New Japan

Everyone was talking about change. There was so much talk, and talk, and talk, that when It happened, no one could even comprehend it.

 

In the year 2028 Japan closed its borders. Nothing came in, and nothing went out. At first The United States went crazy- the military was mobilized and the US waited to get word from N.A.T.O. The only correspondence was from the NATO delegate _______. The world was informed that Japan would be reinventing itself, obliterating the current government and systems, and reinstating anew. It is surprising that Japan was not seized, destroyed, or otherwise ravaged. The world watched like curious children, fixated. Most were horrified and believed a bomb was being developed, or another weapon worse than a bomb. Worse than anthrax. Two years later it seemed that chaos had finally incurred. Horror stories floated through the media, failure and collapse were words incessantly repeated in the media. Journalists were smuggled over the borders, the ones who made it back had either been drugged and returned without information, or they returned with stories of poor living conditions and economic madness.

 

2046 Japan began to struggle back onto its legs. It seemed there was a plan for the island, and by ’52 the world experienced that plan for the first time. Selectively the borders were opened; architects and teachers of all kinds were called upon to journey to Japan. Two conventions were held. Planning had unearthed many questions. The newly formed government had questions for every culture, and everyone who would answer.

 

From then on the country of Japan built; there was noting that was not torn down and built again. The new system of taxes and government income ran out, chaos struck once more. The skeletons and half-built cities or towns littered Japan. I-beams tore at the blue sky reaching up as if to call for help. Slowly the gears slammed into place. Taxes flowed in, and revenue was made independently from the rest of the world. Crude oil was bypassed by new power sources, the structures were finished, but more than just finished, they were works of art. It seemed as though Atlantis itself was being rebuilt, forming itself in the middle of the ocean. Income was capped; which meant wealth was distributed more evenly. Education, quality of life, and healthcare were the main focuses of the outgoing governmental expenses. Advertisement in the form of adornment, and tattoo art became commonplace. The army was funded by individual investors. Major investors: Walmart, Target (a ridiculous pun which is why it made so much money), and Home Depot. They made no move, however slight without a council’s approval. A series of councils made up all of the government. Everyday people combined in a think tank with geniuses and all in between.

 

These councils only acted within the parameters of their division. There was always one Director of Conduct present, of which was educated in the new protocols. Schools taught all willing to learn. The brightest screened and placed into mandatory morals and ethics courses.

 

The world waited for the collapse but there was none. There was only reconstruction and seemingly the new height of Human civilization.

’m dreaming, I know I am. I hope I am.

 

 

She looks over at a thermometer on the bedside; it read 110^o f. She was running hot and needed to cool down. Getting in the shower, she sits on the floor, knees against the wall, head throbbing in pain. Suddenly a hand appears on the frosted glass door, and a soothing voice speaks out to her.

 

 

“You ok honey?” The man outside the shower asked.

“No, no I’m not. I’m dreaming.” She replied

“Its worse than that.” The man answers back, climbing into the shower and cuddling with her. They sat in silence.

“I thought I would be ok. I thought I would make it. It was so minor. The changes we made, and after last time, I didn’t want to get caught.” She broke the silence.

“I think you are gone,” The man paused. “I don’t think you exist anymore. All you speak anymore is nonsense.”

“What?!” She looked into his eyes. “You don’t think I exist?!”

“No, I don’t, you are a shell, a piece of equipment that I stopped loving years ago.”

“What?”

“It’s sad really. You traded in your soul, but then again you never believed in ‘that crap’, but I do, I told you when we met, do you remember? I told you you’d go to Hell and you said, ‘good, it always looked like fun, if its anything like the Garden of Earthly Delights’.”

 

 

She opened her eyes. She was in a bed. No thermometer. No man. There never was. Sweating and squinting she felt her forehead.

 

 

Yep, running hot.

 

 

She left the hotel, all clean lines and sleek minimal design. The dim lighting complements any person’s features in the rich, warm wood comforts. The door opened and her eyes adjusted as she stepped into the light. Nothing scheduled for today, time to see what all she could do. The streets are mildly narrow with compact bio-diesel machines buzzing here and there, the occasional hydro-electric hums in her ear, mostly bicycles and other various forms of cardio-locomotion quietly moved the air around her. Pedestrian ways are covered by kinetic sculptures of metal and stretched painted silks. She read in the paper two days ago about the skin cancer rate compared to that of the United States, Korea, China, and Spain. There was no contest. The silks really do help. Passing the bartering stands mixed into the Currency Stores. The most revenue was gained by bi-economic establishments, the mix of barter and currency catered to most people. She traded a cheap ring for an apple. As she bit in to it, she thought of the greenhouses on the roofs of each building. She examined a building which caused her to stop. The white stone surface intricately designed to appear organic and coral-like. The vents opening and closing like heart valves. A high-rise mammoth with flexibility and efficiency. Simultaneous use as well as growth and purification. There’s a game going on at the FIELD (Friendly Inter-cooler Environmental-Level Deck).