Trucks moved over the highways separate from the other cars. Sheltham’s keen eye rested on the various gauges and switches and by using his Tempchip. It was like the brain chip, but could only be used for specified purposes instead of a permanent part of him. He could direct the vehicles like herds of horses channeling through this space. With the look of how he took on this role never changing, he completed his last amount of lane changes before he went on his break. He signed out and handed the chip to the next man.

Sheltham found his lunch bag and opened it. He had prepared it this time, because he knew that Mala had been running late and she had just arrived at work on time. He packed sardines in olive oil  and a slice of bread. He sipped spring water. His supervisor came into the breakroom.

“Lotta good you’re doing out there, Felton. Keep it up,” Berus Cramer acknowledged. He had skin the color of a blackberry on a nightshade plant.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Berus,” Felton rose to his feet. He still had a few bites left, nevertheless. 

“I wanted to see if I could get the surgery for the brain chip. The UltraChip.”

Cramer’s face crumpled. “You know that’s only for senior drivers and executive personnel.”

“I know, but I was hoping to see if there was any way I could be promoted….”

“Look, you’re doing well out there. Nothing to worry about. In a few years time, you’ll get the surgery. For now, just keep stacking your ones to be able to afford the insurance. You know that no employment offices offer insurance in the country-state. So, I’d just bank on keeping on doing a stellar job.” Cramer smiled. He left the room with a cup of coffee in his hand and a stunned Sheltham. He finally regrouped. He marched right up to Cramer as they walked the floor back to the stations.

“Wait a minute. Now, I’ve been working here for as long as some of these other guys have the implants. The temporary ones work for only so long, and then they fizzle out and you have to use manual functions in order for the computer system to register.”

Cramer put a patronizing hand on Sheltham’s shoulder. “Give it some time. That’s all. You’ll get there.” Cramer walked away. Sheltham stood tall with a graven look on his face. He returned to his lunch which had been thrown out while he had talked to Cramer.

Mala could monitor her children and work at the same time as she remained focused on her tablet at home where her plus son Garland watched his brothers. Four sets of eyes helped to keep anyone from roughhousing. Although Garland did get into scuffles from time to time, Mala could correct him as well. She stayed focused on her task. She sent off memos and organized stationary all in hopes of getting a promotion. A temporary chip adorned her head as well. With the amount of work she could do, in a year she would clear a million dollars. It still sounded funny to her but that also didn’t seem like a lot of money to most people. To her, it did. As she traversed through the melange of digital files and computerized meetings, she never fell short of her goals.

“You know, Mala, you’re the best office assistant here. You’re doing a tremendous job. I’m going to put in a motion that you receive brain chip technology surgery.” Her manager, Jennnifer Vector, a trim woman of about forty-eight years, stood by her desk. An eye strayed and saw that the boys were roughing up a bit. She sent a message to Garland for them to cease their roughhousing. She then turned to Jennifer.

Mala’s heart fluttered. “Yes, I’d be delighted. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.”

“Absolutely.” Jennifer walked away. Mala beamed. She felt like wings had sprouted from her back and she could zip around the office. Nothing could go wrong that day. Until she got home from work. The husband and wife met at their home almost at the same time and greeted their boys. Sheltham issued an order for the boys to go to their rooms. He seemed somewhat miffed but not enraged.

“Goddamnit!” he said low and between his teeth. “They still won’t clear me for the surgery. All I need is a few hundred thousand dollars. After bills, I’m still in the five figure range. I’ll have to do a side hustle. Something. The markets are open for it. There are more people than jobs and it doesn’t take much to get a position…especially with my background.”

Mala looked at her husband. She was so gung ho about blabbering that she would be put on the list for the chip. She bit her tongue. Sheltham continued.

“All I need is just a few more dollars. No one I know even has one. It’s still a class thing.”

Mala motioned to speak. “My darling…I’ve been selected to receive the procedure….”

Sheltham turned to his wife. “No shit?” 

Mala shook her head showing that the words she spoke had rang true. Sheltham’s entire demeanor changed at that point. It was like the coals to the furnace in his soul had blazed white hot and then reduced to semi-glowing mounds.

“Well, I’ve been selected to be on a list––”

“My wife is going to have a brain chip!”

The complete reversal of sentiment expressed by Sheltham shocked Mala but did not surprise her. He lifted her into his arms and twirled her around.

“Aren’t you mad?” Mala asked, apprehension crept into her voice.

“No, no. I know I’ll be able to get the money. I’m happy for you. I know that you’ve been working that desk and eyeing the kids. In the fall, they’ll be in school so you won’t have to worry about it. We’ll have a few more dollars in the bank, too. I don’t care how I get that procedure, I’m getting it. With the both of us recipients of the chip, we’ll have greater freedom. That’s all we wanted, right?”

A tear rolled by as Mala took in Sheltham’s words. 

‘Why are you crying? You’re alright. I’m alright. The boys are okay. We’re going to fight the way we fought to get to our positions. If we know how to best implement our strategies….”

“Don’t talk about strategies.” Mala said, laughing and wiping her eyes.

“Okay, I’ll keep that down, then. I do want to talk about how this whole system has put us in a place to be even more productive and the best of ourselves.”

Sheltham’s words washed over Mala. They were like a cascade of thought pouring into the spots of her intellect that needed enlightening. And the same happened for Sheltham. Mala’s ideas instilled in him a sense that he could be more than a conqueror because neither one of  them could be conquered. Given the amount of power that this couple exerted, they knew they could become a super power couple with just a few strokes of a digital pen. Though they had attained great statuses at work, they wanted more. This greed empowered them and allowed them to better understand their roles. Mala looked at the monitor and saw how more migrants found footing in the country-state. 

“I was right there. If Dr. Frampton had not scooped me up, I’d be wallowing in the turmoil of Pennsylvania.”

“I’m glad to have met you and your sons. I’m sure the feeling is mutual.”

“It is.” Mala and Sheltham continued to look at the monitor. They knew the only reason they showed the migration of so many people seemed to be as a result of how many people flourished. The thriving country-state set a precedent to be followed. Sheltham walked around the table in the room. The two of them still wore their work clothes. They sat down together.

“Mala, I don’t know what this mixed-up world is going to be doing, but as long as we stay in this place, we will have the opportunity to do well beyond our dreams.”

“Yes. I think that we’ll have the temerity and spirit to address all of the issues in our lives and be on guard for the pitfalls,” Mala asserted. In his eyes, Sheltham could feel the presence and the heat and the emotion and truth enveloped in her words.

“I already know. But the way you explain it is uncanny and promising and exact. It doesn’t matter about the chip. I don’t care. I’m going to get one. But I’m just glad that you’re in a position to receive yours. That brings me joy.”

Mala understood what he was saying. “The only problem….”

“There’s a problem?” Sheltham asked.

“There’s going to be a want for the kids to have their own chips.”

“I thought you couldn’t get them until you were eighteen….” Sheltham shrugged.

“I know how this can all be resolved…We all have some kind of family deal, at least the boys and I, after you receive yours.”

“I’m still thinking that the boys shouldn’t be using the chips at such young ages.”

“That’s nothing, Mal’,” Sheltham reassured. “They’ll grow up the same way we grew up with tablets and phones and watches. It’s just a newer way of addressing the issue of technology as made by humans.”

Mala crossed raised, straightened her skirt, and crossed her arms. 

“I just want to be sure we’re going to be on the right path for this family. I remember my own family coming up, splintered, broken. I don’t want that in this unit.”

“And it won’t. We’re too smart for that.”

“So we all get chips….What  then? Will we just be communicating and distracted even more than we are now?” Mala asked.

“It’s not going to be like that. This is a boon not a defect. This is something which will propel us to greater heights of understanding.”

“What? You don’t believe me? All we have to do is see when you get your name called on the list and when I scrounge together a few tokens in order for the boys and me to get it done, too.”

Mala smirked. “Okay, so this happens and what do we do with work? Will it be the same or different? Will we be more productive or less?”

“I think you know the answer to that….” Sheltham answered.

“I mean some of the top execs are shopping and playing games on their chips, then they still get recommended for promotions. I don’t get it.”

“Let that be them. They’re not like us. We know what it’s like to get a dollar from the bottom. I’m sure some of those executives know too, they have just strayed.” Mala’s face turned blank, emotionless. She walked into the kitchen and commanded with her voice the dishwasher, microwave oven, convection oven, and refrigerator to all work in tandem. 

“You know what the brain chip, I wouldn’t even have to say anything. I’d be freed from saying anything.”

“Exactly! You’re seeing all of this play out right in front of you. You’re taking part in a great experiment in human evolution. I mean, you will. We will.”

At their respective places of business, Mala and Sheltham took to their tasks.

The trucks moved like a symphony. Sheltham ensured that the driverless vessels corresponded with the satellites in outer space. Mala looked at her notes and channeled all of her know-how in making ideas illuminate and applied it to her work. She was the conductor of the orchestra of these bits of correspondence. To better qualify these simple motions, she ensured that there would be a chance for her to excel. Mala took her eyes off of the screen in front of her to look at the boys and she missed. Her eyes dazzled at the way they played…joyfully, intensely, justly.

Chintan Jani

Smartystan

Melange

Trucks moved over the highways separate from the other cars. Sheltham’s keen eye rested on the various gauges and switches and by using his Tempchip. It was like the brain chip, but could only be used for specified purposes instead of a permanent part of him. He could direct the vehicles like herds of horses channeling through this space. With the look of how he took on this role never changing, he completed his last amount of lane changes before he went on his break. He signed out and handed the chip to the next man.



Smartystan

Melange

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This is an Exclusive Story for supporters of Skyler Saunders