The Brink
It was
a foggy, hazy morning when Titus Andromeda traveled to the Brink. He packed
light, a fleece (for cold days) and jersey (for warm days) and a rusty thermos
containing the cheapest Irish whisky he could find. The doctors told him to
only bring himself, everything else would be covered. He drove his rust holed Buick to the launch
site. You would think with all his money he would be driving something better.
The
carefully selected members of the Brink would have to wait for a rocket ship to
launch them to the facility which is located on the moon. The year is 2030 and
Earth isn’t much different than it is today. One of the main differences is the
colonization of the moon. The largest corporations in the world bid to have
their subdivisions be the first ones built on the moon, where the only
competition would be the best companies, which there is really only one. That
one would have to be the first on the moon and in that case, there would be no
competition. They would have a monopoly. Some of the lucky few were Nike,
Pfizer, Microsoft, Wal-Mart and 3M. The government built a special mental
health facility called the Brink. Their motto is: “a diseased mind is an idle
mind; we can cure the disease and put the idle to work.” That’s what they did,
they were the best.
Titus
Andromeda suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The Brink is his last hope. He
tried the other facilities on Earth. His billionaire parents sent him to the
best psychiatrists in the world but they couldn’t help him. His disease was
slightly different, still schizophrenia, but a different variety.
He made
it to the launch site and parked his car. He got out and looked around. The
rocket was fire engine red and stood tall like a sky scraper. Running down the
side of it were columns of windows and a white stripe. A man in a white coat
walked over to Titus:
“You
must be Titus Andromeda, I recognize you from the pictures your parents sent.”
Said the doctor as he removed his glasses and cleaned them on his coat,
polishing the thick lenses, cleaning them with his hot coffee breath. He
extended his hand to Titus: “I’m Dr. Mars, nice to meet you.”
“Hello
doctor.” Said Titus, a man of few words. It was difficult to engage in
conversation for him when he thinks everyone is against him, he never feels
completely comfortable.
“Right
this way, you’ll board the rocket from the elevator here, when you reach the
second floor drop your belongings into the compartment to your left.” The
doctor said. “I’ll meet you there and we can tour the rocket before lift off.
Your seat is 201, lucky for you, yours is a window seat. Trust me, there’s
nothing to be nervous about, these rockets are 100% safe.”
Titus
made his way into the large elevator crammed with about a dozen other patients.
He didn’t like small, crowded, places. Hopefully the elevator ride won’t be too
long. He hummed to himself to keep his cool. He felt like people were talking
about him but when he looked around, no one was talking.
The
elevator reached the second floor and Titus got out. Dr. Mars was there to meet
him. He showed him around the floor just as the fasten seatbelts light came on.
“No time for tours now, we’re just about to lift off, leave Earth. You’ll be
under our care for one year. I hope you don’t mind being away from your friends
and family for that long. Trust us, you’re in good hands. We’ll have you right
as rain in no time.” The doctor said as he gave Titus a reassuring pat on the
shoulder. Just then Titus heard a deafening roar, he looked out the window and
saw huge clouds of smoke leave the base of the rocket. He could make out his
Buick in the distance.
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