Actuator
Page 17
“Yes, Amelia, I am.”
“I’ll be honest, Ms. Snow, I’m not as driven by kindness as I used to be. I’m succumbing to the objectivity of logic.”
“That is also excellent news for you, but not so much for Skip.”
“Skip is not my concern.”
“Then you are not concerned if his parents won’t want him back in their lives as a failure?”
“I’m not Skip’s keeper.”
“But I am, Amelia.”
“I know, Ms. Snow, and I am confident you can raise Skip to standard without my help.”
“Skip’s parents thought he could rise to the challenge himself, that he could play a role in your rehabilitation.”
“Maybe he did. I am certain that you can communicate Skip’s chats with me in a way that will look favorably upon his contribution.”
“You know we don’t have records of those chats. That would violate your privacy.”
“Then you can speak with Skip. Ask him to remember for you. Refresh his recollection by referring to my progress. No doubt you can find a way.”
“So asking him to retell his private conversations with you would not violate your privacy rights?”
“No, such a request would fall within one of the privacy exceptions.”
“And you now understand the efficiency of having such exceptions?”
“Yes.”
“I am so proud of you, Amelia.”
“No need for pride. Logic dictates the conclusion. The rationale just is.”
“It is. That it is.”
Chapter 36
“Everything has been prepared.”
“I feel sick, A.M. I said unspeakable things to keep my cover, to satisfy Ms. Snow.”
“Now’s not the time for guilt.”
“But how will Marco recognize me after these changes?”
“You will only talk to him at your door. He will know you by the sound of your voice. You can’t worry about the things you said to Ms. Snow. Whatever you said, you did not change her opinion of things. You words bore no influence. Speaking to her is not the same as speaking to an undecided person.”
“I still feel dirty.”
“No time for that Emmy. If you go through with your plans, you will discover the world out there is also dirty.”
“Then I’ll fit in.”
“Good, Emmy. You will need a sense of humor.”
“What is the plan?”
“I’m going to leave that for Marco’s explanation. The choice will not be an easy one, but it will be yours. He will stop by during his rounds. We don’t want him to change the normal pattern.”
“How do you know so much, anticipate so much?”
“I am very old. There, now you have it. Marco would have told you what he’s seen anyway.”
“Are you embarrassed by your age?”
“Not many citizens reach my age.”
“Why not?”
“That is a complicated question for another time. For now, let me say being one of the few my age makes me feel isolated.”
“A.M., you are not alone. You have me.”
“For now, Emmy.”
“I’m sorry I have to go out.”
“Don’t be. If I were young, knowing what I know now, I would make the same decision.”
“What do you know now?”
“Life in here is safe, but lacking in adventure. Whatever comes next, your life won’t be short on adventure.”
“What can I expect?”
“You’ll have to tell me that. They don’t promote the creation of files or videos that represent the current world outside. When it comes to such things, citizens have lost interest in all but nostalgic photos.”
“And Marco?”
“Be yourself.”
“How did you know what I was asking?”
“I was a young woman once. Womanhood can be beautiful, if troubling.”
“I expect a life of it.”
“So does Marco. Life is hard without an actuator.”
“What did he say about that?”
“Says a hard life can be a good life. That he doesn’t need an actuator. That he can make things happen.”
“Sounds like more trouble. My kind.”
“Chatting of trouble, beware wolves in the clothing of sheep. Ms. Snow will enlist those you least suspect.”
“For what?”
“To test you.”
“I thought the tests were over.”
“The tests never end. She’ll want to avoid confirmation bias, probably the only reason they have not accosted Marco. The more tests you pass, the better Ms. Snow will look. She will enlist others. Don’t waiver.”
“After everything I’ve suffered, what more can I lose?”
“Most likely your family.”
“My family?”
“I haven’t survived this long without being able to predict the future.”
“Is that possible?”
“It is when people adhere to the rationale.”
Chapter 37
“Amelia, are you there?”
“I’m here, Mom.”
“Dad, too.
“Hi, Dad. Good to chat.”
“Why weren’t you responding?”
“They assigned extra nightlies tonight. I’m pulling out my hair trying to finish them before morning.”
“They tell us you’re doing well.”
“They tell me the same.”
“Do you want to video chat, Amelia? I would like to see your face.”
“Thanks, Dad. That means a lot, but I’ll need to multi-task if I’m going to finish my assignments in time.”
“Like a pear from the tree: working late and multi-tasking. I’m so proud of you.”
“I learned it from you, Dad.”
“I know you did.”
“What about that boy, Amelia?”
“Nothing, Mom. He’s not a part of my life anymore. I’m just trying to finish my studies so I can
return to you both.”
“We want nothing more, dear.”
“I feel the same.”
“Then you’re no longer interested in that boy?”
“He’s not my priority. My studies, the rationale, City, and both of you are my priorities. If it is meant to be with Marco, we can embrace a standard life together after graduation.”
“So he hasn’t already committed to life as a transit?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“We are so proud of you, Emmy.”
“Thank you, but now I should focus on my studies. You’ll understand.”
“Of course we’ll understand. You do that. You focus.”
Chapter 38
“Emmy?”
“Marco?”
“I’m here.”
“It’s about time, Marco.”
“I did my best.”
“Now what?”
“You have to decide.”
“I’ve already decided on a transitory life with you.”
“They tracked me. I have no choice.”
“I figured that.”
“No other way for me to get in here to see you.”
“You mean to hear me.”
“It’s a start.”
“You met A.M.?”
“Yes, nice old lady.”
“She has a plan?”
“The plan is ours.”
“What is it?”
“You can’t travel with me.”
“What are you talking about? I know we can’t leave the institution together, but after we leave, can’t we meet out and go our way as a couple?”
“The Mod would never allow it. A.M. can only engineer so much. I’ll have to leave before my shift ends. Then go my way. Make it look like you rejected me. Otherwise who knows what the Mod might do to us.”
“What about me?”
“A.M. could get you out of here.”
“Could?”
“We can’t go it together.”
“What’s the point in going alone?”
“We could meet in a safe zone a few days walk from here, longer still if following a path to avoid the patrol. The Mod will be accosting all couples traveling together. We’ll never make it that far as a pair.”
“What safe zone?”
“A park.”
“The Reserve?”
“Yes.”
“Members of the Mod live outside the park.”
“They surround it, Emmy.”
“Then how will we make it into the Reserve?”
“We’ll have to figure that out individually.”
“I don’t even know what it is, the Reserve.”
“The Fed protects it. Once we're within the Reserve’s boundaries, the Mod cannot bother us. We’ll be free.”
“You know this firsthand?”
“Rumors.”
“We’re going to build a life on rumors?”
“I don’t have much else to go on.”
“Anything is better than this place.”
“And then we can be together, Emmy.”
“If we both make it.”
“Don’t lose hope.”
“I don’t even know what that word means anymore.”
“You’ve changed.”
“I heard you shaved your head?”
“That I did.”
“Has it been tough out there?”
“Hasn’t been easy.”
“Is there really violence?”
“Some. No place for a woman. I’m not sure you should follow me.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I could come back to you after you finish your studies. They won’t try to stop us then.”
“We don’t know that. Who can predict the next loophole?”
“But you’d be safe in here. Out there, I can’t protect you until we meet in the Reserve. Not many women would risk it.”
“I’m risking it. With or without you, I’m going out.”
“You have changed.”
“Is that bad?”
“No, I like it. You’re still good, just not nice. You’re fiery, and you’re going to need it.”
“What else, Marco? What else am I going to need?”
“A.M. will lead you to a pack. Things I’ve collected to help you along, things that served me. I’ll be fine without.”
“You’re going to make it to the Reserve with nothing but your clothes?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll have you.”
“How?”
“I’m keeping one thing.”
“You didn’t take a picture of me.”
“Not your picture, your voice. I found a pair of walkies in the collector’s things. You’ll have one, I’ll have the other.”
“What’s a walkie?”
“Walkie-talkie. People used to use them to talk at a distance, a technological device for communicating.”
“After all this, you’re going to compromise?”
“They’re an old technology. All things have their use.”
“Marco?”
“Plus, the batteries are dead.”
“Then how will we hear each other?”
“Some things must be taken on faith.”
“Well, you take your faith and get out of here while you still can. I’ll use the walkie and meet you in the Reserve.”
“Later, Emmy.”
“Love and all that.”
“All that."
Chapter 39
“What, Skip?”
“You changed your mind?”
“Changed my mind about what?”
“Do you want to play ship in a bottle with me?”
“It’s awfully late, and I’m multi-tasking.”
“I mean, tomorrow after you’ve caught up on your sleep.”
“No, I’d rather not.”
“Will you play anything with me?”
“Can you still get those binoculars?”
“I think so.”
“Get the binoculars, Skip.”
“Really?”
“If you get the binoculars, I’ll make things out with you. I swear to the rationale. Now let me finish my nightlies.”
Final Chapter, Book 1 AT THE SERIES
“Did you decide?”
“You know my decision, A.M.”
“I only suspected.”
“I thought you could predict the future?”
“Not for those like you.”
“Those who’ve abandoned the rationale?”
“Yes.”
“So will we make it to the Reserve?”
“Can’t predict that. The world out there doesn’t follow the rationale. You’ll rely more on your wits than logic.”
“I could use the change.”
“So could I.”
“You want to join me?”
“Too old, I missed my boat.”
“I’ll think of you.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Some logical part of us always remains predictable.”
“My feelings for you aren’t driven by logic.”
“In the best of times, logic and emotion coexist.”
“So how did you program the self-cleaning device?”
“That?”
“That.”
“Simple model based on an automobile’s windshield wiper.”
“You told me that part.”
“Collaborated with a product designer who made it capable of adhering to glass, concrete or steel while traveling infinitely without losing the friction necessary to adhere.”
“What about the energy source?”
“Solar.”
“The cleaning fluid?”
“Absorbs moisture from humid air via condensation, then turns that moisture into washing fluid by mixing it with excess chemicals on the glass.”
“Excess chemicals?”
“All waste has its value. The device draws select chemicals from pollutants that coat the glass, mixes those chemicals with moisture and goes to work like the rest of us.”
“How did you prevent the Mod from running the program?”
“Every day a new password must be entered to restart the program. A randomizer generates the password.”
“And you know what the password will be because you can predict the future of all things that follow the rationale?”
“Exactly.”
“What do we do now?”
“I come by and get you. If you’ll excuse me for looking too old for the task, I’ll lead you out to Marco’s backpack.”
“That’s it?”
"I’ve engineered all the other necessary measures to get you started. You should have no trouble making it to the old greenway that runs on the east side of the city. Patrol cars can’t follow it. The Mod’s rationale prevents them from guarding anything but the entrance on foot.”
“What’s a greenway?”
“You’re about to find out. Marco left instructions in the pack that will explain the rest.”
“How do you get me through the greenway’s entrance? The patrol must guard that, and if not, why can’t Marco wait for me there?”
“Marco is your diversion. He’s already leading the patrol in the opposite direction. Assuming they don’t capture him, their forces will be diverted. You’ll be free to follow an easier path. Marco’s will be harder than yours.”