The only job in town [TJWC]

As far as jobs go , I suppose it was o.k . There really wasn't much else for anybody to do ,
and it passed the time ,.
Nobody could remember anything different for the past thousand years , the brown sludge
was harvested and converted into it's separate components , the useful ones kept , all the others
jettisoned into deep space , and away from the planet.
The sludge existed as oceans , there was an never ending supply. It , when separated ,and treated, provided
food and water , fuel , medicine , metal , everything .
The population was only small , but the ruins of ancient man were everywhere . Luckily , among the
ruins , were found seed banks , and some trees could be grown .
Legend had it , that the sludge was actually pollution from eons ago. ! ..and that had caused the
downfall of it all .
The air filters was the only other job around , and you inherited that one .
Anyway , next year , 12,438 , we are all going to take a day off . YES .....PARTY . !

In 12,458 , I got a big promotion . Lead technician on a sludge rig .
It was a special assignment . A shallow valley had been selected to
empty , and recondition . This was at the cutting edge of the new
effort to reclaim some farmland .
The second month in , my rig uncovered something incredible .
A machine , a "stargate", a potential doorway to the past . or future.
The scientists took a year to figure out how it worked and the tests
weren't good . Any objects put in the gate , just disappeared , .
It didn't look good .
In 12,460 , the machine mysteriously turned itself on , and through the
gate came men from 20,012. !!
They fine tuned the machine and, I volunteered to be part of a team to
go back into the past , to hopefully stop the destruction of the
environment before it happened . It would only be a one way trip ,
we couldn't take a portable gate machine , they are big.
Ten of us entered the gate on june 15/12,461 , to hopefully enter
the past at 2060 ......

... Our trip was a big deal , and everyone turned up for the occasion .
There was a huge send off . Hopes were high that we would land on the same
spot , in 2060 . Half of the guys from 20,012 promised to find a way to for us to get back
to 12,462 , and the mood was good . if they could send us the right bits , we could get back .!
The gate was powered up , and ten of us , entered the gate .
The trip was instantaneous , and we had landed in a forest , and two of our number ,
had vanished ! We had no way of knowing what year it was , but the air was so sweet ,
and the amount of life surrounding us , so prolific , SO BEAUTIFUL,we all just froze on the spot for
a long time .
The gate faded out in only a minute , and a real lonely feeling descended .
We decided to stay right where we were , for 24 hours , in the slim hope of locating the missing men.

They never turned up , those machine gates are a bit sketchy .


We carried enough food and ammunition for two weeks , as well
as communication and surveying equipment .
Naturally we also had digital records of the future ,to press home
the urgency of our mission .
the sludge was nowhere to be seen , but we soon found big
mounds of tyres and other crap . The whole experience was
too much for one of the scientists and he shot himself with a rail
gun ,. ..we buried him under where we arrived.Our priority now

was survival , so we headed for the top of the valley wall , to survey
our position . This would be vital information , if we ever hoped to see
our families again.... We triangulated the position we arrived
and left a beacon for ourselves , to return every year to look for any
mail from the future .
That took three days , because we were so distracted by Nature.
Three of us had bad stomach cramps from eating things we probably
shouldn't . The rest of us , felt 200 % .
Now the mission was entering the critical phase . Contact with the
powers that be , must be initiated extreme caution .
Trust would be a BIG issue , and we had an extended briefing on how ,
and who to approach . We made a permanent camp in a hidden ravine
and drew straws for the first foray into a civilisation we knew nothing
about......

There were only seven of us left , and the sense of despair
was very real for some of us . We learnt to survive in spite of
some close calls with the wildlife .
It was decided that we should divide into two teams , and meet
back at the beacon , in two months . Each team had to plan their own strategy
without telling the other , to maximise our chances of success .
The camp was abandoned , and we said our farewells .
Each team had the responsibility of contact ,in a co-ordinated staggered start.
Both missions headed in opposite directions , towards different cities , we had
spotted from the ridge . Our communication equipment was shut down , in case
the scene be unfriendly .
My team had four of us , and we travelled in darkness , for a week , through
the dense , moonlit , jungle . At the first sign of habitation , we lay low and observed
all movements for a few days , watching for any aggressive behaviours by the locals.
We had been here for a month and things were about to spin out of control ......

We were outside a small country town , and things looked very sleepy .
The idea was put forward for one of us to enter and reccy the situation .
And to report back , to the others in due course . It was my turn to do something
brave , so I strolled down the main street , and struck a conversation with a local
tradesman , working on his own , on a house renovation .
The year was 2045 , . This could be disastrous for any return home . Any mail
through the gate wouldn't appear for another fifteen or more years .!
I found out about computers from that guy , and satisfied with my efforts , I
returned to my friend's location after dark . If we could get access to a computer
the whole contact procedure could be easy .!
The rest of the team were keen to go , our supplies were exhausted , and so were we .!
We saw some amazing sights on our way to the big smoke , trains , planes and automobiles.!
The plan was to split up each day , and find cash jobs to survive , while we engaged in a nightly
surf of the net , at internet cafes.
Cash jobs proved to be a big problem , and a couple of the team , were stealing food for the rest
of us , as we lived day to day , in an old railway siding . Sleeping under a disused building
every night , and moving around in the daylight ....
Communication was attempted with the other team , after a month's separation.
Something has gone badly wrong for them , an an unknown entity was on the other
end of the line . We didn't realise this for a few days , and late one night as we
attempted contact , a few helicopters and soldiers arrived suddenly , and started
shooting the place up . .. Two of my friends died covering our retreat , and us two remaining
split up to gain an advantage ,. I haven't seen him since then , and can't use the radio .
I jumped a freight train and changed cities.... that was a week ago ....
Today , I got a live-in job cleaning someone's house , and they have lots of computers .
I finished work at seven , and am now furiously typing this and lodging it with
attachments , on every website I can .......

Hang on ,there's someone at the door , ...... ?

Haha. I liked it very much. Some great "touches" in there. Simply fabulous. I liked the ending too. I see you already have Writer status so I guess you are far from a beginner. Good luck!

I very much liked the story!!! Makes me think alot about what all of our waste on this planet will turn into one day...

I wish there was more info on how these men were going to change the future, other than notifying the people who are in charge...

Tanks, I liked it.
S+F for you, and well earned!!!

reply to post by radarloveguy


My favorite part, I don't know why, just made me LOL

In 12,458 , I got a big promotion . Lead technician on a sludge rig .

And I love this sentence right here

That took three days , because we were so distracted by Nature.

Nice spin on the classic TT mission theme. As life in the future becomes boring and mundane, what's the escape?

However, you wouldn't catch me stepping through a glitchy gate, no way. Well done, SnF.