Cups: a Short Story Collection

Error Code 81713520

The overlord's face appeared fuzzy on the screen, then it quickly materialized in front of Len's face. a cold sweat broke out almost immediately on the back of his neck, and he quickly blinked to close the datafile he was searching through his mind. A small blue dot appeared on the edge of the screen, telling Len that the dictator was speaking directly to him. This made him even more nervous and he took a shaky breath.

"Good day citizen 81713520, your immediate presence is requested in the Main Depot at 1700 hours."

Len wished his mind clear, and he allowed only a curt nod to escape his being. He could feel the overlord smiling at his bowed head, which made the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

Then she laughed.

He could feel it echo through his body and into his chest, where it settled. He told himself not to look at her. He knew that if he did that he would never escape. He looked down at his shoes until the monitor alerted him that the session was over. He let out a breath he was unaware he was even holding. He restored his previous session and tried to memorize a few more files before he had to report to M.D. But his mind was still clouded from the overlord's contact. He wished he could save the data to a folder, but he knew it would be a red flag to the overlord's hackers.

Len sighed and began walking toward MD. He was nervous, very nervous, but he also couldn't shake the feeling of excitement he had to be going to the Main Depot for the first time. He thought of all of the data he could collect for the databases and it made his feet speed up.

By the time he reached the smooth metal stairs, a light sweat had broken out on his face, he breathed deeply and opened his pack to get a bottle of water. The building was massive, and he observed it closely. At the bottom of the building, there were multiple markings that made small pictures and words. Graffiti. Len was impressed by the way these people had carved into the hot, flat metal and looked up to see if there was more. The entire building was flat, except for a tiny slanted metal sheets, which Len assumed where windows. The people inside could see up, but not be seen by the outside. Len couldn't imagine being stuck inside of something so dismal all day.

Having cooled down, Len took another breath and set his now-empty water bottle down on the ground, a final act of rebellion before entering the cold heart of the building. He knew that only MD workers came out of the building, and that even they had to live in a separate Village, away from the population. The overlord was hiding something, and it was Len's job to figure out what. He was a newly recruited hacker, working for an undisclosed agency, and the sight inside the building was going to be his promotion.

He reached the top of the stairs and realized that there was a small raised panel on the wall with a blank screen inside. Len touched it carefully and the screen turned a gray color. It seemed to Len that he had woken it up. A small picture of a hand appeared on screen to illustrate that Len needed to put his entire hand against the hot, shiny surface.

A small green dot appeared on the tablet, and the wall in front of Len finally pulled apart to become a giant door. He momentarily hesitated, but then jumped into the opening. A green light illuminated under his feet and the walls morphed back together, seeming to miss him by only nano seconds.

Len was forced to squint in the blinding artificial light inside. The entire room was huge, and it was all plated in bright white paneling. Bluish lights covered the ceiling, and people milled about slowly under them like slugs. Len tried to blink open his camera and realized it would not open. He tried his blocked files, the ones he was responsible for keeping for the agency.

His throat went dry.

They were gone, the files were gone and Len had no outside contact. He looked around to see that no one was blinking through files. No one was talking through an operating system. They were all... Offline. He suddenly realized why no one at the agency had any data relating to the MD.

"are you alright, sir?" a man asked.

Len wasn't sure what to do, he hadn't spoken face-to-face with someone in ages. He tried his best to look like a smiling emoticon. The man suddenly looked concerned and motioned for Len to follow him.

"i'm sorry, I didn't know you were an outsider; you weren't panicking like some. That's a good sign, you know."

Len was confused by what the man said, and he wished he could scan the man's data to see who he was.

Len almost ran into the man when he stopped walking, and hardly noticed when he said, "this is secure check, and I am Tab. If you need anything, let me know."

Several people removed Len's pack and his coat, then sent him through several scanners. They then confiscated his watch and his credit cards. Then they went for his CC, citizen-chip, which held everything he had stored in his personal memory. That was where the legal documents were, that held the research. The security group was adamant and Len finally gave up, he was gone anyway, no one had ever come back from the MD. Len struggled to stay calm, he was disoriented without his computer. His security guards looked enthralled with him, and it made him break eye contact. He also noticed that they all looked like they were glowing. They seemed so alive. It confused Len.

"This way," one of them said.

Len was ushered to the back wall where he was told to place his hand against another screen-like panel in the wall. The wall opened and Len stepped inside, a green light activating under his feet. His guide didn't follow, and the wall snapped closed again.

The hall was pitch black.

Len was totally alone and very confused, but in the darkness he took one step forward. A green light came on along the floor, leading to another door at the end of the hall. Len decided it was in his best interest to go through the door. He pressed his hand to the screen firmly, and the door opened quickly.

She was in front of him.

"Hello, Len, citizen 81713520, you have been chosen to become a part of our rehabilitation program. You are a smart boy, and are one of the first to be tested for the Analog Project."

Len was confused, "You will be living with our other citizens in the Village, without technology."

Len looked up then, "what?" he croaked.

The overlord cleared her throat, "we want to slowly reduce people's dependence on technology, starting with you, Len."

"No!" Len said, louder than he had meant to. He was going crazy, he needed his computer chip back, he needed technology and he needed it now.

"you have no choice, Len, you have been chosen as the first person to be Deactivated."

Len gulped at the words, but anger was flaring inside him. He turned and ran for the door, pressing his sweaty palm against the cool glass screen.

"Len, stop! You are unauthorized to leave-"

But the overlord was cut off by the light sound of the doors sliding open. Red caution lights illuminated below Len's feet, but he stepped into the hall.

Suddenly Len was gone.

"Code 5, citizen 81713520 is a no-go. Population is not ready for rehabilitation, prepare 81713521, they are still too dependent."