Ready Player None

Chapter 13.2 - Sam "You Oughta Know"

The last few messages on my list were gratifying to read. The two youngsters from the Sacramento Highlands had been brought to C1, cleared medically, and were settling in to temporary quarters. I definitely wanted to visit them and see if there was anything they needed, but business always preceded personal preference, and was rarely as pleasant.

Lke dealing with Wyett and his emotional demand for a private discussion. He stood across from me, in my office, as I pointedly finished every remaining task that might provide some delay. I was not going to enjoy this confrontation one iota, whether it devolved into anger, or broke down into abject depression. At least he was still capable of feelings; years always seemed to drop away from his face when his guard was down; at the moment, he resembled the 10-year-old boy who had often come to his Nana just to be held.

"Samantha."

I wasn't Nana anymore. "Yes, grandson?"

"What did I do to deserve it?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.

"You'll need to be a bit more specific."

"I know I didn't take anything about administration seriously for most of the time I was the director. But back when I started, I really did try to do my best. I tried *so* hard, every day. It just seemed like bad things happened no matter what I did. That's the only reason I started letting things go, I was pretending not to care. If I cared about what happened at work and it still kept going badly, that meant my best effort wasn't good enough, and it would all be my fault."

"Yes." Just let him talk.

"But now I know what was really happening. It had nothing to do with me. Supplies were intentionally being diverted elsewhere. Marked as "lost", and made to look like it was my fault. How many times did I stand in front of you and get asked to defend all the lost items, made to feel horrible about the communities who were going to have to do without? How many times?"

"Many."

"That's right. But it turns out that it wasn't my fault at all. Someone above me was ordering the drivers of the delivery vehicles to stop and offload part of each shipment, all off the books. I was always curious as to why the company gave humans complete control instead of letting AI handle the entire trip. Now I know. Someone very high up in the company needed a driver who could be bribed, and they needed someone like me to take all the blame. Which leads me to the reason I am here, Samantha. Did you know?"

I didn't answer.

"DID YOU KNOW?" he shouted, a foot away.

I paused a bit, and then replied, "Yes."

He fell into a nearby chair. "I hate you. I hate you so much. Why? Why did you do that to me?"

Here goes. "There are people outside the Communities who wouldn't have anything if we didn't share with them."

He was stunned. "What do you mean, 'outside'? I thought you were just skimming off the top for a little extra profit. That I could at least understand. You're giving our stuff to sandpeople?"

"They're just people, like us. We need everyone we've got. We're not going to let anyone die if it can be helped."

"I can't believe this. They ruined my life once, and when I put it back together, they've ruined it again. I just.. How could you? My dad was your son, and my mom was someone he loved, and you're giving food to the people who killed them? You should be wiping them out!"

"The Outsiders who killed Will and Celeste didn't survive them by more than a day."

"Everyone out there killed them." Anger had replaced heartbreak, another step along the path my grandson had to travel. "Every time they went out on one of your missions, some of those scum would try and attack, it was just a matter of time until someone succeeded. You knew it, and you kept sending them out."

"They knew it, too, and they kept asking to go."

"Then you should have stopped them!" He stood again, towering over me. "They shouldn't even have worried about other communities, they certainly shouldn't have lifted a finger to help those worthless cave trolls. They should have been fixing this community, where we lived, where *I* lived, and to Hell with everyone else."

"We felt it was important to help everyone. You can have your opinion, however selfish and misguided it is. But you don't get to tell any of us what we were supposed to do, or what to value."

"You were supposed to value *me*! I was just a kid, and I needed my parents, and they were never around. No one ever took care of me, I was always alone." His eyes glazed over, perhaps remembering the day we got the news. "And then they were gone. You think I'm just supposed to accept this? Well, forget that, and forget you."

I stayed silent. It was up to Wyett now.

He glared at me, his eyes narrowed, the little boy I saw earlier totally gone. "I'm taking care of myself now," he said, and strode out.