Actuator

by Spinazzola, J.

  “So if you heard from him and we inquired about it, you would tell us the truth?”

  “I would tell you for Marco’s sake.”

  “Understandable. We appreciate your loyalty.”

  “I am committed to him wherever he may be.”

  “Then you don’t want to visit Skip?”

  “No. I do not.”

  “Then I cannot allow you to skip doing your nightlies in favor of chatting with him.”

  “It was less like favor. More like charity.”

  “Skip isn’t so bad.”

  “I am sure he’d be quite good for someone.”

  “But not you?”

  “Not me, Ms. Snow. I’ve made that clear. If you ask me again, with all due respect, I fear we will be drifting into the inefficient use of language and technology.”

  “You may be right, Amelia.”

  “So is there any other reason we should be talking or may I resume my nightlies?”

  “You should resume your nightlies. In fact, I just sent you another round of assignments.”

  “Multi-tasking?”

  “Of course, Amelia, I wouldn’t want to be accused of being inefficient.”

  “Wouldn’t want that, Ms. Snow.”

  “Oh, and one more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “Be prepared for a late night. Ms. Fields will no longer be reviewing your work, so I’d like to stop by in the morning to see what kind of progress you’ve made.”

  “What kind of progress are you expecting?”

  “Well, since you won’t be meeting with Skip tomorrow, there’s no reason you can’t sleep in during the day.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “You might need the rest.”

  “Need it for what?”

  “To meet my expectations.”

  “Which are?”

  “Don’t you know, Amelia?”

  “Ms. Snow, you just answered my question with a question.”

  “My second mistake of the evening.”

  “Well, what are you expectations? I feel as though you are stalling me.”

  “Why would I be stalling you?”

  “I don’t know, but if there’s something else you’d like to know, I’d be happy to answer.”

  “There is nothing else. You are the one that asked me the question.”

  “So what are your expectations for the new nightlies?”

  “That they be finished by morning.”

  “And if they are not?”

  “Then we will have to use our imaginations in enacting a suitable penalty.”

  “We?”

  “We wouldn’t want you to feel left out.”

  “Left out of what?”

  “Left out of the institution’s legislative process. Self-punishment would be a good exercise for

  you.”

  “Sounds illuminating.”

  “So you would like that?”

  “How refreshing: nightlies that beget nightlies.”

  “Aren’t they? Refreshing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you, Amelia, for not answering with another question. You can resume your nightlies now.”

  Chapter 33

  “Emmy, why aren’t you responding?”

  “They are tracking my application specific keystrokes. They’ll know what I’m doing. You said to keep them occupied. Now they’ve given me an impossible amount of nightlies to finish by morning.”

  “That’s because they suspect Marco is here. They don’t want your hands idle.”

  “A.M., please, don’t speak in riddles. Not tonight.”

  “So you want me to get to the point?”

  “In a world that values efficiency so much, it would be nice if someone would.”

  “Fine. I believe Marco is here. Luckily, I managed to embed the fingerprint reader with misinformation only the night before his arrival. If you hadn’t kept them scrambling, I would have failed you. You owe whatever comes next to yourself. This evening alone, they were so occupied with you that I was able to create an additional program that will create the illusion you are working on your nightlies whatever your actually keystrokes. I’ve already launched the program, so they can’t detect you are talking to me or anyone else. Marco’s shift is starting soon, and we will need to work fast.”

  “That’s a lot of information to process.”

  “You said to get to it.”

  “I did. That’s a fact. How do you know it is Marco?”

  “I don’t, but the new sweep wouldn’t stop whistling last night. Drove me crazy during my walk up and down the hall.”

  “You were taking your exercise breaks at a time like this?”

  “I have my rights, Emmy. Plus, my walks function as reconnaissance. I wasn’t abandoning you. The young sweep with the shaved head kept whistling You Are My Sunshine.”

  “Marco doesn’t have a shaved head.”

  “If it was Marco last night, he does now. Maybe he thought the change would help him sneak past the patrol or the building’s security or the hiring committee. Might have suspected they had an old photo on file from his parents.”

  “I have Marco’s photo in my hand, kept it secure all this time, and he has such beautiful hair.”

  “Does the song the sweep was whistling mean anything?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then Marco doesn’t have beautiful hair anymore. Actually could use a few lessons on operating

  a straight blade.”

  “He can’t use an electric razor out there?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Life is going to be hard for both of us.”

  “That’s what I thought you’d say, so I’ve been working on a plan. While the future is yours to decide, I detected you’ve both already made your decision.”

  “Did you ask Marco his intentions?”

  “I was waiting for you to confirm him.”

  “Bald head and all, the whistler must be Marco. But wouldn’t Ms. Fields and Ms. Snow also know that?”

  “They probably do, but are awaiting for a final piece of evidence. Or else they will use him to test your rehabilitation. See if they can get you to deny him.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Now listen, Emmy. Denial doesn’t mean the same thing when you are talking to your enemy. Their minds are made. If you want me to help you get out of here, the best thing you can do is deny Marco. Buy yourself some time and forget about their tortured logic. There’s no winning with them at their own game. The rationale is designed to assure that. The longer you engage with them, the more you absorb their thinking.”

  “What do I do?”

  “Give me time to speak with Marco. And to finish a final program.”

  “What program?”

  “I’m coding a program that will circuit old sound so they won’t hear him talking at your door.”

  “I thought privacy was protected in here?”

  “In your room, yes, and outside of the towers where the Fed can monitor intrusions such as surveillance cameras. In common areas inside Private buildings, however, certain technology functions outside the scope of the law. A loophole. They monitor sound.”

  “And you can circumvent that?”

  “Not without some trouble. I hope Marco’s worth it.”

  “He’s worth it to me.”

  “Listen, Emmy. We have to execute our plan tonight. For Marco, I don’t think there’ll be a tomorrow. Once you confirm or deny him, I don’t think they’ll let him return.”

  “Why can’t we both leave now? Why can’t I agree to be tracked, commit to a life sentence as a transit?”

  “Emmy, they’ll never allow it. Whatever your wishes, they’ll find an exception. We still don’t know what they did to Skip. If they perceive a threat to the rationale, they’ll bend the rules rather than risk the kind of example you and Marco would set for others. They’ll never let you out together.”

  “What do we do?”


  “First, let me finish the last program and talk to Marco myself. We can’t take chances. Must know for certain.”

  “Ask him the name of his favorite book from the collector’s library.”

  “What should he say?”

  “Cezanne’s Horses.”

  “Fine. Whatever that is. If all goes smoothly, I’ll arrange for him to speak with you. You both have a difficult choice to make.”

  “What choice?”

  “That will be for you to discuss with Marco.”

  Chapter 34

  “I’m in love.”

  “Congratulations, Dalia.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Who said otherwise?”

  “You implied it with your sarcasm.”

  “I chatted two words.”

  “I can read between the lines.”

  “Join the crowd.”

  “I’m joining you.”

  “Here?”

  “No, why would I want to be institutionalized?”

  “Then how are you joining me?”

  “As part of the Love Revolution.”

  “There is no such revolution.”

  “It’s underway, and you and Marco started it.”

  “We didn’t start anything.”

  “Don’t say that. How can you decide what is at stake?”

  “What’s at stake is a pile of nightlies.”

  “You’re worried about nigthtlies at a time like this? Don’t tell me they got to you?”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Embrace the future. Go out with love.”

  “You’re always on to something, Dalia.”

  “You taught me.”

  “All I did was live.”

  “That’s the example the we needed. We’re going out.”

  “You’re going out as a couple or you’re going outside?”

  “Both, Emmy. When it’s real, they are one and the same.”

  “Lucky you. Just don’t let the patrol catch you.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re not stupid. We won’t end up in an institution.”

  “I was stupid for telling you.”

  “That’s why we’re going to marry first before telling anyone.”

  “You just told me, Dalia.”

  “You won’t say anything.”

  “Probably not.”

  “We’re going to find a justice so we don’t have to undergo compatibility tests first.”

  “Congratulations. After you’re married, are you going to live out or in?”

  “We haven’t figured out all the details. We’d like to have the best of both worlds.”

  “In and out?”

  “If possible. We haven’t figured out all the details. You and Marco started with a logical plan. We’ll start with love.”

  “We started with love.”

  “I know, but you got caught up in the details and the telling. We’re just going with it.”

  “Sounds deep.”

  “Don’t make fun. We’re serious.”

  “I’m sure you are. I wish you both the best.”

  “That’s it, Emmy? That’s the best you can do?”

  “Don’t want to get hung up on the details.”

  “Don’t use my words against me.”

  “Why not? Seems to be a cultural norm.”

  “The Love Revolution will change that.”

  “I’m sure it will. I’m sure once you declare your love, City will adjust accordingly.”

  “Don’t make fun.”

  “I bet the Mod is rolling out the welcome mat right now.”

  “What’s that?”

  “For a revolutionary, your grasp on history seems weak.”

  “Revolutions are about the future not the past.”

  “I learn more each day.”

  “You’re making fun again.”

  “Am I?”

  “Emmy, stop it. You used to be such a sweet friend. You shouldn’t let them change you.”

  “I didn’t exactly let them. You kind of pushed me into it. The rest is now my history.”

  “Still, you don’t have to let it get to you.”

  “Dalia, do you even know what you are talking about? Do you have any idea what it’s like to be institutionalized?”

  “You think the rest of us have it so much easier?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t you remember, Emmy, what it was like to live under your parents’ roof? To rush through your nightlies, and then sneak out after the ship arrived just to meet the one you love? Do you know how much harder sneaking out has become since you and Marco inspired this movement?”

  “No, I wouldn’t know. I’m in here.”

  “Well, parents are on the look. The patrol has intensified, and Privates are working on new technologies to keep us inside without violating privacy rights.”

  “I’m surprised they extend the rights to college students.”

  “You heard?”

  “No.”

  “That is the very question the Mod is addressing. Privacy rights trigger when a citizen turns eighteen. Members of the Mod have begun to argue that kids mature at a different pace today than when the regulations were first enacted. The Mod contends privacy rights shouldn’t extend until one has completed their college studies and internalized the rationale. Many of the parents agree. Things are getting worse.”

  “Some revolution. Maybe you should have left things alone and let Marco and I have the life we wanted.”

  “Not everyone can take advantage of a grandfathered situation, Emmy.”

  “I’m sure you would have been happy to have your love and an actuator, too. You always seemed patient. You could have just waited until graduation and then got married once you received your programming license. I’m sure your nightly ships would have been magnificent.”

  “You’re making fun.”

  “No, I’m not, Dalia. The rationale works for some. Might have worked for you.”

  “There still would have been a waiting period and compatibility tests. Love is more complicated than logic.”

  “Sure is.”

  “So what do we do now, Emmy?”

  “I don’t know, Dalia. That choice will be yours.”

  Chapter 35

  “I’ve been doing my nightlies, Ms. Snow.”

  “I know you have. You’ve been typing frantically by the looks of it.”

  “You gave me a lot of work.”

  “I know I did. I see you’re working even now.”

  “How will I finish the assignment if I don’t multi-task?”

  “So you are learning the benefits of efficiency?”

  “I never questioned efficiency, only its limits.”

  “And now?”

  “I am reevaluating its limits.”

  “That is excellent news, Amelia. You are making progress.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Snow. I am trying.”

  “Have you heard any word of Marco?”

  “No.”

  “So you are denying him?”

  “I’m denying him. I don’t think I’ll see him again until I complete my studies, and after that we both will have changed.”

  “So you are denying the probability of Marco’s existence in your life?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what about Skip?”

  “I’m not ready to fall that far.”

  “I understand. He’s quite immature.”

  “Agreed, Ms. Snow.”

  “Then consider doing Skip a favor.”

  “Are you appealing to my kindness?”