he brought the bat. To each his own, you know?”
Quinlan and his children climbed back into the truck, shivering in the cool of the morning. Victor turned on the heater and opened the windows to give some relief from his abundant gas.
Victor finished off the last of the food, drank the last of the coffee and barked that they needed to get their gear together if they were going to make it across the slide before noon. Quinlan handed Noah a jacket and slipped a sweater over Raizor’s tangled hair and they stepped out of the truck, the children trying to sidestep the gore of the dead animals on the road. Harley remembered being their age and how much he had loved seeing animals in the wild. He wondered if any child would ever look at wildlife and feel that way again.
Victor opened the back of the truck and Quinlan started stuffing items into his pack. Harley watched with interest as the younger man carefully wrapped his eyeset and stowed it away. It was a familiar routine.
“Didn’t take you for a pilgrim.” Harley slipped the holster back around his waist and buckled the scabbard and sword to his side.
Quinlan nodded toward Harley’s sword. “Didn’t take you for a pirate. Or a cowboy.”
Harley grinned in spite of himself. “I’m a whole lot of things.”
“Which do you kill with most, the blaster or the sword?”
Harley’s smile faded to a frown. “Killed too many with both I suppose.”
Quinlan shrugged and lifted Raizor onto the tailgate of the truck to wash her face with a wet wipe. She fought back valiantly but with little success.
Harley surveyed the tree line, not at all comfortable with their exposure among so many dead animals. Scavengers would arrive soon enough. “You live in the Hub. Thought people in the Hubs had a linktag. Seems to me it would be more convenient than an eyeset.”
“Probably would be.”
“So?”
Quinlan lifted Noah onto the tailgate and washed his son’s face as well. Noah didn’t fight it the way his sister had. He handed them both toothbrushes and they sat on the tailgate swinging their legs and brushing their teeth.
“So, the linktag makes you lose focus.”
“Focus on what?”
“On what’s real.”
“That’s hateful language.” Victor volunteered from the front of the truck, where he was filling his own pack. “What part of our wonderful new world isn’t real?”
“I’ll rephrase. It may be real enough for now. But it’s not sustainable.”
“Sustainable?” Victor walked to the back of the truck and his scye trailed behind him. “The Federation has created the greatest civilization the world has ever known. We have cured disease, ended hunger, created Hubs for all of humanity, built a Link and digiverse where you can be and do anything you want. You‘re given an income, housing, medical and a linktag as a basic human right. This is the New Age of Discovery and you think it isn’t sustainable? Are you sure you’re a pilgrim because you sound like a neand, one of those who simply refuse to evolve, to let go of old ways and superstitions.”
“I’m no neand. I’ll take advantage of what your Age of Discovery has to offer, but I won’t be dependent on it and neither will my children.”
Victor shook his head and knelt down in front of Noah and Raizor. “Wouldn’t you two rather have a linktag so you could be on the Link anytime you want, not have to put on those silly eyesets?”
“We’ve never been on the Link.” Noah said flatly.
Victor raised an eyebrow at Quinlan. “Never?”
Quinlan shook his head. “If we need something from the Link, I can find it. They’ll get an eyeset when they need one and they don’t need one right now. Vania and I want our children living in realtime. We want them to know what the real wind feels like on their face, to feel the warmth of the real sun. We want them to be truly alive, not to just imagine a life, but live one.”
Victor stood up and grinned at Quinlan incredulously. “There
Quinlan and his children climbed back into the truck, shivering in the cool of the morning. Victor turned on the heater and opened the windows to give some relief from his abundant gas.
Victor finished off the last of the food, drank the last of the coffee and barked that they needed to get their gear together if they were going to make it across the slide before noon. Quinlan handed Noah a jacket and slipped a sweater over Raizor’s tangled hair and they stepped out of the truck, the children trying to sidestep the gore of the dead animals on the road. Harley remembered being their age and how much he had loved seeing animals in the wild. He wondered if any child would ever look at wildlife and feel that way again.
Victor opened the back of the truck and Quinlan started stuffing items into his pack. Harley watched with interest as the younger man carefully wrapped his eyeset and stowed it away. It was a familiar routine.
“Didn’t take you for a pilgrim.” Harley slipped the holster back around his waist and buckled the scabbard and sword to his side.
Quinlan nodded toward Harley’s sword. “Didn’t take you for a pirate. Or a cowboy.”
Harley grinned in spite of himself. “I’m a whole lot of things.”
“Which do you kill with most, the blaster or the sword?”
Harley’s smile faded to a frown. “Killed too many with both I suppose.”
Quinlan shrugged and lifted Raizor onto the tailgate of the truck to wash her face with a wet wipe. She fought back valiantly but with little success.
Harley surveyed the tree line, not at all comfortable with their exposure among so many dead animals. Scavengers would arrive soon enough. “You live in the Hub. Thought people in the Hubs had a linktag. Seems to me it would be more convenient than an eyeset.”
“Probably would be.”
“So?”
Quinlan lifted Noah onto the tailgate and washed his son’s face as well. Noah didn’t fight it the way his sister had. He handed them both toothbrushes and they sat on the tailgate swinging their legs and brushing their teeth.
“So, the linktag makes you lose focus.”
“Focus on what?”
“On what’s real.”
“That’s hateful language.” Victor volunteered from the front of the truck, where he was filling his own pack. “What part of our wonderful new world isn’t real?”
“I’ll rephrase. It may be real enough for now. But it’s not sustainable.”
“Sustainable?” Victor walked to the back of the truck and his scye trailed behind him. “The Federation has created the greatest civilization the world has ever known. We have cured disease, ended hunger, created Hubs for all of humanity, built a Link and digiverse where you can be and do anything you want. You‘re given an income, housing, medical and a linktag as a basic human right. This is the New Age of Discovery and you think it isn’t sustainable? Are you sure you’re a pilgrim because you sound like a neand, one of those who simply refuse to evolve, to let go of old ways and superstitions.”
“I’m no neand. I’ll take advantage of what your Age of Discovery has to offer, but I won’t be dependent on it and neither will my children.”
Victor shook his head and knelt down in front of Noah and Raizor. “Wouldn’t you two rather have a linktag so you could be on the Link anytime you want, not have to put on those silly eyesets?”
“We’ve never been on the Link.” Noah said flatly.
Victor raised an eyebrow at Quinlan. “Never?”
Quinlan shook his head. “If we need something from the Link, I can find it. They’ll get an eyeset when they need one and they don’t need one right now. Vania and I want our children living in realtime. We want them to know what the real wind feels like on their face, to feel the warmth of the real sun. We want them to be truly alive, not to just imagine a life, but live one.”
Victor stood up and grinned at Quinlan incredulously. “There
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