Angelo sits on the couch, his eyes glued to the television screen, a half-eaten piece of toast stuck in his hands. The world around him was irrelevant. What was happening on the television was history in the making. And he needed to pay all the attention.
A TV report plays out: Weird static buzz on the other end of the world, the reporter barely audible, something rarely seen in the modern world. The reporter nervously spoke through a mic, that was lined up to her ear. The words ‘anomalous solar objects’ and ‘gravitational anomalies’ on the planet are thrown around.
The screen cuts to a grainy, object in dark space, that vaguely resembles a massive planet-sized object, slowly moving. It was hovering and just barely past Neptunian planetary alignment.
“Estimates say that this planet-sized object, that conspiracy theorists believe to be called planet x may reach the earth within the month.”
The screen cuts again, this time focussing on the American Congress. A military spoke person addresses politics fumbling and stuttering the whole time, talks of conscription and military readiness are thrown about. Something about a call to stop all hostilities and to end all proxy wars in a stalemate.
A representative of the American congress. Asks the officer.
“What the hell are we suppose to do we do about this,” he said, panicking.
“Buy a gun, learn how to farm, and– god bless America.”
The TV is shut off.
“Angelo! Angelo! Look at me!” His father shouted from the kitchen. “Don’t tell you to believe this shit, it’s just more operation red beam shit.”
“Dad it’s a world-threatening phenomenon waiting to strike at any moment. Blood feuds are ending and you're telling me nothing is happening .”
“Hey fuck face, you live in South Africa, if the aliens are going fuck the earth, they’re going blow the united states up first.” His father sighed. “ You need to stop with this science fiction nonsense, and focus on finding a fucking job, what the fuck will you do if I die. Sit in your room? Are your conspiracy buddies gonna give you money?”
Angelo shook his head, you may as have spoken with a brick wall, no matter how many moments he explained himself, he could never get through to his father. It was an uphill battle and he always lost. He also didn’t want a job because he knew something horrible was gonna go down this year and he needed to be prepared.
He had a strange feeling in his gut– something about that planet-like asteroid made him feel off, the last time he felt this way was when North Korea set off a nuclear chain reaction in 2032, nearly ending the world as we know it--least according to Western media.
He didn’t wholly believe in the psychic stuff, but when he felt a certain way, bad things always happened.
“Maybe you guys shouldn’t go anywhere…things feel very strange?”
“It’s all that dumb shit you consume, seriously, opening an engineering book or something you fucking waste of space.”
“Calm down Zeke, Angie is just concerned about our well-being.” his mother interjected
He didn’t like when his family called him that, but it was nice to know his mother wasn’t the crass one.
The man swears, stepping out of the house outside, shouting as he exits.
“He’s a paranoid clown, he needs to get off those conspiracy forums." the man huffed as he talked. "Remember Apocalypse Boy to take out the trash, we’ll be gone for a few weeks."
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His mother puts her hand on his shoulder and asks softly. “You sure you wanna stay home, big man?”
He nodded. She’d always intervene whenever his father became agitated with him.
His little sister rushes inside the living room, she ‘swooshes’ and ‘zooms’ making zap, zap sounds with a toy gun. He laughs along with her, but he can’t shake the feeling in his gut.
“Bam you're probed, big bro.”
“I don’t think you know what that means or if you even wanna know.”
His older sister breezed by, fully clad in summer clothes–she had short-sleeved clothes on, and sandals ready, oblivious to the present world.
“It’s 15 Celsius outside, you’re boarding a flight, not the beach.”
“Whatever dude, duke your stress out with the reptilians. I’m gonna have the time of my life. You enjoy the aliens.”
His father came back in. He looks like he settled down.
“When we get back Angelo, I want you looking for a job, enjoy your ‘free time’ while you can.”
He had no problem with a job, but he studied game design, is it his fault, that artificial intelligence has taken over everything? Speaking off he stared at the AI monitor that sat in the living room, he couldn’t wait to turn it off. He hated being surveilled, he couldn’t browse the net without his ‘privacy’ being revoked.
As everyone leaves for the car outside, he reluctantly gets up and goes outside, the chilly breeze and fast winds greeting him.
As they piled inside, he handed his younger sister, a universal satellite phone, held his finger in his mouth, and shushed her.
“Put in the bag…don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret mission, if you’re lost you can call me with it.” he winked at her, and she winked back.
"Thank you, commander," she replied.
He played it off as a joke, but he was really paranoid deep down, the cold ate with it.
They rode off waving, and he waved back at them. His father gave him a stink eye.
Finally some peace and quiet
Before he returns to go inside his home, he briefly glances at the sky. The clouds looked like they were simmering, almost like it was vibrating between normal hues and this otherworldly purple, he didn’t know if he was imagining things. At least he knows he hadn’t touched a hallucinogen.
“Is it purpler than usual?”
“Yes, reports indicate that strange particles have appeared in the sky, this may explain why the sky is purpler.” a machine-like voice came from inside the house. The text version of it briefly appears in his phone notifications.
“Be quiet A.I, I don’t wanna hear you as a matter of fact shut off.”
“I can not do that, as you are not the owner of this home.”
He shook his head. He can always pull the plug.
As he goes inside, the house, he closes everything, shutting every door and window. He preferred not to wonder about intruders and or paranormal visitors, they’d have to ask for permission first. For the normals, he had a self-defense weapon, a 9mm pistol, and for the paranormal, he kept a salt container just in case, some fucking sleep paralysis freak decided to dance on him tonight.
The first thing he does is sit at his desk and open, a conspiracy-sharing site called https:// irregulartopanomalies. com
And started browsing the top threads.
Planet X: confirmed!!!: 592 comments
Who are the Annunaki?: 23 comments
Nuclear deterrence not so much: 10 comments
Korean border war escalation: 109 comments
The birth of Web 4.0 and New Age Surveillance: 200 comments
He entered the Planet X thread, curious to see what the general consensus was, it was always riddled with misinformation, trolls, hyper rationalists but every now a then a comment would speak to his heart, and make him question everything.
But most…
“The end is nigh retards, hope you stocked up on your bug food! Me I got a subterranean farm, and a large tunnel dug. No elongated head motherfucker getting in here.”
A reply to that comment.
“Hope you got your alien passport ready, don’t fuck with the galactic government. Aliens coming to liberate this war-torn planet from ourselves.”
Which was replied to:
“Tree fucker.”
“Mods!!!” back and forth, it went.
The banter is not what he was looking for. Something profound and enlightening was his goal.
SKimming over the thread. He sees a weird comment typed in morse code.
.--. .-. . .--. .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- .-. ... . .-.. ...- . ... --..-- / - .... . -.-- / .- .-. . / -.-. --- -- .. -. --. / -... .- -.-. -.-
Curious as to what it said, he translated using another website.
It stated. “Prepare yourselves, they are coming back.”
Who was coming back, of course, he didn’t need to ponder on it, it was probably some 60-year-old schizophrenic dude, but playing into that narrative, excited him.
He stared at the screen, mind jumping around, it really felt to him that something terrible was going to happen, or was he really delusional?
“Am I the only sensible person in this town?” he wondered.
Then he could hear the house creak. Like something took a step in the house. The paranoia was starting early and it wasn’t even night yet.
“Curie, is there anything in the house or outside,” he asks the house assistant bot.
“Now you need me, whenever you feel scared, you say my name. And No, my scanners detect nothing except small animals outside.”
“What animals,”
“ unclear, fog obscuring my camera’s”
Fog what fog, there was no fog outside he was just there.
He peeked out his room window, and there was fog after all.
"What in the sand hell."
What a weird way to start the day.
The unease just kept building, that planet thing that was going to fly by the earth, he hoped it didn’t collide. He still had stuff he wanted to do before the world ended. He hoped there at least was a heaven, so his little sister could have a chance at life.