The Time Traveler's Guide to Zootopia

Chapter 3: A New Earth

At first, there was nothing but blackness.

My eyelids were heavy with exhaustion. They remained closed for the time being until a bright light slowly started to bleed through them.

I remember being a young child in the simulations when I'd stare at the sun and close my eyelids, and the sun was bright enough that the light would still penetrate slightly. When that happened, you could only see the pink color of your eyelids and the sun behind them that was warmly brightening things up.  However, in this case, it felt far more... real.

For a moment, I felt like I was back in space where I first saw the light. This time, though, there was no zero gravity. On the contrary, I felt like the force of gravity constantly kept my body firmly planted into solid ground. Perhaps I was on a moon or some other rocky body until I could hear the faint sounds of wind and breeze whirring past me. Trying to recuperate strength, I began to crack open my eyes to see that there was indeed a light, but it had to be a star, or, perhaps a sun, I should say. As I widened my vision further, my head began to tilt, and I could see a blue sky all around me that was filled with clouds of various shapes and sizes.

"Where... where am I?" the question hounded my mind.

Lying in a supine position, I made a sharp turn of my head to the right and could see thick green foliage with trees, bushes, and wild shrubbery. I couldn't believe it... Was this a dream? I haven't seen anything so lush and green in years. Back in my world, we had some green, but it was primarily nonexistent by the time of the Sixth Industrial Revolution and the Third World War. I thought I'd never see it again, but here it is now, right in front of me and all around me. I looked around and realized that I was surrounded by diverse nature, in the middle of the woods, and lying on top of a giant patch of dark brown dirt. I lifted my right gauntlet, sank a few fingers into the ground, and lifted out a few pieces.

"Earth?" The word escaped my lips, a whisper of incredulity, as I grappled with the surreal reality unfolding before me.

Yet, as I observed my surroundings, something felt distinctly unusual. The world around me, while physically familiar, seemed to resonate with an almost hyperreal vibrancy. Colors appeared richer, contours more pronounced, and movements around me carried an uncanny fluidity as if the essence of life around me was magnified. In layman's terms, it was almost as if everything were... animated somehow.

Straining against the weight of my armor, I used both hands to lift myself off the ground. As my body rose, supported by my arms, I took a broader view of my location. I was at the center of a vast dirt crater, stretching about 17 feet across. The surrounding trees bore signs of damage, likely from my impact, but thankfully, it seemed minimal. The realization dawned on me – I must have fallen from a significant height at an alarming speed. It was my suit's protective mechanisms that spared me from certain death, cushioning my descent into this bizarrely vivid world.