"Future Shock"

Synopsis: After missing an important record company audition with his band, Marty is convinced that he'll never get anywhere in the music buisness. With Doc Brown assuring him that his future is "just fine," and that he shouldn't worry about it, Marty decides to go back and make sure he reaches the audition on time--a task easier said then done. While outside the lab late one night, trying to see away around the elaborate security precautions that Doc Brown has installed in both the lab and time machines, Marty sees Doc go in the lab and in the cellar. While the scientist is in the cellar, Marty is able to sneak in and get in the DeLorean to wait out Doc's time in the lab without him knowing. Unfortunately, Doc takes the DeLorean (with Marty hiding inside it) to the year 2017 to run a quick errand. Marty takes the time machine back to before the audition, fixes it so he'll make it, and after returning to 2017 decides to get out and see how much his future has improved. While he's out of the time machine, Doc takes it back home, unaware Marty's been left behind. While the teen turns up missing in his present, Marty discovers that his future has changed, all right--and not necessarily for the better....

Length: Approximately 57,000 words

Written: July 1998 - December 1998

Revised: December 1998

Author's Notes: I cannot begin to count the number of e-mails I've recieved over the years in regards to "why don't you ever have the characters go to the future?" I understand, of course--when I was ten years old, BTTF2 was my favorite film because of the whole future thing. I was really into that. But, honestly, the answer to that much-asked question is as simple as a lack of an idea. Certainly, most people who would have access to a time machine would stop in the future and check things out. Heck, I would! And that's actually where this idea came from. In my first year of college, I did occational freelancing for the University of Oregon's student newspaper, the Oregon Daily Emerald. On one assignment last spring, I was trying to write a story about the do's and don'ts of moving while simultaneously juggling an evil week of assignments. To make a long story short, my newspaper story wasn't exactly what the editor had in mind for the paper, since I hadn't had enough time to do everything they wanted, so it was cut from the promised issue--I'd never had that happen before! I didn't know about it ahead of time and was more frustrated than mad. It was then I started wondering if I'd ever get anywhere with my writing and wishing I could make sure things turned out okay....and bingo, story idea! The subject of what Marty has become in the "good future" was a tough one as well. When I was younger, I always assumed he pulled off rock stardom as he wished. Naturally, age has given me the dose of reality that things don't quite turn out exactly as one wishes. Also, I made a lot of musician friends in college (all the guys in my dorm actually had formed their own band for a while, and I once got to sit in on a "recording" session while they were trying to lay different tracks on a computer to mix 'em....and I heard the same song, like, 20 times!) and, even though they're in bands and want to be rock stars, they are working on educating themselves in other "realistic" areas as well. I'm doing the same, to an extent--my dream is being a young adult novelist, but since that's such a long shot, I'm majoring in journalism. Being an honest-to-God rock star is a huge long shot, just like being a professional writer, and many times it happens over lots and lots of hard work and time. I don't want to ruin what Marty sees he has become in the future, but suffice it to say it was fun putting an unexpected twist to his dream in the "bad future"! Stowing away in a DeLorean, as Marty did at the start of this story, is conceivable. Painful, though, I am sure. In September 1997, while on vacation in California, I had the most awesome honor of being "Jennifer Parker" in the BTTF Special Effects show at Universal Studios Hollywood not once but twice! So I actually got to sit in the passenger seat of the real DeLorean gimble used in filming the movies and got a good look at the dimensions of the DeLorean's cab. And, yes, the space behind the seats is mighty tight. But Marty was desperate, he's kinda small, so I figured it could be possible. Marty's future address has a number of "in" jokes with it. The house number, 826, was the date I wrote that part of the story (August 26 = 8/26...). And the street name is the name of the street that houses Marty McFly's REAL house, the one seen in the films! It can be read about in this nifty article on the BTTF fan club web page that retraces the film sites. The last four digits of Marty's phone number, 1258, happened to be the time of day I wrote it--12:58AM. Some of you who read this story may be scratching your heads and going, "Huh?" over one thing mentioned in this story--that being that Marty Jr. and Marlene are twins. Why would I make such an odd statement? Well, while reading the BTTF2&3 ("Paradox") screenplay, I noticed that both characters were the age of 17. I suppose it's possible that Marty and Jennifer had the kids 9 months apart--but, come on, how likely is that? And, hey, the kids resemble each other pretty closely in physical appearance! :-) Certainly I'm aware of the fact that non-identical twins don't share that same physical aspects, but I've seen a couple brother and sister twin sets, and some of the resemblences have been uncanny. Anyway, the twin theory is my theory, and I'm sticking to it! This story was really weird to write--it started out as one thing, then literally evolved to another. That's something that occationally happens with my writing--the characters and events can take even me by surprise. That was exactly what occured in this case and shifted the focus off Marty and his problems over to Doc. And, hey, what's up with the date of March 14/15? I picked that date for this story because of some stuff that will occure in the story to follow--i.e., the next story had to happen on a specific date to click correctly. But I noticed while posting the new and second Interactive Stories that the same date figures prominantly. Weird.

CHAPTERS 1 - 6 CHAPTERS 7 - 12