Some say that the world ended when the Taraks came and blew the earth beyond recognition. But I know better! Humanity screwed this planet before the invasion, in the form of pollution. It got so bad that one might wonder why they chose this planet in the first place. Now, really... who chooses a world where the air is so toxic that even cockroaches have to wear gas masks!
But, "Who am I?" you ask. They call me Sal, and I am the oldest living human. You would never pick from the way that I look that I am over a hundred years old though. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to suspect me past the age of consent. "How is that?" you ask. Well, that's the beauty of my unique genetics, having been engineered within a secret facility below the lower reaches of Old New York. As a member of the SAL project, my parents were employed by the Department of Defense, for what was called the "Federation of American States" or the FAS for short.
I barely knew my folks, but from the data logs at the facility, they were the most talented in their field. How they got involved in the program is a bit of a mystery. A few years into SAL, my mother got pregnant, and a scan showed that I had some genetic abnormalities that would adversely affect my chances of survival. They wanted me to survive, and my mother ended up taking a routine of injections and a cocktail of drugs, all in the hopes of increasing my chances of survival.
After ten months worth of gestation I was born. After twelve hours of labor I entered the big, wide world of the Chanston Facility. My mother returned to light duties after a month as full-time parent. A few months after I was born, the government took me away. According to their diaries, the next few years would be a dark time for my folks.
After eight years in captivity, I escaped from a quaint little place in far-north Alaska. Bloodied from killing two of the guards with my bare fists, I stepped out into the wilderness, and moved southward, surviving by wits and instinct. Four months later I found my way back to Old New York, having been guided by information I'd gathered from the EVAL ethernet. For the next week I learned about civilian life, watching how people and groups interacted with each other.
Now educated in mainstream behavior, I began to pinpoint where my parents were. Over the next month I determined that my birth parents were now living somewhere in the Asian Republic and began to make arrangements to leave the FAS. I ended up stowing away in an plane, which I have to say was one of the worst experiences of my childhood.
A week later I located my parents in a small hospital on the outskirts of Beijing. We recognised each other at first sight. It wasn't one of those sappy, television moment where we ran towards each other. Rather, we met at the middle and began to talk as adults. I was warned against mentioning who I was (my genetic nature) to anybody, my parents reasoning that I might be captured again if my origins were discovered by the authorities.
Five years later, the Taraks came, all-guns-blazing. My parents managed to survive the first three waves, but we were split up during the fourth, and it would be a year before I would see my mother again. Now that my father was dead, my mother took me underground. She told me a great many things during that time, secrets that had once-upon-a-time placed her and my father in jeopardy.
This first chapter of SAL35-XJ7 is the product of a free-write session inspired by a pep-talk by a few of my twitter buddies. I would like to say, "Thank-you!" to those that have supported me over the years and in recent times. I have to tell you that your support really does make a difference. Your comments keep me writing, so continue to send them this way.
Want to read some of my work? Well, this is the blog for you. I'll warn you going in, that my work is still very rough, so be prepared for bad grammar, typoes galore, and fuzzy plots. Entries may be infrequent, but I am inviting you, the reader, to post comments and suggestions. If you have any questions about a given piece of writing, then post away or use the Contact page. And don't hesitate to bug me if I am beginning to slack off.
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