by Nic Tatano
“I’m sorry, I don’t even know where here is.” (I’m gonna take a wild stab and guess it’s the dream version of Stepford.) “So where are we?”
“Paradise,” he says. “We got here once we stopped worrying.”
“Worrying about what?”
“The future. It doesn’t exist. There is only today, only this life. There is no afterlife.”
“Sure there is,” I say. “I’ve seen it.”
“You were dreaming,” the wife says.
“I’m dreaming now.”
“No,” she says. “This is your future. You just need to follow.”
“Follow what?”
“Follow him.”
She turns and points to my father, who is walking down the street toward me.
And then I wake up in a cold sweat.
***
Today half the school is in a funk.
The cell phone jammer is turned on. No more conversations with your mind, no more clandestine test answers floating around the classroom.
The technology undead seem to be wandering aimlessly, staring into space while bumping into walls or each other in the process. Apparently not being in contact with my father seems to have sent those with magical gold phones into vapor lock.
Jake drops by my locker as I’m switching books. “Looks like the human version of bumper cars around here.”
“Yeah, they’re cut off from the mother ship. At least until school’s out. But they’re still affected.”
“No kidding. Anyway, Roxanne said you needed to talk to me.”
“She already bring you up to date on everything?”
“Yeah. I had no idea your father was Decker. That’s pretty wild.”
“No kidding. Look, Jake, I need your help.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“It’s about Ryan. Anything to do with my father affects him badly.”
He nods. “Rox told me he ended up in the hospital. And I was there when he collapsed last week.”
“Anyway, Ryan and I have always been great friends and now we’re… you know… more than that. The problem is, he’d take a bullet for me, and I don’t want that. I appreciate the fact he’s very protective of me, but I can’t put him at risk. I don’t get the testosterone thing, so I’m counting on you.”
“Sure, I understand. So what do you need from me?”
“First, don’t get one of those phones.”
“Wasn’t planning to.”
“But most important, keep an eye on him. If you think he’s about to get involved and take on my father, do whatever it takes to stop him. I don’t care how you do it, but don’t ever let him get near my father. Meanwhile, at some point I may need your help down the road.”
“Hey, I owe you, remember?”
I smile as I close my locker. “You know, the new and improved attitude looks good on you. As do the clothes.”
“Roxanne gave me a badly needed wakeup call. I was headed down the wrong path.”
“Good to hear, Jake.”
“I just hope I’m good enough for her.”
***
“You’re certainly keeping your boy toy in line,” I say, as Roxanne walks beside me. It’s a nice day for a slow walk after school. And besides, I’m not in a rush to get back to where the demon phone is waiting. “You gonna play any more mind games with him?”
“Nah,” she says. “I think he’s adequately trained for now. Besides, we need him on Team Jillian.”
“Plus he’s the only one of us who doesn’t have any connection to a phone. His head is still completely clear.”
We turn the corner and pass Roxanne’s church, a huge ornate stone cathedral that’s over a hundred years old. I look at her and she’s staring straight ahead. “You forget something?”
“What?”
“You always bless yourself when you walk past Saint Clement’s.”
“Oh. Guess I forgot.” I expect her to stop and make the sign of the cross but she keeps walking. “I sorta forgot to go to Mass on Sunday too.”
“You missed Mass?”
“I know. First time since my first Communion. But when I woke up I just didn’t feel like it. I mean, the rock hard pews, the long sermon, always asking for money, telling me I won’t go to heaven unless I’m a perfectly good girl. I needed a day off from that stuff.”
Something’s not right. Roxanne may bring a laundry list of indiscretions to confession but she’s as Catholic as they come, with traditional old school parents to match. (I think her mother has a masters degree in guilt from Notre Dame.) The church is a throwback to tradition, even having a Mass in Latin once in awhile. “Your parents didn’t have a problem with that?”
“Told them I wasn’t feeling well. So they went to Mass, I cranked up the stereo and danced my ass off. I’ve been expecting to feel guilty but so far I’m okay with it.”
“I guess you can just add it to your confessional list.”
She shrugs. “Whatever. Not like I’m gonna go to Hell for missing Mass.”
“Rox—”
“Look, I’m just tired of all the Catholic guilt. I’m supposed to feel guilty about every damn thing. Check out a cute guy’s ass and think about spanking it, go to confession. Use a swear word, go to confession.” She stops, turns and takes my shoulders. “Jillian, you’re the sister I never had. You wanna know something?”
“What?”
“All the times I’ve told you I needed to go to confession after a date…”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve never, ever actually needed to go to confession.”
My jaw drops. “You gotta be kidding me. You’re a—”
She puts one finger on my lips. “You can’t tell a soul. Promise me.” She sticks out her pinky. “Pinky swear.”
“My lips are sealed,” I say, shaking pinkies with her. “But I’m blown away. I mean, you’re Roxanne Falcone, worldly girl who’s been around the block.”
“All an act, sweetie. I haven’t even been down the street. But I like the image. Can you imagine the abuse I’d take in school?”
“I’m your best friend, Rox. You coulda told me.”
“I know. I basically lied to you. Guess I’ll have to go to confession! Ha!”
“How long have you been feeling this way?”
“Just a few days. It hit me all of a sudden. I’m not doing all the things I want to do… for what?”
“So what does this mean?”
She starts walking again, fast enough so I have to practically trot to keep up, her long legs eating up huge chunks of sidewalk. “I think it means…. I’m gonna do what I want from now on. I mean, when you think about religion, there’s no proof of anything. That there’s some great reward if you follow the rules. If Jake and I hook up it’s not like I’m going to Hell.”
Her words stop me in my tracks. She stops walking and turns to look at me. “What? Now you think I’m a slut?”
“No. I think I know what my father’s plan is.”
“You just figured that out?”
“Yeah. And you just told me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“My father wants to destroy faith.”
Sebastien nods and paces around our living room as Mom, Ryan, Roxanne and Jake look on. “It makes sense. Get people to worship technology. Let machines do everything.”
“And it’s not just faith in a higher power,” I say, “but faith in themselves. They’ll stop following their dreams. It will kill everyone’s ambition.”
“Now that you mention it,” says Ryan, “I’ve heard a bunch of people say they decided not to go to college. People with scholarships.”
Sebastien turns to Roxanne. “When did your attitude toward religion begin to change?”
“I’ve thought back on it, and it began when we activated Jillian’s phone. The idea’s been kicking around in the back of my head, and I’ve started questioning things. I know it’s not me, but that’s the way I feel right now. I have no interest at all in
religion anymore. And all of a sudden I’m not sure I believe in God.” Jake puts his arm around her shoulders. “I know that’s a horrible thing to say, and it should bother me a great deal, but I feel no emotion at all about it. What’s upsetting me is that I know I’m being controlled. As for consequences…” she pauses and looks at Jake, then back to Sebastien, “nothing makes me feel guilty anymore.”
Sebastien is taking notes. “And Ryan, this time your reaction was purely physical?”
He nods. “Yeah. No dark images like the time he actually saw me. But it was like my body wouldn’t function.”
I take Ryan’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “My father started to say something interesting during our dinner. He said mindreaders had the one power that could… and then he stopped.”
“Hmmm,” says Sebastien. “Interesting. He is obviously afraid of that particular power and has taken steps to protect himself. I would guess he fears a mindreader would be able to access his plan.”
“So where do we go from here, Sebastien?” asks Mom.
“Jillian must continue to develop the relationship with her father.” He turns to me. “And the next time you meet, you must convince him that your own feelings about religion have changed, much like Roxanne’s. And the only ambition you should have would be to work with him. Perhaps if you do that he’ll give you a little taste of his plan.”
“We’re meeting for lunch Saturday,” I say.
“Good,” says Sebastien.
“What do we do in the meantime?” asks Roxanne. “I know it’s wrong for me to feel this way, but I can’t stop it.”
“You must draw strength from one another. Protect one another. Try to limit the times you’re alone with your thoughts. But be very careful around that phone. I would suspect the more that you’re near it, the more damage it can do.”
“Easier said than done,” I say.
“By the way,” says Sebastien, “we’ve determined the phone has a range of eight feet. It will not affect you beyond that point.”
***
Since one session with Roxanne had shown me meeting my father at the diner in Jersey, I asked him to meet me there. I remembered him asking me if I was on board, and I figured that’s enough of a clue that we’ll be talking about his master plan. As for the location, he actually liked the idea since he was catching a flight out of Newark later.
So the future I saw is actually manifesting itself.
The weather is the same, the plane roars overhead on cue. I enter the diner and see my father in the back booth, as the future foretold. I also see something I didn’t notice before… a laptop bag on the booth seat. His greeting and the initial conversation goes as expected until he asks me if I want coffee. Instead of saying, “No thanks, I’m fine,” I say, “Nah. I’m having a chocolate malt with my burger.”
Apparently going off-script like this alters the timeline, as he doesn’t ask me if I’m on board. But I’m confident the topic will come up.
“You sound like you already know what you want,” says the waitress.
My mouth waters for the best burger in the area. “Bacon cheeseburger. Lettuce, tomato and mayo. Spicy fries. Chocolate malt with extra malt.”
She jots it down on a pad. “And for you, Sir?”
“Make it two,” he says, smiling at me.
“That was easy,” she says. “Be out in a few minutes.” The waitress turns and heads for the kitchen.
“So, that’s how you stay thin,” says my father. “Burgers and malts.”
“High metabolism. I’ve always been a bundle of energy. Trust me, I’ll burn it off and be starving by dinnertime. I can only hope it doesn’t change when I hit thirty.”
“So, how was your week?”
“Good. I… uh… have done a lot of thinking.”
“About…”
I shrug. “You know, about having you come back into my life. I know we got off to kind of a rocky start, but I think I had to get some stuff out of the way. I’m excited about getting to know you and hope we can eventually have a normal father-daughter relationship. But it might take awhile.”
He exhales audibly and his whole body seems to relax. “That’s wonderful to hear, Jillian. I don’t expect everything you’ve felt to magically disappear overnight, but I’m glad you’re open to giving me a chance.” He looks out the window. “Did your mother like the gift I sent?”
Whoa. Didn’t rehearse anything for that question. Think fast. “She said it was generous of you.”
He looks back at me, relieved. “Good. Maybe someday we’ll be able to get together and talk.”
“Maybe so.”
“So, I know you’re valedictorian but I don’t know your career plans. What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“You’re assuming I wanna grow up.”
“I know. Having adult responsibilities isn’t always fun.”
“I’d love it if I had no responsibilities. As for a possible career, the jury’s still out. But lately I’m seeing things in a different light.”
“How so?”
“I mean, I really enjoy being a seer. And the fact that I might develop a second power someday is intriguing. Especially since I have no idea what it could be. Teachers are always telling me I could be a great doctor or lawyer… but lately the idea of college bores the hell out of me and I honestly don’t see the point. I mean, sitting through a ton of boring classes for four years and basically regurgitating what the professor tells you. In the last few days I’m thinking I could make a difference in other ways.”
“I like to think I make a difference in people’s lives.”
“Yeah, I mean, look at the phone. No more kids texting and driving and taking their hands off the steering wheel. That’ll save lives.”
“Technology can be a great liberator, Jillian. Right now I’m working on a few things that will really give people more options. They’ll be able to do what they want and let technology do the heavy lifting.”
I nod and lock eyes with him. “So what’s that like? I mean, having something you created be such an influence on people’s lives?”
“It’s quite a rush. People tend to worship my technology so it’s very flattering. It’s amazing to think how my inventions can affect so many people.”
I nod in the direction of the laptop bag. “So, you bring me a new computer to go with the phone?”
“Why, do you need one?”
“Not really, I just got a new Mac. But I wouldn’t turn one down.”
“I’ll bring one for you next time.” He pats the bag. “I don’t like leaving this in the car.”
“So, you gonna show me how this technopath power works?”
“Sure, why not? We’ve got time for a brief demonstration before the food arrives.” He pulls the laptop out of the bag and slides it onto the table. It’s gold, matching the phone. He flips it open, then turns it so the thing is facing me.
“You want me to use it?” I ask.
“No. Just watch.” He stares at the laptop. A blank document opens up and letters begin to fill it. I don’t have to type. I use my mind since I can interface with the computer.
“That is seriously cool.”
He looks at me, then back at the screen. Watch this. The document window minimizes and a stock market website opens up. He closes his eyes and suddenly numbers fly by at a blinding rate. He opens his eyes and they stop.
“What did you just do?”
“Downloaded the stock quotes into my mind. Go ahead, ask me for a quote. Pick a company.”
“I don’t know anything about stocks.”
“Just pick a big company.”
“Okay. How about Google?”
“Google it is. The stock symbol for Google is G-O-O-G. Type it in. The stock closed at eight forty-nine. Up two dollars and eight cents.”
I type in the four letters in the box that reads “search for quote” and hit enter.
$849 + $2.08 fills the screen.
My jaw drops
. “That’s unbelievable.”
“It’s a big timesaver reading the morning paper.” He taps his forehead. “I just download the whole thing. Stock quote, baseball scores, you name it.”
“So if I had your power I could simply download all my reading assignments into my head.”
“Yep.”
The waitress returns with our order. My father closes the laptop and puts it back in the bag as she slides the two burgers and malts in front of us. “Need anything else?”
“I think we’re good,” says my father.
“Enjoy,” she says, then turns and walks to another table.
I lick my lips as I grab my burger and turn back into a kid again. “These are the best in the tri-state area.” I take a big bite, savoring the charcoal grilled beef, smoky bacon and cheese which all battle for my taste buds.
My father samples the burger and nods. “Oh yeah. You’re right about this place.” He swallows, then takes a sip of his malt from the old fashioned glass. “That’s excellent.” He dabs his mouth with a paper napkin as he grabs a french fry. “So, are you one of those people who worships technology?”
I shrug and smile. “I’m a teenage girl.” I playfully drop my voice and narrow my eyes. “You can have my cell phone when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.”
He laughs a bit. “You have your mother’s sense of humor, Jillian.”
“That’s what people tell me.”
“I assume you’re like her in many ways.”
“Well, we march to the same drummer on most things.”
“Most?”
“Well, I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that we have different tastes in music. She likes to dress up as a mystic and I don’t. And she’s always trying to drag me to church on Sundays but I never go.”
His eyebrows go up slightly. “Yes, I remember your mother was quite religious. You’re not?”
I shake my head. “I think organized religion is a scam. I mean, all they want is money and they make these claims about Heaven when no one has any actual proof. And lately the whole concept just irritates me.”
“Lately?”
“Yeah, I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot in the past few days. I don’t know why, but lately whenever I see one of those Bible-thumpers on television it pisses me off. They make me feel like I’m such a bad person if I don’t believe what they do, or if I do something against their beliefs. Or if I don’t realize my full potential. I mean, life is meant to be lived, right? I’m not going to base my decisions on some fantasy about an afterlife that may not exist at all. Suppose there’s nothing after we die and this is it?”
