Read Online The Emoticon Generation by Guy Hasson - Free Book Online
Authors: Guy Hasson
Tags: General, Science-Fiction, Literature & Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Genre Fiction, Anthologies & Literary Collections, Anthologies, Anthologies & Literature Collections, Anthologies & Short Stories
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work-related. “I’m all yours for the next hour or two. What do you want to do?”
What Glynis wanted to do was ask about the car. Or about her conversation with Steve. But she was still under the effect of her mother’s reaction yesterday when she enquired on the record of her birth. Somehow, asking questions at this time seemed dangerous. Better to find the answers by herself.
“You know, mom,” she said. “The Professor must be really important to your work, and he probably isn’t here every day. Why don’t you go and be with him. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Olivia hesitated. Clearly, leaving was what she wanted to do. “Ah... Are you sure?”
“Sure. I’ll be fine.”
“Maybe I’ll have Ron check in on you.”
“No, really, mom, there’s no need.”
Olivia looked into Glynis’ eyes, then said, “Okay. Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“And, you know, I’m going to make it up to you. The day after tomorrow, on your birthday, we’ll spend all day together. Wait till you see what I have planned.”
“Can’t wait, Mom.”
Glynis watched through the window as Olivia got into her car and drove away.
Almost immediately, she went to her bed and collapsed in it. She had never felt so alone. Too many things her mother had told her were wrong or baseless. She had an uncle, and the uncle had at least one son and one daughter – Barbara – which Glynis had never known. Olivia was maybe living somewhere else. Her birth certificate was gone. Maybe her disease is just an excuse to keep Glynis from going into the world. And Steve Caspi (her mother’s ex-husband, yet another fact she didn’t know) refuses to talk to her. And who was this Jonathan Hatch whom Steve confirmed was her father? And that Professor Von Whatever, as crazy as he seemed, somehow only strengthened the feeling that her mother was not telling her everything.
There was no one to talk to, no one to confide in, no one to ask.
Determination rose within her. Fine. No more kid gloves. They’re keeping stuff from me, I’ll sniff it out, detail by detail. I’ll piece my life together. And I’ll work from all directions at once.
She sat by the computer and turned it on. It was time to play dirty.
It was time she stalked her mother.
She produced an overview of a map of the city, and asked for a display of all PubliCams in or around the McCourt Research Institute. There were none inside. And there weren’t any within half a kilometer. It was, after all, a security area. But by viewing each and every one of the remote Cams, she discovered that one PubliCam could actually see the entrance in the corner of the screen from 1200 meters away. It was enough.
She copied an image of her mother out of the online family album, and asked the computer to search for all images looking like the image within the last 72 hours. Glynis then searched for a PubliCam across the street from where her mother had ‘moved’ to five years ago, and, growing impatient, she gave the computer orders to alert her as soon as the first image was found.
This would take a few moments at best. She hesitated before recalling the ISpy that followed Steve. His betrayal still hurt. But this wasn’t about betrayal. This wasn’t about friendship or fatherhood or anything like that. This was about who she was and why everyone was lying. This was about everyone knowing the truth at her expense.
She recalled ISpy and watched in cold blood. Cab to the airport, a forty-minute ride. The Cams then lost him. One OnCam spotted him in the airport, hugging a thin, shortyish, thirty-year-old-looking woman. This must be the pregnant woman known as ‘honey’. Next, he was spotted ten minutes away from his home, in a cab with Honey. Innocuous conversation about her trip to Hawaii. How sweet.
She fast-forwarded as the two seemed to talk and talk, as they unloaded the cab, as they entered the house and unpacked. Glynis wound it down to normal speed, as Honey was caressing his
What Glynis wanted to do was ask about the car. Or about her conversation with Steve. But she was still under the effect of her mother’s reaction yesterday when she enquired on the record of her birth. Somehow, asking questions at this time seemed dangerous. Better to find the answers by herself.
“You know, mom,” she said. “The Professor must be really important to your work, and he probably isn’t here every day. Why don’t you go and be with him. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Olivia hesitated. Clearly, leaving was what she wanted to do. “Ah... Are you sure?”
“Sure. I’ll be fine.”
“Maybe I’ll have Ron check in on you.”
“No, really, mom, there’s no need.”
Olivia looked into Glynis’ eyes, then said, “Okay. Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“And, you know, I’m going to make it up to you. The day after tomorrow, on your birthday, we’ll spend all day together. Wait till you see what I have planned.”
“Can’t wait, Mom.”
Glynis watched through the window as Olivia got into her car and drove away.
Almost immediately, she went to her bed and collapsed in it. She had never felt so alone. Too many things her mother had told her were wrong or baseless. She had an uncle, and the uncle had at least one son and one daughter – Barbara – which Glynis had never known. Olivia was maybe living somewhere else. Her birth certificate was gone. Maybe her disease is just an excuse to keep Glynis from going into the world. And Steve Caspi (her mother’s ex-husband, yet another fact she didn’t know) refuses to talk to her. And who was this Jonathan Hatch whom Steve confirmed was her father? And that Professor Von Whatever, as crazy as he seemed, somehow only strengthened the feeling that her mother was not telling her everything.
There was no one to talk to, no one to confide in, no one to ask.
Determination rose within her. Fine. No more kid gloves. They’re keeping stuff from me, I’ll sniff it out, detail by detail. I’ll piece my life together. And I’ll work from all directions at once.
She sat by the computer and turned it on. It was time to play dirty.
It was time she stalked her mother.
She produced an overview of a map of the city, and asked for a display of all PubliCams in or around the McCourt Research Institute. There were none inside. And there weren’t any within half a kilometer. It was, after all, a security area. But by viewing each and every one of the remote Cams, she discovered that one PubliCam could actually see the entrance in the corner of the screen from 1200 meters away. It was enough.
She copied an image of her mother out of the online family album, and asked the computer to search for all images looking like the image within the last 72 hours. Glynis then searched for a PubliCam across the street from where her mother had ‘moved’ to five years ago, and, growing impatient, she gave the computer orders to alert her as soon as the first image was found.
This would take a few moments at best. She hesitated before recalling the ISpy that followed Steve. His betrayal still hurt. But this wasn’t about betrayal. This wasn’t about friendship or fatherhood or anything like that. This was about who she was and why everyone was lying. This was about everyone knowing the truth at her expense.
She recalled ISpy and watched in cold blood. Cab to the airport, a forty-minute ride. The Cams then lost him. One OnCam spotted him in the airport, hugging a thin, shortyish, thirty-year-old-looking woman. This must be the pregnant woman known as ‘honey’. Next, he was spotted ten minutes away from his home, in a cab with Honey. Innocuous conversation about her trip to Hawaii. How sweet.
She fast-forwarded as the two seemed to talk and talk, as they unloaded the cab, as they entered the house and unpacked. Glynis wound it down to normal speed, as Honey was caressing his
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