Lily stared at the stack of papers on the table. She relaxes against the back of the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. She glanced up at the Project Manager, Micheal Kong, and glanced back down at the papers. She chewed on her lower lip, thinking about the offer. It shouldn’t be a hard decision, considering her living conditions, but she was having trouble making the decision.
“How about this,” Micheal spoke up, cutting through Lily’s thoughts, “Take the night to think about the job offer. Talk to your partner about it. I will be here in the morning so you can call or swing by with your answer.”
“I think that would be best and I’m taking the paperwork with me,” Lily nodded before she scouted to the edge of the chair and uncrossed her arms before she stood up. She reached down and gathered the paperwork. She couldn’t believe the amount of paperwork they had for her. She had glanced through it when it was handed to her as Micheal read off the titles of the each packet. She resisted the urge to sigh. Hopefully, there was enough charge in the solar batteries allowing her to read the paperwork before she went to bed. She grabbed her purse and slid the paperwork in. She silently applauded herself for choosing the large purse she had dug out for the holiday season. She looked up at Micheal and held out her hand, saying, “Thank you for the opportunity.”
“You’re welcome,” Micheal shook her hand with a small smile.
Lily turned around and walked out of the room. She glanced up and down the hallway. It was the sterile white hallways that the hospitals had. She felt a cold chill crawl up her spine as she spotted the ‘Exit This Way’ sign. She followed the exit signs to the lobby. She glanced around the lobby. She knew there was a chance her friends, Charlie and Julie, could be waiting in the lobby. They also had interviews at the game company for an in-depth game experience, but they didn’t know, like Lily, which games the company was hiring to fill positions. The trio decided to show up together and see if they could get jobs. However, she didn’t see them in the lobby. She pulled out her phone and checked if she got any text messages from them. She did get a text message from the local electricity company saying they were trying to converse power due to the heat wave and have took steps to avoid a grid meltdown.
She groaned. It meant her tiny home would be close to 86 degrees Ferherntinah and her poor cat would be on the verge of a heat stroke. She needed to head home and check on her cat. Hopefully, her precious baby was still alive. She had given her furry baby some icy cold water that morning. Maybe she could give him a cool bath. Assuming the water company hasn’t limited the water pressure, citing there was a water emergency. She hated how her life has took a turn. It all began during the 20’s. She refused to mention the worst president the United States ever had and how that administration pushed the utilities companies into various green policies, limiting the resources.
She shook her head and sent a text to Charlie and Julie, saying she was heading home to check on her cat. She didn’t bother putting away her phone as she walked across the lobby. She approached the doors and opened her QR code app. She held up her phone to the reader when she reached the doors and waited, watching the red X on a tablet size screen. The company camera scanned the QR code and the screen blinked to a green check mark. The doors opened.
Lily walked out of the building into the hot winter sun. She tucked her phone into her back pocket and tightened her hold on her purse as she walked down the steps leading up to the game company headquarters. She heard them before she saw them and rolled her eyes as she changed her direction to the left instead going straight down the stairs. The protesters for climate change, calling the company to be shut down for ridiculous reasons. She hurried along the sidewalk, heading back to her neighborhood.
It was nearly a hour later when she arrived back to the gated neighborhood. Lily spotted the robot still standing guard and knew she had to scan her QR code to be allowed into the gate neighborhood. She dug out her phone and opened the QR code. She held up her phone as she stopped by the robot, waiting. She watched the robot’s eye turned red as it scanned the QR code. There was a beep and the robot’s eye turned green as a monotone voice rang from the speaker, “Thank you, Ms Williamson and welcome home. A remind for you, Ms Williamson, that we are under an Energy Emergency until 8 pm. As a result, Electricity has been limited. Do you acknowledge this reminder?”
“Yes, I do,” Lily replied. 8 o’clock was two hours away. Thank goodness.
“Thank you,” the robot answered and it went on, “Another remind for you, we are under a Water Emergency until 10 pm and Water Pressure has been limited in this neighborhood. Do you acknowledge this alert?
“Yes, I do,” Lily sighed. There went the idea of taking a cool bath before going to bed and refill the water bottles to freeze overnight for her cat to drink during the hot daylight hours. She would probably have to set out more for tomorrow.
“Thank you, Ms Williamson,” the robot finally fell silent as the eye darkened. The gate slid opened to allow Lily through before it slowly shut, locking her in.
Lily walked forward, heading home. She glanced at her neighbors. Most of them were hiding in the shade. It was obviously their houses was too late for them to stay inside. She spotted dogs laying in the shade, panting as their owners tried to bring out cool water. She doubted they would get a lot of cool water for their pups. It was a short walk to her small home. Her shoulders slumped as she approached it. She hoped her home wasn’t too hot inside or else it would take hours to air out. Of course, that was assuming the Electric company allowed her access to her thermostat once the sun went down.
She dug out her house key and unlocked front door. She winced as she felt the heat wave over her. She left the door open as she walked in. She went to the kitchen and saw her cat’s water dish was empty, setting her purse on the counter top. She grabbed it and took it over to sink to refill with cool water, but the water pressure was low from the pipes. She sighed. She didn’t bother counting the minutes it took to fill a small water dish. Once the water dish was half way filled, she turned off the water and set it back on to the kitchen floor. She turned to the freezer and pulled up the door. She considered herself lucky. She managed to get an early 2000’s freezer that still worked or else she wouldn’t be able to get anything ice cold. The latest restrictions on the Appliances industry forced them to change to Smart Appliances that allow the Utility companies access to them. The newest update to the Smart Appliances only allowed the owner to get into when there wasn’t an electricity emergency.
She reached in and grabbed a couple ice cubes and an ice cream cone for herself. She set the ice cubes in the water dish and walked to the living room, opening the ice cream cone up. She took a bit from the ice cream. She hummed as she closed her eyes. Despite how hot it was inside, the ice cream made it more bearable. She looked around the living room for her cat before she went to the bedroom. She frowned as she couldn’t find him. However, when she went to the bathroom, she did find him. He was laid out by the tub. She had put some extra bowls of ice water in it before she left for the day. She watched as he lift his head and let out a pitiful meow, blinking slowly at her.
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She sighed. She knelt down and picked him up, holding him in one arm. She peaked into the tub to see the water dishes were empty. One of them had been tipped over. He had drank most of them all or ended up taking a small bath in at least one of them to cool off. She carried him back to the kitchen and he seemed to perk up when he saw his water dish had been refilled. She set him down by it and he went over it and started to drink his fill. She quickly finished off her ice cream and opened up the windows. She turned on the fans, trying to create some cool air in the bedroom.
Lily went to the kitchen and grabbed her purse before she sat in front one of the fan, enjoying the cool breeze. She dug out the paperwork given to her by Micheal, spreading it out in front of her. She grabbed the first packet with the title of Contract. She read it over.
She had learned the hard way of just signing her name on something to save some money or the ease of convenience. She still had another year left in her contract with the damn power company for automatic payments. She had tried every trick in the book - opening a new bank account, but thanks to recent laws by the World Government, all of her automatic payments was linked to the new account; trying to get a paper check as a form of payment and get paper money, but that was illegal since the beginning of the year when the entire World changed to a digital currency; tried to get a loan to cover the early termination of the contract, but her social credit score was too low and she was labeled a risk for the banks; etc. It was downright annoying and frustration. She got knocked down every turn. What she got in return - an overheated house in the summer and a freezing cold during the winter to save $100 a year on her electric bill and the worry free way to pay her electric bill, but the power company got access to her thermostat and at will, they could adjust to whatever temperature they wished. She snorted.
She forced herself to read the contract. It was a simple contract. So far, there wasn’t any strings attached. She hummed as she flipped through the various pages until she reached the termination section and groaned, flopping back ward onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling as the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon. She heard the A/C finally kick on. She glanced to the doorway. She should go check on the thermostat to if she could change the temperature or not, yet.
Lily got up and walked from the bedroom, thinking about the termination section. They had managed to include a nasty piece of work in the language. She was backed into a corner, now. She had to go back the following day. If she didn’t and refused in any way, the next step for her would be the re-education camps.
Of course, there were just a conspiracy theory. Just a silly story that one would hear from a neighbor about a relative being dragged from their home in broad daylight by the Men in Black and was sent to a re-education camp. They did come back, but they had changed, different. They were from outspoken against the system to supporting it, claiming the system was really helping them. They managed to move from the tiny home communities to the rumored large homes, had excellent matches chosen for them, and became married before they had children.
Lily had heard several stories about people with low social credit score being force to attend the re-education camps and they did return, temporarily, before they moved up on the social latter, gaining several societal perks. On the other hand, she did hear some whispers of a rebellion, but those whispers were few.
The contract was worded if she chose to quit the job at a later date, she would be forced to attend an re-education camp before she returned to the company for the job. She tried to think of a way out of it. She couldn’t figure out a way. She wished her mom was still around. She would have an idea of what to do. Her mom was killed several years ago when she joined the upraising against the system. The War for Freedom ended in that upraising.
She sighed as she peeked at the thermostat. The screen read 85. She tapped the arrow down button and saw the screen changed to 84. She grinned. She set the temperature to her desired setting. She hurried back to the bedroom and set the window before she went to the front door, pausing. She hadn’t seen her cat for a bit. She left the door open and checked all the normal hiding spots for the feline, but couldn’t find him. She muttered a curse word as she looked at the door. He must have gathered enough energy and walked out of the house.
She hurried outside and looked through her yard before she roamed up and down the street as the sun finally disappeared. She sighed as she turned to head home. She hoped her cat would return, but she doubt it. Any strays were taken care of during the night time by the local robocops and the wildlife.
A siren blared. Lily jumped. She jerked her head up and saw one of the law enforcement themed bots rolled up. The large red eye stared at her, mercilessly as it spoke, “This is a warning. You are outside during curfew hours. Where is your QR code?”
She slowly reached to her back pocket and grabbed her phone. She unlocked it and brought the QR app before she showed it to the robocop. She watched the eye as it scanned the QR code, waiting. The eye didn’t change colors as it spoke again, “Thank you, citizen. Your insubordination in complying with the Curfew laws of Statue 14.22-51 has been noted and your social credit score will be reflecting it, shortly. This is your only warning. The next time you are outside during the Curfew hours, you will be required to complete Critical Training Courses.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Please return to your living quarters, Citizen.”
“May I explain why I broke the Curfew Laws?” Lily tried.
“Please return to your living quarters, Citizen,” the robocop repeated, “You do not have a good reason why you should be allow to break the Curfew Laws.” She watched as a compartment on the robocop’s left side opened and a yellow gun slid out. She sighed. It was a taser. There was no use in fighting.
Lily returned back to home. She kept an eye out for her cat, but she didn’t the fur ball. She really hoped the cat would return by morning. She lifted her head when she heard a howl in the distance. Her heart skipped a beat. Perhaps she could make a break for it, run through the neighbor to find her cat. She glanced back to the robotic cop. It had been following her, staying a few feet away. She noticed the machine still had its taser out and aimed. Her shoulders slumped as her stomach growled. She turned away and walked back to her house. She glanced over her shoulder to see if the Robocop had followed her to the front door. It had stopped at the edge of her yard and stood there, waiting. She could leave a kitchen window open for her cat to jump through, she decided as she slammed the door shut.
In the morning, after she prepared for the day, she opened her front door and blinked at what was on her doormat. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the destroyed body of her cat. She could tell from where the blood had dried, her cat had a run in with the local coyote pack. She should have been surprise he managed to escape at all. Her legs collapsed under her as she buried her face in her hands, crying. She had that cat for nearly 7 years. He was her baby. She didn’t know how long she sat there, crying.
She heard dimly over the neighbor intercom that there was another Electric Emergency and the citizens should expect to limit their access to the power grid. There was a short pause before another announcement rang out, saying there was a Water Emergency and the water pressure will be limited during the hottest part of the day. A reminder went out about going out during the curfew hours, having certain animals living with you was a privilege, not a right, and the sanitation people would be around in a few hours to take care of any trash and animals carasses they find.
“Perhaps,” Lily muttered to the dead cat, sending a glare to the intercoms system on the nearby streetlight, “I should join that project, willingly. It will give me something to do and perhaps I will be able to be happy.” She scooped the dead cat up in her arms. He was limp, but cold. He had been gone for a few hours. A leg was broken. That would explain why he didn’t jump through the kitchen window. She walked to her trash cans and set him on top. Guilt ran through her as she turned and walked away. She should have gave him a proper burial.