“Tensions continue to rise in Europe as America is unable to support NATO due to the imminent threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Many US air assets are being brought to new airbases in the Northern Territory in preparation for possible war”
The TV was abruptly turned off.
An old man surrounded by glass bottles groaned as he sat up causing bottles to fall off the couch some of which broke causing a racket.
He rubbed his eyes as he fumbled around and grabbed a bottle that contained some yellow liquid however he still hadn’t opened his eyes.
He took a swig of it and scrunched his brows. Bringing the bottle to his nose he sniffed it then spat the liquid that was still in his mouth out.
He was now awake although with a hangover and what better way to fix it then to drink more beer so he yelled.
“Oi Kasey”
”KASEY!”
There was no response so he looked around the warehouse that he lived in.
It was packed with various appliances, machinery and shelves. All of it was neatly arranged and organized.
His gaze landed on a brown haired young man who was sitting at a desk that had various tools and a dissembled computer on it. The young man was currently sleeping with his head on the desk.
The old man threw the pee filled bottle at the sleeping man. Piss and glass shattered everywhere. The sleeping man awoke with a yelp and rubbed his head due to the pain he still looked out of it as he glanced around with dark circles under his eyes.
“Kasey get me a beer!”
Kasey finally deciphered the situation. Still looking somewhat out of it he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and walked over to the old man and passed it to him.
The old man looked surprised. He expected Kasey to curse him or throw the bottle at him however he seemed to be unconcerned. Perhaps the bottle shorted something in his head.
Meanwhile Kasey was too busy thinking about how he could kill the old man but more so the weird test that the government had recently put into place as he was due today.
The old man shrugged at Kasey’s behavior.
“Kasey before you go to this test thing clean up the piss”
“Oh and that computer’s customer is coming at midday so get it working.”
Kasey stared blankly at the computer that now was wet with pee. He had spent nearly the whole night getting it fixed and had nodded off early this morning. He clenched his fist and walked over to the desk and grabbed a screwdriver.
The old man was fumbling with the TV remote and had brought the beer to his lips when the bottle exploded. He was stunned and looked at the screwdriver that was lodged into the wall next to him.
“What did you do that for you little bastard that was an expensive bottle”
Kasey clicked his tongue getting madder. That expensive bottle had been brought using his own money.
Lately Kasey had been the only one running the business. It runs as a repair shop for anything whether it be cars, motorcycles, microwaves or computers they’ll fix just about anything. They also sell a lot of repaired and refurbished items that were purchased cheap.
The old man found another bottle and began drinking again. Kasey could only watch on and sigh. They used to have a good relationship as the old man and his wife, who was Kasey’s auntie, had raised him as Kasey's parents had died when he was young. Kasey's auntie was diagnosed with cancer when he was twelve. The following few years were hard as the old man left his job as an engineer to spend time with and look after his wife.
It was after she died that everything went downhill. The old man never went back to work and slowly sold his assets until he was left living out of the warehouse with an unwanted kid. That was until he realized that Kasey could be put to work to make money doing repairs.
Initially the old man helped teach Kasey however the kid picked things up quickly and became able to figure stuff out himself with the help of the internet and books. Kasey loved tinkering with any sort of technology. Soon Kasey ran the business himself.
However as time went on Kasey began to lack a drive and desire and technology began to become dull as well due to the long nights after school of servicing dishwashers, lawnmowers and the like. Despite his lack of drive and effort he could still achieve decent grades throughout school.
He wanted to have something he enjoyed again so he had picked up many instruments and had tried many other hobbies like archery, martial arts, drawing, painting, reading and even singing. Some he had done better at then others however he always became at least average at any hobby before losing interest when the amount of effort required to get better grew.
The world in Kasey’s eyes is bland. It is restrictive and fully charted. He can achieve anything that he desires with enough effort however he does not desire anything but to continue his existence.
He did remember a time when he was most satisfied. He had created many things when he was younger however one day he had a great idea and spent half a year of work creating a flamethrower that launched vortex rings of flame nearly thirty meters he was quite excited by his invention.
However soon the police came and arrested the old man and turned over the entire warehouse. They had thought the old man had created the flame thrower due to his engineering background and caused him to be stuck in court for half a year and cost the majority of their money at the time until it was proven that Kasey had created it but there was not much that could be done to a kid so they destroyed his creations that were deemed dangerous and reprimanded him.
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After the incident the old man took a lot of his anger out on Kasey. Kasey then had to work more due to the lost money to the courts and fines. The event also dampened any thoughts at creating anything Kasey had since and slowly killed his imagination and desires. This was probably the reason for his lack of interest in the world.
***
It was after lunch that Kasey got in his car to go take the new test the government had implemented this year.
The test was first sent out on the first of January and everyone in Australia was to undertake it on their birthday throughout the year. The current day was the twenty-first of January.
As Kasey drove to the government test he saw a line of large military transport aircraft flying over the city to one of the new airbases that had been built recently. He had been living in this city for his whole life. It had a population of just over three hundred thousand people. However lately the military activity has skyrocketed along with the population of the city
Despite the ominous feeling the worldwide rumblings of nations' war economies gave for the future, he felt that maybe the world may be getting more exciting in the coming years. He had even found himself working out lately to get into shape in case he found himself summoned by the nation for war. He hoped it would be more entertaining than his current life.
Kasey knew that should he have to fight he had to stand out or he may be sent as a grunt to the frontlines. So between being good looking, fit and having a good affinity for technology he hoped he would have a decent chance of getting a good role.
He chuckled at the thought that his looks mattered though maybe he would get a role in some propaganda.
”Yesterday the Australian airforce has just announced that they will be unveiling their new sixth generation aircraft which has caused a stir worldwide.”
Kasey’s attention was grabbed by the radio. He was just as confused as everyone else in the world probably was. Since when was the government developing cutting edge aircraft?
He thought about the last few years and all he could see is a constant trend towards war. Small scale conflicts happen worldwide now, many of which don’t make the news. Australia has been weird too. Now that he thought about it recently the most innovative and advanced tech has been unveiled in Australia however oddly it all has been originating from the government.
He then wondered about the test as there had been no announcements about its purpose. From what has been said by the former participants it was a simple test. All they do is sit you in a weird chair and they place a device over your head then after a minute or so you leave with a headache.
The interesting part is that the participants who pass are determined by how long they last in the test. It usually lasts around a minute however those who pass can experience up to five minutes in the machine before they get a splitting headache.
***
He had arrived at the test location and had gotten out of his car after finding a parking spot. He looked at one of the new additions to the area, a large building that stood out from the other century old buildings that populated this part of the city.
It was like a cross between a fortress and contemporary architecture. The building housed new departments for both civil and military matters.
Kasey had not been out and about lately so today was the first time seeing this building. He admired it as its aesthetics definitely spoke of a futuristic vibe with many sharp angles and curves reminiscent of a stealth aircraft. As his eyes began tracing the lines of the building he began noticing ports in the solid parts of the building. Though currently hidden he could see tracks where the covers would open.
Despite the debates online on the use of these ports, usually bagging them out as expensive and overpriced windows, Kasey however felt a sense of threat from them. He thought the building was actually a ferocious beast posing as a regular structure.
A phone notification woke Kasey from his observations. It was a notification informing him that the test was soon. Now a bit nervous he steeled himself and entered the building.
After talking to the lady at the reception he entered a small waiting area where a couple others were waiting for their tests as well. Everyone was on their phone so Kasey ignored them and sat down and admired the hologram in the middle of the room that displayed the time and weather. Soon the hologram changed and displayed a few names and a room number. Kasey and a few others stood up as their names were all displayed and walked to the opening doors that the prior test participants were leaving through.
None of them seemed particularly excited so Kasey presumed they didn’t get any results.
“Agh I haven’t had a headache in months.”
They were actually complaining.
”Yeah well they gave me a full blown migraine and nothing to show for it.”
It seemed that the test was worse than stated on the internet.
“Mr Fay?”
The call of his last name woke him up as he looked to the door he was meant to enter and saw an impatient man looking around.
Kasey hurriedly walked over.
”I’m here.”
”Well hurry up, we are running on a tight schedule.”
He was ushered into the room which had a chair with a helmet connected to some wires above it.
”Sit down and get comfortable, this should only take a minute.”
Kasey sat down and waited as the man brought the helmet over his head.
“Alright just stay still and after the beep the test will start all you have to do is stay seated. You may feel a headache but that is normal. The test will stop when you can’t take it anymore.”
“How do you know when I can’t take it anymore?”
The man replied after a sigh like this question has been asked a million times.
”The machine stops automatically so be quiet the test is starting.”
There was a beep and Kasey prepared himself. He waited for a minute and felt like there was something scanning him at an uncanny level that he could not quite put his finger on. The man stood there with a tablet and watched the data from the test and looked satisfied. Kasey didn’t feel any strain as the test approached five minutes and he no longer felt like he was being scanned; rather it was like someone was putting more and more pressure on his mind, slowing his thoughts.
When five minutes had passed since the test had started. Kasey’s mind felt agile as the burden had lifted. The man looked at the tablet pleased.
Kasey got off the chair and looked at the man.
Kasey was a bit stunned that he made it to five minutes and he figured he passed. He waited for the man playing with his tablet to confirm it as Kasey never thought he would be one of the few people to pass.
The man looked up from the tablet.
“Congratulations you passed the test with flying colours”
He produced a black card and passed it to Kasey.
”Take this card and be back here at the time on the card we will then inform you of what passing this test entails.”
Kasey was pushed out of the room by the man that was still looking at his tablet.
The tablet displayed:
[ Test participant: Kasey Fay ]
[ age: 20 ]
[ Soul aptitude: A ]