The Transmission 2020

www.ericmichaelstories.com

Greetings America, I am coming to you from Earth-11:14B with a message from the resistance. We reside within a paralleling universe, closest to the Earth of your own, 11:14A...only we are set ten years in the future. It's very technical and I'm no scientist so don't bother attempting to understand. I'm here with a warning of what's to come if you do not begin taking drastic actions immediately.

With what began as a Global Pandemic which you know as Covid-19, quickly began shaping a dystopian future stripped of freedoms you currently take for granted.

When the quarantine began, humanity had been forced into an isolation in which the majority were unable to cope with. People unprepared to face the harsh realities of a mental and emotional solitude, without the distractions of social interaction, were quick to succumb to their own distress and isolated depression. Many lost their businesses, even more lost their homes. Desperation led to behavioral patterns being altered exponentially, domestic violence as well as suicide increased at alarming rates, and riots formed in the streets of all major cities across the globe. What began as a lock down to assure the health of mankind, worked only to destroy mankind's mind.

Responsibilities within the homes of families were quick to slip. The stress within fears of failure to provide overwhelmed the majority. Parents turned to sedation to cope, substance abuse in the form of alcohol and prescription medication led to the neglect of their children, and lack of influential presence. Without school to attend, nor parents to monitor their actions, the youth turned to the only comfort they felt could be held onto, social media. This led to a complete and full dependence on these social platforms to fulfill basic human needs for acceptance, community and guidance. Furthering the rift between children and their parents, while handing unbridled power to tech giants. This increasing distrust between family, opened the door for predators who could take advantage of the vulnerability within minors seeking basic love and attention. Sexualization of children became mainstream, and pedophilia ran rampant...with estranged parents helpless to stop it.

Artists across the globe took to their platforms in response to the outrage caused by the emotional distress of such dire conditions. The state of a world in flames had been portrayed on canvas, sung within music, written into poetry, and spoken onto screen. But with the self-expression of topics which had now become so incredibly controversial, Cancel Culture was amplified and ruthlessly used to suppress dissent. Within a society already politically correct, those seeking a non-offensive world had done more harm than good, standing for agendas rather than beliefs they held for their own, as they worked tirelessly to silence individuality. An ever-growing fear had become instilled in the minds of those once most brave to own their voice. But with morality having slipped through the psyche, for most, there was no longer context for understanding the expression of individual emotion...and the Art that you still know in your world, is all but dead in ours. Creativity has been abolished, and the imagination lost to the nether.

In 2021 a vaccination for the epidemic entered the first stage of deliverance to the general public, and with the lockdown's end in sight, there finally seemed to be a hope for return to normality. However, it would take the following year to be available to the masses, and the furthering of strict social distancing guidelines only continued. When the restrictions were at last lifted, the damage done to the majority's psyche had been irreparable. The new societal norms had become too deeply engrained, and human interaction continued to digress. The immense stress accumulated over the mental and emotional health of the people, had caused a revert in developmental growth, and the human condition had become reliant on structural and calculated tactics of control that the tech giants had been more than happy to facilitate.