“In the health sector, children as young as four have been diagnosed with
depression and a new disorder, robotic nymphomania has been diagnosed among
young adults, but with the new daily interaction hour (DIH) we hope to see a
significant drop in the range of human interaction phobias.
The state of the resources is looking up. Crop levels are stable again after
adjustments were made to the fertilizers, and the latest advancements in
resource acquisition technology will enable The Harvest teams to get to
previously unattainable water sources inside the infected areas.
On the lighter side of city life, this one is for all the foodies out there. Burger Corp
released two new flavors yesterday. Looks like Fitone’s BETA workout supplement
has arrived just in time to burn off all those extra calories. And for the naturally fit
looking physique you can get the new resistance beams by Effortless that enable
you to tone up while you work on other things.”
My eyes are still closed as I listen to the news anchor. For a moment I see us in
the Aquabot. “I was hoping to see a mermaid” Colin says. “So she could rub her
titties against your visor?” I joke. “You need to get out more, your socializing skills
are deteriorating.”
I sit up straight and open my eyes. Where did that come from?
I hear a banging sound. I’m on Colin’s couch. Naked? I remember a blonde. I check
to see if there is anyone next to me. No. The banging sound is coming from the
bedroom. I scan the room for my clothes. My head aches. It must be from all the
shit I took last night. Last night?! What the fuck happened? I can’t think straight
with this headache. I need Nigredo. I grab a pillow and hold it in front of my
crotch and go to the kitchen.
“Recovery drink” I murmur. A glass fills and I take it from the dispenser. Colin’s
glasses are shaped like raindrops. When I put it down it twirls around, and I
almost think it will spill, but it spins to a standstill. While watching the glass slow
down I start getting flashbacks from last night. I remember something about Gio
and EMO. I place my palm on the Nigredo pad and scan my hand.
“Caution, Nigredo levels extremely low, adjusting dosage accordingly” I sip on the
drink and wait until it’s done.
The banging has stopped, and Colin comes out wearing a robe. His beard is gone.
Washed it off. He starts laughing when he sees me standing bent over his kitchen
table with one hand on a cushion covering my crotch and another on Nigredo.
“What the fuck happened last night?” he laughs. I laugh a bit too. “Yeah you
better get your Nigredo levels stable. I gave you a dose last night when we came
home but the drug was still too strong to sober you up. Gio felt so shit he even
helped me carry you back to the Condor after you started stripping in the club.”
“You’re fucking kidding me? I can’t remember anything!” I yell.
“Three double espressos” Colin orders. “Gio also warned that the drug has a long
half-life, so you’ll still feel it for a while” he continues while placing the coffees on a tray, and walks back to the room. I sigh and take another sip from the raindrop.
“Three espressos?” I frown just as the brunette walks out with a robe.
“Good morning Jet” she smiles.
“Yeah, about last night…” I’d apologize, but I can’t remember much.
“That’s alright, Colin made up for it” she takes the tray from Colin and smiles as
she scans me from head to toe. She goes back into the room.
“Where is the blonde?” I ask. Colin just smiles
“Get something from my wardrobe. Your clothes are in the Condor” he goes back
into his bedroom and the door slides shut behind him.
I take a shower and put on some of his running gear. Colin sounds a bit
preoccupied, so I leave without saying good bye. I instruct the Condor to go
home. I need to run. Anything to feel better. I open my Palmer and play some
emotional orchestral music. Never thought I’d ever listen to this, but I feel a bit
emotional so what the heck. I set the sound to cut out external sounds. I take the
elevator to the connecting skybridge. I pass the busy food court and the lines at
the coffee take-away shops. Everyone has somewhere to be or something to do. I
open my Palmer and select the sun icon for outdoor running mode, not that
anyone born after The Urge has ever seen the sun, but I guess the sun icon stuck.
The skybridges are all covered for weather protection and double for
advertisement space for pedestrians. I start jogging slowly, but the moving
advertisements make me feel spacey, like everything is a bit overwhelming to
take in all at once, like I’m seeing everything for the first time. It’s probably the
combo of orchestral music and withdrawal from last night.
I pass the employees walking in single file preoccupied with their Palmers. I switch
off runner’s view. It displays my distance and pace and directs me home, but I
don’t feel like keeping track at the moment and fewer distractions might calm my
mind. I catch a glimpse of the skyline behind the intermitted advertisements. It’s
busy and dense here. I feel nauseous. I cross the skybridge and enter the next
shopping stop. More coffee shops, fast foods and clothing stores. I take the
connecting bridge to the upper level. My place is up in the clouds. I look down at
the bridges below and the people rushing to work, like the blood rushing through
my arteries. The music is reaching a crescendo and I think I might break out in
fucking tears. I suppress the tears and instead of crying I begin to feel angry and it
pushes me to run faster. I’m beginning to sweat profusely, but I’m wearing
Aircare clothing though? It’s supposed to regulate my body temperature! Did I
just blame clothes for sweating? I catch myself mid-thought. I take off the shirt
and stick it into the back of my shorts. The anger is not subsiding, and my body
feels tired. I continue running past everyone gliding on the automatic walker. My
lungs are burning. It draws my attention to my breathing.
I run past the hologram of Sky-Lo again. The Light City motto spans the length of
the bridge. ‘We…are…the…Light’ I read as I run across. Another section to buy
things. More caffeine. Palmers. Employees. Sadness. Anger. Last bridge, then I’m
home. Come on, keep it together Jet. I go up another level. I’m at the level of the
holographic image of Sky-Lo now. She looks at me and slowly lifts her finger like
she is pointing in my direction. I slow down as I read her lips, “You.”
I stop mid-run and look around to see if anyone else saw that. Everyone is
preoccupied on their Palmers, just gliding past me on the walker.
“Your legs are starting to tingle as the path that you are on is about to change.”
Who said that? I check to see if I accidently changed the music selection. My
Palmer doesn’t open. I open and close my palm a few times, but nothing. The
nausea returns. People continue to pass me, their Palmers activated. Nobody
notices the shirtless, confused motherfucker that’s about to puke all over them.
“Inhale slowly, expanding your diaphragm” the voice continues. I inhale to catch
my breath.
“Now exhale and feel the tension leave your body.” I exhale and the release is
followed by a sharp pain in my chest. I press against my heart with my right hand.
My left arm is numb. I gasp for air.
“The pain you are experiencing will subside once you put down your resistance”
the voice says in a neutral tone. It feels like I’m about to die.
“What resistance? What is happening to me?” I ask aloud. The pain intensifies
and moves down my arm. “Am I having a heart attack?” I ask as I gasp for air.
“You are losing your grip on the material world. Release resistance” the voice
insists. What the fuck is happening to me? It must be the drug from last night.
Last night starts to replay in my mind, the black dog, the fangs, the tail, the devil,
death. The flashbacks keep going back into my past. I see myself at sixteen, drunk,
losing my virginity and getting into a fight. I see my father beat me up about my
grades. There I am at fourteen drinking for the first time. There’s dad beating me
up again. I’m six. Mom dies. Mom’s sick. I’m scared.
My attention goes to my heart. It contracts slowly, but doesn’t release. I go back
to my thoughts. Everything starts moving forward in time again, but now I see
everything differently. I see lessons. Mom’s depression. Dad crying in his pillow. A
confused kid. The memories start moving forward so fast they turn into smudges
of colors that take on the shape of a flower. The colors continue smudging until it
becomes a brown mess and then complete darkness. Am I dead? The thought of
death makes me hyper aware of the sensations in my body. I feel the sweat
running down my face and my feet pulsating from the heat…where is my heart
beat?
I anticipate my heart beat, something I’ve never given much thought to, but
nothing happens. There is just silence and darkness for what feels like eternity.
I’m in my body then I’m in the dark. It feels like my mind is bouncing in between
two worlds, but it’s like I’m here and there simultaneously. My muscles strain
from pushing against my heart. I’m exhausted. The darkness is soothing in a
strange way. I am slowly being pulled back into it. I relax my muscles and let go.
My heart releases and I feel a wave of relief rush through my body. I breathe
deeply with my eyes closed and appreciate every breath and every beat. The
adrenalin surges through my veins and my eyes open to a purple glow emanating
from the center of my chest. As I breathe it expands outward until it covers my
entire body. I feel aroused and the feeling intensifies so rapidly that I fall to my
knees. Ecstasy.
I look up at the sky and the clouds are purple too. I don’t know how long it lasted
but I watch as it slowly fades back to gray and my heart rate returns to normal. In
the meantime, a crowd has formed around me, recording me and looking up and
back to me with confused faces. Obviously, they didn’t see what I saw. I feel self-
conscious and quickly retain my composure and jog home before someone
restrains me.
I enter my apartment and Myho requests a Nigredo scan. I ignore the request and
sit on the couch and turn to face the giant window looking out towards the
clouds. No sign of Light City. I start crying while watching the clouds pass. I cry
until my mind goes quiet and I fall asleep.
“Good morning Jet” Myho wakes me up. “A reminder to scan Nigredo as you
missed your dose yesterday.”
I stay seated.
“You received an urgent message from The Harvest.” I sit up and check if my
Palmer is back online.
“When was the message received?” I ask as I select the video message.
“11:11 AM” Myho informs me. I was on the skybridge around that time.
“Play message” I authorize. A giant holographic robot appears in the lounge area
in front of me. It looks like an Aquabot, but it has limbs. This must be the new bot.
“With almost a decade’s worth of experience and near perfect synchronicity
between hemispheres you and Captain Rovell are in a league of your own” the
voice note plays, and I recognize the general’s voice. I turn the hologram slowly to
get a better look at it. It’s fucking awesome. The Aquabot hemispheres are built
into a body suit with weaponry and harvesting limbs.
“The Logbots are equipped for land research acquisition and close combat. Run
through the new features before training tomorrow. Pick up is at noon” the voice
message ends but the bot stays in the room. I move around it and select my
hemisphere. It opens to the interior and information appears beside it. It’s
interactive. Looks like I’m on harvesting and Colin’s on navigation and combat.
They have their reasons for not putting me behind a gun.
“Please prepare my things for tomorrow” I instruct Myho and close the hologram.
The words “We are the Light” floats in mid-air for a few seconds and gradually
fade away.