Millions of Little Threads by Robert Pantano

Author:Robert Pantano [Pantano, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-06T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4: Rehabilitation

The next morning, Kennedy awoke to an onslaught of pop-up windows. His BMI had turned itself back on somehow. He felt a horrible mental pressure, like someone had wrapped a thousand rubber bands around his brain. He just lay there, staring at all the pop-up windows racing through his mind. Want to die? Forget horrible memories and start fresh! one read with an image of a half-metamorphosized baby. Another had big text that read: Feel social without any of the hassle! Five voices in your head are better than one! Underneath was an image of a man looking up, smiling with his mouth open, like he was talking to himself. Kennedy tried closing out of the windows, but the BMI was lagging so much, he struggled to control what he was doing. His sense of himself felt completely fragmented, like part of who he was had been lost forever. He didn’t care. He continued using his BMI as if everything was fine. He used the Epoché app frequently throughout the morning, which helped make things bearable enough to continue.

After a little while, Kennedy got up out of bed and left his apartment. He skipped getting ready. He didn’t brush his teeth, eat any food, or shower. He was still wearing the clothes he had slept in.

He sat on a hyperloop pod alone. The city flew by and around him. The lagging on the BMI caused the city to blur and datamosh, the buildings and people breaking apart into trailing colored, cubic pieces, all blending into one image of indiscernible nothingness. Pop-up windows overlayed on top. He just sat there.

He arrived at the Lerna facility he originally received his BMI from. It wasn’t open yet. He checked the time on his display screen. It was 9:44 a.m., about fifteen minutes before the location opened. He waited out front by the entrance. He caught sight of his reflection in the side of the massive glass building. He looked closer; his nose almost pressed right up against the window. His face looked like a mass of fragments and bits of colors, shapes, and light. It was indistinct and unfamiliar.

A notification rapidly opened and closed on his display. It read: Lerna ID not recognized.

Lerna ID not recognized.

Lerna ID not recognized.

Suddenly, a woman walked by Kennedy and entered the building without any issue. Confused and irritated, Kennedy followed after her. He wanted to quickly catch the woman and ask her what time her appointment was to see if she was early and maybe he could try to squeeze in right before her. When he got inside, though, she was gone. The lobby of the building was completely empty with none of the display items that were there before. It was just a big empty space with cement floors and white walls, except for the chairs and obelisks that were still at the front. Kennedy went up to an obelisk.

“Kennedy Weatherly. Walk-in,” he said.

The obelisk didn’t do anything.

Kennedy took a seat in one of the chairs.

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