Important: To be able to understand the course of the events of this story, we advise our readers to read the first part
NEW YORK CITY, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2097. 3:50 AM
I could not sleep due to hunger and thirst. Pain had reached unbearable levels, so I plunged into the dark black space inside my iron box and began to pass my tongue against its walls so that I might fall on a cold spot to moisten my lips.
Nothing. All is dry, as the box is insulated with thick layers that prevent cold from leaking into its inner walls, I only wish for some water; only a few drops to wet my dry throat.
I imagined cascades, rivers, falls and cold bottles of water set in the far corner of my place. I tried to walk couple of steps toward them, but nothing was there. Just solid steel walls blocking me right from a few drops of water.
Am I dying? I asked myself I can no longer move my arm from the pain caused by the modified dose of vaccine.
I don’t want to die inside this dark box.
I hurriedly crawled to my electronic chair and pressed hard the blue button, requesting to see my health monitor, hoping that she would give me some Units to buy water.
The blue beam of light tore through the darkness and my health monitor stood in front of me, with her glistening white calm face. She asked me in an intermittent tone:
– Sorry, Mr. T2235, it’s 4 am. Your live video request is not possible; I can still answer your questions based on the recorded data. How can I help you, Mr. T 2235?
– Please, I want some water, please help me, I feel my body is drying up.
-Here is the last recorded answer for your water request: Unfortunately, Mr. T 2235, you ran out of credit on your last vaccination dose. How can I help you, Mr. T 2235?
– The damn vaccine dose has caused me unusual dehydration. I am dying, please help me.
– Here is the last recorded answer to your vaccine request:
Sorry, Mr. T2235, I must raise you daily vaccination dose by ten milligrams. How can I help you, Mr. T 2235?
– I want some water, not vaccine. water, water.
– Here is the last recorded answer to your water request: Unfortunately, Mr. T 2235, you ran out of credit on your last vaccination dose. How can I help you, Mr. T 2235?
– Don’t you understand what I’m saying?
– How can I help you, Mr. T 2235?
I understood that I was addressing a computer machine that behaves in a robotic and emotionless manner. So, I decided to change my order. Instead of water, I want her to open the window for me, so that the cold air might carry some moisture.
– I want to open the window. And turn off the heater.
-The window? The heater? What is your Code number, Mr. T2235?
– I don’t have a code, my box is C Class, 6pm to 6 am. Fresh air, please
– Fresh Air? Feature not allowed. You must request an upgrade to Class B Box.
– Yes, upgrade to Class B Box.
– With Class B Box You will get one million new Units in your electronic wallet, 6 bottles of water every day, 6 nutritional tablets every day, the right to multi ventilation options, in addition to 70 monthly hours of HLC Hologram live Chats.
-Yes, yes, I want that, please. Next?
– Next: Do you know your legal obligations as an RM Class B Box?
– No. No. what is RM?
– RM-Rat Man-Federal Volunteer Body. An RM citizen is a citizen in the service of the city’s laboratories to receive experimental vaccination doses twice a month.
– Yes, RM what’s next?
– Next, click the upgrade button from grade C to grade B.
Then click continue, then accept the terms, then accept the free option, then click continue and then choose the RM- Rat- Man (Federal Volunteer Body).
-OK. I did, what next?
– Next: Congratulations, Mr. RMT 2235, you are now an RM-Rat Man-Federal Volunteer Body. Within 60 seconds the drone service will bring you your 6 bottles of water and your 6 nutrition pills.
You have 1 million Units in your E-Wallet. Your C class Box is upgraded to Class B Box. Goodbye, Mr. RMT 2235.
I drank a full bottle of water, swallowed all the nutritional pills and lay down on my Electronic Chair reviewing the terms I have agreed to– and the benefits I would get.
I checked my E-Wallet and enjoyed seeing the one million Units that I owned.
This is amazing. Now I can send thousands of Units to my brother, and I can see him 70 hours each month.
I was very happy. I wish I had done this earlier. I’d cut back my hours on the spaceship, and I’d have more hours off to sleep and watch nature scenes.
I pressed the HLC Hologram live Chat button with my brother, Ibrahim T 2238.
His beam of light stood in front of me with his pale face and thin body.
– Ibrahim. Ibrahim, congratulate me, brother. I am now an RM, a Rat Man; I have one million Units in my wallet.
Ibrahim did not say a word. He opened his mouth and stared at me with wide eyes filled with fear and panic. I repeated the news over and over, so he tried to control himself and in a sad voice asked me if, I was sure.
– I have become a federal volunteer body. I am an RM with a million Units in my wallet. Goodbye to poverty and working day and night.
– When did you do this?
– Just moments ago?
– Do you know what that means? Do you know what awaits you as a Rat Man? You’ve just condemned yourself to a slow death brother. Are you crazy? Why didn’t you ask me earlier?
– Because I was dying. Because I had no other option. Because…
– So, you decided to become an object for experiment; they will try on your body all vaccines, of all kinds.
– So what?
– You’ve killed any chance you had for turning back into a pure human. You won’t be able to let go of this miserable box. You have decided to spend the rest of your life in this cursed city and between these steel walls. Do you know why? Because you are an idiot, and you will die as an idiot.
– We are all exposed to death at any moment… Don’t we receive vaccinations every night? Don’t we work long hours to get a daily vaccine, a few nutritional pills, and three bottles of water. Aren’t we dead already?!!
– Yes, but they are vaccines whose effectiveness is guaranteed with known effects and results.
– Who told you that there is a guaranteed vaccine.?! All vaccines are just experiments. Didn’t our mother die after her first “guaranteed” vaccines? Aren’t we slaves in these iron boxes? We are enslaved just because we don’t have the ability to survive without the daily vaccine.
– Who said we can’t survive. You probably won’t survive after they start pouring all types of unknown solutions into you veins. But not me.
I will pursue my mom’s dream and go back one day to live as a pure human being, out there where I can enjoy the real life; where I can live and die in a normal way.
- Poor you my brother, there is no more life out there for us. We are the Iron Box residents, it’s too La….
He ended the HLC Hologram live Chat session and left.
To be continued
