{"id":2376,"date":"2022-05-07T13:25:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T20:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2376"},"modified":"2022-05-07T13:25:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T20:25:33","slug":"on-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/07\/on-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"On-Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write about a character who wakes up in someone else\u2019s clothes \u2014 or utterly weird apparel they don\u2019t recognize as their own.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waking up in a strange environment, Trevor looked around and chuckled. \u201cOn-brand,\u201d he said to no-one in particular. The dull headache told him he\u2019d drunk too much the night before\u2026typical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had vague recollections of the party and tried to recall faces. Which gal, guy or neither\/both had he hooked up with? That he couldn\u2019t recall a name or a face to put it to was something he\u2019d dealt with in the past. It required a certain amount of self-deprecating charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The room looked like a cheap hotel trying to feel expensive; all white and clean lines with nothing in the way of distinguishing decorations. Hearing the door open, Trevor rolled out of the bed and held his hand out to the man entering. \u201cHi, I\u2019m Trevor. I hope last night was pleasurable\u2026or at least not too<\/em> major a disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sour frown crossed the man\u2019s face. His wrinkled, grizzled, scarred face with one eye gone milky and the other deep brown. The man was wearing an obvious uniform, but of what military or police Trevor\u2019s couldn\u2019t work out. It was nothing like he\u2019d ever seen. The man\u2019s left hand was mechanical and tapped with a metallic sound against his left thigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is so<\/em> not on-brand,\u201d Trevor said. He looked down at his hand that was still waiting for a shake, and realized it was in a bright orange glove. His eyes followed the hand to the arm, to his torso, to his legs, to his feet. He was clothed in a skin-tight, bright orange outfit with no visible seams or fasteners. Where he\u2019d thought himself nude, he was completely covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrevor Michael Joplin, you are expected before the judge.\u201d The man\u2019s voice was like raking gravel over a rusty steel plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJudge? What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than answering, the man pushed a button on the device he carried. Trevor\u2019s arms locked themselves against his sides, his hands curled into fists. No matter how he struggled, the suit restrained him more securely than any cuff or shackle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trevor followed the man out to a narrow hallway, lined with doors like the one he had exited. A line of blue light marked the floor and they followed it. As the man turned a corner, Trevor stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is stupid. You have to at least tell me what\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was cut short by the suit forcing his legs into a back-twisting, convulsing gait to catch up to the guard, who just grunted at him. Before he could renew his protest, the man said, \u201cSave it for the judge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blue line ended at a nondescript door at the end of an empty hall. The guard opened the door and pointed in. Not wanting to endure the forced walk again, Trevor entered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chamber was small, entirely white aside from the pale blue wall behind the judge\u2019s bench. The lights dimmed and a spotlight illuminated a circle in the middle of the chamber, throwing the bench, and the judge, walking in and taking a seat, in silhouette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStand in the light,\u201d the judge said, her clear voice a stark contrast to that of the guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trevor moved to the circle of light and faced the judge\u2019s bench. \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrevor Michael Joplin. That is your name, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. I still don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge cut him off. \u201cYou were born in Miami, Florida, United States of America? Is this correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. Wait\u2026where\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn or about the Fifth of May 2022, did you attend a \u2018Cinco de Mayo\u2019 party in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, yeah, that\u2019s<\/em> what the party was. Julia was there, for sure, and I bet Maz and Cupid\u2026still don\u2019t know who I hooked up wi\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this party, did you willingly partake of a pill that looked like this?\u201d In the air between the judge and Trevor a hologram of a pink capsule with a blue ring appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t remember,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s pretty on-brand, so if it was offered, I probably said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrevor Michael Joplin, we are well aware of your lifestyle. Please stand still for a physical scan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He felt the suit holding him in place. Even if he wanted to move, he couldn\u2019t. Trevor waited for the scanning lasers or flashing lights or buzz of x-ray machine, but nothing happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A moment later, the suit released its hold on him. \u201cNow can I ask what\u2019s go\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrevor Michael Joplin, remain silent for a few moments. Once we have the results of your scan, we will be able to answer any questions to your satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he waited, he stretched out a finger of his glove and rubbed his finger along it, getting the feel of the strange fabric. It was nothing he had ever felt before. It felt more like skin than cloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seconds stretched into minutes before the judge\u2019s silhouette moved and raised a hand. \u201cThe results of your physical scan find you marginally suitable. Now we can answer your questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spotlight turned off and the lights in the chamber came back up. The \u201cjudge\u201d sat behind a wooden desk wearing a white uniform. Her close-cropped hair was raven black against her copper skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere am I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are in the headquarters of the Continuum Project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a non-answer. Can you please just explain what\u2019s going on, and why I\u2019m under arrest?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge laughed. \u201cYou are not under arrest,\u201d she said, \u201cthough I can see why it would feel that way. When you accepted the pill, it was explained to you that it was a one-way trip to the future, to father a new generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSay what? I thought it just meant it would be psychedelic and make me horny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge groaned. \u201cAs I have already stated, we are well-aware of your proclivities, thus you are in the last<\/em> group to be woken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGroup woken, what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Continuum Project, founded in 1986, selected seven-hundred males between the years of 1991 and 2032 to be held in cryogenic suspension for the future which they foresaw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat future?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe disappearance of the Y-chromosome. It was believed that the Y-chromosome was shrinking to the point of becoming unviable. It turns out, that belief was correct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re trying to tell me this is the future and there are no men? What about the guard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are men, but they are nearing extinction. The Y-chromosome, or what is left of it, shows up in one out every thirty or so men. While the XXY combination is not as detrimental as it was during your day, it\u2019s still not ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, wait\u2026you\u2019re saying I\u2019ve got make a lot of babies to save humanity?\u201d Trevor stood up straighter and puffed out his chest. \u201cThat\u2019s a sacrifice I\u2019m willing to make!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think you misunderstand what\u2019s being asked of you. We took a DNA sample before we woke you. Your physical status, post-waking from cryogenics, and system still awash in intoxicants, tells us all we need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour genetic material is being replicated in the lab as we speak, and you are free to go. Clothing and an ID are waiting for you in your waking chamber. You\u2019ve been asleep for a few hundred years, though, so don\u2019t expect anything to look the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about a job, a place to stay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith an ID you don\u2019t need a job, but if you want one you can find it. There are subsidized housing units next to the facility. Just beyond them, you\u2019ll find a 24-hour intoxicants club opened by the previous group we woke. I believe you\u2019ll find it very \u2018on-brand\u2019 for you. Good day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Write about a character who wakes up in someone else\u2019s clothes \u2014 or utterly weird apparel they don\u2019t recognize as their own.\u00a0 available at Reedsy Waking up in a strange environment, Trevor looked around …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-Ck","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2376"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2377,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions\/2377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}