Drones by Rob J Hayes

Author:Rob J Hayes [Hayes, Rob J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2018-04-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Frustration: Gnawing. Grinding. Nerve-fraying. Frustration leads to rash actions and poor decisions. It can turn even the smartest of us into a fool. Frustration doesn’t sell, but most people would pay to be rid of it.

After Sam leaves, I drift around my apartment. Wash the coffee mugs, then set the machine going again. Make the bed. I open up my computer and check the news, something I’ve not done in years.

There’s plenty of articles floating around the net about the attack on Arkotech. I even find a declaration that the Sanctitists circulated. They claim responsibility for the attack and then shove their manifesto in everyone’s faces. Lots of garbage about the mind being the last true frontier, one that should never be crossed. They make some compelling points about freedom of thought, freedom to feel. But they allow no middle ground. Those of us who choose to be Drones would be thought of as criminals in their world. Freedom of choice as long as it’s within their options.

I scour the articles on the net until the sun comes up, the light shining in through my penthouse window. I find no mention of me at all. It appears the Colonel and Lane have done their job well. They’ve hidden the truth to secure Arkotech’s reputation. The media machine makes the company out to deserve our sympathy. The loss of many valued employees.

I leave my computer open and cross to the window, staring down at the city below as it wake. There’s a billboard down there showing an advert by Me.com for Epicurus. As I watch, the advert flicks over to another, this one for a new action film. The advert is ninety seconds of explosions and twenty seconds of a pretty man and woman standing back to back and looking smug. I remember going to see films like that when I was a child. I remember enjoying them. Now I scoff at the very idea.

I feel listless, adrift. It’s not a feeling I like. For the past four years I’ve filled my days with the life of a Drone. I threw myself into it completely. It was why Pascal considered me his best. Every waking hour was dedicated to experiences that produced emotions that could be sold. Every waking hour was a distraction. It kept my mind off Summer.

Even before I started working for Pascal, my days were filled with security work for Langdon’s firm, or looking after Summer. I think back, but I can’t remember the last time I had nothing to do.

I turn away from the window and go back to my computer. Need to occupy myself, occupy my mind. Sam said harvesters are being killed all over, not just Pascal and Allen. It’s a mystery. Something my curiosity can work on, something I can try to solve.

I don’t know many names, but I search for those I do. Obituaries is all I find. There’s no mention of emotion harvesting in any of the articles I find. Some of them are referred to as criminals.

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