A World Long Since Dead

“A World Long Since Dead”

By AdAstraPhoenicia

16,942 Words.

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Chapter 1: “The Watch”

Mace was woken too early by the faint silver twilight of early dawn, and the sound of slowly shuffling footsteps.

“Morning granddad” he muttered groggily, before the old man could even announce himself.

“Good Morning Mason” He replied, as his young charge yawned, and prepared for the day.

“It’s Mace granddad. I go by Mace”.

Usually, the old man would admonish him about his tardiness, but not today.

“Happy 18th Birthday” he said, with a gentle smile, and produced a small wooden box from behind his back.

“Ah, granddad, you didn’t have to!” Mace replied.

“I know things have been slow at the shop lately, but I wasn’t going to let this momentous occasion go by unmarked!

I have waited for a long time to give this to you, and now that you are finally a man, the moment has come.”

The old man extended his hand, and Mason eagerly took the box from him.

“What could it be?” The young man wondered.

It wasn’t the kind of box you’d put car keys in, but Mason knew his grandfather couldn’t even afford a car for himself, never mind give one away as a gift.

Excitedly, Mason prised open the weathered wooden box.

Inside was… an antique pocket watch. Golden in colour, but dull, as if the years had taken their toll. Ornate markings decorated the surface, almost like spiderwebs.

His face fell.

“It doesn’t even work” he thought, noticing that the hands on the clock were stationary.

“Wow, thanks granddad” He said, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice.

He shook it gently, hoping to encourage the old hands to move, but they remained determinedly stuck.

“I think it’s broken” He said. “If you couldn’t mend it, maybe I can take it to someone…”.

“No!” The elderly man suddenly snapped. His raised voice startled Mason, his grandfather was usually so pensive, even frail.

“Only you may ever touch the watch, do you hear me?”

“Yeah, fine! There’s no need to shout!”

“Do you hear me Mason? This is very important, let me hear you swear an oath…”

“Ok, Ok, I swear! Geez granddad it’s an old watch! It’s not like anyone’s going to steal it!”

“You don’t know it yet my boy… But someday soon, you will realise that there are men who would move mountains to possess what you casually hold in your hand”.

Mace felt bad for his granddad. He was getting older, and he was starting to become more and more confused lately.

Mason’s grandfather Quinn had spent all of his life working at a tiny antique shop in District 4, right in the middle of the city of Corrin. He had spent so much time leaning over his ancient workbench that he had developed a permanent hunch in his back.

But his granddad was getting older. His mind and body were declining more and more by the day. Obviously, he just couldn’t fix this one.

Mace felt bad for his reaction.

It was, after all, a very nice watch, and a kind gift. Maybe he could repair it himself? Or just keep it as a reminder of the bond he shared with his grandfather?

Mace never knew his parents, they died soon after he was born.

His grandfather was the only family he knew.

“Thanks for the gift granddad” he said, with a genuine smile, and placed the watch into his coat pocket.

“You’re welcome kid” the elder Korbin replied, and ruffled Mace’s hair.

“Now get up, we have work to do, you can’t expect to stay in bed all day”.

Mason hurriedly dressed and ate breakfast, and then headed out front to open the shop, while his grandfather tinkered in the back.

They sold, and repaired, all kinds of antiques, anything that didn’t have a microchip or a plug could be found adorning the walls of the small shop.

However, their speciality was clocks and timepieces, which explained his birthday gift.

Perhaps not surprisingly, being packed to the rafters with the detritus of a bygone age brought them few customers in 2054.

Mace, like most younger guys, was more into HoloCON games and social media, but with his grandfathers waning fortunes, he very rarely had the money to buy his own gadgets.

The doorbell dinged.

Mace sighed. How many shops in this day and age still have doorbell dingers? This must be the only building in Corrin without an access panel!

“I know it’s an antique shop, but you can at least try to appeal to a wider audience!” Mace thought, as he waited for the customer to shuffle their way past the mountain of junk to the counter at the back of the store.

A petite, older woman with white hair and at least three jackets made her way slowly to Mace’s counter.

“Good morning young man, I’m looking to get this mended?” The lady said, and presented a wristwatch with a cracked face and dented body.

“We don’t do repairs on anything modern” Mace replied, “But let me show my granddad, he might be able to help”.

Mace carefully took the watch, and brought it to the basement, where his grandfather had finished making piles of junk from other piles of junk, and was now once again hunched over his workbench, peering intently at the inner mechanism of an ancient timepiece.

“Granddad, there’s a lady upstairs with a broken watch, can you let me mend this? I know I can! Just give me a chance!

The old man sighed, and with some effort, stood up. He placed the piece he was working on into a dusty old box upon the shelf in front of him, likely to be forgotten there until the end of time.

Some things, it seems, just can’t be fixed.

“Let me see it” he said.

“It’s a newer model, but it’s just got a broken face, and some minor dents to the body, I can replace the face, it’s a common enough piece, and then buff out the dents with a grinding wheel.”

“You do love your modern gadgets, don’t you my boy?” The old man smiled faintly in resignation.

“That won’t help you, you know…” He said cryptically, before continuing:

“If you want to take a crack at fixing it, I won’t stop you. You know where all the tools are”.

“Thanks granddad!” Mason replied excitedly, and rushed upstairs to tell the customer that they would accept the repair. In his elation, he ignored the elder mans strange remark.

Mason spent hours deep in concentration. Solder smoke irritated his nostrils, and his eyes started to blur from focusing so hard on the silvery metal object in front of him.

However, he enjoyed the work. His grandfather tried to pass on his skills to him, but Mace had little interest in the obsolete cogs and wheels of antique mechanisms. He was far more interested in the microchips and circuit boards of modern pieces such as this.

Suddenly his world went dark. Then bright again. The light in the room was flashing violently.

He sat up with a start, to see his grandfathers smiling face.

“Granddad do you have any idea now annoying that is???” Mace snapped.

“You have a talent, my boy” he said, his hand still grasping the cord for the light switch.

The elder man stepped forward and removed the piece Mace was working on from the vice.

“It’s a little rough, but it’s getting there. I’m proud of you Mason”.

Mace clenched his fist to hold back his tears.

“Th, thanks granddad” he stuttered.

“Why don’t you take a break? Maybe go to that Tech Narcana place you love so much?”

“It’s TechArcana granddad, and I can’t, I don’t have any money”.

“Here.” Korbin presented him with a credit chip.

Mace took it, and pressed the touch-sensitive button embedded into it’s surface.

“Oh, wow granddad, 20 credits? I can’t take this, it’s too much! After you got me the watch, and everything…”

“Nonsense! I might be old, but I’m not senile yet, you think I don’t know that you’re not into watches? Go out, have your fun, I’ll be here when you get back!”

Mace thanked him, and hastily pulled on his olive-green military surplus jacket, before heading for the stairs.

“But listen” Korbin called after him. “Stay away from that redheaded girl, ok? You have enough problems without getting involved with women like her!”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you” Mace called back, dismissing the elder man as he rushed out the door.

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