Born Again from a Strike of Lightning

  Chapter 7: Where the Woods Give Way to the City

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  The drive to the next town ended up taking thirty minutes in total. We passed through the woods until we came to a grand clearing in which the next habitation was located. It was less of a town and more of a city. Stumps existed where the forest had been cut down to support its growth. There were a surprising amount of wooden buildings despite the fact that they were no longer the standard.

  “Why are so many of the houses made of wood?” I asked the driver.

  “It’s the style of the town. It’s rustic, and they like it that way. According to what the locals say, their inspiration from the town comes from the ones they used to have on Earth in the heartlands of the old United States.”

  “It does have that sort of charm.”

  “Have you been there?”

  “No, but I’ve seen pictures.”

  “Hmm. Think you’ll ever go there one day?”

  “I’m not sure. It depends on what I decide to do with my future.”

  “Do you have any ideas so far?”

  “Not many. The only real plan I had was to go back into space. Perhaps apply to work on a shipping crew. I’m not sure if I want to do that anymore though. I’m growing somewhat attached to the ground. This is the first time I’ve spent any real time planetside, you know.”

  “So you’re trying to figure out what you could do here?”

  “What would I do here?”

  “What did you do on that ship you served on?”

  “I was an assistant, and a janitor. I mostly cleaned, repaired simple things, and helped the human members of the crew with tasks they couldn’t do on their own.”

  “That sounds like a maintenance person with extra steps. There are a lot of jobs you could apply to do.”

  “With what experience? Everything I know how to do is likely outdated now. For the most part, I’m starting from scratch.”

  “That’s a good point. Is there anything you would like to learn to do?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is that I don’t want to rely on you and your family for too much longer. I feel useless when I’m taking, and not giving.”

  “You’ve only been with us a day, hun. Give yourself some slack. If you’re still on my couch in a few months, then that might be a different story. I’ll probably push you to start contributing to the table then.”

  “I’d like to be contributing now.”

  “Give it a few days, maybe even a few weeks. Let’s get all of your stuff in order, and then you can start figuring out things. Well, actually, start thinking things over now. Once everything is in order, we can get you a license, a job, and the other stuff. You’ll still be welcome at our home though. You can stay on the couch as long as you need, as long as you’re helping out.”

  “But I’m not helping out, am I?”

  “You are a little bit. Walking the dogs and helping with chores is enough for now. Now, let's go see the town. It’s called Northwood.”

  “Don’t try to distract me.”

  “Don’t argue with me. Trust me, Victoria, you do not want to argue with me. I’ve honed my skills by dealing with two boys who think they know the world.”

  “Fine. Let’s see the town then.”

  “Good. We will. First we’ll get that identity stuff taken care of though.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Of course, hun.”

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  My head rocked against the wall behind it as the camera flashed to take a photograph of me. With how easy it was to change the body of a synthetic, it seemed rather silly to keep a picture for the records.

  “It’ll be a long process, but we should be able to get you your full citizenship given everything. It won’t be very quick, but for now, we can keep you here on a temporary visa. Politely, do not leave the immediate area until the process is complete.” said the woman standing behind the secretarial desk.

  “Can I go home? I live in a town thirty minutes away from here.”

  “Yes, that’s fine. I meant the country. Do not leave the country until you’ve been sorted out.”

  “I can promise that I won’t.”

  The secretary looked at me as if they were looking down like a judgmental god.

  “You’d better keep that promise. I feel sympathy for you for the position you’re in, but protocol is protocol, and it has to be followed. Make sure to follow it. I’ll give you a booklet, if you need. It’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

  “No download?”

  “Not in this instance.”

  “Please, then. The booklet would be helpful.”

  “I’ll go get it. Wait here.”

  I did as she asked as she left to enter a backroom out of my sight. Mariana was waiting behind at the other end of the building. She’d said she could help, but I wanted to figure things out on my own. It had worked out at least. I’d figured it all out for the most part.

  My processing number had been found in a sea of code and they’d relisted me as being a living being rather than a pile of scrap rusting somewhere unknown. An application had been put in to recognize me as a citizen of both Hesperia and the Union of the Three, with the three being Mars, Earth, and Venus. I’d be allowed to travel to those places if I wished to. I just had to wait for the application to be approved, and it almost certainly would be. Things were actually as easy as I thought they were initially going to be. It was a good thing I’d woken up in such a time as I did, though it was indeed surprising how easy it was to be recognized as a person after all the time I’d been gone. It must have been a somewhat common problem if they had such a streamlined process for it.

  “I wonder how often people come walking out of the wilds like I did…” I questioned in a whisper.

  “Often enough, dear.” answered the returning secretary.

  “So I’m not the first you’ve dealt with?”

  “Not at all. It has been a little while though.”

  “Who was the first?”

  “An old businessman who froze himself until they could find a cure to the tumor in his head.”

  “Who was the most complicated?”

  “An entire species of previously undiscovered aliens who lived underground before we terraformed Mars. Apparently we almost drove them to extinction. I still wonder about that though. I find it questionable that hundreds of years passed without anyone noticing them.”

  “According to the document I was given when the doctors fixed me up, the governments of Mars mostly hid the knowledge of their existence, and paid off people who discovered them. That conspiracy worked up until multiple good Samaritans discovered their tombs at once.”

  “That’s the official story, but I still question it. It’s difficult to believe that our government would hide such crimes. Maybe the Tyrian government, but not the Hesperian government.”

  “Sometimes people inherit bad situations and do bad things to try to make them better. Your government did what it did on the assumption that doing anything else would cause mass civil unrest. The assumption ended up being false, but it’s not the most difficult process to see where they were coming from.”

  “I suppose. Let’s get back to the original topic though. This subject has nothing to do with what we need to do for you, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Here’s your documents. Read through them thoroughly.”

  “I will, and how will I know if the application is approved?”

  “I’ll need an address and a method of contacting you. Do you have anything in the way of communicating? An email? A phone?”

  “No, but the person housing me does. She’s over there.” I said, pointing to Mariana. “Mariana, can you come over here? I need your help with something.”

  She shook her head and pulled herself up, walking slowly to us.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “I need an email and a home mailing address.”

  “Oh, yeah. Let me write them down for you.”

  “Here’s a piece of paper.” the secretary said, handing a note and a pen to Mariana.

  “We’ll have to get you a phone too, I suppose.” Mariana whispered to me as she wrote down the necessary information.

  “I’ll pay you back if you do. I promise.”

  “Phones are cheap. You don’t need to pay me back.”

  “I will though.”

  “If you want to. I could always make my brother pay for this stuff instead, if you want.”

  “No. I owe him plenty too.”

  “You keep saying you owe the world to everyone. Victoria, you don’t owe anything for the giving of basic human kindness. I’m treating you as I would treat one of my own, because Lucas decided that he wanted to do the same. I’ll follow that twerps lead on this one. I trust you, because he trusts you.”

  “Thank you, Mariana.”

  She shook her head and smiled before handing the paper back to the secretary.

  “That should be everything then.”

  “What’s the cost?” Mariana asked.

  “Nothing. This type of visit is paid for by the LPRA. Lost Persons Reintegration Act, if you are unfamiliar with it.”

  “Huh.” Mariana mumbled.

  “There’s even an act for this situation?” I asked.

  “Yes. Now you two have a good day.” replied the secretary.

  I offered my hand to shake hers and she shook mine cautiously, as if she wasn’t expecting me to do such a thing. She probably wasn’t.

  “Thank you, and you have a good day as well.”

  I smiled and then followed Mariana out the door and back into the outside world. The wind was starting to blow and it felt slightly colder than it had before, though it still wasn’t actually cold in any true sense. The air was still warm under the sunlight.

  “So what should we do now, Mariana?” I asked as we walked down the shallow sidewalk.

  “What do you want to do, darling?”

  “Well, personally, I think it would be better if we went back to your home. We’ve completed the mission, and I’ve already pushed you more than I wanted to.”

  “Nonsense. We can’t just go back yet. I haven’t even taken you out to eat yet.”

  “Uh… I don’t need to eat. I’ve yet to empty out the remains of what I consumed yesterday too. I…”

  “You need to use the restroom. I understand. You don’t need to go into the details.”

  “It’s more like I need to puke. That’s how that works.”

  “Gross, but alright. We can find a place with a restroom. Pretty much all of them have one or two.”

  “I could always wait until we get back. I don’t need to eat, as I said.”

  “I’m hungry though. You wouldn’t deny a pregnant woman her cravings, would you?”

  “No, but…”

  “And I would feel guilty eating alone, so please, eat with me. Don’t make it awkward for me.”

  I huffed. “Alright, I will.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So much for making my own decisions.”

  “Sometimes one must be pushed to make decisions that are good for them.”

  “Who says this is good for me?”

  “I do, and most people would agree with me, including my brother.”

  “Lucas put you up to this?”

  “No, but he completely agrees with my plans.”

  “I’ll have to tell him off for that.”

  “You do you, Vic. I will do me.”

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  We passed a few blocks and many buildings before we came to a stop on the side of the road by a series of brick built buildings painted in blues, grays, and greens. Old, dirty windows displayed many things for sale and trade. Trinkets, trophies, rinky dink things, and whatever else old that had been made new. It was a more run down part of the city, but it had charm in its age.

  As we stepped out of the car, I turned my head to the other side of the street. Just as many interesting things existed in the shops across the road. In one of the upper windows I could see a flag hung up. I had no idea what it could mean. It was something I hadn’t seen before.

  “Mariana, what does that mean?” I asked, pointing to the window held banner.

  “That’s the flag of Promise. It’s our neighbor to the south. Whoever lives there must be from Promise.”

  “Do they have a strong culture of bearing flags?” I asked.

  “Yes. They’re quite proud too. They’ve faced quite a few hardships over the years. Their settlers pretty much got the worst lands on Mars. They’re stuck in the taiga and tundra. Still, they remain sturdy and proud. They don’t like anyone disrespecting their place, even if a lot of them have to leave it just to find work. They tend to make pilgrimages back home even after they’ve left.”

  “I see.”

  “Yeah. They’re big meat eaters too. You’ll see. We’re going to a restaurant that’s owned by a Promisian.”

  “Are you a fan of their cultures then?”

  “To an extent. I really like their food.”

  “Alright then.”

  “Yeah. Let’s go get our bellies filled. If we’re lucky, we’ll still have enough time and room for dinner later.”

  “Well I would hope so.”

  “Don’t worry, we still will.”

  “If you say so.”

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  I made my way back from the bathroom after emptying the gray remains of what my body had drained of energy. It came out and went down easily, though the process still left an annoying taste in my mouth.

  There was a basket of mints on the ordering counter. They were complimentary, so I was glad. I grabbed a mint from the basket and pressed it into my mouth after pulling off the wrapping. The mint taste was lovely against the acidic and plastic residuals from emptying my stomach.

  “So what kinds of meat do they serve here, Mariana?” I questioned as I sat down.

  “Reindeer.”

  I looked at her with curiosity and then a smile, though I wondered if she was really joking.

  “I’m serious.”

  And evidently she was not.

  “Of all things, why that?”

  “It’s what’s easy to farm down there. It is to the Promisians what beef is to Tyrians and what fish is to Sagrarians. They herd the reindeer down in the tundra. Keep them moving and grazing so none of the pasture gets eaten away completely.”

  “So the land is communally owned then?”

  “Not entirely. It’s not like Tyr, where everything is collectivized. It’s moreso that most of the land is entirely unowned, and everyone respects it. Nobody ruins it for anyone else, and the governments of Promise make sure that no companies buy out the place. So far though, nobody has really tried. There’s not much out there that’s worth anything. What spots are worthwhile to mine are already being mined.”

  “Sounds interesting. Why do you know so much about all this?”

  “I was reading the news while I was waiting for you, and I have a lot of free time since I’ve been housebound for the past two months.”

  “That’s fair. So this culture is your new interest?”

  “Somewhat, yes. I already liked the food beforehand though.”

  “Reindeer?”

  “Especially that. I love venison.”

  “I hope I like it too. I’ll eat it even if I don’t though. I wouldn’t want to waste your money.”

  “You don’t need to eat if you don’t like it.”

  “I will. I’ll just turn off my taste sensors.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Yes.” I lied.

  “No, she can’t, not unless she’s modified herself beyond belief.” a waiter interrupted.

  “So she lied to me?” Mariana asked.

  “I think so. So what can I get for you?”

  “Please, give us more time to look at the menu.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Thank you.” Mariana said as she glared at me with disappointment.

  “Please, stop lying to me.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s a force of habit.”

  “Whatever. Try to break it. Do you know what you might want to try?”

  “I think I’ll just get the five cutlet meal.”

  “I’ll copy you. I like that one as well.”

  “Okey dokey.” I replied. Mariana waved the waiter back. Back he came quite quickly. He was quite a friendly soul.

  “Can we both get five cutlet platters?”

  “So two platters in total? What would you both like to drink?”

  “I’ll take blueberry juice. Victoria, what do you want?”

  “Do you have anything orange flavored?”

  “All we have is orange pop. It is, of Earth, and not organic at all.”

  “That’s what I’m used to. I’ll take that, please.”

  “Alright. Your orders will be out shortly. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

  Mariana giggled.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You offender him. They offer pop here, but they do not like serving it. It’s not something in their usual diet.”

  “Oh, should I apologize?”

  “No. It’s not a very big deal. Just don’t ask for the same thing next time. Ask for fresh juice or tea instead.”

  “Okay.” I said, shaking my head back at her.

  She laughed out the last of her giggles and then turned her head to look out the window. I joined her and watched the cars driving by, and the walkers waltzing their way down the road. Bicyclists too were mixed in, and people on other forms of transport. The ways of going were very diversified. Everyone had their own way of making it.

  “Thank you for taking me out, Mariana.”

  “Anything for a friend.”

  “Am I a friend now?”

  “According to Lucas, you might as well be family. He’s a kind heart, my brother. I like you though, so I’ll treat you like family.”

  “I guess you’re my family too then. You might even be the only family I’ve ever had.”

  “Well, I hope we’re at least better than the people that kept you as an object before.”

  I thought about my words before I spoke them, but I really didn’t need to. I was already close to coming to the conclusion I was about to draw.

  “A little bit, yes.”