The Millennial Garden

A satire about the current generation's lifestyle

            It was one of the coldest autumns Michael Justis had ever experienced, and death was still looming just beyond the hills. His grandparents, some of the last baby boomers, had passed on within the last few weeks and Michael still felt the sting of grief within his heart. His generation was now in their late thirties, but they still considered themselves to be young since modern medicine had lengthened their average life span. Michael still felt old though, and more alone than ever before. After all, he hadn’t even seen his parents in years because they had been taken away.

            The new world order crept up so quietly that nobody even foresaw it coming. It happened in such little insignificant moments, slowly draining the power from the old and giving it to the young that very few even noticed that all the power had shifted. The older generations stated that it was because the youth had technology on their side, or perhaps their generation was more radical than theirs. Whatever the reason for the shift, it had devastating and seemingly irreversible effects.

            Michael saw the towering walls in the distance and he knew that he would soon find what he was looking for. The bitter wind swept across his face and caused every bone in his body to go numb. Trudging on through the cold, he tried to remember a brighter time.

            Suddenly Michael was a young boy and he was in the most beautiful garden he had ever seen. A curvy, pale brick pathway was before him, with tall shrubs lining the sides. In every direction, the plant life was flourishing and delicate flowers were in bloom.  

            He began to walk as the birds in the trees above serenaded him. There were bright red roses with a light dew still resting on the petals before him. He also spotted some mustard colored marigolds nearby. After each discovery, he saw even more surprising beauty. Purple morning glories peeked out at him from the shrubbery. There were petunias, poppies, and pansies. There were pink and white larkspurs slowly swaying in the breeze. Everywhere he looked, he uncovered more flowers and plant life.

            Within minutes, refreshing aromas filled his nostrils. He could smell spring and honeysuckles and the sweet scent of nectar within the cool air. With every step, he inhaled a symphony of smells from the fragrant flora.

            As he walked onward, he passed through a section of rocky waterfalls where the mist hung in the air across the walkway and got him delightedly damp. Then five tiny butterflies floated in front of him and fluttered towards the vines that hung from an archway above the path.

            Michael was breathless. He could not imagine a more beautiful place. Even Eden would have a difficult time living up to its reputation when it was compared to this garden.   

            He stopped abruptly. All his visions disappeared instantly as the bitter wind swept across his face once more. The Millennial Garden stood before him.

            The walls beside the gate of the garden had a screen on it, with a few words from the creators on it scrolling across it in bright red letters. It read:

           

            Come one, come all to the greatest experience of ur lyfe. Here, in the Millennial Garden, we hav created the perfect paradise, free of rspnsblty, work, and haters. We hope u will enjoy this heaven on earth that we hav wrked so hard to create! NO OLDZ ALLWD!

-Yo boy, Montana Falco and yo girl, Summer Nuvo.   

           

            Michael directed his eyes from the screen to the top of the walls and noticed that there was barbed wire protruding from them. He wondered if in fact the wires were for keeping unwelcome visitors out or if they were for keeping the current residents in. He also saw a camera on the corner of the wall rotate in sync with his movements when he passed beneath the gate. Staring deep within the lenses, he wondered if someone was actually watching his every move on a surveillance screen somewhere.

            Michael entered the Millennial Garden, which stretched as far as he could see. Just after he passed through, the gate shut angrily behind him and Michael squirmed with uneasiness. He was trapped now.

            Michael observed the inside of the Millennial Garden for the first time.

            Electrical wires snaked around steel towers like vines wrapped around tall trees, while gargantuan television screens were displayed across the sides of the towers, like great blankets of moss on the sides of a building, playing various videos from the internet. Michael also noticed that the towers had no real windows. Instead, the windows were all painted on.

            Stepping stones were planted across the never-ending field of asphalt, which Michael noticed was adorned with signs to keep off of it. They encircled cell-phone shaped fountains and artistic metal structures in the shapes of flowers and trees, which were surely sprayed with artificial scents to seem more realistic. Most likely, they got the idea from scented gardens, where the blind could have other senses than their sight stimulated, but their purpose seemed slightly distorted. However, this illusion sadly could have fooled any blind man.

            Michael could not help but notice the ever present music playing from small speakers in the ground, which repeated only the newest music. After all, newer was always better. Naturally, it did not take long for his head to start throbbing with the combined blasting of the music from the speakers, the beeping from the cell phone fountains, and the videos from the sides of the buildings.

            He decided to keep walking in hope that he could find any trace of life, even though he felt less human with every step. After deeming the signs to keep of the asphalt a joke, he began walking farther into the garden. He would have been more courteous had he feared that the creators of the garden hired security. He knew better than that though, because having security guards would require them to actually work.

            Stepping forward, Michael felt the crunch of a metal leaf below his feet. It was nearing winter, so only a few of the metal structures still had leaves attached to their silvery branches. At least his generation was aware of this one aspect of nature.

            After many minutes of silently soaking in his surroundings, Michael came to the conclusion that the Millennial Garden was void of life, at least outside the steel towers. Not even a hum of a bumble bee or a twittering of a bird could be heard. This wasn’t surprising to him though. Only the people tweeted these days.

            Dark clouds began to form above the garden and Michael knew that a storm would soon be approaching. He decided to enter one of the large steel towers. Not only would he be able to escape the rain, but he hoped that he would be able to get some answers as well.

            Michael entered the nearest tower and made his way over to the reception desk, where a pale woman with dark rimmed glasses and dark brown hair sat with her head in her lap. He was impressed by the mere fact that work ethic had survived after all.

            “Excuse me, I am looking for something and I was wondering if you could help me.”

            Her eyes were still focused below her and it was almost as if she had not even heard Michael.

            “Excuse me,” he repeated.

            Suddenly, she looked up and deep lines of annoyance covered her face. “Sir, I heard you the first time. I’m obviously busy, so you’re just going to have to wait.”

            Several seconds passed and then her neck snapped up.

            “Someone needs to learn a few manners,” the receptionist retorted.

            Michael ignored her rudeness. He hadn’t come this far just to take out his anger on a petty receptionist. He needed answers. He needed them now.

            “Can I interest you in a free phone? Complete with apps for every occasion!”

            “No thanks, I--”

            “Perhaps you want to see the workout area? Oh, but I’m afraid the only equipment we have available is the Wii Thrii.”

            “No, I--”

            “No, I didn’t think so. Perhaps you would like the regular gaming area? We’re proud to say that we finally have Playstation 5 and the Xbox 720 available.”

             “Aren’t we a little old for all this?”

            “Some would say so. Maybe I could interest you in--”

            “Let me save you some time. Where are the old?”

            “The Oldz? That’s top secret information. Not even I’m allowed to know.”

            “Who does know then?” asked Michael.

            “Nobody. Well, I guess Montana and Summer know. They’re probably busy though,” said the receptionist, as her head dropped back down to her lap. She was responding to another text.

            “Well, where can I find them?”

            No response.

            “Excuse--”

            “I heard you for God’s sakes! They’re in the room on the top floor.”

            Michael did not bother to thank her. He left almost immediately, heading towards the elevator at the end of the long hallway.

            He passed many clear glass rooms full of hundreds of people. One room contained a computer lab, which had a sign above the door that read “Where instant gratification is just one click away”.

            Every computer was filled with people surfing the internet, listening to music, writing their blogs, and social networking. There were not many electrical outlets in this room though, so multiple cords were plugged into the same sockets. It looked like a tremendous fire hazard to Michael. He didn’t bother to stop and say anything though, because a deafening clatter of fingers on keyboards filled his ears as he passed by.             Another room appeared to be a cafeteria. Hoards of overweight people were stuffing their faces with the greasiest meat Michael had ever seen in his life. At least, it appeared to be meat.

            He also spied a happy couple on a date when he passed. One of them was talking on their cell phone while the other was playing with their iPhone. They both appeared to be enjoying themselves though and would surely stay together for a long time.

            Michael finally reached the elevator, which was extremely crowded. Instantly, he regretted not taking the stairs because he was sardined in a tight, chatter-filled space for at least forty floors. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the silent top floor because he no longer had a young woman screaming Lady Gaga at the top of her lungs in his ears.

            He was about to enter the room that belonged to the cofounders of the Millennial Garden. It was their dream that turned his whole world upside-down; a dream that created a new society where people only loved technology.

            Montana and Summer’s room was the only room on the top floor. When he entered it, he realized that it was probably the biggest room in the whole building. It looked as if it was a fancy palace, with elegant chandeliers hung from the ceiling and large portraits of scantily clad women were displayed on the walls.

            He spotted them both on their bed, which was about the size of the average backyard swimming pool. Montana was entranced in a football game, while Summer was painting her toenails a bright pink color.

            “Excuse me. I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but I need to ask you something,” said Michael firmly.

            “Oh, not at all, sweetie,” replied Summer. “Well, if you had come a few minutes ago, you would have been interrupting. We just had sex!” She giggled and then said, “We’re so in love! Aren’t we, Montana?”

            Montana merely grunted. His eyes never left the television screen.

            Michael could not hold in his anger any longer.

            “Look at yourselves! This is pathetic!” yelled Michael.

            Summer’s eyes grew wide in-between her clumps of mascara, while Montana finally tore his eyes away from the TV screen.

            “This is a horrible place you’ve created! Everyone is rude and self-centered and completely dehumanized. It’s like you’ve created a cold, lonely prison for heartless robots to take refuge here! I don’t understand how you can live like this! You have no nature, no culture, no art, or history, or education, or government, or anything constructive. We are all adults now. So we need to start acting like adults!” shouted Michael in an angry rage.

            “How dare you insult our beautiful creation!” shouted Summer. “Everyone loves it here and if you can’t recognize what is best for you than you should get out and never come back!”

            “No. I won’t leave just yet,” said Michael. “I’m not leaving until every tower in this wretched place is torn down!”

            “If you don’t wish to leave, then we do have a special place for you here"in prison with the Oldz!” shouted Summer.

            “Good! They are the ones that I’ve been trying to find anyway. They’re the only ones who understand what it truly means to be alive. With their help, I’ll bring this place crashing to the ground!”

            Just as Michael shouted this, Montana came charging at him. Michael was prepared to fight, but he had no chance. Montana pulled out a taser and within an instant, Michael was on the ground, convulsing violently.

           

            Michael awoke in a small prison cell. A dim light shone down upon him, but it was enough to illuminate his nearby surroundings. He quickly realized that he was not alone though. Standing before him in a bright orange prison suit was an old man who appeared to be in his late eighties.

            “I’m sorry that Summer and Montana captured you. You don’t deserve to be in a place like this,” the man said.

            “Thanks, and neither do you. I’m Michael by the way.”

            “And I am Charles,” the old man said as he smiled and shook Michael’s hand.

            “Nice to meet you.”         

            “Likewise, my boy. Why did you come here anyways though? Nobody cares for the elderly anymore. Everyone thinks that we aren’t of any use. Something tells me that you’re different from all the others here though. You seem alive, yet you seem like you are carrying the entire weight of the world on your shoulders.”

            “I don’t know what I was thinking, Charles” Michael began. “I thought I could just come to this place and free all of the elderly people that they imprisoned. And then I thought that I could destroy this garden by tearing down every last tower. I wanted to destroy this society and bring things back to how they used to be.”

            “Ah, I see. I guess that makes you an old soul in a young man’s body. I wouldn’t be too down on yourself just yet though. There’s always hope for those who seek it.”

            To Michael’s amazement, Charles held out a key in his old, wrinkled hand.

            “How did you--?”

           Charles smiled.

            “When they brought you in the cell, I reached into the guard’s pocket and grabbed a spare key. He was too busy listening to his music to even notice.”

            “Why didn’t you just leave sooner? You could have freed yourself!” Michael exclaimed.

            “I wanted to wait until you woke up so that you could join me in my exodus. Plus, I’m not as young as I used to be. There is still a security guard at the end of the hallway that we must deal with.”

            Michael peered between the bars of his cell and saw the security guard rocking back in forth in his chair. He had a pair of headphones in and was playing air guitar to accompany his music. His eyes were transfixed on the surveillance screens in front of him and most importantly, his back was turned to their cell.

            “Alright, I’ll take care of him. Just follow me,” said Michael.

            He reached around to the lock on the cell and placed the key inside it. After wiggling it a few times, he was able to open the door. Slowly, he pushed the door forward, praying that it wouldn’t squeak and ruin their escape. Then he began walking toward the security guard.

            He came close enough to touch him and then Michael tapped him on the shoulder.

            The security guard nearly had a heart attack as he spun around in his chair violently. Before he could realize who had touched him, Michael landed his fist in the man’s face. The man shrieked and then fell to the floor, sending his chair spinning in the opposite direction. Then Michael grabbed the man off of the ground and dragged him into the cell that he and Charles just broke out of. He flailed his arms to try to free himself from Michael’s grip, but he was unsuccessful. Finally, Michael relocked the cell and left the guard in there, as Charles snatched the rest of his keys.

            “Alright, you go free the rest of the prisoners. I’m going to check out these surveillance screens to see if I can get us out of here without being seen.”

            Michael was now facing a wall with about fifteen different screens built into it. Views from all over the garden could be seen, including one at the entrance where he had seen the camera earlier. Something caught his eye right away though as emergency sirens began to blare through the prison cell.

            “Charles, come here, quick!”

            Charles walked over to Michael as fast as he could.

            The two of them stared intently at the surveillance screens which showed the towers and metal structures beginning to burn. Frozen in disbelief with their mouths hanging open, they watched the buildings collapse within a matter of minutes. Above them, they could feel the ground quaking where the towers were crashing down. Apparently they were structurally unsound, and the builders had not fixed this problem because that would have delayed the grand opening of the garden.

            Michael instantly recognized one of the buildings that was collapsing. It was the tower that he had been in earlier. He knew without a doubt that all the plugs in that computer lab had started an electrical fire and it had gotten out of control. He didn’t need a plan to destroy the Millennial Garden after all.

            He continued to watch the screens as the sirens echoed a futile alert. He could see hundreds of people running out onto the streets, screaming and crying for help. Nobody would ever hear their cries though. It was too late. Their human contact had been truly disconnected, even though that had been already long gone. No one would here there cry except for Michael and Charles because there was nobody else around. Soon the fire would overcome the whole garden and their whole existence would disappear in a cloud of smoke.

            “How could this happen?” asked Michael, stunned in disbelief. “They’re all going to die in that fire.”

            “They caused their own destruction, Michael. They’re just getting what they deserve.”

            “Yeah, I suppose so. I just don’t know where they all went wrong.”

            “I’m afraid it all began with my generation and just got worse from there. Nobody knew how to control their children or how to effectively discipline them and the children were not willing to listen to any form of authority. The combination of these two habits probably brought on this mess,” said Charles.

            He paused for a moment and then sighed.

            “It’s a terrible tragedy, really. They lived by the machines, so naturally, they died by the machines.”