Sixteen years ago, a team of Scientists in the North Pole, made an extraordinary discovery. The world was facing something more threatening than they thought it to be but nobody paid the attention it was required. Six months later the UN declared the appearance of a fast mutating virus. This virus had spread worldwide through imports and exports and UN was forced to take responsibility, calling the United Medical Organization to develop a vaccine to deal with the symptoms of the new virus. The genetic theorists described the virus as pandemic and advised infected people to stay at home till the vaccines were given away.
The Political Parties, from the other, described the situation as the Ultimate Crisis every Government had to deal with. A large number of citizens on every country had to be quarantined due to the severe symptoms of the virus: rash, hallucinations, extreme violence and limbic disorder.
Till that time, hospitals all over were full of patients suffering from Stage I of the virus, a weird kind of gangrene that crystallized the cells on the inflected areas spreading all the way up to the trail of the spine and finally reaching the back of the neck.
So today, Ward 8 and the President in charge had successfully managed to take enough vaccine to cover a two year period. Every citizen had to take the vaccine on the first day of each month in order not to expand and hit Stage II and III. Since the first Outbreak the patients have been fewer but the lack of a permanent cure forced a lot of them to commit suicides or rebel against their own Governments. So the 8 Wards across the World were established in order to be turned into research centers for developing the Vaccines.
Ky knew that the way they gave the vaccines away was unfair but he could do nothing about it. What could a young boy do that other greater men hadn’t done so far?
After minutes he faced the big block of stoned flats he was heading to, only a few meters away from the lake. Today only a few children were outside playing on the park opposite to his flat with their parents. And still they were wearing protective masks like this could protect them from the virus.
He ignored them and almost galloped on the stairs to finally reach his doormat. A few miles away something like an alert or siren echoed sharply. The Anti-Baccano knew well how to make their presence apparent.
Another Outlaw… he thought glimpsing a brief look on the few trees of the dim park. When he finally stepped in and closed the door the emptiness of the house flooded him. Living most of his life alone had its pros and cons. With his family dead and his father’s companion spending six days a week working on the Vaccine Immunity Project, he had to be alone most of the time. The truth is he hated the idea of people gossiping the fact that he and that woman shared the same house. But his father had appointed her as his legal guardian even though they didn’t manage to marry. After all Shannon was his solace all this years. Although she was still young she never fell for another man and devoted herself in her work for the vaccine and, when she rarely had time, raising up her son.
Ky was thinking of it when he had weeks to see her. She technically raised him up. Even though he was just a toddler when his father died. He owned her his life because she could easily have left him die from hunger or the virus, whichever came first.
After he pushed these thoughts away, he grabbed a snack from the fridge and cushioned on the soft sofa.
“Open movie management…” he said clearly before placing his foot on the coffee table. Within a second a large flat TV screen flashed the entire living room.
“Movie management is currently under maintenance, please try again later.” a female sexy kind of voice answered.
“Again?” Ky wondered frustrated and murmured another command towards the flat screen.
“Please verify identity.”
“Kylen Edelstein.” he said again and the screen greened.
“Access granted, Welcome to your Personal e-mail directory, Ky.”
Ky had a bite from his sandwich and lifted a thin rectangle device from the table. He quickly pressed a round button and it quickly formed a right ankle. After a second he whispered something and a holographic screen appeared between. Carefully he held the device parallel to the flat screen and with a strange move he transformed the data displayed on it to the smaller screen.
Concerning these stuff, he was a genius, although he didn’t believe so much in himself lately. He even wanted to follow his father’s steps and join the Mechanics but in order to do so it required extreme qualifications. When he was younger he believed he could eventually manage to fulfill his dream but lately, it seemed very absurd.
“Turn off.” he finally said standing up and abandoning his sandwich on the table as the screen shut down. He mechanically checked his inbox and found an efficient number of mails waiting for him. The majority of them were from his schoolmates’ Clubs that needed him to retrieve their hacked Web sites or to help them design them anew.
He had come up with this idea two years ago when he felt the need to do something in order to be useful- Shannon’s salary was way enough for them and he needn’t even have to work but it wasn’t money he was doing it for. He had his reasons-
So, he checked them in priority and found that half of them were from Jonathan Fenton, the School Council’s president, who was insisting that the Council site was hacked again turning it into a porn portal.
Ky couldn’t help but form a short smile on his face.
At least someone hasn’t lost his humor, he thought taking a look at the site which was now bombarded with porn signs and call girl numbers. That was an easy job to do. Those loony Trolkers weren’t difficult to track down and if he was in mood, he would have instantly infected their computers with a developed computer virus he had created just for his fun. That was Ky, what he didn’t find in reality, was found in his virtual world.
“K-y!” a buzzed voice suddenly broke the silence “You home!” the voice continued and he turned to the big office his computer was.
“Yes Foxtrot,” he answered kind of off “I am.”
“How was your day?” the voice continued and when he turned the light on he saw a small red fox running quietly on tiny wheels over the edge of the desk.
“The same as always.” He answered the strange robotic fox and moved to take a seat behind his computer.
“That’s the same thing you reply every time, Ky!” the fox answered again.
“That’s the truth Foxtrot.”
“Accepted. So what’s up for today?”
“Just the usual: hacked sites and the Council president sitting on pins and needles.” Ky replied to the robot fox looking at the circuit pinned on its back. Foxtrot was his idea and it had taken him hours closed in his study to bring him to life. All these wealthy kids in his school had claimed to be having cool gadgets like the new HGraphic Phone or stuff but he was determined not to show off and buy something like that. On the contrary, he created a sort of robotic pal for him, Foxtrot, like the dance.
“Let’s get to work then!” Foxtrot’s animish voice echoed in the room and after a while he had fully removed the porn signs from the Web site and helped Cassandra Sanford with uploading a video of the cultural team of his high school.
Of course he, like the rest students, was signed up in the Astronomy Club where he was the one and only member. That suited him well because all clubs had been allocated with certain meeting places. The Astronomy Club that should have ceased to exist three years ago due to lack of membership was holding up entirely on Ky. Nobody cared if he was alone or not. Since he had a place he could hang out after school he was fine with it. He had also had his equipment there, a 2020 mainframe, an old flat screen, an UPS and some other software he needed in order to work his projects.
“Foxtrot, check the TV movie management compatibility later on,” he murmured “the system is all messed up, again.”
“Aye-aye Ky!” the machine answered and in a jiffy a thin cable came out of it and connected with the holographic tablet he was previously holding.
Ky was glad he had come up with Foxtrot. It was the most precious device he had although it was small enough to fit his palm.
“If anyone calls, put him on standby.” He jolted on his chair trying to avoid the old printer next to his foot. Foxtrot didn’t give a reply but he had recorded it. “I’m going to change.”
He stood up in the same languid way as always placing his hands in his black trousers and made it to his room. He picked a grey T-shirt and switched it with the white shirt he should wear for school. The whole room was shadowed from his not opening any window at all. In fact, why to do? He spent all his time in his-previously his father’s-study where the leather couch had turned into his current bed.
After he threw his shirt on a pile of clothes he thought he heard something coming from inside. Shannon… he thought. Who else might be? He never waited for visitors anyway, except for Shannon.
He returned inside less languidly and realized nobody had come in the big living room with the cream sofas and Shannon’s elegant decorations.
“Nothing.” he said to himself and headed towards the balcony door to press the button it would open the blinds. But then. When the sun rays lit his figure making him cover his brown eyes, he heard the door. So there was someone after all. He almost sprang to the door and pressed the face recognition on the wall revealing his unwelcomed visitor.
A square face with black shades was behind that door and he instantly thought of Agent K. He could easily say the man’s answer when he would ask the reason of his unexpected visit.
“Who is it?” Ky raised a question with his deep serious voice.
“Agent Obadiah from the Anti-Baccano Order Preserve. Please open up immediately.”
world of creative writing 