Saved By Vinyl, In A Paper Sleeve

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

My mother, went undiagnosed with Bi-polar disorder for most of my formable years. So, we learned quickly, the boundaries and skills, necessary to survive the eggshell steps. Tiptoeing and dodging the triggers previously discovered. Storing this data in our command modules, for future reference. We knew, practice made perfect, so we became experts at aborting missions that might put the hopes of a good day, at risk of failure. Like astronauts, we called on the powers of anti-gravity to help us maneuver the known obstacles and keyholes necessary to prevent, screw the pooch, glitches.

There were days, a diagnosis would have prevented some of, what my therapist calls, blackouts. Moments, days, special events that I have completely erased from my memory. Self preservation, they call it.

When she found herself moving into an episode, as she called them. She chased us out of the house, and locked the doors. Retreating to her bedroom closet, clamoring to the top shelf for her stash of records and albums.

Her rocket-ship was melody, taking her away, allowing her to escape to another place. Like smoke floating in the air, and dissolving into nothingness. Music for her, was like Heroine to a junkie, the good stuff. And as the needle dropped into the groove, she transported and disappeared into the void of space. She heard nothing, felt nothing, and for three minutes and fifteen seconds, give or take, she entered the vacuum, where silence itself, existed.

Fast forward 50 years.

Following the downfall of mankind in 2020, when a worldwide epidemic completely destroyed the earth's atmosphere. Devastated, humankind needed to find a new place to call home, before we became another lifeform to become extinct. Chaos and confusion began to take it's toll, and we began to turn to whatever forces held the most power for guidance. The human race began dwindling. Fear took over and we lost our way.

The CDC joined with a handful of the worlds richest men, to create a means of transporting the remaining survivors to a safe space. Enter the age of flying cars, remote communication, and space suits. Colonies were grouped together in numbers of 6, no more. No one was allowed to speak face to face, without penalty and strict punishment. Any, and all form of communication or contact is by vibration. A person's emotional state, the atmosphere of a place, or the associations of an object, as communicated to and felt by others.

Area 51 and the real truth:

Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. The United States government has provided minimal information regarding Area 51. The area surrounding the lake is permanently off-limits to both civilian and normal military air traffic. Security clearances are checked regularly; cameras and weaponry are not allowed.

So, they took us in specially grouped caravans, to the area that for years we were told, didn't exist. The Major in charge of the truck that occupied my group of 6, said gruffly, "Listen up, I am about let you in on a little secret. Please follow every instruction you are about to be given, with your utmost attention and respect. Do not, I repeat, do not make eye contact. What I am about to say, I will adamantly deny, if we are ever in control again."

Then, he introduced us to our new hosts, and travel guides. He said, quote: "Extraterrestrial life, sometimes colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. They are to take you to our new destination. When you arrive, you will be given further instructions.....DO NOT CHALLENGE OR DEVIATE FROM THEIR ORDERS."

As we boarded the hover crafts, we were wrapped in a gauze like film. It was tight and skin-like, with face coverings. They placed funnels in our mouths, like a hose for breathing. After a few breaths, we became limp and lifeless. The room spun and swirled like water colors, I felt as I imagined my mother did as she sang along to "I hear a New World", when I was a child:

We were headed for a new world, one we may not survive.....