RoboChildren

by James Hunt

  Chapter 14

  Founding of

  The Church Of

  Life Studies &

  Dynamics

  We sit but apart

  but yet a whole

  what we are is unknown

  we are only what we want to be be

  this fact alone should be

  stapled to her forehead as god himself

  we are friends. We are whole.

  As we sit we ponder thoughts

  the thoughts of a real answer

  -Found On The Floor

  author unknown

  date unknown

  I caught word Zach was going to be attending the fireworks performance in the nearby town of Loudonville. It's is a sad little town where everyone knows everyone else and no one can get away with anything... that is until the fireworks show. For some reason, of which I am not willing to research, Loudonville prides itself on its ungodly firework arsenal. I requested he allow me to accompany him and his girlfriend. He agreed after asking her. She reluctantly allowed room for the idea. She was hesitant because many times when I had accompanied them on innocent outings, the idea of consuming Dex-containing substances and concealing it from her had somehow come about... I have no idea where this disturbing game originated from, honestly, I don't... [the author would like to dismiss his previous statement and admit to the court he did in fact start the game one lovely afternoon on a hookah bar adventure with Zach and his girlfriend] She made Zach promise that he would not trip on this trip. He was sad to learn I had every intention of tripping on our favorite drug. Not only that but I was bringing along two other RoboChildren to help in my psychonautic expedition. My first mate, Daniel, and my private, Kate (henceforth referred to as Abbot Katherine). At this time Abbot Katherine had consumed Dex with me on a few innocent occasions, nothing seriously overdosed though. Tonight we would overdose beyond anything Daniel or Katherine had ever before experienced. I was the spiritual leader now, a fact Daniel was having a hard time coping with.

  Ever since my extreme encounter with Corocidin and the Delsyn Five Challenge I no longer had any desire for the usual “slight” overdose, which Daniel always promoted.

  I felt Zach's burning addiction and his girlfriend's disgust as I greedily tore open the cough strip packets and removed the bottles from their boxes. I remember attempting to calculate the exact amount of Dex I would be consuming, a habit I kept every time I did the shit. I explained to my comrades and the front seat peanut gallery this was an extremely serious situation. I was giddy and the sober front-seaters only made my glee that much more justifiable. I get some kind of sick satisfaction at the thought of having one person extremely jealous of my drug consumption and another person thinking I am the scum of the earth. It really summed up my perception of how the world must have viewed me. Half wishing they were having as much fun as I, and the other half being too ignorant to realize I was most definitely having more fun than they. Pure fantasy, of course. I am quite certain no one wished they were having the type of fun I loved most.

  We divided the strange mixture of Dex products between the three of us and we did our best to hold down the nauseating chemicals as we waited to reach our destination, Loudonville, and our unique high. Fuck... I feel as though I'm not getting the seriousness of this night across to you, the reader. What kind of unholy bastard created the English language with such an inefficiency forcing me to grasp for words which only conjure up the most vague and inaccurate associations in the reader's mind? I most definitely did not approve of the memories and associations created in [your] mind! It's the fucking reader's (your) fault for not making the correct connections with MY memories! If you bastards could only be more selfless... at least enough to realize what I have seen!

  Holy shit, she saw me looking at her...

  Eye contact...

  She looks gorgeous today...

  I'm such a fucking pig...

  Ha, I didn't hear anything she just said.

  I'm ignoring her mind to pay attention to her body.

  I'm such a fucking pig.

  I hate language for being so inaccurate. NEVER INSULT OR BLAME THE READER FOR NOT FULLY OR ACCURATELY COMPREHENDING YOUR WRITING. Fuck off, the reader knows our dilemma with language, they understand me. I understand them... We are one with the language and with each other. We, together, destroy it with such a fiery passion. Where has the story gone? PULL IT TOGETHER, YOU ARE LOSING THEM!

  We arrived at the parking lot where his girlfriend was meeting her family. I feel something is missing here. We, all five of us, walked over to the front steps of a Methodist Church with a few fuckers hanging about. Who are these Church-loiterers? Were they important in this feeling that was creeping down my spine and exploding in my stomach. This doesn't feel pretty. A young blonde boy walked over to us, he must have known what we were up to, because he handed us some sparklers.

  “Oh, god...” Daniel moaned, “I want to puke!”

  “Don't be a pansy, Dan,” Kate happily demanded.

  “Shit,[EXCESSIVE SWEARING IN A NARRATIVE MAKES THE READER DESSENSITIZED TO THE MEANINGS OF THE EMOTIONS THEY IMPLY]yeah, what kind of trouble would we get into if you tossed your cookies right here?” I said, entertaining the idea of puking all over the blonde boy on the church steps. He laughed.

  Damnit, memories are missing. I'm grasping at straws for a memory of what happens next here. What is the point of having these life changing experiences if you can't remember why or how they were so life changing? Memories are illusions. Useless Delusions. I'm not sure anymore why this trip is relevant to the tale of the RoboChildren. We did not even know we were the RoboChildren yet. Unless I have completely butchered the idea of the RoboChildren. What is the idea? What in the balls am I getting at?

  I want the reader just as desensitized as I am, so FUCK off!

  SHIT! FOCUS! The fireworks show began. We three discussed how pissed we were it was happening before the drugs had fully sank in. Numb and embarrassingly nauseated, the fireworks didn't amuse me, all I could think about was the disappointment of my miscalculation of the proper timing for consumption. No, learn to enjoy the simple things in life. Simple things such as the exploding chemicals that burned colors so bright they could be seen after being shot high into the sky, while still retaining a certain sense of safety for all of the hundreds of spectators. Simple. Fuck, they're over. I'm getting too analytical. I've always questioned everything, but it’s starting to hinder my ability to enjoy what I am analyzing.

  I can feel the insomnia brewing inside my skull again.

  The ride home: This is what I remember. Ah, yes, the ride home... The three of us robotrippers sit in the back seat of the car, while the girldriend drives and Zach sits in the passenger position. I look over to Abbot Katherine and she is sinking into the seat. I say sinking, but I also mean shrinking. Yes, shrinking, and in the worst way possible too. Then confused as to what was happening I look over at Daniel and he too was sink-shrinking. I watch as all around me my surroundings grow to enormous proportions. What does this mean? I feel like a kid again. Hurray! This feels good. It's like candy in my brain. I kick my feet into the air toward the ceiling of the car, but I can't quite reach. The girlfriend and Zach turn around to see the three of us giggle with glee flailing appendages like little kids who've found their parent's stash of cocaine. She just looks away. I can feel her disgust, I love her judgment. Zach continues to watch and attempts to communicate with us. We don't understand this petty attempt, nor do we care to.

  We laughed and giggled as David and Kate lit their sparklers and waved them child-like out their windows. This is a better memory than anything from my childhood. We arrive at our destination: my car. It is parked on the third planet in the Xenevia Galaxy near Drug Mart.

  FYI:

  ~400mg of Dex in a tube of Xicam

  ~470mg of Dex in 8oz Tussin (generic and name brand)

  ~480mg of Dex in a box of Corocidin

  ~300mg of Dex in a bottle of Cough Gels<
br />
  Is it hard to follow the story with these changes from past to present tense?

  I can't quite tell anymore what is past and what is present.

  We get in my car and drove to Kate's house, which is our current party house. I parked my monstrous white car in the street across from her house with a jolt. I unintentionally slammed on the brakes. Kate rides in the passenger position up front with me and slams against the dashboard. I parked too close to the curb and she couldn’t get out because her door was stuck in the grass. I went around and let her out. I pried the door through the dirt and grass, Kate pushed herself out of the car, and fell to her knees. She lingered on the ground as if to worship mother earth for letting us live on her back like greedy parasites. Then, without any warning the most dreadful sound of puking began to emanate out of her, like a megaphone attached to Phil's ass. It echoed down the street telling an awful tale about the demons that resided in the deepest regions of her digestive hell.

  Just then, Macaroni, in a drunken stupor wandered outside to meet us (he lived across the street from Kate). I whispered to Kate and Daniel that our mission had become clear, DO NOT LET MACARONI FIND OUT OUR MENTAL AILMENT!

  “What’s wrong with her?” he asked of Daniel. He just stared into the distance. We pretended there was nothing unusual about a half-black hippie-girl puking her guts out in the late evening of a weeknight. In part, because there really wasn’t anything too unusual about these things.

  “Too many Rockstars,” Kate mumbled between guttural ejaculations. Daniel and I looked at each other, and did our best to hide our laughter. Macaroni dismissed it completely and rambled on in his strange way about his spazoid idea to make a video game centered on musical arrangements used as fighting tactics.

  “So, I came up with this great idea today, which will make my video game much more doable. I realized it doesn’t need to be a game like Simon where your goal is to match the musical riff with that of the opponents, but where you try to ‘out-play’ the opponent with special guitar upgrades and guitar rocker power-ups that will make the character's combat much more easier.” His ramblings went on for some time. I of course took no part in the conversation having long since realized Macaroni was a tool, and his ideas were the product of the most anxious and nervous mind I had ever witnessed. His intentions were pure though, a harmless specimen. I sat back and watched the scene unfold. Once in a while Kate’s violent gagging reached alarmingly high volume levels and he would look over with concern. He would turn to us for reassurance that there was no problem, and find us completely unaware of the whole thing.

  After the grueling process of ending the conversation with Macaroni we picked Kate up and staggered into her house. Once inside I went to the medicine cabinet and pulled out two eight ounce bottles of Tussin I had been storing for just such an occasion. I really had to out-do any previous trips tonight, because, not only was it Kate’s first high dose experience, but also I had promised my girlfriend, Kristal, it would be the last robo-trip. She felt I was doing it too much and it was beginning to affect my personal life. Whatever.

  Kate was far too gone to notice I had broken out more of the mind altering syrup, but Daniel was instantly excited (I knew he would be). We downed them with ease because our minds were already tolerant of the cherry-esque smell, and our tongues were incapable of translating the awful taste to our cognitive centers. [Note to self: look into the idea of taking just enough robo to get off then upgrading to appropriate doses once it kicks in enough to handle chugging syrup.] I turned on the Mars Volta and a red strobe light as we pranced around like little fruitcakes devolving into the summer night.