Chapter 2

Elias and Kristie shared her self-driving car on the way home as they always did because they lived across from one another in the same apartment building.

"Want to come over? I don't feel like sitting around alone in my tiny apartment," Kristie asked him.

"You act like mine is any different. It's all the space we need..."

"Unless you want to collect things or have a backyard. Those are only for the select elite."

"Most of them don't have it either. Are you just in a mood to complain about everything?" Elias crossed his arms as they stood at their front doors.

"Yes, because I'm tired of the same things day in and day out, and I'm tired of having AI watching us everywhere."

"Well, it saved humanity; what do you expect? You know how the story went. Humanity was on the brink of complete destruction, and AI is what brought everything back into order. We practically don't have crime anywhere on the planet anymore."

"Other than..." Kristie looked out the window. "Out there. We know there are outsiders around who choose not to live like the rest of us."

"Oh, so you want to join them now? I don't think you could cut it without your cushy bed and morning tea."

"Don't you wonder what coffee is like? I heard they used to drink it all day, every day."

"I've heard about it, but there were addictive qualities."

"What doesn't have that?" She threw her hands into the air. "You coming over or what?"

"To listen to you complain some more? No thanks."

She stuck out her bottom lip, pouting. "But it's going to be boring."

"Then find a new hobby or invite another friend. Oh, right, you don't have any other friends."

"That's... completely true, so don't leave me hanging."

"Yeah, yeah; don't give me the puppy dog look. I'll come over, but maybe rein in the AI bashing. You know they don't like that and have ears everywhere."

"What are they going to do to me here?" Kristie scanned her hand and let him into her apartment.

"Same thing as out there, minus the school environment part of it." He chuckled and flopped down on her couch, loosening his tie.

"Think I can just cover it with a blanket—"

"You mean each spot? Even our meals are given by AI."

"And they limit snacks," she sighed.

"I bet you'd be huge if they didn't, food thief."

"You started that one." She sat beside him and leaned in close. "Since you're the researcher at school, you know a thing or two about it about AI, right? Like say... how to get by without it complaining?"

"Stop doing bad things."

"I mean, how do I get into the cryo room and wake him up without getting into trouble?"

"The system would have to go down for that to happen."

She smiled at him.

"Don't give me that look. I'm not breaking into that room for you."

"You don't have to break into the room; it's easy to get into, but AI won't let me wake them up." Not that I'd know how to.

"I don't think it's a good idea either, so I'm not helping you."

"Fine," she huffed and sat back, arms crossed, as she stared out the window.

"I don't want to get into trouble!"

"..."

"If I turn off the power for any amount of time, they'll know it was me."

"What about just the camera? And let me know how to open the pod without it trying to shock me." At just the thought of it, she remembered the zap she got last time and shook her hand.

"That's part of the security system. You realize you're asking a lot of me because you like his face. You know nothing about this man—"

Kristie's face lit up. "Don't they have a list of names for them? There should be a record. What if I find out what type of person he is? Will you help me then?"

"No."

"Aw, come on."

"Give it up; I'm not helping you with this, and I don't know why you'd think I would. It's selfish of you to try to push this on me. I thought we were best friends..." He sighed and looked away from her this time.

Kristie thought about it for a moment and her shoulders slouched. "I'm sorry; you're right. But if I happen to get him out unnoticed, you won't rat on me, right?"

The light suddenly went out.

"What in the world?" Kristie looked out the window to see the rest of the city dark. "A power outage? And it's more than a flicker... Has that ever happened before?"

"Not in my lifetime. That's weird; even my watch isn't working." He poked at the screen, expecting his holographic buttons to appear. "This can't be good."

"Should we check things out?"

"We're better off waiting. They're probably making repairs as we speak."

"But what if this is more than a power issue?" Kristie approached her door and touched the pad, but it wouldn't open. "Guess even doors don't work. If no one can leave their house, how can they do repairs?"

"The people who monitor the system will fix it. There're always people there... at least a couple of them, anyway."

"Does this mean AI is down?"

"Guess so."

"You can get me out of here, right?"

"Not without a computer or explosives, no."

"Damn."

"Even now, you're thinking about him?" He let out a frustrated sigh. "You're incorrigible." They sat in silent darkness for a while, waiting.

The lights flickered and turned back on.

"See? It's already fixed. No need to worry and trudge down the doomsday thought line."

"Doomsday? I was hoping to use it to my advantage, but it didn't last long enough, and I need more tech-savvy friends."

"Hey! You don't need another go-to. I can't help it if all the systems went down; I was locked in here with you."

"That's what I mean; I need more people who can help."

"You'd probably scare them all away," Elias mumbled. "Well, if I'm no longer needed, I'm going home."

"Eh? I thought you were going to keep me company?"

"And I did, but you just want to break that guy out." He held his hands up. "I will have no part in it, and I'm getting tired of you talking about him, so I suggest you think about something else. I'll see you tomorrow." Elias headed to his apartment.

Guess I shouldn't push it; I don't want to lose my only friend.