by Simon Archer
It felt like I closed my eyes and immediately opened them again, but the room had changed. It was lighter, indicating that morning had arrived. I was alone in the loft, and my entire body felt heavy. I closed my eyes, preparing to get up.
When I opened them again, it was four hours later. This time I felt as though movement wouldn’t completely drain me. I sat up slowly and looked around. I was still alone, but there was a tray sitting in front of the lounger across the room. I could see steam coming from the plate that was on it but couldn’t make out what was on it.
I pulled the covers back and slid my legs over the edge of the bed. There were stabbing pains in both my thighs, and it felt like the skin was being pulled at either side of the cuts that had been stitched up. I stood up to take the pressure off the stitches and slowly made my way to the other side of the room. I sat down in the lounger and pulled the lever to extend the leg rest and looked over at the tray.
The plate was piled high with some sort of chicken and vegetable stir-fry, and it smelled like heaven. There were various dipping sauces in tiny bowls surrounding the plate. I picked up my fork and stabbed a piece of chicken and a peapod and put them in my mouth. In all the Asian countries I’d eaten in throughout my travels, I’d never tasted a stir fry this delicious. I took three more bites, feeling hungrier and hungrier. I simply wanted to devour my meal. I put my fork down as I chewed and then took a long drink from the water glass perched nearby. I leaned back in my chair to catch my breath, which I hadn’t immediately noticed was becoming labored.
I woke up three hours later, still sitting in the lounger. This time Ellie was sitting on the bed across from me. She smiled when she saw my eyes open. I looked around, and the tray I was eating from was gone. Ellie saw me looking for it.
“It got cold. There is no use eating cold stir fry,” she said softly.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Four o’clock,” she told me. “I need to check your wounds. You were starting to stir when I came up here, so I figured I’d let you wake up on your own first.”
The room was brighter than before, and I noticed the curtains had been opened. I felt much more alert than I had the previous two times I’d woken.
Ellie checked my wounds, which had healed considerably since the last time I’d looked at them. The cut on my forearm was completely sealed already and could probably have the sutures removed. It was tender but not painful. My thighs were a different story. There wasn’t any stabbing pain, but when I bent my leg and the skin pulled, it was still plenty painful.
After Ellie examined me and was satisfied that I was making proper progress, she helped me to get back in bed. I was not in any condition to make a trip down the ladder just yet. She piled up pillows behind my back and adjusted them until she was satisfied that I was in a good position.
“I will send Kennedi up with some food for you,” Ellie said to me, heading toward the ladder. “Would you like anything else?”
“Yes, will you please have her bring my computer as well?” I requested. Most of the brain-fog that had been hanging around was lifted, and the first thing I wanted to do was get to work on the program I’d started before my last match. If I was going to be stuck in bed for a while, I couldn’t think of a better way to pass the time.
Ellie nodded curtly and was gone. Only a couple of minutes passed before Kennedi arrived with my computer and a tray of pancakes. She set the pancakes on the trunk at the end of the bed and set my computer on the bed beside me. She insisted on checking my cuts for herself. She seemed happy with the amount of healing that had taken place. Then she retrieved my pancakes, lowered the folding legs on the tray, and set it over my lap. They had already been buttered, so she poured home-made maple syrup over them and went to sit in the lounger while I ate.
My appetite was back in full force, and the pancakes were delicious. I had them devoured in a matter of minutes.
“Man, pancakes just make everything better,” I said with a laugh.
“They certainly do,” Kennedy replied as she took my plate but left the tray at my request. After she’d put the plate down, she climbed over the end of the bed and sat on her knees beside me.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I am much more awake than earlier today,” I told her. “There is some pain but nothing to whine about.”
“Is there anything else I could get you?” she asked. I could see the concern in her eyes. I knew she was trying not to be too motherly but wanted to be able to do something to help me. I couldn’t think of anything for her to do, though.
“No, I’m fine right now,” I told her. I smiled at her to reinforce the fact that I was truly okay.
“Okay,” she said softly.
I reached over and pulled my laptop onto my now-empty tray and opened it.
“Oh,” Kennedi started. “I did some work on your computer.”
I felt a tiny bit of panic. I hadn’t told her I had started to write a program. The terror that she would've possibly erased it welled up. I swallowed a lump in my throat and asked, “What did you do to it, exactly?”
“I sped up your processor, added RAM, and downloaded a special AI assist program that you will need if you are to integrate the program you are writing into Ellie’s system,” she told me and smiled.
My heart slowed as I realized she had not only kept the program intact, she’d actually anticipated what I would need to make it useful. All I could do was smile. She truly was irreplaceable.
I switched the computer on and waited for the programs to load. I pulled up the one I was writing and went to work while Kennedi watched silently.
I typed until well after the sun had gone down. When the loft started getting too dark, Kennedi got up and turned the lamp on. She went straight back to her perch on the bed beside me.
The program before me was filling in perfectly. I had figured out what I needed to create to allow Ellie to perform the functions she needed and wanted to without fear of virus invasion or data being hijacked. What was a sketch the day before would be ready to test in an hour.
When I was done writing the code, I went to work integrating it with the AI software that Kennedi had added. It took me a little time to figure out how the two would work together, but it all came together seamlessly after that. It was about nine o’clock when I looked up at Kennedi. I had only been out of bed once since I’d started typing, and that was to go to the bathroom. I felt more than ready to get up again.
Kennedi helped me down the ladder and waited for me outside the barn bathroom. Then she helped me back up, checked my wounds yet again, and climbed back on the bed with me. I felt confident that the program was ready to test, but we needed Ellie to start glitching again before we could be one-hundred percent sure that it was effective in protecting her hotspot connection. That wouldn’t happen for about another twenty-four hours if she stayed on the same schedule as last time.
I closed out the hotspot program and started to work on another one. Ellie still needed to be able to connect to outside networks without having viruses planted during updates. To accomplish this, she would need to be able to retrieve updates from the Omnicorp network without them knowing about it, so they didn’t have the opportunity to plant a virus. So, her connection needed to be invisible.
After writing the firewall program for her hotspot, the program for Ellie’s connectivity modifications came together quickly. A lot of the program used the same concepts, so development took a fraction of the time. What I had put together would allow for her to search for updates and clean them so she could take what she wanted without fear of a virus. I still hadn’t figured out how to make her invisible, though.
It was after midnight by the time I looked up. Kennedi hadn’t moved, and Ellie hadn’t come to the loft. I’d been so engrossed in my work that I hadn’t noticed.
“Where’s Ellie?” I asked Kennedi.
“She’ll be staying in the house tonight,” Kennedi said.
“She’s okay with that?” I asked.
“Yes, she’s fine. She and Bev have been cooking all day. The stir-fry, the pancakes, that was all Ellie,” she said with a chuckle.
“Damn, in that case, she’s found her calling. If any of the rest of her recipes end up that good, she’ll be set to open her own place!” I was excited for her. Bev thoroughly seemed to enjoy teaching her too. It was the perfect pairing.
“You should put that down and go back to sleep now,” Kennedi switched the subject abruptly. She reached for my computer, closed it and moved it to the trunk. She hopped off the bed and came around the side, where she proceeded to remove the pillows from behind my back. I didn’t even have a chance to protest or tell her how much better I felt before she had me lie down again. It wasn’t until just then that I felt the fatigue wash over me. This time it was more mental than physical, though. I felt her eyes on me as I closed mine. Once again, she was waiting for me to drift off to sleep so she could treat my cuts with a thorough tongue-bath.
33
I woke up the next day and felt like a completely different human. The brain-fog, the heaviness, the pain? It was all gone. When I got out of bed, I was alone in the loft. I threw on some clothes, grabbed my computer, and navigated the ladder to get down without difficulty. I walked through the barn and felt the blast of hot air hit me as I opened the barn door to exit. The sun was bright in the sky, and the temperature was climbing quickly. By the looks of it, it was going to be an extremely hot day.
I made my way to the house and let myself in. When I walked into the kitchen, Bev and Ellie were there. When they saw me, they both let out a little cheer.
“You’re up!” Ellie exclaimed and clapped her hands together. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m better than I thought possible,” I told them, and it was the truth.
Bev was smiling from the corner of the kitchen where she was whipping some sort of batter. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving!” I answered her. Whether I needed to eat or not, the smell of her cooking on its own had a knack for making me hungry. This was not one of those times, however.
“Where are Kennedi and Theo?” I asked Bev.
“They are out at the firepit. We all thought it would be nice to have dinner out there when the Lindys get here tonight. What do you think?” Bev asked.
“It sounds like a fantastic idea, especially with as hot as it is going to be today. It will be the perfect temperature by the time they get here,” I answered.
Bev turned back to her batter and said, “Now go take a seat in the dining room, and we’ll whip you up something to eat.”
“Banishing me to the dining room, are ya?” I joked with her.
“Yes,” Bev replied and smirked over her shoulder at me. Ellie shooed me away with a kitchen towel and went back to work.
Ten minutes later, I had a sun-dried tomato and cheese omelet sitting in front of me with a side dish of sausage and wheat toast with raspberry jam. The omelet smelled of black pepper and onions and made my mouth water before I had a chance to cut into it. I took my time and savored every bite of my meal. My mind was spinning and weaving its way around how the rest of today would play out and what it could mean for the future.
Just as I took the last bite of my last piece of toast, Ellie came sweeping in from the kitchen and gathered up my dishes and disappeared again. I got up and followed her back into the kitchen. Every surface in the room was now covered in tiny cupcakes. Some were frosted, some were plain, and there were all different colors. I went to reach for one, and Bev slapped my hand.
“Those are not ready yet! Keep out!” she yelled.
I grinned at that, and as I could see that the two of them were busy, I decided to go see if I could help with the firepit. First, I darted my hand out and stole a cupcake off the counter and headed straight for the front door before either Bev or Ellie could stop me.
Once outside, I went around the side of the house and found Theo. He was standing next to a pile of stones a few paces away from the hole in the ground that was the firepit.
“How ya feeling?” he asked when he saw me coming toward him.
“I’m good,” I said, hoping that would be the last time I answered that question.
“I’m having a little trouble here,” Theo said in a low voice, almost to himself.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” I asked him.
Theo looked me up and down to size up whether I was in good enough condition to help or not before saying, “I’m trying to pick out the firepit rock and can’t decide the best one for the center. Landscaping is not my thing, apparently.”
“That’s easy, Theo,” I said, stepping in front of him and pointing at a specific rock. “That one.”
“Why that one?” he asked.
“Because it has a flat bottom. It’s that simple. It will sit flat in the middle of the pit which will help if you do any cooking in it,” I told him.
Theo examined the rock I was referring to and nodded his head. “Alright, that makes sense.”
“Let me help you get it over there,” I offered.
“Absolutely not!” he practically shouted. Then he lowered his voice and said, “Kennedi has been cranky with me all morning about moving the heavy stuff. I don’t think she understands the stigma that men are supposed to be stronger than women.” Theo laughed and started looking around to find Kennedi.
She was standing at a woodpile about forty yards away, assembling pallet furniture from scrap wood.
“Kennedi!” Theo yelled.
“Yes?” she called back.
“Got time to move a stone?” Theo asked.
“Yes, sir!” she exclaimed and immediately headed our direction. She picked the stone Theo pointed to up like it was a pebble and gently set it in the middle of the firepit. Then she flitted off to continue making her furniture.
It only took another couple of hours to finish the firepit. When it was done, the bottom was completely lined with stones, and the outer edge had a row of stones assembled that looked like they’d been cut into puzzle pieces and put back together. In fact, that was pretty much what had been done. Kennedi thought it would be a good safety measure to make sure the edge rocks weren’t able to move easily. So, she ground them into shapes so they would interlock. The result was effective and had the desired side-effect of being really nice-looking.
The wood furniture Kennedi had been assembling was finished and spaced out around the pit. There were sun chairs, loungers, rocking chairs, benches, side tables, and stools. She hadn’t made furniture before, so she decided to try some of each to see which she enjoyed making the most. Turned out that the sunchair was her favorite, so she made eight of them. The pit only had room for five, though, and rather than begrudgingly take three back to the woodpile, she decided to expand the firepit on her own. I’d have helped, but honestly, she insisted, and since it only took her a few minutes, who was I to complain.
Now, all that would be needed to entertain guests would be food trays and an actual fire. Kennedi went to work building the trays, and Theo and I sat in two of the new sun chairs. The backs were adjustable for angle, and the seat stretched out into a foot-rest. You’d normally see chairs like this at a pool, but we decided they would be perfect for eating, and Kennedi enjoyed making them, so we figured ‘why not?’
Theo folded his hands behind his head and let out a sigh of relaxation.
“Finally starting to unwind a little?” I joked with Theo.
Theo turned his head to face me. “You got that right. I’m under a bit less pressure than I have been in a while,” he said.
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” I asked, genuinely curious. I hadn’t known that he was under pressure of any kind.
“Well, it goes like this… Two-hundred-forty thousand dollars took some pressure off,” he said. I watched a sly smile cross his face.
“Two-hundred-forty-thousand?” I muttered, almost confused. “How did you walk away with two-
hundred-forty-thousand dollars?”
Theo sat up and turned to face me. “I didn’t. I walked with eighty-thousand. The other one-hundred-sixty-thousand is yours!” he shouted and clapped his hands together.
“I still don’t see how,” I said. “I only dropped ten-thousand on myself. With a triple payout, I should’ve topped out at forty grand.” I tried to reason my way through the math.
Theo’s smile got bigger. “I’m not a mathematician. So, when they started talking about payouts, I grabbed what I wanted to hear, apparently. The amount placed on the bet was tripled matched, and then the payout was tripled.”
I sat and let the news set in. This meant I wouldn’t have to fight on the Platform again. This meant that I wouldn’t have to dodge Omnicorp meetings or spend my free time at parties with superficial twits. This one bet had just changed my future, and tonight, I planned on setting up the path my life was going to go down.
Later that evening, I decided to take a quick nap before getting ready for dinner with Charlie and Leah. When I woke up, I took a few minutes to go over the code for the programs I wrote. Kennedi joined me in the loft just as I was finishing up. She saw my look of frustration.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I can’t make her invisible on an outside network with the program I’ve designed. It does everything else we’d want it to but not that,” I tossed my computer on the bed beside me. “I’ve run a thousand different simulations given the parameters you set me up with, and I just can’t get that part to work.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m starting to think it may be something we can’t ‘fix’ with software.”
“Hmm… do you mind if I take a look?” Kennedi sat on the bed beside me and picked up my laptop.
