The Connection

In 25 feet take a right.

Siegfried unfazed continued reading the article in his retina display. “Unplugged – Fundamentalists Are Calling The Xlink Network The Mark Of The Beast.”

Upon taking the right, Siegfried passed a dark haired girl, her features from the Pacific Trade Zones or East Asia. He remembered the black tribal band tattoos that adorned her arms from before. The only thing they shared was a glance and this route.

This time would be different. Today, he would send her a friend request.

The notification pinged in his mind. Friend request accepted. His heart fluttered with something almost tangible.

He viewed her profile. Choon Hee, Hmm meaning a girl born in springtime, he mused. Her profile and DNA history confirmed, lineage from the old Hong Kong, then Thailand, Korea, then Hong Kong again. Works as a facial designer, most importantly single. In the way of family she had a brother who lost an arm in the East China Sea skirmishes; but had it regrown.

Best not break her heart.

Favorited locations showed she frequented LA Fitness. Was a lover of Pad Thai, and Korean Pocha. Aside from his mixed racial profile, their tastes mirrored each other. He noticed her likes were suddenly scattered across his photos, even his birth photo. A bit far back. But everything was fair game once you linked your profiles.

In the blink of an eye and a few steps he searched highly rated Thai and Pocha restaurants nearby and chose Wangdaebak Pocha and sent her an invite for tomorrow night at 7:30.

They shared a small smile as they passed in the busy San Francisco streets, something real amid the artificial. Her eyes had the tell tale glow of someone using Xlink. She accepted, including a text, I work until 6:00 and the hyperloop stations from Pyongyang always run late. -___-

No problem, I can wait :)

She edited the invite, and with another blink they had a date. Her profile joined his Xlink feed, where he chatted daily with friends, most of whom he rarely met in person.

A directional nudge to turn left. He noted he was in the new downtown San Francisco. He daydreamed through this walk hundreds of times. A neon jungle of targeted ads, mostly AI generated.

Free first visit Pych evals!

Low interest studio apartment. Apply now!

Have depression or anxiety?

BullMint, be ready for when the moment comes.

Siegfried tried not to take it personally, he knew many of the ads weren’t visible to others and even if they were, there was anonymity in the crowd. He was just another part of the algorithm.

He turned right down the main strip towards his work, first he would go to the market. He pulled up a shopping list for the meal he would cook tonight. Zucchini pasta with roasted pistachios, and a meat sauce.

Though the store didn't have real meat currently, only synthetic. That will do.

He watched a tutorial on how to cook the dish, and bookmarked it. The kitchen, his kitchen, was an alien land to him. Without Xlink, he’d probably eat out. Or starve. Either was likely.

His face scrunched in annoyance as he was taken from Xlink by the rattle of a cup.

Sprawled on a tarp beneath the shadow of a Skypartment was a man. He had a scruffy stubble and skin weathered from a vengeful sun. Its rays left their signature in deep lines. Chemical scars marred his hands and neck, evidence of long days spent exposed to toxic chemicals without protection. His clear, though faded, blue eyes—alive and unmodified—met Siegfried's gaze. Siegfried’s stomach dropped.

“Change for an old man?”

Out of habit Siegfried searched for the man's Xlink profile but found nothing. Nothing?

He had only encountered this a handful of times, this man must’ve been very old. Siegfried would take advantage.

Siegfried was so accustomed to texting, his own voice startled him. “Sorry. I only have credits. You lack a Xlink to transfer to. Otherwise I would.” He lied, today he only had change by accident.

The man shooed Siegfried away. “I will never get one of those things.”

Siegfried’s eyes narrowed. Living in the Stone Age.

The sign nearby caught his attention: YOU WEAR THE MARK OF THE BEAST.

Siegfried decided to record the interaction in case the man, who was likely unstable, would do something.

“How about this, can you buy me something from the noodle stand with those credits that only exist in your head?” He asked with a coy yellow smile.

Wow look at those teeth. Sorry I'm running late for work, he lied.

Though he realized he hadn’t spoken out loud, “I'm… Sorry I'm running late for work.” Siegfried’s eyes pleaded to the throngs of passersby, though they paid the two no mind.

The man clicked his tongue. “That's okay. Hop back in your cattle line friend. Have a good day.”

Siegfried was unsure of the man's tone but obliged, That's one too many interactions for the day. He arrived at one of the last intersections before his work district. He pulled up location services again to find the store. Three dots repeated as his connection loaded. He sighed, Come on any day now.

The traffic of people began to build while the connection buffered.

“What the hell?” He pulled up his network settings, Seriously? The growing wall of people had similar reactions. Anger, annoyance, shock, and a mounting sense of fear.

“You don't have a connection either?” A man in a suit asked aloud.

Someone tapped Siegfried's shoulder. A woman who was much older than what her face sculpt gave the appearance of asked, “Do you know what street this is?”

Siegfried blinked at the question. Street signs had become obsolete with the prevalence of Xlink's location services. Now, he couldn't tell if he was a block from his job or miles.

“I'm sorry I…I have no idea.”

Panic washed over the crowd, someone's voice cracked. “Where is the wifi?”

A car on auto-pilot passed by, Siegfried noticed the driver was asleep. It crashed into a driverless rideshare. Metal on metal screamed together as they collided. The man flew through the windshield, never waking up from his sleep.

Screams filled the air. Windows nearby broke as a store was looted. People ran out with Dior, and other designer items.

Siegfried felt a tight knot in his chest. Okay okay, let me retrace my steps. Every turn led him to more confusion; his mind stuck on his missing connection.

“Oh my god look up!” Someone shouted.

High in the overcast sky a plane plummeted down to the Earth, and another towards the sea. The ground trembled as one of them impacted nearby.

In the frenzy of moving legs something static caught his eyes. The homeless man, his face content in the chaos, like Nero strumming his lyre in the eye of the storm.

Siegfried made his way towards the man, he was nearly knocked from his feet numerous times. He grabbed the man by the shoulders, breaking his own comfort zone.

“You have no connection to Xlink, can you help me get out of here?”

The man giggled. “Amazing isn't it? The switch flips off and you scurry like bugs.”

Siegfried pleaded, ““Please, help me. I’ll help you once the system is back.”

The man’s head tilted in thought.

Siegfried swallowed, “Okay, I have cash. Take it!” He emptied his pockets.

The man nodded. “Okay, follow me.”

When the man stood, a mass of body odor, and a mouthful of broken down cysteine filled the air. Siegfried gagged, the man seemed to take joy in this as well, humming a tune as they went. He looked up at the sky studying something intently. Siegfried impatiently waited as the world around them collapsed. “Okay let's go.”

Siegfried followed, strafing in between running and fighting people.

A city auto-bus passed. They could see people with their cheeks pressed against the windows, their fist banging.

The bus continued, mercilessly. It t-boned a car from its path and smashed through a crowd of people

The man winced, “I think it's best we get as far away as possible from the streets.” He said sardonically.

As they moved people naturally made space, he seemed to have an aura. Siegfried wondered aloud, “I wonder if it's the smell.”

The man shouted back, “What smell?” Siegfried's face flushed, having spoken aloud by accident.

They ended up in an alley lined with several dumpsters, and huge clumps of trash. Siegfried’s mind raced, his heart felt like it would beat from his chest. He started to worry if this man might rob him. All he had of value was his clothes. He wasn't sure if that was a benefit or downside to the situation. The article about “Unplugged” fundamentalist flashed in his mind. “Trash rovers must be down too.” Siegfried said aloud nervously, desperate to fill the silence with words.

The man scoffed. “Or they prioritize the business district.”

They nearly reached the end of the alley, on the other side there still were numerous people running by in a frenzy.

“You're sure you know where you are going?” Siegfried asked with a gulp.

“You sure you know where you are going?” The man mimed.

“Fair enough dumb question I suppose…”

The man turned offering his hand. “What's your name by the way? In olden times we exchanged those to build trust.”

“Siegfried.” He answered with a heavy sigh.

“I’m Christopher, nice to meet you Siegfried.”

Siegfried hesitated at the filthy hand but shook it to be polite.

“And you really have no idea where you are, Siegfried?”

Siegfried shook his head, embarrassed.

“I always wondered if I’d live to see the cord cut. I tell ya, the worlds more connected than ever; yet never been more disconnected.” He seemed to relish the moment. “Well come on, to the left is our destination.”

The thought felt deep, yet foreign to Siegfried. He’d known nothing but that connection. There hadn't been any interruption to it long since before he was born. Years of relying on Xlink for everything—navigation, socializing, even his thoughts. Now, it felt as though someone had severed his umbilical cord. “So… how do you keep in touch with people?”

“I go visit them, or I call them on the phone. Crazy right? People lived just fine in the before times… Well as fine as people can.”

The two waited for a few stragglers before crossing the street. The knot in Seigfried's chest loosened some, besides the headache, his mind was clear. He couldn't stop his curiosity, “So how do you know where you are going?”

Christopher's pox marked face peaked over his shoulder, “Memory, and well you see that giant fireball in the sky?”

Siegfried shrugged, “Yeah the sun, of course.” The sky was a heavy quilt of gray stitched together with thick clouds. The sun’s touch was fleeting. Siegfried noted the purple hues that came from the dark, he smiled.

“Well it rises from the East and sets in the West. So I know if we follow that we are going West.”

Siegfried froze amazed, “So to my right would be the South, this way North, okay, wow.”

“Look at that, you’re a regular eagle scout,” Christopher gave a wet cough. “Here we are, my lost friend. Your waypoint.”

Siegfried recognized little but knew they were just outside the business district; his lips twisted, between uttering where? Or what the fuck? Christopher gestured to a wooden sign in partial Korean behind numerous overturned chairs.

Wangdaebak Pocha, Siegfried reared his head back, “Are you serious? This is where you were taking me?”

Christopher shrugged, holding the door open, “Well remember you said you would help me out too, so here we are.”

“They clearly will be closed.”

Christopher inhaled, “Smells open to me.” Siegfried groaned.

Inside, the restaurant was dim, nearly empty but for a lone woman. A surprised worker approached them, “Only cash now, the system is down.”

Christopher’s laugh rattled, “Ya think?” He pulled out the newly acquired cash, “Foods on me Siegfried.”

Siegfried jumped when the wad of cash was slapped into his hand. “Really?”

Christopher nodded, “Go ahead and order. I'm gonna use the little boys room.”

Siegfried obliged, it wasn't until he turned around and studied the interior he realized this was the restaurant he booked for his date. He chuckled, “What are the odds?”

He noted the woman and her tribal band tattoos, Choon Hee? She was more disheveled now, sporting a scrape on her elbow.

Christopher suddenly arrived, his push ushering Siegfried towards her, “Come on don't stand there like you seen a ghost. Go do this thing we used to call conversation.”

When they locked eyes they both were filled with surprise. They simply smiled at each other, Siegfried felt a wave of awkwardness. He initially tried to search her profile, but stood blinking in vain. “Uh hello again, I was just saying to myself what are the odds?”

“Maybe it's the algorithm. Well, maybe not now.” Her eyes stared down at her hands. “This place was the only one open and well, not going crazy. So I came in.”

“May I join you?”

“Yes.”

Siegfried sat across from her, his fingers drumming nervously on the table. The silence between them stretched out, thick and uncomfortable, as if the air itself was reluctant to carry any words. He glanced at her, only to quickly avert his gaze when their eyes met. He could feel the tension in his shoulders.

He had expected this meeting to go differently. Now, he could only feel the gnawing sense of disconnection. He didn’t know what to say, neither did she. He had no access to conversation guides on Xlink.

"So..." The word tasted like a clumsy attempt at breaking the ice. But only seemed to thicken the silence.

She shifted in her seat. "Yeah," she murmured, her voice barely audible.

“I guess we are a little early for the date.”

She laughed and then it came like an avalanche. She told him about her piece of the madness, and Siegfried told her about his.

“How’d you get that?” He asked, pointing to her elbow.

“I…tried to get back onto the hyperloop after the system crashed, but as you can imagine it was chaos. In the stampede I was knocked over, like people couldn’t remember how to be human. It's fortunate it's just this.” She muttered, her eyes lingering on the dark raspberry scrape. “Less so, that my entire client list is on my Xlink, and all my money.” She forced a laugh, but it wavered, and gave way to tears that welled in her almond shaped eyes.

Siegfried mulled it over. “Well… More fortunate that you aren't stuck in a hyperloop, can you imagine being stuck underground?” They both shivered at the thought. “And, I think the only money I had access to I just spent on Pocha…”

She was caught off guard, and let out a snort that forced them both to giggle. It was all they could do in the situation.

He continued. “Yeah and then there's this homeless guy I met.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah but he led me through the streets and everything, like my own personal gps.”

“He was still connected?”

“The opposite. Like he's unplugged.” Siegfried widened his eyes.

“Oh my gosh!” She leaned back, clearly aghast. “How insane.”

“Yeah but he's cool.” He reassured her. “He used the sun to figure out directions to here, it was mad. Matter of fact, Christopher come over-” Siegfried turned around to find only the cashier stacking boxes and the cooks, their woks dancing feverishly.

Choon Hee peaked around him, “It seems you got here on your own.”

“No, I… He was just right there…You saw that I came in with someone?”

Choon Hee shook her head, “I was attempting to reconnect, in failure clearly.”

Had he imagined Christopher? A ghost of his own desperation? A glitch in the crash? It felt like a distant memory. He had been so focused on staying connected, that he missed something fundamental.

Something human.

“So, what now?” Choon Hee’s voice was soft, but the question hung heavy. “What do we do when everyone is unplugged?”

Siegfried trembled slightly on the edge of the table. He wasn't sure. Everything was disconnected. The world felt as if it had cracked open, revealing how little he actually knew about the people around him. He then realized in that moment with her, and previously with Christopher that was most connected he felt with anyone in years.

“I don't know,” he admitted, looking at her with an apology in his eyes. “But maybe… It's not about finding a signal anymore.” His voice faltered. “Maybe it's about figuring out how to live without one.”

Her eyes softened and she leaned forward bridging the distance between them. “Perhaps we can figure it out together.”