Chapter 20:

Monday, 4/15/2216, Part 4

Help! I'm Addicted to Cyber Drugs in a Dystopian City


We ended up at The Office. 

I didn’t really know where to go, but I didn’t want Seitaro to know that. It was either this or TV Party and it came down to would I rather have Seitaro run into ChingWei or K. ChingWei, obviously. Who knows what Seitaro would do to K if he found out she was unbound.

I pointed at the sign screen as we walked in. “Good n-name right?”

“Yeah.” Seitaro said, absentmindedly. Despite all our efforts to think about something else, we were still both pretty frazzled after finding out one of our childhood heroes had been terminated seven years ago. Beer would help.

ChingWei wasn’t there, but there were four sad salary men sitting at one end of the bar watching the broadcast screen together. I probably wouldn’t want to make waiting on the declaration of interplanetary war a group activity, but to each his own I guess.

Seitaro picked up on it too.

“They want it to happen.” He messaged me as we walked by the group and all the empty seats beside them to sit at the opposite end of the bar.

“Gross.” I mutter.

Search for networks, select The Office, network joined successfully. Select The Office menu, select specials, select beer & shot. Select beer, PBJ, select shot, well tequila. Order x2. ‘You will be charged 22 credits’, select accept.

“Ok, what to drink?” Seitaro asked.

“Beer and shot.”

“What shot?”

“Tequila.”

“Dope, I’ll get the next round.” He said as our drinks rolled out.

“N-no, it’s ok. I got you tonight.”

He smiled and picked up his shot, raising it towards me. I picked mine up too.

“L’chiam!” He said.

“To us.” I said.

We tapped our shot glasses on the bar and then put them back. I didn’t even choke this time. I might be getting good at drinking.

Seitaro put his glass back on the bar where it began to slowly roll away. He plopped down onto his stool facing me, eyes fixated on mine, one elbow leaning on the bar.

“Ok. Let's get to it.” He said as I took my own seat and tried to look back at him with the same intensity. He seemed to take that as a challenge and leaned in until his face was inches from mine before asking “Come clean. How much shock have you been loading?”

An irrational panic tore through my chest as I did my best to stay perfectly still.

“I… I… What?” Was all I could manage.

“Don’t lie, not to me. I know you, and I’ve seen you. You’ve been stammering since we linked and your emotions are shifting all over the place fast. You probably didn’t have any last night did you?”

“I—” I tried to protest but he cut me off.

"And the blind spot in your left eye is gigantic.”

I turned my whole head left to see his index finger pointing right at me. I hadn’t noticed his arm on the bar snaking towards the side of my head or the outstretched finger nearly poking my eye.

“Fuck!” I yelled, jumping and falling out of my stool. I looked up from the grey linoleum to see the salary men briefly looking over at me before turning back to the broadcast. I felt the blood boil up my cheeks.

“You asshole. You know, I f-forgot what a piece of shit you are.”

He got up from his stool and offered me a hand. “That’s how you feel?”

“No.” I admitted as he helped me up. When we were both reseated I continued. “I guess I’ve been doing a bit.”

“I can tell. And listen, I’m not twell. I’m not the… hahaha, actually I guess I am the feds,” that made me smile too. “And look, I’m no stranger to dope. You know that. I’ve even loaded some shock myself, just to see. But I am your friend, and I’m worried to see the signs on you.”

“I… I appreciate that, I really do. You’re my best friend and I get that you’re worried. It’s just not that serious, I promise.” I lied.

He turned in his seat and leaned back against the bar for a moment before suddenly swiveling back to face me.

“Who programs the shock?” He asked.

“Fuck, I don’t know, programmers?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head as if my response had caused him physical pain.

“Ok, let’s do it like this. You know why NAC drugs are illegal?”

“Cause it fucks your brain up?”

“Hahaaaa,” he fake laughed, “Fam! When has the government ever cared about its people’s health?”

“Then why?”

“Because legality is a weapon, and illegality can be an incentive.”

“Incentive?” He was rambling, and I was confused. “Why?”

“That’s just how they chose to play it. Mind alteration is powerful and useful and so it’s useful to the powerful. That’s all it is.”

“They being the government?”

He sighed as if that were the dumbest question he ever heard.

“Who makes NACs?”

“What is this, a test? EarthGov.”

“Thats right, EarthGov designs, manufactures, and produces them, everywhere, for everyone, even on Mars.”

“Yeah… so?” I asked.

Seitaro was super intense sometimes. I had almost forgotten but it’s very uncomfortable.

He sucked his teeth.

“I forgot you’re extra dumb on purpose sometimes.” He waited and when I still didn’t answer he continued. “Who paved your street?”

“MacroHard I think.”

“Ok, who operated our high school?”

“Orange, obviously. That’s how you got on track for your job.”

“Who operates the hospital you went to last?”

“Plex, had to be for my insurance.”

“Who colonized mars?”

“Edison”

“What party does your congress person belong to.”

“Independent” I say with a smile.

He gave me a look.

“What party does your ‘independent’ congressperson caucus with?”

“Bosawas.”

“Right. Who runs Earth’s military?”

“The Big 4 Joint Strategic Defense Initiative, they own my company through Plex.” Ok. I might see where he was going with this super annoying game of 20 questions.

“Who operates the police in your neighborhood?”

“Yeah, yeah I get it, The Big 4 + 1 owns everything, What’s your point?”

“Bruh! Think about it for one second. Everything is monopolized by gigantic capital conglomerates, everything, except the NAC.”

“Ok?”

“Arguably the most crucial resource.”

“Ok, and? Isn’t it supposed to be like that?”

“Is it?”

“I don’t know bro.” I say leaning back and grabbing my beer.

"You tell me."

I was getting frustrated. He always loved speaking in riddles and I always hated solving them.

“No, you tell me! Why is it that the most crucial monopoly is controlled by EarthGov?” I asked to get it over with.

He shrugged.

“Ok, you’re starting to piss me off.”

He laughed at that, despite its depth it was that same excited childlike laugh that I had heard so many times before. It was comforting to hear again.

“Be easy killa, I don’t want no trouble.” he said. After the laughter had run its course he continued “I’m just gonna ask you this, why are we going to war with Mars?”

“Why do you do this Seitaro?”

“To prepare you, you need to think.”

I shook my head in mock sorrow. “You know, I was kind of hoping that working for the most powerful institutions in human history would make you cut it out with the conspiracy theories.”

“Never! Never never never! In fact it only leads to more questions. You’ll see what I mean soon.”

“I don’t think I want to.”

“Oh you do, I guarantee it. But you’ll have to get a clean psychological evaluation before you start.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Why?” I asked cautiously.

“Well, you can get away with the party drugs, but shock is an interesting case. I’ll explain why when you’re being less stupid but you’ll have to kick it first, and fast.”

“W-when?”

“Any second now.”

A cheer went up from the men at the opposite end of the bar. Seitaro nodded at the screen and I spun around to look. It was a unified press conference with representatives from each of the big 4 affixing their company seals to a giant document.

I spun back to face him. The broadcast continued to play in the corner of my vision but I paid no attention to it.

“There it is. The Second Martian War is officially declared. Several hiring opportunities are now officially open. We’ve suddenly got openings for drone operators and missile technicians… and you know what? There’s an opening for a mechanic.”

“Huh?”

“Soon the missiles will launch and we’ll have about a month, month and a half before impact. I’ma need you to be ready in the next two, maaaybe three weeks.”

I stared at him, wide eyed and dumbstruck. Either he had lost it or I had.

“W-what?”

The broadcast was showing missiles rising from their silos. The men at the bar cheered again when one launched.

Seitaro smiled his brightest gap-toothed smile.

“Stop being extra slow. I’m saying I can offer your bum ass a government job.”