by Luigi Robles
Pycca found herself smiling while listening to her parents’ conversation. They sounded normal, and things were beginning to feel like they should.
“Oh, Pycca, honey, you might want to check your phone after you eat. It sounded while you were outside.”
For the remainder of the dinner, Pycca couldn’t take her mind off her phone. Nevertheless, she tried to keep up a normal flow of conversation with her parents. That phone was given to her by Colonel Green right before she was relieved from her post on board Sodenia.
“I need to take that wristband from you,” Colonel Green had said. “But keep this. In case something good happens.”
Colonel Green was one of the few people that Pycca knew she could trust. She just hoped that whatever news waited for her on her phone was good. She didn’t know if she could take any more bad news.
When dinner was done, she went to grab her phone and check it in the living room. To her surprise, she had an encrypted message from ESAF.
ESAF URGENT
PLEASE PUT THUMB OVER THE SCANNER TO CONFIRM IDENTITY
Pycca placed her thumb over the fingerprint scanner on the right side of the phone. A few seconds later, a simple message showed on the screen.
Rendezvous to the nearest ESAF facility, Latitude: 44.964883, Longitude: -93.064358 before 2200 hours. Immediate extraction and reinstatement.
Pycca knew where the facility was, as it was where she had been dropped off by ESAF the first time around. It was a half-hour drive at most; she still had plenty of time to get ready.
“Mother, Father…” Pycca said loudly from the living room.
“What is it, Pycca?” Mother said as she walked over.
“Is it good news?” Father said as he joined her.
“Well, I’m not sure,” Pycca said as she looked up from her phone. “I think I am being reinstated? But I really have no idea. I’m leaving today, at 10 pm.”
“That’s a little odd. It came out of nowhere,” Father said as he looked at his watch. “Aren’t these things done in the morning or something of that sort?”
“Nope,” Pycca said. “It can happen at any time.”
“Well, I hope it’s nothing dangerous,” Mother said. “And I sure hope that you aren’t going up there to meet with that dreadful thing that showed up in Earth’s orbit.”
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” Pycca said, trying not to worry her parents. “But I’ll do my best, and I promise you guys that I will return home.”
“Yeah, that’s right, missy, you better promise,” Father said. “We need to hear that, and we need you to keep that promise.”
Last time around, when Sodenia first went into space from Earth, Mother and Father didn’t know about Pycca’s position in ESAF, as all matters pertaining to the giant alien ship were top-secret. It was only when Sodenia had returned successfully to Earth from the battle with the Acram that Mother and Father had found out about the role she had played.
Now, Pycca knew that Mother and Father were just trying to be supportive and not ask too many questions.
“What time do you want to leave?” Father said. “We’ll drive you.”
“Actually,” Pycca said timidly, “I’ll just call a cab. I’m supposed to go alone. I don’t think I was supposed to tell you in the first place.”
Although she could probably get dropped off by Mother and Father somewhere near the extraction point, the last thing she wanted to do was trigger their PTSD. They might see flying crafts or a heavy military presence. Pycca just wasn’t sure, and she didn’t want them to have any setbacks.
“I understand.” Father nodded. “Well, let us know if you need anything.”
“I will,” Pycca said. “I’ll get to packing. I’m leaving in less than an hour.”
Pycca packed just the necessary stuff that she needed in a duffle bag and put on her ESAF uniform. The uniform felt surreal; she almost couldn’t believe it was happening once again.
Pycca made small talk with Mother and Father while she waited for the hover-cab in the living room. A few minutes later, there was a honk outside the house.
“That’s my ride,” Pycca said, experiencing a mix of emotions. She didn’t know if she felt happy or sad, nervous or strong. “I’ll get going now.”
“Aww, well, alright,” Mother said. “I guess it can’t be helped. Pycca, you make sure you message us from wherever you are at least a few times a week. Just so that we know that you are OK.”
Mother and Father each took turns hugging Pycca as she left, and each did their best to hold back the good-bye tears.
There was a second honk outside the house.
“Stop it,” Pycca said, with a watery smile. “You are going to make me cry. I’ll send you a message once I’m settled. I have to go now.”
“Take care,” Mother said. “We love you. Outsmart them bast—”
“Hey, hey,” Father said, interrupting. “Watch the language.”
“I love you too,” Pycca said as she ran outside.
It was already dark outside, with only the lights from the hover-cab and the house illuminating Pycca’s path.
“Welcome, Ms. Evans,” the automata driver said. “We have about a thirty-minute drive to your destination. Feel free to use the entertainment console located in front of you. You can choose from a varie—”
“That’s alright, thank you,” Pycca said, interrupting the semi-realistic human-robotic voice. “If we could just get going, that would be great.”
“Very well then,” the automata said as it drove away. “You may fasten your seatbelt if you choose. If not, that’s OK also. I will remind you that this vehicle is equipped with fifty-six airbags in the event of a collision. Not only that, but collisions on board a hover-cab driven by an automata 3.4 and higher are extremely unlikely. I happen to be of the newer generation, 6.2 to be exact. My record is perfect, and I intend to ke—”
“Hey, what can I call you?” Pycca said, interrupting the automata.
“You may call me Charlie,” the automata said. “Or Rick, or Steven… Hmm, how about a more modern name, like Zile or Elion. You know, I really like the concept of names; they make me feel more human. You have really made my day. Today, I’ve just had people who want to go to one place or another and don’t really want to talk to me. Things can get pretty lonely as an automata driver, and—”
“Hey, Zelion.” Pycca interrupted once again. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I need to concentrate and think. I need some silence.”
“Yeah, I understand,” the automata said with a sad robotic tone of voice. “I’m never good company for humans. They’d much rather be on their devices on the way to their destination than talk to a lowly program such as me. I’ll just drive.”
“No, no,” Pycca said, feeling bad for the automata. “Don’t take it personally. Maybe all you need is to work on your people skills. I’d love to talk to you if I could.”
“You are just saying that to be nice,” the automata said.
“No, no,” Pycca said. “I really, really mean it.”
“Alright, Ms. Evans,” the automata said. “I will think about what you’ve said. And I’ll give you the results of my thinking as we near the end of this ride.”
Some twenty minutes later, the hover-cab began to slow down as it exited the highway, and Pycca began making sure she didn’t leave anything behind in the cab.
“We are eight minutes away from your destination,” the automata said.
“Thank you.”
“Ms. Evans,” the automata said, “I’ve decided to listen to your advice.”
“Oh, really?” Pycca asked. “How so?”
“I will do my best to become a people person,” the automata said, not rushing his words. “I have already downloaded 567 books on social skills. I intend to study them thoroughly.”
“That’s a little overboard,” Pycca said, surprised. “But I am glad you did so. Now you’ll know how to talk to the people that get in the cab.”
“Yes, I’m excited about it.”
“Hope everything works out for you.”
“I have no doubt it will,” the automata said. “I have read a few books already, and I think my communication skills are improving.”
“When I return,” Pycca said, “I’ll request your hover-cab number to see just how much you’ve improved.”
“I would really like that,” the automata said. “Oh, and Ms. Evans, one more thing…”
“Yeah, sure,” Pycca said. “What is it?”
“I’ve decided that I will be keeping the name of Zelion. I quite like it. Thank you for giving me a name.”
“Well, you are welcome,” Pycca said with surprise.
The next moment, there was a loud noise, and Pycca found herself tumbling around the back seat of the hover-car as it rolled out of control into the nearby trees. All fifty-six airbags deployed, making it almost impossible to move. Small and large bits and pieces of the hover-car broke off as the car rolled to a halt in a nearby tree next to the highway.
“Zelion,” Pycca said as they stopped moving. “What’s happening?”
“It…it…” Zelion said, struggling to talk. “It appears that we have been sideswiped by an extremely fa…fast-moving object. There is an escape button in…” Then his voice trailed off into an inaudible mutter.
“Zelion,” Pycca said, trying to keep calm but speaking loudly. “Where is the button?”
Only noises could be heard coming from Zelion as he tried to respond.
“Zelion, talk to me,” Pycca said as she searched for the button.
Then a small hatch underneath her seat popped open, and in it, there was a red button. Pycca pressed the button with her right foot, and the door next to her and the back window of the hover-cab opened with a pop.
What the hell is happening? Why would something like this even happen? Pycca thought the question as she climbed out of the hover-cab. Am I in danger? Whatever the case, I need to hurry out of here.
When she was out of the crushed vehicle, she looked around to see what could have caused the collision. But it was dark out, and Pycca was having problems focusing.
“Ms. Evans,” an approaching voice said. “It’s best if you don’t move. Let’s not make this difficult for either of us. The end result will still be the same no matter what.”
In Vancouver, Canada, after receiving the ESAF message for a rendezvous, August decided to pay one last visit to his parents’ final resting place. The Capilano View Cemetery wasn’t too far away, but it wasn’t nearby either. He had a few hours to waste before the extraction time, so he decided to use public transportation.
He figured that if he got lost or ran out of time at any point, he would just call a hover-cab.
Flash loops were common in big metropolitan areas. They consisted of a network of rails and tunnels that carried platforms of people called flash decks in every direction they wanted to go in the city. The only drawback was that a lot of attention was required in order not to miss or confuse the stop. Everything just moved too fast. But when compared to Sodenia’s pod corridors, there was no comparison to the speed.
When he got to the nearest flash loop terminal, he saw way more people than he expected. In his mind, he thought that this kind of transportation system would be almost going extinct by now. But as evidence pointed out, people seemed to like them.
“I guess we really like to walk after all,” August murmured. Then he saw people sitting down on the flash decks through the clear tunnel glass. “Or commute in this fashion. Yeah, that’s better.”
As soon as August saw the complicated web of flash loops, regret began to sink in.
“Aww, man,” August murmured as he tried to absorb the map on the giant screen. “What did I get myself into? This isn’t going to be good.”
He saw the option to download a new app that synched with the loop system and would make him aware of where he needed to go. But that was old technology that required the constant operation of a hand-held device. After looking around, he saw the option to rent a direction orb from one of the machines in the terminal. And to August, that was the cooler option. So, he did.
The direction orb was a simple machine. It was a little sphere that floated in front of the passenger until the destination had been reached. The small orb would glow green if the passenger was on the right track. When the passenger needed to make a change, it would glow blue. If the passenger made a wrong turn, it would glow red. The orb was also capable of producing signs, such as arrows or simple words with the name of the next station.
“Looks like you’re coming with me, buddy,” August said as he grabbed the orb from the machine and turned it on.
The small orb guided August through the complicated terminal. The orb was fast, and August had to quicken his pace just to keep up. August boarded his first deck and right away noticed that no one was using an orb. Everyone there either already knew their way to where they needed to go or were long-time users of the loop system.
August felt everyone’s stares, and he began to blush. He sank into his seat for the remainder of the ride, and just before his last connection, he returned the orb to one of the machines.
“Well, at least I didn’t get lost,” August said in a low voice as he walked towards the last deck that would put him within walking distance of the terminal.
As August entered the last deck, he could still feel people staring at him. The feeling made him look both ways, just to make sure the orb wasn’t still with him. But there was nothing there.
If there’s nothing here, August thought, why are people still staring at me? Could it be that I look out of place, like I don’t come here often? Or maybe these people already recognize each other. Maybe I am just imagining things; I haven’t been on public transportation for years. Whatever the case, I am glad that this is the last deck.
As August found an empty seat on the deck, the stares kept bothering him, so he decided to take a look for himself. He pretended to sneeze and covered his mouth and nose with his elbow while pretending to look for a hanky with his other hand. As he did so, he glanced around the deck to look for the origin of the stares. To his surprise, there were only three people staring at him. Three people in black trench coats, and they looked nothing like the rest of the passengers.
When August arrived at his destination, he paid attention to who got off the deck with him, trying not to look too obvious. Nearly half of the people on the deck got off at the same stop as August, but even as thirty-plus people got off, he was able to spot the three trench coat strangers who were staring at him.
OK, well, this is not good, August thought. What am I even supposed to do now? Run if they start following me? Wouldn’t that make them follow me even more? The whole thing will break into a chase. Maybe I should just stay here and confront them in a public place? No, that can’t be a good idea. I shouldn’t make a scene. I should just pretend I didn’t see them.
To August’s relief, as the crowd dispersed, so did the three strangers, and there was no sign of anyone following him.
A few minutes later, he got to the cemetery where his parents were buried.
He sat down in front of their grave, trying to control the myriad emotions that were passing through him. This was why he hated coming to the cemetery in the first place.
“Mom, Dad…” August said. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not. But this is all I got, all I can do. I want you to know that I’ve done my best, and that’s because of you. I’ve done my absolute best to make things right again, so that what happened to you, what happened to me, doesn’t happened to anyone else. We defeated them. Mom, Dad, we defeated them when they came again. And we defeated them hard.
“Who knows if they’ll come again,” August said as he took a deep breath. “There is talk that they might come back with an even bigger force. But I’m not scared anymore. I’m ready for whatever happens from here on out. I just wish you were here to see what we’ve accomplis
hed.” August buried his head in his knees, trying to adjust to the pain.
I just wish you were here, he thought. I miss you too damn much. When it comes to this, I know that I will never be strong enough. I know that I will never forget. Mom, Dad, I love you so much. Thank you for all the moments we shared while you were still here.
Just as August was getting comfortable, he heard a twig break behind him. He got up and turned towards the noise. He saw five strangers directly ahead, each of them wearing a dark trench coat.
“Sorry to bother you in this sacred place,” one of the strangers said as she opened her trench coat, revealing a large weapon. “But we have some business to take care of. I’m sure you understand.”
August stood there, unafraid and ready to face the armed strangers.
Back in her home town of San Diego, Larissa had been aware for the majority of the day that she was being followed. She wasn’t scared, not at all, but she also did not want to cause a scene. There were just too many of them, and Larissa wasn’t fond of no-win scenarios.
But the number of people following her intensified right after she got the rendezvous message from ESAF. She knew that whoever was following her was planning to make a move soon, regardless of where she was or who was around her.
It was dark out, and it was starting to get cold.
She felt like she couldn’t call anyone for help, as she didn’t know who exactly was involved. Or if help would be any sort of help at all. Her best option was to make it to the extraction point alive, but how?
I need to do something fast, Larissa thought. It is becoming that much easier to spot the strangers following me. This is getting way out of control, and from the looks of it, they are armed too. Well, at least I don’t have to be as nice to them as I otherwise would.
Larissa walked into the nearest megastore, across the street from the town mall she had been in for most of the day. As she entered the store, a shopping cart pulled up in front of her. When she grabbed the cart, a screen popped up a few inches away from the handle.