I step outside. My visor buzzes and tightens, telling me I am leaving my office early. Grunting, I sit on a nearby bus bench. My visor buzzes and chimes like a cash register, indicating I’ve paid my fare for the bus. I don’t want to ride the bus. I type in my passcode to stop the tightening and acknowledge the two notifications, then stand up.
My visor tightens and buzzes again, warning me my bus has not arrived yet and I need to sit back down. I obey, only to type in my passcode so I can silence the bus notifications. Finally, I stand up and make my way towards the Lord Christ Long Cock Tower. My visor’s arrows blink and spin, confused because I am not walking towards my apartment. I inform its navigation features of my destination via voice activation.
“Navi-App, take me to the Lord Christ Long Cock Tower.”
The arrows in my eyesight snap to attention in an instant, telling me to walk straight ahead. The tower is only a few blocks away, unobstructed from my sight. The giant hole at the top of the building shows skeletal scaffolding sticking out like metallic teeth inside a smoking mouth. As I walk, listening to the advertisements chirping in the wind, I feel the gears start to spin under my feet. A wall slides in front of me.
The arrows in my Navi-App tell me to turn left. I follow the new path the city has decided for me, as the wall is too high to climb. I pass a street steak vendor. He barks;
“Get your steaks here, men! Nice medium steaks! Steaks of all kinds!” he stops his yelling when I pass, nods with hearts glowing out of his visor, and starts barking again when I’m out of his sight.
The smell of his steaks gives me stomach cramps. Another wall down the street slides forward towards me. I am now boxed in, in all directions with two other women. We turn our heads simultaneously. Our Navi-Apps point towards the opened door to a Microbe Salad Bar.
I step in with the others and feel my visor buzz, shine green, and chime. Since I am already being charged, I grab the nearest microbe salad container with my thumb and index finger, and walk out the exit. I slurp the tiny contents down and toss the empty container in a walking trash can passing by. Watching the robot full of garbage walk away, I try to remember what I was doing. My Navi-App’s arrow blinks, thinking I’m cancelling whatever journey I’m in the middle of, but then I see it.
The advertisements start to set in the West. I see them in the open sky in front of me, not obstructed by a giant building. This is what jogs my memory.
“Navi-App,” I say, turning my head, “Take me to the Lord Christ Long Cock Tower.” The arrow stops blinking and points. I follow.
A bus hovers overhead, empty. It is the same route I paid for by mistake. I’m close to the Fun Words office again. The skyscrapers pivot and march towards me, all except one. Walls crawl out of the sidewalks and walk across streets.
My visor tightens, buzzes, and screams in my ears. It complains that I’ve used it too much. It has a low battery. I keep walking. I’m getting closer to the LCLC Tower.
I think about my sister, telling me how her co-workers are trying to unionize. ‘The Moon is a mess,’ she’d say on every call. I think about Rebel Saint, the terrorist who is tired of digging, just like her. Rebel Saint is still out there, probably planning their next defiant move. I can’t help but feel inspired to take matters into my own hands more often and ruffle some feathers.
My visor screams a funeral song, buzzes its last buzz, and dies. The head gear loosens and falls off. It crashes on the vibrating street below, shattering into several pieces. I think about the message written by Rebel Saint using smoke in the sky, “We shall be free.” I’m now starting to understand. I pick up the pieces and see with my own eyes.