The sun seemed to make itself noticeable right then. Unmerciful is the only fitting way to describe it. Every day feels hotter than the last. No sign of it getting better any time soon either. I wipe the sweat from my brow. An electric bus roars by me filled to capacity with disgruntled, employees.
Fuck.
I frantically check the time radiating from the screen attached to my wrist. I’m late. I’ve got to get to the plant. I can’t afford another strike and Lethe doesn’t excuse what they call stress-induced episodes. Too many people faking for a chance at an off day.
Wait a second, I know this place. The newly constructed building triggers my fragile memory like an internal alarm. That red-tinted glass, the sleekness of the black metal plating, the impossibly thin corners... noticeable by anyone here, no matter how close to rebirth they are. The Delta Project facility sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the backdrop of what Kalli and I call Soot City. This entire area of the city has an extra layer of filth after centuries of proximity to the plant. Somehow the newness of this architectural monument remains unscathed.
A beggar pleads from his knees to its locked glass door, begging to volunteer for the Delta Project, to have his memories attempted to be preserved. The dude must be desperate
trusting experimental Lethe tech with his consciousness like that. If it’s coming from them, it’s not in our best interests.
The plant is only a few miles from here. Hurriedly, I purchase my morning dosage of Lethe poison from the vending machine, swallow dry, and begin a little jog to start my already shitty day.
After a few blocks, I intersect with my usual path just in time to see a morning landmark. Phryne. A tan-skinned woman usually wearing the least possible. Her eyes are delicately narrow, tilted upward at the ends. Her long, black hair is typically braided, but today is loosely sprawled over her bra that’s cupped around her breasts.
“For you, Palin, fifty credits, and everything you see here is yours, baby.” She made a little jiggle motion as she licked the top of her lips with her best attempt at seduction.
“Not this cycle,” I replied coldly and continued my jog towards my expected ass-chewing.
Phryne is actually pretty cute for what she does. It’s just sad she has to turn tricks in between shifts to pay to keep her husband alive. He was banished from 34 a few months ago for stealing some machinery from the solar station. Now he’s trying to survive outside the walls in the Outlands. She takes what she earns on the side and uses it for extra Lethe pills and clean water for him. Now that’s love. They meet once a week at the south gate. Kalli saw them once. She said she heard a rumor that he was trying to build a way out of here before he was caught. I can’t say I blame him.
Another block and I arrive at the plant to begin trading the hours of my life for credits, just to keep myself alive so I can continue the process again tomorrow. Seconds before I step through the static field of the entry gate, I’m suddenly frozen by the presence of that bus stop, the place where I first met her. My mind immediately sees the most beautiful girl wearing the purest shade of white sitting patiently, waiting.
Our eyes meet.
She sends a smile in my direction.
I was so nervous that day I could barely string a sentence out to ask her name. I can’t wait until this is all behind us. It will never be, though. After I get her back, I’ll eventually lose my memory, and we’ll be right back to square one. This is life now. Endless cycles of pain and suffering speckled with brief moments of absolute happiness.
I regain focus seconds before I’m lost in the depths of my own thoughts. My station manager is the first sign of reality that comes bursting through my bloodshot eyes. He’s probably lecturing me on my tardiness right now. His lips move, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. If you look closely in between his face, void of emotion, and the monotone words leaving his dry and cracked lips you can just barely see a tiny freckle above his pupil in his right eye.. almost like he’s human. That can’t be true though. No real human would willingly do the things he has done. No real human would ever banish others from the only sanctuary this world has to offer. No real human would betray his own people and watch as they are sent to a fate as good as death for things as trivial as attendance or petty theft. This is no human. Lethe must be making the detail amazing on these Machina. I entertain it for a few more minutes, then sluggishly begin my workday.
They have me on the belt this week. Like every day recently my hands handle the tedious mechanical labor that allows my continual existence while my mind goes over the process for Kalli.
As soon as she is awakened and brought back to the infirmary, she’ll undergo some memory and muscle exercises, the nurses will run some tests, then she’ll watch the video just like everyone else.
Greetings from our capital, Olympia! We want to welcome you back and personally thank you for your sacrifice to the Lethe Corporation. We are all that remains of humanity. The future relies on us. We must remain unified as we will adapt and overcome life’s trials. This is life now. This is your opportunity to help the world.
Archer Lethe, CEO
LETHE CORPORATION
That video is a joke. I barely remember it, but even as a fresh born I remember seeing through the fakeness and bullshit they push on you. It’s nothing short of slave propaganda. After their little pep talk, it begins with the meteor.
