Alex approached the abandoned mall where the Carbon Renaissance event recently took place. Only scraps of the event remained. No crowds, no one in sight. She walked around the building when she came across a section she was familiar with, the wall of payphones. Nearby the bins full of disposed electronics from the event still stood, looking emptier than they had but not cleaned out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She looked at the device. A large plastic handle with a metal coil wire going to the metal box with a coin slot. It seemed so ancient, like something you would only see from a film decades ago. She lifted the phone and placed it to her ear. A tone played; it was an unfamiliar sound for Alex. She reached in her purse, pulling out Blake\u2019s number and the coin envelope. She placed several coins in, unaware of their value. The tone changed; Alex then began to dial the numbers to Blake. It rang. It rang again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHello?\u201d Blake answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, this is Alex.\u201d She responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlex! What are you up to?\u201d He said, seeming to increase in energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI got out to the mall to make this call. Jess left town, and I wanted to ask more questions about the event.\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWait a second. You went to the mall by yourself?\u201d Blake asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah!\u201d She replied, explaining the trials it took to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet me get out to you. I can drive you back home. Just keep safe until I get there. It should be ten minutes.\u201d Blake said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A large white minivan pulled into the parking lot. A group of people jumped out and began going toward the electronics bins. A woman in the group turned to Alex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t touch any of it. It\u2019s ours. You get it?\u201d She stated with some hostility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, you got it.\u201d Alex responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of them bot freaks.\u201d Another from the group pointed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you gonna report us?\u201d The woman said walking toward Alex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex began stepping away, she looked toward the parking lot and an old orange truck. Blake rolled down his window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEh! You leave her alone, or I\u2019ll get the scrap drones called out here.\u201d Blake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex got into the truck and they drove away from the mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou okay?\u201d Blake asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019m fine.\u201d Alex said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just scrappers. They take away the electronics from the bot tourists that show up and sell it up to repair stores and resellers. Their bark is worse than their bite.\u201d Blake said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are the drones?\u201d She asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re the police. They prevent \u2018illegal waste collection.\u2019 The sheriff drones come in and start yapping until police and recycling crews from the town arrive.\u201d Blake responded, mocking the criminal aspect with his tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you drive to the city in this thing?\u201d Alex inquired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot usually. There\u2019s no parking spaces out there, and this is the family vehicle.\u201d Blake said pulling over. \u201cWhat\u2019s your address?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWait, I don\u2019t think I want to go back yet. I wanted to ask some things.\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can talk on the way. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s enough time.\u201d He responded. \u201cBut if you\u2019d like you can come out to hangout with my family for dinner. They always love having a guest.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex thought for awhile, seeming distraught by the choice of going back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you mind if I have dinner with your family?\u201d Alex asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot at all! Let\u2019s go.\u201d Blake responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blake drove through the suburbs to the place where his home was. He wasn\u2019t as close to the city and factories, he was further away. The trailers began getting replaced by double-wides, and the yards were getting cleaner. He pulled into his driveway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love the turquoise and purple.\u201d Alex commented looking at the family home of Blake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was unusual in this neighborhood. The rest of the homes nearby on the street were grey or navy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something.\u201d Blake responded sarcastically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blake walked with Alex up to the home, holding the door open and gesturing to her to go inside. Alex had a confused expression as she walked in. Most doors in the city were no longer manually opened. She was instantly greeted by the sound of children screaming and several TVs with shows or games. A woman older than Blake came from a hallway not far from the entrance. She was wearing jean shorts and a plaid button up, long black hair in a bun that seemed slightly disheveled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho\u2019s the girl?\u201d She asked Blake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlex, this is my sister, Grace. Grace this is Alex.\u201d Blake said with some irritation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought you were into boys. What happened to Henry?\u201d Grace asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace looked Alex up and down. Her expression seemed displeased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou brought home a bot girl? Dang, you kinky.\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGrace, just be nice.\u201d Blake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFine.\u201d Grace said, she said turning back to Alex. \u201cNice to meet you. You be good to my little bro, okay?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will be. Don\u2019t worry.\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMom! Blake brought home a city girl.\u201d Grace shouted back to the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another woman came out from the hallway. She looked like an older version of Grace, but was more polished. Her hair neater, light makeup, and clothes that matched the pastels of the city with a slightly more dramatic silhouette. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBlake, who is the girl?\u201d She asked as she approached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMom, this is Alex. I met her on a train and we hung out a bit at the renaissance.\u201d Blake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat a cutie!\u201d the woman said looking at Alex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She extended her hand out for a shake. Alex looked for a moment before realizing what to do. The last handshake she had done was for the final interview for her internship. Besides Jess, she had only irregular contact in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy name is Patty, but you can just call me mom while you\u2019re here.\u201d Patty said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNice to meet you.\u201d Alex said back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can take a seat over at the table. I\u2019ll have food out in a few minutes.\u201d Patty said pointing behind toward the dining area just beyond the entrance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A long wooden table with four chairs on each side stretched across the center. A smaller table at a shorter height with four chairs sat in a corner next to it. Alex took a seat at one of the chairs in the center. Patty and Blake began bringing diningware and food from the kitchen onto the large table. Grace had several kids plates in hand that she began placing the different foods on: fried chicken, macaroni, mashed potatoes, and green beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFood\u2019s ready!\u201d Grace shouted as she began putting the plates at the small table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two teenage boys came from the hallway walking toward the table. They were wearing pajama bottoms and hoodies. As they passed Alex they ignored her completely, going directly to the dining table and loading their plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Jet and Max.\u201d Blake said turning to them. \u201cHey, weirdos, why don\u2019t you say hi to our guest? This is Alex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They looked up at Alex and stared a moment before nodding to acknowledge her and getting back to their food, phones in hand. The sound of social media videos and games coming from either. Patty and Grace joined everyone at the table. The kids table had small fights about superhero powers and the latest toys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe food is really good.\u201d Alex exclaimed with a joyous expression as she took a bite of macaroni. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of cheesy pasta before.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s called macaroni, weirdo.\u201d Jet said with a confused look on his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJet, you know she\u2019s from the bot city. They got all those new, modern meals.\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better than this junk. I can\u2019t wait to move to the city.\u201d Max added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust make sure to visit us, even if we aren\u2019t one of the recommended options.\u201d Blake joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patty appeared to have a look of sadness, staring mostly down at her plate while slowly eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAw, Mom. You know you make the best food in all of Michigan. I didn\u2019t mean it that way. Love you.\u201d Max said to affirm her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patty seemed to accept the apology, going back to eating as she had when they first sat down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you sweetie.\u201d Patty said to Max.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex looked at her watch and tapped it to open notifications. Two missed messages, one from Eva and one from Jess which she immediately opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey Alex, just wanted to check in and see how you were doing!\u201d Jess\u2019 message stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alex approached the abandoned mall where the Carbon Renaissance event recently took place. Only scraps of the event remained. No crowds, no one in sight. She walked around the building when she came across a section she was familiar with, the wall of payphones. Nearby the bins full of disposed electronics from the event still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7,6,9,2],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-humanitys-final-horizon","tag-agi","tag-ai","tag-humanitys-final-horizon","tag-scifi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77,"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions\/77"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foxborger.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}