Clarity or Delusion - Scene 2

Scene 2: Jammer

Surrounded by tall skyscrapers, Jammer's place is a one-story Art Deco brick warehouse near the heart of Smart City. Window openings filled with glass block let in the light. A mural painted in sections across a dozen rollup doors depicts Picasso's painting, Guernica. An urban garden covers the original parking lot, the greenery and colorful flowers standing in flippant contempt of the concrete sidewalk and streets.

Giant sliding doors at each end of the building let the breeze blow through. A small army of couriers come and go. Some are people wearing mechsuits like Lucid and Serene, but many of the mechs are empty and drive themselves.

A historical marker near the main entrance gives a clue as to why a lowly warehouse resides next to swank office buildings. Somebody who was once famous did some deeds that were once important a long time ago.

Inside, the conversion now houses dozens of makeshift sleeping quarters, a workshop and storage area for the mechs, and a small cafeteria. In a long row of sound-proof booths, several streamers record their podcasts. At the nearby dining tables, streamers and couriers alike confab, collaborate, and share meals.

In the salon and makeup area, isolated behind a glass wall, Celeste sports a sky blue bouffant while carefully trimming Magenta's bright pink 'do' with a laser cutter. A nearby video camera on a tripod records their podcast.

Outside the salon, an orange tabby kitten wrestles with an older gray's mechanical tail on the concrete floor as it snicks back and forth. When the gray hisses, the tabby scampers across the main causeway at the center of the warehouse and crashes into Jammer's feet. There, it fights with her hem before a sibling calico chases it away.

Jammer wears a black silk kimono with a red tie at the waist, and a sleek visor that reflects tertiary colors like an oil slick on water. A courier they all call The Kid stands nearby, wearing a downsized mechsuit fitted for an eleven year old.

Through her visor, Jammer sees a virtual map of the city projected into the air in front of her. A series of disconnected routes, pickup to delivery, overlay the streets as blue lines. A second layer in green highlights the most efficient sequence so the courier can do all the routes without back-tracking. Two of the blue routes flicker, turn red and vanish, so the sequence reorders itself. Jammer lifts her chin into the bad news. "That's fifty cancellations in just six hours. This is going too far."

The Kid shrugs. "I'll take anything you have."

Jammer says, "Reload." The routes flash across The Kid's visor as it downloads the data.

The Kid gives a thumbs up, then skates with the moves of a pro toward the sliding door at the far end of the warehouse.

Jammer's visor notifies her of the incoming call from Lucid, so she turns her attention to a reserved space on the floor that is outlined with yellow safety paint. Above it, a red LED lights up on a wall-mounted camera pointed at her. She touches one of her visor's earpieces with the index finger where she wears a man's thick gold wedding band.

In augmented reality through her visor, she sees the street scene where Lucid and Serene stand facing her, projected via their selfie drone. Other than a slight blue glow that outlines the three-dimensional image, it looks like they are standing right in front of her in the safety zone.

At the same time, Lucid and Serene can see Jammer in their visors like she's standing in the pool of light on the sidewalk.

Jammer asks, "Serene, how was your first delivery?"

"This is fun. I'd like to do more if that's okay with you."

"I think we can work something out. Lucid, what we discussed is snow-balling on me. I've had over fifty cancellations since you joined the guild and agreed to be in the game selection pool."

"Fifty? Already?" This is not good. "The mutants just terminated me."

"Yes, I see that now. Most of the cancellations are your routes. Hang on." Jammer touches the side of her visor, and her image freezes.

Lucid says, "She's muted us." Just please don't fire us, not now.

Serene watches as one of the giant koi fish swirls around a skyscraper. An enormous ad covering one side of the building promotes MindNet, a brain-computer interface that connects your mind to the cloud. The text reads: Don't be left behind! Payment plans available.

A few seconds later, Jammer comes back online. "I've just been told by my rep at TrustBank that they are cutting us off."

Lucid asks, "Because of me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry Lucid, but you're going to have to make a choice. You either renounce your guild membership, or I'm going to have to ask you to move out."

Serene blurts, "Move out? I just got here."

"This doesn't have anything to do with you Serene," Jammer says. "It's just bad timing."

"But why?"

Lucid touches Serene on her arm to calm her. "We thought there might be a little of this. The guild demands a higher level of professionalism. If I become aware of activities that are harmful, I'm now obligated to report them to the guild."

"And I have clients who play close to the edge of the law," Jammer says. "A few, only a few I thought, might not want anyone in the guild nearby. Not even in the same building with the rest of my outfit. In any case, it's not fair to the other couriers if I lose too many clients over this."

Serene complains, "But where will we stay?"

Lucid asks Jammer, "And you need an answer right now?"

"I'm afraid so. I need to stop the losses. Just the fact that you're in the selection pool is already drawing lots of attention that some of my clients can't tolerate."

"Can I put you on mute?"

"Go ahead. Just so you know, I think there's something else driving this. It's too extreme by itself."

Lucid touches the side of her headpiece. The image of Jammer freezes. From Jammer's point of view, Lucid and Serene also freeze.

"I should have warned you," Lucid says. "I didn't expect the clients to react so fast."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to go for it. The game, the guild. But now that you're involved, I have to ask you. What would you have me do?"

"If you renounce your guild membership, can you still play?"

"No. I'd be playing for the guild's team. Without a sponsor, there's no way I can afford to be a player. The mindnet alone costs a small fortune, not to mention the battlesuits and jetbikes. And now that I'm in, I want to stay in the guild no matter what. We're all stronger as a community."

Serene looks up at the night sky where the moon tries to peek through thinning clouds. "What a shitshow. Three weeks ago, I had a very different life planned. And now this."

"In this moment, I know exactly how you feel."

Serene watches the bustle of the city around them. The slow truck they passed earlier rumbles down the street. "I think you should go for it. The game and everything. But, where will we live? If, you know…"

"I think Jammer will let you stay."

"But what about you?"

"I have some friends where I can couch surf for a while, if it comes to that. Then I'll find a guild affiliated courier service to work for."

Serene offers, "I don't mind couch surfing."

"I think you should stay with Jammer because it's a ready-made job for you to get started. It's kinda her thing."

"What thing?"

"Take kids off the street and give them a place to start over. But, hopefully, none of that will be necessary. Maybe I'll get picked. So, we risk it big on one bet tonight? You're sure?"

Serene shakes her hand like she's holding imaginary dice, and then throws them across the sidewalk. "It's not a terrible bet. Let's see what happens."

Lucid touches the side of her headpiece. "I'm sorry Jammer, but I've made a decision you won't like."

"I suspected as much. I would probably think less of you if you hadn't."

"Can we still use the mechs to get to the selection?" Please say yes.

Jammer hesitates. Then, "Sure."

"And back if we need them? I'm kinda broke."

"Yes, and back. If this doesn't go your way, I'm guessing Serene will be staying with me for a while?"

Serene pleads, "Can I? Please?"

"Yes, and Lucid, you too for a few days. I'm about to quarantine you from our system anyway, so the clients will think you're out."

Lucid nods. "I understand."

Jammer's voice catches. "Best of luck. Now you two scamps get going."

"Thanks Jammer." Lucid softly bumps Serene with the hip of her mechsuit.

Serene takes the hint. "Thank you Jammer. For everything. I'll, I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"I'm sure you will." Jammer touches the side of her visor. Lucid and Serene vanish as she turns toward the salon.

Inside, Celeste stands next to the camera and replaces the lens cap.

Jammer cracks open the glass door and asks, "Did the guys finish with the space for Serene?"

Magenta looks up from sweeping her pink hair on the floor. "They did the best they could."

Jammer veers toward the living quarters, her black kimono flowing out behind her. Once out of sight of the others, she takes off her visor and wipes tears from her eyes.

The original apartments infilled in the warehouse conversion way back when are of conventional construction with actual walls, doors, and windows. The 'addendum' for the newcomers is a makeshift collection of found materials such as plywood, strategically arranged furniture, corrugated sheet metal, broken drywall, and lots of duct tape and baling wire. She enters a warren of narrow corridors and dead-ends.

When she steps into Lucid's space, Jammer sighs at a wall made of old doors stood on end that now subdivides the original space. A shower curtain and rod across an opening near the center of the door-wall is a best attempt at some privacy. Lucid's side has a twin bed, a dresser with a lamp, and a desk with a computer. A tangle of wires disappears under a piece of salvaged carpet on the floor.

Above it all, a white parachute hung from the warehouse rafters billows out to make a puffy ceiling, then falls in front of the walls to give the crude arrangement a softer touch.

Jammer pulls the shower curtain aside to see a second bed with a small suitcase at the foot end.

A hand-drawn banner taped on the sheet-metal partition to the adjacent space reads: Welcome Home Serene!

The bed creaks under Jammer's weight as she sits. She holds her face in her hands until the two kittens, tabby and calico, rub against her feet. She picks them up and holds them close to her cheeks. When she stands to leave, she glances at the welcome banner as the tape at one end unsticks and it droops. Jammer holds the kittens in front of her face and playfully rubs their faces in hers. They paw at her nose. Serious now, she asks them, "Home sweet home? Maybe, maybe not." Looking up to the puffy white parachute heaven above, she pleads, "Come on Lady Luck, do your thing."

Clarity or Delusion | Sample Scenes 1 through 5 - Continuing

[Scene 1 at Clarity or Delusion landing page - where you started] [Scene 2 - you are here] [Scene 3] [Scene 4] [Scene 5]