Return For Duty

take it slow

Sometimes i do like to wonder, how come an old habit that you got from a job that you left years ago stuck with you? The power of habit they say, keep doing it and suddenly you're doing it without even thinking about it. Waking up to the sound of my alarm at 5 AM could get damned old pretty fast but somehow i still didn't even think to change it.

Raising my body upwards, I stretch my hands towards the ceiling, making sure every damned tuckled muscle straightens out as I grab the alarm next to my bed. No buttons to turn it off, gotta slide my fucking thumb on the hologram every time i wanna turn it off. Some would say it's annoying and they're damned right, it is. But, on the other hand, it helps to keep me on track. It sounds like a lot of work nowadays where we almost reach the 22nd century but you gotta make it interesting somehow when tech is taking over your job to make em easier.

"Nother day to toil with fucking labor" i said to myself. As a 40-year-old man, I should've earned the right to be able to just laze around my house without waking up early, but i guess that's what happens when i signed up for the military, them old habits will stick no wonder how hard you tried taking them off.

Putting my clock back on the table by my bed i stand up, makin' sure to rub my eyes a little bit so i can see where am going. Grabbing a new hoodie and some comfortable sweatpants i made my way to freshen up and prepare for the day. Popping out of the shower a few minutes later, fully clothed in comfort i make my way downstairs, grabbin' a can of energy drink and notepad i stuck in a fridge last night as i close it's doors and make my way outside for some good old fashioned jog.

The route's nothing too special, run 6 miles to the park, run circles around it for 20 laps, then run 6 miles back to the house. All done in one-half hour which won't even take my day to even begin with, though it'll be longer for today as am takin' a small detour to a grocery store.

"Welp, let's go, this ain't gonna get done by sittin' round in my laurels." dusting up my pants, i step forward and begin the jog. Spendin' most of my life in the military i keep founding myself stopping at my tracks just to take a look at the things around me. Fuel cell cars with autopilots go by and back through the road next to me, holographic ads projected from buildings and skyscrapers, and police's small flock of drones fly over the sky occasionally as they monitor this small town I lived in. Everything is just....different. The world has sure changed since i left it when I enlisted.

Obviously, it's not all well and good. Occasionally I'd find a group of workers protesting about losing their jobs, heck not even 5 minutes in and I already find 3 different groups of protesters on the road. Autonomous stuff is starting to take over people's jobs left and right that some poor fellows might immediately get fired once their boss got their hands on robots that don't need to be paid while working 24/7 without even complainin' one bit. Reminds me of the kinds of stuff I saw when playing Detroit became human from my old man's games collection.

"And.....right on time as usual."

I clicked my internal clock as I made it to the park. 15 minutes dead from home as usual. It is just a light run so i didn't even break a sweat even though i'm wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. One of the benefits of being in the military I guess. The peaceful hustlin' sound of the park filled my ears as i took a seat at one of the empty benches. Cleaner bots picking up all the crap left by the trees as it is fall season, people exercising, taking their dog for a walk, having some coffee from their paper cups holding their tablets on their other hand as they read the newest stuffs about the shits that are going on with the world, and off course...

"What do we want?!"

"Jobs!"

"What are we here for?!"

"Ban androids!"

"We've got families to feed and these damned fuckers are taking our place! Our jobs! Our money!" i hear what the leader i assumed say.

"Ladies and gentlemen, machines are meant to serve us!"

"Yeah!" the crowd shout in unison

"Not to replace us or took our fucking life!" the leader goes as i see the group cheered. Truth to be told, i can only shake my head at this sight. I was planning to just mind my own business snd walk away.

"Where the fuck are you goin' tin can? Hm?"

I saw the leader approach a bystanding android.

"Hey check it out guys, we got one of those tin cans here" he smirked as the rest of the protest group surround it.

"My apologies sir, but have i done something?" the android ask innocently.

"Yeah, this!" he smiles before pushing the android to the ground.

"Look at this piece of motherfucker, stole our jobs and cant even stand up!" a woman walk around it, kicking it in the stomach as the androids tried to stand up.

"Yeah! Grab him! Get him down!"

"Job stealer! Get that thing burned in the trash!"

Ok, this is getting out of hand for just a protest.

"Hey, c'mon just leave it alone" i called out to the group as i approached them. They doesn't seem to like it, but they stopped kicking the poor thing to the ground nonetheless. The leader, who look like to be the angriest of the bunch, walked up to me, standing just a mere nose away from me with his megaphone.

"What was that buddy?"

"I said leave it alone, it got nothing to do with you" i said, not moving a mere inch upon his attempt to intimidate me. As if I'm going to let this bastard take a cheapskate attempt to one-up me. Anyone who's smart enough that is...

"Heh, you better get the fuck out of my way" he laughed, pushing me back slightly.

"Or you're gonna be the next one to be fucked"

"...."

What a waste of time...i wanna get involved of course, but getting involved in a silly fight in the middle of people's eyes like this is just not worth to be a fuss about. Not to mention, if I whose just a stranger that is well off in retirement calling out to some so-called protesters trying to defend their right to keep their job so they can feed themselves...

I'll be more likely to be the one who got the label as the black goat. I sighed internally as a sweatdrop appear on my forehead.

But, seeing an innocent android who got nothing to do with this doesn't sit well with me either..and knowing the fact that only people that are well-off can afford to have one there's also a chance that these poor fellows might have it tougher if the owner decides to sue them on property damages...

So what i can do for this is...