Red Rock

Chapter 1: Doctor (Part 2)

Chapter 1: Doctor (Part 2)

The Washrooms were cleaner than usual after a couple of hours into the work day, pleasing Daire immensely as he strained his mop in the bucket.

"Daire," said a low scruffy voice on his radio device.

Daire immediately recognized the speaker and set down his mop on the tiled walls, "Yes, Mister Thomas, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"There's been an accident in the Hologram Atrium. It needs to be cleaned up pronto."

"Yes, sir," Daire sighed, hanging up his radio device and picking up his mop. "Mop Bucket, follow me," he said slowly and as clear as he could.

"Following Mr. O'Connor," replied the mop bucket in a robotic radio voice. The wheeled bucket placed itself a few feet behind Daire and followed him to the second floor.

The Hologram Atrium took up over half of the second floor. It was a place where people could walk around, record their thoughts aloud and learn from the Rossburg database. The second floor was made to make one forget about the stresses of life for a while. The massive empty space was decorated thinly to avoid distraction and to calm the mind so that one could fill the empty space with his imagination.

Daire walked into the Atrium and found a wide puddle of thick yellow liquid with chunks of unknown debris on the floor. He took an educated guess and diagnosed the spill as human regurgitation. The pungent smell pierced his nostrils in a way that few smells could. Even after three years of work as a janitor cleaning up a variety of liquids and solids with many odors, this one still made Daire's senses cringe. He gave a lengthy sigh, his second of the day. "Mop bucket," he said, "Stay to my right in cleaning mode."

"Entering cleaning mode," the mop bucket repeated, approaching Daire's right side within arm's reach. Daire grabbed the mop and strained it before lathering the yellow pile. The mop bucket stayed in close proximity to his right side and moved as he did around the vomit.

Daire watched people pass by talking to their holograms as he mopped away at the deteriorating stain. Feeling bored and frustrated with his own thoughts and actions, he decided to summon his own hologram. "Assistance!" he called loudly. In the blink of an eye, a hologram of a well-dressed Caucasian man appeared in front of him.

"How may I assist you Mister O'Connor?" The Hologram asked in a pleasing tone.

"Give me the international news of the past week," Daire said, resuming his mopping.

"Of course sir. Argentina has declared war on Uruguay in support of an amalgamated South American continent..."

"I know that already, tell me something else," Daire interrupted.

"Of course, sir. Akin Corporation has announced a project to resurrect the failed Boundless program last modified in 1984."

"What was the purpose of the Boundless program?" Daire intrigued, wetting his mop one last time.

"Boundless was launched as an installable database in the human brain. Its purpose was to provide requested information and keep the intended user company when lonely. Since sanity was a critical issue in space travel and occupation, Boundless was considered a great scientific development to remove the flaws of the human psyche."

Daire threw the end of the mop down with a 'flop' on top of the mess and continued shifting it in circles. "Who were its intended users?"

"The Boundless program was intended for those travelling to the terraformed planet of Mars to see firsthand the results of the terraforming process. Though the results were promising, the Boundless program proved faulty, compromising the mission and causing mental illness in many of its hosts."