Of Mars and Memes.....
Brian jogged downstairs and hugged his mother- Dorothy before sitting besides Cara, his 12 year old sister who was oblivious to the surrounding and busy with her video game. “Grandpa, come over I have something to show you all.”
“Not now, Brian. Dinner is almost ready.” His mom reprimanded. Grandpa switched off his e- reader and crossed the room to join them at the dining table.
“What is it?” he whispered conspiratorially into Brian’s ears. Brian gave him an impish grin.
“It will take just few seconds, Mom. Come here and tune into my brain.” He pleaded.
Cara was instantly alert. After all, her recent favorite pastime beckoned. Reading people’s thoughts was what they had recently taught them in school. Though it required a lot of concentration and the person should be willing to share the thoughts with you, but she never missed a chance when opportunity arose. And she was getting better at it with practice.
They all wore their telepathy crown (gear) and started searching for the wavelength to match that of Brian’s brain. As soon as they got tuned, a picture flicked open. It was of Cara with a funny countenance eating porridge.
(Pic courtesy: shutterstock, google)
Grandpa was the first one to catch it and he chuckled. Brian beamed and turned to check his mom’s expressions, glaring at the image she gasped “Meme”. Cara was the last one to visualize and when she did, a frown creased her face and she started bawling.
“Cara, it’s just a joke darling” Grandpa consoled her.
“No dad, it’s not” Dorothy was annoyed. Cara looked pleased at her Mom’s reaction and stopped sobbing. “Brian, don’t you know memes are dead? I want you to instantly erase this stuff from your memory.”
“But, Mom…it’s so cool” Brian complained. “Let me at least show it to my friends at high school.”
“No ways” Cara wailed, she had a secret crush on Ron, Brian’s best friend. “Mom, ground him till the Martians attack us.”
“Shut up” Brian scoffed “That’s just a myth of yesteryear, there are no Martians, or we would have known by now.”
“Enough!Both of you” Dorothy scolded. “Brian, I want that thing erased right now! And memes have a reason to be banned. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
Brian sighed. Grandpa changed the topic, “Let’s have food. I’m hungry.” They all ate in silence.
Soon, it was bedtime and also time for Grandpa’s tales. No matter how grown up Cara and Brian felt, Grandpa’s stories were always fascinating for them.
“Today I am going to tell you a true story” Grandpa disclosed.
“Really Grandpa?” Cara asked wide eyed.
“Yes, the story about Memes and Martians” Grandpa smiled.
“See? I told you it was true” Cara smugly informed Brian.
“Come on, look at him, he is smiling, he’s just kidding you around.” Brian rolled his eyes
“I’ll let you decide” Grandpa’s eyes twinkled at him. They both sat eager in bed to hear him out.
“Long long time ago,” Grandpa looked at Brian “before you were born and your Mom had just finished her post graduation. If I remember correctly it was 2011 A.D.”
“Mom met Dad during graduation right?” Cara rhetorically supplied.
“The whole family knows that, Cara!” Brian exclaimed.
“Yes, sweetheart” Grandpa smiled, “But that’s for another time” he took a deep breath and continued “Mission Mars One was the talk of the planet. Different people from all over the world had applied for a one way trip to Mars.”
“Whoa! That’s interesting” Brian sounded enthusiastic.
“Very” Grandpa smiled endearingly. “Many were as enthusiastic as you, even your dad. And the number of people who applied ran in lakhs. That was around the year 2013. But only 40 of them were selected.”
“But how did they know whom to select?” Cara inquired.
“They took some tests to shortlist, checking their mental and physical state. And then, in 2015, they were enrolled for 8 years of vigorous training to survive in the space. They were supposed to built human civilization on their own and survive” Grandpa explained.
“Amazing!” Cara and Brian chorused and then grinned at each other.
“And finally, the year arrived - 2024, to send the first selected best for the journey which will change the history of mankind. That’s where the Meme comes in picture” Grandpa paused, his eyes brooding into the past, trying to recollect.
“Keep Calm and Carry On” Grandpa uttered in his reverie “the words told by our president to them, and that became a motto for the mission. Sponsors printed T shirts, Mugs, calendars and whatever they could get their hands on with that Motto.”
“Do you or Mom have any of the mementos?” Cara asked.
“Yes, we did. Everyone went crazy buying them to be a part of history. The Astronauts had every little thing they were taking along stamped with that motto.”
“Then? What happened? Why aren't we living on Mars yet?” Brain queried.
“Well, it took them around eight months to travel and reach Mars by 2025. Their journey was well documented by all the media. But, as soon as they landed, the communication stopped. There was a huge frenzy at that time, people wanted to know what happened. The families went berserk; protests were carried out outside president’s office.” Grandpa paused.
“Why didn't they send a search team after them?” Cara wondered.
“Nobody wanted to risk themselves after that, dear. And anyways it was a one way trip and the government had the documents signed, legally they were not bound. And morally, after the summit of all the nations involved, it was mutually decided to abort the mission for the welfare of mankind” Grandpa sighed and added “the families of the missing astronauts were adequately compensated.”
“Hmmm” Brian pondered “so it still is a mystery? Is that the reason why people stopped using memes?”
Grandpa smiled at him benevolently, “It could have been an adequate reason, but no, the hope that they had survived, kept the meme alive. The variation came about - Keep calm and wait for them,Keep calm and hope survives, and so on.”
“What killed the meme then?” Cara asked confused.
“After almost a year since they were gone, end of 2025, a message got delivered through the communication satellite.” Grandpa revealed.
“Wow! They were alive! What did it say?” Brian asked excited.
“Aliens exist. They have imprisoned us. Want us to reveal the name of our planet. Planning Revenge. The meme is their clue. Keep Calm and End this Meme. Stay safe.” Grandpa stonily replied.
“Oh!” Cara exclaimed.
“Yeah” Grandpa sighed “it was planned to end that meme from the face of the earth. Orders were passed unanimously. There were bonfires lit.We too participated in one where we destroyed our memoirs.”
“That explains” Brian mused.
“And that is how the lore started and it does have its roots in the truth. People stopped using memes altogether after that.” Grandpa solemnly asserted “Brian, I want you to promise me to never repeat what you did today.”
“I promise, Grandpa” Brian sincerely replied.
“Good” Grandpa’s smile was back, “now it’s time for bed. Good night, sleep tight.” He winked and both Cara and Brian responded, “don’t let the bedbugs bite.” All of them chortled.
Dorothy was standing at the door, with tears brimming in her eyes and a smile plastered on her face. “Thanks dad.”
Grandpa nodded, “shouldn't let Bob’s sacrifice go waste.”
“I would always be in debt of science which let me keep a part of Bob with me” Dorothy replied looking at her kids “If it was not for artificial insemination, things would have been very different.But I don’t think they are ready yet, to know about it.”
“That’s for another time.” Grandpa muttered to himself “Some other day, when they can understand.”
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(If you took the bait and didn't find it far-fetched, Keep Calm and Do vote for me. Link :http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/739650.html; My details - username :eternal_ot, Tribe1, 13th from top . Pardon the length. Feedback and concrits welcomed. Those interested in knowing more about Mission Mars One, here's the link :http://www.mars-one.com/)