Oasis a work of Fiction by a1studmuffin (Michael Davies) It is the future. Mankind has driven himself into a foul, stench-ridden world. People cannot deal with the future they've created, so turn to a new technology: full sensory VR hallucinations. But one man, one insignificant man, has done something new... he has discovered how to turn his digital oasis into a reality. He hides in his dark dusty garage, in the year 2081. Outside, the cityscape soars high, in a flurry of deep blue and orange lights. Vehicles in the sky look like swarms of bees, darting to their destinations with a minimum amount of effort. The sky is a smog brown, regardless of the fact that it is night. Gunfire can be heard in the distance... Connected to some type of biological machinery, he is blissfully unaware of his immediate surroundings. He sits motionless in a chair, an overhead blue light swinging softly in the slight breeze, casting a cold steel glow upon him. A small wire is connected to his temple. It twists down the chair, out of sight. Behind him is a wall of wires, cables, plugs and sockets. A rat darts past the chair... His eyes cannot be seen; his forehead casts a pure black shadow over them. Instead, his mouth reveals his state of mind. His bottom lip is covered in saliva, slowly dripping onto his soiled black trenchcoat. Resting on the arms of the chair, his fingers occasionally twitch. A distinguished ring fits his index finger comfortably. Closing in on his eye, a synthetic humming is faintly heard... A WHITE FLASH It is day. A wide open plain. A soft wind creates ripples in the grass, stretching over a hill. The sky is blue, dotted by several small clouds. A Bird flies overhead. A distinct metallic box is lying on the ground, looking very out of place. A soft ruffling noise... A man runs over the hill, with an ecstatic grin on his face. As he gets closer, a ring [the same design as before] on his index finger catches the light. It is the same man from the chair. He looks around, sees the metallic box and picks it up. He smiles, just before the entire world swirls away to blackness. A WHITE FLASH The man in the chair is still there. He is awake now, and in his hand is a metallic box. He holds it up in the light, wipes the saliva from his bottom lip, then gets up and leaves. Created on Mon, 15 Sep 1997 and last modified on Sat, 20 Dec 1997.

LOUDonline - http://www.loud.net.au - Fri, 10 Apr 1998