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Chapter 1 of what I hope to be a novel

RebellionLies · 2009-02-06T03:13:40Z

Author's note: This is my first time here, so it's nice to meet everyone. I write in my spare time (and by spare time I mean when I should be doing things like homework) and have been sharing my scribbling with friends and family, and now with all of you. I copied and pasted this straight out of Word so there's no formatting (not even indentions copied over) so just bare with me. Thanks, and feedback is encouraged. -Yours Truly RebellionLies Untitled "The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life." –John F. Kennedy I had awakened that morning to something strange, but at the same time, so familiar. I woke up to the Sun. For the first time in many years I had awakened to daylight, sleeping effortlessly through the night without the sporadic crackling of gunfire or the intimidating explosions of artillery shells in the distance. For the first time in years I had not been awakened in the dead of night with a single whisper in my ear: ‘Run.’ I looked out to see the Sun flood its light upon the war-torn city with renewed hope, offering a reassuring comfort for the future. And by my side: My love, Emma. It all began after the collapse of the American superpower. The Throne of the World was open for the first time in centuries, and what became known as the Second Cold War traumatized the globe. A militant arms race sent aspiring nations to harness the relatively new technology of robotic warfare. America, fueled with desire to regain power, was quick to lead the race. China, in the shadows of global politics for decades, surprised everyone when they had announced their plans for an investment in robotic warfare. It had all happened so quickly, none of us saw it coming. Or maybe we did, but we were all too afraid to recognize it. I was almost out of college, on the border of adolescence, readying to begin a new life, a life of my own. The life I found, though, was not what I had expected. “Jaaaamesss…” My dorm mate taunted, “James, wake-up.” I looked up through blurry vision to see William’s kind face hovering over my own. I pulled the covers over my head and stubbornly turned away on to my side. “Oh, and James, I don’t suppose that little robot was very important to you? Was it? I kinda tripped and broke it.” With one arm I flung the blanket off my body, effectively smacking Will on the face. I turned to face the robot I had built and saw it was unscathed. Will chuckled, lightly rubbing the area on his cheek where I had hit him. “I’m sorry man, I was just kidding.” I sat up on the edge of my bed, rubbing my weary eyes. “Don’t even kid about that, you know how hard I worked on that thing.” The robot I had built was for my Advanced Engineering course I was taking. The little, white robot was the product of countless insomnia driven nights. Named Ares, it was about two feet tall and could walk around on its own without bumping into anything. “What would you do without me?” Will asked. “I wouldn’t go to class.” I must have forgotten to set my alarm clock. “Well come on, get up. Class starts soon.” William Hartlock was always good to me, we met freshman year in college as dorm mates. I was reluctant to even choose to live with someone when going into college. I was lucky to decide for it in the end. College was good times for me, and it was depressing to think that this was my last semester of classes. I spoke with my professor before leaving for the day. “You’re a brilliant student, James Pollock. Have you thought about what you’re going to do once you graduate?” “I don’t think too much about my future. Of course, I’ll get a decent job with my engineering degree, and go through with all the formalities, but I haven’t planned too much for it.” The truth was I was vaguely scared of the future. I enjoyed life as a student, it was routine and comfortable. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had more to be scared about. Tensions were continuing to rise on the global political stage. At about this time the Chinese were mass producing their robotic infantry, and the US was becoming fearful, our machines were only still developing. Yet, all that seemed so far away from the safe, warm center that was college life. None of us were even interested with keeping up with the world that was revolving around our campus walls. At the end of the day I decided to go for a walk around campus. It was a cool October afternoon, and the leaves had just begun to change. I told myself I was going out because the weather was nice, and yet I secretly knew the real reason; I was hoping to see Emma. I met Emma one afternoon on the activity field and quickly became infatuated. I could often find her in the same spot playing her viola or speaking with friends. I was lucky today; I caught her alone sitting under the shade of an oak tree. She was leaning on the trunk of the oak drawing on a pad of paper that rested on a propped up knee. She had dark brown hair, ending just above her shoulder blades. Her figure was magnificent, a slender frame with long, smooth legs. Her eyes were two deep blue pools of endless sympathy. I decided to wait before approaching her. Her eloquence was enchanting; completely calm and focused on her drawing. Watching her gave an aura of equanimity, and for a moment nothing else existed. She glanced away from her work for a moment and noticed me; her face lit up. “James!” she said delighted. “Hey!” I answered. She hopped up and gave me a hug. “Come on, sit down with me.” She insisted. “Of course.” I said, complying. I studied the paper that was now on the ground in front of our feet; it was a penciled scene of decaying nature: A bubbling pond surrounded by corpses of animals and withered trees, the sky above was filled with ominous clouds that hid the Sun. What was once a beautiful place was now corroded due to man, she told me. She was an art major. I asked if she were an environmentalist. “No,” She answered, pondering for a second, “maybe just morbid.” I diverted my attention from the drawing to Emma. She smiled as our eyes met. I could hear the light melody of music repeating around us. “What are you doing on Saturday?” She asked. I told her I wasn’t doing anything this Saturday. “Great! ‘Cause I was kind of wondering if you would like to go to this dance with me…it’s supposed to be somewhat of a ball.” “I’d love to go with you.” I had to hide my excitement. She quickly looked down, flattered. “It’s at the Student Center at seven. I’ll see you there.” “Definitely.” I said as we exchanged our good-byes. I went back to the dorm and found Will reading a book on his recliner as I entered our messy home. He smiled as I came in and asked “Where’ve you been?” “I just went for a walk around the park.” I replied innocently. His smile progressed into a grin. “You saw her again, didn’t you?” I broke eye contact and unsuccessfully tried to conceal a smile. “You did!” He exclaimed, confirming his own suspicions. “Yeah, I did.” “So did anything happen between you two?” “Well, she asked me to go to a ball with her.” “Really, that’s great!” He said while jumping out of his chair to congratulate me. I laughed to myself. “You’re almost more exited about this than I am.” “A friend’s fortune is a blessing.” He recited optimistically. “So, how’ve you been?” I said, shifting the conversation. “Pretty swell, I’ve just been catching up on some reading I never get around to during the semesters.” “How were they, the books I mean?” “The last one I just finished had a pretty sad ending.” He said lamely. “What ever happened to ‘happily ever after’?” “The world needs its villains.” He answered. “You mean ‘The world needs its heroes’.” “No, the world needs its villains. We all need something to fear. Without something below us to be scared of, there can’t be anyone above us to give us hope. We need hope, we need that light to guide us towards what’s right.” That night I went to bed thinking about what Will had said, about Heroes and Villains. Good and Evil. I wondered what my place in all of it was, if I were just another person looking up. Just another bystander lost in the background of the comic book panel. I wondered if the opportunity would ever present itself for me to be able to become the light to guide others, and I wondered what I would in that situation. I finally fell asleep with unanswered questions still preoccupying my mind. I awoke the next morning earlier than expected, yet still rested. The clock next to my bed read eight-thirty in ominous red numbers. The first thing that came to my mind was my ball with Emma. It was Friday, the dance was tomorrow. I figured I’d hang out with Will for the day. I met up with Will in our kitchen; we exchanged our good-mornings and quickly decided to head out. I’ll drive. We climbed into my yellow mini-van, nicknamed The Yellow Submarine in homage to The Beatles. Shortly after we were on the road Will asked what we were planning on doing. It always worked out like this; we never fully thought things through, always deciding upon what was available right in front of us, then going from there. I answered that I wasn’t so sure myself. After pondering his own question, Will offered to go rock climbing at the gym. I thought the idea sounded great, I orientated myself then headed the car there. It wasn’t far off. Will pulled my CD case from the back seat and thumbed through the cloth pages, producing a pink and white Modest Mouse album that I was so fond of. He put the CD into the car’s stereo and music started to flow from the speakers. “So you have that date tomorrow.” Will said. “It’s not a date.” I replied. “What do you mean? She asked you to a dance, she obviously likes you.” “I suppose.” “You suppose.” He imitated sarcastically. “Come on.” “Alright, it is a date.” “So, is she nice?” He finally said satisfied. “Her name’s Emma, right?” “Yeah, I just love being around her, I get anxious with anticipation of seeing her after class. We just get along so naturally…” I said, trailing off. “That’s good. I hope you two are happy for a long time.” The chorus of the Modest Mouse song came through the speakers as it started to come to a close: And we'll all float on all right Already we'll all float on all right Don't worry even if things end up a bit too heavy We'll all float on all right We spent the afternoon climbing then met a few friends at a bar before going back to the dorm. When we got home that evening we chose not to listen to the things we didn’t want to hear: How our country was making final peace attempts to dodge an all out war with the Chinese, how we should actually be preparing to evacuate soon, how I might have to say good-bye to the ones I love. And I slept that night with blissful thoughts of what was to come the next day. Waking up the next morning meant I could only think about Emma. It was raining and gray that morning, and the weather report told us it was going to last through the whole weekend. I didn’t let it bother me. I asked Will if he wanted to tag along with me to the ball. We both knew my focus would be on Emma for the whole evening, but he didn’t have anything better to do that night and he could still have fun with others that would be there. Will and I rented cliché-style tuxedoes before heading to the Student Center in the Yellow Submarine across campus, parking as close as we can to avoid the rain. Entering the dance hall was like having your past washed away, and waking up anew, into a world where nothing else mattered, or even existed. The lights were golden as they shined onto the endless wooden floors where people cordially took to one another as the lost themselves to the sweet melodies of timeless musicians. My trance broke only to be enticed by another: Emma. I looked at her looking at me, both of us, just for a point in time, were perfectly aligned. As I walked towards her, I was suddenly a school-boy-with-a-crush again. Her aura once again took over me and I simply let it all in. I held out my hand. “Dance with me.” I said in just a whisper. And life was like a dream during that first dance with the one I so hopefully wanted to be with. As Emma and I created beautiful movements to the flowing ballroom music, I was in bliss. And locked in that moment that I wished would last the end of our lives, I suddenly found myself on the ground—ears ringing and heart pounding—recoiling from a blast that came from the main doors of the Student Center. When I looked up, I saw a dozen white robots accompanied by a fleet of Chinese soldiers.

blair93

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Points 890

Reviews 6

Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:27 am

blair93 says... · Mon Feb 09, 2009 5:27 am

omg i think im addicted.

it was real good.but i think in the beganing you intorduced the story like it was complicated and used alot of big-words.than towards the end you got very simple and normal.maybe you should even it out a bit more.

also you wrote

"I met up with Will in our kitchen; we exchanged our good-mornings and quickly decided to head out. I’ll drive. "

i think you mean "i drive"
the rest of the sentence is writen like he was talking about somthing he already did.so the last words should be past tense too.

over all i really like it and w2ould like to read more!

<foreverblair> ~in the words of david bowie.. "i'll be there for you,when the world falls down"~

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RebellionLies

Gender

Points 890

Reviews 7

Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:43 am

RebellionLies says... · Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:43 am

**UPDATE**

This piece is currently in an indefinate hiatus. I am planning on revamping the piece all together before proceeding with chapter two (which, no, I have not begun, I have a lot of things going on). I plan on taking out all sci-fi elements and rework the entire pacing. I am also currently dissatisfied with the plot, so I am also weighing the option of scrapping the project all together. So, if I do take that option, I apologize to those that were looking forward to seeing more of this novel.

I am working on other pieces of writing right now, so you can see more of me in the short future. I know no one has seen me here other than the occational review and this submission.

Yours Truely,
RebellionLies

Edit: You can check out the current piece I have in progress here.

"Just tell us what to fear because I don't know what tomorrow brings." -Bright Eyes

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If Nate ever zeroes the count in "Count Up Until Nate Zeroes It", that zero should be immortalized in the quote gen.
— JazzicusMaximus

Chapter 1 of what I hope to be a novel

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