Extinction Reversed by J.S. Morin

Author:J.S. Morin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942642237
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The waters of the Colorado River sent shockwaves of cold coursing through Plato’s veins. After the initial jolt, the leeching of his body’s excess heat was invigorating. The river swept away fatigue and grime alike. His mind snapped into focus as he dunked his head and came up gasping for air. A waterfall streamed from his hair.

It would have been a nice gesture for Toby22 to offer him a place to stay for a while, even just long enough to get cleaned up and rested. But Toby couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. It was as if coming out in the agri-hauler had been a momentary lapse that the robot regretted.

Plato had collapsed into exhausted slumber only to wake at the sound of the autopilot alarm. He hadn’t remembered the trip or even where Toby22 had decided to send him. But at least the ornery robot had packed him a lunch, even if it was food meant for English bears.

With a sigh, Plato shoved the last bite of a strip of jerky into his mouth.

It was a short walk from the water’s edge back to Betty-Lou. He began collecting his discarded clothes along the way. None of the garments were clean, and they had a gritty, dried sweat crinkle. He swished them in the river water to rinse off the worst of the gunk.

Red rock walls towered around Plato in all directions, providing privacy in every sense of the word. Terrestrial lookout scanners wouldn’t find him, and aerial observation was nowhere to be seen. The comm piece hooked over his ear would pick up any warnings transmitted from the skyroamer if she detected any signs of overhead activity. In a world of technophiles, it paid to be paranoid. Luckily for Plato, most of them were more concerned about being observed than doing any snooping of their own.

Eve. This had all been for her sake as much as his own.

Toby22 had been a wet fizzle of an ally. Plato didn’t even ask him to look in on Eve’s well-being. She was smart, even if she was new at this whole “being free” thing. Better off alone than with that waffling gamekeeper.

Plato needed to get back to her. Eve was someone to talk to, someone with feelings and senses like his own. In time, she’d understand how the world worked, but for now, she needed him, too.

Ducking under the open cockpit canopy, he leaned in and fired off a message to his hideout.

“Hey, Eve. You there? Come in. This is Plato.”

The encryption was his own work, a masterpiece of simplicity in a world predicated on the outlandishly complicated. It encoded his message into the noise of a transmission while broadcasting a signal that consisted of mundane blather about current events pulled real-time from the Social. Anyone eavesdropping would get bored silly before thinking to look beyond the obvious.

“Eve, go to the terminal on the wall by the kitchen. You can open the transmitter from there.”

Part of him wished he had taught Spartacus how to operate the transmitter.

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