breakfast and flipped on the television. The news seldom interested him because nothing really went on unless you wanted to know what sales were happening or what groups had started up that you could join. He did want to see whether the missing man had been found. He had missed much of the story the day before. He turned up the volume as the announcer began to speak of the man.
“…and according to Newcity central, Ronald was not so lost after all.” Another announcer took over the conversation. “No, Jane, he was merely walking the halls a little dazed.” Back to Jane. “It appears as though his chip had malfunctioned and sent a memory inhibitor spike into his brain, causing him to temporarily forget where he resided. All is back to normal now, and Ronald has been reassigned for the duration of his stay.”
Keith turned the set off. Reassignments were fairly normal, but what did they mean by “the duration of his stay?” He would have to ask Nellie about that. Perhaps she knew.
He stopped for a moment and thought about Nellie. She acted so different than anyone else he knew. She was unpredictable, aggressive one moment and shy the next. Her emotions, he knew, must swing so much further in every direction than his.
He rubbed his thumb over the space where the chip was located. Only a slight bump could be discerned. Installed at a very young age, the chip did nothing more than monitor and adjust his emotions to eliminate violent outbursts. They could be over-ridden through extreme chemical shifts, better explained as imbalances, but were not meant to change any personality traits in doing so. Such was the official version drummed into everyone who wore the chip.
How could that be? He never examined the idea before, but how could a person's personality remain within the limits of what was acceptable by Newcity laws and still not be changed or altered? The two were mutually exclusive. Yet, he couldn't put his finger on why that was true. In a moment, he lost concentration and shifted his thoughts to a more pressing issue: getting to work.
He double-checked his clothes by straightening his collar and tucking his shirt into his pants. He dropped the remains of his breakfast into the waste receptacle and the cup from his morning coffee into the cleaning receptacle. Ready for work, he opened the door and entered the halls filled with residents either going to work or returning from work.
For the third day in a row, Keith saw police in the halls. On this day they wandered slowly, as though ready for something to happen. Looking around, he noticed the area fill with more people as they left their apartments to enter the fray. Many of the people were of a similar age, which made him wonder if there could have been a run of bad chips, all implanted during the same few days, and now they were failing one by one. But that wasn't the issue for him. His greatest concern was whether or not the system could control images in his brain. Could the boy be a system image?
But that wasn't it either. What was that about? Nellie suggested that the system had control of some sort, of him, of his chip. But that couldn't be true. He never felt as though he was being controlled. Someone made a turn in front of him and he almost ran into him. Keith shook his head. He didn't want a repeat of the day before.
He was thinking way too much that morning. He needed to keep focused on the project at hand. He had promised to help Nellie with the puzzle of the boy's entrance and exit. He could do that.
When he reached the office that morning he found that Maria was not there. She had been replaced. Another woman sat behind the counter as Keith entered. The girl was similar in build to Maria, but had wispy blonde hair and bright, blue eyes. Her smile appeared pleasant and her demeanor gracious and friendly. “Would you like to deliver the reports today?” she asked when Keith approached her.
“How did you
“…and according to Newcity central, Ronald was not so lost after all.” Another announcer took over the conversation. “No, Jane, he was merely walking the halls a little dazed.” Back to Jane. “It appears as though his chip had malfunctioned and sent a memory inhibitor spike into his brain, causing him to temporarily forget where he resided. All is back to normal now, and Ronald has been reassigned for the duration of his stay.”
Keith turned the set off. Reassignments were fairly normal, but what did they mean by “the duration of his stay?” He would have to ask Nellie about that. Perhaps she knew.
He stopped for a moment and thought about Nellie. She acted so different than anyone else he knew. She was unpredictable, aggressive one moment and shy the next. Her emotions, he knew, must swing so much further in every direction than his.
He rubbed his thumb over the space where the chip was located. Only a slight bump could be discerned. Installed at a very young age, the chip did nothing more than monitor and adjust his emotions to eliminate violent outbursts. They could be over-ridden through extreme chemical shifts, better explained as imbalances, but were not meant to change any personality traits in doing so. Such was the official version drummed into everyone who wore the chip.
How could that be? He never examined the idea before, but how could a person's personality remain within the limits of what was acceptable by Newcity laws and still not be changed or altered? The two were mutually exclusive. Yet, he couldn't put his finger on why that was true. In a moment, he lost concentration and shifted his thoughts to a more pressing issue: getting to work.
He double-checked his clothes by straightening his collar and tucking his shirt into his pants. He dropped the remains of his breakfast into the waste receptacle and the cup from his morning coffee into the cleaning receptacle. Ready for work, he opened the door and entered the halls filled with residents either going to work or returning from work.
For the third day in a row, Keith saw police in the halls. On this day they wandered slowly, as though ready for something to happen. Looking around, he noticed the area fill with more people as they left their apartments to enter the fray. Many of the people were of a similar age, which made him wonder if there could have been a run of bad chips, all implanted during the same few days, and now they were failing one by one. But that wasn't the issue for him. His greatest concern was whether or not the system could control images in his brain. Could the boy be a system image?
But that wasn't it either. What was that about? Nellie suggested that the system had control of some sort, of him, of his chip. But that couldn't be true. He never felt as though he was being controlled. Someone made a turn in front of him and he almost ran into him. Keith shook his head. He didn't want a repeat of the day before.
He was thinking way too much that morning. He needed to keep focused on the project at hand. He had promised to help Nellie with the puzzle of the boy's entrance and exit. He could do that.
When he reached the office that morning he found that Maria was not there. She had been replaced. Another woman sat behind the counter as Keith entered. The girl was similar in build to Maria, but had wispy blonde hair and bright, blue eyes. Her smile appeared pleasant and her demeanor gracious and friendly. “Would you like to deliver the reports today?” she asked when Keith approached her.
“How did you
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