{"id":2205,"date":"2021-01-30T17:19:20","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T00:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2205"},"modified":"2021-01-30T17:19:20","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T00:19:20","slug":"family-is-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/30\/family-is-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Is Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt:\u00a0Write about someone who discovers the only family member they have left has just betrayed them….<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something not quite human in me. When I should be grieving a loss, I find myself oddly serene. In the moments when others panic, I\u2019m met with a calm that makes it easy to weigh my options and choose a course of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was warned, of course. The more implants I collected, the greater the impact on my humanity. After the corporate wars divvied up the planet between the victors it seemed I had little reason to care any longer. I knew<\/em> my family was gone. By the time my little sister found me, and I found out she was still alive, it was too late. Still, for her sake, I had to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least, that\u2019s what I told myself. The truth of the matter is that I felt empty. There had to be some bit of my old self left, somewhere. And I had no one I could trust, save her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNika,\u201d I told her, \u201cyou should come stay with me in Seattle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy,\u201d she asked, \u201cdon\u2019t you come stay with me in Columbus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We argued whether the A-Zed Corp rule was better or worse than OxanCorp. I tried to play the big brother\/little sister card; unsuccessfully of course. Finally, it was the proximity to the ocean, and the fact that I lived in an apartment rather than a shack, that won her over; either that or I\u2019m just more stubborn than she is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrey,\u201d she asked over our first breakfast together since I left home at eighteen, \u201cwhat were you doing in the war? Drafted by A-Zed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrivate data courier service,\u201d I answered. \u201cA-Zed felt it was safe enough to let me continue, as I was useful for moving messages and data to other Corps, both allied and not. I know you were too young to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot even. When Oxan took Columbus, they recruited soldiers starting at age sixteen, and scouts starting at age twelve.\u201d She pushed her eggs around the plate. \u201cWhen QualCorp glassed the city and Mom and Dad\u2014\u201d She fell silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s too hard to talk about, you don\u2019t have to,\u201d I said. \u201cI just want you to know I\u2019m here for you, any time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you, really?\u201d she asked. \u201cYou don\u2019t seem here at all. All that shit in your brain has you messed up. I just hope you\u2019re still in there somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nika set her fork down and looked at me with a question in her eyes. \u201cFriends may come and go; acquaintances show up never; work may ebb and flow\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…but family is forever,\u201d I added. \u201cSo, this is the way things are, the only way things must\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026if family ever fails, there\u2019s no one left to trust,\u201d she finished. \u201cDo you trust me?\u201d She reached across the small table to take my hand in hers. If the jack ports on my wrist bothered her, she didn\u2019t show it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do,\u201d I answered. \u201cYou\u2019re the only<\/em> person in the world I trust. You didn\u2019t have to break out dad\u2019s poem for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d Her eyes grew misty. She rose and began picking up the plates. \u201cI have to go find a job. Mooching off your ill-gotten gains is fun, but hardly sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy would you assume that?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one has those kinds of enhancements unless they\u2019re a hacker.\u201d She waved a dismissive hand. \u201cI don\u2019t want to know who you\u2019re working for or anything, as long as you stay safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m off to find an honest job,\u201d she said. \u201cWish me luck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood luck.\u201d I felt I should say more, something positive and uplifting, but nothing came to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she was out, it was time for me to earn some more of those \u201cill-gotten gains.\u201d I made my money selling information; information that I stole from others. A-Zed looked the other way, as long as I and others like me weren\u2019t stealing the info from them, and as long as they got a chance to bid on it, and a cut of whatever sold elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I didn\u2019t have a definitive target, I thought I\u2019d do some snooping to see who might be able to offer a job to Nika. Perhaps I could find her something she\u2019d excel at. I sent half a dozen listings to her, already resigned to the complaints she\u2019d have when she got back to the apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I happened across a nice little bit of information about one of A-Zed\u2019s allied corporations: their capital position was severely compromised. After shopping it around for the highest bidder, I offered it to A-Zed. As usual, they offered a reasonable, but not quite as high bid. I was free to sell it to someone else and cut them in, but A-Zed was just as free to decide I couldn\u2019t live in their territory any longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh credits in my account, I took a walk through the city. My cybernetic eyes watched the city around me in colors I never saw when I was still totally human. The data that poured in via my enhancements floated in front of me in a virtual heads-up display. The skyscrapers stood proud above the damp, grey squalor beneath them. Shacks of wood and tin interspersed with tents showing their inhabitants in infrared formed the majority of the housing in the city. There used to be more land here, but as the sea rose, a quarter of the city fell into the sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stopped at the corner mart on the way home to pick up some dinner. Most days I lived on sludge packs; all the nutrients I need without thinking about flavor or texture. It meant no cooking or washing dishes, too. I figured, however, Nika might like some actual food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u201cRice wine or beer?\u201d I asked when she came in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave anything stronger?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought I\u2019d drink my dinner,\u201d Nika said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I served up instant dinners with beer. \u201cHow about we save that for after<\/em> you get some food in you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She didn\u2019t respond, but she did wolf down the microwave beef and broccoli after draining the beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t go well today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d She threw the container in the trash and began rummaging through the cupboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGlasses are in the left top cupboard, whiskey\u2019s in there too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She grabbed two large glasses and the whiskey and crossed the room to the seating area. \u201cYou joining me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took the bottle from her and poured us both two fingers. As I sat in the broken-down chair in front of the tele-screen, she doubled her pour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have the sense that I should be concerned,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I\u2019ll leave it to you to decide whether to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She downed the drink and poured another. \u201cIt\u2019s just been a rough day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you check the listings I sent you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shook her head. \u201cI wanted to do it on my own, but I\u2019ll check those tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took my time with my drink. Not because I wanted to savor it, but because I didn\u2019t feel like getting drunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI missed you. I still miss you,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt took me so long to find you again. I thought you might be dead.\u201d She took a slug of whiskey. \u201cBy the time I found you, you were already\u2026\u201d she waved her hand at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought you<\/em> were dead,\u201d I said. \u201cAfter the nuke in Columbus, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nika downed her fourth or fifth and gave me a curious look. \u201cYou\u2019re an asshole, did you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t aware of that, no.\u201d I thought about what she might be referring to. \u201cIs it about the listings?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d she said, \u201cjust in general.\u201d She laughed and stopped short. Her eyes bored into mine. \u201cGod, you really are<\/em> messed up, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMessed up how?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForget it.\u201d She poured another round for both of us and turned on the tele-screen. We watched the A-Zed news for a while before she called it a night and tucked herself into the spare cot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I lay down in my cot and set myself to breathing evenly. Nika\u2019s breathing became erratic, and she began to cry. Not knowing how to respond I pretended to be out and listened until she cried herself to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I heated up breakfast, ignoring the tear stains on her cheeks when she woke. \u201cShower\u2019s free, breakfast in five.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nika nodded and carried a change of clothes into the small bathroom. The shower ran for the allotted three minutes of hot water, and she emerged shortly after in fresh clothes. The circles under her eyes betrayed her lack of sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pointed to her plate as I dug into my own breakfast. She sat and began eating. \u201cYou have any coffee?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope, don\u2019t drink it,\u201d I said. \u201cI can pick some up this afternoon, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need some this morning.\u201d She finished her eggs and stood. \u201cYou\u2019re coming with me today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy is that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need my big brother for moral support,\u201d she said. \u201cPlus, you need to show me where to get a good cup of coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

We walked past the corner mart and she stopped me. \u201cThey have coffee here, don\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought you wanted good<\/em> coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave you had the coffee here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said, \u201cbut it always smells burnt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked as though she was holding back tears. \u201cDo you trust me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think I would ever do anything to hurt you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course not,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pulled me into the little store and ordered a large coffee, and kept adding on to her order: cream, sugar, vanilla, a sprinkle of cocoa, whipped cream. When she ran out of things to add on, she talked to the cashier. Even before my enhancements I wasn\u2019t one for small talk, but she seemed to have a gift for it. She glanced at the clock on the wall and looked surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019ve been rattling on,\u201d she said. \u201cI should let you get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walked out of the mart and I found myself being bundled into a van by two large men with weapons. \u201cRun, Nika!\u201d I yelled. There was no panic, just the calm observation that doing anything else contrary to their demands would result in a negative outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The logo on the men\u2019s holsters was that of OxanCorp. If they were caught kidnapping civilians in A-Zed territory it could turn nasty. \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The men cuffed me to a rail in the van and shackled my feet together. If they thought I was dangerous, I might be able to work out an escape plan. They hadn\u2019t grabbed Nika as they were focused solely on me. The front door opened, and I couldn\u2019t see who else got in, but then we started moving toward the free zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuh, I only saw two of you,\u201d I said. \u201cWell played.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrey, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Nika said from the front seat, \u201cbut it\u2019s for your own good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNika?\u201d The calm broke; the formerly placid surface of my mind rippled as all my constructs of reality crumbled. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking you to an Oxan clinic in Reno,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ll pull all that shit out of your head and get you healed up again. I want my brother back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt fear for the first time in years. With it came a pain I couldn\u2019t name or point to. My sister, my last hope for feeling human again, had sold me out. Tears burned as they ran down my cheeks. \u201cI trusted you! You can\u2019t do this to me. It will<\/em> kill me!\u201d The panic in my voice surprised me. \u201cThe nano-structures are well into my brain stem by this point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo!\u201d Nika\u2019s voice was sharp. \u201cThey\u2019ve got the best nano-surgeons and tools. I signed a life contract with them to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd if I refuse?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Grey, that\u2019s not an option.\u201d Nika\u2019s voice broke. \u201cAs soon as I saw how far gone you were, I got a power of attorney from an Oxan judge. You\u2019re not of fit mind to maintain your own health. Until you are, I\u2019m making the decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s<\/em> what you were doing yesterday. Did you ever love me,\u201d I asked, \u201cor just the idea<\/em> of a big brother?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did and I do, but you\u2019re too messed up to see it now.\u201d Nika grabbed the rearview mirror and adjusted so she could see me. Her tears flowed without hesitation. \u201cA-Zed\u2019s been using you. You\u2019re not a free agent or consultant or whatever. If you were, you\u2019d be living in the free zone, instead of an apartment owned by them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought you didn\u2019t know or care to know who I worked for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can put two and two together,\u201d she said. \u201cYou live in a corporate apartment, you work for the corporation, even if they let you think you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked away from her, no longer able to see my sister in the reflection. I pulled my legs in under me and curled up into a ball. \u201cThere\u2019s no one left to trust.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt:\u00a0Write about someone who discovers the only family member they have left has just betrayed them…. available at Reedsy There\u2019s something not quite human in me. When I should be grieving a loss, I find …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[226,214,210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-cyberpunk","tag-drama","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-zz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2205"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2206,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2205\/revisions\/2206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}