How to Date an Android

How to Date an Android Chapter 19

If you consider the number of towns in each state that isn't much compared to the whole population. But the longer it's in play the more people will jump in or play copycat.

Then there was a same channel news story within the next five minutes of two serial snipers copycatting each other in New York. The first opening paragraph reads six dead in twenty four hours, four dead the day before. Is this an epidemic?!

Still no mention of anything at all in Wisconsin...or anything at all in the state...

South Carolina Governor calls out the National Guard for pre-emptive riot control measures.

Los Angeles county fire burns taking over 20,000 homes and a good chunk of the county. Also riots and unrest related in that one.

But maybe people are de-sensitized to this kind of stuff? There'd been so much unrest already for many years from different ethnic groups or others trying to manipulate people to fight for them. I didn't realize until now how dangerous that had been. The social liberties riots during the last twelve years would make people want to chalk this up as just another civil rights activist movement, which was more liberal than the previous movements.

People had been tired of hearing about riots for a long, long time.

All of that just happened in one day? It's crazy.

I tried to put in an order for the temp service to have someone do a shopping list but their phone number is offline.

Weird...how is that possible? I am sure I don't have the number wrong. This is the same number I used before.

I go back to my exercise regime and start working out. I built up a good sweat and it helped me clear my mind. But the weights I was using were something an elementary kid would use so it's still discouraging when I look at them. To take my mind off it I think about my next phase of planning instead.

A few hours later I decide to use my backyard for a garden. There won't be any grass at all by the time I'm done with this. Everything is going to be wall to wall garden. But that's a lot of work. It's not something I can even start within a week, partly because I've still got mobility issues.

That's a good survival strategy right?

All I have to do is be self sufficient right?

I have to think differently than before and like I'd never had all this technology since public utilities were dependent on technology. It will also mean coming up with new ways of doing things.

I'll have to go through my trash and my used stuff to look for anything that can be converted into a portable garden pot or planter. That means cans, buckets, plastic containers, and even old ramen cups and trays.

I have enough dirt so I don't need to buy dirt...but it'll be hard later on to actually do the digging with just my arms, since my feet are still pretty weak even though I'm trying to walk.

But it's already hot and midsummer. So I've already missed part of the growing season right? ...That part kind of bites. I could gamble on a late winter being enough time to actually get something from growing things. Lately the mass encroachment of concrete in the country had somewhat delayed the winter cold because of the ability to trap in heat longer.

I would have to also start soon enough to do all kinds of seed experiments. It wouldn't be feasible to think that everything that I made would be a success and having many types of experiments and approaches would counter the losses.

Still no boost data phone when I checked for it after lunch. That's weird, since androids are dependable.

After exercising I went at it again after I got a second wind. I even added in other types of exercises that weren't prescribed. But some weren't doable. When you have trouble sitting up or even getting off your back then anything that makes you get on your back is not even possible or worth the risk.

Towards evening I finally got some stuff in my mailbox.

It's a wonder the postal system has survived this long. It never died out over the years because not everything can be downloaded...but their reputation is beyond horrible. They don't even try very hard and it's not unusual for them to deliver unpredictably. If they are supposed to deliver the usual time around 2 PM in the afternoon on a given street, it isn't unusual to at least once a week see them doing it late at night like 9 or 10 PM.

I'm surprised though when they deliver late.

There's a knock on the door.

It takes a while but I answer.

It's the postal guy.

"Hey I don't usually do this. This is under the table you understand? I don't want to lose my job and I have four kids. One of them is sick," the guy said.

He slips me a nonstandard postal package. It's an envelope.

Is this the boost phone? It's way late. He should have had it here yesterday.

He leaves quickly, looking around over his shoulder.

"Wait, who gave this to you to send to me?" I asked before I opened it.

"I don't know man. Like I said...my kid needs a kidney transplant. I needed a few bucks on the side to help him out. Don't tell anyone please."

I didn't say anything but nodded.

He leaves.

I open the package.

I breathe a big breathe of relief. It's the boost phone.

There's an envelope too. And there's also a text message in the dataphone.

I read the first message.

It reads; "If you are reading this then you got the package. Also there should be a clip of money in the same envelope to further our goals. The amount in the clip should cover down payment in case we need to work things out. They might not return the previous down payments cash in time to rush this through. Also if there's a price difference..."

It has no name...but it could only be Barbara.

And there's no money clip. I can vaguely see there had been something in there because there was some tape on the inside of the envelope to keep the clip flat against the phone and from moving within the envelope.

It's been stolen.

Wow.

We'd finally gotten a plan and now we had to change things.

And it was in jeopardy and soon to be fading smoke of a broken dream.

Was it the postal worker that had stolen it? It could be him...but it also depended on how many people had been involved in the handoff before it got to him.

And when I tell Barbara her company called, her text response came back as, "Melinda? Or was it Melissa? I don't know either of them. They don't work in my department. Did you save the video feed?"

"I did. Is there a way to send it to you?" I texted back, via voice import and convert to text.

"Send anonymous saved as a generic attachment. I'll send you the email account. On standby."

I sent a copy of the recorded conversation with Melissa.

A few minutes later Barbara's response comes back.

"This person doesn't work at our branch. Our branch is the only one servicing this county and the two other counties close by."

"So what does that mean? Who is she?" I asked.

"She doesn't work for Meliffera," Barbara said.

"What? How can that be? So who is she? Is she even an android?" I said.

"She might be hunting androids or those that harbor them or it could be a fed employee trying to figure out if someone who was one of the purchasers happened to be the one that stole that batch of androids," she said via text.

I cringed.

Shit.

"Jack, be careful," she said.

"I'll try. But...uh, I got to go. Somebody's is outside," I said.

"Don't go outside after dark," was the last thing she said.