White Noise

�Come on! Get in here kick off�s in a minute� said the old man.
The day had finally come, it was the big one. It was Liverpool versus Manchester United, the biggest game of the season for Liverpool now that we weren�t very good.
�I�m just getting the drinks ready� I snapped.
The tone in his voice suggested I wasn�t taking this seriously, which was an insult. Nothing gets more serious than this. If the Mancs beat us then I�d have a long face for weeks. However there was the most important element I had to take care of before kick off, that one element without which the game wouldn�t be the same�alcohol�
This involved rushing around the kitchen getting the cans out of the fridge, then throwing them into the ice box as fast as I can.
�Come on!!!� he groaned again.
�I�M COMING� I snarled back. I can�t exactly miracle the drinks there can I?
Just as the thought came to me to tell him to get off his lazy arse and do it himself I was all done, and decided to head into the lounge and bite my tongue.
I slouched down into the couch, passing the old man a can out of the cooler and getting myself one.
�That�s the one my son.� He was obviously happy now.
Now we were set, sitting right in front of the TV for the big moment. In ninety minutes we�d either be celebrating or consoling each other.

�This can�t be happening! This can�t be fucking HAPPENING!!!� the old man screamed in despair, and I instantly felt his pain.
The reception on the TV had gone haywire, screeching as if in pain. Nothing could be seen or heard. This was indeed a nightmare.
�It�s incredible isn�t it lad? They can put a man on the moon, but they can�t give us a decent fucking TV reception!�
I smirked; I had to agree with him there. Panic was setting in now though, it was maybe two minutes away from kick off, this couldn�t be happening.
�I�ll ring up the satellite people, they�ll sort it out� I assured the old man.
�It best be quick, kick off�s any second�.
I got to the phone as quick as I could, picked it up and began to dial�but there was a problem.
�What�s up lad?� The old man had obviously seen the despair in my face.
�The line�s dead.�
�What?� he almost squealed in anxiety.
�The ring tone�s dead. There�s just some fuzzy noise.�
What�s going on around here? Today of all days� the old man groaned.
I had to agree, this was just typical.
�This is ridiculous, I�ll put on the radio for the commentary� said the old man.
�Ok, I�ll go online and email the satellite people. I�ll also get in touch with the lads see if they�re getting the same thing� I replied as I headed across the room to the computer.

The computer was already on so I just went straight to the internet icon and began to click. What the hell? What do you mean �cannot establish a connection�? I have broadband for Christ�s sake! I can�t take much more of this.
�You�re not going to believe this lad� the old man said as though he�d already given up.
�I think I am� I replied as I already knew what was coming.
�I can�t get a reception on the radio�
��and I can�t connect to the Internet� I interrupted.
�But we�re always connected?� the old man replied confused.
�Well you�ve got me.�
We sat that there in silence for what must only have been a few moments, but felt like forever as the many possibilities of what could be going on raced through our minds.
�Listen, I�ll knock at a few of the neighbours houses and see if they�re getting the same thing� I blurted out as I was already heading into the lobby and to the front door.

As I stepped outside it struck me what a gloomy day it was as it matched my mood. One of those days when it�s in-between night and day, and the grey clouds cover the sky. Then I noticed something wasn�t normal. Everyone was out in the street, all talking quickly and throwing their arms up in the air. It was like a conference or more precisely a protest when you took into account they didn�t look too pleased. I figured it was a waste of time to ask any of them if they were having the same problems as me and the old man, as I didn�t think they were all out here converging for a picnic.
�Alright lad?� I heard that warm voice come from behind me.
It was Jim, the nice old man from next door. It always struck me as odd though that I was twenty three years old and he still spoke to me like I was five.
�Alright Jim, what�s going on?�
�Ohhhh, it�s not good lad. No one�s getting any kind of signal from any of their stuff at home, same for me. No telly, no radio��
�I know Jim, we�ve got the same problem.�
�Well everyone�s got that problem lad, no one knows what to do. We can�t get in touch with anyone or anything like that.�
�Do you know what could be causing this Jim� I inquired.
�I don�t know lad, it�s very strange. It�s nothing to do with electricity as we know everything�s still technically on. I mean normally you might get bad reception on the telly or something, but not everything that needs one. I�ve never known anything like this lad. It�s very worrying.�
�What do you mean� I already knew what the old timer was going to say as the words left my lips.
�Well you know lad, with the situation going on in the world at the moment, you don�t know what could be happening do you?�
�I guess not� I politely agreed.
Jesus! I know he had a point but I�m sure there are worse things these terrorists could do than to knock off the reception in one unimportant area�unless�maybe it isn�t just around here? How far has this thing reached? I know what I�ll do, I�ll go online an�shit!

It was then that it struck me. Without any source of information we were useless, like headless chickens. People up and down the street were already starting to panic and act crazy. This had barely been going on ten minutes yet people were already starting to cry and fear for their safety. I mean for Christ�s sake! Who cares if we can�t watch the latest episode of friends tonight? But it�s not just that I realised to myself. It�s because of this source that we know what we know about the world, it makes every door feel open to you. Without it we were completely lost, we couldn�t even see two yards of our door step.
As I had this moment of realisation it was then that I noticed it. Something had caught my attention, I could feel it behind me. I don�t know how, but things suddenly seemed brighter I had noticed. I turned around, and then as I looked up I noticed it. Is that what I think it is�? No it couldn�t be�? My GOD!...

I don't know what this is supposed to mean, I've never really done anything like this before so I thought I'd have go.
A few people got the impression the ending was terrorists, and whilst it could be, that was not the intention I was trying to give. It could be anything, I'm not really sure.
Maybe that'll come to me one day.
Well it is what it is anyway, be gentle.

Nice catch in the story. I like it. Good work

Originally posted by NetStorm
Nice catch in the story. I like it. Good work

Thank you very much.

Interesting story, John.
I've often wondered what would happen if we lost all our technology - electricity, petrol, radio etc. It would be like going back to the Middle Ages. I remember discussing it with KayEm and coming to the conclusion that at least a third of the people would be dead within a year, most of the others would be wandering around in stupors and a few would actually be able to live quite well without being dependant on the TV and Microwave etc. I would fecking love it.

As for the end of the story - Maybe it was God.