Sky Parlor: A NOVEL

by Stephen Perkins

  Bobby snickered at the droning androgynous voice of the holographic model as he stepped into the elevator adjacent to the store entrance.

  “Sustain yourself on this and bite me,” Bobby joked, brushing his hand across his crotch as the elevator swept him to the third floor.

  Rushing out into the hall, he burst through the door of his parent’s sustainable unit at MU-21 to find his father, alone in the kitchen. Bobby’s gait slowed, and he halted before the kitchen table. He noticed his father sitting in silence, and his face appeared as if it had been darkened by a gruesome cloud.

  “Hey Dad,” he greeted, “has mom already gone off to the hospital for the night shift?”

  “Hey Bobby,” his dad replied, adding a wan smile, “I thought you said you were going to the Paramount with your friends this afternoon after school, to try out some of the new VR cubes?”

  “Nah, I decided I’d rather come home and hit the books for once,” a placating Bobby explained. “Lucius and Boudica have decided to help me out with science class. You know how I hate that stuff,” he said, adding a chuckle.

  “Well, that’s smart son, in deciding to let them help you,” Mister Tepper said. “Sometimes, there’s no shame in admitting we all need a little help while going through life. Kind of like your dad needs a little help right about now.”

  Now seated across from his dad at the kitchen table, Bobby studied his father’s wistful expression, watching his rugged and rough-textured hands slightly fidget on the table.

  “Is there something wrong, Dad?” Bobby said. “I mean, you don’t seem like yourself.”

  Bobby’s dad exhaled a weary sigh.

  “I saw something today, Son,” Bobby’s dad related in a cautious tone. “Something at work I wasn’t supposed to see – something I wish I hadn’t, quite frankly.”

  Bobby shifted his weight closer to the glass topped kitchen table, his mind rankled with concern as to how to properly respond.

  “What do you mean, Dad?” he wondered. “I mean, you’re one of the managers at the plant, right? And you’ve worked there forever. How is it you couldn’t have seen everything that goes on in there already?”

  “Yesterday there was a representative from the council who arrived for a routine inspection,” Bobby’s dad related. “As assembly manager, I’m the one who must take him around to all the various departments to see if every aspect of food production meets with the council’s standards. Well…” Bobby grew curious as his father’s voice trailed off.

  “What, what is it, Dad, what did you see?”

  “Well, yesterday was also the day the custodians were supposed to clean this area that is normally off limits to everyone accept certain personnel. This is the area everyone at the factory calls the chop shop where they cook up all the artificial ingredients, preservatives and animal parts and stem cells from the incubator farms out near the forbidden buffer zones, everything that goes into all the green food packages. Only, when I was going around with the inspector sent by the council, I happened to investigate one of the food processing vats.” Mister Tepper began to scowl. “And I saw what looked like human limbs floating in the artificial preservative solution, limbs that looked like they came not from animals but from human babies – infants.”

  A grim shadow eclipsed the well-sculpted features of Bobby’s ivory face.

  “Dad, I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me – that just can’t be, right?”

  “They’re slaughtering people like cattle, Bobby.” Mister Tepper pounded his meaty fist on the kitchen table. “I think this is what’s happening,” he gulped, then went on, steadying his tone into a solemn hush. “This is what they do to the human bodies after the bio-essence transfers into the saint units – they somehow ship them to Greenview, chop them up and they’re added to the artificial ingredients and synthetic animal stems without anyone knowing – and that’s what everyone in Sky Parlor is eating, Bobby,” Mister Tepper exclaimed, waving his finger like the grim reaper’s staff.

  Bobby’s face froze into a monument of horror.

  “What are you going to do about it, Dad,” Bobby said, his voice snapped like fragile balsa.

  “Word has it there’s a new candidate for alderman here in Columbia – Desmond Starr – a young guy, only a little older than you. ZEN news says if he’s approved by the council, he’ll be the youngest alderman ever in Sky Parlor. Now there’s somebody to emulate Bobby,” his father said, jousting his finger across the table. “Your mother and I, always felt you had a big personality that could win people over, that maybe you could be alderman of Columbia one day.”

  “I grew up emulating you, Dad,” Bobby said. “I always wanted to be a big football star like you were at Columbia Prep.”

  A hue of warmth colored Mister Tepper’s solemn face.

  “That’s very flattering son. Anyway, this Desmond Starr - he’s the one who’s proposed a bill to the city trade commission that would allow citizens in Columbia to begin to grow organic gardens, which would require Sky Parlor’s council to increase the sustainable water rations to everyone here. ZEN news says he’s also about to go before the trade commission to testify – something about unhealthy additives and preservatives in the sustainable food packages. But what I saw today goes way beyond that and, I figure I ought to get in touch with him – tell him what I’ve found out.”

  “Do you think it will work, Dad?” Bobby wondered, “I mean, this is incredible that they’ve been doing this. Everyone was always made to believe they cremated the bodies after everyone made the bio-transfer into the saint models – but I guess…”

  “Well, that’s what I and everyone else at Greenview was made to think too, Son,” Mister Tepper said, sounding disgruntled. “I just can’t believe the entire time I’ve been working there, that this has been going on right under my nose.”

  “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Bobby said, gesturing with excited hands. “Maybe somehow you can get someone to sneak out a sample of the solution they’ve got in these vats. I can give it to my two friends, the science geniuses. This kid Lucius, even though he’s a saint, he’s good with chemistry. He could analyze the solution.” Bobby’s ice blue eyes grew radiant. “Once your suspicions have been confirmed, he could make a video and upload it to the holo-web through zap-com so everyone in Sky Parlor could see it.”

  Mister Tepper’s jowly face spread with an admiring smile.

  “That might be risky but, nonetheless, it’s a good idea, Son,” he agreed, adding a caveat. “Your mother and I have always agreed you were smart, and that will last a lot longer than your physical skills on the gridiron,” he said as he leaned over the table to give Bobby’s broad shoulder an affectionate tap. “But until I’ve talked to Desmond Starr about any of this, I’m going to have to ask you to do me a huge favor, Son,” Mister Tepper accentuated with a raised forefinger. “Don’t tell anyone about this, not even your friends at school or anyone on the varsity squad; not even Coach Hammond, okay?”

  “No problem, Dad,” Bobby agreed. “Just like you taught me, I’m a man of my word. Well, like I said, I’ve got to go hit the books for a while in my room. I’ve got my two new friends from science class coming over in a little while to help me with my science experiment for semester’s final exam.”

  Later that very afternoon, Bobby’s pair of science tutors arrived, and while anticipation’s starbursts percolated beneath his skin, he invited Boudica and Lucius into his room.

  “Hey guys, thanks for coming over. I’ve been reading about electromagnetism on the holo-web. I don’t really understand what it is, but its sure sounds like a cool idea for an experiment that just might ace my final exam.”

  “This should be very interesting, Lucius,” Boudica scoffed, “to see what Bobby’s come up with now that he’s had all afternoon to rub his pair of brain cells together to come up with an idea.”

  “Wait, Boudica, maybe Bobby’s more resourceful than you think. That sounds like a great idea Bobby,” Lucius exclaimed. “De
monstrating the attraction of two or more objects through the negative and positive charge of electrons should impress Mister Kaiser enough to maybe even get you an ‘A’ for this semester’s final grade.”

  He and Boudica looked around Bobby’s rather spacious room before sitting down on a couch adjacent to his large bed, observing that the mixed-use space allotted to the Tepper family was larger and better decorated than theirs. Boudica began to wonder if the Tepper family, because of Mister Tepper’s position at the Greenview production plant, had been gifted somehow with extra allotments from the council in the way of UIC credits.

  “Hey yeah, I think you’re right there, Lucius,” Bobby quipped while flashing a winning smile. “Kind of like the magnetic attraction Boudica feels whenever she sees me.”

  Though the pale skin of Boudica’s face appeared to wrinkle with disgust, Lucius noticed she swished back her curly red hair and averted Bobby’s smiling gaze as her face began to sizzle with a rush of blood. Bobby began to chuckle, for he too, noticed the shade of crimson spread across her freckled cheeks.

  “Not if you were the last male alive in Sky Parlor, jock boy,” Boudica scoffed, focusing a glare. “And though we both got the credits you promised,” she began to scold, “where are the scan codes for the game on Saturday, huh?”

  Boudica’s scowl grew severe as she observed Bobby and Lucius exchanging amused glances.

  “Listen, I’m sorry Boudica, for what happened this afternoon on the monorail – for the nasty zap chat and everything, Lucius,” Bobby said. “But I’ve got a better deal to offer than the tickets for the game. You see,” he coaxed, “I’m going to talk to my coach, get you guys right down on the sideline with me, and the whole team for the entire game this Saturday. In fact, not only will you get to see me in action up close and personal winning the city championship, I’m going to see if both of you can be made official ball persons for the game,” he promised, “and you’ll each get a game ball and fifteen more credits each.”

  Boudica again pushed the fiery plume of red hair from her pale forehead.

  “Yeah, okay, Bobby,” she said, managing a faint smile, thinking though Bobby’s future as a scientist was a bust, he certainly had a professional hustler’s feel for the rudiments of business. “But what’s this idea of yours involving electromagnetism?” she added, her renewed tone reflected genuine interest.

  “Well, my dad used to have this guy that worked for him at Greenview – this guy is now retired, but before he left the plant years ago,” Bobby related, “he gave my dad these strange looking things called batteries. They’re basically like museum pieces and could be worth a lot of money. Anyway,” he went on, holding up an ancient, copper topped cylinder. “I guess they used these to power tools centuries ago. But after reading this stuff on electromagnetism, I convinced my dad to let me borrow one of these batteries. I figured it could be used for my experiment on Friday. And who knows, it might be a good idea to start with, but maybe, you guys could explain how this thing really is supposed to work?”

  “Hey, that is cool, Bobby,” Boudica said, her entire face now lit up with fascination. “Can I see it?”

  She reached out to take the ancient artifact from Bobby.

  “Wow, you’re right Bobby, that is a museum piece – hundreds of years old maybe,” Lucius exclaimed, watching Boudica examine the shiny object while turning it over in the soft palm of her hand.

  Boudica’s curious fingers felt the smooth contours of the object’s shiny outer skin, its strange metallic points and odd rectangular angles. She sensed the smell of a musty museum and her face registered with odd surprise. It was an odor reminded her of wet autumn leaves shed from the concrete courtyard’s solitary oak she used to climb as a child, when, after piled in wind-tossed and rain-drenched heaps, they would dry in the hot sun after the passing of a fierce thunder storm. Fascination’s glimmer inhabited her roving eyes, and her awestruck mouth began to gape when she noticed her own distorted reflection in the external covering’s black mirror. As her tactile senses thrilled, she couldn’t help but think of her father, imagining his disapproving glances while his confounded mind turned, wondering as to why his daughter couldn’t have been more like her mother, more interested in nurturing people rather than preoccupied with mere things, or why the mysteries of mechanical devices or natural phenomena so uncommonly intrigued her, why she coveted a chemistry set for her seventh birthday, when other small girls her age typically played with VR dolls.

  “You know,” Lucius explained, “I heard about these things from Mister Kaiser once. He said that similar prismatic shaped batteries wrapped in aluminum were used in what they used to call cell phones long ago, before everyone got the Nano-chip.”

  Boudica carefully handed over the object to Lucius and tapped the palm of her hand to activate her holo-screen.

  “Alright Bobby; here are the basic principles of electromagnetism. You may want to take notes,” Boudica kindly instructed.

  Bobby’s ice blue eyes flashed with eagerness, and he positioned himself on the couch next to his pair of new business partners and prospective friends.

  Boudica tapped the floating screen and a diagrammatic display appeared.

  “This is the nucleus of an atom, Bobby,” Boudica began to explain in a patient tone. “And around the nucleus buzzes what are called electrons. Each electron carries with it a negative electric charge. These electric charges create a moving electric field.”

  “Most of these electrons come in pairs,” Lucius added, tapping at the screen, “and that movement can cancel out any electric field. But some electrons are neutral, which means they haven’t been charged yet.”

  Bobby jutted his face closer to the screen to better comprehend the moving display.

  “Alright, guys, I think I get that much,” he said. “So far, so good?”

  “These electrons are unpaired, which creates a magnetic field around the atom,” Boudica elaborated. “As more of these electrons are added, a stronger magnetic field is created.”

  “These magnetic fields are called domains,” Lucius added.

  “Hey, you know,” Bobby said, “rather than Mister Kaiser, maybe you guys should be teaching in our science class. With you guys explaining, I really think I’m starting to get this. But you know, I was reading, just before you guys got here, that it’s possible, with the right materials, to levitate magnets with this electro, well whatever – you don’t think, you could help me build something like that? After all, if I’m going to be doing this before the entire class, I want to put on a show,” Bobby added. His eyes began to spark like fireworks. “Hey, my dad has probably got everything we need lying around the house somewhere,” Bobby spread out his hands as if to create a vision. “He could even help us get this done. What do you say?”

  Boudica glanced at Lucius. As if fighting against lingering reluctance, her rose-hued mouth began to crack into a grin.

  “I think we could definitely help you, Bobby,” Lucius confirmed. “In fact,” the type of project I think you’re proposing is rather elementary.”

  “But I can promise you both,” Bobby declared, gesturing with a pointed finger, “When I get up in front of the class to present it, it definitely won’t look that way,” he declared.

  Excitement shimmered in Bobby’s eyes like sun rays glinting upon a blue ocean’s placid surface.

  “It’ll be a magic show like Columbia Prep has never seen – I guarantee it.”

  Boudica’s copper red brows stitched into a confused array.

  “That’s very interesting, Bobby,” she said. “But maybe someone can help me figure something out,” Boudica enquired. “Why does it seem that the both of you, even after what happened just this afternoon, were able to become friends so fast, when I’m, well,” she threw up her hands as if attempting to snatch the words she was searching for out of mid-air, “I guess,” Boudica’s frustrated lips arranged into a pout, “I just don’t understand guys – that’s all, and though I understand sci
ence, for some reason, I just will never be able to figure out the behavior of the opposite sex, for as long as I live.”

  “I think you’re being a little too hard on yourself, Boudica,” Bobby suggested. “Maybe, just maybe, if you could see your way through to going out with me some time, I could teach you all you need to know about the opposite sex.”

  Boudica’s lily-white neck gyrated back, then forward, and as she unleashed unabashed laughter, her wild mane of red hair flung forward, obscuring her face’s comical contortions.

  “Yeah right, Bobby,” she scoffed.

  Boudica tossed back the disheveled array of hair from her face, and as her throaty laughter abated, she appeared once more composed.

  “That’s a fat chance, jock boy.”

  “Actually, the differences in our behavioral responses – between male and female – to the same social scenarios are biologically based, Boudica,” a perceptive Lucius suggested. “I’ve read that psychological studies have proven, that men are more likely to be more pragmatic in such situations, whereas the responses of women are far more likely, with some variation, to be more emotional.”

  “Hey, I think robot boy is onto something here,” Bobby said. “I’ve noticed too, that women hold grudges forever – like the girls I’ve rejected for the prom stalking me on the holo-web while posing under all kinds of fake names – and guys, well they might fight, go at it with fisticuffs or whatever, but later, they tend to forgive and forget, and life goes on. Am I right, Lucius?”

  “Oh, that’s just great,” Boudica said, and again the strands of her hair flew like the wings of wild fowl taking flight. “So, now you’re on his side, huh, Lucius?”

  “No, Boudica,” Lucius reasoned, “I’m just saying it’s far more constructive to just empathize and accept everyone for who they are, even in the face of sharp disagreements or distinguishing differences.”

  “It’s okay, Boudica,” Bobby consoled, “I do think Lucius is right though. No matter how much you might think you hate me, which I know you really don’t,” he added with a subtle wink, “I’m still going to like you because, I think even though you’re a science geek and a tomboy, you’re still very attractive and, maybe even better, really smart.”