Call that Karma

Some call it fate, I call it karma. Las Vegas is literally a beach town while Cape Town is the new Atlantis. I’ve heard stories about a place called San Francisco but only in fairytales and urban legends. There’s underwater tours for the ultra wealthy but I would never do it even if I had the money. Not saying I knew there was something down there, I didn’t. I don’t think anyone knew or could’ve ever guessed. Especially not all those rich people, they’re dumb as rocks for thinking their money still matters when humankind is on the verge of collapse.

The government used to display sky projections every single day to broadcast the news but those stopped appearing recently. When I tap my right temple to enter the collective consciousness network it’s all just panic. The people in my quarry are talking about the end, saying that massive, deadly creatures have been rising out of the ocean. Some think the creatures have been laying dormant in the sea and are now coming for revenge against humanity. They’re saying it’s the government’s fault for ruining the environment with their gluttony and war machines. Others think these creatures are aliens that came to earth undetected and are now taking lives for no reason at all. When this all started I used the collective consciousness mainframe to look through other peoples’ eyes and saw that there are in fact humongous, gorgeous creature rising out of the sea. They looked like serpents from what I saw, thick-bodied and with slender limbs, their scales glistening silver like diamonds in the sun. Then the image went black and I couldn’t reconnect.



I don’t know what to think, this may be the end. The government gained access to our thoughts after what happened in the 2063 uprising and yet that doesn’t seem as bad as what’s happening right now. I can’t connect with a single soul on the East or West Coast anymore, or any coast on Earth for that matter. It’s like they all dropped dead. What does this mean? I ask my Mom and she says, “Jam, sit down.” I oblige and grab a seat at the kitchen counter while my Mom stands with her hands faced down on the counter.

“Jam”, she says, “I just want to say that I feel so lucky to be alive in the same lifetime as you. You came to me in my dreams before you were born, the Universe blessed me with you as my child. I think you are just a wonderful person and I am so fortunate to have been your mother. I just want to say that.” I feel tears well up from the corners of my eyes and I jump out of my seat to give her a hug. She caresses my head and runs her nails along my scalp how I like. I tell her I love her too and that I just need some fresh air. She holds onto me as I break away from her, I notice tears streaming down her face and yet she’s smiling. She says, “I love you more.”



I burst outside as if my life depended on it. I feel completely overwhelmed. What did she mean by she’s “fortunate to have been” my mother? As if she isn’t still my mother! I try to breathe in the fresh air of the forrest around me, it’s as crisp as ever but I can’t catch a full breath. I think, is this it? Am I dying? I collapse to the ground and clutch at my chest. I take another deep breath and then another one after that. No, I’m not dying. I get up into kneeling position and sit back on my feet. I stretch my arms into the sky while taking another slow breath. I feel the life entering my lungs and the blood coursing through my veins. It feels good to be so alive, and the funny thing is that I spent so much of my time being alive wishing that I wasn’t. What a waste that feels like now.

I get up and brush the leaves off my pants and begin to wander through the forrest. I live in what used to be called the Rocky Mountains and I take solace in the face that it seems safer up here, like maybe those water creatures can’t get me all the way up in the mountains. As I kneel down to pick some soft, spongey moss off of a fallen tree trunk I catch a glimmer out of the corner of my eye, something shiny. It disappears as soon as I stand up but I follow the direction in which it came from. 

My curiosity turns to horror as I discover where the glimmer is coming from, panic washes over me again as reality sinks in. I realize that I’ve come across the body of a young girl, she has a bag over her head and there’s a sawed off shotgun laying on the ground nearby. This poor sweet soul, she must’ve done this to herself. She even thought to put a bag over her head to spare whoever found her from the gruesome sight - this was intentional. She must have panicked over what’s been happening in the collective consciousness and took matters into her own hands. The glimmer that led me to her is shining again, it’s coming from the sun reflecting off of her heart-shaped locket necklace. I approach the body tentatively and resist all instinct to bolt as I carefully remove the locket from her discolored neck, every hair on my body standing on end. I pause for a moment to pay my respects and then continue on my way, cradling the necklace in my palm.



I think to myself, well that was traumatic. Finding a dead body like that when the world is possibly ending? Top tier bad luck. I contemplate whether or not taking jewelry from a dead body was the right thing to do. I flip the necklace over with my fingers and notice that it’s engraved with the letters ‘EJ’. I wonder what that means, were those her initials? I attempt to open the locket but it’s stuck like glue. I break out my great great Grandfather’s Swiss army knife (they don’t make those anymore) and try my hardest to pry it open, but it’s no use. I continue to wander while I jam my thumbnail into the locket to loosen it up. I allow my thoughts to drift away from the sight of the dead girl in the forrest. 

Instead I think to myself, what a beautiful thing it is to be conscious. I say it out loud. I feel the urge to share this thought to the collective consciousness but then I sharply remember what all is going on in the world. It’s okay though. Besides, the government surveils our every thought via the mainframe and we just let them, so I’m going to start keeping my thoughts to myself from now on. I notice a flock of birds fly from out of the trees and feel confident that I can tell the difference between a real bird and a manufactured bird.

These ones are real. In spite of everything going on I feel at peace.

Suddenly I see a glistening, bright ray of light appear from behind the trees. It’s brighter than the sun itself. I stop dead in my tracks. I feel more small and more helpless than I have ever felt in my life as I stare directly into the face of the creature from the sea, which stands as tall and as beautiful as the mountains themselves. My heart is pounding nearly out of my chest and I can’t seem to utter a sound. I stare into its eyes and sense no evil. I drop to my knees before it and as the locket hits the ground it pops open. In my last moments alive I notice that the locket is empty - call that karma. The creature exhales deeply through its nostrils, producing a swirling cloud of gas. As the air from its lungs caresses my face, the world quickly fades to black.