Sord in Prosperity - Hope Beyond the Apocalypse

EP. 137 - PLAN

SORD DROPPED HIS READING pad onto the tile floor and rolled to his side, peering over the bed to ensure the tile wasn't cracked. He knew there was nothing to worry about since virtually every item of manufacture in Prosperity was made from some form bioplas and was therefore readily replaceable. The tile looked fine, and he rolled his head back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

"Odd this old dude talked about quantum stuff," he whispered. "Dad was into that. Scientist. Physicist. If it wasn't for quantum crap, he'd probably still be here today. With us. Mom and me. Maybe even a brother, which would have been nice."

He recalled the day he found out his dad was in the deadly accident. It happened at a test site about twenty kilometers east of the city center. "I never was allowed to go there to see the ruins and rubble. All I know is that he left for work one morning and never returned. The site has been cordoned off for years, an area likely accessible to authorized personnel only."

He heard a surveillance drone pass overhead and quickly out of range. "Hmm. I wonder if the area is still restricted? After a time, I didn't care to see it. Dad was gone. By visiting the place, I wasn't going to change that reality. It only would have made me sadder and brought back tough memories. But I wonder if they've backed off the original restrictions? They've been building the city out that way recently, out along the old one-sixty highway, and it's not as remote as it was five years ago. Probably not even risky to go out there, if I could sneak past security."

His mind was spinning. "Go with Robbie? Naw, he wouldn't want to put his mom through another dangerous adventure with me anytime soon. Certainly nothing beyond the approved boundaries. But I know whom I'd love to invite out there with me. Daisy. That sweet, soft hand and scent of heaven. Besides, I need a reason to stay in contact with her. She's a catch. My God, she's a catch. I can't let some guy at her school nudge his way into something that could get very real here."

He gazed at the cast on his forearm, scheduled to come off soon. "She came to visit. Held this hand. It couldn't have only been pity, though I might effectively play that up a bit when the time comes. Pity for my injuries. Pity for the story about my dad, because I don't think she knows. And just like those hands, she has a soft heart. She'll understand my story. Near death experience. A need to get closer to my father, to his memory. Geez, this plan has the makings for a great opportunity to get to know her better. Maybe there's more that could happen. An abandoned location. A little scary. Sad recollections. Strong emotions. Nobody around to observe. Caressing. Kissing. Yes, even more than that. This is perfect!"

***

Sord took two weeks to fully develop his plan, though it relied on deviations from a few of the norms he had been taught since before he could remember. Given the risks, he wanted to avoid any possibility that others might find out. That meant convincing Daisy over vidscreen, which he knew was an inadequate substitute for being present in person.

"Hi, Daisy, how are you?" he exclaimed, positioning the vidscreen to prominently display the sling and cast he sported from the incident.

She was close to the camera, and he could only see her face. Her skin was unblemished but for a single mole beside her left lower lip. Though she was a mixture of races and cultures, common for Prosperity's citizens, her creamy almond skin from some not-so-distant Latino or African American blood was a perfect match to her auburn hair.

"I'm fine," she replied, staring at his arm. "Are you healing okay? You can't imagine how worried I've been, and I hadn't heard from you since the hospital."

That was a well-placed womanly hint, he understood. He was new at this activity, talking to a love interest, and she had caught him unprepared and inconsiderate. He didn't realize she might have been waiting for him to make the next move, to contact her. He was too busy hatching his plan, and he assumed she somehow would infer from his obscure activities how much he cared for her and that he was busy incubating a plan to see her again.