A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 13

I get up from the couch to call a cab again, thinking that a trip to the local Toyota Dealership, where I had bought my last car, would be a good next step in getting back to a normal life. Ron Stevenson, the salesman who had always looked after me every time I needed anything done to my aging Toyota, steps up to me as soon as I enter. "Christopher my boy, how are you? It has been a long time. I heard about your accident, but I never did hear if you had survived or not. It was like you had dropped off the planet, nobody knew what had happened to you afterward. The car was brought here to us because of the copies of repair bills in the glove box, and I must admit I was wondering how anybody could have lived through it, the passenger compartment was all but completely caved in on the driver's side. I called all the hospitals, but all I could find out was that you had been taken to a special clinic outside of town."

"Well, I guess it was touch and go there for a while, but I managed to pull through with some experimental procedures, and as you can see, I am whole again and ready for another car to drive around in."

"Perfect, what did you have in mind? We have a full inventory of all our most popular sellers."

I look around the showroom at the vehicles on display, and the red Camry gets my attention. Ron smiles at me. "It is a beauty, isn't it? I have one fully loaded that I could have ready for you by tomorrow afternoon."

I walk over to it, open the door and sit in the luxurious interior. I had been looking to replace my old Corolla with one of these anyway, so I knew what they were worth and what options they came with.

"Is this the one you like?" asks Ron.

I nod my head and climb back out of the car, before turning to face him with a serious look on my face. "Yes. I will take it. How much do you need down right now to get things started for me?"

Ron stares at me, a little speechless for a moment. "Well, a couple of thousand would certainly do it, if you have it. But you did not ask me the price, are you sure you have enough? It is a fair price, but quite a hefty amount."

"The money is not a problem, so why don't we get the paperwork started. I still have some more shopping to do this afternoon."

Ron shakes his head and smiles but leads the way to his small office to the side of the showroom. In minutes the paperwork is started, and I am heading for the door. Ron leans around his office door and calls out. "Do you have a car to drive right now? If not, I can get a loaner for you, if you want."

I stop and smile at the special service having money gets you. "That would be greatly appreciated, thank you," I call back.

"Just give me a second, and I will bring it around for you." He heads for the service department and calls back over his shoulder. "I will meet you at the front door."

I step out into the sun and let the warm rays soak into the skin of my face. The warmth felt good. I had been cut off from the sun for a long time, and it was a simple pleasure to feel it on my skin again.

Ron pulls up moments later in a silver Avalon. I smile and shake my head at the obvious ploy. I had thought of the Avalon, which is a much better vehicle, but I could never justify the extra cost of it. Ron was obviously trying to get me to upgrade before even taking possession of my present choice of cars.

He jumps out and holds the door for me. "Try one of these. I think you may like the extra comfort."

I shake my head and smile at him. "Ron, always the salesman."

"Well, you can't blame me for trying, can you?"

I get in and head out of the car dealers lot and head down the street to the local Electronics Store, to check on a new TV. I park the smooth riding Avalon out front and hit the lock button on the key. I enter the store and head straight to the back where all the TV's are lined up against the wall, with three tiers of them all showing the same movie.

I stop as soon as I get close. All the assorted sizes and grades of TV's are doing the same thing as mine was at home. I stare at them, trying to figure out what is going on.

A salesman with a sheet of papers on a clipboard steps up beside me. "They have come a long way in the last few years, haven't they?" he asks.

I turn to him and want to ask what is wrong with everything, when I quickly realize that to him, everything is normal, and he is pleased with the picture and clarity of the TV's on display. "Yes. I have not seen them so clear," I respond, as I squint at the wall of blurry pictures all displaying the same scene at once.

"Is there anything I can help you with today?"

I turn back to him and smile. "No, just looking." I walk up to the wall and move down the line as if I was evaluating the selection, before moving to the door and out of the store.

I get back to the car and just sit for a moment, trying to figure out what is happening to me. A couple walk by me, and the female looks towards me, and smiles when she notices me sitting there. I begin to feel self-conscious as I fret about the situation, so I start the car and drive home to figure out what is happening.

I enter my apartment and turn on the TV again to see the same thing as before. I move to my bedroom and the table there that I use for working at home on my designs. The aging laptop has a thin layer of dust on it, and the battery has gone dead over the extended period it has sat idle. I plug in the charging cable and start it up. Sure enough, it is doing the same thing as the TV. Now I am concerned and afraid, because my job centers around using a computer to draw out the designs for the chairs, before getting approval by the owners to carve the sample work on real wood.

I slump back in my chair and stare at the screen, defeated. "What am I going to do now. I can't work if I can't see the screen."

Then, just for a moment, the picture clears, before returning to confusion again. I now have a ray of hope and I spring forward again. It happened when I stared at it absentmindedly, so I did the same thing again. It took a second, but slowly the screen cleared and made some sense again. It took almost an hour of concentration, but I was finally able to train myself to see the screen as it should look.

I walk back to the living room and turned on the TV. At first it was blurry again, but with very little effort, I was able to see it properly again. I walked to the couch and sat down heavily. I felt elated that I had overcome the problem, but an uncontrollable hunger was now asserting itself, as if it had taken all my energy to shift my vision back to being able to watch the slower picture as it was displayed on the screen.

I got up and grabbed a couple pieces of meat from the fridge before remembering what I had dreamed of in the clinic. My mouth watered as I pictured a big steak along with a baked potato smothered in sour cream, topped with chives. I wolfed down the meat and headed for the door. The mall had a steak restaurant at the far side, and I could not get there quick enough in the new smelling Avalon.

Ireturned to my dark apartment some time later, with a full belly and a pleasantfeeling of having my life back. In a few days, I would be back at myold job again, a new car to get me there, and plenty of money in the bank foranything that might come up unexpectedly; which was a feeling I had never hadbefore the accident.