Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
The thing is the size of a button. Surely I can handle it.
But I eyeball it as I walk towards the kitchen, picturing in my mind’s eye how I will grasp it just along the edges and place it back under the lid of the box, put the box away, and pretend this never happened.
When the little disc is at my feet, I let out a breath and bend down, hesitantly reaching for it. The shock it gave me wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t pleasant, either. And I’m not eager to experience it again.
I position my fingers, lower them down, and pinch the edges.
Immediately, I’m shocked again, but the shock is already gone by the time I realize it’s happened, and a burst of animated light takes its place.
I let go and the light disappears.
Then I just sit there on the kitchen floor, mouth open and eyes blinking, trying to make sense of what I just saw. “What was that?” These words come out in a whisper.
Light. I know that much. But it was more than light. There were… people in that light. And they were moving.
I stare at the little button of trouble, wondering what to do now. Just leave it there and wait for Tyse to come home? Is it some kind of jump or jolt? And did I use it all up?
Definitely not. I did not use it up, but I also don’t think it’s a jump or a jolt. It’s something else. Something…
I reach for it again before I talk myself out of it. And the moment my fingers touch the edges, the light springs out again. This time, there is no shock at all, confirming that this is not a hit of energy for spark addicts.
Then I hear voices and they are coming right out of the light.
Without dropping it, I scramble to stand up. And as I move, the… image—that’s the only word I have for this light, because that’s what it is—the image moves with me, but maintains a certain proportion. Which is not exactly true to life. Bits of the image are stretched out in some places and squashed in others.
“Attention,” someone in the light says. “Discharge number A-14-7-TJ, Captain Tymothy Jarvinen.”
Then Tyse’s face appears. Big too. So there’s no mistaking that this is him. It’s just a head, and it’s not real, just another light image. I know this because it rotates in a circle and the numbers just recited by the person in charge, I guess, are floating across his forehead.
“Did your advisors explain the proceedings, Capt. Jarvinen?”
When his mouth opens and answers with a curt, “Yes, sir,” I am so shocked, I almost drop the disc.
“You are being discharged from the Sweep Army for high crimes against your own team. Was this explained to you?”
What? I lean in. Did I hear that correctly? High crimes?
“Yes, sir.”
“This is your official record to be presented to any future employers.”
Tyse lets out an incredulous scoff here. “Future employers? That’s almost fuckin’ funny.”
The officiator looks displeased at the interruption, but seems to be in a hurry—or maybe it’s not his job to correct Tyse—so he just skips over the outburst. “The stipulations of your discharge are very strict and I will recite them now to make sure you understand.”
“Trust me, administrator, I’m very familiar with the details.”
“You will refrain from comment. This meeting is not about you, it’s about procedure. Something you obviously have trouble with.”
The eyes on the floating head of Tyse roll in scorn. Clearly these two people are not in the same room. Tyse is somewhere else and his head is being projected into the space where the administrator is. This is not any kind of technology I have seen before, and this assumption about being in different locations would be ridiculous in my world. But after my trip to the health center, anything seems possible in this version of Tau City.
Regardless, the substance of the meeting is clear. Tyse messed up in some major way and he’s getting kicked out of the Sweep Army.
Something he sort of admitted to, in a way, but certainly didn’t explain to this level of detail. But then again, why would he? I’m a complete stranger. One doesn’t go around announcing life-altering mistakes to strangers.
I’m about to let go of the disc and put it back—this is really none of my business, even if he is using a fake name these days—but then a new projection takes the place of Tyse’s head.
It’s still, not moving, but appears to be the middle of some kind of action. War action. Five people are shown mid-movement, but frozen in time. They are all wearing the same kind of uniform, though small details about it are different. For instance, the one woman has her sleeves cut off. Another man, not Tyse, is only wearing some kind of thick vest up top, but nothing underneath. It looks like they’re in a desert cave and something very stressful is happening because all their expressions convey shock, and fear, and pain.