As far as jobs go , I suppose it was o.k . There really wasn't much else for anybody to do ,
and it passed the time ,.
Nobody could remember anything different for the past thousand years , the brown sludge
was harvested and converted into it's separate components , the useful ones kept , all the others
jettisoned into deep space , and away from the planet.
The sludge existed as oceans , there was an never ending supply. It , when separated ,and treated, provided
food and water , fuel , medicine , metal , everything .
The population was only small , but the ruins of ancient man were everywhere . Luckily , among the
ruins , were found seed banks , and some trees could be grown .
Legend had it , that the sludge was actually pollution from eons ago. ! ..and that had caused the
downfall of it all .
The air filters was the only other job around , and you inherited that one .
Anyway , next year , 12,438 , we are all going to take a day off . YES .....PARTY . !

In 12,458 , I got a big promotion . Lead technician on a sludge rig .
It was a special assignment . A shallow valley had been selected to
empty , and recondition . This was at the cutting edge of the new
effort to reclaim some farmland .
The second month in , my rig uncovered something incredible .
A machine , a "stargate", a potential doorway to the past . or future.
The scientists took a year to figure out how it worked and the tests
weren't good . Any objects put in the gate , just disappeared , .
It didn't look good .
In 12,460 , the machine mysteriously turned itself on , and through the
gate came men from 20,012. !!
They fine tuned the machine and, I volunteered to be part of a team to
go back into the past , to hopefully stop the destruction of the
environment before it happened . It would only be a one way trip ,
we couldn't take a portable gate machine , they are big.
Ten of us entered the gate on june 15/12,461 , to hopefully enter
the past at 2060 ......


........ to be continued

... Our trip was a big deal , and everyone turned up for the occasion .
There was a huge send off . Hopes were high that we would land on the same
spot , in 2060 . Half of the guys from 20,012 promised to find a way to for us to get back
to 12,462 , and the mood was good . if they could send us the right bits , we could get back .!
The gate was powered up , and ten of us , entered the gate .
The trip was instantaneous , and we had landed in a forest , and two of our number ,
had vanished ! We had no way of knowing what year it was , but the air was so sweet ,
and the amount of life surrounding us , so prolific , SO BEAUTIFUL,we all just froze on the spot for
a long time .
The gate faded out in only a minute , and a real lonely feeling descended .
We decided to stay right where we were , for 24 hours , in the slim hope of locating the missing men.

They never turned up , those machine gates are a bit sketchy .


....to be continued

We carried enough food and ammunition for two weeks , as well
as communication and surveying equipment .
Naturally we also had digital records of the future ,to press home
the urgency of our mission .
the sludge was nowhere to be seen , but we soon found big
mounds of tyres and other crap . The whole experience was
too much for one of the scientists and he shot himself with a rail
gun ,. ..we buried him under where we arrived.Our priority now

was survival , so we headed for the top of the valley wall , to survey
our position . This would be vital information , if we ever hoped to see
our families again.... We triangulated the position we arrived
and left a beacon for ourselves , to return every year to look for any
mail from the future .
That took three days , because we were so distracted by Nature.
Three of us had bad stomach cramps from eating things we probably
shouldn't . The rest of us , felt 200 % .
Now the mission was entering the critical phase . Contact with the
powers that be , must be initiated extreme caution .
Trust would be a BIG issue , and we had an extended briefing on how ,
and who to approach . We made a permanent camp in a hidden ravine
and drew straws for the first foray into a civilisation we knew nothing
about......




....... to be continued

There were only seven of us left , and the sense of despair
was very real for some of us . We learnt to survive in spite of
some close calls with the wildlife .
It was decided that we should divide into two teams , and meet
back at the beacon , in two months . Each team had to plan their own strategy
without telling the other , to maximise our chances of success .
The camp was abandoned , and we said our farewells .
Each team had the responsibility of contact ,in a co-ordinated staggered start.
Both missions headed in opposite directions , towards different cities , we had
spotted from the ridge . Our communication equipment was shut down , in case
the scene be unfriendly .
My team had four of us , and we travelled in darkness , for a week , through
the dense , moonlit , jungle . At the first sign of habitation , we lay low and observed
all movements for a few days , watching for any aggressive behaviours by the locals.
We had been here for a month and things were about to spin out of control ......





..... to be continued

We were outside a small country town , and things looked very sleepy .
The idea was put forward for one of us to enter and reccy the situation .
And to report back , to the others in due course . It was my turn to do something
brave , so I strolled down the main street , and struck a conversation with a local
tradesman , working on his own , on a house renovation .
The year was 2045 , . This could be disastrous for any return home . Any mail
through the gate wouldn't appear for another fifteen or more years .!
I found out about computers from that guy , and satisfied with my efforts , I
returned to my friend's location after dark . If we could get access to a computer
the whole contact procedure could be easy .!
The rest of the team were keen to go , our supplies were exhausted , and so were we .!
We saw some amazing sights on our way to the big smoke , trains , planes and automobiles.!
The plan was to split up each day , and find cash jobs to survive , while we engaged in a nightly
surf of the net , at internet cafes.
Cash jobs proved to be a big problem , and a couple of the team , were stealing food for the rest
of us , as we lived day to day , in an old railway siding . Sleeping under a disused building
every night , and moving around in the daylight ....




..... to be continued

Communication was attempted with the other team , after a month's separation.
Something has gone badly wrong for them , an an unknown entity was on the other
end of the line . We didn't realise this for a few days , and late one night as we
attempted contact , a few helicopters and soldiers arrived suddenly , and started
shooting the place up . .. Two of my friends died covering our retreat , and us two remaining
split up to gain an advantage ,. I haven't seen him since then , and can't use the radio .
I jumped a freight train and changed cities.... that was a week ago ....
Today , I got a live-in job cleaning someone's house , and they have lots of computers .
I finished work at seven , and am now furiously typing this and lodging it with
attachments , on every website I can .......

Hang on ,there's someone at the door , ...... ?




THE END

[thankyou for your interest]