Fred Aiken Writing

Tag: past

June 28, 2024

catching up

The Ferris wheel loomed like a giant sentinel against the dusk, its neon lights slicing through the twilight sky. The carnival was alive with a cacophony of sounds: the relentless chatter of families, the clanging of game bells, the shrill laughter of children. Sophie stood on the outskirts, her senses bombarded by the smell of deep-fried dough and the metallic tang of aging rides. She hadn’t been back to this town in a decade, not since the accident that had shattered her youth.

Now, she was here on a mission. As a fugitive recovery agent for a bail bonds agency, Sophie had seen all kinds of people running from their pasts. But this time, it was different. This time, the fugitive was Jake—a ghost from her own past.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the familiar face she hadn’t seen in years. She adjusted her jacket, feeling the comforting weight of her badge and gun. Tonight, she was here to bring someone in, not to reminisce.

The crowd’s noise grew louder near the old roller coaster, the one they used to call the “Bone Rattler.” A group of teenagers clustered around a makeshift boxing ring, where a bare-knuckle fight was underway. The crowd’s roars of approval and dismay filled the air, thick with anticipation and sweat.

Sophie pushed her way through the throng, her eyes locked on the ring. In the center, two fighters circled each other, fists up and eyes locked in a primal dance. One of them, a tall, lean figure, moved with a familiar fluidity. Her heart skipped a beat—it was Jake. He hadn’t changed much, just older, more hardened. The last person she expected to find here, but exactly the person she was looking for.

A fist connected with Jake’s jaw, snapping his head back. The crowd erupted, and Sophie moved closer, her hand instinctively going to her hip where her gun rested. Jake staggered but didn’t fall, his eyes fierce as he launched a counter-attack. The scene played out like a gritty drama, each punch a beat in a violent symphony.

The fight ended abruptly when Jake’s opponent hit the ground and didn’t get up. The referee, a burly man with a beer-stained shirt, called the match. Jake stood there, chest heaving, sweat glistening under the harsh lights. The crowd began to disperse, the thrill of the fight giving way to the next spectacle.

Sophie pushed her way to the front, her eyes locked on Jake. 

“Sophie,” he said, his voice rough from exertion. “What are you doing here?”

She didn’t waste any time. “Jake, you know why I’m here. You skipped bail.”

His eyes narrowed, a mix of surprise and defiance. “You’re here to take me in?”

“That’s the job,” she replied, her voice steady. “It doesn’t have to get ugly.”

Jake glanced around, the crowd thinning out, leaving them in a bubble of tension. “You think I’m just gonna go quietly?”

“Depends,” she said, her hand still resting on her gun. “Do you want to make a scene?”

He took a step back, eyes darting, calculating his chances. Sophie tensed, ready for him to bolt. But instead, he laughed, a bitter sound. “Always the tough one, huh, Soph?”

“Always,” she said, taking a step closer. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your call.”

Jake’s eyes softened for a moment, the defiance fading. “I didn’t do it, you know. The robbery—they’re framing me.”

“Save it for the judge,” she replied, her tone hardening. “I’m not here to debate your innocence.”

He sighed, the fight going out of him. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

Sophie nodded, pulling out the handcuffs. She stepped forward, her movements quick and practiced. But just as she reached him, Jake moved. He grabbed her wrist, twisting it, and for a moment, they were locked in a struggle, their past clashing with the present.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” she grunted, trying to free herself.

Jake’s grip tightened, his eyes pleading. “Soph, listen to me. I didn’t do it. You know me.”

Sophie hesitated, the weight of their shared history pressing down on her. In that moment of hesitation, Jake broke free, shoving her back and running into the darkness of the carnival.

“Dammit!” she cursed, taking off after him.

The chase was a blur of flashing lights and dodging bodies. Jake weaved through the crowd with the ease of someone who had been running his whole life. Sophie followed, her determination fueling each step.

They reached the edge of the carnival, where the lights faded and the sounds grew softer. Jake stumbled, his pace slowing, and Sophie tackled him to the ground. They wrestled in the dirt, years of pent-up emotions spilling out in a flurry of fists and shouts.

Finally, Sophie managed to pin him, cuffing his hands behind his back. They both lay there, panting, the night sky stretching endlessly above them.

“Why’d you have to make it so damn difficult?” she muttered, hauling him to his feet.

Jake looked at her, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and resignation. “You wouldn’t have believed me anyway.”

“Maybe not,” she admitted, leading him back towards the carnival lights. “But running didn’t help your case.”

As they walked, the carnival continued its relentless march around them, oblivious to their drama. Sophie felt the weight of her badge and the years of history between them. It wasn’t the reunion she had expected, but it was the one she got.

And as they stepped into the light, Sophie knew that some things would never be the same, but at least they could finally face the future, whatever it might hold.

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May 27, 2024

Inter-Through-the-Net

Daily writing prompt
Do you remember life before the internet?
View all responses

Yes, but only vaguely, and perhaps not entirely. I’m one of those millennials that grew up when the personal computer wasn’t quite yet in everyone’s household. Granted, the internet was created before I was born in 1983. But I’m fairly certain it’s use and functionality wasn’t all that user friendly until the late nineties and 2000’s with the explosion the tech companies.

So I guess I’m more so remembering a time in which the internet was around, but not yet a part of daily social interactions and life. I was more so apart of the generation that transitioned from the internet and computer tech being a kinda niche that only a small population really interacted with to suddenly there being multiple computers in every household and then in everyone’s pocket via smartphones.

A bulk of my childhood was during the 1990’s, and the internet definitely played a role in shaping culture and how we interacted with one another. But as a kid, or at least in my household, I was still restricted from using the internet, at least until I turned 15 or 16, which was about in the mid-2000’s.

I do remember people talking about the internet and its innovation the same way that a lot of analysts and money-folk are now talking about artificial intelligence. I’m sure there will always be some surface-level changes, but at the core of it, I don’t think people change all that much, despite what new, shiny tool comes out.

But from what I can recall, as the internet was starting to become more and more a part of daily life, there always seemed to be a sense of mistrust and acrimony held towards it. For example, as a student in the 2000’s, it was frowned upon to use Wikipedia or most any internet-based article as a reference in any of our papers. For good reason, though. Data collection and scraping for information was in its infancy, so often internet articles and digital encyclopedias weren’t held in as high of esteem as good ole fashioned books and print news articles. It seems a bit silly to think back on it, because there were plenty of news sources and books that printed false and/or misleading information all the time. I suppose the internet just led to the proliferation of it 1000x over.

Though at the core of the question, I don’t think I can really speak all too well to a time before the internet, since like I said, the internet has been around in some form or fashion since 1983, and I was born in the late 80’s. So, even though I might not have had a personal connection or interaction with the internet while growing up, there were certainly instances in which the internet was influencing and affecting life during that time that more than likely influenced my life.

I will say, though, that it was definitely a period in time in which people’s digital and technological literacy was far from where it is today. When teachers were tasked with introducing us to computers and how to use them, it essentially amounted to teaching us how to use computers as if they were typewriters. In essence, most of my computer science classes were basically learn how to type as quickly as possible, which isn’t necessarily a bad skillset to have, since I really can’t stand how slowly some of my older colleagues take to type out a few sentences. But it wasn’t until college that I started being able to explore the different computer languages and how to utilize them for my benefit.

In terms of the benefits to cost ratio, then I probably couldn’t really speak too much to that. I would think someone that grew up pre-1980’s would have a more definitive clarity as to what and how society changed going from no internet to internet in everything, including internet in your appliances, like fridges and microwaves. From the people that I know that came from that generation, it seems like there’s always a consensus that time before the internet and the personal computer was a lot simpler and easier of a time.

Though I guess they might also be neglecting to remember the fact that the world was on the brink of nuclear war when the two superpowers, the US and Soviets, went back and forth on the will-they-won’t-they either annihilate all of humanity or kiss and makeup for the good of the species. All of which hardly seems like it was an easier and less-stressful time in which to come of age.

I’m kinda curious as to whether or not there could have been a Cold War had there been internet back in the 60’s and 70’s when the Cold War threat of nuclear annihilation was at its peak. It’s obviously only a curious thought experiment, but I think an argument could definitely be made that the introduction of the internet in the 1980’s led to events like the Cold War going through its natural progression at a lot quicker of a pace and coming to a conclusion faster than it would have had the internet not been around.

Maybe…or maybe not. I mean, it is a theory.

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