Thomas hadn't expected to be alive when the town's time capsule was opened. The mere thought of it sent shudders through his body.

 

"If only they knew…"

 

   Thomas backed away from the ledge, changing his mind, again, for the hundredth time. He could see the crowd gathering in the town center…celebrating the momentous occasion. Scattered laughter filled the air and the faint sound of one of the school bands in the peak of an honorary performance… so lucky to be chosen for such a grand occasion…

 

“Where did I go wrong?" Thomas thought to himself as he thumbed through the beginning pages of his notebook. Dissatisfied by the absence of an answer to his own question he reached over and unlocked the glass safety box. He lowered his head in frustration and grasped the lever.

 

"A thousand times and this never gets easier." Slowly he pulled the lever towards him and waited. "Any second now, and it all starts over.." he muttered as he closed his eyes.

​

   A loud whistle and hissing was heard in the distance. A rolling thunder roared below as the ground trembled with the magnitude of its power. The force shattered the pressure, emitting a boom so fierce the sound alone destroyed any chance of survival. Thomas activated the Advanced Systems AI (ASAI) then directed his first order.

 

   “Initiate terrain scan” "Terrain scan initiated" ASAI reported.

 

"Terrain scan complete. One hundred percent program data removed. Reintroduction shall commence immediately following new program update."

 

   Thomas removed this headset and placed it over the lever. "Delay essential rest period by one hour and extend duration to five years."

 

"Affirmative." replied ASAI.

 

   Thomas reached into the rear corner of his control board and pulled out an unopened bottle of 500 year old "Natural Earth Scotch", peeling the wax seal off with his teeth. He poured himself half a glass and proceeded instead to drink directly from the bottle.

 

"And this is where I always wish I would have jumped". He spoke matter-of-factly to the bottle in his hand before tipping it upwards and finishing the contents.

 

   Once empty he hurled it against the wall. It shatters completely then reassembles itself and stands upright in the middle of the floor. "Until tomorrow…"

 

****

 

“Welcome all to this joyous occasion as we celebrate the 100 year anniversary of our town. Tonight we open the time capsule and embark on a journey into our history!!!”

 

   As the crowd cheered, Thomas peered at them from above while nervously leaning over the ledge. He inched forward and closed his eyes.

 

“Everyone together now, on the count of three…. One… Two…Three!”

 

Thomas stepped off the ledge of the building. He could feel the weightlessness of his body while plummeting towards the town square. He abandoned his fear and welcomed a sense of relief instead. Any second now, and it will all be over. He could anticipate the distance between himself and the ground, knowing the exact moment of impact. And now his own countdown begins… “Three… Two… One.”

 

****

 

   Thomas jolted upright in a panic. Soaked in sweat and on the brink of hyperventilating. His heart raced, and his vision was blurred. It was cold and everything was white. Confusion clouded his consciousness. There was a stinging in his hand that ached and burned. Looking down it all made sense again. His vision focused on the IV in his hand. His essential rest period was over. Gathering his thoughts he pulled the needle from his hand and slowly swiveled his legs to the side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and shook out his arms.

 

“And so it begins again.” he thought to himself before activating ASAI and directing the next step. “Upload reintroduction software to display mode only”

 

“Displaying reintroduction software”

 

   In front of him was a large projection of codes and formulas displayed. He scrolled through meticulously trying to locate all changes from the most recent unsuccessful program, while analyzing any potential glitches or faulty parameters.

 

 

   “Nothing. Nothing here will change the outcome enough to be effective. It is nothing more than an update. Five years of reprogramming only to modify the structure of some buildings and the appearance of the town square??? How could this be?” Thomas felt the rage grow inside of him. He threw himself onto his knees, with his arms clenched into his sides and his hands balled into tight fists, he yelled towards the ceiling. His breaths were short and shallow, as a fire grew within. The sensation of tears welling up in his eyes pained him, but there were no tears that fell. What more could he take of this repetition? He felt defeated. Weakness overcame him as he crawled towards his control board, once again reaching for his bottle. He tore at the wax seal, brought it to his lips and inverted the bottle until he had consumed every last drop. Slouched against the desk, sprawled out on the cold hard floor he held the empty bottle at his side. He stared at it hypnotically until he reminded himself of his anger and flung the bottle against the wall. Again it shattered into pieces, but this time it did not reassemble itself. Thomas stared at it a little longer, but nothing. It remained shattered. He crawled towards the broken pieces in disbelief. As he picked up a large piece, a second smaller sliver wedged into his palm and drew blood.

 

“What the…?”

 

 Frantically he lifted himself from the floor and called out to ASAI.

 

“Initiate terrain scan”

 

“Initiating terrain scan….Terrain scan Failed… Initiating secondary terrain scan…Error”

 

“Display error code”

 

“Error Code 12-40357B”

 

“Error Code 12-40357B?” This isn’t a correct format for an error code, he thought to himself. “Recheck error code” he demanded

 

“Rechecking Error code… Previous Code confirmed correct”.

 

“What is this error code? Display error code message” he ordered sternly.

 

“Error Code 12-40357B: Failure of essential rest period termination”

 

“What does that mean? Find error code database information” Thomas’ fear loomed within. He had never seen this code before, nor had he heard of such a failure.

 

“Checking information database. Information found…”

 

His anxiety and impatience overwhelmed him. He uncrossed his arms and opened them up towards the ASAI speaker. His voice cracked as he blared his command

 

“Read the damn information!!!”

 

“Affirmative. Failure of essential rest period termination reverts the subject to the state in which interference of natural life was necessitated. This safety mechanism is designed to prevent a permanent memory within the members of the test group requiring the destruction of all members of the test group. Failure of the essential rest period termination additionally discontinues future corrective opportunities of a subject. If this mechanism is not activated, the members of the test group retain a permanent memory of a prohibited state.”

 

“Clarify ‘prohibited state’?”

 

“A Prohibited State guarantees failure of a program. There are currently six prohibited states which may fail or corrupt a program: fear, guilt, anger, addiction, jealousy and the concept of death. When a prohibited state is introduced, the program is permanently altered and cannot be repaired. In order to sustain the success of a program, alterations must be prevented. Any altered programs are to be immediately terminated and destroyed, inclusive of all members of the test group, and the subject.”

 

“And what of the subject? Me? “

 

“When the subject is the cause of the introduction of the prohibited state, an interference of natural life is initiated, and corrective opportunities are activated. A program may only be reintroduced using the corrective opportunities a limited number of times before it auto-updates and is rewritten with the exclusion of the subject and with the condition of the subject reverting to its previous state in natural life.”

 

“I don’t understand. Simplify please”

 

“Your decision to end your life at that moment in the town square would have initiated multiple prohibited states for the members of the test group: fear, anxiety, and the concept of death. An interference was required before a permanent memory could be retained by the members of the test group in order to preserve the success of the program. This included providing you with corrective opportunities. Although your subsequent reintroductions did not include you taking your own life, the intent to do so was consistently present. Intent is similarly recorded as a failure within a program. Corrective opportunities, or “Reintroductions” of a program are limited and once exhausted, the subject is reverted to the resulting state of their actions, had the interference with natural life not occurred. As death would be, and is, the result of your actions, your reverted state becomes death. In order to achieve this, the termination of your essential rest period does not occur, becoming permanent until all bodily systems fail, and any remains discarded. All reintroduction data and program subjects must be removed and destroyed to prevent future failures based upon retained memory. This is required for the success and preservation of a perfected program.”

 

 

This short story was created based upon the writing prompt of “first Line”- The first line of this story was given:

    “Thomas hadn't expected to be alive when the town's time capsule was opened.” and was required to be used to begin the writing

. (05/2022)