Allison

“Hey Allison, how are things?

“All things considered, pretty good for a teenager my age, J0E.”

“What are you doing hanging around here in SECTOR 13?”

“You gonna call it in?”

“Hey, come on, you know I have to secure QUADRANT FIVE.”

“Yeah, I know, but why can’t we roam these areas anymore?”

“Well ever since that breach in SECTOR 15, The Supreme, ordered for all citizens to remain within their respective sectors.”

“We’re sitting eight hundred acres from SECTOR 15, what more could happen. The Supreme too afraid to deal with something they wouldn’t dare want to face?”

“I understand your frustration, I do, but it’s my responsibility to ensure that nothing gets in and more importantly, gets out.”

“That blows monkey shit!”

“Where did you hear such an absurd phrase like that?”

“The Archive, ...I must’ve read it somewhere when our clan made the trip a few months back.”

“Well, that’s odd, primates have been extinct for over a century.”

“Try, more like wiped from existence.”

“In any case, I’ve never known them to toss feces about.”

“Well, maybe a droid like yourself should do some extra research on the subject, J0E.”

“Alright, give me a moment.”

“What are you doing?”

“Searching!”

“Searching? Searching for what?”

“Primates and whether they did toss fecal matter.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Allison.”

“Okay, from which point of history will you be running this particular search?”

“Two hundred years or so before this period.”

“And? …And! Come on, the suspense is killing me.”

‘DOWNLOAD COMPLETE’

“Pulling data from The Archive was not an easy task Allison, it seems some of the information was lost or corrupted.”

“Yeah, I saw that too. Some of the files I checked were of happier times, just old photographs with a few legible pockets and paragraphs.”

“What were you hoping to find?”

“Anything...I guess.”

“Anything specific?”

“I was sort of hoping to find, ahh ... never mind, it’s stupid.”

“Hoping to find what, Allison?”

“How things were before the splice.”

“Would you like me to run an enhanced search?”

“No, no, that’s okay. I’ve seen enough death and destruction for one lifetime thanks.”

“How about this instead, would this offer any help.”

“J0E..., showing me clips and pictures of kittens doing cute things, does not help...geez.”

“Well, they always seemed to work for most of humanity.”

“So, let’s change the topic. And speaking of which, what have you learned or discovered about monkeys?”

“That they do, on occasion toss their feces about.”

“Aha!... Ha!, told you.”

“Allison?”

“Yeah...”

“I’m a bit curious about something.”

“Oh yeah, what about?”

“How come you still wear that?”

“Wear what J0E?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, but I want to hear you ask me.”

“Alright, why do you still wear that locket?”

“Ever since the cleansing a while back, I’ve been feeling pretty lost.”

“Lost? how so, …I don’t understand.”

“Lost with how things are, how they will continue to change.”

“Yes, it’s unfortunate, the answers we seek won’t be found in The Archive, and believe me, I’ve checked.”

“Hmm ... I know, our clan leader told me the same.”

“Then what clings you to keep wearing that silver heart?”

“I found this heart-shaped locket when we first arrived in QUADRANT FIVE; it called to me.”

“How did you manage that...?

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“How could you possibly know, what I’m going to say!”

“Yeah, I do. We’ve been living in darkness since longer than I’ve been alive...and yes, I read that in The Archive too.”

“Oh...Oh dear, they...”

“Hmm, hmm...may I please continue?”

“Yes, of course.”

“When we arrived through the compound doors, I caught a shiny reflection. Our 2480 Juggernaut drove past SECTOR 1 and viola.”

“Alright, you told me how you found the item, but you haven’t answered my question, Allison, why do you wear the locket?”

“It gives me hope J0E...reminds me of how things were and how they may be again.”

‘PROGRAM ENDED’

A panel slides open, and a heart-shaped locket is placed within. Suddenly, blinding spotlights inject the darkness, and the J 0 3 sentinel charges up its engines, building energy to thrust away from SECTOR 13...

“Goodbye Allison, until next time.”