Skip to content →

No Future

It wasn’t intentional. I guess I just sat in that damn chair listening for too long. It grew on me.

I know, I know…my training. At first I didn’t understand it. It was so different from anything we have. We don’t have that intensity, that vigor, that purpose.

You made me listen to it. Over and over. I became obsessed with it. I would finish my shift and it wouldn’t go away. It drilled deep in my brain.

‘Cause London is drowning, and I, I live by the river

It progressed from there. I was about a year in when I started trying to figure out how I could bootleg it. Each day I pilfered a few items. It was stuff that wouldn’t be missed. It’s not like it was difficult. I mean we are engineers.

The hardest part was concealing it. I give you guys credit, you make it hard for us. The security was amazing. Not only did I have to patch into the system, I had to hack something together to record the damn things.

It was complicated, but not impossible. I had two things going for me, determination and time. I wanted to hold this beautiful noise for the rest of my life. I was pretty motivated. I wish you had sent me to a different planet. A planet with shitty music. Then I wouldn’t be here. Then WE wouldn’t be here.

“But WE are here Mr. Servo,” said a voice from the darkness. “Can you explain how the recordings got on the network?”

My assignment on the monitoring ship was coming to an end. I needed to figure out a way to bring the music back with me. I mean you guys pretty much strip us naked before you send us back.

I broke the digital files up and coded them into static. It took me forever. But, again…I had time. Then when I would send audio messages back to my family, I would insert the static. I figured once I was home, I would decode them. It easily got past your detection system. No one noticed. It was pretty genius.

“How did they get on the network, Mr. servo?!”

I guess I didn’t realize other people would be monitoring those transmissions. They were looking for things. I mean, it may come as a shock to you, but not everyone is all bully on the silence in regard to other cultures. They know we are there. They are looking for things. They are curious. I didn’t mean for this music to hit the network. I just wanted to keep listening to it after my assignment was over.

“Let the record show the Alserdon Servo has confessed to being a source of cultural contamination. Let it also show that he broke his observers oath. You are aware of what happens next Mr. Servo?”

Do I know? Listen, I didn’t mean for this to happen. But I am now convinced I was meant for this to happen. What’s next? The rebellion is next.

No future
No future
No future for me
No future
No future
No future for you

Published in Fiction