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Cosmic Void: The Origins of Max

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posted on Aug, 5 2021 @ 04:35 PM
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Vancouver Canada, June 19th 2030

"Stop right there or you'll be charged with breaking curfew!" the officer yells.

"Pfffttt we aren't babies, we don't need a curfew old man!" one of the two boys replies.

"You know very well that the curfew applies to everyone, now go straight home you little hooligans. I wont be so nice next time I catch you."

"Oh come on then Max, let's go home before this guy really gets serious with us."

The two boys run off giggling, headed towards their next destination, which certainly wasn't their home. Earlier that day they had discovered arrows and other strange symbols marked along the footpath in chalk, so they decided to sneak out later that night and see where the arrows would lead them.

Max and his best friend were only 12 years old and he knew this wasn't exactly a safe undertaking but he was always a risk taker who enjoyed pushing the limits, which would influence the career path he would choose later in life, but also cause him a lot of social problems in an increasingly strict world.

Eventually the arrows led the two boys to a desolate looking building which they would have assumed was abandoned were it not for the sound of voices echoing from the building. Now too curious to leave, the boys quietly approach one of the windows to get a peak inside. Inside they see a group of people listening as an older man speaks.

"They told us this would be over a decade ago! Look at us now! We're breaking the law right now just by being here! We need a vaccine card to travel, to shop, to work! Even if you don't travel, and shop online, and work from home, they'll eventually get you in the end, mark my words. They will use your own family against you!"

"Haha get a load of this Max, it's those crazy conspiracy guys that are always in the news!"
Kids around Max's age hadn't experienced a world before the pandemic, so it was harder for them to grasp why the "old ways" were so important to some people, but secretly Max desperately wanted a world like the one he saw in old movies and television.
"Yeah... what a bunch of weirdos... anyway would we should get out of here before anyone sees us." Max replies.

... 10 years later ...

"And we're coming up on the last turn but will Ronald give him any opportunity here? Lets see... oh wow! Max making the hard pass right by Ron at the last moment, can you believe it! Maxwell Zippman pulling off an upset win and also his first win in the Montreal Grand Prix event. At the young age of 22 it looks like Max has a promising future in racing folks!"

Max would never win many championships over his racing career, but he would be successful enough to earn a good living. This would allow him to provide a comfortable life for his wife Tamara and their new born child, a girl whom they would name Natali. Those following years would be the best years of Max's life, however his good fortunes would not last forever.

... 8 years later ...

"Unfortunately the results aren't what we wanted to see. It came back positive for a rare degenerative muscle disease which we still don't have any cure for but hopefully we can manage it over time. I know this is the last thing you wanted to hear Max so just know I am here to support you in any way possible, you'll make it through this."

Max sits in silence for a moment before responding, "To be honest I think we all saw this coming, the signs were all there. Just be straight with me doc... how long have I got left?"

"Well it's hard to say, but based on your age and current health condition... maybe 2 or 3 years. You should be able to walk for a few more months but we know this disease destroys the muscles over a relatively small time frame once the symptoms start to arise. We can manage it so it wont kill you, but it will eventually paralyze you."

... 1 year later ...

"Hey daddy I'm supposed to tell you dinner is ready!", the voice of Natali echoes through the large shed as she walks towards her father. "Mom said you have to stop working on the car and come eat. How can you even fix cars in a wheelchair?"

Max grins, "My legs may not work but as long as my arms still work they'll be covered in grease. This Ford isn't going to restore its self."

"My teacher says those old timey cars are bad for the environment so we had to make them illegal. Why do you even care about these cars if you're not allowed to drive them?" Natali inquires.

"I'm not sure sweety... maybe it's the sound of the motor, the smell, the feeling you get when you sit behind the wheel of a V8... haha maybe I'm just getting old."

"You're only 32 years old! You're not an old man yet."

... several months later ...

Max, now fully paralyzed from the head down, watches the news from his hospital bed. "2050 is almost here and Vancouver city can proudly say thanks to our Greenest City action plan we are now the greenest city in the world. After our ban on fossil fuels, electric cars now make up 100% of the cars on our roads. Our Zero Waste plan has also helped us eliminate almost all plastic from non-essential items. Canada is now very close to the Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 goal thanks to these initiatives."

At this moment Max finds it difficult to feel any sort of emotion, but watching this news report allows him to make the final decision about his future. As time goes on Max feels more and more out of place in the world, like he was meant to be born in a different time. Now all Max could do was watch from a bed as the world passed him by.

So when the doctors told Max there was a new experimental technology which could allow him to be cryogenically frozen until a cure for his disease was found, it was an option he found very alluring. The only hard part about making the decision was deciding to leave his wife and daughter. But for Max, an immobile life wasn't a life worth living.

After many long and difficult discussions it was decided the best thing for Max was to go through with the cryogenic procedure. Otherwise he had only a life of misery to look forward to and no one wanted that. Max also hated the thought of being a burden to Tamara and this option would allow them both to have a better future.

However, the pain of knowing he would probably not get to see Natali grow into a women was still immense. The idea of losing her father was gut wrenching for Natali but she didn't want to see her father suffering either, so she put on a brave face and encouraged him to embrace that risk taking spirit he always talked about.
edit on 5/8/2021 by ChaoticOrder because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 5 2021 @ 04:36 PM
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... January 3rd, 2241 ...

"Aggghhh... son of a... where am I?" Max groans as he regains consciousness.
"You're at the Human Cryo Re-animation Lab in Vancouver. You've just been unfrozen for the first time in almost 200 years. How does it feel?"
"Well I still feel paralyzed. So did you find a cure or not?" Max grumbles with the tone of someone who isn't a morning person.
"Well sort of... but unfortunately your condition is too far gone to be reversed." the head scientist explains.
"So why the hell did you unfreeze me, is this some sort of joke?"

"Relax Mr. Zippman we can still help you, this is the year 2241 after all. We have what you might call a prosthetic body which we can transplant your brain into. It's basically a cyborg body but looks and acts just like a real body. You'll be able to live a normal life for the most part, it's really quite amazing."

Max didn't really have a choice in the matter because his cells wouldn't handle a 2nd freezing and unfreezing, but he didn't really mind being a cyborg. It was certainly much better than being paralyzed and came with perks like increased strength and stamina. Besides, the technology was so good he looked almost entirely human to an untrained eye.

... several months later ...

Max had ensured he would have some savings to live on in the future, but he left most of it to Tamara and his long stay in a freezer plus a new body wasn't cheap. After a few months Max had used up his remaining savings, and without any type of job in the year 2241 he found it hard to get by. Celebrities from the 2000's were being unfrozen all over the place so no one cared about him.

In some ways the changes he had hoped to see in society were there, but in many other ways the problems which were beginning to plague society in 2050 had only continued to get much worse over the last 2 centuries while he was frozen. Scarcity of resources seemed to be a big issue in these times due to growing populations with a demand for modern living standards.

One of the most exciting things Max learned about the future was that people had begun living on Mars, and had even started developing societies on Mars and underground cities below the surface of Mars. Space travel was something Max always fantasized about, and the moment he knew it was possible Max spent the remainder of his money on a space flight to Mars.

Max didn't have any plan for how he would get back to Earth but that didn't matter, he had to embrace that inner risk taker and see what Mars was like with his own eyes. It was probably just a desolate ball of red dust, he thought, and that was mostly true, but Max knew what ever future he had, it wasn't to be found on Earth.

"We are now arriving at the entry port for the UCM city of Mazpoc. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark momentarily. We hope you had an enjoyable space flight on board Maple Space United."

... a few days later ...

Unfortunately Mars wasn't quite the paradise Max had hoped, and was in fact quite poverty stricken. It wouldn't take long before Max would be forced to seek work on Mars, a place good jobs aren't common. Lawlessness and crime was also a problem, and Max quickly learned that having a weapon was essential. With his cyborg body a gun felt excessive, so he went with a basic combat blade.

"Nice place you got here, I used to race myself. Well not space crafts, but you know. Anyway I heard you were looking for some muscle? I'm kind of strapped for cash right now and could really use the work brother." Max pleads.
Zark, sitting behind his shoddy work desk, laughs briefly before responding, "Look around man, we're all doing it hard. This is Mars, life ain't easy."
"Yeah I get it. Mars isn't exactly what I expected, I'm just trying to get by like everyone else."
"Ok so what qualifies you for the job then? Have you ever worked in private security?"
"Well no... but you might say I'm built for the job.", Max then proceeds to unsheathe the blade on his waist while Zark gets a slightly firmer grip on his side-arm. Then suddenly, Max plunges the blade straight through his hand which is resting on the desk."
"You're hired.", Zark responds without hesitation.

Over the next few years Max would work his way up the ranks of private security within Dark Halo Industries until he became the most trusted personal body guard and right hand man of Zark. Little did Max know of the journey yet to come, the adventures through space with Zark and the rest of the crew, and the pivotal role he would play in helping them reach their ultimate goal.
edit on 5/8/2021 by ChaoticOrder because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 5 2021 @ 04:48 PM
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This is the origin story for the 5th and final main character in Cosmic Void. The other main character origin stories:

Cosmic Void: The Origins of Tessa
Cosmic Void: The Origins of Luna
Cosmic Void: The Origins of Zark (and Jack)
edit on 5/8/2021 by ChaoticOrder because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 5 2021 @ 06:50 PM
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a reply to: ChaoticOrder

S&F just for this lol



2050 is almost here and Vancouver city can proudly say thanks to our Greenest City action plan we are now the greenest city in the world


#in' Vancouver...



posted on Aug, 6 2021 @ 03:47 AM
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a reply to: dug88

After deciding I wanted Canada to be the home country for this character, I had to decide on a city, so I looked up some of the largest cities in Canada. Vancouver stood out to me because the buildings had the type of vibe I was going for. All those green action plans I used in this story are real things that I saw on the Wikipedia page for Vancouver. Once I read this I knew Vancouver was the perfect setting for this character.


The Greenest City action plan (GCAP) is a City of Vancouver urban sustainability initiative. Its primary mission was to ensure that Vancouver becomes the greenest city in the world by the year 2020. The GCAP originated based on the 2009 work of the Greenest City Action Team, a committee co-chaired by Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson.[249] The GCAP was approved by Vancouver city council in July 2011.[250]

In May 2018, the Zero Waste 2040 Strategy was passed by Vancouver's city council.[251] The city began work the same year on decreasing the amount of single-use items distributed in the city and stated its intention to ban these items by 2021 if businesses do not meet reduction targets. As part of the plan, a ban on plastic straws, polystyrene food packaging and free shopping bags was to go into effect in mid-2019.[252]

Vancouver - Sustainability

edit on 6/8/2021 by ChaoticOrder because: (no reason given)




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