by Luigi Robles
“I understand.” Father nodded. “Well, let us know if you need anything.”
“I will,” Pycca said. “I’ll get to packing. I’m leaving in less than an hour.”
Pycca packed just the necessary stuff that she needed in a duffle bag and put on her ESAF uniform. The uniform felt surreal; she almost couldn’t believe it was happening once again.
Pycca made small talk with Mother and Father while she waited for the hover-cab in the living room. A few minutes later, there was a honk outside the house.
“That’s my ride,” Pycca said, experiencing a mix of emotions. “I’ll get going now.”
“Aww, well, alright,” Mother said. “I guess it can’t be helped. Pycca, you make sure you message us from wherever you are at least a few times a week. Just so that we know that you are OK.”
Mother and Father each took turns hugging Pycca as she left, and each did their best to hold back the good-bye tears.
There was a second honk outside the house.
“Stop it.” Pycca took in a deep breath, determined not to break. “You are going to make me cry. I’ll send you a message once I’m settled. I have to go now.”
“Take care,” Mother said. “We love you. Outsmart them bast—”
“Hey, hey,” Father said, interrupting. “Watch the language.”
“I love you too,” Pycca said as she ran outside.
The lights from the hover-cab and the house illuminated Pycca’s path, nothing else.
“Welcome, Ms. Evans,” the automata driver said. “We have about a thirty-minute drive to your destination. Feel free to use the entertainment console located in front of you. You can choose from a varie—”
“That’s alright, thank you.” Pycca interrupted the semi-realistic voice. “If we could just get going, that would be great.”
“Very well then,” the driver said as it drove away. “You may fasten your seatbelt if you choose. If not, that’s OK also. I will remind you that this vehicle is equipped with fifty-six airbags in the event of a collision. Not only that, but collisions on board a hover-cab driven by an automata 3.4 and higher are extremely unlikely. I happen to be of the newer generation, 6.2 to be exact. My record is perfect, and I intend to ke—”
“Hey, what can I call you?”
“You may call me Charlie, Or Rick, or Steven… Hmm, how about a more modern name, like Zile or Elion. You know, I really like the concept of names; they make me feel more human. You have really made my day. Today, I’ve just had people who want to go to one place or another and don’t really want to talk to me. Things can get pretty lonely as an automata driver, and—”
“Hey, Zelion.” Pycca interrupted once again. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I need to think. Can I have some silence?”
“Yeah, I understand,” the automata said with a sad robotic tone of voice. “I’m never good company for humans. They’d much rather be on their devices on the way to their destination than talk to a lowly program such as me. I’ll just drive.”
“No, no.” Pycca felt bad for the automata. She was beginning to think of him as more than a simple machine. “Don’t take it personally. Maybe all you need is to work on your people skills. I’d love to talk to you if I could.”
“You are just saying that to be nice.”
“No, no, I really, really mean it. I’m not like that, I’m being honest.”
“Alright, Ms. Evans, I will think about what you’ve said. And I’ll give you the results of my thinking as we near the end of this ride.”
Some twenty minutes later, the hover-cab began to slow down as it exited the highway, and Pycca began making sure she didn’t leave anything behind in the cab.
“We are eight minutes away from your destination,” the automata said.
“Thank you.”
“Ms. Evans, I’ve decided to listen to your advice.”
“Oh, really?” Pycca asked. “How so?”
“I will do my best to become a people person,” the automata said, not rushing his words. “I have already downloaded 567 books on social skills. I intend to study them thoroughly.”
“That’s a little overboard.” Pycca raised her brows. “But I am glad you did so. Now you’ll know how to talk to the people that get in the cab. Maybe make a friend or two.”
“Yes, I’m excited about it.”
“Hope everything works out for you.”
“I have no doubt it will, I have read a few books already, and I think my communication skills are improving.”
“When I return, I’ll request your hover-cab number to see just how much you’ve improved.”
“I would really like that,” the automata hesitate for the first time. “Oh, and Ms. Evans, one more thing…”
“Yeah, sure. What is it?”
“I’ve decided that I will be keeping the name of Zelion. I quite like it. Thank you for giving me a name.”
“Well, you are welcome,” Pycca smiled wide.
The next moment, there was a loud noise, and Pycca found herself tumbling around the back seat of the hover-car as it rolled out of control into the nearby trees. All fifty-six airbags deployed, making it almost impossible to move. Small and large bits and pieces of the hover-car broke off as the car rolled to a halt in a nearby tree next to the highway.
“Zelion,” Pycca said as they stopped moving. “What’s happening?”
“It…it…” Zelion said, struggling to talk. “It appears that we have been sideswiped by an extremely fa…fast-moving object. There is an escape button in…” Then his voice trailed off into an inaudible mutter.
“Zelion,” Pycca said, trying to keep calm but with emphasis. “Where is the button?”
Only crackles, shorting circuits could be heard coming from Zelion as he tried to respond. The cab fell silent, but then she heard the sound sliding metal somewhere near her.
“Zelion, talk to me,” Pycca said as she searched for the button.
She looked towards the direction she thought she heard the noise come from, but there was nothing. Squeezing in between two airbags and tilting her head, she saw a red button. Pycca pressed the button with her right foot, and the door next to her and the back window of the hover-cab opened with a pop.
What the hell is happening? Why would something like this even happen? Pycca thought the question as she crawled out of the hover-cab. This isn’t no freaking accident, I’m in danger. I need to get out, and I need to get out—Now.
Rushing out of the crushed vehicle, she looked around to see what could have caused the collision. But it was dark out, and Pycca was having problems focusing. She was having trouble breathing, as every breath she took came with a fresh dose of pain.
Those gotta be my ribs, at least one or two. Dammit.
“Ms. Evans,” an approaching voice said. “It’s best if you don’t move. Let’s not make this difficult for either of us. The end result will still be the same, no matter what.”
In Vancouver, Canada, after receiving the ESAF message for a rendezvous, August decided to pay one last visit to his parents’ final resting place. The Capilano View Cemetery wasn’t too far away, but it wasn’t nearby either. He had a few hours to waste before the extraction time, so he decided to use public transportation. He figured that if he got lost or ran out of time at any point, he would just call a hover-cab.
When he got to the nearest flash loop terminal, he saw way more people than he expected. In his mind, he thought that this kind of transportation system would be almost going extinct by now. But as evidence pointed out, people seemed to like them. Flash loops were common in big metropolitan areas. They consisted of a network of rails and tunnels that carried platforms of people called flash decks in every direction they wanted to go in the city. Giant screens with maps of the complicated system were everywhere. The only drawback was that a lot of attention was required in order not to miss or confuse the stop. Everything just moved too fast. But when compared to Sodenia’s pod corridors, there was no comparison to
the speed.
“I guess we really like to walk after all,” August murmured. Then he saw people sitting down on the flash decks through the clear tunnel glass. “Or commute in this fashion. Yeah, that’s better.”
As soon as August saw the complicated web of flash loops, regret began to sink in.
“Aww, man,” August murmured as he tried to absorb the map on the giant screen. “What did I get myself into? This isn’t going to be good.”
There were two options on how to navigate the complicated loop system. One, download an app that would sync with the loop system. Two, a directions orb from one of the machines in the terminal. And to August, the second option was a lot cooler. So, he went with the orb.
The direction orb was a simple machine. It was a little sphere that floated in front of the passenger until the destination had been reached. The small orb would glow green if the passenger were on the right track. When the passenger needed to make a change, it would glow blue. If the passenger made a wrong turn, it would glow red. The orb was also capable of producing signs, such as arrows or simple words with the name of the next station.
“Looks like you’re coming with me, buddy,” August said as he grabbed the orb from the machine and turned it on.
The small orb guided August through the complicated terminal. The orb was fast, and August had to quicken his pace just to keep up. August boarded his first deck and right away noticed that no one was using an orb. Everyone there either already knew their way to where they needed to go or were long-time users of the loop system. August felt everyone’s stares, and he began to blush. He sank into his seat for the remainder of the ride, and just before his last connection, he returned the orb to one of the machines.
“Well, at least I didn’t get lost.” August voice was low as he walked towards the last deck that would put him within walking distance of the terminal.
August entered the last deck, he could still feel people staring at him. The feeling made him look both ways, just to make sure the orb wasn’t still with him. But there was nothing there.
If there’s nothing here, August thought, why are people still staring at me? Could it be that I look out of place, like I don’t come here often? Or maybe these people already recognize each other. Maybe I am just imagining things; I haven’t been on public transportation for years. Whatever the case, I am glad that this is the last deck.
August found an empty seat on the deck, the stares kept bothering him, so he decided to take a look for himself. He pretended to sneeze and covered his mouth and nose with his elbow while pretending to look for a hanky with his other hand. As he did so, he glanced around the deck to look for the origin of the stares. To his surprise, there were only three people staring at him. Three people in black trench coats and they looked nothing like the rest of the passengers.
When August arrived at his destination, he paid attention to who got off the deck with him, trying not to look too obvious. Nearly half of the people on the deck got off at the same stop as August, but even as thirty-plus people got off, he was able to spot the three trench coated strangers who were staring at him.
OK, well, this is not good, August thought. What am I even supposed to do now? Run if they start following me? Wouldn’t that make them follow me even more? The whole thing will break into a chase. Maybe I should just stay here and confront them in a public place? No, that can’t be a good idea. I shouldn’t make a scene. I should just pretend I didn’t see them.
To August’s relief, as the crowd dispersed, so did the three strangers, and there was no sign of anyone following him.
A few minutes later, he got to the cemetery and sat down in front of his parents’ grave, trying to control the myriad emotions that were passing through him. This was why he hated coming to the cemetery in the first place.
“Mom, Dad… I don’t know if you can hear me or not. But this is all I got, all I can do. I want you to know that I’ve done my best, and that’s because of you. I’ve done my absolute best to make things right again, so that what happened to you, what happened to me, doesn’t happen to anyone else. We defeated them. Mom, Dad, we defeated them when they came again. And we defeated them hard.
“Who knows if they’ll come again,” August said as he took a deep breath. “There is talk that they might come back with an even bigger force. But I’m not scared anymore. I’m ready for whatever happens from here on out. I just wish you were here to see what we’ve accomplished.” August buried his head in his knees, trying to adjust to the pain of not having his parents.
I just wish you were here, he thought. I miss you too damn much. When it comes to this, I know that I will never be strong enough. I know that I will never forget. Mom, Dad, I love you so much. Thank you for all the moments we shared while you were still here.
August heard a twig break behind him Just as he was getting comfortable. He got up and turned towards the noise. He saw five strangers directly ahead, each of them wearing a dark trench coat.
“Sorry to bother you in this sacred place,” one of the strangers said as she opened her trench coat, revealing a large weapon. “But we have some business to take care of. I’m sure you understand.”
August stood there, unafraid and ready to face the armed strangers.
Back in her hometown of San Diego, Larissa had been aware for the majority of the day that she was being followed. She wasn’t scared, not at all, but she also did not want to cause a scene. There were just too many of them, and Larissa wasn’t fond of no-win scenarios.
But the number of people following her intensified after she got the rendezvous message from ESAF. She knew that whoever was following her was planning to make a move soon, regardless of where she was or who was around her.
It was dark out, and it was starting to get cold. She had never been fond of cold weather, the cold weather reminded her of the day the Acram first came to earth.
She felt like she couldn’t call anyone for help, as she didn’t know who exactly was involved. Or if help would be any sort of help at all. Her best option was to make it to the extraction point alive, but how?
I need to do something fast, Larissa thought. It is becoming much easier to spot the strangers following me. This is getting way out of control, and from the looks of it, they are armed too. Well, at least I don’t have to be as nice to them as I otherwise would.
Larissa walked into the megastore across the street from the town mall she had been in for most of the day. As she entered the store, a shopping cart pulled up in front of her. When she grabbed the cart, a screen popped up a few inches away from the handle.
“Welcome to Mega Mega Store,” a friendly voice said from the shopping cart, “where we have everything in stock, one hundred percent of the time. Why order online if you can get it done yourself? Here are today’s savings ads.” Products with discount prices began to appear on the shopping cart’s screen.
“I’m not interested,” Larissa said as she pushed the cart into the store.
“Not a problem,” the friendly voice said. “The ads will be right here if you should need them. Is there anything I can help you find today?”
“Do you have flares?” Larissa asked.
“Ah, yes,” the friendly voice said. “There are two possible sections where flares are located. You can find them in the automotive section or the camping section. Would you like me to direct you there?”
“Yes,” Larissa said. “To whichever one is closer.”
“Please follow the map on the screen,” the friendly voice said.
Larissa walked as quickly and calmly as she could towards the camping section. There, with a little more help from the friendly voice on her shopping cart, she was able to find the flares with ease. She grabbed three boxes.
At that moment, she wished that getting a weapon would be as easy. But only specialized armory stores sold them, and even then, it was by appointment only. She had heard of a time where guns and other weapons were sold in stores just like the one she wa
s in.
“What about the sports section?” Larissa asked the shopping cart.
“Ah, yes. Sporting goods,” the friendly voice said. “The section is located just three aisles down. Please follow the map on the screen.”
Larissa hurried down to the sports section, her heart pounded faster with every minute that passed. She was beginning to think that she was taking way too long.
“Baseball equipment,” Larissa said.
“We have a great variety of baseball equipment, and great prices,” the friendly voice said as it highlighted the section in the aisle where it was located. “Take a look for yourself.”
Larissa grabbed the first bat that she saw and kept on moving through aisles. She wasn’t sure if it was her nerves or if she had unconsciously spotted one of the strangers, but she knew that time was running out.
“Paper towels,” Larissa said.
“Paper towels are located next to the grocery section of the store,” the friendly voice said. “Please follow the map on the screen.”
She smiled at the “map” the shopping cart produced, as it was just a straight line. But then Larissa remembered just how much trouble she was in, and the smile disappeared.
“Turn off. I’ll take it from here,” Larissa said as she arrived at the paper towels.
“If you should need me, I’ll be right here.” The screen on the shopping cart disappeared as she pushed the cart. “Thank you for shopping at Mega Mega!”
Larissa pretended to look for a specific brand of towels as she waited for the only other person in the aisle, one of the few people in the store. What a useless waste of space, she thought, there’s no way these stores can justify their size. Come on, lady pick something already. The choice doesn’t have to be this hard. Even though it took less than a minute for the woman to make up her mind on quilted or non-quilted, it felt like an eternity to Larissa.
