2
In the morning, reluctantly getting ready, Isaac had a cup of shitty coffee and went to the shower which he loathed. The shower was just like his life - broken, either scalding you with heat or dousing with icy cold.
He was taking a shower feeling all pissed off. He did have some good ideas, but the world had changed way too fast and just spat him out. He lived in extreme poverty, vaguely imagining what he’d be doing the day after tomorrow. Someone might call it freedom, not having a strict schedule and planned holidays. Maybe it is so, but in a couple of months such a “freedom” can make you nuts. There’s much more comfort in the clarity of life. Although, not the kind of clarity he was about to obtain today. Today was his last day being poor; tomorrow the agency would make him rich.
He would think about anything, just to avoid getting dressed and setting off to the download center to submit to the damn procedure. He wanted to drag things out since thinking was also work - his typical excellent displacement mechanism.
As soon as Isaac went outside it started to pour. He didn't get wet though - the device he had invented turned on automatically. Finished just the other day, the first prototype was unique. A generator collected the energy of falling rain drops creating a magnetic field, which didn’t let the water in. One could stand there in the rain and remain completely dry. The patent could have solved all Isaac's problems, but as usual, he was out of time.
Deep in thought, he didn’t notice how he reached his destination. He didn’t feel like entering at all, but there was no other way: the bank had given a final warning and his apartment had to be auctioned off. He had no way to pay, and more importantly, his sister Vicky, his most loved one in the world, needed another surgery. So the only thing he really could do was to sell his creativity. He knew what was going to happen to him after. His best friend Pascal had fallen in love and sold his OE two years ago. Right there, at that very place. Isaac threw a last glance at the sea and pushed the door of the reception.
It was cozy inside, cool music played smoothly, the officers briskly filling in forms. As for donors, there were four of them: a well-groomed old man, a tired chubby woman of about fifty, a pie-faced young guy and some hippy-looking hobo, luckily not smelly. Five portions of creativity ready to replenish the power of the artificial brain.
On the wall there was a poster showing a smiling man sitting by an azure swimming-pool, with a caption: “I gave people what I was given from on high, and I have been rewarded!!” Ex- donors did look happy, indeed. The Agency made a lifelong support contract and took care of its newly titled Happies.
Isaac had already seen this one and other colorful posters when he had come in before for an interview and OE pre- measuring. The amount of creativity was different for everyone, so one could have it calculated for free and find out the possible fee. Back then he used to think that this was just a safety net, that he would for sure have time to get the money. However it turned out that selling the rights for his rain protection device, which he called V-Rain, was a hard task. The Patent Office and the system of selling inventions were now sort of vestigial relics, these days all corporations bought their technology only from Collective Mind. In the end he ran out of time – his sister got worse and her surgery was quickly scheduled. Even though he still didn’t have the money.
That was when Isaac made the decision. He knew that his creativity level was high and having sold his orange energy, he'd have enough money for surgery, for buying his own house, and for many other things. He definitely would never forgive himself if his sister died, he wouldn’t want any money then. Better to be a Happy with a zero creative index than a smart guy whose wealth cost the life of the only person he really cared for.
So yes, this was the other side of professor Link´s Einsteiner - thousands of gifted people turned into ruck. But was this a price too big, since wars and diseases that had took away millions of lives every year, were now things of the past?
Isaac felt like hypothesizing about the other donors, who they were, where they came from. The old man clearly decided to supplement the provisions of his pension or maybe was just a patriot. Very straight-backed, in spite of his age, not slouching at all. He was probably not from around there, since many people came over from other places to download and then stay. The hobo most likely was also looking for money, tired of living in a tent. Even with a climate as beautiful as in Monaco, living outside must not be that nice. The plain-looking goofily dressed guy was trifling a photo of some girl, so probably the reason was like Pascal’s, and he was in love.
Isaac never had time to