Earth – US – New State – Day 36/365
“If the advertisements weren’t so loud outside, we would’ve heard it coming first. Instead, we saw it. The smoke snaked and squiggled familiar shapes in the sky.
‘What the hell is that?’ asked Libby, before taking another bite of her microbe salad.
‘Whatever it is, it is spelling something out,’ I answered.
I got out of my seat and aimed my visor’s zooming lens towards the wobbling craft. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I saw it before. The driver of the vehicle had to be on fire with the rest of his contraption.
‘Well, what is it spelling out?’ my lunchmate asked. She was scanning the NonStop News ticker in her visor vision. ‘No one is reporting on it yet, Shelley. We can be the first!’
‘Look for yourself!’ I shouted, pointing with my fork. I read what the rocket wrote up to that point, ‘We shall be…’
‘I can’t read that at all! I guess it’s in cursive,’ said Libby. She stood up next to me, and caught the footage of the rocket finishing the message.
‘We shall be free.’
Then it hit Lord Christ Long Cock’s tower. Libby submitted the footage. I wrote the article. My employer–”
–
“Fun Words,” Captain Spikez interrupts.
“Yes, Fun Words published the article, and the rest is history.”
“You don’t realize the gravity of this situation, do you?” he says, crossing his arms.
“Look, I don’t think you realize how typical my article is. Fun Words publishes several articles a day criticizing and making fun of Lord Christ Long Cock. We’re a comedy site. What’s so–”
“I bet Lord Christ Long Cock will have all of Fun Words deleted once I send him my report. Your visor will be severely limited as punishment for your stupid article, and your partner will be executed,” says Captain Spikez. He stands up and claps his hands to show he’s done with his visit to our office.
“My partner?” I ask.
“Your ‘friend’ Libby,” he says, winking a beady eye. “If it wasn’t for the video, no one would’ve noticed, nor cared.”
–
It is taking me much longer to get home tonight. My visor’s navigation is limited to the free trial version, and my wall-blocker is uninstalled. I have to follow whatever path the city was paid to create for me. I walk past several stores and restaurants I’d be interested in if I wasn’t so tired. The advertisements sing at full volume. My messages to Libby have failed to deliver.
It’s odd how quickly our article started to trend. Something about the rocket being one of Lord Christ Long Cock’s own Moon mining rigs crashing into his own tower must’ve been irresistible to click on. That driver really wanted to have his message, “We shall be free,” seen by all. Maybe I’m just dumb, but I don’t know why such a stupid, generic sentence was to die for.
I have a headache. My visor feels tighter tonight. My apartment lights do not turn on automatically, as my visor no longer connects. It takes me two attempts to get my passcode right. My eyes are finally free from the electric glass and my head is free from the tight wiry strap.
The headpiece buzzes as soon as I put it down on its charging station. I walk to the kitchen. My vending machine charges me for the fresh microbe salad it spits out. I shake the tiny package to make sure it is all mixed and ready to eat. Walking back to my living room, I still hear my visor buzzing.
My sister is calling from the Moon. I put my visor back on to say hello. She says, “Is that all you have to say? After what we did?”
Very cool intro. I'm hooked on the Long Cock Chronicles 🫡🫨