The Film That Swept The World
Galle, Sri Lanka
2093 AD, Year 65 of the Vanishing Era
—
Tommy and Aarav were sitting around, having a nice drink of fresh coconut juice. They were lounging in a basement, with a wide variety of cassettes, videotapes, and other devices strewn about. It was a dingy sort of place… perhaps it could be a nice underground bar if it were owned by someone else. There were only a few old tables and a small ceiling lamp for any sort of furniture.
Aarav pulled his old laptop, which was continuously playing the film named *your title here* in the background. He had seen it countless times. Somehow, this film was instrumental to their plans. *your title here* was the first post-Vanishing movie ever published, showcasing the fear and hopelessness of a Vanishing survivor. It was essentially an autobiography of a man in Beijing right when the Vanishing happened.
“This project is going nowhere,” Aarav said. We’ve been waiting around for weeks!”
“We need to take our time,” Tommy responded. “This plan is for the long haul, isn’t it?” He was referring to what the VVV had done many years prior, around the middle of the 21st century. They had acquired a massive amount of tapes and various copies of *your title here*, edited it, and redistributed it across the world.
Aarav sighed. “I really don’t know, man.” He looked at the ending of *your title here*. This was where the edited part started: after the ending, a screen. It displayed a message saying, in different languages: ‘we can recover what is lost.’ Then, it showed instructions to visit a certain location in various different languages, as well as the letters VVV. The films were distributed across the world, with the location being tied to particular regions. For most of Asia, it was this very place in Sri Lanka that was decided.
Aarav and Tommy had watched the film years prior, visiting Sri Lanka and joining the VVV this way. Now, they were tasked to help others on their journey.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps, and the door opened. The two of them saw a man of contradictions walk in. He wore a regal Middle Eastern headscarf and robe, but it was disheveled and dirty. The man was young, but had bags under his eyes.
“Greetings, sir.” Tommy said, rather sternly.
The man stepped forward. “Who are you?”
Aarav responded in turn. “How did you find us?”
Finally, the man sighed. He drank out of a metallic bottle, then sat down. “I… it was a few years ago. I found this… building… there were markings of three letters… VVV.”
Tommy and Aarav looked at each other, their faces stoic and impossible to discern.
The man continued. “The building was on Qeshm Island. It was completely abandoned. I knew there was something bigger going on, but I was trying to find… the true answer to what happened there. Then, later on, I was given a film. It was an experience both beautiful and terrible. I saw many things in that film... The beauty of that city. That wondrous city! And it all just disappeared, in an instant! When the film ended, I saw those same letters. I was at first confused why I was given this film, but the message at the end… I’m trying to piece things together. I knew it gave me an address to this very location, so I ventured here.”
Tommy smiled curtly. “Well, let’s slow down and start with names before we get any further. I’m Tommy. And this is Aarav right here.”
“Do you not already know who I am? Well… here, let me introduce myself. I am King Saleh ibn Muhammed Al-Khalifa of Bahrain. But I suppose, for this little group, you can just refer to me as Saleh.”
Aarav looked at Saleh, extremely curious. The King of Bahrain?? He had never expected… but then again, it was possible that other heads of state could also have fraternized with the VVV.
Tommy cleared his throat. “We are the Vanguard to Vanquish the Vanishing, also known as the VVV. Our goal is simple: understanding the exact nature of the event that happened on year 2028, so we can reverse it. That is all we have set out to accomplish, and our singular drive.”
“Also, we are not a *little group*,” Tommy continued, an unmistakable conviction in his eyes. “The two of us are just one squad, while our organization spreads across all continents of the world.”
“I was worried it had only dwindled to you two remaining,” Saleh said. “Then, I only have one question. How do I join this VVV?”
Aarav leaned forward.
“What makes you think you haven’t joined already?”
Saleh looked at the two of them for several seconds. Then, with all the madness and confidence he could drum up, he grinned.