Meridia

Meridia: Chapter 1

She looked out over the city as the sun set in the horizon. The lights from the city's center were already glowing brightly in the darkening sky. How many times had she seen this same scene?... And yet every time it touched her heart in a new way. The night may have been beckoning, but as usual, the city merely yawned and went right back to work. She tucked her golden-brown hair behind her ears and glanced down at the rusty metal arm in front of her. She pried the lower arm panel open on the disembodied part. "Yep", she smiled, "I knew you were hiding some treasure in here for me". "Yes, this will do nicely.", she stated as she examined and then set the needed parts down into a metal box beside her. "Looks like you're going to be just fine.", she told the android body which was slumped over on a seat next to her. The whistling of a tea kettle echoed through the metal yard and interrupted her conversation. "Be right back", she told the android as she tapped it gently on the head. She walked into the small building she called home. It was really nothing more than a small metal box with a door and a few window screens, but nevertheless, it was home. It was indeed alien compared to the buildings in Meridia City's Civic District, though she preferred it. The buildings in the Civic District felt stuffy and emotionless, but here in the old outskirts it felt like a breath of fresh air; maybe it was because the air here was fresher from the higher elevation in the mountains. She mostly liked it, however, for the view. She walked over to the kettle and pulled it off the stovetop to pour into a cup with a Swaria capsule. She stirred and took a sip. "Ugh, why do I drink this stuff?", she asked herself as her face cringed sourly. She knew why though. She and everyone else drank it because Swaria root helped boost your energy levels. There was once a story she had heard of a man who was able to stay awake for 20 days straight. He died of course, but still,... it was definitely a record. The Swaria plant was everywhere in Meridia; the only plant to really speak of (in truth), besides the Lensia trees found here in the mountains. There were some vegetables and fruits that were grown in the agricultural district for food, but only a few randomly planted Swaria and Lensia could be found in the city. She sipped some more as she turned to stare out the window at the android she was repairing. *Clang* "What the...?", she began as she set her cup down abruptly and ran out the front door. An old woman was yelling and throwing things at the android while wobbling drunkenly closer to it. "Hey, what are you doing?", she asked the clearly drunk woman with gray frizzy hair, and untidy dress. "Why do you work on these stupid things?", she yelled while pointing her drink at the android. "Soulless pieces of junk!". She stumbled backward, "Didn't you hear about that android that malfunctioned the other day at Salin's place? Android nearly tore his arm clean off his body like it was nothin!", she rambled on. "If you ask me they should all be left to rot! The whole lot ov'em!". She kicked toward the android with her foot, spraying a cloud of dirt onto it. "Hey!", she began to scold the old woman just as a man's voice interrupted her, "Everything okay here Shani?". "Ansel!", she called out surprised by his arrival. "Yeah, I think she's just a little lost," Shani explained. "Okay... Okay, I know when I'm not wanted", the old woman interrupted bitterly while taking a swig of her drink and turning around to walk away. "Here, let me help you", Ansel said. "I've got it...I've got it", she repeated. "I'll be right back", Ansel assured Shani as he helped the old woman over to his Enforcers' Yovia. The Yovia lifted from the ground with a slight bounce, and then flew off silently into the distance to the north. She walked closer to the android to inspect the damage. Luckily, there was only a small superficial dent on its head from the metal bar thrown at it. She sat back down on the metal stool in front of the android. "Nevermind her, ", she told it while wiping off the dust and reading its serial number. "Some people just don't appreciate what they have. Want to know a secret, though?", she continued while picking up a tool, "Without androids like you, our little city would fall apart. You do all the hard work that no one else wants to do, and that my friend, makes you great!". She took the needed parts from the box, cleaned and lubricated them, and then skillfully placed them into the android's arm. "That should hopefully do it", she told the male android. Now to turn you on and test out those new parts. She reached around the back of 247869's neck and opened the panel to turn the power on, when Ansel's sudden reappearance distracted her. "How do you always manage to sneak up on me like that. Those Yovia's are too damn quiet." she said facetiously. "Did you find out where she lives?", she asked him. "I dropped her off at Enforcer Headquarters. They'll take her home once she sobers up enough to tell them where she lives", he explained. "Talking to your robots again?", he laughed. "Yep, you should try it sometime. They make good company", she smirked in reply. "Drink?", she stood up, rubbed her dirty hands on a cloth, and motioned for him to follow her inside. "Sure", he said as he followed her. "Swaria?", she asked holding up the capsule box with the familiar smiling man's face who marketed its merits in such an anecdotally perfect way. "No, thanks. I'll just take some water", he replied. She poured him some filtered water from her refrigerator unit and handed it to him. "So, why'd you stop by?", she asked her friend. Ansel looked down at his cup and then back at her again, "I don't know. Just felt like checking up on you, since I haven't heard from you in a while. You should come to the Civic District and visit more. Mim really misses you. She hasn't been the same since you last stopped by. She just circles the door for hours on end sometimes." Shani grinned, "I'll check her out next time I stop by. There must be something wrong with her processing unit. Those animal robots are prone to that.", she said examining his smirking face. She knew it was only an excuse to get her to visit him more, but she didn't mind. Ansel was just looking out for her as he always had. When she was brought to the city at 16 she had no family or friends to speak of, and Ansel was her first and only true friend. As an Enforcer he was able to get her a fancy apartment in the Civic Center, but she just never felt like she belonged there among those elegant towers of shiny steel. It was too stiff and structured for her liking. She saved up for a year working for the city's finest android repair service under a woman named Nirma, a well-respected General Technician and taskmistress. It was alright working there, if you loved structure and cleanliness that is. She had gotten to work on some of the newest and most expensive android units, and learned a lot, but the work was as cold and unfeeling as each and every tall metallic structure of the Civic District. She found this place in the outskirts, and despite Ansel's early protestations, she was finally able to convince him to help her start her own freelance work here in the Meridian mountains. The mountain chain encircled the city that rested in the valley below protectively, and had the best view of the entire city, as well as the wilds. Most of the repair jobs here were for the oldest android models used in mining outside the city's protective dome. The dome, a translucent shield structure that protected the city and outskirts from the perilous electrical storms of the wilds, was rarely used. For some reason, the lightning storms rarely struck in this small region of the planet, and when they did, were mild in comparison to those in the wilds. It was not worth the risk, however, to overlook the possibility of severe dangers from even the mildest of storms. So, even though she was safely within the dome's perimeter, Ansel was still apprehensive about her being so close to the insecure weather of the wilds. Ansel had stopped by to check on her often over the last year, even after she turned 18 and was an adult by all accounts. She studied Ansel's face as he looked down at his cup and drank its remaining contents. He was a very handsome man by anyone's standards. His messy brown hair, piercing mahogany eyes, and strong masculine jawline made him very popular with city girls. His olive, toned frame probably didn't hurt either though; along with his standoffishness to the numerous, frivolous attentions thrown his way. She wondered sometimes why he cared so much about someone like her. She felt herself to be plain, with skin rather too fair for most people's liking, with a slender unpronounced frame. Ansel caught her blue eyes studying him before quickly glancing back at the cooktop, "I can't believe you still use all these old-world antiques", he said. He picked up the tea kettle. "If you still lived in the District you could get any temperature water you want straight from the water siphon", he chided. "I know, but I like it better this way", she told him as she took the tea kettle from his hand and placed it back. "I don't know,...it just tastes different,...and I like it", she explained haphazardly. "I know", he smirked, "I just like giving you a hard time about it". Shani lifted the clear crystal star that she always wore around her neck and fiddled with it. Although the star pendant was broken on one side it was still her most treasured possession because it had been her mother's. Her mother told her that her own father gave it to her as a young girl, and that it was from the old world. She recalled the many stories her mother had orated to her of the tragic death of the old world, and of the perilous journey the few survivors endured across the universe. Many of the stories were about the history of Meridia, and early indigenous life, though her favorite by far were those stories of the old world and the early star travelers. Shani looked up and her eyes met with Ansel's. It was intensely silent for a few moments before Ansel reached out and took her hand in his. "Shani, come back to the district with me. It's not safe out here on your own. I know you like it out here, but I just don't want anything to happen to you." Her heart beat loudly as she began to blush. "I'll be fine, Ansel", she replied releasing her hand from his. "I like it here. I'm sorry, Ansel.", she continued turning away. "I just don't belong there. Sometimes,...I don't feel like I belong anywhere. I mean...". "What is it?", he asked. "...Don't you ever feel like something just isn't right here?", she pondered to him. "What do you mean?", he replied with a confused expression. "I don't know how to explain it", she went on, "it just feels wrong somehow." Ansel tilted his head, "Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with your family?...Maybe you...?". "No!", she interrupted him louder then intended before taking a breath and sighing, "No..., I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe I've just been drinking too much Swaria lately". "You should really stay away from that stuff if you're still having those nightmares of yours. Nightmares and trouble waking are common side effects of Swaria root", he admonished her. "Yeah, you're probably right", she conceded. Ansel looked like he was about to continue when he suddenly received a call from dispatch: "Enforcer Ansel, we have a disturbance in the Southern District. Please respond. He tapped his Enforcer's badge, "Yes, Enforcer Ansel here. Please send the coordinates to my Yovia. I will respond." "Coordinates sent, Enforcer Ansel", the android woman's voice responded predictably. Ansel shifted uneasily. "I'm sorry, I have to go", he told Shani. She touched his arm, "It's fine, I'll see you later. Be careful out there." "You know me,...always!", he winked in obvious sarcasm. They both knew he was the kind of man who would run into burning buildings without even blinking first if he thought someone might be in there. She grinned, "Just get out of here already". She followed him back outside where she sat in front of the android once more and finally turned on the power. Ansel was already a fair distance away from her before he turned around, "I'll stop by tomorrow so we can talk some more, ok?", he loudly declared. "Okay, I'll see you then", she nodded, and turned back toward the android as it opened its eyes and began to repeat its start-up programming phrase: "Android 247869 is ready to be of service. Android 247869 is ready to be of service." "Android 247869 is of service", she said to finish its startup. Then it stood up and replied, "How can I be of service?" -*KABOOM*- Shani cowered down toward the ground instinctively as an enormous cloud of smoke and fire billowed into the sky in the distance. She slowly rose to her unstable feet while inside she shook violently from the impact of the scene. "Oh, God!", she whispered out breathlessly, as two arms grabbed her shoulders. "Are you okay?", Ansel asked her intensely turning her around to face him. "I'm...I'm fine...", she finally sputtered out, still in shock. "What was that?", she asked him. "I don't know, he said, but I have to go". "Isn't that in the Civic District?", she said motioning toward where the fire was. "It looks like it", he agreed. "All Enforcers", his circular communications badge called out, "All Enforcers are to report to the Civic District Immediately! Substantial injuries reported." He tapped the shiny silver badge to silence it. "Stay here, go inside, and lock the door!...", Ansel yelled out to her as he took off running back to his Yovia, "...and I mean it!. I'll let you know when I find out anything, so just stay inside." He lifted his Yovia controller as he ran and the craft elevated off of the ground. The door then raised up as he jumped in and immediately took off. Shani watched as Ansel's Yovia sped out of sight toward Meridia City's center. She turned and stared again at the smoke as it plumed into the night sky like a serpent from the depths. She was so intently lost in the scene that she'd almost completely forgotten about the android who had now repositioned himself next to her. "Oh my, the city is burning", the android said nonchalantly. "Would you like me to use my distance tracking system to create a running tally of the injured?" "What?", she said still in a daze, "6 people are injured...No 7 people are injured...8...9..." "Stop!", she yelled out as she swallowed. "Please stop". The android looked over at her. "You seem to be both sad and afraid. Would you like me to tell you a joke? Why did the chicken cross the road?". Shani took a deep breath, sighing loudly, "I don't know..., to get to the other side I guess". "No", the android replied, "Because humans were chasing him." "...Wait, what? What did you say?", she asked shaking her head in confusion as she turned to face him. "I said, 'So his friends would stop calling him a chicken'", he responded. "...But that's not what you....?", Shani began to say as she stared quizzically at the android beside her. "It is a joke based on wordplay. Would you like me to explain further?", he asked. She reached up behind his neck reopening the panel. "Is there anything else you'd like to say before you sleep again?", Shani asked. "Would you like me to go to sleep now?", he asked her. "I am here to serrrr...vv...e". She powered him off and then moved his body back onto the work seat. "Maybe I should check him out just once more before I send him to the mines again", she told herself. She glanced back at the city. The fire seemed to be getting smaller. That was good. "I hope Ansel is alright", she thought to herself. "How could this have happened?". She walked back inside, closed the door tightly, and then locked it. She removed her belt and set it on the table beside her bed before washing up and changing. She then sat up onto her bed, staring out of the window toward the city. It finally hit her how tired she truly was after being up for the last two days. She covered herself with a blanket and removed her Kessena device from her belt. "Kessena", she said. "Yes", a soft feminine voice answered. "Music...old earth...classical". Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata began to play, and soon she fell into a deep Swaria-infected sleep.