Aika

I was shaken out of my slumber by a dirty old man attempting to remove my boots. I jolted off the makeshift mattress I had assembled on the gravel surrounding the factory. I thought I had found a hiding spot to safely catch a few minutes of rest before attempting to find paying work. But who was I kidding, there were no safe spots to hide on the streets of Manu. I shoved the leathered old man away and he fell backwards with a crackle. The gravel was laced with broken glass, metal shards and other non-identifiable scraps of refuse that clattered together when his body hit the ground.

           “What the hell?” I croaked and threw my empty tin shot glass at the man’s head. It was too small to do any damage but the man coward in fear, awaiting my next move. From the looks of his ripped jacket and shoe-less feet I could tell he was too old to secure day labor in this district. Manu, as it was referred to by its occupants, was the manufacturing district of Aika City. Despite the many factories, there wasn’t enough work to go around and competition was high for the jobs that were available. Death was the only way a steady position at one of the assembly plants would open up. If you were lucky enough to secure one you didn’t give it up. They won’t make you rich but you’ll earn enough credits to keep a room and it came with a hot meal. That’s more than I’ve had since the day I turned seven.

           My name is Skylar Orion and last night I marked my thirty-second birthday with an overpriced shot of brandy and dehydrated meat strips. What kind of meat I haven’t a clue, but a man needs protein to survive so I took what I could get. I spent most of the credits I earned to give myself an escape from this dismal existence I call my life. What I should have done was spend them on a room at Dala’s Boarding House. Ten credits will get you a shared room for the night, slip her an extra two and she’ll assign you a room already occupied by a female. It’s not the most moral way to gain the company of a woman for the night, but it’s the cheapest.

           I wonder if my parents had any idea what I would become when they abandoned me on these streets twenty-five years ago. Probably not. I doubt they even thought I would survive the year let alone twenty-five. I can’t blame them, we all make choices, not all of them morally acceptable. We’re all products of our circumstances and they found a way to improve theirs.

Once the child tax was put into effect, they couldn’t afford to keep me around. The Prime Leader was trying to curb the ill-effects of overpopulation by imposing a yearly fee on families per child. My mother started selling vegetables that she grew in window boxes hung out our apartment windows to help my father keep his five offspring. Needless to say, it wasn’t enough. Human Relocation Services took my sister Raine the first time they couldn’t pay. She was the youngest, only four at the time. H.R.S. said it was standard procedure to remove the youngest child, they were easier to imprint with a new identity. Couples in Aika City wanted to build their families without incident and the younger they were the less re-identification sessions they needed.

The new tax proved to be successful in lowering birth rates in the city. However, the impoverished support districts surrounding Aika weren’t experiencing much change. Women here didn’t have the luxury of spending their credits on birth control, and they didn’t always have the choice to abstain from sex. The Prime Leader cited lax morals and poor upbringing for the failure. Not the diversion of resources and lack of opportunity that was the reality in the districts. The obvious solution was to raise the tax on parenthood, and that’s when things got bleak.

My sisters were worth more than I was, unfortunately for them. I was five when my parents sold Starletta on the black market. The wealthy Aika residents wanted kids and it was faster to buy them than to wait for H.R.S. to match them with a suitable youngster. We ate well that night thanks to Starletta. I understand why they did it, it was a choice they had to make. Let H.R.S. take me away in the spring, or get enough credits for one of the girls to feed us through the rest of the winter. Their intentions were pure, and Starletta was better off re-identifying to a family in the city. She would have a chance at a life none of us could dream of.

The market for girls in Manu District was much more diverse than that of the boys. When the credits ran low from relocating Starletta, the twins, Windi and Mira, were nervous they would end up in one of the novelty houses. My parents had come to enjoy a less difficult life with the proceeds from their daughter’s sale and often said so aloud each time they needed to spend credits on us. Windi and Mira were right to be nervous. They still belong to Rito’s, an establishment specializing in ménage à trois. I see them sometimes, languidly staring down from their room, dead eyes matching their undoubtedly dead souls.

I knew my time would come, even at seven I could recognize the transformation my parents had underwent. My mother no longer grew vegetables, she replaced them with flowers, an expense with no practical reward. My father drank sweet plum brandy every night instead of collected rain water infused with apple peels. They were whispering and flipping through the pages of an Aika Apartments brochure when I returned home from school. Windi and Mira must have been a lucrative deal, the credits needed to move into the city were more than most could hope to amas in a lifetime working in Manu. My stomach still hurts thinking about that moment when I realized I was next. This time I made a choice.

My father said he was taking me to work with him the next day instead of school; it was time I earned my keep. I heard of other boys in my situation being traded at the factories for a few credits and a release of contract. They were volunteers though, making a sacrifice for an elderly family member who couldn’t keep up on the assembly lines enough to cover their employer sponsored lunch. The longer they worked at that speed the more they would owe, eventually requiring the family to pay the factory owners instead of the other way around. But I was being sacrificed to advance my parents standings in cultured society, not for the survival of the family. There wasn’t any family left. I chose to slip out of sight when my father was mingling with his fellow Manus before entering the factory. I wouldn’t be missed. With the credits I would have pulled in he could get one bottle of brandy, no big loss there.

Raised in Manu I gained survival skills. I learned how to scavenge and pick a pocket by the time I could walk. I put these skills to good use until I was big enough to operate the machines on the assembly lines. I was picked often from the day lines to fill a position, the younger you are the better chance you have. The older I get the less I get picked. Yesterday I had good timing, just as Chronos Inc. shut its gates a full-timer got his arm caught in a machine and nearly ripped it off. I was the youngest straggler left. I earned fourteen credits and was fed hot ham bone soup.

The soup had me feeling good and I chose to splurge on a shot of brandy from the alco-machine at the entrance to Manu Tent Camp. It was my birthday after all. My plan was to shoot down a brandy and head straight to Dala’s for a room and a nocturnal companion. But the damn machine charged me twice for one brandy, probably rigged by Rito and his crew. I was left with ten credits, I had three options; secure a lonely room for the night at Dala’s and go hungry for ten, share a tent and deal with Rito’s thugs for eight, or chance the streets for zero. I chose another brandy, some jerky, and the street.

I now had six credits, two pieces of unidentified jerky, and a headache. I cleared the fog from my eyes and peered down at the hunched old man. This would likely be my fate, cowering in the shadows behind dumpsters taking whatever I could. I cringed at the thought of withering away to dust, ignored and pushed aside. The sky was still the purple of night, but I could feel the district waking up. If I got to Chronos Inc. first I would likely get a job since I was a familiar face. My bones popped and cracked into place as I made a move towards the old man. He looked up at me expecting to meet his doom. I reached into my pocket and he flinched, covering his face. I held out one of the scraps of meat I had, offering it up silently. The old man took it without hesitation and nodded his approval. I stretched my limbs as I sauntered around to the front gates, hopeful that I would be worth another fourteen credits.

I was second in line, and picked first. I made it through to lunch without incident on the assembly line. My post was the same as the day before, inspecting plastic widgets for imperfections as they came off the printers. I couldn’t hazard a guess at what they were or what their purpose was. I didn’t need know that; it wouldn’t change the number of credits earned at the end of the day. Lunch was more ham bone soup; I shuffled through the procession with my cup. A stool opened up and a group of guys I recognized from the factory floor gestured for me to join them.

“Hey Kid, what’s your story?” Grizzled worker number one inquired.

“Same as most,” I replied.

“So, shit life and nowhere to go but down?” Too peppy middle-aged worker quipped.

“Nailed it,” I said.

I focused on my soup, not wanting to get too chummy. Friends are just people who haven’t robbed you yet. The two men turned to their cohorts and dreamily discussed what life could be if only they had access to a time booth.

“I’d be living large in Aika for sure,” one of them said.

“I’d go back and punch my old man for bringing me into this world,” another one chimed in.

“What’s a time booth?” I asked.

“The things we’re working on in here. They’ve finally been approved for everyday use. Chronos Inc is churning these puppies out.” Too peppy middle-aged worker informed me.

“I heard they already have twenty in operation on the streets of Aika,” Grizzled worker number one stated.

           Hmm. Aika is only a two-day walk.

           I lifted my wrist and checked my health meter; that walk was a bad idea. It was so hot and no shade to be found. I went through the nutrient bar faster than I’d thought and was half starved. This disaster must have taken some time off my life clock. Surprisingly, my number stood at a solid forty. I had plenty of years left, and I could see the glow of Aika in the distance. I planned to hop into the first time booth I laid my eyes on. I would use all my credits to go back as far as I could to get a re-do on my life.

           There was no darkness in the city, even at midnight, the streets were ablaze with a rainbow of lights vying for your attention. Signs flashed and pointed to doors beckoning for patrons to enter and sample their muses. For a moment I forgot why I came. Everything was at my finger tips and I wanted to try it all. Then I remembered I had only fifteen credits. And those credits were for a far more rewarding experience. The experience of time travel.

           I spotted a time booth on the corner of Grand Ave and Fountain Street. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. A box-like container with slightly rounded corners that looked just large enough for one or maybe two average sized human bodies. It was painted a fiery red with old fashioned clock faces scattered around it in white. There were no windows, and the door was invisible from a distance. It wasn’t until you stood in front of it that you saw the sliding door, automatically opening at your approach. I stood there and stared inside the crimson time booth, its operating panel sparkled to life and spoke as if I needed reassurance.

           “Do you wish you could go back in time to that pivotal moment you chose not to take that promotion? or that date you should have cancelled? Well, thanks to Chronos Inc. you now can! Just step inside and scan your health meter to display your time traveling options.” The machine pitched.

           “Say no more,” I replied and stepped inside. The door slid shut with a swoosh, and the commotion of the city street vanished. I quickly located the scanner and placed my health meter under it. Three options appeared on the screen.

‘Option 1: Travel to Aika  

Option 2: Purchase brandy from alco-machine

Option 3: Sleep on the streets of Manu’.

The time booth would only take you back to decisive moments in the past week, not to any time period the traveler should want to choose. Not exactly what I had in mind, but still worth a try, so option one was out. I selected option three and a secondary menu screen appeared with the words ‘Yes or No.’ I chose No, I didn’t want to repeat history. A video of a woman wearing a white lab coat popped onto the screen.

           “Skyler, you have chosen to return to the moment when you decided to sleep on the street of Manu instead of pay for room and board. Chronos Inc. is obligated to inform you that our time booth technology is in its infancy and comes with some risk. If you choose to confirm your selection you will be transported to the milestone of your choice free of charge. We only ask that you consent to have your health data monitored for the duration of your life in order to improve our service. Please read the health risks in full on the next screen before confirming your travel. Thank you for using Chronos, pleasant travels.” The science lady faded out and a black screen with white letters that were far too small to read took her place. I could make out a few words and got the gist that time travel was hazardous to my health and not recommended to do frequently. I scrolled to the bottom of the screen with my finger, and pressed ‘confirm’.

           The lights went out in the booth and I still couldn’t hear the city outside. Cold air blasted into my face from all directions, chilling me to the bone. It smelled sterile, like latex and bleach. I opened my eyes. I was facing Dala and she was scanning my health meter.

           “Well, happy birthday hun,” she smiled a jagged toothy grin. “I’ll put you in room nine, with Nina. And since it’s your birthday, I’ll waive the extra two credits.”

           “Uh, thanks,” I was feeling a little woozy, and couldn’t believe I was standing inside Dala’s Boarding House. Just seconds ago I was in Aika inside a time booth. I made it up to room nine and was happy to see that Nina was a fresh-faced twenty-something with a great ass. I introduced myself and started undressing. Nina helped me remove my boots. I sat on the edge of the bed watching the top of her head, my health meter flashed. I glanced at it, the number five was enlarged and scrolled across the face. I raised my wrist to get a closer look. My life clock read five.