*
Last year I had an idea for a story about a potential future world where we might all live. It's always fun to start new stories.
And, as with many of my attempts, the unfinished (and barely begun...) story went into a folder on my desktop and there it has stayed. I thought I'd dust it off and include a portion of the story in today's post. I'd love to hear what you think.
State Of Care
Leisha
rushed to turn off the quickly cooling water. She knew her warm water allotment
ended a minute earlier, but she felt like standing in the shower longer in
hopes of erasing the memories of the previous day. The electronic brain sealed
in an iron box located just inside her front door regulated the water
temperature, and after five minutes her time was up. Leisha could have
continued her shower for an additional three minutes, but the water would have
turned ice cold. After three minutes, the electronic brain shuts off the shower
completely. Leisha allowed that to happen only once. She learned her lesson, a
lesson she never wanted to experience again.
"What
time is it?" Leisha said to the darkened bathroom, a singular dim
fluorescent bulb (its brightness also regulated by the brain*) gave only the
necessary illumination to allow the room's occupant to function in a manner for
which the room was designed. Leisha glanced to a small clock
sitting on the counter. The hands of the vintage timepiece showed 5:45.
Was
that right? Leisha thought. Did she forget to wind the ancient contraband
travel clock again? If so, it could be either 5 a.m. or 2:30 a.m. She knew it
was still dark outside, but after a fitful night's sleep, she might have rose
and showered after only a few hours of interrupted slumber. Leisha grabbed the
clock, turned it over and found the winder. She began to gingerly turn the once
golden-colored metal key to test for resistance and found the key movement hindered.
She must have wound it last night though she didn't remember it now. Leisha
stared at the clock, the clicking emanating from inside the plastic and metal
contraption soothed Leisha's tired muscles, something the tepid water of the
shower failed to do.
The
realization of knowing the correct time caused a deep exhale to come from deep
within Leisha's lungs. The woman carefully folded the clock back into its
protective case, opened a drawer crammed with feminine health products and
underwear, and placed the small package at a point at the very back of the
drawer. The soft vibration of the second hand's tick stopped the moment her
fingers released the clock and all evidence of the clock's existence
disappeared as the drawer closed. It was illegal for Leisha to own the item, an
item not connected electronically to the home's brain and―by extension―the
network, and if she were caught in possession of the clock, the ramifications
would be dire, but to Leisha the risks were worth it. The small item was the
only connection she had to her family.
Leisha
stood in the low light of the room and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She stood naked except for the white towel wrapped around her. Her 42-year old
body held up pretty well, she thought as she looked more intently at her face.
Sure, the wrinkles were there―some there for decades, but the recent thinning
of her once thick auburn hair brought the latest health concern. An article she
read said hair thinning could be a symptom of a particular nasty disease, a disease she thought
she might have, but the same article said it could be something else.
After
a few moments of contemplative thought Leisha left the mirror and her
reflection and got dressed. Leisha already had the outfit she
wanted to wear planned out in her mind so dressing went quickly. She knew the
home's electricity would shut down at 6 a.m. whether or not she was out of the
house. One final look in the mirror, this time a fully dressed woman, and
Leisha left the small bathroom wondering if the clothes she chose to wear would
have the desired effect on her health advocate, an effect she needed him to
see. Maybe this time, she thought. Maybe…
Leisha
briskly walked into the home's small kitchen/dining room/living room/ area and
glanced at the black box hanging omnipresent near the front door. A white
digital readout showed 5:55 a.m. In another minute the lighted numbers would
begin blinking, followed after two minutes by an electronic beeping―a sound
meant to be non-offensive and even cheery. It ended up being anything but.
Leisha hated those damn beeps and she had only minutes until the thing went
off.
Leisha
opened the small refrigerator door and grabbed a paper bag containing her
breakfast/lunch. She shut the door, turned and snatched her purse and a packet
of paperwork off the kitchen counter, then headed straight for the front door.
Leisha threw open the door and was halfway out into the brisk spring air when a
terrible thought hit her.
"My
phone!" Leisha whispered. In a mild panic Leisha stopped and searched her
purse.
"It's
not here!" Leisha said a little louder. "Where is it?" Now
Leisha was scared. She had to get out of the house, not just because of the
annoying little beep that would begin any minute, but because if she didn't
leave by 6 a.m. she would miss the train and then miss her appointment with
Hank, the government man.
Leisha
turned and ran into the house. She threw the paper bundle on a chair and ran
into her bedroom. The phone! The phone! The words flashed in Leisha's mind.
Where did I leave it? Did I make any calls last night? I don't think so…where
is it?
Leisha
looked at the nightstand where some dirty dishes, her electronic reader, and a
half-eaten box of crackers sat as if frozen in time from the night before.
Leisha looked from the nightstand to the bed, then back to the nightstand where
a small black object tucked under the crackers caught her eye.
"There
it is!" Leisha yelled in triumph and she grabbed the phone hitting the box
of crackers in the process and spreading the contents on the floor and under
the bed. The usually tidy woman barely noticed the flying food as she jammed
the small electronic communication device into her purse and left the bedroom.
I can't be without my phone, Leisha thought. If being caught with a
non-networked clock was bad, being without your phone was extremely serious.
Without your phone, the network wouldn't know where you were. It wouldn't be
able to make sure you attended all your classes, or trainings, or work shifts.
And, most importantly, if the network couldn't pinpoint your location pretty
much 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Without her phone Leisha's wage allocation wouldn't be
transferred into her bank account. Plus, the fact that being without a
phone was a criminal offense made Leisha more thankful that she found the phone
in time. Leisha grabbed the bundle of paperwork off the chair and left the room
just as the first beep erupted from the brain and echoed throughout the empty
home. An electronic message from Leisha's phone told the brain that Leisha had
left the building and the quiet beeping immediately stopped. With the phone out
of the house, all non-essential functions inside the house ceased leaving the
residence as active as a tomb.
* Photo used without permission from: http://geekmedico.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
No comments:
Post a Comment