In Pursuit of Independence: A Tale from the Dystopian Mind

In Pursuit of Independence

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep . It tugged at my consciousness, dragging me up and out of the warm cotton swaddling of sleep. My hand, weighted with lead, dabbed around, trying to hit the source of the sound and stop its headache-inducing signal. My eyes were gummed shut from sleep, and it took straining my ears to finally smash my hand in the right place, silencing the alarm.

My mind tugged under again, slipping back into oblivion. Peace. Comfort. Rest. I loved this place. It was the only stillness in my life. No need to think or do anything—just float.

Beep. Beep. Beep. I groaned. Sitting up, I slammed my hand to the top of the device, stilling it once more. I dug my knuckles into my eye sockets and then stretched. Sounds of scratching and whining by the door drew my attention away from myself, and the oppressive cloud swirling in my head.

"Yes, yes! I'm coming," I huffed, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and bowing my head onto my knees for a second.

Things were clearer now, and I pushed myself onto my feet. I only stumbled once while the scuffling on the other side of the door intensified. When I pushed the tinted glass screen aside, my spotted fur-ball launched herself at me, tail wagging and giving off a series of excited yaps. She pranced, jumped up and ran circles around me in a dizzying rush while I tried to get through the doorway and into the main area of my apartment.

"You need to go out, don't you, girl?"

Her excitement woke me like an alarm never could. She was still racing around me, ears flapping, tongue lolling out, when I got to the kitchenette a few paces from my room. My nose twitched.

"Ugh! Why can't you wait to do that until your walk?" I asked her, eyeing the faeces.

I suppose I shouldn't complain. At least she did her business right in the discarder. All I had to do was slip it into the incinerator and place out a new one. Still, I couldn't help my face scrunching up as I lifted the offending poop carrier with one hand, trying to keep it as far from my body as possible—as though it carried a contagion—and kept my nose pinched closed. I dropped it through the chute and held my nostrils tightly shut until I heard a soft whump. Then I held my hands under a jet stream in the sink, scrubbing until thick suds pearled off my skin.

"Right then," I said turning to the winging creature whose whole body trembled from pure joy at the sight of me. "Time for breakfast?"

Three loud barks were my answer and I smiled, turning to the cupboard and serving a meaty mess oozing with gravy into a synthetic dish.

"Calm down, Bindi!"

She jumped up to waist height, her ears fluttering out on the sides of her head. A slobbery grin spread over her face.

"Sit."

She whimpered and wiggled her butt while her tail dusted the floor, her golden eyes brimming with expectation. I set the bowl down, and Bindi threw herself at the dish. I only just got my hand out the way, before she was snout-deep in the goopy fare.

I spun around, taking in the bright sunlight filtering into my apartment. Golden rays fell onto my one-by-two metre desk under the window and spilled into the rest of the room, not quite touching the exclusive lily-bed two-seater couch two steps away. Apart from the austere chair pushed in under the desk, there was no space for any more furniture.

My gaze drifted out the window onto the street below. There was a sheet of glass between me and the waking city, nothing more. No one had anything to hide in the Imperial City. I waved at a neighbour standing by her window. She acknowledged me with a scowl and turned away.

I shrugged, making my way back into the bedroom, or bed-box, as I liked to call it. I flipped a switch on the wall, and the entertainment system came on, blaring my favourite tune out of the tinted glass wall. Just what I needed to get my day started. The music took over my feet as I discarded my shorts and top on the ruffled bed. Before I opened the door to the wardrobe, I checked out my figure in the reflective surface.