by Taya DeVere
“We’ve come up with a plan. A beta for a whole new program.”
Iris crosses her arms on her chest. “A new program?”
“Mhm. The working name is the Freedom-Program. But we’re still debating on that.”
Another scoff. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Nope, not kidding.”
“This…” Iris pauses to circle her hand in the air, “…program of yours sounds awfully familiar to me. You’re not worried about its… ethics?”
“Well, you know… Omelets, eggs, and such.” His gait strong and military, Ef steps over to a stasis capsule, this one standing upright with a woman sleeping inside. Her long black hair looks like a snake against her bare back. “We need to get people out of these capsules,” Ef says, placing his wide palm against the tinted glass. “But how do we bring back hundreds of millions of people into a civilization that is killing itself off? We need peace. We need good people in charge, with a solid plan and a simple goal.”
“Which is, what? To not get high on happiness-pills and simulated sex?”
Ef chuckles at her words. He turns and slaps his palms together, then nods at Iris. “That brings us to this time and place. It’s time to go upstairs. We’re having a strategy meeting with the Egg in twenty. I was hoping you would join. But it’s totally, one hundred percent, up to you.”
Iris stares at Ef’s wide back as he makes his way to the elevator. He presses the button and starts whistling a tune Iris doesn’t recognize. With the tennis ball in her hand, Owena joins him to wait for the lift. Wacko follows the little girl, then sits down behind her, his eyes on the ball.
Iris stares at the back of Owena’s head.
Her chipless head, she thinks. She’s more powerful than I ever was. With more strength and data than my chip could hold in a lifetime. But she survived. She’s still here, making the best of it. Still powerful. Still special.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Ef takes a step to place himself between the elevator door and the frame to keep the door from sliding shut. Owena and Wacko step into the elevator, then turn around to stare back at Iris. “The Freedom-Program will have a test group. Some carefully selected people currently in stasis. We want to recreate the resort from Iceland, to use it as a base for the experiment. And I can’t think of anyone who would be better suited to recreate the scenery and help William design the landscape than you.”
After a pause, Iris puts the CS-key away and nods at Ef. “Doesn’t mean that I’m coming to the meeting today.”
He lifts his hands in the air and gives her an approving nod. “Didn’t say it did.” He steps into the elevator and presses a button. “Just think about it, that’s all I ask.”
Just before the door slides shut, Iris clears her throat. “Wait!”
Owena reacts faster than anyone else. With a quick twist of her wrist, she tosses the tennis ball between the closing door and the doorframe. The door sensors locate the ball, sliding back open. With his mouth slightly open, Ef stares at the rolling tennis ball, then at Owena, then at Iris. “Um… yes?”
“This test group,” Iris says, giving Owena an approving smile. “What are you going to do to them?”
Ef’s lips press together. He frowns, his jaw moving from side to side as he considers his words. “What do you mean, do to them?”
“Are you keeping the test subjects as prisoners?”
“No,” Ef says slowly, shaking his head once. “Not prisoners.”
“Are they going to live in an AR-reality? In luxury?”
He clears his throat. “Not exactly. No.” He pauses, hesitating. “We’re going to run some experiments. We just need the situation with Nurse Saarinen under control first.”
“Are you going to torture them?”
Ef’s mouth opens, but not a word comes out. He glances at the little girl next to him. Owena lifts her gaze to look back. “Iris asked you a question, Mister Ef,” she says. “It’s rude not to answer.”
“I wouldn’t call it torture…” Ef says hesitantly. “No.”
Ef takes a deep breath, holds it, then sighs in discomfort. “The test group will experience a certain level of discomfort, yes.”
“Pain?”
Ef lifts his hand to rub the bridge of his nose. “Pain, yes.”
“Emotional pain?”
“Yes.”
“Physical pain?”
He drops his hand and gives a small sigh, dodging Iris’s gaze.
“How is that somehow a more disturbing question for you?” Iris asks. “You really believe that emotional pain is any better than physical? Because if you do,” Iris pauses to grit her teeth, “you’re fucking delusional.”
Ef spreads his hands as if to surrender. “Yes, Iris,” he says. “The test subjects will momentarily be in physical pain during the experiment.”
A tickling sensation starts from the bottom of Iris’s stomach. She stops to consider what she’s about to say, but only for a split second. Before she has more time to think, her feet take her to the elevator, where Ef, Owena, and Wacko step aside to give her room. She presses the button to the office floor, then stands staring straight ahead while the elevator door slides shut silently in front of her face.
“I’ll come to today’s strategy meeting. I’ll help Bill recreate the Icelandic resort. I’ll bust my ass down in the basement and sort out all the ICE test subjects in stasis and move them to long-term storage.” She turns her head to look at Ef over her shoulder. “With one condition.”
The man gives her a slow nod, frowning his brow slightly. “Which is?”
Iris gives him a half-smile, then turns to stare at the elevator door again. “When the time comes to get started… I get to add a person of my choosing to the test group. No questions asked.”
***
Shoot! Book 14 of the Unchipped story is at a close. But don’t worry, you can find out what happens next in Book 15 in the Unchipped series, DECHIPPED: The Download!
***
My dearest reader,
You are simply amazing! Thank you so much for your support and readership! I can’t tell you how much you reading this book means to me. I’m humbled and honored that you’ve dedicated your valuable time to experience the Unchipped universe with me. I’m still a newbie author, so if you were to leave me a review on Amazon it would be a huge help! Short or long, doesn’t matter. Reviews are the best way to help other readers find the Unchipped Series.
Want to stay in touch? I would love it if you’d subscribe to my newsletter @ www.TayaDeVere.com/HappinessProgram Starting in August 2020, newsletter subscribers will receive free, exclusive early access to in-universe short stories from the Unchipped series!
You can also find me on:
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Gratefully yours,
Taya DeVere
***
THE END
About the Author
Taya is a Finnish-American author, writing contemporary fiction and dystopian sci-fi. After living and traveling in America for seven years, she now lives in Finland with her husband Chris, their dog Seamus, three bunny-boys (Ronin, Baby, Loki), and her horse of a lifetime, Arabella.
Best things in life: friends & family, memories made, and mistakes to learn from. Taya also loves licorice ice cream, secondhand clothes and things, bunny sneezes, salmiakki, and sauna.
Dislikes: clowns, the Muppets, Moomin trolls, dolls (especially porcelain dolls), human size mascots and celery.
Taya's writing is inspired by the works of authors like Margaret Atwood, Peter Heller, Hugh Howey, and C.M. Martens.
***
Final Thanks
“The horse world broke me.”
It wasn’t me who said this on a social media post this week but a friend. And yet, her words scraped the surface of some profound, old scars of mine. And it did it with such force, I’ve been scratching my skin for days. Usua
lly, I don’t care to acknowledge these partly open wounds at all. Like the old tattoo on my back, I rather forget their existence. But just like that (damn ugly) tattoo of mine, these scars are still part of my skin. And I guess it’s about time for me to admit their unwelcomed presence. Horse world. It can be a brutal place. Harsh. Calculative and nasty. Nine times out of ten, it ends up damaging your skin instead of making it thicker.
But just like every coin, the horse world has its flip slide. A beautiful, wonder-filled flip side. And it’s not just the majestic, amazing animals one gets to work and live with, but people too. It’s an encouraging bump on the shoulder after a good ride. It’s a knowing smile when your horse refuses to meet you at the paddock’s gate. A late-night text message asking if you’re feeling okay after a trying day at the barn. It’s caring, loving, fun people who genuinely want to see you succeed and be happy. During my ten-year equestrian career, I found a handful of these rare gems while sorting through the manure piles.
Thank you, Jackie, Sybille, Kate, and Sari, for your friendship and unwavering kindness. Being your friend makes the itchy scars worthwhile.
The Unchipped series – Release schedule through Summer 2021
UNCHIPPED: KAARINA - 8/31/2020
UNCHIPPED: WILLIAM - 9/18/2020
UNCHIPPED: ENYD - 10/6/2020
UNCHIPPED: LUNA - 10/24/2020
UNCHIPPED: THE RESORT - 11/11/2020
CHIPPED: LAURA - 11/30/2020
CHIPPED: DENNIS - 12/18/2020
CHIPPED: MARGARET - 01/05/2021
CHIPPED: JOVAN - 01/23/2021
CHIPPED: THE REVENANT - 02/10/2021
DECHIPPED: KRISTIAN - 03/13/2021
DECHIPPED: MARIA – 04/10/2021
DECHIPPED: OWENA – 05/10/2021
DECHIPPED: IRIS – 06/13/2021
DECHIPPED: THE DOWNLOAD - TBA