short story fiction
Juice-o-matic [It's important to make the right purchase]
When the space ships first arrived the World was
terrified. They sent up fighter planes, scanned them,
fired missiles at them, but nothing happened. The space
ships seemed to have some sort of force field around
them that protected them from anything human kind could
throw at them. The public lived in fear, then
intrepidation, and then soon, life was back to normal,
except for one thing, a ring of space craft circled the
Earth, hovering, making no sound, doing nothing, and
people had no idea about the future. It only took a few
weeks before people went back to their lives living
their lives as normal, except for the lingering [fear].
It was in March that Jeff read the add about a
Juice-o-matic that not only juiced food but extracted
protein from old shoes, boards, certain car parts, and
dirt. The spiel was enticing. In fact it was such a
good deal that it appealed to a lot of people, who were
health conscious, and politically positive. The ad
campaign, which appeared in all media, was the most
directed Jeff had ever seen, and he knew, like everyone
else, the one and only day it would be sold, that they
had to have it..
It was on a Monday. Jeff was trying to get out of
the box warehouse store where he just bought his
Juice-o-matic. He could think of nothing else but
getting it home and putting some old shoes through it,
and maybe some car parts he didn't need any more. All
of a sudden there was a sound. Nothing like he'd ever
heard before emanating from outside. The power, the
force caused everyone in the store to react, first
stopping to listen, then hurrying, to finish and get
back to their cars, to go home with their new purchase.
Out of the door way a mist came down, which then
solidified into a wall. Jeff stepped outside, still
carrying his box. He looked up, then down, left, right,
but there was no around the mist generated wall.
"Stay where you are to be safe," a caring but
informative voice permeated the air. It sounded male,
but it did not sound like it was not from any human
source. The wall was a silvery color, similar to lead,
now solidified, there was no sound or light coming from
beyond the wall.
As suddenly as the wall appeared it disappeared.
Jeff looked out in the parking lot. Bodies lay
everywhere. Everyone who was inside the wall was safe.
Everyone outside was dead. They lay on the ground
grimacing, reaching, or were sitting in their cars.
Nothing. There was no sound, no traffic, no sign of
life outside of the where the wall used to be.
"You have been selected," the voice went on. It
could now be heard everywhere. You will continue your
species," the voice went on.
Jeff set his Juice-o-matic box down and ran around to
people in the parking lot to see if anyone needed help.
No one was alive. Some showed signs of their last
effort. Over by a SUV a mother had thrown herself over
her daughter. Another man was half way out his car
door, clutching his chest. Still another was slumped
over a shopping cart, still holding onto the handle.
The signs of death were all around. No one was left
alive.
Jeff paused in horror, thinking of his own safety.
Then there was the sound of car radio. Jeff went to
investigate and saw the owner had been in the car, with
the window down, listening to the radio, probably
waiting for someone in the store. "You have been
selected," a jingle came on the radio, "to eat dirt and
anything we give to you, because you are the future of
the human race." The voice over the radio sounded the
same as that heard inside the store.
Looking across the boulevard, Jeff could see people
coming out of another store, doing the same thing.
Some were clutching their new Juice-o-matic, while
others were going around to cars looking for survivors.
"Only the best of you have been selected," the voice
went on. "Only the best who are forward thinkers, who
want health and vitality, and support a positive
political atmosphere that we will lead. You will
recycle, you will save trees, and generally do what's
best for the environment, not human kind. You will live
in huddled cold masses, eating and drinking what we tell
you. You will live where we want you to live and do
what we tell you to do. And you'll love it because we
have made a treaty with the best of your corporations to
do what is best for the future of humanity. Any
questions? There will be a thirty second comment
period."
