Page 13 of CHOICE Lover
“That sounds incredibly vacant to me. But I suppose we’re from different worlds.” Different worlds, four hundred years apart. She hasn’t even seen the outside world yet or met any other future people. She keeps telling herself it won’t be that bad, but considering Res6, now Tommy is here, is there any reason to hope? Exasperation has her burying her head in her hands. “I knew something like this would happen.”
“A prophecy?” He leans forward, excitement written clearly across his pointy features.
A prophecy? That’s right. He said he was a devoted follower of some modern non-deities—whatever that means—so he would be apt to believe in prophecies. “No, nothing like that. I just . . .” A grumble escapes her throat. “Everything always goes wrong for me. I grew updirt poor. My mom died of what should have been a treatable disease. We couldn’t afford college for me. Then, when I was finally getting somewhere—I woke up here!”
He shifts uncomfortably. “Sounds like a fortunate twist of fate to me! So what do I need to do to get you out of bed and into the shower?”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. What she really needs is a friend, and if there are people from her time, that would be great motivation to shower. “How soon do you think I can meet one of the people from my time?”
Tommy taps his lip. “I don’t know. Like I said, your main hurdle will be convincing Res6. He’s determined to keep your identity a secret. The public can’t find out about you. Who knows what NHOS would do.”
“He thinks he’s going to keep me hidden away? That I’m going to live the rest of my life only able to interact with the three people who know about my existence? That’s unacceptable.” And daunting. She’ll go mad, if she isn’t already a good portion of the way there.
“I’m not saying that at all. Lots of people use anonymous identities online. There are countless chat rooms for you to choose from. I’m sure you can meet people interested in compassion or whatever else you’re looking for. The faster you acclimate, the better chance you’ll have of convincing him to give you some freedom.”
Res6 dishing out her freedom is borderline insulting, yet this is a whole new world to her, so she understands the need for caution. Plus, acclimating is a good suggestion, regardless. “Chat rooms?” She fishes her tablet out of the mountain of covers and hands it to him. “Can you show me how to work this?”
“Res6 didn’t?”
She huffs. “He showed me the Scrawl app but otherwise he’s just left me to figure it out on my own, which is proving impossible.”
“Ah, well. That explains a lot. I will gladly rectify his mistake. There are lots of things online that will make you feel much happier. Let’s see . . . chat rooms, online shopping.” He leans forward. “Res6 is flush with unicoin. I’m sure he won’t mind if you buy whatever makes you smile. There are more games than you can imagine, plus there are videos. Some educational and some that are just for entertainment.”
“We had all that during my time,” she says, seriously doubtful of the modern internet’s ability to make her happy if the internet in her time was anything to go by. Not to mention, the thought of spending Res6’s money makes her stomach twist uncomfortably. Because if she relies on someone besides herself, that means leaving her fate in their hands. And what if they can’t handle it? What if they let her down?
It’s just money, and your new friend says Res6 has a lot, Electra.
That’s not the point, Janet.
Then what is the point?
Maybe it’s this: If she can’t support herself, she has to prove she’s worth existing some other way.
Before she can solidifythe point, Tommy scoffs. “You had nothing like we do now. I’ll order you a VR headset. You’ll see. Maybe you can even have an m-volt implanted when you come to the lab. It makes the experience so immersive, and there are programs for anything you can imagine.”
“Ugh. I don’t want a fake blast of endorphins or to get lost down some online rabbit hole.” She studies him for a moment, assessing whether he might understand what she’s saying.
“What do you want then, Electra? Try to explain it if you can.” His lips purse like he’s losing patience.
Closing her eyes, she envisions what might make her feel good in this moment. Or if not good, give her a little relief from this ache in her chest and the fear of what will become of her. “I want to go to the park with a friend, sit on a bench and feel the sun on my skin. I needto vent or talk about the people I miss desperately. I need a friend to tell me they’re on my side and that everything’s going to be okay. Or at least make me laugh with some quirky observation about the irony of my situation.”
“Let me talk to Res6 and see if we can find some vents for you. In the meantime. . .” He takes the tablet and begins furiously tapping the screen. A few minutes later, he moves to sit beside her so they can both see. “See this app here?” He taps the icon of a dancing monkey. “I’ve added several videos to your queue that will explain how the world works now. Shortly after conception, citizens get a certain base knowledge implanted into their DNA along with a few language models, just like manupartners, so this is the best place for you to start.” Implanted? Electra blinks, nods for Tommy to continue. “It will all be explained in more detail in the videos.”
The next icon he clicks on shows a stylized, angry-looking frog’s head. There is a feed in the center and dozens of categories to choose from on the left-hand side, like a combination of some of the more popular chatroom platforms from her time. “This app, FrogBlog, will give you an opportunity to connect with others in our municipality.”
“What about books?” Surely people still read. If she sees what's trending, maybe she'll discover where she belongs.
“Physical books aren’t really a thing anymore, a consequence of The Great Warming, which will be explained in video four, I believe.” Before she can deflate completely, Tommy continues as he taps the screen, opening a new app. “Most people prefer to listen to books via the Intella-VoiceActs program because physical words can be so tedious, but I do occasionally derive entertainment from the Books app library. Of course, anyone can upload content, so you have to sift through it to find just what you’re looking for. There are lots of short-form publications to consume as well.”
Her cheeks burn with a smile she can’t repress. Would this little tablet tour have been so difficult for Res6? It’s amazing how such a little sprinkle of human decency can make all the difference. The loneliness she felt before Tommy arrived threatens to bubble up, but her buzzing excitement overrules it. Maybe she can immerse herself in a book or find an online book club. Surely there are people now who have similar interests.
Tommy huffs. “You seem to be in better spirits. Time for a shower,” he announces. He doesn’t hesitate to grab her hand and drag her off the bed, giving her a not-so-gentle nudge into the bathroom. A second later he’s in there with her, pressing buttons, and the room fills with steam. “Just set the rumpled shirt outside the door so I can burn it!” he chirps, seeming pleased with his accomplishment of herding her into the shower. “I’ll put the fresh clothes I brought right outside.”
The door clicks shut, and Electra is alone again with her thoughts. She catches her reflection in the mirror, first noticing the tangled mess of her dark hair. God, she looks awful. Fine, she’ll shower. As she pulls Res6’s shirt over her head, the woodsy citrus aroma is decidedly overpowered by her own body odor that is now mixing with the steam and threatening to gag her. She steps into the pleasantly warm water, cheeks heating. No wonder they were so insistent on her bathing.
Hope kindles in her chest as she washes away the stench of wallowing in her own self-pity for a week. It’s crazy how being alone made her so depressed. All it took was a single visit from a kind-ish human being to lift her spirits—granted, at the behest of his employer. Still.
Tommy urged her to understand how the world is now and how devoid-of-personality manupartners make people happy. But there’s no way that can be true. Not with what she’s experienced time and time again. People need people. Maybe even people like prickly, compassionless Res6.
