“Hey, Hey! Lilia pick me up I wanna see the top shelf!” Kiera has started pulling at my sleeve, Zelia shakes her head amusedly behind her as I spin the small girl around and pick her up best I can, feeling the familiar twinge in my muscles where the injury once stopped me from living a life. I pause and it doesn’t come… a… am I all better? “So close I wanna see what the top looks likeeee!” pulled out of my daze I extend her up further, she starts vibrating in excitement, “See the best stuff is at the top! Big Gulp Spicy candy flavored gum! Ahaha my beloved I have missed you! They stopped making them a year back cause of some rich kid complaining or violation or something, but it’s like the absolute best… mnnn… I wanna tell you to put me down but I also don't… you know? haha”
I drop her slightly and then drop her making her panic a little and scramble to hold onto me, “And that's why you can't play around in real life you dummy heh” She smiles at me and pokes her tongue out guiltily, “Zelia how’d you… damn didn't think you were going to buy the whole store?!” She smiles shyly and also sticks her tongue out guiltily.
“Weelll it's a long movie and space movies are like the best for snacking, the suspense and times where there's just no sound so you fill it with the monch of candy, what else could be better~” I sigh and check the time, I still need to get something for myself “hehe I got plenty for the three of us!” I rub her on the head and she leans into it joyously grinning like she’s done something to be proud of, my candy keeper.
I reach up and grab Kiera a few more packets of her dangerous goods before approaching the self serve machines, putting them all into a bag and letting the it process everything we’ve taken. A second later it beeps in recognition of purchase and we enter the side doors to the cinema. Zelia and I hold hands while Kiera bounds in front in excitement, Nacho straggling along at our feet lazily.
As we enter, there are only a few people inside, some at the front, some in prime position and some at the back, we find an empty row between the people in the back and the people in the middle, trying to give enough space in case of small woman disturbances, as promised Kiera gets a prime spot in the middle as we pull the older model of chair arm-rests up allowing us to all smoosh together like sushi on a plate.
On the front of the chair are tables. Before the movie starts I start opening a bunch of different bags of candy, making sure that when the movie is going we don't make too much noise, I don't want to be that bitch. As I finish opening one of Kiera’s candy bags she makes sad expectant eyes at me, I pull out one more of her candy bags and she silently claps in excitement as I open it as well, combining them together in one big pile of hot sweet energy chewing candy.
Zelia pops one in her mouth and then starts panting, the heat instantly getting to her, “Right?! How good are they! And every bit is like an energy explosion!” Oh no… really going to have to hold her down now, I hope I don't have to tell her everything about the movie.
“Hey cutie if you have questions about the movie why don't you write them down and I can try to explain everything to you?” She looks up at me in realization and gets out her comms unit, I realize we seem to be missing a member of our expedition until I see a tail flick up and back lazily from the floor, brushing Kiera’s legs, oh right she must be freezing. “Did you want my jacket on your legs to keep warm?” She thinks for a second and then pops another of her candies in her mouth.
“Heh thank you but the heat from my most amazing candy and my little Nacho will keep me warm~ she has a heater setting in case of emergency! Super cato!” I see Nacho’s tail twitch and then suddenly feel a small burst of heat radiates near our legs.
“Huh… I didn't know I had that function… how much did this dumb woman spend on me…” Kiera giggles and reaches down and rubs up and down Nacho’s back in enjoyment.
“All da moneyyyss!” Nacho hmphs in response, able to hear her purs of happiness from next to us.
“I also got a few different drinks, there's water and there's some sugar free orange soda as well as… some other kinds” The lights have started to dim as Zelia is talking so she just puts them on the small tables, giving up and just letting us choose whatever we can reach at.
I lean around to Zelia with one arm and squish us all together, Kiera making an audible squeak of happiness as we press against her, leaning back and snuggling together.
A Sci-Axium logo appears on the screen, a book with the world behind it and latin words under it zoom in until a laboratory appears. One bustling with people young to old, an old man stops and happily smiles to the screen, “Thanks for dropping by, today is an important day for not just us at Sci-Axium, but all of earth, today was the day that 11 years ago Sci-Axium was able to convince the governments to step down with all their wrong doings and separation of the people of the world and, in turn, our A.I. friends. With all that long gone, we look to the future every day, to help wherever we can, to keep each other safe!”
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He starts walking and talking, gesturing to the different divisions as he does, endless hallways until he gets to a doorway with the words ‘World Asunder Reality’ above them. “Now this is special, our latest technology has allowed us to create an entire world! And although we know that people would rather have it in their homes, some people can't afford such things, we have created dedicated facilities that allow people to access a capsule whenever they want! And with the last wave coming in 3 months and WAR being accessible by everyone, there's no better time to start thinking of what you want to be, everything is possible and knowledge is for everyone.”
“Join us a week after the last wave opens for a total lock down, I’m talking a whole week just enjoying being in game, being taken care of by our A.I. in the capsules, not having to leave to eat or sleep, just be able to enjoy the other world to the fullest… ahh… anyway, that's enough from me, enjoy your movie and I’ll see you, in the game!”
“Ugh finally that's over, that was way too long, we should have just gotten here late! I totally could have eaten the last of the smooshi! A week long trip sounds pretty amazing though, fully immerse ourselves in the game, oh oh! Maybe by then we will have a pirate ship!! Ahhh adventuurree~” I have to keep pulling Kiera back into her seat as she tries to readjust herself again and again as she gets annoyed at the continuous talking of the Sci-Axium representative.
“I hadn't heard anything about the lock-ins before?” I look at Zelia for my information as my little library.
“Mnn yeah they had it all announced together online with it all, you don't exactly pay attention to that sort of thing anyway… but yeah apparently they will lock the capsules for that week, apparently they are going to do them every 4 months, hold some in-game events and everything. We don't have to do the events but apparently there are pretty good prizes to be had, cosmetics and things… maybe we could get you an even riskier maid dress? Hehe”
Kiera looks up at Zel and then to me, her mouth agape, “You’ll wear a sexier maid dress?!” I roll my eyes, of course that's all she heard.
“No dummy Zel was saying it might be one of the prizes!” She looks to me, then to zel and then back to me.
“Prize for the what?” I sigh and crack my knuckles in frustration, which only seems to get Kiera excited.
“For the lockdown, there's going to be in-game events little cutie” Zelia saves me from my annoyance and Kiera from her… enjoyment?
“Oh yeah I already knew about that stuff, maybe I can get a sexy sword hehe!” I jus-aaaa why!
A noise starts at the front of the cinema and a bunch of company logos appear across the screen again and again… yeah I think they all don't exist now, at least not as they were… oh well, that's the end of an era for you!
The curtains fully open and the Cinema goes even darker, I feel Kiera loop her arms around both our arms and pull us in closer, using us to fend away the dark.
It starts up with the title of the movie and then “My dad was a farmer, uhh I mean everyone was back then, course he didn’t start that way…” I relax into the familiarity, the soundtrack, the words and feel the closeness of the two lovely people by my side, many times leaning over further to kiss Zelia gently and softly, enjoying every moment of all of us being together out in the world, instead of holding up in my sanctum of silence.
It goes on, from interesting lore and backstory, to excitement, to robot with A.I. personality, of course nothing like what exists, but still an interesting concept. At one point Nacho gets up on our laps and finds a good spot, thankfully turning down her heater as the closeness would have killed us, she has too much power.
At one point I hear in the back of the cinema the people behind us whispering. Two women and a man. He seems older and as familiar with the movie as I am, mumbling along to it, when it gets to them leaving earth I hear gentle sobbing as he repeats the words of the professor character, ‘Do Not go gentle into that good night, old age should rage and rave at close of day, rage, rage against the dying of the light.’ At the end he bends over and his hands go to his mouth to stop any noise and the young woman next to him holds him close, rocking back and forth with him as the other woman holds her hand with sadness and familiarity on her face.
I can only think about what kind of person would cry at such a thing, it brought a tear to my eyes the first time I saw it, such a powerful poem in such dark contrast to them entering into the void of the night. I hold both the girls by my side as I try to block out the crying as best I can, not in annoyance, but in trying to give them privacy, this movie means something to them, if not the world.
I hold close the things precious to me so that I may not slip and listen to the things inside that tell me what I should be doing, trying its best to pretend to be me, I will not go quiet, I will rage on.
Against the dying of the light.