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Authors: Aaron K. Redshaw
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It was 18 years ago. They were in a nice house with bright yellow walls. She was a little girl and her mother was getting tired of her whining. She had a whiny voice back then. At least that was what her mother said. When she was eating she dropped her spoon on the floor and started to cry. Her mother, frustrated for the thousandth time, turned around in a rage and hit her across the face with the palm of her hand. She kept yelling, slapping her once for each word said, “no more crying. Ever. Again.” The last hit with the word “again,” knocked her unconscious. When she came to, she was in the hospital. She was going to be okay, but her mother was not around. She never saw her mother again.
Walking toward her office, realizing what she was dwelling on she caught herself slapping herself in the face as hard as she could, yelling, “stop crying!” What was she doing! She used to do that when she was young. She didn't even remember it until now. She fell down to her knees in the street with everyone ignoring her, receiving feeds, and she began sobbing. Looking up at the bright, hard sky, she cried, “God, help me! If you are out there, help me. I want out!”
She stood up and realized she could not go back to her office. There was no way she could, she knew that now. Within a few moments, something had broken and she kept crying. Tears falling on her shirt, but she couldn't stop, didn't even want to because now she knew that she needed to cry. More than anything else she needed to cry. She didn't even have words for what she was feeling because she had no experience with this feeling. She just felt it and welcomed the feeling like the face of someone whose name she had forgotten.
She got up from the pavement. People still going about their business. They were barely aware enough to walk, let alone notice someone else nearby. She broke into a run. She had no destination but felt the impulse to run and now she had no reason to resist.
Chapter 21
It had been a few days since Odysseus and his family were rescued by Samuel and his men. It was not as difficult a physical adjustment for him as it had been for X4287. From the room where Odysseus and his family slept he could hear X4287 mumbling to himself, moaning and crying through much of the night. It was a strange thing to hear, but then again to have the feeds suddenly stop must have been like losing touch with family. It sounded horrible. Since he had never allowed the feed processor to be installed in their chips they never had to go through such an adjustment period.
As the morning sun climbed over the horizon, Odysseus awoke and headed into the room where the old man had been, but he was gone. Seeing Poke clean up where the old man had laid down, he asked, “Where is he?”
“He wanted to go for a walk,” she said.
“I sure hope he'll be alright,” said Odysseus.
“Oh, yes,” she said, “He'll be fine. I have seen this several times over the last couple of years, and since he survived the first night and has begun to talk to others, he will be okay.”
“Well, that's good to know,” he said. Odysseus looked outside the window and felt the sun’s warmth on his face. His wife and kids still lay sleeping. The other day, they went on a hike to see the surrounding countryside. They were surprised to find that they could see the tower of Techcorp from the top of Tumuleiah , a small mountain, or tall hill they called it since the opinion was split in the community. The landscape was mostly dry, the dirt red, with small patches of grass and weeds interspersed throughout. It was not what Odysseus would have thought of as picturesque, but compared to the city he had been living in, it was a breath of fresh air.
“So where are the children at this time of the morning?” said Odysseus.
“Doing the usual chores,” she said. “They feed and milk the goats, and water the vegetable garden. The garden takes a while since the stream is about four
It was 18 years ago. They were in a nice house with bright yellow walls. She was a little girl and her mother was getting tired of her whining. She had a whiny voice back then. At least that was what her mother said. When she was eating she dropped her spoon on the floor and started to cry. Her mother, frustrated for the thousandth time, turned around in a rage and hit her across the face with the palm of her hand. She kept yelling, slapping her once for each word said, “no more crying. Ever. Again.” The last hit with the word “again,” knocked her unconscious. When she came to, she was in the hospital. She was going to be okay, but her mother was not around. She never saw her mother again.
Walking toward her office, realizing what she was dwelling on she caught herself slapping herself in the face as hard as she could, yelling, “stop crying!” What was she doing! She used to do that when she was young. She didn't even remember it until now. She fell down to her knees in the street with everyone ignoring her, receiving feeds, and she began sobbing. Looking up at the bright, hard sky, she cried, “God, help me! If you are out there, help me. I want out!”
She stood up and realized she could not go back to her office. There was no way she could, she knew that now. Within a few moments, something had broken and she kept crying. Tears falling on her shirt, but she couldn't stop, didn't even want to because now she knew that she needed to cry. More than anything else she needed to cry. She didn't even have words for what she was feeling because she had no experience with this feeling. She just felt it and welcomed the feeling like the face of someone whose name she had forgotten.
She got up from the pavement. People still going about their business. They were barely aware enough to walk, let alone notice someone else nearby. She broke into a run. She had no destination but felt the impulse to run and now she had no reason to resist.
Chapter 21
It had been a few days since Odysseus and his family were rescued by Samuel and his men. It was not as difficult a physical adjustment for him as it had been for X4287. From the room where Odysseus and his family slept he could hear X4287 mumbling to himself, moaning and crying through much of the night. It was a strange thing to hear, but then again to have the feeds suddenly stop must have been like losing touch with family. It sounded horrible. Since he had never allowed the feed processor to be installed in their chips they never had to go through such an adjustment period.
As the morning sun climbed over the horizon, Odysseus awoke and headed into the room where the old man had been, but he was gone. Seeing Poke clean up where the old man had laid down, he asked, “Where is he?”
“He wanted to go for a walk,” she said.
“I sure hope he'll be alright,” said Odysseus.
“Oh, yes,” she said, “He'll be fine. I have seen this several times over the last couple of years, and since he survived the first night and has begun to talk to others, he will be okay.”
“Well, that's good to know,” he said. Odysseus looked outside the window and felt the sun’s warmth on his face. His wife and kids still lay sleeping. The other day, they went on a hike to see the surrounding countryside. They were surprised to find that they could see the tower of Techcorp from the top of Tumuleiah , a small mountain, or tall hill they called it since the opinion was split in the community. The landscape was mostly dry, the dirt red, with small patches of grass and weeds interspersed throughout. It was not what Odysseus would have thought of as picturesque, but compared to the city he had been living in, it was a breath of fresh air.
“So where are the children at this time of the morning?” said Odysseus.
“Doing the usual chores,” she said. “They feed and milk the goats, and water the vegetable garden. The garden takes a while since the stream is about four
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