Ty, a shift manager with an alcoholic wife, creates a female replicant in a dystopia veering toward full mechanization. For Ty, the surreal drudgery of working in a retail environment is interrupted when robotic interfaces are installed at his job...
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Save her.
Boy, was Damon trying.
As he had for the past three nights, he combed over the CAD boards, delving deeper into the web. The work did keep Damon up well into the mornings. He believed the research to be well-worth it. When he brought what he knew to his brother, everything would be set into motion, and there'd be no going back.
A rush of adrenaline hit him as he considered this.
Is this what Ty felt?
Printing another person had to induce a rush unlike any other. With it came the knowledge of defiance, of invoking the ire of the State, of perversion.
What Damon was attempting was another type of reversal of expectations. Usually, he enjoyed formulas, adhering to what was expected. In the case of Sam, expectations always flew out the window.
He scoured the online spaces, hoping to find a clue as to where he could start to look for her.
Then:
MY SISTER, LABELED UN-DILIGENT, WAS TAKEN. THIS HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE?
The post was five-months old, and Damon clicked on it, reading for similarities. The replies were less than helpful, some of them scathing. One reply from user dunno129 read:
THIS HAPPENED TO ME, TOO. A FRENCH REPORTER REACHED OUT TO HEAR MY STORY. SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE THIS WAS HAPPENING AND WANTED PROOF. I COULDN'T FIND MY COUSIN, SO SHE DROPPED THE STORY.
French reporter.
Damon's mind reeled with the fresh avenue of detail opening before him. International journalists. Of course.
The State had been rumored to suppress "fake news," or rather, reports deemed inappropriate or untrue because it would make the State look bad. They couldn't stop other countries from compiling reports.
Damon clicked on dunno129's profile, and sent a message. His mind thrummed with possibilities as he continued combing threads and responses. However, he found nothing as compelling as dunno129's reply.
Hours later, eyes and shoulders drooping, he slowly pressed the necessary buttons to awake the 3-D printer for a before-dawn breakfast of his favorite: composite bacon and eggs.
While chewing the overly-chewy bacon, the computer rang with a ping!, indicating he'd received a message.
Perking up slightly, Damon clicked the message. He read the reply from dunno129, and then re-read it.
By the time he finished digesting the information, and the food, excitement had fully energized him, and he felt the last vestiges of wakefulness coursing through him. Enough to craft one more message, thanks to dunno129 supplying him with the reporter's contact info.
