Read Online Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Gregg Rosenblum
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one.”
A sphere bot floated into view a block ahead of them. All three Freeposters froze. Nick stepped in front of Cass and Kevin, his fists clenched.
“No,” whispered Lexi urgently. “Keep walking. You don’t give it any reason to care about you. You’re Citizens. You’ve seen these bots every day of your life.”
So they walked on, safely passing the sphere a mere twenty feet away, pretending not to notice it even though Nick’s heart was trying to pound out of his chest.
They walked for another ten minutes. Lexi set the pace—“As fast as we can go without looking unusual,” she explained. Once, she quickly ducked down a side street when two men with identical red shirts appeared a few blocks ahead of them. “Neighborhood patrol,” she said. “Come out mostly at night. They’ll sniff out your strangeness and have Peteys here in two seconds. Gotta keep you away from those bot lovers.”
They walked a while longer. Each street looked identical to the next, with gleaming facades and perfect fake-looking green lawns, each the exact same-size squares of grass. Nick could see no personal touches on any of the houses they passed. No welcome mats at the door or garden gnomes like his neighbors in the Freepost.
Lexi stopped in front of a building that looked like all the rest, set back from the street, with a small patch of grass and driveway. “Here we are,” she said, gesturing dramatically with her arm. “Twenty-three-fifteen Third Street. Home.”
“Shoes off,” she continued as they stepped inside. “Mom’s crazy about keeping the carpet clean.”
Nick stood unmoving in the entryway, frozen by the strangeness they had walked into. The walls were a uniform off-white and perfectly flat, with no bumps or cracks or seams. The ceiling glowed, illuminating the room with a strip of recessed lighting tucked behind molding that ran along the upper walls. The furniture in the front room—a couch, two chairs, a coffee table—had metal arms and was bright red. And the floor—it wasn’t wood, it wasn’t earth, it wasn’t fur; it was some sort of tightly woven synthetic with a bit of soft give, like stepping on moss.
Cass bent down to feel the floor. She pushed with her fingers, feeling it compress then spring back. “Amazing,” she said.
“I guess, if you’re into cheap carpet,” said Lexi. “Come on, shoes off.”
Everyone took off their boots, and Lexi wrinkled her nose. “Oh, God, I should have just let you track mud. Did you people rub your socks in skunk?”
“We’ve been in the woods a while,” said Nick.
“Yeah, I can smell that.”
Kevin walked slowly over to a large black rectangular object mounted on the wall in the living room. He touched it reverently. “Wall vid?” he asked. “Tom told me about these. I can’t believe I’m really touching one.” He ran his thumb gently along the bottom edge. “Does it actually work?”
“Course it does,” said Lexi. “Just two-D, though, if you can believe it, and we get nothing but boring newsfeed. We don’t even turn it on much, but it’s required; we’ve all gotta have at least one.” She waved her hand in front of her nose and made a face again. “All right, enough. There’s time before my parents get home to wash your clothes and take a shower. Rock star, we’ll find you something from my dad. Cass and Kevin, you can borrow something from me.”
“Wonderful,” said Kevin. “A pink dress? A skirt?”
“Sweatpants and a sweatshirt,” said Lexi. “You’ll live.”
“I want your dad’s underwear,” Kevin said. “I’m drawing the line at wearing panties.”
Lexi laughed. “Deal.”
CHAPTER 11
THE THREE SHOWERED, CASS THEN KEVIN THEN NICK, AND CHANGED INTO the clothes Lexi found for them. Cass wore a pair of Lexi’s jeans and a green long-sleeved T-shirt that fit her reasonably well. Kevin, as promised, got a pair of too-large boxers from Lexi’s dad, with sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He still wore his
A sphere bot floated into view a block ahead of them. All three Freeposters froze. Nick stepped in front of Cass and Kevin, his fists clenched.
“No,” whispered Lexi urgently. “Keep walking. You don’t give it any reason to care about you. You’re Citizens. You’ve seen these bots every day of your life.”
So they walked on, safely passing the sphere a mere twenty feet away, pretending not to notice it even though Nick’s heart was trying to pound out of his chest.
They walked for another ten minutes. Lexi set the pace—“As fast as we can go without looking unusual,” she explained. Once, she quickly ducked down a side street when two men with identical red shirts appeared a few blocks ahead of them. “Neighborhood patrol,” she said. “Come out mostly at night. They’ll sniff out your strangeness and have Peteys here in two seconds. Gotta keep you away from those bot lovers.”
They walked a while longer. Each street looked identical to the next, with gleaming facades and perfect fake-looking green lawns, each the exact same-size squares of grass. Nick could see no personal touches on any of the houses they passed. No welcome mats at the door or garden gnomes like his neighbors in the Freepost.
Lexi stopped in front of a building that looked like all the rest, set back from the street, with a small patch of grass and driveway. “Here we are,” she said, gesturing dramatically with her arm. “Twenty-three-fifteen Third Street. Home.”
“Shoes off,” she continued as they stepped inside. “Mom’s crazy about keeping the carpet clean.”
Nick stood unmoving in the entryway, frozen by the strangeness they had walked into. The walls were a uniform off-white and perfectly flat, with no bumps or cracks or seams. The ceiling glowed, illuminating the room with a strip of recessed lighting tucked behind molding that ran along the upper walls. The furniture in the front room—a couch, two chairs, a coffee table—had metal arms and was bright red. And the floor—it wasn’t wood, it wasn’t earth, it wasn’t fur; it was some sort of tightly woven synthetic with a bit of soft give, like stepping on moss.
Cass bent down to feel the floor. She pushed with her fingers, feeling it compress then spring back. “Amazing,” she said.
“I guess, if you’re into cheap carpet,” said Lexi. “Come on, shoes off.”
Everyone took off their boots, and Lexi wrinkled her nose. “Oh, God, I should have just let you track mud. Did you people rub your socks in skunk?”
“We’ve been in the woods a while,” said Nick.
“Yeah, I can smell that.”
Kevin walked slowly over to a large black rectangular object mounted on the wall in the living room. He touched it reverently. “Wall vid?” he asked. “Tom told me about these. I can’t believe I’m really touching one.” He ran his thumb gently along the bottom edge. “Does it actually work?”
“Course it does,” said Lexi. “Just two-D, though, if you can believe it, and we get nothing but boring newsfeed. We don’t even turn it on much, but it’s required; we’ve all gotta have at least one.” She waved her hand in front of her nose and made a face again. “All right, enough. There’s time before my parents get home to wash your clothes and take a shower. Rock star, we’ll find you something from my dad. Cass and Kevin, you can borrow something from me.”
“Wonderful,” said Kevin. “A pink dress? A skirt?”
“Sweatpants and a sweatshirt,” said Lexi. “You’ll live.”
“I want your dad’s underwear,” Kevin said. “I’m drawing the line at wearing panties.”
Lexi laughed. “Deal.”
CHAPTER 11
THE THREE SHOWERED, CASS THEN KEVIN THEN NICK, AND CHANGED INTO the clothes Lexi found for them. Cass wore a pair of Lexi’s jeans and a green long-sleeved T-shirt that fit her reasonably well. Kevin, as promised, got a pair of too-large boxers from Lexi’s dad, with sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He still wore his
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