Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 141 by Neil Clarke

Author:Neil Clarke [Clarke, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magazine, novelette, science fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, science fiction magazine, short story
Publisher: Wyrm Publishing
Published: 2018-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

2 – That World

As You Ruo set out, the darkness of night was just beginning to retreat before a brightening in the east.

He had to begin his great journey by daylight. The dark made no difference to machine eyes, but could greatly affect human movement. Humans were physically inferior to the machines, without a doubt.

But no matter how inferior, humans didn’t have to succumb to machine logic, or cleave to the machine imperative, or take machine orders.

You Ruo could have arranged to launch his rebellious action at a safer moment, but he wanted to be a symbol, his journey a declaration. He’d been preparing for a long time, putting all kinds of goods in order. The work had been underway for a year. Meticulous thinking had allowed him to do all the planning in his head. He’d never dared to put pen to paper, like so many previous revolutionaries.

You Ruo secured his backpack. This was all he’d bring out of his home today, a shovel and a few other tools. His ostensible work was tending flora. He’d buried what he really needed near the border of this vast parkland furthest from his house. There, day by day, while muddling through his gardening and forestry chores, he’d secretly brought things along, and today he would gather them up.

It wasn’t warm or cold today, and the sun shone just bright enough. Good weather for launching a revolution.

You Ruo headed north from his home, passing a pond he’d excavated himself. At the time he’d meant to dig a small reservoir, so he could swim in the summer, but the machines soon put a stop to this. They were not miserly with water resources, but they’d feared You Ruo would drown, dying prematurely like a moth drawn to flame. After all, his well-being was paramount. The compromise was this little cistern pond, so shallow even frogs ignored it.

Gathering tools wasn’t difficult. You Ruo knew their precise locations, having walked this route daily to review the hiding places and burials. After fetching what he needed, he changed direction, heading southwest. He avoided some dwelling places and came to another supply burial under a flowerbed. Keeping everything in batches like this was minimally risky, and conserved advantage. He turned southeast, passing through a crowd of statues he had been carving for years, all crude and unfinished.

Originally, he’d planned to raise some animals around here, but this had also been prohibited.

He left the Sculpture Crowd behind, heading for the east side of Demarcation Forest. You Ruo had planted these woods with his own hands. He’d watched saplings reach gradually skyward, and he had named the forest, though it wasn’t really a line of demarcation.

But on its east side was an electrified fence.

You Ruo’s home was convenient for his current secret operations: far from crowds, located at the world’s desolate edge. This parkland had been allocated for medical therapies, including the treatment—or at least containment—of abnormal minds like You Ruo. He wandered the fields and woodlands, knowing countless machine eyes always watched him.

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