A trip

Harr wanted to take a trip with his friends. That was his first thought when he woke up and he decided that would be his major task for the day.

He slid out of his cot and wobbled to his breakfast area. As he ripped off morsels and put them in his gob, he ruminated over the list of friends he would like to invite:

• Sam always remembered things, so he would make sure that they bring their water, etc., a useful person to have on the trip

• Snail always had good stories to tell.

• Gel and Faith were funny = nice company.

• Tim was too self-absorbed, so not a good companion. But Tim had invited Harr to his wedding, so Harr was obligated.

• Meggy could sing and would be pleasant to be around on the way to the place.

Right, the place. Where should they go?

It had been a few days, so Harr decided to check the pond, see if there were any algae to be harvested. As Harr put on his leg warmers, he started thinking about the place. He was picturing somewhere with greenery and big, big trees. But somewhere that is not overwhelming with smells and heat. A nice cool area, maybe high in the mountains. He waded in the cool water of the lake and thought it felt nice to be flooded with cold, surrounded by cold, and feel the cold pressure. So he locked in the decision.

As soon as he got back into the house, he sat in front of the computer. The tubes and cables took a toll on his health, he knew that, but he was willing to make the sacrifice. As he scrolled over the map, the computer drained some of his life fluids and injected them into its hungry network, making the image clearer and less shaky. The computer injected some of the fluids from the network back into Harr, making him smell smells he had never smelled and half remember places he had never been to. Harr focused on not losing sight of the trip and, after a little while, he got back on task.

The hypsometric map now had its crosshairs on the elevation he liked, so he toggled over to the life view, to gauge the plant life. Everything whirred as he did so, and he felt voices of his distant countrymen scream for justice as they were being forced into labor. He suppressed the emotion and re-focused on the task. He zeroed-in on an area with the right amount of plant life and made sure there were no big poisonous predators there. He now toggled to transportation options.

A surge of ecstasy shook his tendrils as his engram was flooded with suggestions of pleasure services, but he punched through to a ferry company which also offered land cars for the final leg of the journey. He shared his signature with them to make a reservation and they suggested a time. He made a note of that in his own cortex, so that it would be available when he went offline. He did the same with the local area map for the destination. You never know.

Next, he switched over to the messaging service, feeling his life force wane as the computer charged him the fees. He felt he was losing something of himself as he became more and more attuned. He composed a message for Sam, Snail, Gel, Faith, Tim, and Meggy. It contained the time and date, the starting point, the destination, and the sense of community he was hoping to feel. The messaging service strengthened that last aspect, trying to encourage Harr’s friends to respond to the message. It had its own agenda, but Harr let it, because he was hoping to hear back from at least some of them. They could pick it up if they came online before the trip. Hopefully, they would all be there on the day.

Harr disconnected and looked around his home. He let himself readjust to his surroundings, the many holes and crevices of the building, the light shining through the translucent membranes, and beyond, the bodies of his neighbors scuttling about in their homes. A wave of emotion washed over him and he compared his former perception of the home with what he it was now. He wondered about years and years ago, and the many experiences like this one he had. He wondered what his younger self would think of him now. He hoped it would be empathetic and understanding, as he was towards it.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk