Filter

By E. F. Buckles

It was my job to lead us out of our underground dwellings when the surface was finally safe. I expected to encounter many things upon our emergence. Destruction, scorched earth. But not a summoning.

It was just lying there. Waiting for us. A metal cube. When I picked it up, it projected a trail of red footprints on the cracked ground. The prints led us to a barren field within view of the ruins of a once flourishing city. A robotic voice told us to make ourselves comfortable and wait. There was little else to do, so we sat on the dirt.

Soon, survivors from other bunkers arrived—their leaders holding their own cubes—and sat among us. Everyone’s face asked the same question: Why are we here?

When people stopped coming, a high-pitched whirring noise echoed from the sky. Down flew a silver orb. It hovered above us and swayed from side to side, then beeped. Our cubes beeped back, and we all jumped. I threw my cube on the ground.

The orb split in two. We watched, enraptured, as each half flew in opposite directions until they were about fifty feet apart, then they stretched downward until they became thirty-foot-tall sticks. Their ends hovered inches above the ground in front of us, kicking up dust that itched my throat and forced those of us closest to them to scramble farther back.

A wide beam of blue light shot across the distance between the two sticks, forming a screen. The letters “FPT” appeared like a logo in the center. I gaped. The people around me mimicked my wide-eyed stare.

A booming voice made us jump. “We’re live?” A woman ran on screen, smoothing her clothes and hair. She could have been beautiful had her face and fingers not been too long, and her skin so thin it looked stretched. She flashed us a brilliant smile. “Greetings, solar neighbors, and welcome back to the surface!”

An alien was not one of the people I thought I’d meet today. My hands curled into tight balls in the folds of my skirt.

The woman’s eyes moved like she was reading off a prompter behind the camera. “The nuclear disaster of 2065 was the end of the world as the inhabitants of your planet knew it. My people watched as the last one hundred years passed, to see if you would survive. Now, you have emerged from your hiding places, alive and whole, but the destruction around you is unthinkable. Unlivable.”

My gaze drifted to the crumbling city beyond the glowing screen. She was right, and it would take generations to make it inhabitable again, if at all.

“I see the despair on your faces.” The intensity of the woman’s pale eyes captured me. “The task before you seems impossible, but do not fear. Fourth Planet Tech has decided to help.

“‘Mind over matter,’ that’s our company’s motto. While you were underground, we introduced our own planet to the Filter. This technology is akin to the photo filters and augmented reality your ancestors used for their frivolous pastimes. Only we’ve taken things a step further by attaching our filters to special glasses for a more immersive experience.”

She slipped on a pair of thin, clear glasses.

A slideshow began. “Crumbled buildings can look like brand new structures. Those piles of debris? Rolling green hills. Oh, and here’s a little bonus for you. The beauty industry has gone out of business on our planet because the filters digitally create the ideal face you wish to broadcast to the world! Everything will look the way you want it to, and while you’re busy returning to whatever manner of living you prefer, our company will be in the background, providing for your needs as we rebuild your infrastructure.”

The beautiful images made my heart squeeze the way it had when Grandmother told me stories of the old world. Could it really be so easy?

The slideshow ended, and the woman came back on screen. “All our citizens have adopted the filters into their daily lives. In fact, some have found they can no longer tolerate the briefest glimpse of reality and have opted for the new ocular implant option. These implants can only be turned off by a trained technician. We recommend them for a situation like yours, where constant use is needed to maintain the proper level of happiness.”

A young man in front of me raised his hand. “Are there any side effects?”

Good question.

The woman on the screen smiled. “The only side effect is intense emotional distress when an individual glimpses reality due to a filter glitch. These individuals often babble about being surrounded by ‘monsters.’” She curled her fingers in air quotes. “But it’s only a stress reaction. The afflicted individuals go into treatment in our private care facility until they are able to rejoin the general population.”

My neighbor leaned close and whispered in my ear, “Did she say, ‘monsters’?”

Glad I wasn’t the only one who caught that. I was experiencing emotional distress myself as my stomach twisted over every new piece of information.

“What about hacking?” I shouted. “Couldn’t someone hack the filters and manipulate what people see?”

Screen-woman’s smile stayed glued to her face as she leaned out of frame, her movements stiff. The microphone caught snatches of her words: “…someone tell… epidemic… missing persons?”

First it was monsters. Now missing persons and an epidemic? A chill swept through me as a murmur worked its way through the crowd.

The woman leaned back into frame with a nervous laugh. “We assure you, there is zero chance of outside interference. Our filters connect wirelessly to our company’s encrypted, closed-circuit system, which we’ll install on your planet once you sign our contract. We send updates as needed, but these will only improve the functionality of your filter and help you regain optimal happiness. You are in complete control. What do you say? Are you in?”

Can you guess which song inspired this story? (This month it could be any time period, any genre.) Share in the comments!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

E. F. Buckles fell in love with reading at a young age and filled herself with words until they flowed out as stories of her own. She writes these stories in Virginia with her parents and dogs at her side. Her other interests include crafting and volunteering with the children’s ministry at her church.

---

Instagram | Twitter