Welcome to the Future

Explorer’s transport had distanced itself from the heat of the attack but was still under pursuit by a lone robotic attack craft.  The unshakeable craft repeatedly fired upon the unarmed transport determined to destroy its target. 

After suffering constant battering by one of the unmanned, disk-like attack vehicles, the transport energy shield had thinned to the point of collapsing. 

As soon as the shield was depleted Explorer and the refugees were quickly brought to a sliding halt.  The transport’s reactor engine had been targeted and with a jolting laser blast had been completely disabled. 

Within moments the transport was hovering motionless and seconds away from being vaporized by the attack craft. 

It’s time to call in the cavalry.  “Fire now!” exclaimed Explorer to a man’s holograph. 

Within moments, a pail green laser beam shot down through the clear midday sky.  The barely visible beam instantaneously shattered the car-sized attack robot into several red-hot chunks of metallic shrapnel and molten plastic compound. 

The group was in relief, but as a reminder that they hadn’t made it to safety just yet, their noses quickly became saturated with the warm, dry scent of their own transport’s seared electrical wires.

Explorer was outfitted in desert-camouflaged fatigues and sitting at the front-end navigation center of his bus-sized transport. “That was way too close,” commented Explorer in a loud whisper, his eyes apprehensively glaring at the control panel.

The control panel’s useless.  The transport’s communications were down and its two silvery navigating droids appeared to have been damaged, too.  Everything’s disabled!

Explorer panned his view across the elaborate display of non-functioning controls.  “Looks like the party’s just begun, my friends,” he said to the others, with a note of sarcasm.

For a moment the passengers aboard the cruiser all sat tensely at the thought of their near demise. The passengers, including a doctor, a farmer, an ex security prison guard and two multi-purpose, droids, all made for quite a collage of personalities. 

The mild-mannered Farmer peeked up over an empty rotating chair and subtly inquired, “Wow.  Well what are we gonna do now,” with a bit of a southwestern accent.  Farmer was a thin, longhaired, “country-raised” young man, relatively at peace with the world...impartial to most anything that didn’t concern himself or those close to him.

 “Well we’re definitely not gettin’ any further in this hunk-o-junk,” added the large disgruntled guard to Farmer’s left.  “See?  If we’da had a Jeep, we wouldn’ta had this problem,” continued Guard, unbuckling his over-the-shoulder seatbelt.  Guard, in contrast, was a tall, round man...an old, bitter security guard of days gone by.

“How can you possibly compare this vehicle to a Jeep, Guard,” asked Doctor, with a slight English accent.  

At least one of them is making sense. 

Doctor, the only female member of the group was the mediator between Farmer and Guard.  Together, the three of them were almost humorous.

Convinced of his preference, Guard returned, “They don’t make ‘em like they used to, Doc.” 

Pressed for time, Explorer interrupted, informing the others of how severely the transport had been damaged and of the danger they may still have been in.

“Looks like your droids are outta warranty, too, Explorer,” jested Guard in response.

“All of our electrical equipment stopped working,” added Doctor.  “Look at our watches.”  All four of the passengers looked down at their blank digital watch displays.

“That’s the E.M.P. effect from the laser that destroyed that Attack Drone,” said Explorer, while hurriedly gathering equipment. 

“E.M.P.?” asked Guard.

“Electromagnetic Pulse, It’s one of the disabling factors caused by Dome Mirage’s Death From Above laser.”

“Death From Above,” returned Guard, slowly.  “What’s elecricmangesium pulse?”

Guard was clearly the instigator of the group.  At no point in the journey would anyone’s mind, or ears for that matter, be at rest as long as Guard could help it. 

“That’s electromagnetic pulse,” repeated Explorer.  “It’s an electromagnetic field produced by atmospheric ionization; it used to be caused by the explosion of nuclear weapons.”  Guard stood in confusion, not blinking for several moments.  “What it means Guard,” began Explorer, searching for simplicity.  “--Is that all of our devices that run off of electricity have been temporarily disabled.”

“Well how’d that happen,” returned Guard.  “I didn’t see no nuclear implosions around here.”   

Explorer thought for a moment of how he could explain more clearly, or if he should bother at all.  “Death From Above was the laser that shot down at the Cause Drone,” said Explorer, while still gathering supplies.  “It’s part of Dome Mirage’s defense systems.  It has a way of simulating the E.M.P. effect that nuclear explosions used to cause.”

A slow and hesitant, “Oh,” spilled over Guards lips.

Farmer, fidgeting with a cluster of seared wires near the rear of the transport, changed the topic of conversation by saying, “Well your engine’s definitely out of whack.”