{"sf1_id":1838128,"sf2_id":"5nzbaOnG","title":"Petals of the Gods - Ch. 2: Age of Amnesia (Eng)","author":"Teyl'nir","words":2539,"posted_at":"2022-04-03T18:46:50.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Human","Mystery","SFW"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1838128-petals-of-the-gods-ch-2-age-of-amnesia-eng","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/5nzbaOnG","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/75/74/75743147-9755-4788-8c93-b1efdb17a271","description":"Took too long to write this. Sry.\n  \n  \n\n[Posted using PostyBirb](http://www.postybirb.com)","content":"Maximillian Ryland, Demton, 5/29/2051 12:06 p.m.  \n  \nA feeling of incorporeality filled me. It was a feeling as if I would wake up from a thousandyear  \nsleep, but would be in eternal nothingness. As if I was aware of my existence, but was  \nin a room full of emptiness. Only I noticed how the space around me was moving as if I  \nwere heading towards a destination. This perception of movement was hard to describe. It  \nwas so fleeting. Soon this feeling stopped and the sensation of being awake disappeared.  \nThe sun flooded the surroundings with its glistening light and woke me up. I slowly opened  \nmy eyes and got the feeling of déjà vu. A canopy of dark green leaves stretched above my  \nhead, forcing the brilliant blue of the sky in between, and I realized that I was outside.  \nSurprised and hasty, I stood up and looked around. It was a large, fenced garden with  \nvegetable beds, a gigantic oak tree under which I now stood, and some hibiscus plants  \nadorning the garden. They were joined by some glassy flowers that, unlike my hometown  \nof Demton, had a strong, rainbow-colored glow. What on earth is going on here? Where am  \nI? I was surrounded by climbing plants after all. Wasn't I in the botanical garden? All the  \nimpressions and questioning thoughts affected me simultaneously in a second because that  \nwas all the time I had. All this was interrupted when, after that moment, I saw on the  \nterrace a woman with waist-length, colorless hair, who looked at me in complete  \nbewilderment and confusion. At the same time, her watering can fell out of her hand and  \nlay on the ground like a fallen sack, drenching the floor. I also looked at her absolutely  \nconfused.  \nA few seconds passed, which felt like an eternity, until the young lady with her dark  \nsandals took a step towards me and set her simple, black summer dress in motion. Still  \naghast, she said, \".... It's rude to just appear in others' gardens like that! But more  \nimportantly, how... did you do that?!\"  \nI looked away for a moment, quickly looked again at the surroundings, looked at myself,  \nand then at her again. My mind wasn't ready to answer yet, because it still had a lot to  \nprocess. A helpless look from me was the only answer I could give.  \nThe lady in black apparently had enough empathy to be able to interpret my look correctly.  \n\"I guess you don't know either. Come in and sit down first\", she said in the meantime and  \nseemed to slowly relax. That was quick. I followed her appeal.  \nTwo minutes later I was sitting at the dining table of a spacious kitchen with a large glass  \nfront. This allowed a wonderful view into the garden and of course had a door leading to  \nthe garden. While the friendly lady was taking the burnt remains out of the oven, I looked  \nup at the ceiling and observed the angular, geometric shapes that were probably hanging  \nfrom the ceiling for decoration. Very... individual. Not only that. There were roots sticking  \nout of the walls from some corners and protruding from behind furniture and appliances.  \nReally very individual.  \nGradually I was calmed down a bit, but still nervous because of the strange environment.  \nFrom the looks of it, she seems to be quite a misfit. She opened the dark purple  \nrefrigerator, which didn't quite match the rustic kitchen. From the looks of it, it was  \nlemonade, which she took out of it. Carrying two glasses, she approached me and sat down  \nacross from me, pouring us both some with the glass pitcher stamped with triangles.  \n\"Thank you,\" was all I said. The first word I had said since waking up.  \n\"Very well young man, first let me introduce myself. My name is Emelia Ryland. Born in  \nSalt City and am a student in the field of archaeology. Also, I am the owner of this house, as  \nyou probably should have noticed.\" Emelia put such elegance in her emphasis as if she  \nwere something very special. \"Well.\", I replied, \"my name is Maximillian Ryland and I'm  \nfrom Demton. I was born there in 1992-\" Emelia jumped right in with a shocked \"WHAT?!\"  \nConfused, I looked at her and she apologized. \"It was rude of me. I'm sorry. Please  \ncontinue.\"  \n\"No problem, I was done.\"  \n\"Okay. I'm just a little confused. After all, your appearance was very strange. At the point  \nwhere you appeared, for what felt like a minute, everything was like... I don't know, like a  \ndistortion of reality. I don't know how to describe it.\" After a very brief pause for thought,  \nshe asked, \"You know those classic distorted graphics glitches from video games? That's  \nwhat it looked like. Only in real life. When that phenomenon subsided, you were lying  \nthere and ruined my meal because of it. Not only that. Now you're telling me you're close to  \n60 years old, but you look 30? What's going on?\"  \n\"I don't know. But what do you mean by 60? What kind of day is it? Where am I anyway?\"  \nI was more confused than ever and had a premonition that I'd better not know the truth.  \nEmelia sighed and took a sip of the lemonade. With a slight look of reproach, she said,  \n\"Well, this is going to be something. You're getting more punishing than I thought.\"  \nTossing back her hair, she related, \"First, please tell me where you're from. Describe this  \nDemton you're talking about. I've never heard it before. It's an unusual name.\"  \nI replied, \"Okay, I originally lived in 2021. Demton was a town that seemed very ancient. A  \nmixture of different buildings of different times. It generally had an old feel to it. There  \nwere also landmarks like a large botanical garden...\" I faltered briefly as thoughts of what  \nhad happened with the creepers flashed through my mind again. After a moment, Emelia  \nasked, slightly spitefully, \"Has your brain stopped?\" To which I replied, \"No, sorry.  \nSomething just went through my head. I'll explain later. In any case, there is something  \nelse special in Demton. A few decades ago an asteroid fell into our town, luckily in a field.  \nBut this asteroid poses two mysteries. Once it crashed down a strange route towards us as  \nif some invisible force manipulated the trajectory. Also, you can't interact with it because it  \nemits an energy that protects it. It is virtually an energy field that functions as the outer  \nlayer of the rock. With a strong laser, this coating dissolves, but very slowly. It may take  \nyears and a lot of energy before the shield is gone and the secret behind it can be explored.  \nOf course, it's all very expensive.\"  \nSwiveling the glass and listening to me with interest, she looked at me. \"Wow, Maximillian.  \nThat sounds very interesting. You'll have to tell me more about your world later. But what's  \nburning my interest right now is what you can remember just before you appeared here.  \nBut first, let me fill you in on where you are here...or when.\"  \nStill finishing the last sip, she mentally prepared herself for her explanation. After a long  \nbreath, my interlocutor began to tell, \"Maximillian, I want you to listen in peace and let me  \nfinish.\" I nodded. \"Well, you are in the year 2051, an age without a past.\" The sound of  \nshattering glass spread through the kitchen. I dropped the glass from my hand in shock.  \nEmma looked at me with an eerie look and continued. \"Everything that happened more  \nthan 10 years ago, everything before the year 2041 has been lost. Hardly anyone has  \nmemories and there are hardly any records. We all sort of woke up one day with amnesia  \nand there is very little information from the past. Snippets of memories and a handful of  \ntext passages exist that tell of earlier times. Every now and then we actually find one or two  \nartifacts that tell us more about back then, but there is very little overall. The only things  \nthat have really remained are our personalities, the consensus for our society, our  \nrelationships, and our everyday lives. That's what we remember, but not what the world  \nwas like exactly more than 10 years ago.\"  \nI was stunned. Overwhelmed and shocked, I stared at Emelia. As I did so, I stared at the  \nbroken pieces. I wonder if my sister is still alive. She should be 61 now. Or my family in  \ngeneral? She continued talking, \"We are in Orphelia, on the continent of Mesa.\"  \nThere was silence for a while. It seemed like an eternity. \"Well,\" I said after my mind used  \nthe soundless moment to superficially realize things. \"I can hardly believe it. This is really a  \nlot. I need another moment.\" My counterpart nodded and said, \"I can hardly believe it  \nmyself, but after seeing this distortion in my backyard, I have to believe it. After minutes of  \nfurther silence, I replied, \"I want to tell you what happened to me. A strange glass flower  \nappeared in our world, just like the one in your garden. This one is actually not native  \nthere. Where it appears, there is a temporary or permanent power failure. We can't interact  \nwith the flower, it disintegrates immediately. Earlier... or rather 30 years ago, I touched  \nsuch a flower, which suddenly shot up creepers out of nowhere and engulfed me with  \nthem. I lost consciousness and then woke up here.  \nEmelia paused for a moment. She looked directly at me and spoke, \"You could be the key to  \nour past. I suggest the following to you: You should talk to researchers who deal with our  \npast. A few meetings with people who still have a few fragments of the past as memories  \nwould also be beneficial. We should also remain discreet for the time being. Not a word to  \nthe government or media. Too much attention would hinder our search and you would  \nhave a stressful life here. Everyone, whether government, reporters, or the common people  \nwould like to see the wonder boy from the past. Of course, the more people we bring on  \nboard, the higher the risk will be. But let's try to delay the super disaster as long as  \npossible. No one would believe you anyway, but better safe than sorry.\" She added \"Of  \ncourse, I will go with you. Someone has to look after the poor boy. Don't want him to get  \nlost. Of course, I also want to uncover the mystery that surrounds you.\" The 'of course' had  \nbeen particularly emphasized.  \nI didn't like her cynical manner right now. She seemed to think for a moment and I  \nmeanwhile looked around and used the moment to continue realizing everything. It  \nseemed, however, that it would take me some time to realize everything here. Meanwhile, I  \ncaught sight of a photo above the doorway leading to the hallway. \"That looks beautiful.  \nThat fountain you're standing in front of looks really majestic. But who is that creature  \nnext to you anyway? He looks so real.\"  \n\"Oh,\" Emma replied directly. \"Probably these creatures didn't exist 30 years ago. That  \nsounds exciting. That's Szymon. Mega likable. But I'll talk about him later because there  \nare more important things to do right now.\" She quickly took out a device and tapped it. A  \nholographic display appeared and Emelia tapped it briefly. She seemed to be calling  \nsomeone. She brought the device to her ear and the display disappeared. It was apparently  \nthe successor to smartphones. She chatted briefly and hung up again. She came up to me  \nand said, \"We're going to meet someone. First, though, I want to surprise you with  \nsomething you'll definitely like.\" I looked at her a little confused. She had only known me  \nfor just a moment and was already treating me so familiarly. We both walked towards the  \nexit and caught a glimpse of her living room. There was a violin next to the sofa. But  \nsuddenly it went black because I was blindfolded.  \nCalmly I asked, \"What do you want?\"  \n\"I want the place to... well... knock your socks off to the maximum. Apparently, even in the  \n50s of the future, there are still proverbs I know. For people here, this proverb must be  \nancient. It makes me wonder how old the saying was in my age anyway.  \n\"You treat me so familiarly. And you seem to take it all so well.\"  \nEmelia replied, \"Well, you don't seem malicious. And finally, something is happening here.  \nArchaeology is going totally in circles right now. Also, at the point where you appeared,  \nthere was a distortion in the room for what felt like 2 minutes, like a visual glitch in a video  \ngame. That's proof enough that you're something abnormal.  \n\"... You could have quietly said 'special' instead of 'abnormal'. Would have been nicer.\"  \n\"I would have. Yes. That possibility was definitely there. But I chose not to.\"  \nEmma led me out of the house and we walked for what felt like 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I  \nheard only many voices, footsteps, and other noises that sounded typical for a busy city.  \nWhen we stopped and the rush of water, which had been heard for a minute, was now at its  \nloudest level, Emma took off my blindfold. She spoke enthusiastically, \"Welcome to  \nOrphelia! The central city of education, science, and ideas on Mesa! Besides being the most  \nbeautiful city in the world.\"  \nHow right she was. The huge fountain, which was in the photo at Emma's house, was now  \nin front of me. I raised my head to the sky to look at the 10-meter high fountain. It was  \nbuilt like a tiered cake, with the water floor by floor the way down sought. In the process,  \nsmall rainbows kept appearing because of the sunny weather. \"Wow, this is really  \nbeautiful,\" I said as I looked at the surroundings around the fountain. It was huge, almost  \nlike a round soccer field. Several streets and alleys led off from the square. \"I like the gray  \nstone slabs in the marketplace. The fact that every now and then a stone slab is colorful  \nseems somehow coherent.\" Emma just grinned.  \nBut what amazed me, even more, was the fact that there were people, as well as  \nanthropomorphic animals, walking around. Not only that, at the edge of the square on a  \nbench sat a man with an animal that looked like a werewolf. They were giving each other a  \nkiss.  \nHow? How did animals become such intelligent beings in just 30 years? With such  \nacceptance that apparently even relationships are quite normal. Not that it's bad. Only  \nsuch a development in a short time I can not imagine. What happened in the 30 years?  \nWhat happened 10 years ago? And more importantly, what exactly happened to me and  \nwhy? I was determined to find out all this. But until then, it will take me some time to  \nrealize that this is not a dream. Maybe all of this isn't real, but I knew that all of this felt  \nway too real to be a dream.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1778314-petals-of-the-gods-ch-1-garden-of-madness-eng.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1892147-petals-of-the-gods-ch-3-city-of-coexistence-eng.json"}