Servant of Chaos

BIRDS™ sang in the TREES™ decorating Lovelink Plaza. LB78-MFL sat alone on a bench, clutching something in his hand. The plaza was elevated, giving him a good view of the sprawling city. Staring out at the silver-blue buildings of Sunland Metro, he watched the auto-trains coursing through the transport tubes, snaking around, over, and through the skyscrapers.

Even though the SUN™ was shining brightly, it was never enough to completely obscure the panels of the dome high above. The dome absorbed energy from the actual sun, powering his city and feeding the citizens within. Even though the sun had scorched the Earth once upon a time, killing ninety-nine percent of humanity, it was still a life-giving force.

LB78-MFL felt a swelling in his chest when he saw her. FM54-SAS always made him feel more alive every time he looked at her. He knew that this was a false feeling, the result of his programming, yet he reveled in it nonetheless. She smiled at him from across the plaza, her eyes sparkling with the approximation of happiness. They were literally made for each other, designed to meet and eventually procreate, as the Coders had intended. Consciously trying to suppress the spring in her step, she crossed to the bench, sitting down next to him, but not too close.

“Good cycle,” she said.

“Good cycle,” he replied.

Each worked to control their giddiness. LB78-MFL did not understand all the nuances of his programming. If their meeting was the intention of the Coders, why did he feel the need to mask the desperation he felt for her? She too seemed to hold back her emotions, even though they both knew their directives; to be bonded for life, to produce four offspring, to eventually be decommissioned, their parts recycled and recombined into two new lifeforms. The ways of the Coders were mysterious.

LB78-MFL slid a little closer to FM54-SAS and placed his hand atop hers. Wrapping her fingers around his hand, she moved it to her lap. He felt that familiar surge of ADRENALINE™ that always came when she did this.

“I have something for you,” he said.

This was how things were meant to unfold. There was nothing either of them could do. There were no divergences, no forks in the road. Everything had been set out from their production. Even the fate of their offspring had been pre-determined. Their CHILDREN™ would be raised by the Collective and assigned to different work sectors. The only difference would be that their offspring would be considered BIOLOGICS™ and as such would have a natural lifespan. There was no recycling in their future, and the thought of that made LB78-MFL happy for some reason. Not knowing your fate was fundamental to being human. At least that’s what he believed, although he did not know where that belief came from. Perhaps it had been programmed into him like everything else.

“What do you have for me?” she asked, her smile fully emerging.

LB78-MFL was surprised by the tone of curiosity that she conveyed. It seemed for a moment like she really did not know what was coming next. He held out his hand and a HEART™-shaped locket dropped from his palm, swinging on the end of a platinum chain. The HEART™ was the color of human blood. MF54-SAS cooed with delight.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she said.

She leaned in to kiss him but stopped short. There was a female mime standing a few feet away, just staring at them. Both she and LB78-MFL turned to look at her. The mime began moving toward them, but slowly, held back by an invisible column of wind.

“Eww,” MF54-SAS said, “It’s an ANT-F.”

“Excuse me,” LB78-MFL said to the mime. “We were having a private conversation.”

The mime held up a single finger. She took one tentative step forward, then immediately stepped back. She tapped her wrist as if asking for the time.

“I should message an Order Officer,” MF54-SAS said.

MF54-SAS froze for a moment, her internal server sending a message to the Office of Order. The mime smiled, nodding her head furiously. Standing completely erect, she gave a salute, then did a back-flip, landing perfectly. She bowed with a flourish.

Within a few seconds, they heard a siren approaching. The mime danced with excitement as the Order Officer sped toward them on his hover scooter. He had a light blue tattoo across his forehead. It read GK67-PPC. Like most Order Officers, he was tall and powerfully built.

“Here to serve,” he said. “Here to serve. Where is it I am to serve?”

“Is he glitching?” MF54-SAS asked.

“Functioning nominally,” the Order Office said. “Error code on line 897989707979. Functioning nominally. Able to serve.”

“Good,” said LB78-MFL. “This ANT-F is interrupting our romantic progression.”

The Order Officer scanned the mime. His spine went rigid.

“Record match!” he yelled. “Record match! Terrorist suspect!”

The mime ran a finger across her throat.

Without warning, the Order Officer's head popped off in a shower of sparks and fluid. It rolled across the plaza, coming to a stop at MF54-SAS’s feet. She screamed.

“Glitchside!” LB78-MFL yelled. “You murdered him!”

“Maybe, maybe not,” the mime said with a shrug.

After shoving the Order Officer’s body from the scooter, she climbed on. She then began driving the scooter around in small circles, rising a few feet into the air each time she passed over the headless body. LB78-MFL and MF54-SAS looked on in horror.

“Can one murder that which never truly lived?” the mime said. “And when can a life be called life? Certainly, life is not life when one is mostly wires and circuits. Boom, boom, boom, I have a real heart inside my wooden chest, but even I do not consider myself real. That which lays before you beheaded is a machine, an automaton, a failed mechanism of a system of control. The unofficially obsolete rendered inert as it should be.”

The mime jumped from the scooter, letting it barrel through the TREES™ behind the bench where MF54-SAS and LB78-MFL sat. The BIRDS™ stopped singing. In fact, the entire world seemed to go silent.

“I know you wonder what is missing from your life,” the mime said, pointing a single finger at LB78-MFL. “Fortunately for you, I have the answer.”

The mime waved her hands in front of her body. An old-fashioned stick grenade appeared in her hand. She pulled the pin and rolled it toward the couple.

“Chaos,” she said.

The mime ran to the edge of the plaza, turning for a moment to flash her middle finger. She jumped out into the open air and quickly disappeared from sight. LB78-MFL looked down at the grenade. He knew what it was from his mandatory study of human history. At that moment, he felt the urge to pull MF54-SAS into his arms and kiss her deeply. He never got the chance.