Hades- the Revolution, page 16
part #2 of Hadesjan Cycle Series
The number of all casualties was never specified. They were later called the First Billion. The wave of destruction hit the whole human world. The scale of the victims and losses burnt a mark. After first aid was distributed, an investigation into the causes of the phenomenon and possible people responsible for it began.
A message from Hades spread further into the universe.
☼ ☼ ☼
Lost Hope Station.
My foreman wasn’t very happy when I handed him the doctor’s recommendations. This didn’t surprise me as the chances of meeting the daily norm fell. With a malicious smile on his face he ordered me to go to the kitchens. A “lighter” task was waiting for me there.
Until then I imagined kitchen personnel wearing white aprons. I was surprised when I got tall rubber boots and a rubber apron. Instead of a knife, they handed me a steel spatula scraper. I don’t know of even one dish which you would prepare with the tool. We entered the back of the kitchens. In the technical section, where walls were covered in blue tiles, stood two large tubs.
“We prepare the synthetic food in those tubs,” my carer introduced me into the world of modern culinary arts. “We pour five thousand liters of the base substance in the tub.”
“You’re talking about this green goo?” I asked unsure.
“Yup,” I looked as the smelly gunk squirted from the wall. “Enough!” he shouted to the helper standing on a platform above us. The man turned a large wheel, shutting off the stream.
“We’ll now add additives and preservatives.” At another cue, grey paste was thrown into the container. Where both substances joined, large bubbles appeared and then gas vapors rose into the air. “We raise the temperature to seventy five degrees Celsius and we keep it like that for three hours. After this time the breakfast of champions is ready.”
“I doesn’t look very tasty,” I said.
“Come this way.” The other tub had just been emptied. Its surface and edges were covered with a quick drying crust. The cook scraped off a bit with his finger and put it into his mouth. “Help yourself,” he suggested.
I followed suit unwillingly. I didn’t feel any particular taste, although a familiar note touched my senses.
“This is the base product,” I heard him explain. “From here it is distributed to automatic feeders. No matter what you order, chicken or veal, you eat the same thing anyway. The machines which take your order add pigment and give it the final shape, but this is just the package.”
I only hoped that before the next meal I would manage to forget all the details.
“What am I supposed to do?” I wanted to get on with it.
“It’s simple,” he pointed to an end of a hose. “Scald the walls of the tank with hot water and then scrape them clean.”
I didn’t say anything. I’d better not complain, because when I do they’ll find me a job ten times worse than this. But I should have seen it coming. I wish I had gone to work like everyday to weld the hull of the destroyer. I shut my mouth before a juicy curse left it.
High pressure steam shot out of the hose and I barely managed to hold it in my hands. Hot water hit the metallic wall of the tank. Steam was everywhere and I could hardly see a thing. I closed the tap and went inside. I scraped off the residue with my spatula. At every step I had to be careful not to knee in the hot water which was gathering on the bottom. I didn’t want to scald my balls.
After a few minutes I got the hang of it. After the surface was washed for a long time, the remains could be scraped off without much effort. The only disadvantage was the heat. Steam formed drops on my bald skull and trickled down my body. In a short time I was totally soaked.
The kitchen personnel delivered two hundred liter barrels from the storage area and connected them into a network of pipes and wires. One glance told me the team was working well together. I didn’t hear any swear words or improper remarks, which are so common when people coming from different worlds meet. Most of the men had the sides of their heads clean shaven and their hair tied into short plaits. The ladies had their hair tied with elastic bands. They all had similar face features, high cheekbones and wide mouths. Uroboros must have recruited them all together.
“How is it going?” asked my carer, looking inside the tank.
“I’m almost done here,” I assured him. I had a few more wipes to do.
“Good,” the cook waited for me to get out of the tub. “The last thing we have to do is disinfect it.”
On a pedestal next to the tub stood a barrel he had carried, on which there was a huge red cross sticker. Warnings were printed all over it in many languages.
“The lab had critical comments on their culture results, as they’d found some bacteria. That’s why after scrubbing you have to wash everything well with this crap,” he explained the further procedure. “Take a mop and run it all over the whole surface. Be careful not to get this shit on yourself. It’s highly caustic.”
“Sure.” This was not the first time I figured that the new guy is always given the worst jobs.
“When you finish, drop by for coffee. I’ll be at the back.”
I took the lid off the barrel. What a burning smell. I instinctively moved away. I carefully soaked the dirty mop in the disinfectant. Washing down the tub was not technically demanding. I did worse things before. Soon it was done. For the next few days I won’t be able to eat the machine food. For decency’s sake, having finished, I also rinsed the floor with water, especially where I had let a few drops fall.
The cook was sitting next to the coffee machine. When I entered, he handed me a hot mug.
“Tastes good,” I commented on the quality of the black liquid.
“This is a perk of this job. We have access to the source.”
For a moment we drank in silence. What an aroma! It was a long time since I last drank such good coffee. Too bad there was no milk.
“I hear you’re a revolutionary and you fired at the company people?” he asked.
I didn’t answer. I focused on my mug. Such talk wasn’t safe enough. I looked around. The place might have been tapped. If Uroboros catches me doing or talking about anything suspicious, they’ll fire the explosive without so much as a warning. He noticed my glances and dropped the subject.
On the table top he lay two pendants on leather strings.
“This will block the signal. The other one is for Theodore,” he explained waiting for my reaction. He was still slurping his coffee.
I hesitated. If this was a provocation, I risked a lot. This whole conspiracy was tiring me. Fear was telling me not to touch it. I had enough of trouble. I had just installed a bug in the administrative section. On the other hand, saying no was also risky. Somebody could wring my neck one night. Getting in contact with the resistance movement was a one way ticket. You could get out, but only with your legs first.
I took both pendants off the table. Nobody jumped out of the closet to catch me by the hand. Only the cook nodded his head with approval. Fuck him. I had been up to my ears in this shit for a long time. Suddenly, on the table there was room for vodka and food. Hot juicy sausages.
“Eat,” he encouraged me.
I bit my teeth into the meat. Fatty juice trickled down my chin. When was the last time I ate something like this? I didn’t remember. It must have been before coming to Hades, in a different previous life. The cook filled glass to the brim with crystal clear liquid.
“Cheers!” We drank. Alcohol didn’t make such an impression on me anymore. Especially like this one, just forty percent. It was nothing. Nobody in Bio&Sonic would even buy it.
“Any good?” he asked.
“It’s ok,” I said.
“I have eyes and I can see you winced with disgust.” I didn’t fool him. “You’re free to go now.” I understood this as the end of the gorge. I quickly bolted the last bites. Better that than nothing.
“Go take a shower. We don’t have water use limits,” he continued. “Somebody will show you the way.” The guy may be a cook but his voice was used to giving orders. Maybe he was the chef here? But why did I feel like I should stand at attention in his presence?
“Thanks,” I answered kindly.
I managed to find my way to the shower cabins without a problem. They were right next to the changing rooms, where I’d left my daily uniform. I dumped the dirty rubber apron into the garbage chute. I put both pendants around my neck and jumped into the shower. Despite the cook’s assurances that there was plenty of water, I didn’t use too much. I wouldn’t be surprised if this water was assigned to others and I was just using somebody’s good will. Uroboros doesn’t give anything away generously.
I walked into the changing room in much better spirits than on my way out if it in the morning. I wished I had gone to a cooking school. Everything would have been different, and I wouldn’t be brandishing a flat, thin belly.
Between the rows of lockers somebody was already waiting for me. Turned with his back to me, he was watching the holovision screen, on which a couple in love were embracing and whispering sweet things into each other’s ears.
“Are you waiting for me?” I asked.
The stranger turned around and I understood my mistake. It was a girl. The same girl who gave me the bug and about whom Ingrid was nagging me all the time. She turned around and looked at me with her mouth open wide with astonishment. What surprised her so much? Feeling ashamed, I gathered all my things. Was it my fault that Uroboros was economizing on everything? They still didn’t give us foam hair remover and we had only one razor for the whole brigade. So nobody was shaving their private parts. Why so much fuss about nothing?
“Why are you staring?” I growled under my breath.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, although didn’t look back when I was getting dressed.
“It’s ok,” I said. I realized it was me who was acting like a jerk. I did the last buttons of my jacket. “I know you from somewhere, although I can’t really remember the circumstances.”
“You’re not the first one who’s been telling me things like that recently. You guys really can’t do any better than this?”
“Who is ‘you’?” I didn’t understand what she was all about.
“You! Men! The whole station is full of horny shipyard workers. One can’t just walk by. I gave you the package and that’s it. There was nothing before that. Ok?” I must have stepped on some toes here, because she was almost shaking with emotions. She touched her fringe the moment her hair covered her eyes. This movement and the trembling did something to one of the loose screws in my head.
“You know what, missy,” I started. I really hate pretty women who think that everybody is dreaming of getting into their pants. And I hate those who really are my type and talk such nonsense even more. “I just remembered where we met. I’ll tell you more: you were lying there naked and didn’t say a word when I touched you.”
Well, now I really stirred up a hornet’s nest. She came up to me and restrained herself from slapping my face at the very last moment. Curiosity prevailed.
“Where?”
“In the base of Bio&Sonic after the conjunction. I resuscitated you together with Rob Villa.” This was the first conscious favor I did for the Organization. This is where it all began. Helping her I signed a deal. All the rest was a consequence of this decision.
She froze with absolute astonishment on her face. I wish I could have taken a picture. Too bad I didn’t. I walked around her and headed for the exit. I stopped in the doorway. I had forgotten to do my shoelaces. When I was leaving, she was still standing there.
I found my way back without a problem. Anger itself carried me. I must have had it written all over my face because the crowd parted to let me go. The girl didn’t run after me. I was relieved to welcome the familiar door to the slave part of the station. I was greeted, as usual, by my foreman.
“Why so fast?”
“I don’t give a shit about such work. Can I slave my ass off tomorrow with the others here?”
“Sure,” he said. He took a food ration out of the closet. “Are you hungry?”
“Like a wolf,” I assured him without a shadow of a doubt. The rule “take it when they’re giving it to you” is true forever. I managed to learn that by now.
I had a few hours off before the others’ return. I decided to overcome my fears and do something that had been preying on my mind for a long time. I left the disc with AI plugged in. I immediately threw myself onto the bed not to waste more time. In a moment I jumped into virtual reality.
I found myself in a new, unknown place. Instead of the beautiful landscape I expected, I was outside a fancy restaurant in the centre of a big city. This was something new.
“Sir,” a smartly dressed doorman opened the door for me.
“Where is Ingrid?” I asked.
“Excuse me?” the older man was clearly surprised. Ingrid had excelled herself. She must have spent so much time and effort to give every element so much meticulous detail.
“Good job,” I praised the old man.
“Thank you, Sir,” he said kindly. “The hotel reception is right in front of you and the restaurant to the left.”
I left him behind. I was wearing an elegant double-breasted dinner jacket, which looked kind of retro. If Ingrid likes it that way, why not? Today I was ready for so much more.
I went to the bar and ordered a double whisky. I couldn’t get out of my role. Out of my jacket pocket I took out a golden dollar. A legend forever alive. Of course, the bartender checked the quality of the bullion with his teeth. I looked around to assess the guests. There were a few men smoking cigars and puffing out clouds of smoke. A bit further away, a man past his prime was definitely offering an indecent proposal to a young lady. She blushed but did not chase the wooer away. The guy was in luck. At the back of the room at mostly empty tables, a company of friends were having dinner. Oh, those trains, flounces and satin! That was a feast for my eyes. Nobody was in a hurry. The conversation was quiet and full of casual remarks, hints, smiles and veiled promises. Marvelous.
After a few rounds, however, loneliness made me feel drowsy. The waiter looked my way suspiciously a few times. It was too early to drink a lot at this hour. The moment of waiting for the queen of virtual reality was getting long. I had no way out but to order some food. I didn’t dare stand there in the middle of the room and scream at the top of my lungs. I would have ruined everything.
Walking among the tables, I noticed something familiar in one of the booths. It was a slender hand that drew my attention. I recognized it in an instant and laughed out loud. The people sitting closest looked at me condescendingly. Well, yes, in those times showing emotion was not the done thing. In a hidden niche Ingrid was talking to a stranger.
“Hello!” I said. They were both totally taken aback.
Ingrid was the first one to get over the shock.
“Oh, good to see you.” Even though she said it, I felt like I was interrupting them. Was she trying to make me feel jealous with that scene? The strangest thing was she managed to do just that. Was I losing it?
“This is Phil,” she introduced the slim man to me. We shook hands. The guy had a vise grip! I paid back with the same.
“Gentlemen, please,” Ingrid noticed our duel. We sat down.
The waiter turned up.
“Nothing for me, thank you,” I sent him away. “This is a great place,” I assured my AI. “We have little time before the rest come back from work. Could we maybe go somewhere into the wild?”
“Can’t you see you’re interrupting a meeting?” Phil wasn’t going to budge. Another subprogram doing its job. The bastard put his hand on Ingrid’s slim fingers. And kept it in place when she was trying to withdraw her hand. “Get lost!” I don’t think the phrase which was directed my way came from the epoch. Apparently, there are no perfect simulations.
I stood up from the table.
“Honey, shall we?” I extended my hand towards Ingrid. “We should leave this place.”
It was the first time I talked to her this way. She opened her eyes wide in astonishment. She covered her neckline with a fan to hide the accelerated breathing and the movements of her chest. Ingrid figured out what I had finally decided to go for. She took my hand and stood up. I made way so that she could walk first. And this was a mistake. I lost sight of Phil for a moment. When he patted me on the back, I turned around to say something casual to get rid of him. The last thing I expected was a punch. I landed on the tables.
“No!” I heard Ingrid’s terrible scream
Somebody helped me stand up. I felt muffled. The guy could hit, that’s for sure. A man in a tux turned up out of nowhere. I couldn’t see Paul anywhere.
“I’m the maître d here,” the guy introduced himself nervously. “I’m terribly sorry on behalf of the hotel for this regrettable incident. The person who had broken the regulations was automatically logged out. As an apology we’d like to cover the cost of your stay here tonight. Would that satisfy you?” What the hell was this guy talking about? I got totally lost in this program.
“But of course,” Ingrid took care of the rest. “We’ll now go to our room. My husband needs to rest.”
O fuck, looks like I got upgraded to the role of husband in her program. The pace was somewhat mind-boggling. But anyone can have dreams, including AIs.
“The bellhop will show you the way,” the maître d helped us get to the elevator.
Thank goodness Ingrid was holding my arm, because my legs were numb. I felt much better only after the room door closed behind me and a towel soaked with cold water landed on my head.
