MINDLYFT (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER 28

In a matter of hours people started removing their caps in mass. Soon reports of protests, riots and hysteria poured in over the news feeds. Looting followed and then segments of the economy started reporting losses. Not so much because millions of people stopped showing up for work but because they weren't shopping. Unable to communicate to people via the caps, LawBots and drones were deployed to make announcements over loudspeakers. The faces of buildings were illuminated with messages and SkyFloaters hovered over gathering crowds on rooftops and plazas. All preaching calm. All encouraging people to put their ThinkingCaps on.

We sat in my father's bunker, all of us, Nash, Jimmy, my rapidly shrinking father, sat around Ollie's brain-tank, and watched as Wizard fed holographic images through one of Dad's crude interfaces. We watched cities all over the world as people ran mad through the streets, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to think, and some not knowing who they really were. Many started piling their caps into large mounds and lighting them on fire. We didn't know what to think either.

"Is this good, is this bad?" I finally spoke up after hours of bewildered silence. "We did this didn't we? Is this what we thought would happen?"

"There was bound to be a little bit of chaos," said Nash. "You can't have a revolution without it."

"At this rate the world will be back in the stone age before Dad returns to the womb," said Jimmy.

"Wait, was that your comment or Ollie's?" I asked. Jimmy just gave me a whimsical smile in return. The mind meld between Ollie and Jimmy was uncanny.

"Well, so far, no one is demanding action against MoonCorp," I said. "No one is arguing for a defense project against the solar storms. There might be a revolution in the streets, but in Chicago it's business as usual. What good will it all be if we're roasted alive by an exploding sun."

"We have to go to Chicago ourselves. Speak to them directly," said Dad. He was even smaller than Jimmy now. Wearing a pajama outfit printed from the RobePrinter this morning, tailored to his small frame, with a picture of a bunny on the front. Maybe the printer could only print little kids clothes for someone that small.

"Yes," agreed Jimmy. "To Chicago. We'll convince them ourselves."

I swung my eyes from Jimmy to Ollie's tank and saw Ollie's dog image projected on the walls. He winked at me, as if to say, yes it was me talking.

"Ok, I guess it's worth a shot," I said, although I had no idea what we could say to convince them.

"How are we supposed to get there?" Asked Nash. "GutterVille has walls and DroneGuards around its parameter. No way out without authorization."

"Wizard are you listening?" I spoke to nowhere in particular, considering I never knew which household appliance his consciousness was residing in at any moment.

"I'm here," said Wizard, from a small BroomBot ushering dust in the corner of the room. "I'll call in a DroneCar with official registry. Will arrive in five minutes."

We all went above ground to meet Wizard in the flying craft and were whisked out of the gutter and into the sky minutes later. On our way across Los Angeles and toward Chicago to meet with a senior government committee and to save the Earth. Our attempts at saving humanity were already scourging civilization below us, but we still had high hopes. Wizard played a song from nearly a hundred years ago while we flew, a song called Roboto by the Styxx.

Then Wizard's piloted DroneCar started to have problems and I began to have doubts. He maneuvered an emergency landing onto a MoveMe platform and I took stalk of our little team of revolutionaries.