Basil reaches out and lays his hand on mine.
“No,” he says. “Don’t. You have to remember. It’s the only way.”
“Nobody can remember that much info.”
“People used to memorize entire books, whole maps, important dates, phone numbers for all their friends and family, all kinds of stuff,” he insists.
“When?”
“When they had to.”
I stare at the paper, rereading the lines over and over, trying to get them to stick inside my brain.
“You got it?”
“I think so.”
“If it’s important, you’ll remember,” he tells me.
I read it one more time. “Okay,” I tell him uncertainly.
He picks up both pieces of paper and rips them into pieces.
“Hey!” I yell.
“It’s the only way.” He tears and tears until only tiny shreds are left, then he opens the lid on a bucket of murky water and drops the pieces in. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ll make a new piece later out of this.”
“You can do that?” I ask astonished.
“That was the original recycling.” He leads me out of the room, turning off the light as we go.
When we get into the first room, my Gizmo pings with another message from my mom demanding to know where I am. “Sorry,” I say. “I better go or my mother will have my Smaurto looking for me.” I head for the door, but then I turn around and look at Basil. “You’ll be there, right? At the meeting?”
He nods. “See you there?”
My cheeks grow warm and I have to take a deep breath. “Yes, see you there!” Then I turn and run outside into the night air.
* * *
I run blindly for a minute or two, turning corners and zipping up empty streets. I have no idea why I’m running. It’s not like I’m in danger or in a hurry. But meeting Basil and learning about other people like me makes me feel so good I have to move. It’s as if every muscle in my body is elated and about to explode, shooting me up into the air until I’m flying over the entire city, looking down at everyone far below me. Hello! Hello! I would call. Look at meeeeee! while I do loop-de-loops in the sky. My feet pound against the pavement as my heart pounds in my chest. The giddy, throbbing excitement propels me forward until I’m out of breath and panting while leaning against the side of an old building. I catch my breath and look for something familiar, but I’m lost and even that feels good because no matter how turned around I get out here, I know that I’m not alone.
I imagine wandering around this maze of streets until I bump into Basil again. His face floats up in my mind and my heart revs. I laugh out loud, sending my voice bouncing around the walls. Will Basil hear? Will he know it’s me? Thinking all these crazy thoughts makes my face grow hot, so I press my cheek against the cool metal wall behind me.
My Gizmo pings and I jump. Just another message from my mom demanding that I come right home because she can see that my heart rate has skyrocketed and I’m using too much CO2. I breathe deeply, trying to calm down. There’s no way I’m calling her. The last thing I want to deal with are her questions. I turn on my locator, reconnect Astrid to my car, then send a quick text telling my mom that I’m heading home soon.
I feel like a different person retracing my steps back toward the PlugIn. Will Mom be able to see this shift on my face or hear it in my voice or read it in my vitals? How obvious is it that something interesting has happened? That I met someone, in person, who is so different from everyone else I know that he’s like me? And that I loved talking to him. It wasn’t awkward or weird. Even though we spent almost an hour together, there’s so much more to say! I can think of so many questions I wish I’d asked Basil. Like where he’s from and how old he is and if he’s in an ICM and whether he’s ever read a book that’s not about food and why he doesn’t have a Gizmo and a thousand more about the Analogs and the meeting. I can’t stop thinking
“No,” he says. “Don’t. You have to remember. It’s the only way.”
“Nobody can remember that much info.”
“People used to memorize entire books, whole maps, important dates, phone numbers for all their friends and family, all kinds of stuff,” he insists.
“When?”
“When they had to.”
I stare at the paper, rereading the lines over and over, trying to get them to stick inside my brain.
“You got it?”
“I think so.”
“If it’s important, you’ll remember,” he tells me.
I read it one more time. “Okay,” I tell him uncertainly.
He picks up both pieces of paper and rips them into pieces.
“Hey!” I yell.
“It’s the only way.” He tears and tears until only tiny shreds are left, then he opens the lid on a bucket of murky water and drops the pieces in. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ll make a new piece later out of this.”
“You can do that?” I ask astonished.
“That was the original recycling.” He leads me out of the room, turning off the light as we go.
When we get into the first room, my Gizmo pings with another message from my mom demanding to know where I am. “Sorry,” I say. “I better go or my mother will have my Smaurto looking for me.” I head for the door, but then I turn around and look at Basil. “You’ll be there, right? At the meeting?”
He nods. “See you there?”
My cheeks grow warm and I have to take a deep breath. “Yes, see you there!” Then I turn and run outside into the night air.
* * *
I run blindly for a minute or two, turning corners and zipping up empty streets. I have no idea why I’m running. It’s not like I’m in danger or in a hurry. But meeting Basil and learning about other people like me makes me feel so good I have to move. It’s as if every muscle in my body is elated and about to explode, shooting me up into the air until I’m flying over the entire city, looking down at everyone far below me. Hello! Hello! I would call. Look at meeeeee! while I do loop-de-loops in the sky. My feet pound against the pavement as my heart pounds in my chest. The giddy, throbbing excitement propels me forward until I’m out of breath and panting while leaning against the side of an old building. I catch my breath and look for something familiar, but I’m lost and even that feels good because no matter how turned around I get out here, I know that I’m not alone.
I imagine wandering around this maze of streets until I bump into Basil again. His face floats up in my mind and my heart revs. I laugh out loud, sending my voice bouncing around the walls. Will Basil hear? Will he know it’s me? Thinking all these crazy thoughts makes my face grow hot, so I press my cheek against the cool metal wall behind me.
My Gizmo pings and I jump. Just another message from my mom demanding that I come right home because she can see that my heart rate has skyrocketed and I’m using too much CO2. I breathe deeply, trying to calm down. There’s no way I’m calling her. The last thing I want to deal with are her questions. I turn on my locator, reconnect Astrid to my car, then send a quick text telling my mom that I’m heading home soon.
I feel like a different person retracing my steps back toward the PlugIn. Will Mom be able to see this shift on my face or hear it in my voice or read it in my vitals? How obvious is it that something interesting has happened? That I met someone, in person, who is so different from everyone else I know that he’s like me? And that I loved talking to him. It wasn’t awkward or weird. Even though we spent almost an hour together, there’s so much more to say! I can think of so many questions I wish I’d asked Basil. Like where he’s from and how old he is and if he’s in an ICM and whether he’s ever read a book that’s not about food and why he doesn’t have a Gizmo and a thousand more about the Analogs and the meeting. I can’t stop thinking
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