Different Kinds of Defiance by Renan Bernardo

Author:Renan Bernardo
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Android Press
Published: 2024-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

The last time a level 5 health-related alarm blared in Torre Verde it was after the accident that killed Rogério Assunção. Juvenal and I had been in the passionate/euphoric phase of our relationship, not only between ourselves but between us and the farm, the employees, the resources we gathered from bankrupt companies, the terabytes of information regarding what would become Torre Verde, the boats that came and went day by day carrying tons of growth racks, tanks, rotating beds, computing clusters, bioplastic fences, and everything we needed to erect our “manna tower” in the middle of a Rio severely impacted by the rising of the sea. Rogério was a technician who died electrocuted by a design failure in one of the germination room projects. After that day, we committed ourselves to only proceed with Torre Verde’s projects once every employee’s safety was ensured.

I boasted to this day, until that alarm sounded off and cut short my writing, that the last serious accident in Torre Verde happened almost forty years ago.

My mouth tastes funny as I walk the faster I can to the elevator and into the hydroponics section of the 14th level. Juvenal is splayed on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of water. A harvesting bot stands inert next to him, a water basin hanging skewed from its manipulators.

“Juve?” I say, but my voice is barely audible even though I already turned off the alarm.

I kneel before him, ignoring the strain on my knees. We’re alone. Julia went home at 8 PM. But that’s not supposed to be an issue. That’s our home, our marriage. We’re always safe here, right? Nothing bad ever happens.

“Juve?” I repeat, brushing off the hair from his forehead. His eyes are open and squinted. He seems to be making an effort to recognize me. At least there’s no blood I can see.

“I slipped.” Juve manages to mutter, which makes me laugh in relief. “Oh, my waist hurts, sweetie… That bot’s not supposed to be here.”

But it is. Probably replacing the water of a hydroponic reservoir, somehow forsaking its main algorithm since our current config doesn’t allow this kind of maintenance after midnight.

“I’m going to take you to the med room.” I lift his head. Something sticky coats my hand.

Oh.

There’s the blood.

“Call Julia on the emergency line,” I say to my watch. But Juve can’t wait. I need to take him to the med room, and all I can think of is how it was I who put that bot there.

“Hello? Nádia?” Julia’s voice is a relief that lasts until Juvenal grunts. The spilled water is reddening. It’s supposed to be creating life, not taking it.

“Juve fell.” It’s all I can say. Julia hangs up. She understands what’s happening.

But I can’t wait for her. I set the emergency protocols in my watch and put my mobile recharging station on the wet floor. Making an effort to navigate the exceedingly small station interface, I invoke all Torre Verde’s pollinators.

Juve passes out. I whisper his name as if it somehow can wake him.

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