Relocation Vocation

As I head out of my region, I look around, checking out other cars… Well, once again, cars is my choice of words. Saying my car helps me stay in the world I came from –at least partially. People don’t like using old terminology here. Our cars are called travel units. Which I get, we sort-of hover –no tires are involved, no gas needed. And we can travel at very high speeds. Although within the borders of Beginning, there are still roadways and signs, we just don’t touch the ground.

My head rests back as I settle in for the long drive. My mind reflects on some of the conversations I've had with Gertie and Hazel. They went through the Changeover way back at the conception of BUD, some forty years ago. So, they've seen a lot of changes over the years. As physicists, they’ve had their fingers in a lot of things I’d never be privy to. I hadn't been here that long when they started pointing out the minute changes taking place, causing me to start to take notice and for some reason, they feel comfortable sharing with me.

It's rather interesting to hear their recalling compared to what I learned when I first arrived. According to Gertie and Hazel, Beginning’s jargon has been changing. As we compare notes, we see the shifts happening, and as I talk to more and more Newbies, I’ve gathered that the intro to Beginning is still morphing.

The Bitties don’t like it, but I say whatever. I honestly couldn't care less; it has nothing to do with anything as far as I’m concerned. I just keep my head down, do my job well, and return to my nice pad and lazy dog. That's enough for me. At least that's what I've been telling myself… Over and over again as of late. I have my moments, when I’m positive I can take on the injustices of the world but then, I shove it back down for another day.

Beginning runs by strict rules which sometimes get in the way of my job. Even though processing is open 24/7, they'll only allow a set amount of Old-World citizens entrance at any given time. Everything has to run like clockwork. They refuse to have lines or groups of people loitering around, waiting their turn. Loitering is prohibited. “It promotes restlessness that eventually turns into rebelling.”

The intake amount - per hour - per day - is set in stone and they will not - under any circumstances - allow more than they can process in a day’s time. That's where I come in. My calculations have to be spot on, always. There is zero room for human error. Once a travel unit gets within 160 kilometers of Beginning’s borders, they are not allowed to turn around. They're put in a holding pattern to wait for approval.

If I send out one too many travel units, carrying scared, tired, Old-World citizens, they'll be stranded for an undetermined amount of time until Beginning accepts them. And that - to me - is unacceptable.

Some dispatchers have done that in other parts of the world, and I find that appalling. Try sitting in a travel unit with seventy citizens waiting to enter Beginning for twenty-four hours or more. There are zero rest stations within the 160 kilometers of the borders. You do the math! That's why my crew and I make sure it never happens.

Outside of the 160 kilometers from the borders, the travel units are allowed to make stops for various reasons during the journey. Reasons that usually deal with bodily functions. Oftentimes children or babies need special attention. The older generation also needs multiple bathroom breaks. Food needs to be dispensed, so there are stopping stations along the way.

In all reality, it’s really impressive how they integrate cities from the Old World into Beginning. I mean, after all, it is my job. That's what I do. I run the Relocation Process. And when I'm in charge, it all runs in an unfailing rhythm of order.

And Beginning continues to be at the forefront of innovation. They fine tune every aspect of moving civilians out of the disintegrating earth, into the protection of being under the umbrella of Beginning. Their think-tanks must run twenty-four/seven with the number of new innovations they pump out.

Even in the last six-ish years, the travel time for relocating any given city has changed by leaps and bounds. A trip that was half the distance to where I’m headed today - such as my old city - now takes a fraction of the time. All of these travel times are solely for traveling outside the borders of Beginning. Within the borders, there are a multitude of ways to travel, some even getting close to the speed of light. You can get anywhere you want to go, with hardly any travel time. And the way technology keeps evolving, who knows what possibilities we’ll reach. At this point, the whole Northern Hemisphere is Beginning’s playground.

-

As I approach the outer walls of Beginning, I take a few moments to take it all in. Elspeth has put a spell on me so that everything seems new and beautiful. I’ve become a friggin girl. The crazy thing is… I don’t really mind! I find myself studying this area with a new-found appreciation.

The outer walls are composed of three separate structures, the furthest out is the area that is just in the process of being incorporated into Beginning. Only construction crews are allowed. The process of equalizing the environment is put into effect once everything is sealed off from the Old World. (The Old World being most of the Southern Hemisphere.)

The wall section that I’m now entering is architectural phenomenology. Beginning's goal is to approach architecture from an angle of how people interact and experience it. This section is also experimental. A lot of studies are done for each new suburb, as they continue to improve by emphasizing the sensory experience.

How do citizens engage?

Does it evoke an emotional reaction?

Is it thought inspiring?

Whole buildings of offices are teaming with architects who are designated to make this main theme come to fruition. Making Beginning a phenomenon. They have no one to compete against other than their own imaginations and past historical architectural designs. It really is amazing. They use light and textures, along with the scale and material, all of which plays an integral part in defining spaces, provoking thought and introspectiveness. And I can’t believe I’m noticing all of this –like for the first time.

My new girlfriend has helped to open my eyes to see beauty all around me. Oh god… just the idea of her as my girlfriend equally thrills and terrifies me. I’ve never had a girlfriend. No attachments! But Elspeth has got me thinking differently. Because of her I now see everything in a new light. She’s showing me how to be ‘one with nature’, how to enjoy the little things in life. How to be aware of my surroundings. It’s weird, I never considered myself as a romantic guy. I laugh out loud. I’ve been anything but romantic. I’ve heard that chorus flung at me a few times from the women I’ve been with. But with her… everything’s been flipped upside down. And I kind of like it. I like having more awareness of the earth and my surroundings. It’s actually helped to ground me. Reminding me of when I was young.

And that’s great, because Beginning wants each and every citizen to continue to mature intellectually, spiritually, and physically. And they believe it can be achieved through balance, beauty, and belonging. They want every resident to feel a part of the community as a whole. That's their first and foremost goal. At least that’s what’s being broadcasted everywhere you turn.

-

They use this inner –outer wall, as a nursery of sorts. Experimenting with the latest technology to see how people react to it. All the Newbies that we’ve sent this way, live within this sectioned off wall for the first six months as they’re evaluated while living within the protective umbrella of Beginning, without actually being integrated into the main environment.

These sections - designated to take in Old Word citizens - are huge. Each section is probably the size of what Rhode Island used to be. And every portion of the process is sectioned and divided as Newbies make their way through the process before, finally being integrated into Beginning’s official borders.

-

I’m now entering the furthest outer wall, which is amazing in and of itself! It’s massive yet can be assembled and disassembled with precision. It’s the dividing of the Old World and the new. Between the wall’s structure - which spans at least twenty to thirty meters wide, varying depending on the terrain - is where new construction happens.

As Beginning expands, the wall is disassembled and shifted outward, allowing the allotted time to acclimate to BUD’s environmentally safe process and then it starts all over again. This is how Beginning continues to spread and take over the globe. That’s the final goal. To have captured all of the globe, saving it from global warming and protecting all the earth’s inhabitants.

Once a city's citizens are brought into the fold no new citizens are processed. Not until those in processing have completed all the appropriate courses. During this time, BUD busily works on the process of shifting the borders, so during this timeframe, my staff and I finally get to take time off.

I’m the administrator of the Relocation Process. My crew is made up of forty-five men and women who process citizens and their possessions to be delivered into Beginnings borders. And it’s our job to get them there safely. Each city can take between a week to a couple months to process, depending on the size.

During our break I hope I’ll be able to bring Elspeth here. That’s my plan anyways, and that’s only if she agrees with me. There’s a lot that has to fall into place. And, unfortunately, one huge roadblock is the health of her mother. I hate that the balance of our future lies almost solely on the life or death of her ailing mother.

I lay my head back into the seat, scooting down a little as I stretch out my legs as far as they’ll go and take a short cat nap. It’ll be a full day, and my sleep schedule has been thrown way off, so this’ll have to be a power nap.

----

I shift in my seat, looking around to assess where I’m at while I let my cognitive senses kick back in. I’m heading out a good way past Beginning’s borders, working to bring another city into the safety of the fold.

Travel time is great for me, it helps me reset and recharge those batteries by allowing my mind the time to sift and sort everything zooming around up there. My days are too filled to spend time cleaning house, so I use this time to reorganize and prioritize. And to be able to relax in my car… there’s nothing better, cause I have a sweet ride.

I completely designed my car to look like young Luke Skywalker’s racing pod. He’s a fictional character that was really popular back in my Great, Great Grandfather’s time, or maybe even before that, I lose track of the time that’s passed between each generation. I remember watching these movies though. It was like a rite of passage, sitting together with a bunch of my buddies. We used to watch all the old movies. It’s surprising how they were pretty innovative for their time. I laugh to myself as I think back to all those relics that have been passed down, generation to generation.

Of course I stream-lined my ride to be more practical, but I wanted to recreate that style. I set up my travel unit so even the side engines burn fake fire like they’re actually burning off gas. My computer-generated engine-fire is highly sought after. It’s where I’ve made most of my gems.

My job pays well, but my inventions pay me really well. I don’t report most of my income. A lot of it is done under the table. Those wanting my inventions usually would prefer to keep it hush hush. Fine by me. If they aren't hurting anyone, I'm not interested in what they're doing with them. Just give me the gems I'm asking for and I'll look the other way.

And I see nothing wrong with hiding some of my income. It’s not that I don’t want to pay my fair share for the running of this place… I donate anonymously, it's just that I don’t want to move. My income status would bump me up two or three levels from where I’m at now, and I totally wouldn't fit into that level. Everything’s different there, people in the upper echelon are still snobs. All those jerks would just look down their noses at me, making sure I understood that, even in this perfect world, I still don’t belong. Well, screw them, I say. Just because we’re now living in a perfect world, we –as human beings, are still not perfect. There still isn’t a pill designed to turn human A-holes into better people.

-

Those in charge of running Beginning turn a blind eye, they want harmony –at any cost it seems. For them, it’s equal opportunity. Socialist Utopia at its finest. They tote those banner slogans around like they’re mother had nursed them while singing slogans as nursery rhymes, ingraining all of those thoughts like it’s been tattooed onto their brains.

They have slogans segmented, for regions and territories. It’s like a perpetual self-improvement seminar. We see them everywhere, until, when you close your eyes at night, they’re there, behind your eyelids, stealing into your own private thoughts.

Teams build dreams

Unified we succeed

There’s a reason there’s a U in sUccess! Because we need every one of U!

That’s one of my all-time favorites. What a joke!

Oh… and let’s not forget the most highly used slogan. It’s unanimous as the community favorite. (tongue in cheek)

Together we can go higher, as we reach for the stars.

What the heck does that even mean?

The Originals (which consisted of the original group of scientists, politicians, and Aeronautics from NASA and other space agencies from all around the globe - with a total number of somewhere over a hundred and fifty highly accomplished people) worked together in unison for the betterment - and let’s add, saving - of the globe as global warming continued to ramp up at an alarming rate.

Their experimentation on Mars and its moons catapulted the earth so far beyond what anyone thought could be possible. In desperation, knowing the earth would soon be burned off by the sun, these brilliant colleagues developed a stable means to not only protect, but to rejuvenate our globe.

Gems are also being mined off of moons we didn’t even know existed before their explorations. Money is gone; gems are our currency. Precious metals are now used for enhancing architecture, with R.P.G. or any other precious metal now used to elevate architecture.

Had these talented men and women not come together when they did, we’d all be cremation dust. The world would have been thrown into chaos as the sun continued to burn up vegetation and waterways, making it impossible for people and animals to find food.

We’d all be toast. So, there’s a lot to be said about this founding group of BUD. Wanting to start something new, creating a utopian ecosystem and governing, where equality and the betterment of the earth and all its inhabitants was the banner flag waved.

But, as with everything - as those Original’s started dying off - along with their altruistic ways of thinking, changes began. They’ve been minute. That’s usually how most dangerous changes happen.

People are unaware until the full change is upon them and there’s nothing that can be done to go back to the way things used to be. The truth is, if it doesn’t actively affect them most people don’t care. People are people are people. Everything changes, yet it all stays the same. But what can I say? I’m aware that things are changing, but I don’t know what to do to make it better, so I put my head in the sand and live my life.

-

I finally shift myself from laying back in my seat, look around, and check how much further I need to go before I reach my destination. I flip my wrist; my techno clock tells me it’s Friday… Not that that’s good news for me. My crew and I will be working straight through until we get this city relocated. It’s the end of August, and the weather is going to be a beast, so we’ll just need to buckle down and dig in.

Today I’m on my way to a decent sized city previously called Topeka, Kansas. According to Beginning, all towns and cities not residing within the walls of BUD are referred to as previously known as. They purposefully present this way because they want all the citizens of the world to know that the process is underway, and all will be welcomed into the fold with new ways and new terminology.

Beginning has successfully completed the take-over for all of Canada, Greenland, Russia. Plus, a good portion of Northern Europe and part of China. Basically, the Northern Hemisphere has had the Changeover. A decent sliver of the former U.S has been brought into the fold as well, and we keep inching our way south, as does the European branch. I’ve no idea on the timeframe for full completion; I don’t get read in on that stuff. The big brains deal with all that info, I just deal with my world and the people who reside in it. My crew and the citizens were processing.

About an hour ago I entered the former US border. Back in the day, when I still lived in the Old World, I would frequently cross the border between Canada and the U.S. My buddies and I would take a trip at least once a summer and go along the shores of the former Great Lakes.

My folk’s farm was nestled on the outskirts of Thunder Bay, Ontario and I was an avid hunter and fisherman. So, the outdoors was as much a part of my home as my house was. It was nothing for me to camp out in my tent in our woods, off of our pastures. I liked the solitude.

My friends and I took my old Ford truck and a couple tents and just camped around the Great Lakes. It was a time of bonding and drinking and acting like royal A-holes without getting any flack for it. I miss those guys, the two of them moved away from me because they both got into politics and their lives are all glitz and glamor that comes with the positions they hold. We do call a couple times a year, saying we should meet up for a drink. Their wives (on behalf of them) send me - their poor, single childhood friend - Christmas cards every year. We don't live that far from one another, but our lives run on different frequencies so those ‘drinks’ never seem to happen.

-

The uninhabited territories of Canada and Russia were Beginning’s launching pads. No civilization existed in these regions which made it the perfect nursery for trying out their theories, collaborating with some of the greatest minds on the planet, to create and maintain the perfect environment. An environment that could sustain itself and ward off the damage of global warming.

They’ve been expanding for enough years that my travel time eats up a good portion of my time. On rare occasions I stay on sight. But I hate doing that. Besides, if I don’t return home, I have to get my neighbors to babysit Haywire. They’re great with him, love having him over, but they spoil him so rotten that by the time I get back home, I have to completely retrain the little bastard. They treat him like the grandchild they never had, and he loves staying at the old Bitties house. Of course he would, there's nothing they won’t do for him.

I’ve been putting my director off, but the conversations continue to come about my current address. Pretty soon it won’t just be conversations. It'll be mandated. I’ll need to relocate closer to the borders. It’s just that I like my routine. Maybe once my life changes, I’ll want to move. Have less travel time and more time at home with my wife. God! That just seems crazy. My wife! Wow! That could be my reality soon.

-

My hand rakes through my hair and then down over my face as I try to gear myself up. I need to get my head in the game. I’m not sure why I’m feeling so out of it. I do have a suspicion. My dreams have been full, and restless, leaving me wanting.

Today's schedule is going to be brutal, so I’ve got to rein in my own needs for the sake of the populace. There’s a boatload of people that are going to be processed today. Percentages are higher because Beginning gave word that their processing system is clear, so we can send eight or nine batches through just today alone. That's between five and seven hundred people to move through and process.

Things get more and more unsettling the further south we go. Cities are being combined, swallowing up all the smaller border towns so that those communities can be housed and fed more efficiently. Being protected from the dangers of the dying globe. But all that does is rain down unrest as the city's population grows and the supplies get more and more scarce.

Today’s city is large - just over three hundred thousand - but it certainly isn’t near the size of many we’ve dealt with. Even though the size is manageable, it’ll still take about a month to process everyone. Several other small cities and towns have been melded into this one large conglomerate, multi-community city.

Everything has already been sectioned off as to the order of who's leaving first. Areas are barricaded; security is brought in months before we even set foot on their soil. We don’t tolerate any breakthroughs of the barricades once they’re all in place.

If you have loved ones that you want to cross over with and you don’t live near one another, you get ample warnings to get your stuff together and move in with them until the Relocation Process happens.

This whole dance that we do has been perfectly choreographed. Of course it has, it’s been going on for over four decades. If you don’t keep up on current events, it’s nobody's fault but your own. Beginning certainly releases enough posts via social media, ads and billboards, there’s no reason for people to be left in the dark.

BUD had taken over all media way back during its conception, so as to make sure all citizens of the earth were receiving all the same information. Companies that had been running for generations were uprooted and disassembled. Beginning stated that, for the New World to work, the whole world needed to unite under the same umbrella of information. As with a lot of their decisions, I can see their side of it, but also, the more I think about it, the more it still makes my skin crawl.

One way of thinking.

One way of policies being established.

One way of doing things.

How can it not birth autocratic tendencies?

-

It’s all part of ‘the plan,’ the grand scheme of things. All cities from around the globe will completely go through the Ultimate Changeover within the next twenty-five years. That would only put me at fifty-four. Hopefully I’ll still be in this role by that time, but I’d like to think that I will. I’d like to see it come to fruition before I retire. It would be cool to still be a part of all this when the whole globe is united and safe.

I’ve done my research; I’ve read the history and have seen the changes. It’s quite impressive. They really did everything in their power to supply what’s best for earth's citizens and for the environment.

Having a stable ecosystem is key to the earth’s success, enabling its inhabitants to live in a world that isn’t going to burn up. In this realm, Beginning really does have their act together. That’s why relocating moves along much more smoothly than it had in the past, making my job so much more efficient.

People not only are ready for the move; they also really want it. They know it’ll make their lives better, even if they aren’t sure what that will look like. Beginning does tend to paint the picture of a euphoric world. I guess they aren’t too far off from that depiction though. Life is pretty F-ing awesome.

-

But for now, I just need to get my own act together. I need to be at the top of my game. There’s no room for brain fog. But it seems that this morning I don’t seem to have a defogger installed. I have to shake this off or I’ll be the one lagging. And… that is not acceptable! I smack the side of my head as irritation is screaming through my brain. I hate feeling out of sorts.

I mean, it's not like I don't know the routine. It's the same for every city. The first day of relocation is always the hardest. Everyone’s on edge, including my own crew. I need to be the voice of reason and calmness on both fronts and that’s going to be F–ing impossible with the way my mind keeps wandering.

And it’s all thanks to Elspeth. It seems that she’s become the one thing that’s been occupying my brain these days. My thoughts constantly drift to her and her mother. I just wish I could get them to move in with me, then I wouldn’t have to constantly worry about how they’re doing. They both have such a stubborn streak. And yet I can sympathize.

Thankfully I’ll get to head that direction once everyone is slotted in, and the process is moving along nicely –as it usually does once the newness of the operation wears off. Luckily, my crew is well trained, and they know exactly what to do. I just need to make sure nothing out of the ordinary jumps out, derailing the flow.

Then it’s my plan to sneak out around seven and head over to meet with her once again. I know I shouldn’t chance it. It’s dangerous. The two of them should have been relocated a while ago. I could possibly lose my job if they’re found out. I should just force them to move, that would be the best for all of us. But I also know I won’t do that. I can’t make their life any harder than it already is. It’s just that I haven’t been able to breathe, and I won’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get to see her soon. It’s already been over a week since my last visit. There’s no way to reach her so I’m just going out of my mind with worry. Their lack of technology drives me crazy with anxiety.