The six-seater autonomous cab was spacious, with Jocelyn Hernandez and Henry Lane already in the front. We all shared a nod and a smile but otherwise said nothing to each other. They were older and our profiles didn't have any compatible interests. Kevin and I were in the back. I hopped into the middle seat so we could be closer.

Kevin's face was practically stuck to the window as we traveled. There were roughly a thousand residential buildings like ours. They encircled the town center, where the commercial district, schools, and hospitals were at.

There was a minor security force in the city but it was mostly made up of volunteers. Shelter and food were recognized as fundamental human rights so no one struggled for the basics. Everyone received a dividend should they need anything beyond what was provided. We used ours when we traveled since laws tended to vary pretty widely in normal cities.

Most people didn’t use the money because they didn’t have a reason to. However, some individuals, like my friend Aaron, found old economic systems fascinating and ran virtual stores.

Chefs made food because they enjoyed it, and it was the same for other professions. The system was far from perfect but most people were happy to have something to do, though the hard work was automated.

Esports was huge, especially since all of the major physical sports had swapped to V.R.. They could be as brutal as they wanted without fear of injury.

I’d been in more than a few virtual duels. Win or lose, my opponents regretted challenging me. I didn’t fight fair.

A lot of places adopted Smart City laws because they were losing citizens to them. Autumn was part of an organization that helped restructure and convert towns into SCs. Replicating the technology was their biggest hurdle.

The trip was short, and Kevin didn’t say a word the whole ride. He was either awestruck again or nervous. Probably a bit of both.

As we stepped out of the car I said, “It’s this way,” and followed the Zix road.

Kevin kept to my left.

We strolled down cement paths in the shade. The buildings blotted out the sun. The largest one was the multilayered hydroponics center that grew everyone's food.

The Medical offices were on the outer edge, so it didn’t take much time to get there. The whole place was set up that way.

We entered the building through an automatic sliding glass door. The room was painted a light blue with a dozen or so comfortable chairs spread around. I strode up to the desk, Kevin trailing close behind.

There were a few people in the lobby, but it was relatively empty. Nanobots sped up our natural healing, so unless there was a serious issue, people didn’t come in all that often.

“Hey, Julia,” I said.

Kevin glanced at me and then leaned over the counter, causing Julia to back up. He got up on his toes and tilted his head.

“Uhm, please back up sir,” Julia said.

I laughed while covering my mouth. “He doesn’t have his specs yet.”

“Are you talking to your AI again?” Kevin asked.

I shook my head. “No, Julia’s working the counter today.”

Keven relaxed, glanced at me, and then back at the desk. “Okay…”

Julia worked from home as a receptionist. In fact, she worked several jobs at once. She loved being social, so the job was a perfect fit. AI could sometimes be seen as cold and impersonal, so she filled a crucial role.

We didn’t share many interests, but somehow still became friends. She was two years older than me and started dating Aaron a few months ago. They were the same age.

“You don’t have any appointments lined up. Are you just dropping by for a visit?” Julia asked.

“Nope.” I gestured at Kevin. “I think his mom set up an appointment for him.”

“Oh, yes, Mrs. Smith’s son. If you two would like to take a seat, a room will be open in a few minutes,” she said.

One of the patients got up and went through a set of double doors.

“I need to talk to doctor Stevens when he’s available,” I said.

Julia swiped her hand through the air a few times. “I swapped Dr. Stevens over to Kevin's appointment so you can talk to him after they are done.”

“You’re gonna come in with me right?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah,” I said while glancing at Julia.

“You can talk to him during Kevin's appointment then,” she said.

I nodded and turned to Kevin. “Let's sit down. They’ll call us when a room is ready.”

We hunkered down in a couple of comfy chairs.

“You don't need to be scared,” I said.

Kevin leaned in close. “I'm not scared.”

“Liar,” Julia said.

The last remaining patient laughed. Her name was Kathy Wilson and she was much older than us. I’d seen her here a few times before.

She scoffed at Julia. “I was going to say that. I think I'm starting to rub off on you Jules.” Which probably wasn’t a good thing.

“What did she say?” Kevin asked.

“That you’re lying,” I said.

His mouth dropped. “I’m not scared!”

Kevin repeatedly thumped his thumb against his leg.

With a quick pinch, I opened my menu and examined him. His pulse quickened by the second and his eyes darted around the room. Definitely lying.

Kathy got up and entered the door leading to the examination rooms.

“You don’t like doctors?” I asked.

His eyes locked on mine and his thumping stopped.

Bullseye!

He looked away. “I don’t like needles.”

“Needles? Where is he from that they still use needles?” Julia asked.

I touched his shoulder. “They don’t use needles here.”

“Really?” he asked and paused his nervous tick.

“I told you it wouldn’t hurt last night,” I said.

That got Julia’s attention. “You saw him last night? Was it a date?”

I scowled at Julia but didn’t reply.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“He’s kinda cute,” she said while eyeing him.

“Julia!” I protested.

She smiled at me. “Just messing with you.”

I squinted at her, imagining she was one of the Enlightened.

“Don’t go all zombie on me. I know that look,” she said.

“Wh-what are you two talking about?” Kevin asked.

Honesty was the best policy. “She was just saying how cute you are.”

Kevin’s eyebrows shot up.

“He is,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “What about Aaron?”

“You’re not even going to fight for him?” Julia asked.

The little red light in my vision hadn’t gone away, which meant Kevin’s mom was still watching.

I happily ignored Julia’s question and waited in silence.

It was times like these that I wanted to leave humanity behind. Speed off in a spaceship and disappear. Perhaps I'd find the Architects out there.

The Architects were what people called the AI. We weren't angry at them for leaving, but we weren’t happy they’d set us back decades technologically.

Sometimes, I felt as if Julia treated me more like a little sister rather than a friend. It wasn’t like our ages were that far apart. She only got this way when boys were around. Kevin couldn’t hear her, so I had no idea who she was trying to impress.

“Time to head inside,” Julia said.

I got up. “Let’s go.”

Kevin spread his legs, grunted, and stood up. It was probably the least attractive thing I’d seen him do since I met him.

Julia met us at the door and opened it for us.

Kevin went in first.

As I was going through, she put a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Az,” she said.

I sighed. “I don’t like being teased.”

“I’ll try not to do it again,” she said.

“Thanks,” I said.

She smiled and pulled me into a hug.

I couldn’t put my all into it, so I just let it happen.

“That was pretty badass what you did yesterday,” she said as she pulled away.

“What?” I asked.

One of her eyebrows raised. “You didn’t see it?”

“See what?”

“You slaughtering all those elves and Koffers elite squad like they were little kids,” she said.

“How did you see that?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Koffer and like two of his guys were streaming while you did it.”

Then I remembered the VRVid that Darryl had sent me. “Did Darryl send it to you?” I asked.

She nodded.

Kevin had stopped and was staring at me.

“I’ll tell you about it later, okay?” I said.

She waved at us. “Have a good appointment.”

“Thanks,” I said and joined Kevin. “Ready?”

He nodded, and I followed a yellow line on the floor.

Once we were around a corner, Kevin spoke. “That was really weird.”

I stopped. “What was weird?”

“Your cheek caved in a little, and parts of your arms did, too,” he said.

I’d seen videos of it happening to people before. “That’s just my body reacting to her hugging me. It’s how the nanotech and implants make it feel real.”

Technically it was how the tech made Augmented Reality feel real without numbing your body. VR could hijack a body's ability to feel because it was directly connected to the brain but with AR you needed those senses. It was a balancing act, and Dark Offerings was probably the first game that got it right.

Kevin didn’t seem to have anything else to say, so I continued down the hall to an open door. It led into a room with a Holistic Scanning Chamber along one wall and a set of chairs against the other.

The HSC was a glass booth with a small travelator that carried a person to the other side. It scanned your body, making a 3D representation to find any genetic malfunctions or diseases lingering around.

As we walked in, Kevin asked, “What is that thing?”

“It analyzes you. If you’re nice, you can get a copy to use as a template in the Had-e-verse. Unless you want to make your own avatar,” I said.

“Had-a-what? Template?” he asked.

I’d only managed to confuse the poor guy.

“Did someone say analyze?” Dr. Stevens said as he walked into the room. “Ole Bertha here will be the only one analyzing today.” He patted the HSC.

Dr. Stevens was ninety-seven and was the oldest person living here. Despite his age, he appeared in his mid-twenties like all the adults. His short and spiky 2040s hairstyle and accent hinted at his generation.

His hairstyle was tremendously outdated for 2126.

However, Kevin’s hair was rugged. In an “I just got out of bed” style that people didn’t like. Lazy was my cup of tea, though.

I smiled at Dr. Stevens. “He,” I gestured at Kevin, “is getting his specs today, and I need to talk to you about something.”

“Something new, I take it?” he asked.

“Yup,” I said.

He grinned. “Okay,” he said and turned to Kevin. “You look pretty healthy. Can you open your mouth for me?”

Kevin glanced at me, and I nodded.

He opened his mouth and did several other minor things as Dr. Stevens examined him. “Most of your teeth look healthy. Do you have any problems breathing at night or anything like that?”

“No…” Kevin said.

Dr. Stevens looked down at his chart. It was a mixed reality one, so it probably looked strange to Kevin.

“Hmmm, what is the scar on your side from?” Dr. Stevens asked.

Kevin’s gaze fell. “Birth defect. I only have one kidney.”

“Oh, ho ho, you’re gonna be a hungry one,” Dr. Stevens said.

“Hungry?” Kevin asked.

Dr. Stevens sucked on his teeth. “Yup, you’re getting a new kidney today. Why don’t you stand over here?” He led Kevin to the opening of the HSC. “Do you like bananas?”

“Y-yeah,” Kevin said.

Dr. Stevens picked up a small device that was connected to the HSC, turned it, and moved it close to Kevin’s mouth. “Lick this.”

Kevin thumped his thumb against his thigh, like he did earlier, and licked the device.

“Okay, now stand where those footprints are and hold the bars,” Dr. Stevens said as he placed the hand-held device back in its recess. “This will take about a minute, but we are going to do it several times so that we can get the best scan possible. The little travelator or escalator you’re standing on will move you to the end of the machine and then back to where you are now.”

“No pain?” Kevin asked.

Dr. Stevens smiled. “Not unless Azerail here bites you. She’s a zombie, you know.”

“Shambler,” I corrected him with a grin.

Dr. Stevens was a pretty big gamer but didn’t travel in the same circles as me. It wasn’t an age thing; his tastes were different. He liked shooters.

Kevin did as Dr. Stevens said, and the travelator started moving Kevin forward. A glowing number four appeared on the side of the machine.

“If you have any questions or get bored. Let me know,” Dr. Stevens said, then turned to me. “Want to sit down?”

I nodded, and we both took a seat.

“This is going to sound weird,” I said.

He chucked. “As weird as the games you play?”

“Actually, it has something to do with the game,” I said.

His eyebrows lifted. “Is it more pain?”

“No pain this time,” I said.

“That’s good. What's happening?” he asked.

I took a deep breath. “I told you that I can control shamblers with my mind, right?”

“You were up to twenty last time we talked,” he said.

“Well, it’s up to around seventy now,” I said.

Dr. Stevens leaned back and whistled. “You’re a regular necromancer.”

“So yesterday, I took control of non-NPC shamblers…” I said.

He leaned closer, his gamer interests showing. “And?”

“I could feel their emotions,” I said.

Dr. Stevens brought his hand to his chin and tilted his head. “That’s not possible.”

“It happened on three separate occasions,” I said.

He shook his head. “It may have felt as if—”

“Terror, satisfaction, and a whole range of other emotions,” I said.

“Perhaps you were feeling a reflection of your own emotions,” he said.

I squinted. “I don’t get terrified. I am the terror.”

My nightmare from this morning didn’t count.

“You’re not experiencing anything similar to the Izekiel incident, are you?” he asked.

Why did he have to say that name? I sat back in the chair, pulled my legs up to my chest, and shook my head.

He sighed, and his face softened. “We can do a scan, but I don’t know that it’ll show anything different.”

“What if I record it next time and send it to you?” I asked.

“You can try that, but I’m not sure if the data I get from that will be helpful,” he said.

I sighed. “I have an idea.”

“Oh? Do tell,” he said.

“I’m visiting the Remnant today, and I'm going to ask if it can help me,” I said.

His eyes went wide. “You have access to the Remnant?”

“For about two hours,” I said.

The Remnant was our city's core AI and was probably millions of times smarter than Zix. Each SC had its own copy of the AI, and time with it was limited.

“Two hours!” he said.

I grinned. “Top in my class for Narrative Design.”

“What are you going to—”

“Ask it?” I said.

He nodded.

I let my legs down and sat up straight. “If it can redesign our implants to pick up emotions.”

***