“Hey! Rei, how are you?”
“Oh hey there, I’m pretty good,” he replied, gesturing for his visitor to sit down.
“Why’d you call over?”
“Just wanted to talk a little about the book.”
“How’s it coming along?” Tyler asked as he sat down.
“Pretty good.”
“Can I read it?”
“Sure.”
Rei pushed the computer to Tyler, who quickly skimmed over the text on the screen. His eyes fell upon a word, which made him furrow his brows and sigh gently.
“One-five…” Tyler mumbled to himself. “Haven’t been called that in a long time…”
“Was about time that you got a proper name.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Why Tyler though?”
“I used it when we first came here, and I just kind of liked it. Two... I mean, Serene also said she likes it, so I just went with it.”
“Ha! I remember that night…” Rei nodded, taking a sip from his coffee. “Oh, by the way, how's the trading business thing you’ve been looking into?”
“Pretty good, I managed to find an old military cargo freighter for an absolute bargain. I personally inspected the plane, everything looks in decent shape.”
“You signed the papers?”
“Not yet, still waiting to see if spare parts are available.”
“And if they are?”
“I’m gonna buy it, and start trading as a merchant.”
“You know the trading business is hard to make money in nowadays right? The only profitable routes are considered too risky by most.”
“Adds to the spice of life, you know?”
“Won’t you also need a team of mechanics and helpers? Can’t just be yourself right?”
“Of course not,” Tyler smirked. “But finding those people won’t be hard. Serene’s already onboard, so I just need a few more,” he narrowed his eyes playfully at Rei.
“Oi oi, not saying I’m not down for an adventure but… you’re gonna have to convince Lenn and the others first.”
“That won’t be too hard.”
“You’re right,” Rei chuckled. “Oh yeah... how on Earth did you find that plane for sale? Since when did you become so good at negotiating? You didn’t uhh... do anything shady, did you?”
Tyler remained silent.
“Did you?”
Tyler smiled. “You want the short version or the full version?”
“The full one, of course.”
“It’s a long story.”
“It’s fine, I’ve got all day. Say, they make some great coffee here…”
*****
Lenn opened the door to the small hangar. It’s his own hangar on the outskirts of town, where he keeps his little plane.
It’s a dinky little thing compared to the JF-200 he piloted during the war. It has just one engine, and can only seat a maximum of four with zero space for cargo.
“Mister Lenn?”
“Oh,” Lenn mumbled in surprise. “You’re already here?”
“Yeah… just wanted to come and do some inspections on the plane,” Eden said, sliding off of the wing and hopping lightly to the ground.
“Well… did you find anything?”
“Umm… the left aileron bearings are showing slight signs of wear. The nose landing gear pressure is a little low… Oh, also, the engine fire warning light is broken.”
“Hmm…” Lenn nodded. “That’s a very good inspection. How long did it take you?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“For less than a year of training, that’s very impressive.”
“Hum hum!” Eden chuckled smugly, puffing out her chest. “I guess I’m just a good student.”
“No credit to the teacher?”
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“Well… maybe a little bit.”
Lenn had not forgotten the promise he made to Eden during the war. So when he heard that Eden was moving to the city, he reached out to her and asked if she wanted to learn how to fly.
Of course, Eden agreed without hesitation.
Today is a rehearsal for her check ride, which she must pass to earn her flying license.
After a quick rundown of procedures, they took to the sky, following a pre-approved flight plan, staying far away from the busy traffic of the airports.
They flew among the clouds, going through a series of maneuvers, ones which Eden must perform flawlessly during her check ride.
“Woah woah! Slow down with the turn, not so aggressive,” Lenn told Eden, seated next to him in the captain’s seat.
“Okay…” she replied, easing off on the stick.
“You remind me of how I used to fly,” Lenn remarked with a warm smile.
“Maybe I’m just a fighter pilot at heart.”
“They say the student always follows the teacher.”
“I guess they’re right.”
Lenn sighed. “I miss flying those beasts…”
“Can we do some acrobatics later?” Eden asked excitedly.
“Maybe.”
*****
The alarm clock crashed in the silence of the morning.
“Ughh…” Kang gurgled, stretching his arms out. He loves Saturday mornings because it means he can sleep in. But today was different since he had to take Ying for a checkup.
He slowly sat up in his bed, shaking his head violently a few times, before stumbling out of the room.
“Ying?” He knocked on the door to her room. “You up yet?”
“Mhm…” A sleepy moan from inside the room answered his question.
“Can I come in?”
“Uhum…”
He gently opened the door and saw a barely awake Ying in loose pajamas rubbing her eyes. The scene made his heart skip a beat, just a little, and he had to force himself to not aww out loud.
“The checkup is in an hour.”
“I know…” Ying whispered. Then she looked up at Kang with her barely open eyes. “Why are you here?”
“To, you know, take you to the doctor’s.”
“Oh… I already forgot.”
“What?!”
“Hemhem… sorry.”
“Don’t apologize and look at me like a hurt puppy!” Kang exclaimed. “My heart can’t stand it!”
Kang and Ying have been living together ever since they moved into the city. At first, it was because Kang volunteered to care for Ying while she recovered from her injuries, but it turned out they were pretty fond of each other as housemates.
Maybe as something more intimate too, but neither would admit it.
“I’m sorry…” Ying whispered with a smile, getting up slowly, her mechanical left leg unfolding beneath her as she stepped out of bed.
It’s a leg that Kang, Lenn, Rei, Tyler, and Serene designed together. They wanted Ying to be able to walk properly again and to get rid of the excuse for Kang to keep pushing her around in a wheelchair. The prosthetic leg can recognize nerve signals, allowing Ying to control it like it is part of her body.
As a result, Ying had to have checkups every few months to determine how her body was adapting to the prosthetic leg.
“Does this leg make me a bit taller?” Ying asked.
“No? Why?”
“Because…” Ying grinned, looking down at the slightly shorter Kang. “You look shorter than before.”
“You know I’m insecure about my height!”
“I’m sorry… I just thought that a height-gap couple is kind of cute.”
“Yeah yeah… wait… what did you just say?”
“Hm? I don’t remember saying anything.”
“No, you definitely did."
“Must be the memory loss.”
“You don’t suffer from memory loss! The doctor didn’t even list it as an effect of your injuries!”
“I’m very sure he did.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“Oh well, guess it must be my memory loss.”
*****
“So if this…”
“…yeah…no? The run will determine…”
“Debug?”
“…How much time…”
The brand-new office is filled with the sounds of rapid typing and quiet discussion.
Robotics had become a huge thing after the war, and they are currently developing the next generation of self-learning robots for commercial use.
In one corner of the office walled off by clear glass panes, their manager was trying to sell their product to a few potential buyers, who all seemed to be somewhat interested.
The rest of the office is filled with cubicles, a coffee machine, and a vending machine in one corner of the room.
Serene sat in her spot, typing away on her keyboard.
The lines of code on her large monitor shifted and changed as she edited it with practiced fluidity.
She has been working on this specific part of the program for almost a week, trying to iron out all sorts of little problems. Here and there she would need to add variables and then ensure it wouldn't interfere with other parts of the code. In other places, she’d have to tune values for hours on end to get the code to run as smoothly as possible. Other times, the machine-learning system would go haywire, and she would need to redo everything manually.
Every time her code didn't work as intended, she still felt a little guilt clutch at her, even if he had told her it wasn't her fault.
Finally, she was almost done, all that was left was to check the edge cases.
“Serene, how’s the code coming along?” Her supervisor asked as he walked past.
“Pretty good, just going through some edge cases.”
“What does this bit do?’
“Oh… it uh…” she explained for several minutes, going through everything that bit of code does, and how it ties in with the rest of the program. Then she went over some of the problems that may arise, and how she was planning to deal with them.
“You seem to know everything,” her supervisor remarked once she was done with her explanation.
“I only know what I know.”
“Why do you always check and double-check your code so much?” Her supervisor asked. “You’ve pulled more all-nighters than anyone else in the office.”
Serene looked at him and smiled. “I just like to be sure.”
*****
It was a lush green field which she had woken up in.
The boundless blue sky, clear as far as the eyes can see, was only broken apart here and there by speckless clouds that drifted along in the mellow breeze. The sun was beaming, the birds were chirping, and the bugs were buzzing. Daisies poked out their flowery heads from between the tall blades of grass, painting the landscape with spots of white and yellow.
“What a perfect day to go on an adventure…” Two-six whispered to herself as she walked through the grass, the smell of fresh soil and blooming flowers filling her nose.
She picked a dandelion from the ground, held it up, and with a gentle blow, let the little seeds loose in the wind. She watched them go, twirling in the air, lifting higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds.
When she looked down, he was just a few paces away, sitting there with his back turned, looking around idly.
It’s still the same person she had known all her life. Only now, he looked a little bigger, a little more heroic, and a little less frail.
Then he saw her too, and their eyes met. Even from a distance, Two-six could see its beautiful hue.
“Why are you here?” One-six asked.
“Why do you think?”
He sighed. “Yeah… I know…”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I know…” he mumbled, a smile that she’d never seen before adorning his usually expressionless face.
Two-six walked up to him, then stood staring at the brave soldier sitting before her. An indescribable warmth filled her chest, one which made her nose sting and her eyes water.
Flowers fluttered and butterflies danced as she offered him her hand.
If the past world didn’t welcome them, maybe this one will.
Even if it doesn’t exist.
“Let’s go, One-six…”
“Where?” He asked, taking her hand in his own.
“Anywhere…”
————— FIN —————