A Glimpse in Time
The 6th technological revolution was jump-started with the invention or discovery, depending on the scientific point of view, of time-travel. It was unprecedented, to say the least. Not only on a macro level but also on the micro-level it changed everything. This brand new branch of technology was tied to genetics. And as humankind started diving deeper and deeper into the mystery of the DNA and started to better understand itself, a clear path was shown to a select few, who possessed the vision and foresight, a pattern emerged. They began focusing on certain bloodlines and tracking a specific gene - SK6. This was present in all humans, without a fault, but it was unique to a family. It was a brand new way of tracking your lineage.The biggest leap was made by Steve Matterson, who was both a brilliant geneticist and theoretical physicist and who in 2165 combined the concepts of quantum mechanics with the practical experiments done on SK6. He realized that the gene could be used as a sort of bungee cord - to travel to a fixed point n time and return to your own time, in what was perceived seconds by the human consciousness. You could use your ancestors as beacons, a way of honing in on a specific date, and your connection with them would allow you to experience a bit their lives and struggles.
However, there were a lot of rules to time travel that popped up, once humans actually started to try to make the journey. It turned out, that even though you would use a relative from the distant past to give you an entry point into the “time” that you wanted to visit, it was impossible to have two separate consciousnesses inhabiting the same space. And if the traveller from the future wanted to “share” the mind of his ancestor, it came at a great cost, to both parties involved. The person in the past, would most likely develop a debilitating mental disease, and in the future, that would translate, in a gene malformation, and you would not return to the same person that you were before making the jump into the Void of time and space. There were only 2 experiments ever recorded in the history of mankind, and both were disastrous, almost altering the current history of the planet, so scientist knew that they had to come up with another idea.
They decided to use the SK6 gene as a locating gene still but to transfer the consciousness not to the bearer of the same gene, but to the nearest non-human entity. This also lead to a few mishaps, this time with funnier and less disastrous effects. For example, a scientist experimenting with the method in Russia got stuck inside a house plant for a couple of days, but that alone seemed like millennia to him, so the best course of action was to focus on mammals, he concluded. His conclusion was mirrored by many researchers throughout the world.
But of course, this happened way before our time. Nowadays in 2255, time travel is a popular birthday gift. So when, Peter Jenkins, received a present from his work colleagues to one of the top establishments in town, dealing in these type of luxury delights, it came as a wonderful and exciting surprise. He got his coupon and on the designated date, he showed up punctual, to his appointment. After being tested and when the necessary settings were made to the fancy machines, he was plugged in and sent back in time. He wanted to visit the time of the Great Lockdown as it became known in history, the year of 2020. No specific date, he knew that didn't matter, he just wanted to get a feel of it. He had discovered years ago that one of his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, had kept a thorough diary of the time, and published it with moderate monetary success during her lifetime. But as it turned out it ended up becoming one of the cornerstones books to be referenced by later historians and was now a hallmark of the study of the 21st-century society. So when Peter opened his eyes in the year 2020, he saw everything was gigantic and he couldn’t really understand what was going on or comprehend what was being said. However, once he saw his author relative, he tried to get closer and make some sort of contact with her. As he drew nearer to her, all he heard was a loud shriek and he was able to finally understand a word:” MOOOOUSE!”.
And as the realization sank into his still dazed consciousness, he realized that he should better run and hide if he wanted to ever return to his own body.
Roxana Rosculet
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