{"id":1504,"date":"2016-06-08T10:25:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-08T15:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1504"},"modified":"2016-06-12T07:21:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-12T12:21:40","slug":"buck-rogers-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1504","title":{"rendered":"Buck Rogers – Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buck Rogers<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 4<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Buck followed Wilma as they entered one of the shopping areas I the building. They had gone up to the hundredth floor and Wilma seemed to know exactly where she was going.\u00a0 He noticed there were few people around as they entered one clothing shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Colonel Deering, a pleasure to see you again,\u201d a man said dressed in what appeared to be a suit. \u201cHow can I help you today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need a suit, or something to go to a press conference for him,\u201d Wilma said pointing to Buck.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I can see why, rags he\u2019s wearing, what century did you get that, the twentieth?\u201d the man replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty-first,\u201d Buck replied back completely honest watching the man blink before moving back to the shelves of clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s see, he appears to be a men\u2019s size ten,\u201d the man said.<\/p>\n

Buck was about to say something but caught himself, he would wait. Ten seemed too small but numbers might have changed over the years, and actually he wore a large shirt.\u00a0 The man shoved a few articles of clothes in his hand and maneuvered him to an area he could change.<\/p>\n

Clothing had not seemed to have changed much in four hundred years, things still looked pretty much the same, then again, there was little change it could do. The material was actually comfortable as he slipped the shirt and pants on before exiting out to a securitizing Wilma who looked the outfit over.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it will do, thanks,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

Buck looked at the mirror, it was a bit plain to him, but he seemed to fit in a lot more now. He looked over to see Wilma talking with the guy before looking back over at Buck.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I promised you something to eat, come on,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLead on,\u201d Buck said, somehow feeling the roles were reversed when taking a beautiful woman out to eat.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome back anytime colonel, and you too captain,\u201d the man said. \u201cI daresay I will be seeing you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, yeah,\u201d Buck said as they headed back to the elevators and down to the lowest level and they walked out of the building. Buck looked out seeing they were actually close to the ocean, or that\u2019s what he assumed by the smells as they entered a building which he recognized as a seafood restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more things change the more they stay the same,\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Wilma asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, the smells of the ocean, that is the Atlantic?\u201d Buck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, New DC sits close to the site of old Washington DC as you knew it,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how large is the NAA?\u201d Buck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take up most of what used to be the United States of America, Canaanda and Mexico,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCananada, you mean Canada?\u201d Buck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, something like that,\u201d Wilma replied. \u201cI looked it up for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, impressive, are all the towns like this?\u201d Buck asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, a large building serves as housing and retail minimizing the footprint on the Earth allowing for nature to take back the land. Scientists deemed a major contribution to global warming was actually the paving of grasslands.\u00a0 Of course we\u2019ve also decreased the levels of what you called greenhouse gases, and worked to fix the damage which had been done,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

Buck gave a slight whistle as the waiter came over to get their drinks. Buck ordered water unsure what was good, it would be an experiment, and something he wasn\u2019t willing to do just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo cave man, what\u2019s is like being so old?\u201d Wilma asked with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery funny,\u201d Buck said leaning back for several seconds. \u201cIt\u2019s strange to know everything you knew is, in a way, gone.\u00a0 This morning I expected to make the future, not be in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched the waiter return before Wilma ordered something for both of them as he wondered what the future would hold.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Buck looked out at thee people in front of him. They had arrived a bit early and the Chancellor spoke with him for a few minutes before they headed out to face the reporters.\u00a0 He hoped in the four hundred years they had gotten some manners, or at least improved with their questions.<\/p>\n

So he listened as the Chancellor spoke about what happened earlier in the day with the Rizonian Empire and that there had been a test from the past which had come to the present. The problem had been resolved peacefully and nothing further would happen other than a joint investigation into what had happened with the experimental craft, the Enterprise, sent out by an old Earth organization called NASA.<\/p>\n

Several reporters asked some questions about the matter which the Chancellor answered briefly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re all anxious to meet our latest hero from the past, I present to you Captain William \u2018Buck\u2019 Rogers,\u201d the Chancellor said motioning for Buck to stand and take the podium.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, hello, I\u2019m Captain Rogers, or Buck if you like,\u201d Buck said to the group, unsure what to say to them. \u201cI guess I\u2019ll just take some questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several raised their hands and he finally picked one sitting in the front row, a pretty blonde.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you feel about being in the future?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m not that sure yet, I\u2019ve hardly been here for long. I mean to me this morning I was back in 2021 about to undertake an experiment, not some sort of time travel machine to the future,\u201d Buck answered.\u00a0 \u201cI guess there is a lot for me to figure out, like computers and robots, not used to those walking and talking to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat were things like before the internet?\u201d someone else shouted out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, you\u2019d have to ask my parents or grandparents,\u201d Buck answered. \u201cI imagine it\u2019s changed quite a bit though from what I\u2019m used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you trying to start a war with the Rizonian Empire?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not!\u201d Buck replied to the question a bit angrily. \u201cI never even heard of them before my flight and ended up in their territory.\u00a0 No one in the twentieth century had ever heard of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you planning to do next?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, well I don\u2019t know,\u201d Buck replied honestly, a question he had given some thought to already but had come up blank. \u201cI suppose I could help a bit with history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s one of the biggest difference between now and then?\u201d another reporter asked.<\/p>\n

Buck gave that some thought as well, there were a lot of differences. \u201cI guess space travel, and how your cities are laid out, they sprawl upwards instead of out on the ground, and they are all connected.\u00a0 And a big one, no cars in sight anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several reporters shouted out their questions at once which he couldn\u2019t hear. He waited for a few seconds for the shouting to die down before pointing to another reporter to hear his question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think of being a celebrity from the past now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Buck chuckled at that question and something he had actually been expecting. It was one of the few questions he actually could answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still getting used too many things here, your technology and such and getting around, but when it comes to being a celebrity, that was something I had been anticipating and preparing for since the first day I was selected to undertake the flight,\u201d Buck said \u00a0\u201cI mean it\u2019s not every day you are selected and trained to become the first person to travel the speed of light.\u00a0 To you its common technology, back then it was cutting edge tech and theories.\u00a0 So I had been prepared to everything including a list of places I would head to if I was able to return back to Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean if you could return?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there was no guarantee that the FTL drive would work perfectly twice and the target was the moon, not a close even in 2021, unlike today where you have a city on the moon,\u201d Buck said, recalling that from the TV he had seen, a news report said something about it. \u201cI\u2019m glad they continued the technology after what they perceived as a failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think of the city on the moon?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fabulous,\u201d Buck replied. \u201cI hope to visit it someday.\u201d<\/p>\n

He took a few more question which were not that difficult to answer before finally ending the press conference. He felt a bit excited and wondered what his new status in society would be after everything as he walked into the room where Twiki, Doctor Theopolis and Wilma were all waiting for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did quite well captain,\u201d Theopolis said first.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiggy biggy, good job Buck,\u201d Twiki stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Buck said amazed to get a compliment from a robot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what do you think of the reporters?\u201d Wilma asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDifferent,\u201d Buck said grabbing some water. \u201cUm, do you have coffee in the future?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, do you want some?\u201d Theopolis answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but I will in the morning,\u201d Buck answered glad somethings hadn\u2019t changed at all. He would need that caffeine boost in the morning for sure after everything that happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been assigned to help you get acclimated to the future,\u201d Wilma said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat won\u2019t interfere with your normal duties?\u201d Buck asked not wanting to put a burden on her normal duties.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, with things peaceful it\u2019s easy, though I still need to do some training,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see that,\u201d Buck said as a thought came to him for a second, perhaps he could use his old training in the air force to do something here. It was something he would look into later on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe might be able to arrange that,\u201d Wilma said. \u201cTomorrow will be busy, you\u2019ve got a morning show to do, and a lunch news cast after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeet and greet the locals,\u201d Buck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething like that, come on, we\u2019ll get you back to your apartment,\u201d Wilma said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds good, I\u2019m beat, if you pardon the pun, it\u2019s been a long day,\u201d Buck said with a yawn. To him this morning had been heading out to start an experiment never expecting to be somewhere in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I shall see you in the morning, good-night captain,\u201d Theopolis said. \u201cCome on Twiki, we have a meeting to attend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat!\u201d Twiki said, and Buck wondered how a robot could sound any less than enthusiastic to doing something as he watched them leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Wilma said as they left the room and headed to the transportation floor.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Buck sipped on his coffee, a nice smooth blend and thought back to this morning when he had been awaken way too early by a way too cheerful Wilma. They had to get to the news program early in the morning to prepare for the segment he would be on.\u00a0 The only good part of the entire waking up process had been Wilma had coffee with her, along with some breakfast pastry which reminded him a lot of doughnuts.<\/p>\n

He looked on at the set, which seemed very typical to something he would see back home when he was interviewed before heading out to undertake the mission. There were lights, cameras, though they were smaller, but the room changed little to bring about the best lighting and sounds.\u00a0 The set looked impressive on TV, but in real life, much less than impressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp next, a blast from the past, a man who comes to us from the year 2021, someone you\u2019ve all heard of, Captain William Rogers,\u201d one of the hosts said as buck heard, \u2018and break\u2019 before everyone relaxed.<\/p>\n

He was led to an end of the table, given a chair, which was actually comfortable to sit on, before looking at the others around him. Two women and a man made up the news show.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything we can\u2019t ask captain?\u201d one asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly I don\u2019t know, probably family, still have to get used to that one,\u201d Buck said, it was the one thing had yet to really come to terms with. So far it felt more like he had gone away somewhere and would return back home to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d she replied as the producer suddenly came to life telling them how many seconds they had left before they were back on air.<\/p>\n

End part 4<\/p>\n

Continued in part 5<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buck Rogers by AJ Marks Part 4 Buck followed Wilma as they entered one of the shopping areas I the building. They had gone up to the hundredth floor and Wilma seemed to know exactly where she was going.\u00a0 He noticed there were few people around as they entered one clothing shop. \u201cAh, Colonel Deering, […]
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