The Dark Jumper

Chapter 2 - Lament

Chapter 2 - Lament

Jace watched the cool blue metallic ceiling as he lay on his bed, tossing a virtual ball into the air as it phased in and out of form in his hands. He had many places to relax in his rotunda home, but that meant he'd risk running into the members of his family. He didn't want to talk to any of them, for the moment.

On the last run, he threw the virtual ball in the air and with a wave of his hand, it disappeared.

"Lazara?" he called out. "Did you know that we're moving from this century in the next few days?"

Lazara was an A.I. Jace built himself only two years before. He could call upon her in voice command and confirm factual data when he threw her questions at his leisure. She had an interlink to the cybernetwork serving Gorodia, which could access hundreds of thousands of data pieces - current events, history, technology - anything really. He considered her a beta form, but he was proud of what he'd been able to accomplish in the two months he spent designing and vetting out her programming.

She wasn't a substitute for a real being or even a more advanced, free will artificial lifeform (appropriately named FWALs), but she kept Jace company in the privacy of his room. He even considered her a friend, someone he could discuss things at any time without judgement.

Since it was past his curfew, and his parents had grounded him for running off at Cosmic Mescala that evening, she was the only one he could, non-combatively, speak with.

"Negatory, Jaceynd." The voice spoke warm and caressing tones on his eardrums. It calmed his heartbeat a little, but his eyes continued to pulse and buzz uncomfortably. "Your pulse is higher than usual and your eyes are shifting to two variant states."

"I know. I'm fine. I wouldn't say it if I weren't."

"Affirmative then," Lazara said. "Is there something you would like me to do?"

Jace paused for a moment. "Do you know if 31st century technology can function in the 21st century?"

"Any technology can function in a given time if provided the right tools, Jaceynd."

"I'm aware of that, but...I'm asking if there are any specific technologies that can't withstand the transition of a time jump the span of 10 centuries - one thousand years. I guess I'm trying to decide what I should take with me since we're leaving in the next few days. We're...leaving all of this behind, I guess."

"Do you know when you're returning?"

Jace felt his eyes stinging sharp. It was probably the closest he'd ever get to crying, though he'd never been able to do that either.

"I sense it is a difficult question for you," Lazara followed, but Jace shook his head.

"No, it's okay. " He recounted to her the details of what his parents mentioned that evening.

"It must be very hard on you."

"Yeah," he admitted. "I'm leaving behind my friends...my school...my chances on the team..." He paused, pursing his lips, then parting them after a time. "Only thing I can really do is move on, though I don't want to."

"How does Abigail feel about it?"

"She's not taking it well. She's not speaking to Mom or Dad at all. She's lucky."

"Why do you say that?" Lazara asked.

"She can cry, scream, yell, stomp her feet around, and express everything she feels about the whole thing. She can visually, physically display the flux of emotions she experiences and have a proper release."