“NEWSFLASH!!! An important announcement will be broadcast on
all stations in ten minutes…” it read across the bottom of the screen on my
television set. I wasn’t paying too much attention until a loud beep started coming from the
set. Whatever it was, it was not a test. So I sat patiently, waiting. The
screen cleared and I was looking at the white house backdrop. Oh no, I thought
to myself, we were finally in a full-scale war with one of the many countries
our government has wronged along the way. Or possibly some fanatical group was
crazily trying to make a name for themselves, or any other number of insane
plots that would lead us down yet another abyss for our economy and lifestyle.
I waited the longest five minutes ever sitting there staring
at the flags slowly saunter in the background. It was the only movement on the
screen, very eerie. Finally the President walked into frame and up to the
podium. I could feel the tension in the pressroom permeate into my living room.
“My fellow Americans, and people of the world, it is with
great urgency that I must make this speech. Some people may have noticed the
recent changes. It is on a very small scale at the moment, but I have been
informed it will reach global proportions very soon.” He paused to take a drink
of water; one could see a visible quiver in his arm as he did so. “Our top
scientists and those from around the world have confirmed that our water table
is reversing itself. Simply put, rain is going in reverse. I cannot explain the
reach or implications of this information, so I will turn the podium over to a
top American scientist who can explain further. Dr. Schmeckle, if you please.”
My jaw dropped. I ran over to the calendar that sits on my
desk in the office. It was certainly not April first, and this was not simply
an elaborate joke. I could not hear any laughing though my television from the
pressroom either. This was real. I started getting text messages, left and
right, from friends, obviously news was travelling fast.
Dr. Schmeckle eased onto the platform soundlessly. He was
improbably old looking, but you could see a youthful fire in his impossibly
blue eyes. He wore a traditional empowering white lab coat, but lacked all the
other traditional mad scientist accoutrements. I was honestly hoping for rubber
gloves or welding goggles; the best I was going to get were a pair of
thick-rimmed glasses that he wore. His hair was slicked back with copious
amounts of gel and was as white as freshly fallen snow.
“As you have already heard the President say,” His voice was
low and hearty, “The water tables are reversing. In essence, clouds are no
longer depositing rain on the earth, but rather sucking up water like a sponge,
and then it is disappearing, we’re not sure how.”
-V-
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ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I appreciate it :)
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