Flight or Fight (The Out of Dodge Trilogy Book 1)

by Scott Bartlett

  They reached the closet where the army of SafeTalk’s cleaner robots lived. The robots were mostly disc-shaped and equipped with strong magnets so they could clean walls and ceilings in addition to floors.

  Gregory placed a hand on one of the metal shelves, running his fingers over its cold smoothness. “Did you know that employees with my level of security clearance can access the building overnight?”

  “How is that relevant?”

  “Oh, I’m only thinking out loud. It just occurred to me that I should take Maria back here tonight. It would be fun to fuck her on these shelves. She’ll have her lifelog on, of course. You could watch, if you want.”

  All thought of helping Natalie flew from his mind. Carl took one of the robots from the shelf and flung it with both hands, like a large, gray discus. It caught Gregory full in the face, sending him back against the wall, scarlet blood spurting. No trace of his smug expression remained.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Morrowne looked from Gregory Stronger to Carl and back again. His prior dismissive brusqueness had disappeared and in its place were wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.

  “Well…” he said, and then didn’t speak again for another minute or so. He cleared his throat and tried once more. “Nothing can be proved, obviously. We have no surveillance equipment installed in the custodial closet. We will rectify that lack shortly. And that’s all we can do.”

  “But I just told you what happened,” Gregory said. His voice had a nasal quality it had lacked just a half hour ago.

  “And I admitted to it,” Carl said.

  “You will both have to take pains to avoid this sort of thing, going forward,” Morrowne said. “Whatever it was that happened. Perhaps, if it becomes necessary for you to speak without lifelogs again, you could have another Youth Dignity employee there to witness—”

  “I want consequences.” Gregory pointed at Carl. “I want him terminated. Barring that, I will see that he is charged and sent to the prison barges.”

  “At any rate,” Carl said, keen to steer the conversation in a more productive direction. “Who will fill out the Interrupted Lifelog Report? Gregory and I both have a clear conflict of interest here.”

  “You wanker,” Gregory shouted. “I’m going—”

  “Shut up, Stronger,” said Morrowne. “No one is charging anyone. And no one is getting terminated. SafeTalk is meant to protect its customers from controversy, not draw controversy to itself. I couldn’t care less about this business between you and Intoever’s girlfriend, but if it starts causing trouble for the company we’re going to have a problem.”

  Morrowne sat in silence for a while longer and studied them over steepled fingers.

  He took a breath. “Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. Stronger, you are to temporarily take over all operations currently performed by Intoever. Maintain complete discretion about your mangled face, or your future at SafeTalk will come to an abrupt end. Intoever, you’re taking a vacation. Out of town. Tonight. Once the media catches wind of Stronger’s injury, speculation will begin. I’m going to get in touch with some friends at the TV networks. Hopefully we can stop this before it starts. In case I fail, I don’t want you here for reporters to question. You aren’t used to being interviewed, and I don’t trust your ability to keep secrets in front of a camera.” Morrowne wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “I expect you to keep your personal issues separate from your work, going forward. You’ve proved your value, but no one is irreplaceable. We’re all watching you closely, Intoever, and if you exhibit any more erratic behavior you can expect to grow old here in Dodge. No one will touch you with a contract if you piss me off.”

  The satisfaction he’d gleaned from hurting Gregory Stronger had been short-lived, and he took no pleasure in the idea of this sudden vacation. On his way back to his workstation in the Youth Dignity department he again ignored all the questioning looks. Morrowne had given him a direct order to leave the city, so how could he possibly help Natalie now? If he refused Morrowne he would be fired, and he’d lose the ability to do anything for her anyway. So she would reveal herself as the FutureBrite blogger, and he would be out of town for the ensuing furor. They’d condemn her to the prison barges. It made him sick to his stomach.

  Once he gathered up his things he was ready to leave, but first he visited the Search Department. He found Natalie working on suppressing criticism of the dominant video game review site, which was being accused again of accepting money for high scores. Pretty standard stuff.

  Their lifelogs had to stay on, of course. There was no plausible reason to switch them off. But he put a hand on Natalie’s shoulder. “I couldn’t change anything about your situation,” he told her. “I tried, but I failed you.”

  “I know. It’s okay, Carl. Thank you for trying.”

  “I…” He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he couldn’t. It would complicate her already complicated situation, and anyway the silent audience that monitored his lifelog would no doubt use it against him. A single tear spilled down his cheek.

  She stood, and hugged him. “You’ve always helped me, Carl, and I’ll never forget that.”

  “They’re making me take a vacation.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “They are?”

  “I just hit Gregory Stronger in the face with a cleaning robot.”

  She took a moment to process that. “Ah. Well. Enjoy your vacation.”

  He gave a sad little smile and walked away.

  “Carl?”

  He turned back.

  “Take it easy on Maria, okay? She deserves better. More than you know.”

  He nodded. Typical cryptic Natalie remark. He didn’t have the mental energy to investigate it.

  Morrowne hadn’t alerted his TV contacts in time. Outside SafeTalk, a swarm of microphones, cameras, and reporters awaited him.

  “Mr. Intoever,” a reporter called, thrusting her hand past the others. Carl recognized her as the one who’d found him on the walking trail. “Rumors suggest a violent altercation between you and your boss. Can you confirm?”

  That was cute. They’d paid for access to his lifelog, and they damn well knew there’d been violence. He’d just admitted as much to Natalie. He really needed to cancel that insurance rebate.

  “Mr. Intoever,” another reported shouted. “As the hero of SafeTalk, do you think it’s surprising your girlfriend seems to prefer the company of your boss?”

  “Is it true you met with Chuck Erything last night, Mr. Intoever? What was the purpose of that meeting?”

  “What will you do next, Mr. Intoever?”

  He had to give them something. None of this was live, of course, and whoever edited the footage would have to ensure it didn’t draw any corporate ire. But they needed something to spin into a story, and it couldn’t be anything to do with SafeTalk.

  He had just the thing. “I’m going to break up with my girlfriend,” he said. “Kindly step aside.”

  The gaggle of reporters parted before him. He stepped through and got into the taxi he’d already hailed with the CabLab app.

  It was unorthodox for two people with the same family phrase to break up. In fact, it almost never happened. People dissatisfied with such relationships normally opted to do what Maria had done: take an outside lover and eventually marry the person you were having problems with, for the dedication to equality it demonstrated and for the sizable Air Earth discount.

  Morrowne wouldn’t like this high-profile breakup. On the face of it, it was unconventional. But Carl remembered what Xavier Ofvalour had said of him, that he was so orthodox he was nearly unorthodox. He now allowed himself to entertain the thought that his current notion was an evolved one.

  He was the messiah, after all.

  After giving the taxi driver instructions to take him to his block of residences, Carl got out his phone and opened the Unfurl app. First, he opened the drop-down menu containing all the possibilities for his relationship status. He was about to select �
�Single” when he noticed “In a short-term relationship” was an option. He laughed bitterly and changed it to that.

  Almost immediately, the comments began pouring in.

  “What happened???”

  “WHAT HAPPENED!”

  “i didn’t even know short-term was an option lol”

  “Hope you two are okay! What happened?”

  A few people even favorited the relationship status change. Leo Intoever was one of them.

  He began composing a comment that both explained his decision and steered it back into the realm of orthodoxy. Creative orthodoxy. “That’s right, friends,” he typed, opting for a breezy tone. “My relationship has suddenly become very short-term. In five minutes or so, the moment I get home, I will break up with Maria Ylifeali, my girlfriend of several years. Most of you probably consider this rash. But I believe you’ll find, after hearing my reasoning, that it’s really quite sound. Maria, as I’m sure you’re all aware, has taken on a new lover. The usual reaction for a person in my situation would be to find one as well. But does anyone ever consider what that does to your expenses? It doubles them, at least! Even a union of cuckolds requires that certain rituals be upheld. Maria and I, though we would no longer be sleeping together, would continue going out together, and buying each other gifts for special occasions. But we would also both be conducting these same rituals with our new lovers. Our expenses would multiply, not to mention the time involved. And what if I were to take on yet another lover, as many eventually do? Consider, friends, how long this would delay my departure for the New World…”

  Carl went on in this vein for a while longer, wrapping up the comment just as the taxi was pulling up to the curb outside his residence complex. He posted it, and in a small way it served as an outlet for his frustration. He tipped the driver and made for the entrance to the residence complex.

  His comment racked up favorites rapidly. He checked it compulsively as he navigated the forest of access poles. By the time he reached his own, he had a message each from InsiderLife and Gawp, offering to pay him for permission to base articles on his comment.

  This really was improving his mood. He stood on the verge of ending the hassle-filled charade he’d endured with Maria for years, and the world was on his side.

  “You’re making a huge mistake,” Thomas Intoever said when Carl entered the kitchen.

  “Well,” Carl said, noticing that Maria was sitting across from him. “This seems familiar.”

  “Let him make it, Thomas,” Maria said. “He still loves me. He just hasn’t realized it yet.”

  “Yeah, right,” Carl said. “It’s over, Maria.”

  “I didn’t say it’s not. I caught your Unfurl comment, and I think it sums things up nicely. I even posted a status update myself, directing anyone seeking details about our breakup to message you. See? I’m not even looking to steal LifeRank points from you. You can handle all the disclosure.”

  “You could have told me you were planning to sleep with Gregory.”

  “Yes, and you could have had an adult conversation with me about it. Instead of this.”

  “Instead of this? Let me tell you something about this.” He held up his phone. “This is getting covered by the biggest viral mills on the net.”

  “Good for you. Enjoy your new tabloid life.”

  “It’s no different from the way your life has been since the day you were old enough to hold a phone. You’ve told everyone everything. Always. Wait, there is one small difference. The stuff I’m sharing actually has some cultural relevance.”

  Maria picked something from beneath one of her nails. “Openness is a virtue. Are we done here?”

  “We are done. You’re leaving me. Get out.”

  She paused. “Excuse me?”

  “You’re leaving me.”

  “What do you mean, I’m leaving you? Don’t you mean you’re leaving me?”

  “No. I need the house, so you’ll have to leave me.”

  “You hate this house.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t have another one.”

  “Neither do I. My parents died, remember? You could move in with your Dad.”

  Thomas Intoever shook his head. “Not a chance. Having Leo there is more than—”

  “You could move in with Gregory,” Carl said, speaking over his father.

  “We don’t have that kind of relationship.”

  “Oh, you don’t! Isn’t that sad for you?”

  “You’re not getting the house, Carl.”

  “The house is not the issue,” Thomas Intoever said. “Maria and I have sacrificed everything for the success of this relationship.”

  “That’s actually extremely creepy for you to say, Dad,” Carl said.

  The wall next to the table came alive, glowing white. “YOU’RE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE, CARL. YOU CAN’T DO BETTER THAN HER.”

  “Ha!” Carl shouted, pointing. “I told you that was still happening!”

  Thomas and Maria turned around. “Oh, wow,” Maria said. “I haven’t seen this in a while.”

  “It happens to me all the time,” Carl said. “For a while I thought it was you, Dad. In fact, it still could be you. You could be paying someone to do it while you’re here.”

  “NO ONE’S PAYING ME. I DO THIS SHIT FOR FREE.”

  “Why?” Maria said.

  “I WONDER HOW MANY REPORTERS ARE WATCHING YOUR LIFELOG RIGHT NOW CARL? STILL HAVEN’T CANCELED THAT REBATE, HAVE YOU? MAYBE I’LL BE ON TEEVEE!!!!”

  “Why would I pay someone to hack you?” Thomas said.

  “You’ve always said you won’t secure our system till I marry Maria. This could be one of your twisted attempts to pressure us.”

  “MARIA AND CARL UP IN A TREE. F-O-R-N-I-C-A-T-I-N-G.”

  “This guy is pathetic,” Maria said.

  “I MIGHT BE A GIRL. SEXIST.”

  Maria frowned. “I’m not a—”

  “Let’s move to the TV room,” Thomas said.

  “That won’t help,” Carl said. They tried it, though. It didn’t help.

  The TV room wall lit up.

  “HAVE YOU TWO SEEN CARL’S WEE-WEE? I HAVE. IT’S QUITE SMALL.”

  Carl maintained what he considered a stoic silence.

  “AND THE PORN HE WATCHES? INCREDIBLY VANILLA.”

  “Okay,” Thomas Intoever said. “I think that’s my cue to leave.” He looked at Carl, his brow wrinkled slightly. “You’re making a mistake. I don’t know what else to say. Goodbye.” He slid down the access pole.

  Carl and Maria looked at each other. She gestured at the wall, grinning. “He hasn’t said anything critical of SafeTalk. So the part about your wee-wee might just make the news.”

  “CARL INTOEVER: BIG HERO, SMALL DICK.”

  Maria chuckled.

  “I LIKE HER, CARL. HOT, TOO. MIND IF I HAVE A GO?”

  Carl continued to not speak to either Maria or the hacker. He started packing for his trip and tried to ignore his ex-girlfriend, who was now reclining in the kitchen, drinking margaritas. He tried to ignore visions of Natalie chained up on a prison barge. He also tried to ignore every wall in the house turning on and disgorging profanity from floor to ceiling. And the fact that, eventually, he would have to return to all this.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Dodge wasn’t very big, and vacations never amounted to much. What most people considered the ultimate vacation was also a permanent one, and it involved boarding a one-way Air Earth flight, never to return.

  The population of Dodge was exactly 71,213,373. That included those on the prison barges—prisoners, jailers, and crew—traveling the world and mining ancient landfills to provide Dodge with energy and resources.

  Carl didn’t always have an up-to-the-second figure for how many people lived in Dodge. He had one now due to being inside the Air Earth Museum of the Twenty-Fourth Century, which constituted the main tourist attraction in the small country town he’d chosen to spend his two-week vacation in. He’d decided to visit the museu
m after pacing his hotel room for three hours, unable to get his mind off of Natalie and what she was going through.

  There was nothing like propaganda to help one make peace with upholding the status quo. The population ticker belonged to an exhibit about Dodge, which apparently occupied a region that used to be called Scotland. “But if a Scot traveled into the future and arrived in our time,” Carl read, “Dodge would be unrecognizable to him/her. Its coastlines have been completely redrawn due to centuries of sea rise and floods. Ecosystems have shifted dramatically, and Dodgian residents contend with insects and diseases a Scot could only have encountered far south of here. But Dodge doesn’t just differ geographically and ecologically from Scotland. Its cultural landscape is equally distinct. Centuries ago, when global civilization collapsed—”

  “Boring,” Carl said, and moved to the next exhibit, titled “The Net.”

  “Back when the net used to be called The Internet, it was an untamed frontier where viruses, criminals, and child pornographers ran amok. Its advent brought with it humanity’s darkest period. The Internet made people feel entitled to everything without having to pay for it. This wreaked havoc on the companies who kept the world economy afloat, and indeed some of them vanished. New businesses rose up, however, founded by the cleverest people. They restored the sanity of commerce to the net, and today we see the fruits of…”

  Carl stopped reading and headed for the next exhibit: “Air Earth.” This one required that he sit in a plush armchair and don a headset. When he did, he found himself in a humbly adorned, smallish room, facing a man sitting in another armchair. It was Xavier Ofvalour.

  “Hello, Carl,” he said.

  “Hi,” Carl replied.

  “Welcome to the Air Earth Museum’s exhibit on Air Earth, narrated by yours truly.”

  “Thanks, but how—”

  Xavier spoke over him: “As the year 2050 approached, the writing was on the wall for global civilization, for any who were sharp enough to read it.”