Spirit Intercom

by Sean Adami

  Robert said, “You keep jumping around in your story. And that’s called nonlinear narrative. Tell me the story sequentially. More importantly, what was the main reason Rick shot Kurt?” He seemed a little impatient and demanding.

  Andrew said, “Rick shot Kurt when I used the lie detector test.”

  “I know but why?”

  “It is because I didn’t know the answer to a question.”

  “What question?” Robert kept shooting questions at Andrew. “Because when I saw the footage from the room you were in, I couldn’t make out what you guys said. Auditory functions are not compatible with our cameras.”

  That was a relief for Andrew. He needed to come up with something on the spot. “It wasn’t a question per se. It was more of a rhetorical question. Kurt asked, ‘Would it be bad to kill Rick?’ And, of course, I was confused as hell. When I said the word ‘yes,’ Kurt immediately attempted to murder Rick. But Rick was quicker for the most part. I had no clue why he would ask that or where he even came up with the question.” He felt saying something overwhelming would bring the point to his father.

  Robert said, “That is definitely odd.” He seemed more fulfilled with the storyline of this murder. He levitated his shoulders up and levitated them down as he sighed. “Well, thanks for telling me, and let’s hope that this commotion never happens again.” He let off a little laugh. “Thanks for communicating with me.”

  Andrew was thankful that nothing had slipped out. He said, “Thank you. Now that the chief is dead, who’s going to be in charge of security?”

  “I came up with the resolution that I would just take over this firm. It felt like the simplest option.”

  Andrew said, “That seems like the best choice.”

  Leaning back, Robert said, “That’s enough serious talk. Go spend some time with Harriet. Forget this wretched thing even happened, and change the subject within yourself.” He said, “Get on out of here,” playfully. Andrew stood up from his seat and was ready to depart. “And before you go, I have one more thing you should be aware of. Tomorrow, I’m meeting with the attorney general to go over this worldly situation. I’m going to need you to be at the meeting, and it is highly obligatory that you come, especially in tough times like these. It will take place at the Conference Room at 10 a.m.”

  Andrew asked, “Okay,” hesitantly. His father nodded back, noting Andrew that he could leave now. Leaving through the door, Andrew felt the presence of his father still with him. He still didn’t forgive him. He dreadfully wanted to confront his father. But now was not the time. Timing was key to his plan—his plan for success. Andrew didn’t also know how to react with the attorney general situation. Why would his father want him there? What were they planning to do? As these questions bypassed, he saw no reason but to seek help from Harriet. Maybe she could help him with his situation. Plus, his father had said to visit her. He wasn’t seeing her because of his father though. He was seeing her because he individually made the choice to. His father couldn’t sway his decisions. Making his way to the elevator, he saw someone waiting for it. Andrew got closer to this person. This person, turning around, was Rufus.

  Rufus’ face turned smug. Andrew berserkly grew surprised with the appearance of this man. Rufus said, “How was your security tour? I heard it went great. Oh wait, I heard it went completely, absolutely, positively horrible. Also, I heard there was a guy who tried preventing this from happening. Oh wait, that person was me.” As this guy rambled, Andrew cut him in line for the elevator wait. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Andrew proudly said, “If you’re gonna be a dick, I’m gonna be a dick.” He planted his feet into the ground ahead of Rufus. The smug look of Rufus vexed. The elevator opened up and Andrew prepared to enter. But Rufus cut his way in, pushing Andrew’s body to the side.

  “How did you like that one, dick?” Rufus replied.

  Andrew wanted to be more profound in his banter. “You’re not gonna tuck me in bed tonight, are you? Are you going to coddle me to my room?”

  Rufus, appearing angry, said, “No, and I hope you don’t need a pacifier when you sleep tonight.” The elevator began to descend.

  Andrew, angry as well, delivered a minor shove to Rufus. Taking major offense to this small physical knockback, Rufus gave Andrew a major shove, causing him to bang into the elevator wall. Andrew pushed him back while also adding a small punch to his face. Rufus grabbed Andrew by the waist and unleashed some of his physical-security-personnel-training power upon him. Waist grabbed by Rufus, Andrew was impelled into the elevator wall. Andrew said, “I’m sick of your bullshit!”

  Rufus landed another shove to Andrew. “You’re a psycho! You know that,” Rufus said. Andrew, struggling, couldn’t escape out of Rufus’ hold. “Why do you keep acting like this? You’re like a slithering snake. You keep trying to escape me.” He socked Andrew in the mouth and teeth region. Some of Andrew’s blood fell to the floor. He knew he was going to lose this fight.

  Wanting mercy, Andrew said, “I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” Rufus let go of his grab. Andrew’s torso and mouth ached pretty severely. Andrew ran out of breath. The elevator reached the first floor.

  As the door opened, Rufus willfully stared at Andrew. He said, “Stay the fuck away from me, Andrew.” He left the door first. Still struggling a bit, Andrew took a few seconds for the physically-dominant man to gain more distance away from him. Andrew was growing impatient. He felt he was a mess. The next thing on his to-do list was to see Harriet. Hopefully, she wouldn’t punch him ruthlessly. He left the elevator. As he perused around the lounge area, he thought, what is going on? Am I losing contact with myself? What am I becoming? Existential questions as these made him lose his focus. Time went on, and he spent several hours searching for where Harriet could be and asking other researchers of her whereabouts. He had finally found her. She was in the cafeteria, staring blankly at her food. This site made Andrew uncomfortable. He thought, has she been sitting here since the last time I saw her? He didn’t know how she was feeling neurologically. Passing through the other chairs and tables, he approached her table. Bringing her eyes to his eyes, she looked disgusted and apathetic. Andrew was about to ask how she was feeling.

  “Why is your mouth like that?” she first asked.

  Slightly annoyed that she spoke first, he said, “I can tell you later. Wanna talk in a different space?”

  “Different space? Why? There is no one here but me, you, and the Chef Bots. The cameras can’t hear our conversations either.”

  Andrew said, “I will discuss with you everything that happened if you follow me to a different space.”

  Sighing deeply, she got out of her seat. “Fine. But you have to tell me everything. And you’re not gonna talk to me like you did last conversation. That was just plain-ass rude.”

  Andrew agreed. He said, “Let’s talk in my room. It’s more secluded there.”

  As they walked out of the cafeteria, she asked, “They gave you a room?”

  “Yep. It’s pretty cool, too. I like the aesthetic there and stuff.”

  After all the convoluted directions and turns, they ended up in the room. Harriet said, “Whoa, this room is nice. Sure is fancier than my room. Probably because of you being the son of the owner and all.” She sat on his bed. “So, tell me what’s been going on.”

  Rubbing his bruised mouth, Andrew said, “Alright.” He was going to be completely honest with her. But he wasn’t going to speak of the radicals. It was too risky to foretell any of this information. “I met with my father today, and he brought up something weird.”

  “How weird?”

  “He wants me to meet with him and the attorney general tomorrow. I don’t know why, but he just wants me to. And considering everything that’s going on worldwide, I think they’re planning to do something big, yet I don’t know what it is, of course.”

  She said, “That actually seems really serious. What do you think they’re going to talk about?”

  Andrew
said, “I don’t know. Like I said, my father didn’t give me any details.”

  “You still haven’t told me how your mouth ended up like that,” she said.

  Revisiting his brain, he confirmed this was safe to tell. “This annoying security guard kept harassing me. I tried fighting him, but—”

  “But you lost. Aww, poor Andrew.” She walked up to his face and put her hand to his mouth, trying to soothe it with arbitrary hand motions. Andrew felt a little tension, the tension that felt good. Caressing her hand, Andrew accepted her.

  They had sex. After this had commenced, Andrew laid in bed with Harriet by her side until they both fell asleep.

  Waking up, Andrew opened up Mindcord. He read the time was 9:55 a.m. A flicker of flight tinkered his mind. The meeting with the attorney general was in five minutes. He was screwed timewise. Jumping out of bed, he put on his remaining clothes and settled to the door by entering his code, yet he had troubled remembering it. Piecing his photographic memory together, he realized it was 628208420606848. Scrambling the code in, he opened the door. As the door opened, he saw Rufus waiting patiently by the door. Andrew was bewildered and said, “Why the hell are you here?”

  “You’re almost late,” Rufus stated. Presenting his electronic screen watch, he showed the time. “I’ll guide you to the meeting.”

  Shirt backwards, Andrew said, “I don’t need your guidance.” He pushed him out of the way and walked down the hall to the elevator. Rufus still followed him silently. Andrew entered the elevator. Rufus entered the elevator. Bad memories of elevators whirled through Andrew’s mind. Sticking to the left wall of the elevator, Andrew was paranoid of Rufus. Making it to the first floor, Andrew saw the time was 9:57 p.m. Exiting the door, Andrew saw Rufus didn’t leave the elevator.

  Rufus said, “The room is in a different complex. I can take you there if you like with some handy-dandy wrist action.” Seeing really no other choice, Andrew returned back. Rufus put his wrist up to the elevator keypad. Swerving random directions, the elevator made its way to the complex (the third complex on the right that Andrew had never been in). The door opened and a vibrant blue reception desk displayed the entrance. The architecture was similar to the security complex. Eyeing the receptionist, Rufus said, “Hello, Sharon. On our way to the Conference Room. How are you doing?”

  She said, “I’m doing great, Rufus. Is this Andrew’s first time here?”

  Andrew said, “We don’t have time for this. Just show me where the meeting is, Rufus.”

  Rufus said, “Not until you answer her question.”

  Bothered for time, Andrew recognized her presence and said, “Yes, ma’am. This is my first time. Hope you’re doing fine, too.” Looking at Rufus, he said, “Show me where it is now. It’s 9:58 p.m.”

  “I will. I will,” Rufus responded. “Have a good day, Sharon.” She smiled. Rufus finally reunited his attention back to Andrew. Changing his tone in voice, he said, “Follow me.”

  Andrew thought, finally. Literally right next to the reception desk, a door labeled “Conference Room.” Rufus knocked the door twice. The door levitated upward. The time was 9:59 a.m. Andrew wasn’t even sure if the knock was required. A long wooden table with twelve chairs sat in the middle of the room. An unknown man sat in the closest chair to him. His father sat next to this man. He saw Marco sitting next to his father. His brother’s presence disturbed Andrew.

  Robert said, “You’re early, son. Join us.” Rufus behind him, Andrew took a seat next to his brother, even though he wanted to avoid him.

  The unknown man said, “So this is your other son? It’s great to meet you, Andrew.” He displayed his hand out in an attempt for a handshake. Gripping his hand, Andrew felt the moisty pores of his partially-soggy hand. As he sat back down, Marco cringeworthingly displayed his palm to the unknown man additionally. The man didn’t notice it, which left Marco hanging. Initiating this drawback, Marco inserted his hand back to himself. The man said, “I am Attorney General Howard Wayne. Nice to meet you. I’m going to get straight to the point. My team has been greatly struggling to keep peace within society. Earthquakes are more rampant than ever. Tsunamis have already decimated half the world. We are lucky that here in New York nothing too significant happened.” Wearing the stereotypical badge and soldier tunic, this general spoke in a very business-like fashion.

  Explicating further on, Robert said, “In addition, we are in an emergency crisis, and the attorney general is here for a reason. We put our scholarly minds together and came up with a plan.”

  Without hesitating, Marco said, “I applaud you, father, for your hard work. I’m with you a hundred percent.” The three of them stared at Andrew, waiting for his response.

  Wayne said, “Is your other son fully on board, Robert?”

  “Andrew, are you willing to help us on our plan?” Robert asked.

  Having no knowledge on the plan, Andrew, a.k.a. the other son, couldn’t fathom how things would turn out. He couldn’t tell if they were bluffing or legitimate. Andrew said, “Fine. Let me hear this plan of yours.”

  “Everybody get up then,” Robert pronounced. “Let’s show you guys some things.” The four of them got up out of their chairs, Robert being the first to catalyze this reaction. They left this room and walked down a series of hallways. “The endeavour provided us with a lot of assistance to the plan.” A door marked the words “VIP Access.” This was the biggest door Andrew had seen from the rest. And it was the glossiest white as well. Entering through the sliding door, Andrew saw a black room that appeared similar to a movie theater, except that each chair was a Spirit Contrivance and there was no big screen. A giant interdimensional communicator system stretched thousands of wires to each of the chairs. Lined up in rows of ten, this display of Contrivances reached in the thousands. This number was absolutely absurd to Andrew. Walking down the outer aisle, Robert enthusiastically stated, “This is for our pre-registered guests. The number of chairs that sit in this room is 1034. As you see, many are interested in joining the Spirit World, and we must do everything we can to give them an easy transitional experience when they come here. The only problem is that the world is getting riled up every bypassing minute. In this room, specifically, we have a main control unit that tracks the flow of all the neurons. Follow me.” Down the aisle was a small manual door. Opening it, the main control unit revealed a suave yellow color. A holographic depiction of a brain had three different tabs under it, showing the words “Sensory,” “Motor,” and “Dopamine.” Andrew studied this new artifact. Robert said, “ We will obviously send coded sensory neurons for our guests. But the other two neural categories are there for technological purposes, and we will never use it on them. On the other hand , to help minimize the problem that exists in the outside world, we may need to use these other categories.”

  The last statement Robert said felt too general to Andrew. Breaking the flow of the presentation, Andrew asked, “What do you mean by ‘other categories’? And what do you mean by ‘problem’?”

  Wayne took the respect to talk. “That’s a fair question, Andrew. The problem your father is alluding to is the outsiders and the destitute. The people outside these walls are becoming more ravenous and barbarous as the geothermal catastrophe wears down on them. The ‘other categories’ he speaks of are the dopamine neurons. People that are this deranged should not be ignored, and they interfere with our pre-registered guests. We have a solution to this problem with the help of this special kind of neurotransmitter called dopamine.” Wayne began walking out the main control unit door. “Let me explain more. Follow me.”

  As Wayne took charge of the tour, Andrew grew more skeptical. Treading up the aisle, they left the “VIP Access” room. Walking further down a hallway, Wayne said, “Your father gave me the opportunity to watch some of your endeavour, Andrew, and it was a pleasure to. It gave me an idea that your father and I paired together.” Andrew, growing impatient with each prolonging, he thought , tell me the idea already, goddamnit. Wayne r
eached a door labeled “ Dopabee Seduction”.

  Andrew was immediately confused as heck. He knew that the word “Dopabean” was a medicine to help people with low levels of dopamine since his second cousin was diagnosed to have it. But the word “Dopabee” didn’t click for him. He asked, “Sorry, but what’s a Dopabee?”

  Wayne’s face began to look eager. He said, “Oh, I’ll tell you what Dopabees are. They’re the things that are solving this problem of ours. To be fair, all solutions require problems to begin with.” He opened the door. This room, or complex as a matter a fact, was the biggest one yet. Ten feet by ten feet metal cages rose up to the ceiling. There were hundreds of them. Inside each one was a communicator system with a thick blue wire and red wire attached to it. Wayne said, “Dopabees are the dopamine bees from Nirvana 74. It is known that they have a dopamine compositor in their stingers, which gave your father and I an idea—the idea to entrap these bees and harvest their dopamine. And then this dopamine would be fed to all the ignorant fools who interfere with our registered guests. You see, it’s important that we keep these kinds of people under control. Their suppression and obedience is a must.”

  Andrew’s heart pounded off-beat. He was deeply horrified. And enraged. He wanted to yell at them and even fight them. This angered him so much. But he needed to know more information. He needed to obtain more intellect before his natural instincts kicked in. In a calm voice, he asked, “And how will this dopamine be given to the poor people?”

  Robert said, “It will be easy. We have compiled thousands of Spirit Emissaries, not just normal ones though. These are portable Spirit Emissaries. The Dopabess would get their dopamine extracted from their stingers, and the interdimensional communicators would successfully store the dopamine to the emissaries. We suspect when our guests arrive, hoards of people will be at the gates, protesting for admittance. Therefore, these portable emissaries will be dispatched to this public from outside our gates. Once they get their hands on them, their minds will be all over the Spirit World, whereas, in reality, they're only falling into a deep state of dopamine influx and coma. The bees are needed for the dopamine, and they are our prime target.”