In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Matthew couldn't tear himself away. He zeroed in on his face -- painted pretty like the ones on the billboards. He looked older than Matthew remembered, and strangely younger at the same time. His hair was freshly cut, face freshly shaven -- he had a peppering gray around his temples similar to that of Brick. He looked like Matthew's father, he could even imagine what it felt like to grip his shoulder or hold his hand, but still.

His hands didn't shake like his father's did, he didn't tap his feet in his chair, he didn't fidget. He just... sat. Forehead glowing faintly, the three dots reflecting in Brick's dark, snake-like eyes.

"Michael Spender, one of the cofounders of Bot technology and chief executors at DefTech, was the first volunteer to go Blue. Michael, how are you?" Brick rattled off the words so fast Matthew almost didn't have time to listen. His focus became sharper, eyes glued onto his father's face. Plain, unmoving. Then a forced, mechanical smile.

"I'm doing great, Brick, how are you?" His father asked, voice floaty and light through the speakers. Jean gasped, her hand clamping directly over her mouth. She held back sobs -- Matthew didn't notice her at all.

"I'm doing just fine. Now, today you are going to be giving a presentation on going Blue, and what it feels like to be Blue yourself, yes?"

"Yes, Brick, and I want to thank everyone at home for tuning in-" Michael turned to the camera, staring straight back at Matthew from where he sat, "-and being so understanding of the process. Going Blue is one of the most noble, progressive things a person can do during these times. And following after our program, I'll be letting them know how they themselves can make the change."

Michael finished with a definitive nod, looking back to Brick and smiling. Brick did the same, baring those long, thin teeth like he were preying on Michael.

The camera closed in on his father's face and he went on.

"I helped engineer the technology for going Blue. It is as safe and ethical as any other tech out there-"

Jean sniffled, wiping tears from either cheek. Matthew reached out to her and grabbed her hand, finding his own felt numb.

"Your body is a temple. But your mind is infinite. The consciousness doesn't die unless the body does, and that's what we work to change at DefTech -- it's consciousness, minus mortality."
Matthew held his breath as his father stood, walking across the sound stage to a big green screen. A video of a woman appeared, in a comatose state -- she was strapped down to a hospital bed, buckled in with thick, vinyl straps. She was asleep, tubes going in and out of her body, and an oxygen machine rising and falling at her side. It was horrible to look at, and Matthew grimaced.

"We start by separating the mind from the body. It's a simple operation, replacing everything you have inside of you with a system. There's no need for anything trivial, and you never run out of breath. Out with the old and in with the new," as he said this, the screen flashed with a video of the same woman being pumped through with blue liquid. The next frame, she was under an x-ray -- her insides were nearly hollow, save for a metallic skeletal frame, confusing dark wiring, and something long and circular that resembled an engine. Nothing short of inhuman.

"It's a method of self-preservation, self-care, if you will. And it's all completely painless," he said. Matthew's mind was swimming with questions. Did this mean he would never eat again? Did he have to eat? What would he do at dinners? How would he spend his free time? Would he never sleep again?

Michael Spender stepped out in front of the camera, starting to roll up his right sleeve. Matthew squinted, prepared to see something awful and ugly, the idea of a keypad on the inside of his wrist came to mind. A panel he would flip open, revealing wires and green stuff.