Dr.
Yolinda Glenbrook sat in front of the XP-340 computer in the underground
lab of ERA. Her curly brown hair was pulled backed into a tight
bun. Her small framed glasses sat on the edge of her round nose.
With her middle finger, she pushed them back and continued to
type. At her side, the holographic screen flickered the afternoon
news on mute. A fire flickered on the screen.
“Volume,”
Yolinda said as she watched the screen. The volume was turned
up to a moderate sound.
“A
building fire broke out in New York earlier today. Twelve were
found dead with many injured,” the news reporter said in
a deep Yorkshire accent.
“Off,”
Yolinda shouted. The holographic screen disappeared as Yolinda
continued to type. Yolinda removed her hands from the keyboard
and picked up The Mirror. She read the date: May 14, 3006.
“Yesterday’s.
Atlas?” A computer beeped. “Where is today’s paper?”
“Dr.
Wright has the paper,” the main computer said. Yolinda sighed
as she stood and walked to the large window of her office. Yolinda
Glenbrook lived in New York her whole life. As she moved through
her life, she dreamed of her job as a member of the federal government.
Once the United States went up after the loss of the southern
states, Yolinda moved to London to start her college education.
The world morphed and changed. Powers grew, empires fell until
there was peace with the countries but not within them. After
she graduated, Yolinda began her job as assistant examiner of
London’s ERA. An audible alarm sounded as a white and red
light flashed in the office.
“Atlas,
locate Dr. Wright.”
“Dr.
Douglas Wright. Location: 12 Downing Street.”
“Prime
Minister again. Atlas, locate emergency.”
“Emergency,
Location: Warwick Way.”
“Atlas,
inform Dr. Wright of the emergency. I am reporting there now.”
Yolinda grabbed her black bag and rushed down to the 170-story
building.
Bodies
lay on the floor on the 23rd floor of the Warwick Way building.
Dr. Douglas Wright walked from the elevator to the side of Yolinda.
“Amazing
how you can pull yourself away from the prime minister at a time
like this.”
“Very
funny, Dr. Glenbrook. Let us get to work.”
“I
have counted 72. Unless you have extra in your bag, we can’t
do anything.”
“There
are more downstairs. Let’s get to work.” Yolinda sighed
as she pushed her glasses back.
“Fine.”
Yolinda walked to a medium-built woman. The short blonde lay flat
on the stone floor as Yolinda kneeled down, opening her bag. She
removed a syringe filled with a caramel colored liquid, filling
half of the syringe. Yolinda lifted the upper lid and inserted
the steel needle into the glassy eyeball. She released all of
the liquid into the eye and placed the empty syringe into her
bag and moved to the next person.
After
the doctors finished, 72 men and women stood in the room, chattering
softly as Yolinda and Douglas stood on a platform.
“Everyone!
Please listen. I am Doctor Yolinda Glenbrook, this is Doctor Douglas
Wright. We are with the ERA, Emergency Revival Agency. You have
all been part of an experimental gassing by the government.”
The crowd talked louder, arguing the government’s use of
the people.
“Ladies
and gentlemen! Listen! You have all been injected with this, the
revival serum,” Yolinda said, holding up an extra syringe.
“And along with it, a nearly invisible life chip. If you
all can make two distinct lines, we will read the chips to assign
you to your respective doors.” The group stood reluctantly.
“Please
do as I say, or you will be severely punished.” The congregation
murmured as they moved to the lines in front of two men uniformed
in black garb.
Yolinda stood next to Douglas as the two lines reformed along
two buildings. A white door glistened in the late afternoon as
one by one, men and women entered. Farther down the line, men
were hugging and kissing their wives and children. Women bawled
as their husbands, boyfriends, or children clung to them. On the
opposite side, a red door beamed. Police were forcing the men
and women into the door as they fought and screamed. The officers
grabbed a man. He kicked the officers and ran. Before he took
another step, he was shocked with a lightning gun. Yolinda took
a deep breath.
“Something
wrong, Dr. Glenbrook?”
“This
just... doesn’t seem right. Why do we do this?”
“It
is our job.”
“Our
job is... When I was in New York, I heard that long ago, there
were no doors, revival serums, or life chips. The people believed
in two places called Heaven and Hell. The good people would go
to Heaven, a wonderful place filled with angels and the ancestors
of the people while the evil would go to Hell, a fiery place below
the earth’s crust where they are punished to unspeakable
lengths.”
“Isn’t
that what we are doing now?”
“No!
We are bringing people from the dead and making them go through
a door to the unknown.”
“It
is our job. Those who cross over are the only ones who know what
is on the other side. And for your information, we are ‘bringing
them back’ to tell their grieving loved ones goodbye.”
“Long
ago, the souls would go, not the bodies.”
“What
did they do with the bodies? Why not let the loved ones talk to
them before they go?”
“I
don’t know.”
“Your
memory is going bad.” Yolinda looked at her predecessor.
“I...
I didn’t mean...”
“Along
with your memory going, you are questioning the government. I
think we have a glitch,” Douglas said, turning to her. Yolinda
slowly backed away.
“I
never meant to! I was just asking a simple question.”
“Robots
aren’t supposed to ask question, just do as they are told.”
Douglas removed a black handheld console from his lab coat pocket.
With a flick of a switch, Yolinda Glenbrook fell to the ground.
Douglas clicked his watch as Atlas beeped.
“Atlas,
have respondents come and pick up Dr. Glenbrook and have her repaired.
Also, when I return to the lab, have a new assistant ready.”
Atlas responded with a beep. Douglas walked down the grassy knoll
between the buildings as the sun set on another day.
