SOMA | The Meme Dump
19. Exterior. Sunset. Massive junk yard.
Levon emerges from a hole on the other side of a chainlink fence.
He has entered one of the grey industrial parks he had seen near the airport. The place seems to be a large junkyard filled with neatly stacked items, bleached and weathered from the elements.
Everything in the yard is marked with a yellow paper tag. The hundreds of tags flutter in the light breeze.
Levon approaches one of the junk heaps, then stops. He feels eyes on his back and hears a distinctive, low growl. He turns. A black German Shepherd is baring its teeth a few feet away. Levon stays calm. He straightens his posture. He avoids eye contact. He crouches down and plays with a rock lying nearby. His movements are deliberate and patient. Levon yawns and licks his lips. The guard dog relaxes. It approaches and sniffs Levon. Levon reveals the hunk of dried pork Jeremy gave him. He feeds it to the dog.
LEVON
You’re fine. A good soldier.
Levon leaves the dog and walks further into the yard. He passes motley bundles of consumer goods, neatly sorted and tagged but left to be damaged by the sun and rain. He sees stacks of recalled video games, odd appliances, recalled foodstuffs, film canisters, concept cars from bygone auto shows, piles of clothing, all manner of random oneoffs. Floating above them all, Levon sees an enormous red parade balloon shaped liked a dog’s head. It is tethered to the ground by ropes and cinder blocks. A triumphant banner hanging from the parade balloon reads “HAPPY DOG DAY . ”
The wind picks up. A yellow tag is blown from the pile and sticks to Levon's shirt. He examines it. It reads: PROPE RTY of MEMETRADE INC.
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