Rechipped: City of California by DeVere Taya

Author:DeVere, Taya
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DVM Press
Published: 2022-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

A strange mist covers the dented green tile road as Maria stops in front of the vending machine. She leans against the screen, not caring about the touchscreen struggling under her touch as she reaches for her shoe. After pulling off the shoe, Maria turns it upside down. A small piece of plastic falls onto the road. A souvenir from this side of the city, where the holograms, tile roads, and AR buildings are slowly being shut down, one by one. The work started days ago, but the process is painfully slow due to a lack of staff. After Bill was in the clear again, Maria volunteered to work the night shift, but there’s not much she can do; no chip files are available on demolition labor. Since the Happiness-Program built the AR cities, there had been no other construction project anywhere in the world, until Ef’s domes. But never having any part in the construction, Maria’s been winging it.

It makes sense, redesigning a small portion of the city for those coming out of the capsules. They’ll need a place to live, and because dechipping is now a mandatory addition to the stasis release, the people would probably prefer a place away from AR. And though this non-tech region will be open to Chipped tenants as well, so far, not one Chipped individual has signed up for the waitlist. Not that Maria’s surprised.

“What a magical night,” Sebastian chirps, standing on a hologram stand like a mannequin with mismatched clothes and accessories. He stretches his slim, aggravatingly well-toned body, pushing a sizable crowbar toward the sky. “It’s like we’re on our very first date!”

Sebastian’s pink shirt lifts and exposes a strip of hair traveling from his belly button down to his belt. Maria looks away. Instead of drooling over her annoying companion, Maria focuses on wondering whose hologram silhouette Sebastian is currently standing on. AR-glasses would help, but Maria left them somewhere around the construction yard before she lost track of time. The hologram is most likely Nurse Saarinen. Maybe Doctor Solomon; the program updates being terribly late. Dennis “Texas” Jenkins and Ef are strong hologram possibilities, too, though most of the Chipped never fully accepted either man as rightful leaders.

Maria drops the shoe on the ground and fits her foot back in. After wiggling her foot, trying to force it into place, she glances at Sebastian, trying to keep a straight face. “You always take your dates to construction yards in the middle of the night? Because,” she pauses to step into the shoe, “that’s not creepy at all.”

With ease, Sebastian jumps down from the hologram stand. The crowbar resting against his shoulder, he walks over to Maria, confidence in his step. “Funny…” he says, then leans against the wildly blinking vending machine next to Maria, “but I can’t remember.”

“You dragged so many poor girls to demolition sites that you’ve lost count?”

“Oh, heaps,” he agrees, nodding, “But none of them Sheilas were nearly as memorable as you. I simply can’t remember anyone else.

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