Alex Mars' time, the 2050s, was grey, like his crib and room and everything. Yes, they did have crazy technology, capable of almost anything except magic(well, some were sophisticated enough to be called magic), but, well, people still fought over the most trivial of problems, like letting one tiny leaf from their tree dip into the neighbor's yard, and starting up a huge fight. Global climate change was at its last and worst stage. Well, that explains the fast exploration to Mars. Antarctica was almost gone-the other pole was even smaller. The entirety of Japan, South Korea and a bit of North Korea, the Philippines, and even the edges of Australia, the down-under, were literally under the sea. And that only worsened people to flee to the other lucky in-land countries, affected the economy, worsened world hunger, etc. etc. that only the adults are interested in(though Alex Mars wasn't too ignorant of those stuff).
But here's the main point. With so many difficulties, every option in the world seemed inevitable, like uniting the whole world into one to help each other 'in the name of ethics', etc. The U.S. and England and Asia as a whole disagreed to such a global union, and the world remained separate.
But America was having a problem itself. With the record years of living, 132 years becoming no more a record, food was lacking and most of its farms were shutting down with floods on one side and desertion on the other. GMOs ruled completely, and even those genetically altered plants suffered. Space food was beyond popular but a necessity. Everyone was stressed out. With less land and more people, apartments were getting higher and higher, or digging in deeper and deeper. Some people became unethical, while others became insane optimists and campaigned for hope.
Well, the first type of people prospered when COVID65 came.
Alex was 12 and just watching TV, his schedule after dinner, when he watched the announcement of the president that would soon go viral.
The president, someone with the so-common name David, cleared his throat and began.
"Just yesterday, we found proof that the corona virus had recurred. Though I know I'm not in the status to command you people around to do stuff because of logical reasons, the outbreak is unmistakable. Yes, I know you're going crazy in your cozy houses-covid again? Well, you know the last and lasting consequences of the virus decades ago, and so does the gov and me. I'm gonna ban out-door activity except for emergency ones that are very necessary. But if you ignore this just because you think you can survive it, you're gonna face the consequences. This can KILL you," He pointed one shaky finger at the camara, and the screen went black.
"Jesus Christ," Rick shook his head as he came into the living room. "COVID19, then COVID65 now? Shit. That had taken my great great grandmother's life,"
Because the act would violate his decision to never interact with his dad too much, Alex didn't comment that his great great grandmother must have died from old age since he knew that she had lived even before COVID19.
Anyway, the Carves/Marks/Mars were trapped inside the home for a while, doing nothing. Rick worked from home, and it was the best moments of his life since he didn't have any children to scream their asses off into his phone all day during his important business calls with his boss. Stephanie set to streaming on You-Tube, the company which had survived all the problems of the decades. She was all about cooking and buzzed around the house in her apron, the house smelling like the witch's cookie house.
Alex Mars also lived according to a schedule of his own. He got up, meditated sometimes, then read books, those ranging from novels to the giant encyclopedia. Then he sat in front of his laptop, which he had begged his mom to buy when he was 7, and researched for hours on other special people, hearing, the structure of the brain, and ear-his dreams of recovering his hearing had never gone away. After lunch, he'd do some math. He was actually happy because of COVID65, since he didn't get to go to school, which only taught him childish and no-brainer things, like how to multiply and be a good kid, etc. He was already at math and science that he would learn in university. Stephanie sometimes paused from creating crazy recipes to test his knowledge on anything that popped into her mind-for fun, that is. She still thought that her son was a great wonder and enigma. After the quizzes with direct answers, Alex Mars had some more time to meditate. While the morning meditation sessions involved sitting cross-legged on his bed for 20 minutes, the post-lunch session was more simple. He would sit on the sofa , which faced the window, and stare and stare and stare at the passerby(he actually counted anything passing everyday-and the result: usually only 5, and 20 cars each day). He liked observing everything around him. He wondered about all kinds of trends that had been highlighted in world history, such as jazz music and grainy grey TV, and other silly stuff that no other would be poking heads into.
After the post-lunch session, he'd have some fun, finally. He listened to electronic music, which ruled the world then. Since Alan Walker was old and his brain slow, other crazy pop-electronics artists came forward, and Alex loved them-but still, he liked the old guys more. They were wiser and more experienced, he'd think. Sometimes he'd tune up the music to fill the whole house, and that would ruin Rick's fabulous time working at his desk and receiving calls-and Alex had the perfect excuse to ignore and annoy his dad. Sometimes, he would listen on his Air Pods and let his dad have a tiny piece of mercy and bit of peace from the subtle mental storm he was having with his son. Stephanie obviously did not care about the boys while she was cooking.
Alex Mars also made music. He even delved into the world of creating apps that would let him play music freely or use his phone or laptop just like an actual music player. He was a bit glad about the absence of his extra sensitive hearing, but still, missed them and wondered what it'd feel like if he still had it, and strike a drumbeat-his ears would go ringing for weeks, he knew.
COVID65, the cause of all these inner activities, was slowly getting... worse. They still had the vaccine which had halted the thing in June, 2020. Still, the vaccine was hard to make, and because of so high populations and its expensive cost, its abundance was rare in any of the countries. The gov texted the Martians for help, to take more people into space for a while. They refused curtly.
People managed to smuggle the vaccine. The rest struggled to get masks. Though some bought the most expensive ones for the utmost protection, most didnt' have the wealth to afford those kinds, so instead turned their heads to normal ones.
Well, since a pharmacy was a few blocks away from his house, Mars' post-lunch meditation session got busier.
He actually debated in his head whether to call each person in the line streaming straight in front of his house a passerby, or to call anyone on the ground in front of his window one. He liked the second option, and his count was simply explosive. Steph and Rick dragged themselves out too, but since they rarely went out, didn't stand in line either. They just sat int their homes, stuck.
-Even Alex started to feel depressed.
Although he felt that the others were freaking boring and so childish, he still appreciated the effects of companionship and peer relationships. But he didn't have a single friend since the others all treated him as if he was an alien or was too adultish and serious to be called a kid. He also wanted to get out of the boring house and run...
He suddenly started to look forward to leaving the house.
The chance finally came when the crowd in front of their house decided to bring cars for their own convenience, the tiny street got crowded, and finally the tires zipped onto their lawn. The fence broke down, and the driver, who had been very excited after snatching a giant load of face masks, decided to take off. Steph's beloved garden from which she grew stuff and the white fence was all in splinters. "Jesus!" Rick jumped up when the car crashed in and backed away before he could get his feet on the ground. Steph was already at the front door.
"My. Oh. My," She said.
When his parents hung at the lawn and dialed the police and cursed(even his mom this time), Alex jumped up, grabbed his jacket, then went out the back door, whistling his newly made rhythm.

He raced out and saw right away the line of people. Jesus, the line was so long to be enough all around his house. Plus, he didn't have a mask on-the people right away saw him and stared at him in disbelief, though many of them weren't wearing the damned stuff themselves. Alex Mars cursed under his breathe and raced to the bus stop after squeezing between the lines. He didn't know where to go, but his natural GPS and decision-maker in his skull made him prefer going to the part of town with the most stores-he anyway really needed a bunch of gum and Snickers, which made him work harder and avidly, strangely. Also, that was the most interesting of the boring town to go before his parents found out-which might be only a few minutes away. He wasn't worried of the virus himself, though. He knew that he was very resilient to illnesses and had never been sick before as a kid. He relaxed and hummed as he threw himself onto the bus. The driver shot him a crazy look, but Alex pooled out a generous sum from his $100 and got the pass. He got on a seat and watched happily as his house vanished around the curve.

He jumped off at the first stop near the stores, and wandered, taking in the deep scent of the air. Alex Mars felt liberated and apart from his parents-and he liked it a lot, though he loved them. He felt as if he could get his hearing back since the perpetrator of the hearing loss(which was his dad) was far from him for now. He pushed into a store with little stock. Still, his candies were there. He scooped up a bunch and paid to an old woman, the kind of woman that should belong in the libraries and behind triangular glasses. If his hearing was the same, he must have been able to hear her sound of getting up and cursing very lightly about her aching back. She didn't know that the kid in front of her was a somewhat peculiar kid, with a Muted hearing problem. Maybe, she didn't simply believe in the existence of such people.
After paying, he pushed all his valuable candies into his tiny jean pockets, then walked along the road, letting his ear skim past the lamp-posts. That should have caused some serious headache and the plane-feeling...
He was stopped by his what his eyes had just seen. Something strange-
-and very funny.
In front of him stood a man, and he was inspecting a sign in front of him seeming to have been erected just now in front of the entrance to the next building. And the sign didn't have any pictures on it-only a few words...

'The Martyr-Physical & Mental Training Sessions'

A local martyr here? he thought. Weren't martyrs supposed to be safely in their graves already and let fame roll in through the grass on the tomb?
The man saw him and narrowed his eyes.
Then smiled after a second.
"You interested? Well, sorry, but you need to be tested for me to submit you," "Why are you a martyr? Shouldn't martyrs already be dead?" He examined Mars, then chuckled. "Haha, gee, kid. Of course not-from now on," "Says who?" Mars demanded. He didn't like people invading the encyclopedia. "Says me," The man rubbed his chin, inspecting his sign once more. Alex felt exasperated, but was strangely satisfied with the cool response. "So you really train people like they do at a gym?" He asked. The man looked down at him. He said nothing.
Then,
"Hey, boy, what if you come in?-'cause of corona, though I came out after a month from my place only today to restart business. Actually, it's more than just a business," He said and opened the door to the interior.
Though it was confusing, and his parents were sure to kill him, Alex Mars went in after the local martyr.
And that changed his life.