RoboNomics

Chapter 55 - 2016

"God," Austin looks at me. "Could things get any worse?" 

He begins to untie his boots. One of the men stretches out his hand to receive them. But Austin pulls them back at the last moment.

"Where do we go?"

"Just follow the light." 

The man grabs for the boots. He wrenches them out of Austin's hands.

They continue down the tunnel. Their voices recede into echoes as they disappear into the darkness. I look ahead. There's still a light in the tunnel.

"I had to pay for that information?" Austin asks. 

The lights behind us are dying and the light before us is weak and dim. We have no choice but to start down the tunnel again. As the light grows, a subway car floats towards us from out of the darkness. 

It's still on its track, just like the day it stopped. Light fills its interior. I see people inside. They sit or lay on the seats. Some of them walk around and make shadows that fall outside the front window.

"I guess this is what they meant," I say.

"Come on, Andrea. It might be warm in there."

We squeeze between the car and the wall of the tunnel. We climb into the car through the first window, where the human operator used to stand before it was automated. Now it's just a bulk of enclosed machinery.

I hear a fire crackling. It's too warm in the car for our winter coats but I don't dare remove any clothes. 

There's a pale man lying in the first two seats. He mutters to himself and twists a wad of graying rag through his fingers over and over again. People stare at us openly. 

Austin leads me towards the light. It's a fire that burns on a blackened circle of corrugated steel at the end of the subway car. 

Where did they get wood? I wonder.

A lady wrapped in scarves and an oversize trench coat crouches beside the fire. She hoists a pot onto the flames. My stomach lurches at the smell. 

She looks up at us as we approach. I know her eyes.

"Andrea?" Lilly says. "Oh my god, I had no idea what happened to you!" 

She leaves the pot and embraces me before I have time to react.

"Lilly!" I exclaim. 

She's the same as the neighbor I knew, months ago, but her face has fallen. Her cheeks are not full anymore. She looks ten years older than when I last saw her. 

"What are you doing here? What is this place?"

"Oh, yeah, the cars," she indicates the subway in a sweeping gesture. "Our little home. They're so much better than the stations, aren't they? But most people are too afraid to walk out here." 

I notice that it's quiet in the car even though there are people lying or sitting everywhere. It seems like most of them are asleep, despite the firelight. The people who are awake watch our interaction suspiciously.

"But who cares about all that. What's happened with you? How--oh my god, Austin, how are you?" She looks up at him for the first time.

"We're okay," I lie. "We were living in a house but it was getting too cold."

"Yes, it's too cold to go up there much. But have a seat. I'm making some dinner. You can have some if you like." 

She leads us around the fire. She resumes her seat and pats the floor beside her.