Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mara brought them to a large room filled with computers and old electronics. Some of the equipment had been gathered recently at Mara’s request in preparation for Alex’s arrival.

Incarus was an agrarian society, living mostly off the land. A few members had ties to the outside world, but for the most part, they kept to themselves. They grew their own food, raised their own cattle, and maintained all the equipment themselves.

“This is our equipment room,” Mara said. “Feel free to poke around. If you need anything else, just let me know.”

Just then, Alex realized she may have overestimated her mother’s ability to obtain the needed equipment. The room was a scattered mess with heaps of circuit boards, wires, and various other indeterminate components lying about in a disorderly fashion.

“Oh gosh,” Alex muttered under her breath.

“It looks like a tornado ripped through an electronics museum. Does this stuff even work still?” Milo asked

“It should. You know the saying – ‘they just don’t make them like they use to’.”

“I do know that saying,” Alex said. “It was popularized around the turn of the 21st century and was actually referring to products from the previous century. In order to stay competitive in a progressive market, companies reduced their quality standards as a way of cutting costs and keeping their products affordable. Unfortunately, your equipment is considered the junk in that statement.”

“Let’s just say we’ve made the equipment work for us.”

“Can you even download information into your brain with this stuff?” Milo asked.

“No, it’s not that sophisticated, but sometimes the old fashioned way of learning works just as good, if not better. Isn’t that right, Alex?”

“Definitely.”

“Now I see where Alex gets that from.”

One wall was completely lined with old movies and games. Milo approached the small library and began to peruse the titles.

“What are these things?” he inquired.

“They’re called Blu-ray Discs.”

“What do they do?”

“They play movies on a device called a television. You just need to turn it on, put the disc in the Blu-ray player tray, then select the right mode.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” he said as he picked up a movie titled I, Robot and began reading the back.

Mara sensed his interest and asked, “Have you seen that one?”

“No. I don’t know who this Will Smith character is, but it looks lame. These robots don’t look realistic at all.”

“Will Smith is an actor, not a character.”

“Whatever, stories about the future never seem to get it right.” He put the movie back and moved on to the next thing that piqued his interest.

“Hey, what’s this?”

Mara turned to see what he was referring to. In his hands was a thin box.

“It’s called a board game. That one there is a classic.”

Milo read the title of the tattered box, ‘Trivial Pursuit — Advanced Edition.’ “Hey, Alex, let me test you,” he said, taking out a handful of cards.

“When was the Treaty of Westphalia signed?” he read out loud.

“1648.”

“What woman was arrested for voting in the U.S. Presidential Election of 1872?”