friendship that she had formed with his sister. He always seemed so jealous and possessive, Torri had not liked him at all but her friendship with his sister had prospered and grown even so.
It had been such a sad day for Torri when she had been told that her classes were to end. The learning board had not liked the interaction classes which encouraged students to be active and to form physical friendships which could not always be controlled. They preferred instead to revert back to the individual learning that T.R.I.G.O.M. provided where physical interaction was not necessary and control was easier, sat in a solitary learning room. The experiment had not met with their expectations, they had added no further explanations and all facilities had been withdrawn.
However, their friendship had lasted long after the learning classes had ceased, their bond strengthened and nurtured by many long chats through the computer links. Torri had been so upset to say goodbye to her friend, there was a sadness about her but she had not had any visions or premonitions about her future which was unusual, only a strong sense that they both needed a friend and confidante. She had been frantic with worry when their communication had suddenly stopped and more than a little shocked that she had no idea why, even when she tried to draw on her own spiritual ability. Her only comfort was that she knew she was alive to fulfil her own destiny and that one day their paths would meet again.

ENGLAND – 2183
The vehicle seemed to come from nowhere … Joshua had been in a world of his own; full of excitement having just left the academy, such a rarity these days to attend a meeting, rather than alone and through the computer. Although great advancements had been made in the last decade with special eye chips implanted at birth which, when activated enabled the viewer to experience amazing visual 3D images, it was still a poor second to actually being at a venue physically and being able to embrace the atmosphere it generated. To hear someone talking provoked feeling and an intensity that a computer link, no matter how advanced, just could not create. He had been enthralled by the words of the professor, whom he had greatly admired since his tutorial days and whose works in the computer library system had first inspired him to pursue his interest in ancient history.
Although not a widely popular subject in this modern society or even greatly encouraged as it involved a good deal of physical activities, he had not been deterred by the negativity of others in his choice to pursue this path of learning. It had paid off as he was now well on his way to becoming a respected researcher and philosopher in this field with his debates of ancient relics and symbols in the modern world and their possible significance to the future. His papers exploring his theories on ancient artefacts investigated the authenticity of many of these discoveries. He had even managed to get some of his writings accepted into the computer library system and this was indeed a great achievement for someone so young. They had created interest within the history section, often used as references or chosen topics by the monthly debating groups. These were groups of people from all over the world, linked by the holographic conferencing system, who liked to put forward or discuss issues, usually on a monthly basis. These groups were initially formed and promoted to help when great cultural and technical changes had taken place, it was a way of communication, helping and encouraging people to attain acceptance in a changing world. Now, however, it was more of a social gathering to practise conversational arts and strengthen friendship links although they were still monitored closely by T.R.I.G.O.M.
“These artefacts bring us knowledge to embrace and hold the key to understanding our past but what of our future?” He was mulling over the meaning of the professor’s words when the vehicle hit. He hadn’t been concentrating on the road. All vehicles were strictly controlled by T.R.I.G.O.M. and any form of accident or incident happened very rarely. Pedestrians, who were few and far between, would never pay too much attention to the roads or have any fear of a vehicle hitting them. The vehicles with their highly adapted scanners and programs should have made it impossible for accidents to happen. The impact was sudden, followed by a sharp pain down his right hand side and a searing pain in his head. He was fading in and out of consciousness, but through the black mist that kept engulfing him, he saw a man staring down at him as he lay badly injured and unable to move; his piercing blue eyes showing no emotion. The events that followed were hazy but he vaguely remembered hearing panicked voices shouting as emergency vehicles approached. He thought the approaching vehicles had made the man jump but he couldn’t be sure and after closing his eyes for a moment again, the man had disappeared. Perhaps it was a figment of his imagination brought on by shock and pain. Just before he completely passed out he saw the blue emergency Air Disc land and felt himself being lifted up.

Chapter Three

The computer’s emergency M.I.R. (Medical Intelligence Robot) had worked quickly and tirelessly to revive Joshua and just on the last attempt to revive him, his heart started to beat. The monitor’s sudden bleep drew relieved looks by the crash team technicians, who had been observing on the monitoring screens. They were there to ensure that the computer systems were functioning correctly. Human doctors still worked in the hospitals, but their role had evolved into a more technical supervisory one, with computers taking over the main work load, performing the day to day routine work and all of the intricate operations.
Human contact with patients had been restricted within all hospitals to reduce the risk of infections. This had come into force in the latter part of 2070, after the outbreak of an extremely voracious virus which had affected 30 % of the world’s human population. Now, cleanliness was of the highest level and monitored closely by the main frame computer which would automatically shut off any contaminated areas if detected. Appearance enhancing procedures accounted for the majority of patients in hospitals, reflecting both the vast medical advancements which had been made regarding major illnesses but sadly ref lecting a regression of the human race, due to vanity and materialistic obsessions. In the past, hospitals had been sued for large sums of money when the old monetary systems existed, by patients recovering from these procedures, when the risk of infection was high, causing deformities and fatalities. Ironically, money had been the underlying source of infection as cleanliness and the wellbeing of people within the hospitals had suffered because of lack of funding and expenditure; the importance put on cost values above all else. This at least had been eradicated and money was of no importance.

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