2025

“You staying alive out there kiddo?”

He always seemed to know exactly what to say. Yet everything he sends leaves me guessing and hoping for more. My own personal Jesus. My secret cyber savior.

Jessica thinks to herself as she talks online with her mysterious internet buddy.

“Yea just another day. Gran is already asleep. I’m just killing time before I pass out.”

Jessica sits alone in her room. The 19 year old is a freshmen in her local college. She is a bit of a loner, making friends has always been hard for her. Except recently she has seemed to make a friend. An online friend. Jessica and this internet friend have been chatting at night for about a month now. They have never met in real life. She doesn’t even know what he looks like. All she knows is that he is some sort of insider from the council. So He claims.

“Good that you’re taking care of your grandmother.”

“Thanks. She’s really easy. At this age she kind of watches over herself”

She types a joke unsure of his reaction. She stares at the screen waiting. He doesn’t reply.

“Haha sorry it’s just a joke” she assures him.

“Right I get it”

“So what’s up with you in your world K?”

She doesn’t even know his real name, he insists she address him only as K.

“Everything is up in the air. Something I’ve been waiting to happen hasn’t happened yet.”

Jessica stares at the screen again.

Does he expect me to know what he’s talking about? She thinks to herself.

“What are you thinking is going to happen.”

“I can’t say exactly. But the space people are supposed to return by now.”

“Wow really? People are going to go crazy again!”

6 months prior, the world was visited by men from space in very sophisticated flying starships. They claimed to come in peace. The people of earth collectively went crazy at first but order was soon restored. The major world governments of China, Europe, and The United States formed a temporary emergency governing body known as ‘The Council’ that deals directly with the space men.

The Council distributed electronic devices to the people of the world, explaining these were gifts from the space men. They explained how the spacemen have noticed earth and our development and decided to provide a guiding hand to steer us away from nuclear war and towards peace and free clean energy for all the world. A light in the darkness.

As Jessica sits in her room alone typing on the computer. She looks down over to her tablet. A gift to her from The Council. Similar to how a cell phone looks and functions.

“Will the space men bring new devices for us?”

“How much time do you spend on your tablet?”

He asks ignoring her first question.

“I don’t know maybe an hour a day?”

She knows she’s lying as soon as she sends her message. She easily spends 3 hours every night using it to watch videos or read books with it from the internet.

“I told you to only use that thing if you really need to. It’s not good for you”

“Wow you sound like you’re supposed to be my dad or something.”

“Jessica listen. When the space men come again, they are going to give us another gift. But it’s a different kind of gift. This next thing, promise you will not use it. Accept it when they give it out to you, but do not use it. Do not do what they tell you to do with it.”

Jessica looked over his message again. Her heart started to race. She started to nervously play with her heart shaped locket on a gold chain hanging around her neck.

“K why are you telling me this. What are they planning on giving us?”

“I can”t say for sure. But I have proof now of what I’ve suspected the last few months.”

“What? What are you saying? You’re kind of scaring me”

“The space men aren’t really from space. It’s all a lie. I don’t know what’s really going on but what we have been told to believe about everything since they came is not true.”

Jessica looked down at her phone. The thought of being misled sends a feeling of violation over her. Her trust has been betrayed. But how can she be sure that K is being honest with her now?

“K wait. Why should I believe you. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because whatever comes next, I want you to be ready.”

“Ready for what?”

She types nervously.

“You’re a good girl Jessica. I hope that whenever we meet in person, you will still be as sweet as you are when I first met you.”

Knock knock knock

Three loud knocks pound on Jessica’s door. She looks out her room like a deer in headlights. She gets up and looks out her door from her peephole. She sees 3 big men in all black. They are armed and look like police but some kind of police she’s never seen before. Again the men knock loudly, scaring her as she jump’s back away from the door.

Without answering the door, she runs back to the computer.

“K there are 3 large police looking men pounding on my door. What’s going on I’m really freaking out now!”

She types. She’s so nervous she can’t sit down. She stands up and paces back ad forth in front of her computer.

K doesn’t reply.

Knock knock knock

The door continues to get pounded on as Jessica starts to collect herself and organize her messy room a bit.

Finally there is a reply on the computer chat.

“Remember what I’ve told you. Don’t mention me. If they give you anything accept it but don’t use it. You should answer the door and see what they have to say”

“I’m scared. They are knocking on my door pretty aggressively”

Again the door gets pounded on.

“If there’s any problems, just say ‘Veni vidi viki’

“What? Are you serious? What does that mean?”

“Yes it’s from Ceaser. Just trust me. Now close this app and delete our conversation logs”

Jessica hurriedly deletes the conversation, glances over her room, looks at the mirror and looks at herself. Her long brown hair in a messy ponytail, big brown eyes behind her square glasses. She plays with her heart shaped locket for just a moment.

Knock knock knock

The knocks break the silence, she takes one final big breath and heads towards the door.

“Ok ok I’m sorry I’m here I was just helping my grandma sleep.”

She opens her door but just a crack so that the door lock chain is still attached to the wall.

“Mam we’re here representing the Global Council can you let us in we would like to talk with you for a moment.”

“Can’t we just talk here like this?” She asks through the crack in the door.

“Mam this is a security matter we need to assess your internet routing for security threats.”

She takes another deep breath and opens the door.

The 3 men enter. Their all black uniforms have no markings or numbers showing anywhere.

“Our sensors have picked up on dangerous chat logs over restricted channels from the dark net coming through this internet connection. Using these channels is strictly prohibited, would you now anything about that?”

“No I just mostly use my tablet all day.”

One of the men looks at her computer desk. He looks at the wiring behind her table.

“Could be a hacker using this domain as a point of entry into the main net”

The agent inspecting the wires behind her desk says to the others.

“Do you mind if we take a look at your computer?”

“Uhm..”

Jessica tries to think fast. If she says no, it looks like she’s trying to hide something. If she consents, they might be able to find her chat logs with K.

“Yea sure ok let me log you on”

She bends over to type in her password and stops. She turns around and looks at the men.

“Veni vidi viki”

The men look at her in shock then at each other in confusion.

“Well we’re very sorry about all this, we had no idea you were on Alpha level clearance, there must have been some kind of misscomunication.”

The men look at each other and then head to the door.

Jessica, dumbstruck, looks on as they leave. When she hears their car engine start and pull away, she breathes a sigh of relief.

She quickly jumps back into her seat in front of the computer. She powers on the chat.

“K! I need you”

There’s no response. She types on anyway

“They came into my room and said my internet was compromised by a hacker from the dark web. I told them what you told me to tell them and they just left without asking any questions.”

K types back.

“You need to leave your home now. You’re not safe. They will return and they know that you know something you’re not supposed to know.”

“What? I don’t know what to do! I don’t have anywhere to go”

“Use the tablet. I’ll find you on there. Just go. They won’t bother your grandma. But you need to leave your home now”

“K what have you done to me! I never wanted to get involved in any of this”

“I’m sorry kiddo but it had to be like this. I need you to help me with something. I just thought I had more time”

“Why me? How can I help you with anything? I’m just a university student”

“Your parents. That locket you like to wear around your neck that your mother left you.”

“Yea what abut it?”

“Your mother and I worked together on a project when you were younger. We worked on genetics. I’ve been keeping tabs on you to make sure you’re ok. I”m surprised they were able to find us.”

“Ok and?”

“The council, the spacemen, they were part of our work. But we weren’t told everything. We weren’t supposed to know.”

“K know what?”

“The spacemen, the tablets, the technology they have given us, there is a doom coming Jessica, and we have to act fast to stop it.”

“Doom? What are you saying?”

Jessica’s heart begins racing even harder.

“This world is going to be turned into a prison. And your mother and I worked on part of this project. They think nothing can stop them. But I know what can.”

“What can stop them?”

“You can Jessica”

“What I don’t understand”

She types back confused.

“The answer, it’s you. It’s in your DNA”

Jessica looks at herself in the mirror. She’s just a university student. This can’t be real.

“Now go! Take your tablet and head to the airport”

“Airport?”

“Trust me. There’s no time. Check your tablet in 20 minutes”

“Thinking fast, Jessica throws a travel bag together and collects herself. She writes a note and slips it under her grandmas door. She’ll see it tomorrow. Jessica looks around her room, she looks at the chat log on her computer screen and the tablet in her hand.

“Taxi” she says into the tablet.

“Finding you a taxi now” The tablet said back to her robotically.

Jessica powers off her computer and heads for the door.