The Destroyer

Chapter Five

Laszlo woke up early. Every Saturday his first impulse was to find out whether he could go ride his bike that day. He ran into his parents' bedroom and jumped on them, purposefully trying to stir them. They were good natured about it, in fact it had become more or less a routine, especially on Saturdays - Laszlo's only completely free day.

"Dad," whined Laszlo who was barely nine.

"Alright," his father croaked, "Let me check.  Maggie, let's have the weather."

Without hesitation a screen came on across the room and Maggie's voice started to report on the weather, giving graphics and external live feeds. "Today is sunny with a high of forty three degrees Fahrenheit. Calm. Air quality is moderately safe. Tonight, ...."

"Yes!,"erupted Laszlo as he charged out of their bedroom to go check his bike. "Maggie, call Jack right now!" Shortly, there was a groggy voice coming through the sound system.

"What?" Jack sounded barely awake.

"Jack, the air is moderately safe. Finally we can ride to the city. Remember?" It had been weeks since they had seen a Saturday with suitable conditions for their loosely planned adventure.

"Oh, good. I need to check with my mom. Hold on." Jack scrambled out of bed and Laszlo could hear the faint conversation live. He strained to ascertain whether their dreams were in the process of being demolished by parental concern. Laszlo heard Jack run back into the room. "She said it's okay but I need to get back before three."

"Fine. That's almost all day. I'll be over soon. Get ready."   Ten minutes later Laszlo was already banging on the air-tight, front door. It was so solid, that it barely registered the banging of his fists, so he shrugged and hit the call button. "Maria, let me in!" This was the name of Jack's home assistant and she replied immediately.

"Hi Laszlo. You will need to wait a moment."

"Just tell him to come out, and bring his bike!"

"Yes sir!" Replied Maria with a hint of sarcasm.

Laszlo grew impatient but then heard the sound of the airlock and the mechanical whirring of the front door unsealing and preparing to open.  "Wahoo! C'mon boy, let's move it. Tomorrow's back to prison, so we gotta make it count."

"Alright! Let's do it," concurred Jack. The boys sped off, wearing full coveralls and helmets with face masks that had embedded filtration systems. The visibility was about a quarter mile and the air was generally brown in color. As they rode on the nearly empty streets, a cloud of dust erupted in their wake. But since it was early and there still wasn't much activity, the air ahead was still clear.

Air quality was mainly affected by wind or vehicles traveling at high speeds. With such infrequent rain and no other water supply to control the dust, everyone was at the mercy of the weather, especially the wind. Anything above ten mph would very quickly cut visibility to almost nothing. Fortunately, sensor technology could still easily navigate and allow society to function, albeit without much visual pleasure. The boys' bikes also had rudimentary sensors sufficient for them to ride safely using screens and voice feedback to navigate.

Most parents just didn't feel comfortable having their children out on bikes without the ability to see for themselves. What fun was that anyway? The other concern was the dust and the fear that the filter systems might fail. After about an hour and a half of fierce pedaling, the boys finally arrived at the massive entrance to La Junta, CO. They came here by car five days a week for school but scarcely had time to explore. The city was under a mighty dome. The dome was so large that everything still seemed to be outdoors. But the real benefit was the clean air.