by Keith Silvas
Jeg Harker sat by the pool sipping a Piña Colada and watching the young women tan under the artificial sunlight that beat down from the light panels above. He glanced up, taking in the rest of the beautiful scenery and sighed contentedly. The viewing panel on one side depicted an image of a tropical lagoon with water so clear, you could see brightly colored fish swimming beneath the surface. The wind simulator kicked on, sending a cool breeze that smelled of salt water and flowers to caress his skin. The leaves of the palm tree he’d chosen to sit beneath for shade rustled gently.
The only thing that would make today better would be if the persistent heartburn he’d woken up with would go away. He popped another antacid tablet then turned to the other viewing panel. The dark beauty of space greeted him, vast, silent, mysterious. He felt small, gazing into the face of the Orion Nebula, resplendent in its shroud of royal purples and blues. The interstellar cruise had been fantastic so far: good food, impeccable service, plenty of entertainment, and most of all, blissful serenity. It had been two weeks, and he was just starting to feel truly rested.
Jeg grimaced; the heartburn was really bothering him. Did there always have to be something—some fly in the ointment—to spoil perfection? Suddenly he felt a tightness in his chest, like something was squeezing inside. He was uncomfortably hot. The heat from the imitation sunlight above seemed to beat down unbearably. He lifted a hand to call the server and asked for ice water.
“Sir, are you feeling alright?” the server asked, with a look of concern. “You don’t look well.”
“I don’t know—” Jeg was suddenly taken by a wave of nausea, he turned and vomited on the ground beside his lounge chair.
“We need to get him to medical,” the server was saying into his com. “Mr…” he scanned Jeg’s subdermal wrist implant, “Harker. We’ll get in touch with your wife and have her meet you at the medical facility, alright?”
∆∆∆
Ruda passed through the gates of the Complex. He was still angry about the stupid kid in the market who’d splashed filth all over his freshly cleaned jacket. He’d almost given the little brat a thrashing then and there but, luckily, had seen the mother first. Ruda didn’t remember the woman’s name, but she was married to Cen Paeg, he was sure of that much. He remembered her because he’d thought, the last time he’d seen her with her husband, that being the trophy wife for a Cen was a despicable waste for such beauty. Nexus frowned on any Boss’s Man incurring the wrath of a Cen. They weren’t in charge, but they certainly had wealth and influence.
He took off his jacket and inspected the mess more closely. The pristine black had been thoroughly splattered with brown sludge, all along the lower hem. He hissed in anger. Boss's Men made money, but not enough to just piss it away by paying the cleaner every day. It made him more angry that he hadn’t been able to take out any aggression on the child or his mother. It felt like insult upon injury. He tried to shrug it off, and almost felt pity for the next pleb, not related to a Cen, who offended him.
Beep Beep Beep
He glanced around the room wondering where the faint noise had come from. He saw nothing out of the ordinary and dismissed the thought, and went to the mirror. He looked at his reflection and frowned. One piece of hair from his blue trihawk had drooped. He took some product from a tube on the counter, and righted the wrong.
Beep Beep Beep
There was that noise again. Someone must have been in his room and left a com, from the sound of the beeping. He didn’t take kindly to anyone snooping through his things, and focused his angry energy on finding the com so he could call its owner to account. He tore the room apart and didn’t find anything, which worsened his foul mood. Finally his hand reached into his jacket pocket and, to his surprise, discovered the mystery com there. How had it gotten there? Had someone slipped it into his pocket in the market?
Beep Beep Beep
He answered this time. A holographic screen opened up in front of him with a face he knew well. It was Raymond the android, the one who had saved him at Destiny, the one who had killed Haeq, Tordn, Jhett, and that fat Cen the other day.
“It took you a while to answer,” Raymond said. “I want to speak with Nexus.”
Ruda was speechless for a second. This was not how he had expected his day to go in the least. He managed an “Alright,” and hurried to the elevator. As it took him to the top floor, he reflected that he might have said something more clever or defiant to Raymond than simply “Alright,” but maybe it was better this way. Nexus had ordered all of the Boss’s Men to be on the lookout for the android and his girl. Ruda held in his hand an opportunity for a handsome reward from Nexus. Why chance Raymond hanging up over some petty offense?
He entered Nexus’ chamber and the angelic hologram appeared almost as soon as his boots touched the polished black floor. “Boss, I have the android here for you.”
“Set the communicator down and leave us,” Nexus commanded. Ruda obeyed, trying to hide his disappointment that Nexus had not immediately spoken of a reward in his future. After he had gone, the two holograms began their discourse.
“Nexus, what you’re doing here cannot continue.”
“Whatever do you mean, Raymond?”
“The people of Zero System are humans with just as much a right to life and happiness as anyone up there in your colonies. These lies you feed them to control them must stop. This V-S.A.G.E. technology that steals their lives with an empty promise of a fake heaven must stop. I’ve seen the effects of it now. They’re addicted to a lie. So many of them are miserable, robbing each other, hurting each other.
“And your Boss’s Men are the worst of all! You must make them stop doing evil, stop perverting justice. This planet and its people would thrive, if only you allowed them to. If you just do what’s right, you’ll see it won’t be such an economic loss for your corporation. The people here still need to work. The planet would still produce, but how much more could the factories produce if you let the people out of this city, let them find real hopes and dreams to chase instead of these false ones? Happy people can still work hard.
“Imagine it: Zero System—Earth a flourishing planet again, with cities all over. The people could spread out and have more children without the fear of a poisonous atmosphere or a city with a government that abuses them. Use this planet as an export colony, but only for manufactured things. This life extraction is inhumane, you must see that. I’m only an android, but I can see it plainly. Won’t you open your eyes and see it too?”
Nexus’ face contorted, mouth opening and closing slightly, jaw moving as though biting down on something repeatedly that would not break. A rhythmic noise accompanied this. Raymond realized this was facial recognition technology’s attempt to capture whomever was on the other end of Nexus: they were laughing.
“Are you finished?” was Nexus’ response, once the laughter had subsided.
“Only if you promise to do what I’ve said,” Raymond told him. “Otherwise I will expose all of your lies to the people. You’re not so powerful that they couldn’t overthrow you if they united.”
“And who will unite them? Who will believe the murderous android who has moved from Boss’s Men and Cens to innocent children?” Raymond saw images popping up on the screens around the room, all fake, but horridly real looking. He saw children lying dead and himself standing nearby with blades drawn. “The malfunctioning android has turned against us all. We must stop him before he kills more children. I have increased the reward for your capture or destruction to 20 million bits. Even the Cens will be after you for that much.
“Do you see, how easily the plebs can be turned? They will put all their hatred for my men aside now until they see you broken to bits. Defend yourself and you will only confirm what they’ve been told. You, Raymond, are the problem. You are the evil that has permeated this city, the cancer that must be cut out: the scapegoat of the day. This will unite the plebs to my cause and allow for the Boss and his men to be their saviors when
we destroy you. It’s incredible what a bit of good propaganda and a common enemy can do to the human mind, wouldn’t you agree?”
As Nexus spoke, a waste disposal drone had taken the communicator in its arm and held it above the open mouth of its bladed disposal system, awaiting Nexus’ command. “You can’t—” Raymond was saying, but the words were cut off as his hologram disappeared. The drone had dropped the communicator into its whirring, bladed gullet.
∆∆∆
Raymond walked in on a sight that he might have said “warmed his heart” had he possessed human anatomy. Maria and Xetza were sitting at the table in her hideaway, all smiles, drinking bubble tea and lost in each other's eyes. They looked up and greeted him, and when they saw his somber expression asked what had happened with Nexus.
By way of answer he said, “I believe it’s time we left the city.”
“But isn’t it toxic outside?” asked Xetza.
“No. That is a lie that has been propagated by Nexus and the corporation that owns Zero System. The environment outside has been suitable to support human life for two hundred years at least,” Raymond told him.
“What—are you serious?” Xetza exclaimed, looking like he'd been simultaneously enlightened and angered. “And we’ve been thinking we were trapped here all this time? Wow, this government is so corrupt! So if we leave, where would we go?” By his attitude, Xetsa seemed to be all for the idea of leaving, which starkly contrasted Maria’s on the matter.
“There is a canyon not far from—”
“Raymond!” Maria, who’d been silent up to this point, cut in. “He’s not coming with us. He has it good here: rich parents, easy life. And I’m not even sure I want to leave.”
“But they’ll come for you to get to me,” Raymond said, “Nexus is spreading lies about me. The billboards have false images of me. They made it look like I’m killing children now.”
“Even if I do have to go,” she said, “Don’t let Xetza come with us. His life is too perfect here.”
“But I want to go,” Xetza chimed in. “You must know by now that I care for you Maria. If you wanted, we could start a family out there. I mean, if you’d want to with me.” He cast a worried glance at Raymond, hoping what the android had told him before about Maria sharing his affection was true.
Maria saw the look and caught on. “So you told him what I said?” she asked Raymond. “Did you tell him everything? Xetza, you’d never want me if you knew what I was before. You couldn’t love me if you knew everything I’ve done.”
“I do know who you are and what you used to do,” said Xetza. “And I don’t care about that, I care about you. How could I forget that beautiful girl I used to watch in the market? It would take more than changing your hair.”
She fell silent, searching his face, and a hint of color washed over her cheeks. Raymond didn’t want to move, to say anything, he didn’t want to jinx it. Would she finally let someone love her now, with all of those perceived objections torn down?
“Will it be as good as Euphoria out there?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Raymond told her. “But it will be real. I’m sorry to put you in this position Maria. I’m sorry for all of this, but will you come with us?”
Her face suddenly softened and she said, “Raymond, don’t apologize. It’s true we’ve argued and I’ve been mad at you, but you’ve done so much for me. You’ve changed my life. Yes, I’m afraid to leave; I don’t know how it will be out there, but I trust you. I’ll go with you.”
Raymond beamed a smile. “Then we will leave soon! Xetza and I will go and gather the necessary food and supplies. We shouldn’t be gone more than an hour.” After some brief discussion on what they would need and who was to go on which errand, Xetza and Raymond made for the door. The young man powered down the stairwell and off like a bullet, full of the excitement of eminent adventure.
Raymond was just shutting the door behind him when Maria called him back.
“Raymond.”
He stopped and looked back, opening the door again. “Yes?”
“I love you. Thank you for being so kind to me.” She ran to him and threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly.
“I love you too.” he said, holding her and stroking her hair softly. Tears were welling up in his eyes, but what came next made them run freely down his cheeks.
“I don’t care if you’re an android, you’re the nicest man I’ve ever known,” she said. It was like an echo from Jennifer, from so many years ago, but it was new as well, from the soul of his new master whom he adored every bit as much. Jennifer had been a best friend; Maria felt more like the daughter he’d never known he desired.
She was setting bits out on the ground as he turned to leave. The sight took him by surprise. “Are you going in now?”
“For the last time, yes. Xetza gave them to me so I wouldn’t be bored all day. I would hate to waste them.”
He nodded, wishing she wouldn’t. “I’ll be back soon.”
∆∆∆
“So it’s my heart?” Jeg Harker asked the doctor.
“Yes,” Dr. Patel confirmed.
“Well who’d have thought something like this would happen, Jeg, with all of the steak and fries you eat? How many years have I been trying to get you to come to the gym with me now?” Pailea Harker chided. “Doctor, will you please tell him to try eating a vegetable now and then? He acts like they’re poison.”
“See what I’ve got to live with, Doc? It’s a wonder she didn’t give me a heart attack years ago,” Jeg said playfully. He flexed the fingers of his left hand, still sort of tingly and numb.
Dr. Patel smiled. “This will be a non-invasive procedure,” she explained. “There are no side effects, although some people experience a little dizziness. Other than that, just sit back in the chamber, relax, and in fifteen minutes your heart will be as good as when you were twenty. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make preparations for the procedure. I’ll be back shortly.”
Dr. Patel shut the door to the treatment room behind her and walked down the hall. “Tega,” she said to her assistant, “we’re going to need a complete Vital Source now. Mr. Harker is in bad shape.”
“I’ll order it right away,” Tega replied, turning on a holographic screen and touching the image to make selections. “It says our request has been received by a technician. The estimated delivery time for the product is three minutes.”
∆∆∆
The order for a complete Vital Source had been received. Dekan spun slowly around in his hovering office chair glancing across the holographic screens in front of him, looking for which of the Zero System V-S.A.G.E. drones were active. “Alright, who’s going to be the lucky winner today?” he muttered to himself. His eyes settled on a screen. “Serial number X996-2J32-TI39, female, and not bad to look at. Alright honey, it’s your lucky day.” He spoke into his communicator, “Support this is Technician Dekan, authorization code S6242563342, engaging Absolute Transmission on Zero System V-S.A.G.E. now.”
∆∆∆
Maria sighed blissfully as she took in the feelings of Euphoria one last time. Her daughter and husband were with her, their love enveloping her like a familiar blanket, so cozy, warm, and secure.
“This will the last time I come here,” she told them. They looked at her questioningly, and suddenly Maria felt another emotion that, up until now, had been completely foreign to this place: sadness. “I love you both with all my heart, but I can’t come anymore.”
Suddenly their home, the beautiful city outside, everything felt bittersweet. She had a stab of doubt about leaving with Raymond and Xetza. Could the real Xetza ever live up to his idealized doppelgänger here in Euphoria? What about the rest of it? A life free of Omega Seki sounded wonderful, but could it ever be as perfect as Euphoria?
She kissed them both and they all held each other tightly. “I don’t want to leave you; you’re my life,” she told them.
Then there it was in front of her.
Her initial inclination was to jump in immediately, but something stayed her enthusiasm. It was the thought of Raymond and now the real Xetza, the life they could have. She felt a sense of urgency, the gods, if this truly was their doing, did not have to be patient with mortals. An Absolute Transmission waited for no one.
“You can stay with us now forever if you want,” her daughter said.
“We’ll all be here together, where pain and sadness are only a memory,” her husband said, taking her hand. The words stabbed her heart like a knife.
“I hope you would run from it,” she heard the memory of Raymond’s voice telling her, when they’d talked about the invitation to an Absolute Transmission.
“Don’t leave us,” her husband said.
“It’s a lie,” Raymond’s memory said.
“Don’t leave us, Mommy,” her daughter pleaded.
“I’m sorry, Raymond,” Maria said and stepped into the light.
∆∆∆
“You can help me if you want,” Raymond was telling Xetza. “We’ll build the house out of stone. There’s plenty of it in the Canyon of Eden. We can even build a staircase up the side of the canyon wall to making climbing up easier. The sunrises and sunsets in the outside world, there’s nothing like them. I can’t wait for you and Maria to see one for the first time!”
“Did people watch the sun rising and setting every day back before the Cataclysm?” Xetza asked.
“Not as much as they should have,” Raymond said, adjusting the hood that concealed most of his face, then tightening the straps of his pack. They each wore backpacks that had been hurriedly stocked with food, seeds for growing crops, tools to build whatever they might need, and materials to build a temporary tent shelter until their home was built.
