Cycle (Back to 2000s

The sky in the year 8000 isn’t blue. It’s silver. Not dull, not flat — but smooth and reflective, like liquid metal stretched across the world. Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to touch it, even though I know it isn’t real. It’s engineered. Controlled. Perfect. Everything is. I press my hand against the glass wall of the learning dome and stare out at the floating platforms drifting in the distance. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Each one carrying part of what’s left of humanity. No oceans. No continents. Just structures suspended in air. This is what Earth became. My bracelet pulses softly against my wrist. Calm detected. Curiosity: high. Compliance: stable. Of course it notices. It always notices. I pull my sleeve down over it, even though that doesn’t actually hide anything. The system sees everything — emotions, thoughts, reactions. They say it keeps society stable. Sometimes it just feels like I’m being watched breathe. “Today,” Professor Aelius announces, his voice echoing through the dome, “we begin our study of the 2500 Collapse.” My attention snaps forward instantly. This is it. Around me, students shift in their seats, some interested, most not. But for me… this is everything. History isn’t just something that already happened. It’s something that matters. Something that explains why we live like this. Why the sky isn’t real. Why the ground doesn’t exist anymore. “Holo-feed, begin.” The lights dim, and the world changes. Old Earth appears in front of us — green, blue, alive. My breath catches before I can stop it. Oceans stretch endlessly. Land looks… solid. Real. Beautiful. Then it starts to break. Storms swallow entire coastlines. The ground splits open like it’s tearing itself apart. Cities collapse into darkness. Water boils, rises, disappears. The Collapse. Even though I’ve seen recordings before, it still hits the same way — like watching something die that you never got to meet. I lean forward slightly, trying to catch every detail. What caused it? What was the moment everything went wrong? “We have theories,” Professor Aelius continues, “but no definitive answer.” That frustrates me. There has to be one. There’s always a reason. “And now,” he says, pausing just long enough for the room to go completely still, “you will observe the era firsthand.” For a second, I don’t understand what he means. Then the room erupts. Whispers. Gasps. Someone actually drops their stylus. Time travel? My bracelet vibrates sharply. Excitement: elevated. Stability: retained. I press my lips together, trying not to smile too much. This is more than I ever expected. More than I thought they’d allow. And then— “Oh look.” My stomach drops instantly. I don’t even have to turn my head. “Mira’s about to cry over history again,” Casey Thorn says loudly. Laughter follows her like it always does. I keep my eyes forward. Don’t react. Don’t give her anything. That’s how I survive. Casey leans closer anyway. I can feel it without looking. “What are you going to do?” she continues. “Go back in time and lecture people until they don’t destroy the planet?” More laughter. My fingers curl slightly against the desk. I focus on my breathing. In. Out. Stay calm. My bracelet stays blue. Good. “Partner assignments,” Professor Aelius announces. My heart skips. Please not— “Mira Solen… paired with Casey Thorn.” Everything stops. I turn my head slowly. Casey looks just as shocked as I feel. “What?” she snaps immediately. “That’s a mistake.” “It is not,” Aelius replies calmly. “The system selects optimal developmental pairings.” Of course it does. The bracelet system. The one that decides everything for us. Casey looks like she’s about to argue again, but her bracelet flashes red. Aggression detected. Compliance risk. She stops. I swallow hard. This is actually happening. I’m going into the past. With her. Casey leans toward me again, her voice low this time. “You stay out of my way.” I finally look at her. “I don’t want to be near you either,” I say. For a second, she looks surprised. So am I. Professor Aelius continues speaking, but I barely hear him. My mind is already racing ahead. Time travel. The Collapse. Answers. And Casey. Always Casey. “Tomorrow,” Aelius says, “your chrono-immersion begins.” Tomorrow. My chest tightens — not just with fear, but something else. Something bigger. I glance out at the silver sky again. It reflects everything perfectly… but shows nothing real. Maybe that’s why I care so much about the past. Because somewhere back there— The sky was real. And tomorrow… I’m going to see it.