Tethered

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. That was before the “Eclipse”; the single most terrifying and transformative event in our known universe. The mass destruction from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tidal waves happening all at once. The near extinction of every animal on Earth. The sudden chaos of every human being ripped from the very spot in which they were standing on. The collective screams of over 6 billion men, women and children as they ascended into the heavens never to be seen again. The day the Earth let go.

It is easier to explain what the Eclipse wasn’t than to explain what it was. We are not in another dimension or parallel universe as all cosmic radiation and newly recovered particles from our galaxy remain consistent with previous scientific data. It isn’t time travel in the traditional sense. Scientists have determined that we are in fact still in the year 2058; although there had been a significant alteration in the flow of time during the said event due to the momentary slowing of the planet’s rotation. To put it in perspective, Earth appears to be 3.98361112 seconds younger than it should currently be. Earth and the rest of our planetary system is aligned correctly and orbiting in concordance with previous natural law for now. Were we visited by extraterrestrials? All government agencies across the globe are in agreement that there is no data to suggest alien life forms, objects, or vehicles were responsible for the event. As for the Rapture? Extremely doubtful but how can I say? Over seventy percent of the human population was initially lost.

In a strange way I think this was Earth’s way of getting back at us for everything we did to it. What we were doing was no longer sustainable and it could no longer carry the weight of all our transgressions towards each other and itself. Like a cloud that had grown too heavy, it began to rain. The planet punished us in the most spectacular fashion possible as it’s gravitational pull simply ceased to exist for the entire duration of the solar eclipse. It only lasted for twenty seconds but following the eclipse, gravity returned to normal, all except for us. Earth continued to allow us to fall up into the sky. And it has remained that way ever since.

It’s been 7 months now since March 7, 2058 and the world has changed drastically. We as a species have had to learn to adapt to our new situation. You can no longer go outside without being tethered and following very stringent safety protocols. If you were to open your front door and step outside, you would effectively be launching yourself up into space should there be no ceiling to catch you or cord to pull you back indoors. Everyone has had to learn to maneuver in zero gravity and devise new methods of living everyday life.

Some didn’t want to learn to adapt. They had already survived enough trauma by seeing its immediate aftermath. Although thirty percent of the human population floated into the sky, forty more percent died in the initial chaos. Vehicles rose into the sky only to come crashing down like a hail storm of metal destruction. People were crushed and mutilated as everyday objects became lethal projectiles impaling anything in its path. While the world typically rotates at roughly 1000 miles per hour, it had slowed down a fraction of that speed for a moment, causing everything that wasn’t attached to the ground to be catapulted upward. After seeing a friend or loved one reduced to floating body parts, some people chose to leap into the abyss willingly.

Which brings me to my current situation. There has to be an reason why this all happened. So today I am opening the front door. One small step for man, one giant leap for ...