Free Monthly #18 Franklin

A selection from 21st Century Short Stories

Introduction

With the release of Emergence (UBL for those who haven’t bought it yet), it is time to shift to some of the 21st Century Short Stories that take place during the time of the book. For this selection, there is only a singular spoiler from the first three chapters of Emergence. If you don’t want that event to be spoiled, then I recommend buying and reading the book up to the point of Chapter 2. This selection is showing the point of view of a character that we don’t get to see much of in Emergence. If you want more Franklin in your life, this one’s for you.

21st Century Short Stories | Franklin

When Tory left, I was devastated. I did everything in my power to not show my despair. I could not show it. I knew that it was not viewed as a bad thing to see an Abnormal leave and I was already under suspicion for not joining in on the discrimination of her when she was here. DDS was not a nice employer to work for, but they treated us Itrep Hunters well in comparison to what the alternative jobs would offer. We had free, albeit forced, travel. Since we were the ones who were always looking for the next Itrep diamond deposit to fuel the Absolutist artificial super intelligences, we were granted access to living quarters with more space than the average person. In this, we possessed a myriad of luxuries most of the population did not.

It wasn’t much, but having a separate bedroom and bathroom from the living space and kitchen was a blessing few got these days. You had to be a part of the Absolutists, through and through, or you were just a peon doing their work for the mighty world society the AI Governors were building. Indeed, they were still building such a society, and it was not clear how several ASIs would be able to come together any better than hundreds of world leaders, but the chances were higher. That’s what we were told.

In Australia, Tory and I were given these luxuries inside the massive concrete complex that DDS built as a research and training facility. Below our feet a data center with all the bells and whistles silently hummed, inaudible to those of us above ground. We were never told what the purpose of the underground computer complex was. I had always assumed it was for the Absolutist AI in Australia.

I made the discovery that there could be Itrep in the area, and so Itrep Hunters were sent out to confirm the diamond shards were truly there. As I confirmed the Itrep deposit did exist with ground penetrating technologies and asked for Tory personally, I caused a stir. No other Abnormal had been on the grounds before her so I had to pull the data to persuade the management to allow her to transfer. It just so happened that I got to choose who could come with me, a feat that I would not dare to repeat again for the amount of pressure and effort it took was much more than I was comfortable with. I had met her and wanted to meet her again. I could not bring myself to admit why I felt so strongly about it, only that it felt right to me.

It was the request of an Abnormal, even one who was silently, begrudgingly, renowned for her Itrep mining experience and expertise across the globe, which caused my boss and others to start to look at me differently. I did not mind at first, but as time went on, I began to see as my friendships slowly faded from the more intimate to acquaintance in terms of depth. They did not openly shun me or slander my choices, but as my relationship with Tory grew, I found a dichotomy in the world, injustices that remained even though identity was eradicated according to our new society.

I saw, albeit indirectly, what she went through and how strong of a woman she truly was. As a man of color, I was placed on a pedestal, and no one dared to question me outside of strictly work business. Even though I was as equal as my former friends and confidants as everyone else, I was secretly held in higher regard. We were taught to not judge based on the skin tone of another, but they did. They judged me. They humored my relationship with Tory as something akin to Black Guilt, which was the idea that people of my ancestry still harbored some vapid desire to bond with those who had once tried to exterminate us. It was a silent thing, something that could not be said out loud without the right setting as it would result in punishment from the AI. We may have eliminated prejudice, racism, and the like; but it still persisted in our hearts and in our minds.

The Absolutists only created a society with the veneer of closure on the matter, but the reality was identity was only removed so far as it was deemed necessary to control the population. “Our Glorious Protectors”, the affirmation DDS repeated often, was an affirmation to our AI Governors, our overlords; the ones that listened in on our wristphones and directed every aspect of everyday life. Itrep hunters were given more privacy as we did more to support them than anyone else, as without our efforts they would run out of the miracle fuel that was Itrep, but even we could not get away with actively going against the wishes of the government.

Itrep was the substance required for our modern power grid to power the AI Governors from their data centers to their connections throughout every computing device imaginable. Tory and I hunted the substance in order to power the very system, the very ASI, the government and society that ruled over us. The idea that Tory powered that which saw her people as the root of all our postmodern problems was both sickening and laughable. It was absurd yet it was true. It was a haunting reality of our lives. Tory made the best with what she had at her disposal, and she found herself a slice of what most of the billions on the planet would never have, more than enough room to live in with more luxury than the average person. Whatever White Tunnels might bring her, I hoped it was better than what I was left with in Australia.

I pulled out of my stewing thoughts and looked about my room. There was nothing to do without Tory. We used to spend time drinking together on the occasion, and we were both workaholics that were driven to outperform the other. It was a friendly competition that drew us closer together as we spent long days in the hot Australian sun searching for Itrep. Without her, I had no motivation to spend more than the required time outside. I had nothing to live for in that regard, nothing to strive for. All I had was to do my duty for the AI Governors, for the Absolutists as they plotted away in their luxury. That was my lot in life, as much as it was for everyone else.

I brushed some dust off of my khaki pants, stood up, and stretched. In doing so, I felt as if all the joints I engaged cracked and moaned in pleasure. My wristphone beeped as I stood in the dimly lit living room, and I checked the screen. It was time for our routine weekly meeting. I freshened up in the bathroom and headed down to the conference room where Mandri and several others were assembling outside.

“Waiting on these squatters to vacate so we can get situated.” Mandri explained as he gestured to the closed door behind which muffled voices could be heard speaking.

“They do have a minute still,” I replied as I checked the time on my wristphone.

“Still inconsiderate.” Mandri snapped. He was known for his unruly temper. It was that exact temper and man that sent Tory away from me and I frowned before forcing my face to show an indifferent expression. It would not due to anger my boss.

After another minute we were able to enter and sit down in the conference room. Mandri prepared the projector with his wristphone and turned to his team with a smile. “Let us begin with the pledge.” Everyone stood and in unison recited the words, “We pledge allegiance to the government and the All-Seeing Eye, for which it stands, to protect and guide us, one people, indivisible with justice and security for all.”

We seated ourselves after our pledge and Mandri began the meeting, “We are one hunter down, but I can assure you we are still on target to meet our quota for Delta Diamond and Shards, all thanks to Franklin.”

I returned his nod and did not show my disgust at giving me the recognition when it was Tory that found the last Itrep diamond before being spirited away. The others grinned and gave me words of encouragement. It was their duty; they believed I was a victim of their white ancestors after all. The entire idea that I, a black man, would be seen as a victim even with the AI supposedly abolishing discrimination was ludicrous. I rejected the idea but kept my mouth shut as disagreement would mean I had internalized Whiteness. No doubt from my time with Tory as it was her people that the Absolutists said maintained such things throughout the last two centuries.

The Absolutists were hard at work, finding a way to remove Whiteness from every aspect of life before we entered the next century. I believed the whole rush to remove something that was perceived and subjective was ridiculous but could say nothing. The fact I even harbored such thoughts would be enough to imprison me. The All-Seeing Eyes probably already suspected I felt this way, they seemed to know everything. It was one of the beliefs the Absolutist Regime wanted people to take to heart.

“Now I am looking for a replacement, someone who will be able to bring more team chemistry. Until I have found a suitable replacement, I think you can work alone as you have been Franklin.” Mandri paused expecting me to verbally acknowledge the statement.

I shrugged and spoke in my deep voice which carried throughout the room in contrast to Mandri’s lighter, antagonizing tone. “As long as it is understood that without a partner, I should not be out there digging alone all day, even with radio communication. It gets hot and dangerous out there with the wild animals. As we dig deeper that will become a concern as well. Until we have the equipment to dig a formal underground tunnel, we ought to play it safe.”

“Completely understand Franklin. As long as the dig site is promising the goal is to continue with our efforts. I suspect the rest of the team will move there once we have concluded our survey to see if any Itrep is left in the previous mine. You are just the exploratory team as we all know.”

“Thank you.” I replied as I could not think of anything else to say to Mandri. The words seemed to satisfy him as he continued on to discuss the status of their efforts with other members of the team.

When the meeting was over, we were all invited to a happy hour where we could drink one alcoholic beverage of our choice on the company’s dime. This was the first time since Tory had been on the team that we had a team happy hour. The irony of waiting for her to leave to host another was not lost on me as I kept a smile on my face and tried to carry conversation with my fellow teammates.

When social pleasantries had run their course, I excused myself and went to the gym to workout. Fridays were always slow days filled with meetings. Instead of devouring a quick meal and working out, I had spent my lunch sitting in silence, contemplating my lot in life so I still needed to do some exercise before the day was over. I finished all my workouts and decided a mile run on the treadmill would do me some good. I was not feeling like running outside of the building as that required informing the guard force so that they did not stop me for questioning. It was a heavily guarded and restricted site after all.

Halfway into the mile long run on the treadmill my wristphone beeped and I checked it. The device told me my daily motion quota was met. I continued to finish what I started and took a quick shower before returning to my quarters. I grabbed a bite to eat from the small refrigerator, and in doing so I noticed the extra bottle of mint wine I had purchased for Tory and me to enjoy together. The sight of the bottle annoyed me. It was not my favorite and so I had no ambition to drink it with some selfish desire in mind. In all its inanimate glory it mocked me, so I sat my food down and grabbed the bottle as if I were going to strangle it.

With a vigorous thrust, I slammed it into the top cupboard and slammed the door so that I would not have to see it. It would not due to be continually reminded of Tory. In time I hoped she would fade from memory. At least, that was my hope should I not find a way to meet up with her again. Considering the fact she went to the place called White Tunnels, where careers went stagnate, I was not hopeful on those prospects.

I wanted to scream as I sat back down with my food and looked about to assess my lonely luxury. I knew the wristphone and All-Seeing Eye would detect my frustration, anger, and despair, and if I screamed or talked about it the wristphone would listen in on what was said. Perhaps in my current state the words would come as a tortured howl. As things were, it probably knew that something had upset me and since I could not control my vitals, I would have to hope that it would not cause a report to be sent to Mandri for review.

“Play some of the Itrep Hunter podcast.” As I spoke, the room’s speakers began to play the latest episode of the podcast. The luxury of an audio entertainment system was not something Itrep Hunters received most of the time, but it was something that was built into the concrete complex where I lived so I used them to my heart’s content. It was one of the only things I did have a choice over, one of the things I could control in my life. Even so, listening to the podcast was more to stay in the good graces of the AI than anything else. If it saw, or at least thought, that I cared about my job more than I did, it would not reassign me. It was a conscious decision of mine, even if it was forced nonetheless.

I listened to what tales were coming from Africa, where the highlighted Itrep Hunter of the week resided, and how they fixed an issue with their equipment to deliver their project on time. As I sat and listened, I found an ache to speak to Tory. She and I did so much in those mines in Africa before I was transferred out. I fought the pang until the podcast was over and went to my bedroom where I played music to distract my mind as I fell asleep. There was no room for dwelling on the past and I was tired of the present. Sooner or later, something would have to give.

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