Genre Gala: Science Fiction: A Tale of the Past

A/N: This is a story of the world thousands of years after ours. My italic notes will help you realise the context hidden in this new world as you read.

A background: In this new age, the earth's continents are divided into 11 separate divisions known as agrums. This story begins in the seventh agrum.

3034 (The humans now use a system of time that involves counting from the moment they have traced back their age to, which, between you and me is 4325 CE)

Aemillia walked out of her studiatorium, shadows underneath her eyes. As she approached the panel across the corridor from her, the retinal scanner affixed to it read her eyes and the panel slid up, giving Aemillia access to a room very few people in the world were authorised to visit. (Humans now use panels, not doors, and studiatorium is the word for laboratory originating from latin word studium)

The man sitting in the workstation turned. Shef's brown hair, upturned nose, childish smile and twitchy sixth finger was a facade that hid his true nature: an indagator of high intelligence and one of the world's progressive archaeologists. (Workstations are advanced desks, with chairs and drawers which are part of the integrated technology and function as one unit, a genetic mutation caused during the developement of the humans of this age gives them all six fingers, the word for researcher is indagator)

"Aemillia! How are you doing?"

"I'm tired, Shef. I came in to ask you if we could grab some berry."

"Sure, but I want to tell you about the new lead I found first." Shef beckoned her closer to his workstation.

(Berry is the new popular drink now, like coffee made from dried blueberries)

Aemillia stood behind Shef as he pulled open a compartment on his workstation. He pulled out a hydrogen box containing what seemed to be a stack of paper bound by strings and some adhesive.

Aemillia gasped. "A book!"

Shef nodded proudly. "I found it at an excavation in the third agrum. It was already in a hydrogen box. I've got it scanned, but didn't want to read it until you were here. Have a seat." He gestured beside him, the workstation control on his arm whirred as a small extra seat popped out from the workstation.

Aemillia sat down beside Shef as he pulled out a small device and set it on the desk top. It emitted a high-pitch noise before projecting a holographic screen which showed the book they had just seen. Shef flicked a finger, and the page of the book flipped to reveal lined pages filled with small, uneven writing.

"That's handwritten!" Aemillia said, recognising the usage of ink. "It must be someone's diary or something." 

"Read it out, Aemillia. This might just be the biggest discovery of this time, and the honor is yours."

"It would be my pleasure." Aemillia smiled. 

Aemillia read through most of the diary. It described details of the previous age, and the girl's increasing worry about an upcoming war. The last few pages had been left empty, but the last written page left Aemillia shaking.

5th April, 3006, Thursday

My heart is shaking, literally. It feels like the door could crash open and I'd be shot at any moment. If even one atom bomb is released, it won't just be World War 3, it will be the end of the world. Humans will be wiped out. Peace is going to the dogs. I hope, whatever intelligent beings of the future find this will learn a few lessons about peace. 

I have hidden such books in hydrogen boxes all over the world. The key tof

The house will burn any moment. Sorry I couldn't complete it. Remember me.

Remember Daiyu Zhu.