The Gas Mask

It was impossible to breathe without the gas mask.

Everything on this planet had been radiated to a crisp a century back, minus a few survivors who had gone underground.

The radiation had diminished over the decades, and it was my intention to find survivors returning to ground level.

I was looking for signs of life.

Anyone intelligent who wanted to learn I would teach ground survival skills too.

That was part of my job. To teach, wherever I traveled.

I found a couple of survivors living under a carved out rock.

They weren’t wearing masks.

“No masks?” I said quizzically.

“We’ve adapted to what little radiation is left. Maybe you have too. Try taking off the mask,” one of them said.

“I’m ok, I’ll leave it on,” I said.

“Were John and Katie, what’s your name?” one of them asked.

“Orion,” I said.

I started walking, looking for others.

They followed as I continued exploring.

There were others in a decaying underground parking lot, growing vegetables in old hydroponics towers they’d connected to a water pipe they’d managed to repair.

“How have you managed to grow plants down here with no sun?” I asked one of the survivors, a child.

“My daddy found some old lamps. He calls them grow lights. He took them apart and learned how they were made, then used garbage from the landfill to make more. Now we have grow lights everywhere,” she said and smiled.

“That’s amazing. Where are your parents now?” I asked.

“Refilling the towers with water way over there,” she said and pointed.

I nodded at her and as soon as I started to walk away, she said, “you can probably take off the gas mask. Most of us have adapted to the radiation.”

I smiled and said, “I’m ok with the mask on,” and walked away.

The girl followed.

I nodded at several others on my way to the girls parents, who all stopped to stare at me.

Were they all this puzzled that I had a gas mask on?

I finally found the girls parents.

“Hi. You must be the parents of this adorable little girl here,” I said.

“We are. We’re sorry, is she bothering you?” The mother asked.

“No, not at all. I’m actually here to teach everyone ground survival skills, now that humanity is coming to the surface again,” I said.

I smiled behind my mask.

“Well, the first lesson you need to learn is, you don’t need that mask anymore,” the father said and reached towards my mask.

“No, sir, wait…” I tried to stop him. But it was too late, my mask was off my face and I couldn’t breathe.

“Oh, daddy, he’s not from this planet,” the girl shrieked.

“It’s not the radiation I need the mask for, it’s the oxygen,” I said, still struggling to breathe.

The father kindly put the mask back on.

“I’m a diplomat from the Orion galaxy. I’m here to teach survival skills, and make peace,” I explained.