Earth Biome
A story by Christian Gutierrez on October 15th, 2012
Dedicated to my grandparents Doris & Joe Iwamura
Earth Biome
Christian Adam Gutierrez
Copyright 2012 Christian Adam Gutierrez
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Prologue
Chapter 1 - The Interview
Chapter 2 - The Mission
Chapter 3 - I am Joe Iwamura
Chapter 4 - The Discovery
Chapter 5 - The Core Manipulator Complex
Chapter 6 - Escape
Chapter 7 - The Guardian’s Point of View
Chapter 8 - Marine Corps Air Base
Chapter 9 - The Race to Space
Chapter 10 - Awakening
Prologue
The day began like it did everyday for the past fifteen years. I got out of my bed, went to eat breakfast, and watched the latest broadcast. Then I went to my motorized vehicle and logged my card in the side panel which started the engine. I was afraid at first, because I hadn’t thought there would be a Guardian out front today till about 8:00. Like almost every teen, I had hacked the car’s auto-pilot so I could actually drive. As I backed out of the driveway, it seemed like the longest ten seconds of my life. For the first time I actually saw the Guardian, I admired the beautiful soft golden armor that seemed to flow around his tall figure with the black material connecting the suit together. While I drove with my knees, I managed a faint smile. His staff was in his right hand which pulsated with a blue and black glow. I could see through the seamless helmet into his eyes feeling as if he were looking into my soul. He nodded his head and I sped off into the morning and didn’t look back.
Chapter 1: The Interview
Today’s schooling assignment was to write a paper about anything to do with family history. It was an exciting task since most kids were discouraged from learning about history. Soon after my grandmother agreed to help with an interview, I arrived at her retirement suite. All I thought about during the ride up the elevator was using my new iPhone to record the interview. Despite I was very interested to see what my grandmother Doris Iwamura had to say, I hadn’t thought about what questions I would ask. I couldn’t help but notice the Guardian patrolling the halls, checking on every elderly person to make sure they were ‘ok.’ I wondered if the people here felt a sense of security or intrusion. When I arrived to her unit, the door was unlocked and I entered the beautiful room. The smell of semi-new furniture filled my nose as I admired the beautifully colored white and tan walls. It was late in the afternoon but my grandmother had already rested. She was very eager to do the interview. My first question had to do with how she met her husband Joe, who is also full Japanese.
“How exactly did to meet your husband Joe Iwamura?” I said.
“I met your grandpa, when he came to apply for a job at my parent’s dry cleaning shop. They had a big dry cleaning shop in Kailua. So he came to my parent’s dry-cleaning shop to look for a job and he met aunt Florence. It just so happened that the delivery driver quit and there was a job opening. I wasn’t even aware of it and he kept saying, Oh I can’t remember where exactly so you have to teach me some more (laughs.) So he kept saying oh you have to keep teaching me because I don’t know where to deliver the clothes you know. But he had an alterier motive. And thats how we fell in love. And got married.” I could tell she was having quite a good time.
“And when did you guys get married?”
“In 1952, 61 years ago. That’s a long time ago.”
During the interview, I learned many new things about the lives of my mother’s grandparents including very surprising events. Doris sat on her favorite soft fabric chair where she always used to read the Sunday paper next to my grandfather Joe. That was until he was moved to the medical side of the retirement home, where they would treat his Alzheimer’s disease. Whenever I think of my grandfather, I picture the strong man who held me in his arms while I played with the plastic pirate ship sailing the carpeted seas years ago. Now he is weak and frail. When the move happened, I couldn’t tell if it was a relief or a tragedy that struck my grandmother. Lone and behold, her strong personality and ageless skin leave no trace of such an event while she answered each question without hesitation.
Originally, I thought my grandfather was nothing but an average ‘Joe.’ A Japanese American who spent most of his time as an architect or engineer while participating in the Pearl Harbor clean-up crew. Now I know from my grandmother that: “He was working at the Marine Corps Air Station in the field of engineering.” She didn’t have any further details about what his work was about since he never talked about it. This story however, prompted much interest in the military involvement of my grandfather. I decided to do some quick research on my phone. Quickly I pulled up the Marine Corps Air Station. It was just a boat harbor where people worked to “keep the peace,” a saying of the Guardians who do just that. Despite the roots of the word military are rather violent, it is just a term to refer to hard working people that actually don’t kill. Again, thanks to the Guardians.
My grandmother later went on to say: “He was working for a private company--I think it was called Mid Pacific.” There were no specific projects she remembered he worked on with that company other than it involved many late nights. However, she had told me the Marine Air Station used to be the air station for the Navy prior to the great event. Which was the aversion of a second world war thanks to the Guardians. Not only that but I found out my grandfather was a technical Sergeant in the Army, again, until the Guardians deemed the standing army did not need weapons. My grandfather, Joe Iwamura, served in the occupational forces in Kyoto Japan for two years. Now I can connect the dots to figure out where the U.S. army pins he had given me as a gift came from.
Later, I remembered my grandparents avoided the internment camps and I wanted to know how. My mother’s family was neighbors to the Chief of The Guardians, (A.K.A.) Mr. Burns, who later became the Governor of Hawaii. In addition, I learned that my great grandfather was a prisoner on one of Oahu’s internment camps, and very lucky to be there. There was an order to have him shipped out to California however the Chief of The Guardians prevented that from happening. That way my grandmother and her family of eight could visit him every Sunday, going from the King Kamehameha statue and taking a heavily armed bus to the rural facility. “It was old barracks that they build and it was just full of internees with not only Japanese people but there were Germans, Italian POW’s,” my grandmother said. Despite my best efforts, I felt she had given me all she could and I would have to look elsewhere to find something to write about.
The next stop was at my grandfather’s room in the medical side of the facility. It was not a hospital, but a facility that had more medical support for the people living there. My grandfather has Alzheimer’s which is a disease that limits his short term memory. Often he is confused where he is or what he is doing, but he always remembers who I am. After I entered his room, I saw him sleeping and I knew it was almost time for dinner so it wouldn’t hurt to wake him. When he came to, he mistook me for his son John, who is now an adult. Rather than trying to bring him to reality, I saw the situation as an opportunity.
* * * *
Chapter 2: The Mission
“Son, how are you. Theres something I need you to do. I believe we've talked about this before. It’s time, I have the proof. You need to complete the mission, find the briefcase. Do it now! They. . . are. . . (Wheeze). . .coming for me,” said my grandfather. His voice was raspy, enunciating the ‘f’ heavily. I didn’t know if this was just another event of his Alzheimer’s disease but I knew I needed that briefcase. Whatever was in it may have been more than just a story to write about. Wh
ere was it? Something I should have asked him before driving to the other side of the island to the house he built and later sold. It was the only place he could have hid it back in the early sixties. About ten years after he married my grandmother, his children including John would have lived there.
During the long drive I could only imagine how life must have been back then. I remembered the sketch of the Kailua Town Center where my grandfather grew up. It is hanging in my mother’s house. There is also a tree in the sketch that is a lot smaller in real life. The beautifully designed Japanese style house was a mystery to me. I wondered how he built it. There must have been workers under his command, just how I pictured him. After all, in his later years he was a renowned architect working on many buildings in Honolulu.
The owners of the house were kind. Jim and Vanessa Hudson who gladly let me inside. They gave me time to explain what was going on. They had renovated the inside of the house by rebuilding the walls, however there was one wall that looked oddly original. After close examination of the blueprints, which were signed by my grandfather himself, I noticed the center column was the only wall that didn’t look new. That is where it must be I thought. However, would they really let me open it up. So I decided to ask, “Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, this briefcase means a lot to me and if it is in there it could contain something valuable to our family and its history. You know its just something that may be there, and if it is it would be so amazing?” The Hudsons agreed to allow me to open the wall, since they discussed earlier that it may also be of benefit to later rebuild the wall anyways. However, there were no tools to use to open the wall, so I used a kitchen knife to rip it open like a hacksaw, a complete mess. The briefcase fell out of the wall’s hollow cavity landing on the floor with a metal clank leaving an inch deep gash in their new wood flooring. It was conspicuous in nature. There was a blue glow emitting from either side and a faint blinking light appeared near the handle. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Likewise, I opened the case in front of them. The sliding mechanism was easy to figure out. A pressurized hiss emitted as the case was opened revealing a plethora of metallic devices and glass panels. In the center of the case I pressed a glowing blue button which brought everything to life, the panels glowed and holographic screens appeared, it was breathtaking. The first thing I noticed was a small screen that had a recording of my grandfather. The recording began to play. I knew it was a digital journal yet, it was hard to understand what was going on, he was so young.
* * * *
Chapter 3: I am Joe Iwamura
“My name is Joe Iwamura,” I said into the recording device I had stolen when I escaped the Guardians. I hoped these recordings would be found when needed most. “These digital recordings will document the events following my days after escaping the Core Manipulator Complex and will serve as proof to incriminate the Prime Guardian. However, I still need to cultivate more evidence and its now time to wait. I’ve been locked away for twenty years now inside of a gridlock thermo prison inside of the faux facility. Today is Thursday, October 4th 1962, a lot has changed. Things look old, less advanced, no cell phones, laptops, and the one thing that was alarming, a new government. Not only that, but the guardians seemed to absorb the government, everything was the same but just run by the guardians, no one seemed to notice.” It was sickening . . . but I learned to accept their presence.
“Today is Friday, October 5th, I was able to use the hypercomputer I stole from the facility to hide myself from the guardians watch along with all of the things in the briefcase. For some reason, their presence recognition systems fail to sense me, most likely because shouldn’t even exist in this time period. I wonder how that’s messing with the Seeker’s abilities . . . going off the timeline and all.”
In general, life was going better than I expected. I was tempted to try my luck in investments, but this was a new timeline now, my guess was as good as anyones. All in all, Hawaii looks more beautiful now than it did in the future. The malls were small hole-in-the wall shops or family owned pawns. People were nice and things were great. Still annoyed and angry that certain things weren’t invented yet, and I couldn’t risk ‘inventing’ them. The common discomforts really took their toll. Cell phones, games, computers, tv, and all the things I enjoyed were gone or were just being invented. The Guardians now control many of these devices. I can’t risk doing anything so I can stay under the radar. The time I am living in now, the scene you could see outside my apartment, was that of a history book or old photograph from Hawaii. Things seemed dull in color but were quite exciting. I felt odd, somewhat angry, everything and everyone I loved was gone, until I met Doris Iwamura.
I was tired. After taking a week to rest I decided to take a break from the mission to bring down the Prime Guardian, this gave me time to think. After years I came to a decision, things actually got better with the Guardians. Wars subsided and fights ceased, the close watch from the Guardians made crimes almost impossible, but that didn’t stop people from trying. They used these electric staffs to ‘keep the peace.’ After all, the world seemed like a better place . . . that was until I saw the Prime Guardian had a different agenda.
* * * *
Chapter 4: The Discovery
After I listened to the recordings, I was began to ask more questions than I got answers too. Everything was a rush to the head. My grandfather was a new man to me, someone who I thought I knew. I started to see things that always felt were out of place, but I never knew why, like the Guardians being here but never in any history books. Before I could get to the fifth recording the display cut out, I turned to look at the horrified Jim and Vanessa. When I turned back to the screen I saw a recording from what appeared to be a hidden camera. In the background I saw a large glass panel with something in the distance, it was Earth. A door opened in the right corner of the dimly lit room, something walked through. I could tell it was a Guardian because of the crest on his clothing. However this Guardian had on a golden robe that glowed with a crown like helmet, which I’ve never seen before. It must be a status symbol, this was most likely their leader or general. He spoke in a strong deep voice in a language I have never heard of before, there was an English translation underneath the recording, it read, “Death to All Humans.” Before I could say anything the case powered off and a red message appeared, “Unauthorized Access: Recording Will Be Confiscated,” then began to flash in different languages. Obviously something was wrong. I looked out of the window and saw three Guardians running towards the house with their staffs in strike position. My car was in the back so I sprinted to the car and started the engine putting the briefcase in the passengers seat. To avoid risking conflict with the incoming Guardians, I drove right through the fence of the neighbor’s homes. I saw one of them drop looking at me in horror as my car poured out onto the main drag. I drove all the way to a ditch covered by intense shrubbery and trees that surrounded me.
I reopened the briefcase and only one thing caught my eye, the only thing that was still working. A small dot at the top of a glass panel was glowing blue, I pressed it and the panel illuminated and an image of multiple structures appeared. The paper thin glass seemed to create a blue holographic-like display. There was a heading on the top that continued to flash from a different language to English. It read the words ‘Core Manipulator Complex.’ Whatever it was it had my grandfather’s signature on it, it was the same as the Hudson’s house made by my grandfather. After further analysis I found it was completely interactive. I pressed another interface button and it started an animated demonstration of the Earth. Then it showed a diagram of its core. And a zoom into a mountain here on the island of Oahu, where a facility was being built in fast motion. Then it zoomed out, and a pulse swept the earth causing it to rotate backwards at a fast speed. Then there was a video of huge ships coming down onto the earth, I saw their plating and the symbols were of the Guardians. I suddenly learned what I always felt inside, the Guardians were not from here. Suddenly I felt light headed. Then
I had a feeling like none other, not fear, or anger, but knowing something no one else knows. It burned inside me, like a hot coal, it needed to get out. People needed to know.
The video ended revealing a detailed blueprint of the structure. It could expand and contract showing a full 3D view of the facility. I then zoomed out and continued till I found out exactly where it was, somewhere in the Koolau Mountain Range. I then turned the device over and found a real time navigational map to the C.M.C. facility; probably one of the reasons the Guardians wanted it.
* * * *
Chapter 5: The Core Manipulator Complex
I was afraid. I knew the Guardians were on to me, but I couldn’t stay there and wait, I had to move. I stomped on the gas and drove right onto the main road with branches and leaves all over the place. After driving like crazy for a few miles I realized the Guardians would have caught me by now, maybe I was under their radar or I had outrun them. Anything was possible after what I just saw. While I used the real time navigation on the device, I thought about where the tracking info might be coming from and whether or not I was being watched. The thought never escaped me till I arrived at the edge of the forest. There was a dirt road that was almost hidden behind high grass. I drove with almost zero visibility, which was frightening, almost as much as the grass raising up behind the car as if I were being swallowed. I knew no one would find me here, but it was the risk I was willing to take. After driving up the dirt road something felt wrong, the hairs in my neck rose like icicles and a chill ran down my spine, someone was watching but there was no one there. When I was close enough to the location, I decided to go the rest of the way on foot. I wouldn’t have been driven through the densely packed trees. I walked for five minutes with the map in hand until the grey metallic facility was visible in the mountainside. There was a watchtower on the top left along with the five armed Guardians in the front of the facility. I never saw the Guardians carry anything other than their enforcer staffs that kept people in line. But what I saw was a trigger and barrel, something I read in the banned documents about . . . I think they were called guns. Then I decided to take it slow, using the trees for cover, hiding then running like crazy.