Hacking the Sun - The Re-Remake

Chapter 1 Dreams of Yet Another Retro Geek 3/3

Beth snickered. "You get tired of knowing everything, hmm?"

"What are ya watching?" Jessica pointed at the hologram.

"Television."

Smirking. "What is on the television?"

"That political stuff kids don't much care for, or adults for that matter. World 'leaders' debating who gets more water."

"Is water becoming scarce again?"

"No, they just want more of it."

"Ah."

"Russia keeps threatening to leave the World Union, for the seventeenth-thousandth time." Beth shook her head. "A lot of hot smoke, but that doesn't stop anyone from saying they'll do this or do that."

"Way more childish than your great grandfather's time, right?"

Beth tapped the sofa cushion next to her, and Jessica sat in a pretzel beside her, removing her colorful hat and setting it on her knee.

"You spend quite a bit of time outside," Beth started. "Do you see a lot of violence while you're out there?"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Conflict, yea. Violence, almost never."

"My father told me things that he learned from his father, and his father before that. Great Grandpapa..." Beth turned her whole body, brandishing her six-sided star necklace. "He was a passionate man in a time where passions were misplaced. He reserved his passion for everyday people and justice. In his time, people killed one another because of something as silly as skin color. And people with so much money—all the money the world—could skirt the law, break promises, and control governments without running for office."

Jessica listened with eyes like a lynx, intent upon Beth's every word. Her intensity entailed a measure of disbelief, but she was fascinated all the same.

"So, what did your great-grandfather do?"

"Well, he kept going, and going, and going, and he almost became a figure who could enforce a revolution."

"I know the end of this story..."

More somberness from Beth's eyes. "It means the world to me that he tried, but this has become a very gloomy conversation. You shouldn't be putting up with an old woman's gloominess, Jess."

"Pero Beth, I'm too curious. Only reason I don't ask about it is because I don't want to bother you, too much."

"You most certainly do not bother me. Only every time you visit."

Jessica and Beth exchanged glances before they burst into laughter. Beth leaned in and wrapped Jessica in a bear hug. Her tall figure always engulfed yet never overwhelmed.

"I listened to that song you like, the other day," Beth mumbled. "It's older than me."

Jessica gently parted from her arms. "Which of the thousands?"

"The one with the guitar, where the girl sings about bad reputations."

"You're welcome." Jessica checked her watch. "Frak, I have to go."

"Oh, yea?"

"It's about time to go nocturnal."

"Whelp, I won't keep you. Just be sure to stay safe and—I did it again."

Jess put on her hat, grabbed her board, and made her way to the door. "See you, Beth."

"Guten nacht, Jess. And noches buenas. Did I get it?"

Jessica grinned. "Yep. And almost." When the door slid open, she departed.

Outside the door to Beth's room, she reflected. Every night in that apartment was rejuvenating. She needed nothing more.

***

"Welcome back, Jessica." Back to her little room, number 59. First, she slid her finger down the white pad beneath Stevie Nicks. "Autobots, roll out!" It flickered a tiny red light that quickly burned blue.

All of a sudden, the room's furniture shifted. The bed flipped upward and disappeared into the hanger closet while both shelves began sliding toward each other, to the center. Very quickly, the layout had transformed.

To the left, where the shelf used to be, rested a kiln counter-top. A mannequin decorated the far-left corner, outfitted with a blue Star Fleet uniform; her skin tingled every time she remembered the bidding war. The prized possession looked flashy next to her second most prized possession, the coffee maker.

Directly to the right was a new standout feature, a crescent desk attached to the wall. The arrangement came with a keyboard, mouse, and a black holoprojector whose slithery shell matched the sleek desktop underneath. The desktop bore black and blue grooves, blue with a neon glow. Also, it had stickers.

The arrangement had its own desk and a mesh chair that unfolded from the shelf, a very special chair because it had wheels. On either side of the cone projector were two figurines: R2D2 on the right, BB-8 on the left. Dominating the wall, a large poster displayed white letters: R, W, B, Y, and four female silhouettes in a polychromatic background of red, white, dark grey, and yellow respectively.

Finally, the shelf revealed a silkscreen divider. Jessica unfolded the screen around her little nook, shielding herself with the bat symbol. Once obscured, she sat upright. "Babel, on."

"Voice signature recognized." Several monitors illuminated above the projector, together rendering the hi-res image of a wild feline. "Good evening, Lynx."