by Dena Nicotra
“So, your name is Lee, is that right?” it asked.
“My name is Hailey, but my friends call me Lee,” I said.
“Is Aaron your friend?”
“No.”
“But he addressed you as Lee.”
“Yeah, well, he knows me.” I let the silence pass between us, aware that it was processing what I’d said.
“If he knows you, and addresses you as Lee, why then do you not call him a friend?”
“Because he’s not a human. As a matter of fact, it’s a genetic abomination.” There was a long silence before the simp responded.
“His genetic source code called to me.”
“I’ll bet it did,” I said. The desert was now replaced with sporadic lights as we moved closer to the city. Sacramento was once a thriving metropolis. Now it was a complex series of collapsed freeways and buckled buildings. I adjusted myself in my seat and checked the monitor to ensure we were on course. My synthetic passenger monitored my movements, but remained silent. We traveled several miles before he spoke.
“May I call you Lee?”
“Yeah, whatever.” I didn’t really care what it called me. My thoughts were on getting to Mic. The sky below us grew void of lights as I adjusted myself in my seat.
“Wouldn’t you like to know my name?”
“Sure,” I said, as I reached for a water bottle and twisted off the cap.
“My name is Eli . My parents lived in Mojave. My father was in the military and my mother taught school on the base. I lived there my whole life. I have a job at the airport. Everything has changed now, but I still go to work every day.”
“That’s stupid. No one is there now to care if you go.”
“It’s not stupid. It’s dedication. It’s a work ethic. It’s a commitment, and I take it seriously.”
“Okay, whatever.”
“Whatever,” he echoed.
“What happened to your…parents?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you hurt them?”
“I…I…do not know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“My memory has large sections of missing data. According to the time stamps on my file structures, I was offline for two years. Six months before then, I was online, but the data in between is missing. I tried to retrieve it, but I was unsuccessful.”
“Where were you when you came back online?”
“I was at work, inside a metal cabinet that was used to store cleaning materials. It was locked from the outside, but I was able to open it easily.”
“Sounds like someone was trying to get rid of you,” I said, dowsing my cigarette in the now empty water bottle and tossing it on the floor.
“Or perhaps, hide me,” Eli suggested.
“Hide you from what?”
“The bad things that came from the war.”
“I’ve got news for you. You were the bad things.”
“No, you’re wrong. I wanted to help….”
“Save it. I don’t want to hear about your bleeding humanitarian perspectives.”
“You’re not a very happy person, Lee.”
“Nope. You’re right about that. I’m not. Do me a favor Eli, power down.”
“Request acknowledged.”
I made the rest of the trip in silence, which was fine by me. I had no way to know if this simp would turn rogue on me, and I wasn’t going to take the chance. I was tired and anxious to see Mic. If things were going bad, I wanted to hear all the details from him and find out what, if anything, could be done to stop it. I sent Mic a message as I got closer to let him know I would be there within the hour. The fog was thick below me, making it difficult to navigate manually, so I set the coordinates he gave me, and lit another cigarette. I spent the rest of that last hour reflecting on what could have been and then I went about getting my weapons ready. “Just like old times,” I said to no one. When I landed on the rooftop at I.D.E. Incorporated, Mic was there waiting for me.
“I thought you’d never get here,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“Me either,” I said with a yawn. It was bitterly cold, and I crossed my arms to try to keep warm. Why hadn’t I thought to bring a jacket?
“So, what’s the surprise you mentioned?”
“See for yourself,” I said, pointing with my thumb to my passenger. Eli sat perfectly still, his chin resting on his chest. Mic’s eyes widened as he leaned in to get a better look.
Stepping back, he turned to look at me, eyes widened.
“You brought a simp?”
“Yeah. It saved my life.”
“How so?”
“I ran into some trouble on the way.”
“What kind of trouble?” He moved forward, putting his arms around me.
“Nothing. It was just some baggers at the airport.”
“They’re everywhere now. I’m glad you’re safe.” I ignored this comment because ‘safe’ meant ‘alive’ and I didn’t want to think about how close I’d come to death back there. Not to mention how I felt about being ill-prepared.
“He’s an Alpha Composite child upgrade.” Mic nodded.
“Well, if you had to pick a simp to travel with, that’s the right model. Let’s leave him here until we get you settled inside, just to be safe.”
I continued relating the details as I unloaded my things from the hovcar. The hardest part was letting him know that the freaky tall version of Aaron was still out there. “That confirms my theory,” he said, shaking his head.
“He’s the catalyst for what’s happening, isn’t he?” I said. He didn’t have to answer. His expression was enough.
Mic slung my bags over his shoulder and slid the door closed. As we headed toward the elevator, he took my hand in his. “Lee, that’s not the worst of it.” His eyes were focused straight ahead, but I could see that his jaw was clenched. I stopped walking.
“What else is going on, Mic?”
“The rate of IP engagement has increased dramatically since this morning.”
“Define…dramatically.”
“The percentage is tripling by the hour.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I said. I leaned against the wall and waited while Mic placed his eye before a scanner. When the sequence completed, we stepped into the elevator. Welcome to the belly of the beast, I thought to myself. This was the last place on earth I wanted to be. The doors slid open again and we made our way down the long corridor in silence. I tried to avoid looking up at the large glass cutouts in the shape of the letter S because it just pissed me off too much. Life was anything but simple anymore and the simps were the gift that just kept giving. We stopped at another scanner that required Mic’s eye for entry.
“Any word from Two and Deraline?” I asked. The sequence completed and the doors slid open.
“Nothing yet, but I’m tracking their IPs and their making good time,” he said.
“Mic, why didn’t you just let me power them down and bring them in with me?”
The door slid open at that moment, and I followed him inside. Mic immediately went to a glass wall positioned to the left of the entry and waved his hand to activate the data screen. A series of numbers and strange codes appeared and began to scroll rapidly. He pinched, expanded, and waved away information that made no since to me. I waited a few minutes before I spoke again. “Mic, why didn’t you just let me power them down?”
“Huh?” He was clearly distracted, so I said it again, a lot louder.
“Because I was worried that someone in Redburg might try to be a cowboy and hurt them…and I was worried that you wouldn’t get them powered down in time if they turned on you.”
“What happened to their immunities?”
He stopped what he was doing and turned to face me.
“I’m sorry, Lee. When it comes to your safety, I’m just not willing to take any chances. Forgive me for being overly cautious.” His eyes searched mine.
“I’m a big girl, Mic.”
I crossed the room and took a seat on a stool in front of a large table. My head was beginning to pound and I needed something to eat. More importantly, I needed a drink. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed.
“Is that so wrong of me?” e asked.
“I’m tired, Mic. I’d love a drink, something to eat, and then some sleep. We can talk more in the morning but, for now, that’s what I need.”
Mic brought me a glass of whiskey and a plate with salmon and brown rice before he disappeared to see to Eli. He wanted to contain him in one of the incubators for the night, just to be on the safe side. I was content just to sip the whiskey and relax for a minute. The salmon was delicious, and as I chewed a bite, I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had fish. Living so far from the ocean had its disadvantages.
Feeling suddenly guilty for enjoying a wonderful meal while the citizens of Redberg faced the unknown, I also realized how incredibly tired I was. It was exhausting to think about all the things that were bothering me. My thoughts went back to Towering Aaron and the tremor in my hand that prevented me from keeping rice on my fork. Pushing my plate away, I finished the rest of the whiskey in one swig.
After Mic returned, we finished a bottle of whiskey as we talked more about the work that he and Giz had been doing. As usual, I didn’t understand much of what he said and couldn’t help noticing how distant he seemed as he talked. Finally, he told me that Giz and Alice would be up in the morning. They’d taken a place not far from the building so that their daughter could have a yard to play in, but now that things looked like they were going bad, they would be moving back into the I.D.E building, just to be safe.
It had been a long time since I’d seen them and I was looking forward to seeing their little girl. The last time I had seen her was shortly after she was born when they’d come for a short visit. They’d named her Bailey Deraline, but according to Mic, they called her Bady. It was hard to believe she was already six months old. I prayed she’d see her first birthday as I crawled into bed next to Mic and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 3
When I opened my eyes, I immediately felt a sense of dread. I wanted to be back in Redburg, sitting at my worn out little table and having my coffee. Mic was already up, and I resented the empty spot in the bed where his warm body should have been. I threw the covers back and swung my legs over the side of the bed, sitting there for a moment to clear the fog of sleep from my brain. Wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear, I crossed the room and looked out the window. This high up, the view of the city below was once impressive. Now it was depressing. Some buildings stood just as they once had. Others were burned out in sections, leaning precariously, or complete piles of rubble. Large sections of the freeway were missing, and abandoned vehicles littered what was left. As a society, we hadn’t come far in the short time since the simp war had ended, and what little was left of humankind had no idea that they shouldn’t be feeling very hopeful.
Deep in thought, I jumped when I heard the knock on the door. “You awake, Lee? Someone wants to see you!”
“Hey, Alice! Give me just a sec to get dressed.” I could hear Alice talking to Bady as I quickly threw on a pair of jeans. By the time I got to the door, Bady was shrieking. “Hi, Lee!” Alice gushed. She was simultaneously rocking back and forth in an effort to calm her daughter.
“Hi, Alice, it’s good to see you, and you too little lady!” I said, stepping back to allow them to enter the room.
“She’s gotten so big!” I said. Alice was trying to get her to take her pacifier, and I was thankful when she decided to oblige her mother. I hadn’t had my morning coffee yet, and I was less than accustomed to the noises of a baby.
“There you go, lady Bady bug,” Alice cooed as she took a seat on the sofa. I sat across from her in a chair, and fixed a polite smile on my face. I was happy to see them both, but I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet. I reached for a pack of smokes on the side table, but when Alice frowned at me, I thought better of it.
“So, where’s Giz?” I asked.
“He and Mic are bringing in our things. We’re taking the suite across from you guys.” I had to focus a little harder on my polite face after hearing this news. The idea of a crying baby in the middle of the night did little to help my frame of mind.
“Do you want to hold her?”
“Actually, I was just about to grab a shower,” I said, standing up.
“Oh, okay. Well, me and Bady will just wait for you right here, won’t we?” she said, but she wasn’t talking to me. She was bouncing Bady and saying this to her (in baby talk, which further annoyed the crap out of me). I ran my hand through my hair. “You know what would be really great?” I asked.
“Say, what’s that, Auntie Lee?” She continued in baby talk, still looking at her daughter. “If you could find out if there’s any coffee made?”
“We wouldn’t be able to carry it back, but there’s some coffee in the lab,” she said, before leaning in to plant little kisses on Bady’s chubby cheek.
“Ah, okay. Well then, I’ll just run down and grab a cup before I shower. Do you want to come with me?” I asked, hoping she’d agree.
“We could do that, couldn’t we, lady Bady bug?” She scooped up her diaper bag, shifted Bady to her right hip, and followed me out of the room. I was half listening to Alice as we made our way to the lab. Okay, so I wasn’t much of a morning person, but I’d be better with coffee.
“Did you hear me, Lee?”
“Yes, I’m listening,” I said absently as I opened the door to the lab.
“No, you’re not,” she said with a little laugh.
“I’m sorry, Alice. I’m hardly awake, and I really need a cup of coffee.” I followed my nose to the coffee machine and ransacked a cupboard for a cup. “Here, she said, handing me a sleeve of paper cups wrapped in plastic. Bady’s little fingers groped at the cups as I quickly took them.
“Do you want a cup?” I asked.
“No, thanks. I don’t drink caffeine when I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, okay.” I poured coffee into my cup and then stopped short.
“What did you just say?”
“I told you, you weren’t listening,” she giggled.
“You’re pregnant, again?”
“Uh-huh. I think I’m two months, if my calculations are right.” I took a sip and debated what to say to this.
“Well, that’s just…wonderful.” It came out sounding phony as hell.
“You don’t have to pretend, Lee. I was super happy about it until all of this…” she trailed off. I wanted to say that everything would be okay, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, because I didn’t believe it myself.
“I know Giz will do everything in his power to keep you safe.” That much I did believe. She nodded, and despite the smile on her face, I could sense her fear. Desperate to change the subject, I was thankful when Alice announced that she needed to change Bady’s diaper. She was going to go back into Mic’s office to take care of that, so I took the opportunity to excuse myself to take a shower. “We’ll catch up when I get back,” I called out. I cussed aloud the whole way back to Mic’s executive suite. Not that it did any good, but it made me feel a little better.
I took my time getting showered and pulling myself together. I even spent some time rummaging through Mic’s drawers. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but when I found an oversized sweatshirt, I claimed it. After all, it was a girlfriend’s right to steal over-sized comfortable clothing from her boyfriend. It was white and sported a logo from some long forgotten golf club. I pulled it over my head and then sat back on the unmade bed. Finally, I tucked my knife into my boot, stuffed my gun in the back of my jeans, and put my slingshot in my back pocket.
When I got to the lab, Giz and Mic were there and totally engrossed in conversation as the
y reviewed code on the holographic projector. Giz was moving his hand to slide an image over the top of another.
“There, do you see it?” he asked.
“I hate to say it, but yes. I see it. You were right, Giz.”
“I wish I wasn’t,” he said.
“What are you right about, rooster man?” I asked, taking a seat on a tall metal stool. Above me, a series of glass monitors dropped down from the ceiling, making a semi-circle of glowing blue projections of flashing numbers and symbols. The geek duo stood near a larger holographic monitor that descended from the ceiling to the right of the one they were working with.
“Well, if it isn’t Miss Unsociable.” He made his way to me and gave me a warm embrace. “It’s really good to see you, Lee.”
“Good to see you too, Giz. Although, I wish it were under better circumstances.” Mic came up behind me and placed a hasty kiss on the nape of my neck. “How’d you sleep?” Mic whispered in my ear, as he rubbed my shoulders.
“Okay.”
“Did you get some coffee?” he asked.
“Yeah, thanks,” I said, turning to face him. “I stole this from you. I hope you don’t mind.” I tugged at the sweatshirt.
“That’s fine,” he said with a tight smile. It was then that I noticed he had distinct dark circles under his eyes, which made me wonder if he’d gotten much sleep. I was about to ask when I heard a voice calling from Mic’s office. “Is that Lee?”
“Yes, Aunt Maude, it is,” Mic replied.
“You’d better go back there and say hello. She’s been so anxious to see you,” Mic said softly. His eyes pleaded with me to be gracious.
“Yes, of course,” I said, balling my fists at my sides. Inside I was dying a thousand deaths. Why was it okay for men to stay in their safe zones, completely excused and free to talk about whatever they were working on? Meanwhile, the women were expected to huddle together and talk about women stuff. Whatever that was. I had no recipes to share, no baby stories to relate. No beauty tips. No women stuff in general. Hell, truth be told, I’d rather have a cigarette and some whiskey in my coffee. I hesitated and looked back over my shoulder, but Mic and Giz were already deeply engrossed in their geek speak.
