Emulsified

We can’t live on this part of Earth any more. The air is getting more difficult to breathe. Each breath brings a deep subtle fire to my chest. I suppose it's not as painful as the agonizing awareness of the inevitable. Sometimes I think things could get better but the more death I see the more hope wavers. There have been talks of “transition ports,” not to be mistaken for the luxurious state of the art BioEngineering harbors on the right side of the planet. If there aren’t 20 zeros in your paycheck, prepare to kiss Death on his cheek.

“I found The Amalgam,” my husband, Jack, said frantically as the door swung wildly open.

“Good morning,” I yawned out of bed and as I looked at Jack who was in dire need of a tender embrace and a warm bath. I could tell it was going to be one of those days.

“We have to go now, pack up only what you need and bring the valuables for trade!”

“Where are we going?”

“To the guy I told you about. The Amalgam, the guy who emulsifies people, hurry up!”

“Oh yeah… who was that again?” Jack was a smart man. He was always coming up with different ideas, to get us out of here and into Hope City. I just couldn’t keep up.

As he enlightened me, he explained we were about to undergo an experimental but revolutionary biological adaptation that would allow us to travel to the elusive Hope City, I hurried and followed him out the door. I figured it would at least be good entertainment.

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I remember when they first “arrived”; we lived by the ocean. It seems like a lifetime ago. One evening, as I lounged on the balcony enjoying the evening summer breeze with a dark red wine in my hand. I recall feeling happy, admiring the dance of the ocean and night sky’s passionate romance. I watched as the endless ocean waves were gently caressed with the radiance of a million stars. As my eyes gazed deep into the horizon where the night sky and ocean met for a romantic kiss, the ocean made a loud rumble. Suddenly a forceful gust of wind knocked my drink right out of my hand. At first the gust carried a scent of fresh salt water but it quickly turned into a peculiar putrid sulfur-like smell. That night as I tried to sleep through the stench, little did I know that life as we knew it would be changing overnight.

The next morning, as I peered out of the balcony the first pods had already emerged from beneath the ocean surface. At first I thought I was still inebriated but then the next and the next popped up. They looked like translucent eggs, perfectly shaped, sturdy and exceptionally buoyant above the ocean’s surface. From the balcony it looked like the Easter bunny had gone nuts and filled it with a million eggs. They were protruding out as far as my eyes could see. As I got closer to the beach, the see-through top part of the pod seemed to be organic and slimy as far I could tell. An incandescent milky airy-like substance circled the inside of it. The bottom part was metallic and it strangely spun in the ocean without disturbing the waves it pierced.

They remained stationary and friendly for what it seemed like months. People had even begun to warm up to them, fanatics made shirts, religious freaks made alters, and businesses sold all types of UFO merch. That is until one day the world government decided to nuke one area of them in the Atlantic. Then ALL HELL broke loose. Immediately after the nuke landed, simultaneously across the world all pods opened, releasing their milky air-like substance that quickly latched on to our soil. The beaches were the first to get permeated with their lactocysts, or lactoglitz as the media called it. Scientists discovered it was a silicone based self-replicating nano virus. Something the world had never seen before. It quickly began to transform the very fabric of Earth. Then the war began...

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“That's him.” He pointed to a tall man in the center of a crowd of about 15-20 people. He was wearing a brown suit and pointy shoes. He looks like he may have been a car salesman or a preacher, post-war. Perhaps they are one in the same, I giggled at my thought.

“They say we won the war but the truth is the elite won the war. They live in paradise while the rest suffer. They can get bioengineered to travel to Hope City while the rest age and die. But today that changes! Today we bring emulsification to YOU. Get in line, get in line, so we may inject you with the solution that will prepare you to travel to the great Hope City.” He injected what seemed like, and I hope was, his business partner with the solution. He explained in a matter of hours his skin would turn into a wax-like protective layer and his body would become gelatin-like to help the body achieve stasis so it may endure the long strenuous journey to Hope City.

People cheered as he continued his speech on taking power back from the elite and giving it to the people all the while cleverly taking everyone's life savings. It seemed the gelatin part was especially beneficial to them as it allowed them to pack more people like sardines which meant more profit. At least that's what I thought.

In line, I was extremely hesitant but Jack kindly reminded me, we would die here too with the toxic air if we didn’t at least try to get to Hope City. I couldn’t argue.

This was happening.

After we got injected we were instructed to meet at the transition port in exactly 4 hours. They gave every family coordinates to the elusive transition ports. It would take approximately four and a half hours for the injection to fully form the waxy protective layer and an additional 4 hours to achieve stasis.

We were about to begin our journey to the port when I remembered I left my heart-shaped locket at our shack. It was the only thing we had left of our daughter. It was about an hour away and the port we were going to was about 2 and half hours away; however, we were still going to have to get supplies from the brokers.

Jack decided to go ahead to recover the locket while I headed towards the brokers for negotiations. We had agreed to meet at the transition port.

I was better at negotiations anyhow. We were going to need lunehelions when we arrived. That was the currency used in Hope City. We still had valuables from our former life that could get us a good amount of lunehelions. We had rationed food and tried our best to save as much as we could to prepare for a day like this. A day I thought would never come.

Negotiations had gone well. As I began making my way towards the meeting spot I could feel the serum beginning to work. I started feeling strange. My waxy layer had begun forming. At first it got me nervous but I silenced my fear and continued my journey. As time elapsed and I got closer my brain became foggy and my legs felt as if they were turning into jelly. But I pushed forward, there was no way I wasn’t getting to Hope City; I was almost there.

By the time I saw the building it seemed as if the serum’s effect was wearing off.

I was late. As I entered the first thing that caught my eye was a giant trampoline-like material that compromised the middle of the floor. On it were the people from earlier, all waxed up laying there like crayons. I frantically started searching for Jack. I found him lying fully waxed next to all the other waxy people. I tried to wake him up.

“Jack, wake up!”

“Jack, please wake up!” I cried as I hit him to wake up.

“Stop, you’ll kill him!” the Amalgam yelled as he pulled me off the trampoline away from the others.

With my lightly waxed face I tried to explain to him that I had taken the serum too and I’m supposed to be next to him, but I was late and I’m not all that waxy. My face felt hard and loose at the same time as I breathlessly explained. He proceeded to explain to me that he had never met anyone whose body didn’t get emulsified and because of this anomaly I would not be able to go to Hope City. I punched him and I stowed away.

Ready for paradise.

The next thing I remember was groggily waking up in what seemed like a hospital but the tech seemed too advanced. I had an illuminating blue laser-like tube radiating out of my stomach and bright white beams connected to my arms and legs. Jack was hovering over me.

“You’re awake!” he calmly but excitedly said. He sounded different. He looked different. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeing things correctly. My face and hands felt different.

“What is this? Where are we? How long have I been out?” I tried to say but my mouth couldn’t move or at least I didn’t think it had.

“Yes, we finally made it to Hope City, you’ve been out for a few months.” he replied. His mouth also didn't move. He opened the curtains to show me and the city was not what I thought it was. Silicone based looking humanoids walked along the lactocyctic city.

It wasn’t to keep humans out but to keep the control group in. They had been hyping this city up to bring us in.

I jumped out of bed and quickly fell to the floor. My legs didn’t seem to work.

“Don’t be alarmed, you will get the hang of this,” he gently said.

“Who are you and where’s Jack?” I yelled, angrily and telepathically at him.

“I am Jack, the new and improved Jack. You are also undergoing changes but they have been studying you as you are one of the few that has been resisting the virus.”

I suddenly came to the hard realization that we hadn’t won the war.