[Bluejay]

Note: This story contains occasional adult themes. After this first part, it will also contain some sexual situations. But this first part is safe, meant to be an introduction to this world in case I ever explore other stories based on it.

His bracelet chimed, soft and deep, gently vibrating against his wrist. The sound registered in the dim haze of retreating sleep, drawing him toward consciousness. When he didn't immediately stir, it sounded again, somewhat louder. From memory, he knew that it flashed yellow when it chimed like this - yellow for the rising sun and the start of a new day.

Now awake, he continued to lie there, watching the darkness inside his eyelids. After an appropriate interval, there was a sudden brightening as the wall screens turned on and the room lights came up. A soothing female voice cooed electronically. "Sleep period has ended. Time to wake up." He opened one eye and looked at the screens. A guidance rep showed on the center one, flowers circling slowly around its computer-rendered head. Each of the other screens held the same image: a sun cresting a distant hill, shrouded in morning clouds. The array on his main wall was seven screens wide and five tall - the light of thirty-four suns poured into the room.

The rep in the center seemed a little different today than he remembered, but who wanted to look the same every day? A small smile followed the thought - the automated personas that directed them through their daily schedules weren't real in a human sense, but they sometimes exhibited oddly human characteristics.

Throwing back the covers, he sighed and slowly sat up. The rep registered his presence.

"Good morning, Kimo! Happy Conception Day!"

This surprised him - he had forgotten the significance of the day. Perhaps, he reasoned, it was because the day held less significance for him than it did for those around him. To him, it was just another day.

Naked, he stood and padded softly to the toilet in the rear corner and rid himself of a night's worth of waste. Then he stepped to the side and activated the shower, the water flushing away the thin film of sweat that always built up on him while he slept. After two minutes, the water ceased. A heat lamp came on and, together with warm air blowing from wall vents, drove the remaining moisture away.

The routine was ingrained in his subconscious. His conscious mind occasionally rebelled against the daily pattern, but he followed it mechanically, without variance. When the heat shut off, he stood and waited. For the past few weeks, he had performed his morning activities as always, but what he once did with little thought now required more and more prodding by the guidance reps.

As if on cue, the rep gently coaxed him. "Please perform your morning energizers."

He moved to the foot of the bed and began his calisthenics. As he felt the warmth begin to spread through him, he became aware of his heart pumping reassuringly, youthful and strong. After his warm ups and stretches, a termination tone signaled the end, and he leaned against the bed, panting. Before he could completely catch his breath, his bracelet began flashing again. This time it was white and emitted a small happy tone. "Breakfast," he thought, glancing at the wall dispenser where its own white light blinked in unison with the flashing on his wrist. This was one part of his routine that needed no coaxing. He headed to the wall dispenser and slid a glass under the tap. A thick, off-white liquid began flowing from the spigot, filling the glass. It dispensed this precious substance three times a day; these constituted his daily meals. The rest of the time, the dispenser offered only water.

He let the glass fill as much as it could. Then he took it and began downing the contents, gulping it without taste, carefully avoiding any wasteful spills. It was a chore to get it down, but it filled his stomach and would sustain him until the light blinked again at midday. The sensation of the liquid in his mouth triggered a memory, and his teacher's words replayed in his mind.

This special formula contains vitamins, minerals, calories and roughage. All you need to keep your body well, clean, and strong.

Well, indeed.

He placed the glass back in the dispenser. A small door slid shut, and the glass was washed, dried, and sterilized.

Noticing the drawn curtains, he headed again toward the back of the room. He pulled the curtains to the sides, and light streamed in. The single larger screen here gave a good simulation of a window. He knew some of the exterior rooms in the buildings had actual windows, but he didn't feel deprived. There was nothing he wanted to see outside anyway.

He glanced around the room. Bed, toilet, and shower. Dispenser, desk, and screens. Window and door. That was it. There were a few things in the desk drawers - his clothes and some interesting rocks he collected during his recreation periods - but everything that was his fit in the space of a single, sparse room.

Having done its job, the rep was gone. The screens were empty, awaiting his morning activities. He stared at the black rectangles. What to do? There were so many things that he should be doing that he didn't feel like attempting this morning. There were his studies. There were his advanced toning exercises. There were his pointless reviews of who was moving up in the world, of who now placed higher in the daily rankings than they had the day before. He had done it all, many times. Shouldn't he be allowed a small change now and then? And besides, it was his Conception Day. Everyone considered the day special. Why shouldn't he do something special?

He grabbed the pointer off the desk and activated a lower screen. A list of choices appeared, and he navigated through them with practiced speed. A click brought his own rep to the screen. As he looked it over, he felt a twinge of disgust. He had created this almost a year ago and hadn't paid much attention to it since, though it was his representation every day. It looked... dated. No wonder Shona said he was boring.

The thought of his girlfriend brought his eyes to the screen where her rep always appeared. It had been highly significant to her when he had dedicated three screens to their daily interactions. One was for her rep. The other two she could use for whatever she wanted. Usually, she used them to show him things that interested her, to share little bits of her world with him. The three screens were centered along the top row of his array. It was a prime piece of interactive real estate, and it was hers.

His rep stared at him. He frowned and opened a toolbox on screen. He made a few small changes, increased the hair length and lightened its color, reshaped the ears, added a few freckles to his cheeks. With a flip of the wand, he turned on test mode, and the rep came to life.

"Hello, stupid," Kimo said to his alter ego. A microphone picked up his voice, enhanced it, and applied specific effects he had selected. Before he had finished the second word, the floating head was already echoing the words back to him.

"Hello, stupid," it said, in a mutated form of his voice.

He rocked his head from side to side; it followed suit. He stuck his tongue out and wagged it at the image. After a brief delay, it sassed him back. There were various canned reactions in a small palette near the side of the screen. He clicked one, and the rep's eyes grew wide in surprise. Another brought a thoughtful look. He laughed out loud at the reactions, and the rep tipped its head back and guffawed.

Admittedly, the palette wasn't very large. Shona spent many hours each week adding to and polishing her ever-increasing supply of reactions. She looked with contempt on the meager stock set that Kimo used, and she accused him at times of being cold, of hiding his true feelings from her. While the range of emotions she expressed was entertaining, the effort didn't seem worth it to him.

Beneath his rep, he saw his full name. It consisted of his given name, then his conception date. At the end, there was a suffix that indicated his community group, written as a single letter. These three pieces written together with dashes between them uniquely identified every person. Kimo belonged to the Theta community. Shona belonged to Iota.

He studied the creation before him. "This is me," he thought. "This is how everyone sees me."

His continued adjustments to his rep were interrupted by a familiar musical sequence. A small emblem flashed in the center of Shona's main screen. He quickly saved his rep and then pointed the wand at her screen and activated it. Her smiling rep appeared, wagging happily.

"Good morning!" she said. "Happy Conception Day!"

"Morning," he answered. "Thanks."

"Hey," she said. "You've made some changes. Not bad! It makes you look a little..." Her rep looked up and to the side and furrowed its brow as she pondered. "...older, but I like it." Then her rep tilted its head and looked curious in an exaggerated way. "Is that for your Conception Day, or were you just tired of looking the same for over a year?"

"Oh, I don't know," he said. "I guess I hadn't looked at it for a while."

"Well," she said, "you should look at it more often. I like the change."

He nodded his thanks and then wondered what she saw when he did that. He made a mental note to try that gesture sometime in test mode.

"Did you see this?" she continued. The screen to the right of her rep activated, and she brought up the latest Science rankings. "It looks like Mario and Lila are moving up. You better not slack off too much, or they'll pass you."

"I take care of my studies," he said. "Don't worry."

"Oh, I don't know. Even I've been gaining on you lately, and I'm the artistic type."

"I'll be fine," he said, but the reality registered with him. He had been slacking off lately. It was a result of the general lethargy he'd been feeling, and he had no idea what was causing it.

Shona's rep hung there, unusually silent. Normally, she talked without cease when they first connected in the morning. Something was up.

"You ok?" he asked. "You don't seem so chatty today."

"Oh," she started. "I've just been thinking." And with those few words, he knew exactly what was coming next. "You're twenty-five now. You're getting older. I'm getting older. I think it's time we had a child together..."

This was a topic she had broached a few months back, on the second anniversary of their first interaction. He knew it was something that meant a lot to her, and he believed that someday he would take that step with her. For now, though, he was happy the way things were; and the inexplicable unhappiness he'd been feeling lately weighed even more on his mind.

"Why do we need to?" he started, dredging up the excuses he'd worked out and filed away for a time like this. "They're making babies with our sex cells every day. They're repopulating the Earth. We've already helped create more new people than we will ever know."

"I know," she said, and her rep got a faraway look. "But there's something about having our own child, about telling them that you and I want our cells put together to make a child that we'll actually know about. We'll get to watch him or her grow up. We'll get to have a real relationship with a person we've created."

"What if this baby is in a different time zone?" he said. "The only way we'll be able to interact with it is if we're up all night. I don't know if I can handle that right now."

"Oh, I don't think they'd do that," she said, her rep shaking its head dismissively. "I mean, we're only an hour apart, right? Surely they can find a place for our child somewhere close to us." A look of excitement came over her. "We would get to pick a name. We could design the reps he or she would use for the early years. We could dedicate screens to our daily interactions..."

"I don't know if I have any spare screens," he said lamely.

"Well, you can use one of mine," she said, undeterred. "This would be a new permanent addition to our lives together."

He felt beaten. "Shouldn't we be married first?"

"Oh, you're so old-fashioned," she quipped, and the rep gave him a condescending look. "You don't have to be married to have children together. But..." The rep's eyes looked down at her name gracing the bottom of the screen. "...I would love to have a ring next to my name. Especially if it's your ring." A unique look passed over the rep's face. "And it would stop those friends of yours from trying to have sex with me..."

"What?!" Kimo said, surprised. "Who?" He was sure he didn't have to click the "shocked" button for that reaction to come across.

"Oh... nothing," she said vaguely, but there remained a small, mischievous smile.

He drew in a breath to say more but was interrupted by his bracelet suddenly flashing green and making a broad, windy sound.

"Oh, nuts!" Shona said with frustration. "I hate this time difference between us. So many hours wasted when we could be together!"

Kimo switched gears instantly. "I'll catch up with you later," he said. "I need to get dressed."

"Okay," she said. "Love you." Her eyes were two red hearts, beating slowly.

"Love you, too," he said, with uncertain emotion. He clicked on her screen and disconnected.

Weakness gripped him; he felt unable to move. Though the chime had sounded, he remained sitting in front of the desk. How could he deal with this recent state of mind? He felt like nothing in his life was under his control.

Before he could think much further, a guidance rep appeared on the center screen. The remaining screens switched to green hillsides and fluffy clouds. Butterflies danced about, hip-hopping from flower to flower.

The rep's mouth moved. Unlike the soothing voice that roused him this morning, this one was forceful, demanding, male. "Begin recreation period."

"Yeah, yeah," Kimo said, sliding open the drawer and removing his Clean Gown.

The beige, one-piece gown slipped quickly over his naked form. There was a hole in the top for his head, and his arms went into sleeves that extended a foot past the end of his hands. He slipped his feet into beige slippers, and grabbed a Safe Hood. Like the rest, the hood was also beige, with two holes for eyes and two more to allow sound to reach his ears. He slipped the hood over his head and moved toward the door, swishing slightly as he walked.

Gripping the handle through the gown, he opened the door. Others walked by, dressed identically. He scanned the hallway traffic, looking for a clear space. "Four feet," he thought. "Four feet." Years of training made his actions automatic.

Touch is dirty and wrong. Touch is dangerous. Touch leads to sickness and death. You must preserve the sanctity of your body. You are essential in restoring humankind to the Earth.

Spying a promising spot, he stepped out and quickly fell in with the rest. They walked together silently, tense with their mutual proximity, heading toward the main doors leading to the outer areas. Once they passed through the doors, they fanned out, naturally seeking a more comfortable distance from each other.

Kimo headed away from the building, along a path that led into the hills. He enjoyed the extra workout he got by hiking up the sloping footpath, and the view near the top was restful and restorative. The recreation period lasted an hour; it was more than enough time to somewhat rejuvenate both his body and spirit.

As he rounded a curve in the path, he stopped, shocked at what he saw coming toward him. He had never seen such a nightmarish sight before. Heading down the path was a woman. At least, he thought it was a woman, based on what the female reps typically looked like. Normally, the gowns and hood made it impossible to distinguish anything about a person, including gender. But the one who walked toward him wore no hood. Her hair flowed down past her shoulders, her face clearly visible for everyone to see. The sight filled him with panic. When she saw him, she looked down and continued to stroll along the path. Immobilized with fear, he could only watch her approach. His thoughts filled with fervent wishes that she would go away quickly.

As she passed him, she glanced to the side and smiled. He felt his breath catch. Her smile was perfect; her eyes were filled with life, unlike those of the reps he had known all his life. His panic evaporated, and he turned to watch her walk away, stepping off into the woods. Just before she slipped from sight, she turned and, seeing him staring at her, gave him a small wave of her hand.

His knees were weak. He felt an urge to follow her. Then he shook his head. "No," he thought. "This is wrong. She's breaking the law. It would be dangerous to follow, and it could lead to me getting in trouble."

Shaken, he turned and continued down the path, but he couldn't get her out of his mind. Her smile... Her eyes... Reaching a pleasing height, he sat on a large rock and looked out over the buildings below. They dotted the landscape, to the horizon and beyond. He had tried counting them once, but there wasn't enough time in his recreation periods.

He turned over and over in his mind what had just happened. It made no sense to him. He was less disturbed by the woman's hoodless violation than he was by his reaction. The feelings she caused in him made him feel dirty. What had she done to him?

He was still thinking about all these things when his bracelet began flashing white again, signaling the end of the recreation period. He stood immediately and headed back toward the building, falling in step with the others as they walked steadily toward their rooms and their waiting midday meal.

Part 2

[Peppy]

Whoa man, please continue. You got the Great_Peppy hooked.I'm usually interested in what the future has to offer.

Man, I'm curious on what's going to happen in this story. When is part two coming?

Kimo is an awesome name... I'll try to be a meany critic on part 2. I'll try...

[Bluejay]

Soon, I hope. This is the first time I've posted before the story was finished, to see what people think. But I know exactly how it's going to play out, which means I won't be getting much sleep until it's done.

The positive feedback is a great inspiration. Thanks!

[xtremelady]

A great start...I think my only thoughts at this stage is trying to figure out from the dates if u wrote this before the marriage thread or not. The ring next to their name...stuff about e-kids. Can't wait for chapter 2.

[Bluejay]

I wrote this before. Hey, I can be on the leading edge of thought for, oh, a week or so, if I'm lucky.

[petsam007]

very coool!!! i'll be checking out the next part soon.

[Achele]

Very Pavlovian beginning, was that by design?

I read all four parts in one sitting. Very thought provolking, I wonder if the human race could reach this point of isolation even with out the intervention of a epidemic.

[Bluejay]

Originally Posted by petsam007

very coool!!! i'll be checking out the next part soon.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Achele

Very Pavlovian beginning, was that by design?

I read all four parts in one sitting. Very thought provolking, I wonder if the human race could reach this point of isolation even with out the intervention of a epidemic.

I did see them almost as cattle, herded, conditioned, limited, exploited. It begs the question of who exactly is running the show, but that's perhaps for another time.

The point about isolation: one could take as a moral of this tale that without such enforced limitations (or even with), people will seek each other out, to interact in a "real" way. But we do see more and more interaction in the present that is not face-to-face, but rather over some sort of "IT". As long as the balance is preserved, I think we'll be fine as a race.

[RENA HANDS]

The remaining statement of your synopsis/note is a bit confusing.

Should it not be ‘towards’…he headed again towards the back of the room.?

Again, I am asking about ‘toward’….and moved towards the door,?(I could be wrong, but I wanted to ask the rule(s) on this matter.)

There three or two more instances about this same matter, but I'm sure you will give an answer soon enoug.

Well, this is certainly going to be a very, very interesting, thoughtful story.

[Bluejay]

Originally Posted by RENA HANDS

The remaining statement of your synopsis/note is a bit confusing.

Should it not be ‘towards’…he headed again towards the back of the room.?

Again, I am asking about ‘toward’….and moved towards the door,?(I could be wrong, but I wanted to ask the rule(s) on this matter.)

There three or two more instances about this same matter, but I'm sure you will give an answer soon enoug.

Well, this is certainly going to be a very, very interesting, thoughtful story.

It's interesting you bring that up - I've often wondered about "toward" vs. "towards". So I did a quick (you guessed it - Google) search, and the gist of what I saw said they're basically interchangable, though "toward" is considered more American and "towards" is considered more British.

I hope you find the remainder to be so. Thanks for the comment.

[Alex]

I like it, mainly for the fact that either there is a disease in the world or humans are now trying to preserve theirselves. Either way, I really like it.

[Ambrose]

Cool story Bluejay. It's moving a bit slow for my tastes, but you keep my interest with the weird hypochondriac perception of the world that everybody (well, almost) seems to share. I also like the idea of representatives for every person, and how you can tailor your representative with subtle or not so subtle nuances. Kind of reminds of the Matrix mixed with Gattaca. The colorless sludge that the main character drinks every morning is a nice touch.

I think you did a mostly good job of not going out of your way to describe the futuristic setting, since the MC wouldn't be noticing it anymore anyway, with the exception of one instance:

He glanced around the room. Bed, toilet, and shower. Dispenser, desk, and screens. Window and door. That was it. There were a few things in the desk drawers - his clothes and some interesting rocks he collected during his recreation periods - but everything that was his fit in the space of a single, sparse room.

This struck me as being too device-like. Your obviously having him looking around so that you can have us looking around. I would instead give Kimo a reason for doing this--he notices a light flashing on the opposite side of the room indicating five minutes to recreation time, or something. And that way you could say:

Something beeped. His eyes moved like slugs to the source, passing over bed, toilet, and shower. Dispenser, desk, and screens. Window and door. That was it. There were a few things in the desk drawers - his clothes and some interesting rocks he collected during his recreation periods - but everything that was his fit in the space of a single, sparse room. Finally they stopped on the flashing green light.

I'm intrigued by the girl without a mask. Who is this daring beauty? And what will it mean for Kimo and Shona's relationship? Guess I'll have to read on to find out.

[Bluejay]

Ambrose: Thanks for the comments. I do see your point about that section you mentioned, especially (for me) calling the room sparse. Those lines do hint at an awareness of there being something different possible, which may or may not be realistic given his life. You're also right about it starting off slowly. I've gotten that comment elsewhere as well. When I first started this, I don't know if I was sure if it was going to be a long story or a short one. Either way, though, I need to get to the point a little quicker.

Alex: Thanks!

Read on. I hope you enjoy it.

[ea_blue]

Very very Nice. I'm enjoying this a lot so far. You've depicted a sterile future world and spent most of the time describing it within a single room. With what you have so far and the title I have a pretty good idea of what's going on.

It seems your MC has got a nagging itch for a change, and the the woman without a hood is going to lead him to it. Looking forward to the next part!