The G. M. Os. - 4. Chapter 4 - Apricots

Chapter 4
Ship Clock 262003
Moli 20-578p
Apricots

 

Moli sat in her room without the energy for anything. She had a book on her module to study, but it was boring and caused her to nod off on occasion. She lay back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. She noticed a spark of light directly above her. She’d never noticed it before and wondered what it was. She got up and went out of the room.

“Nanny, where are you,” Moli called.

“In my storage room, why are you not studying?” Nanny said in the way bots could talk through walls.

“There’s something in my room I want you to look at.”

“Is it bright, shiny, and in your ceiling?” Nanny asked as she trundled out into the hall.

“Yes, what is it?” Moli asked; surprised Nanny knew about it.

“Someone has been around a bot hole and the authorities are watching you for any illegal activity on your part. You have not been reading the book assigned to you by the syllabus. You will not be able to do your paper unless you read that book. Also, we are concerned for you because of your friendship with Eugenus 54-721c.”

“So, you, too, think I need to be watched?” Moli asked as the question washed down her face.

“As I said, we are concerned for your future if you continue to see Eugenus.”

“But, Gene is my special friend,” Moli said, sure that Nanny would keep her confidence; she was certain no one knew of her feelings toward Gene. “We live too far from anyone else with children close to my age and Eugeni is so tied up in her studies that she’s never been interested in becoming friends. Gene is sweet to me.”

“Did he tell you what he was doing on his module the last time you saw him?”

“No, he never tells me what he does on his module other than what field of study he’s working on. He’s doing biology this time. I hope he stays with it at least to get a preliminary degree. I don’t think he knows what he wants to do in the future.”

Nanny stood still for a long moment. Her eyes blinked and she said, “Yes, we are aware of that. He has too many interests and cannot focus on any specific course of study, but that will change. He has been given a degree program to pursue.”

“What do you mean he’s been given a degree program? I thought humans had free choice to pursue whatever degree they wanted.”

“Gene committed a crime and he has been put in detention. As part of his sentence he has been given a new degree program that he will finish when he gets a doctorate or suffer the consequences of not paying attention to his future. He has no choice in this matter.”

“Oh, no, what have they done to him?” Moli cried as a tear ran down her cheek.

“It’s not what they have done, it is what he has done; and, now he has to pay for his illegal activity. As you might, if you continue to go to that bot hole and see Eugenus, or Gene as you call him.”

“But I have to see him, he’s my friend. We only see each other at the log. I’ve never been to his residence and he’s never been here. Molus doesn’t like him.”

“Yes, I know. Now, go back to your module and start reading that book.”

“Can I use the narration utility?”

Nanny paused, again. Moli knew she was talking to the bots. All of the bots did that pausing whenever they ran into a problem with the humans. Moli’s look of impatience must have brought Nanny back because her eyes flickered as she stared down at her young charge.

“If you must, yes, that will be okay, but realize you will not have the same experience with narration that you have with reading with your eyes,” Nanny said with the air of bot authority that Moli disliked. “We know what you want to pursue in life and it is commendable, though it will be of little use to the ship. There are no other scholars of ancient human languages on this vessel.”

“None?”

“There was one, but she committed a crime and will not pursue a degree in that field. Though, you will be allowed to pursue your doctorate.”

“But who wrote the books?”

“Bots. Now, go back to your room and get busy on that book; or, I may have to send you out into the fields to help the farm bots, again.”

“Okay, you don’t have to threaten me,” Moli said as she opened her bedroom door and turned to go inside. “I learned my lesson that other time.”

********

Three months later, Moli sat in front of her module and stared at her grade on the paper she wrote on the ancient Greeks. She expected less, but a perfect score of 10.0 was acceptable. She didn’t know who the Greeks were other than they had a rather complicated language. She moved back to the message index screen and selected the next item. It was the syllabus for her next paper on the Greek language. She’d read most of the books for the first paper, but would review them according to the course outline. Three new books appeared to be by the same author, but it was silly to think that because all coursework was written by the bots. They just might have come up with the ancient Greek language just for the class she was taking.

She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The sparkly thing was still up there sending its reports on her to bot security. There was nothing she could do about it, though. She’d been marked as a possible criminal simply by being a friend of Gene, who she hadn’t seen since that day on the log. She had been going back up there just in the hope he would be there when she arrived, but he wasn’t. Wherever the bots took him, it was obvious they were going to keep him for a long time. She felt a small tear trickle down the side of her face. Yes, she missed him terribly. He was the one person in the whole district who she felt was a true friend.

Her mind wandered toward an imaginary future where both were attending the same university because their chosen fields required hands-on experience, but what field could she choose? She lived on a farm and, now that she was a year older, had to help around the place doing jobs the bots didn’t want to do and felt she was capable of doing. It wasn’t a formal job, just things on Stefansday when she didn’t have school and one or both of her parents were off taking Molus to a futbol game. She stared at the ceiling and wondered if that thing up there could read her mind. She wanted it taken away.

But, what new field could she study that would require her to go to a university. Agriculture was an obvious choice, but doing vegetables, fruit, and grain didn’t really appeal to her. On the other hand, there must be something that would require her to attend a university and would still have something to do with growing plants. She’d have to ask Dadi or Momi, maybe they might know. Of course, the risk in asking them was they might just tell her to apply for a permit to stay on the farm until she had the experience to move onto a farm partnership that suited her. She knew she had to ask one of them and knew her Momi was probably the best. Dadi was always too practical. He was the one who decided that a second iteration age eleven girl could start learning how to work on a farm, but what made her mad was that Molus, because he wanted to be a pro futbol player, didn’t have to do farm work as long as he was practicing futbol moves.

She sat up, put her boots on, and zipped up her coveralls. She knew someone would tell her now was the time she should be studying, but she missed Gene and wanted to go up to the log to see if he was there. There had to be something she could say that would permit her to go up there. She’d ask Nanny if she could suggest someone.

Moli stepped out into the hall and called out, “Nanny, where are you?”

“In my storage room, why are you not studying?” Nanny said.

“I want to go up to the log and see if Gene is there,” Moli said.

Nanny trundled out of her closet and stood in front of Moli, close in front. Moli knew she was going to get in trouble for this, but she had to stay and take her punishment.

“Gene is not out of detention and when he is he will be on community service,” Nanny said. “He will not be able to be up at the log for at least six more months. Now, go back and start studying on your new lesson; or, do I have to talk to your parents. They are busy right now and should not be interrupted, but I will if you do not go back in that room and start studying. And, stop staring at the ceiling.”

Moli turned around and thought it was strange that Nanny knew she had been staring at that thing in the ceiling. She went back out in the hall and went to Nanny’s closet and knocked on the door, but received no answer.

“I am in the kitchen talking to Cook,” Nanny said through the walls, again. “What do you want?”

“Can I go up to the log and just think about things?”

“Okay, but be back in three hours, sooner if possible.”

“Thank you, Nanny.”

Through the wheat field, it was just over a klick up to the log and it was a good walk that Moli enjoyed because it allowed her to think about what she wanted to think about. When she topped the hill, she saw Eugeni sitting on the log. She went over and sat down at the other end; so much for wanting to think about a beautiful future with Gene.

“Hi,” Moli said.

“Hi,” Eugeni said.

“I miss Gene.”

“I do too.”

“Are you still studying physics?”

“Yes, are you studying old languages?”

“Yes, I miss Gene.”

“You already said that.”

“I know, but I still miss him.”

“I do too.”

“I guess I’ll go back to my residence.”

“Please don’t go, you just got here. Why do you like Gene?”

“He talks to me.”

“Is that important to you?”

“Yes.”

“I could talk to you.”

Moli thought for a moment about what Eugeni just said. Was she actually trying to become her friend? Was this worth pursuing?

“What will we talk about?”

“Why did you come up here, today?”

“Well, I’m supposed to be studying my new lesson on the ancient Greek language, but I asked Nanny—I asked Gene if you had a nanny, but he never said—if I could come up here to think about some things.”

“What kind of things?”

“I think I want to change my major to something that I will have to go to a university to study.”

“Like, what?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping Gene would be here, but Nanny said he won’t be able to be up here for six more months. I miss him.”

“You really like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Could you come over tomorrow, say around lunch time?”

“To your residence?” Moli asked, astonished that she was receiving an invitation to Eugeni’s residence.

“Yes, to our residence; didn’t Gene ever ask you over?”

“No, he never did. We just met up here when we happened to be here at the same time.”

“Well, I would like you to come over for lunch.”

“That’s over three klicks; I’ll have to ask Nanny to bring me.”

“Will she?”

“Yes, if Dadi says to. I’ll ask tonight at supper. I’ll message you if I can come; what’s your ID?”

“Eugeni 54-721d; I hope you can come, I’d like to be your friend, too.”

“Thank you.”

“Shake?” Eugeni said as she held out her hand.

“Men do that, women kiss,” Moli said. She moved over to Eugeni’s end and smiled. They leaned toward each other and briefly kissed.

“I guess we’re friends, now,” Eugeni said.

“Yeah,” Moli said as she stood up. “I’d better get back; I don’t want to miss supper. Dadi would be mad.”

“See you tomorrow, then,” Eugeni said as she stood, too.

Moli leaned close to Eugeni and gave her a quick kiss. “Friends?”

“Friends.”

As she walked back to the residence, Moli knew she was going to like Eugeni. Gene was nice, but he never talked about what was going on at his residence and had never invited her over there. It was always talk about how his sister was so smart. Maybe, just maybe, Eugeni might be a better friend than Gene.

********

Later that evening, Moli sat at the formal dining table picking at her asparagus. The salmon with tartar sauce was okay, but she didn’t like asparagus. She didn’t like broccoli, either. Cabbage wasn’t a favorite, but carrots were. Peas and carrots were the two vegetables she liked. Steamed cabbage sat next to the asparagus; she tried to ignore both, but knew Momi or Dadi were going to come down on her soon to get busy and eat them as they were the only foods left on her plate.

“Momi, what’s a good agricultural subject to study if I don’t want to study how to raise vegetables?”

“Ornamental horticulture,” Dadi said with an air of authority. “I heard there’s money in that, if you get to the right kind of farm. The only problem I think is that most of the ornamental hort farms are family run affairs. I don’t think there are any communes involved in that line of business.”

“What’s ormanental horticulture?” Moli asked, not certain she said it correctly.

“Ornamental horticulture is the study of flowers, roses, flowering shrubs, ornamental shrubs, those kinds of thing. Since you’re living on a farm, you’ll be able to pick up on most of the basics, but you’ll have to go to university to get a degree in that field. You’ll be able to study the basic classes on your module, but to get hands on experience you’ll have to go to an Ag school.”

“I was thinking of asking if I can change my degree.”

“Your Momi and I will be willing to sign off on that if you are really earnest in pursuing that degree.”

“Momi, I’ve been invited to Eugeni’s residence for lunch tomorrow.”

“That’s Gene’s sister, she’s an egghead,” Molus, her brother, said. “Still trying to get in with Gene, huh. He’s dumb.”

“He is not!”Moli exclaimed.

“Now, children, stop talking about Eugenus,” Dadi said. “He’s in enough trouble as it is. How were you invited to their residence?”

“I met his sister, Eugeni, at the log this afternoon and she said we can become friends, too.”

“No one gave you permission to go up there,” Momi said.

“Nanny said it was okay, if I got back in time for supper, which I did.”

“Why is it Nanny all the time? How do you plan on getting over there, it’s nearly two klicks?” Dadi asked.

“Nanny could take me in the speeder or the cruiser, if you said it’s okay, Dadi. It’s too far to walk.”

“What about your studies?” Momi asked.

“If I change my courses, I don’t need to study ancient Greek,” Moli said. She knew better, but wanted to see if it would fly.

“You’ll have to keep pursuing that course until you receive permission to change,” Dadi said. “Plus, you’re old enough to start working here at the farm, more than helping out on Stefansday. You can start in the greenhouses, two hours in the morning after breakfast. On Stefansday, you can work four hours or until lunch.”

“But, can I go over to Eugeni’s for lunch?”

“I’ll tell Nanny to take you, but since you don’t know when you’ll be coming back, you’ll have to walk,” Dadi said.

“That’s okay, Eugeni can walk me halfway to the trail; and then it’s only another half by myself. I can do that easy. Thank you Dadi, and Momi. I don’t have any friends here except Gene and, now, maybe, Eugeni, too.”

“You’d have more friends if you played girls futbol,” Molus said. “I have lots of friends.”

“They don’t come here to the residence.”

“We message on our modules.”

“Stop it!” Momi said. “Molus, you’re finished with supper, go to your room. Moli, finish your asparagus and cabbage.”

“I haven’t had dessert,” Molus said.

“And, you’re not going to have it,” Dadi said. “Now, go!”

“Fine! I’ll go, but I don’t like it,” Molus cried.

“I don’t care what you like or don’t like, if you want to keep playing futbol, you’d better stop talking down to your sister,” Dadi said. “Now, get to your room!”

“Fine!” Molus yelled. He forcibly pushed his chair back, stood up, and ran out of the room.

“Moli, finish your vegetables,” Dadi said.

“Can I have a few drops of balsamic?” Moli asked. She didn’t know if the vinegar would help, but maybe it would.

Later, after finishing her strawberry sorbet, Momi excused Moli from the table and Moli hurried to her bedroom. Once there, she turned on her module and messaged Eugeni:

I HAVE PERMISSION TO COME OVER FOR LUNCH TOMMOROW

KISSES

MOLI

Eugeni responded:

TRY TO BE OVER HERE BETWEEN 11 AND 12

SEE IF YOU CAN STAY UNTIL 1

KISSES

EUGENI

Moli went to her Dadi and asked him if it was okay to be over at Eugeni’s for two hours. Then she messaged back:

I’LL BE THERE A LITTLE AFTER 11 AND HAVE TO LEAVE AT 1

CAN YOU WALK WITH ME TO THE TRAIL BETWEEN OUR FARMS?

KISSES

MOLI

Eugeni responded:

SOUNDS GREAT

WE’LL HAVE SO MUCH FUN

KISSES

EUGENI

********

After Nanny stopped in the parking lot at Eugeni’s stepparents’ farm, she said, “When you get to our property signal with your watch and I will come and get you. Okay?”

“Sure, Nanny, thanks,” Moli said. She jumped out of the speeder, which for some reason Nanny hadn’t set the wheels down, and went up the stairs to the front door, which opened as soon as she got there.

“I was watching for you,” Eugeni said. “Nanny, this is Moli, we’re going to be friends.”

“Ah, yes, Gene’s friend and the sister of the futbol player. And, what are you studying, Moli?”

“I was studying ancient Earth languages, but I’m going to try to change to ornamental horticulture,” Moli said, still not sure if she was pronouncing it correctly.

“What’s that?” Eugeni asked.

“Pretty flowers, roses, flowering shrubs, and aesthetic shrubbery, stuff like that.”

“What are roses?”

“I looked them up on my module. They’re flowering plants kind of like vines or spindly shrubs that have pretty flowers. I guess they’re quite the rage in the cities,” Moli said. She thought for a moment about Eugeni’s reputation as being extremely intelligent. Her Momi said Eugeni was a genius, whatever that was. Why didn’t she know what roses were?

“So, what are shrubs?”

“You have fruit trees, right?”

“Of course we do, our farm is just like yours.”

“Well, shrubs are kind of like little trees,” Moli said. Again, she thought, why the questions? “Some have pretty flowers and they’re primarily grown for that purpose, while others have prettily colored leaves or bark, but hardly any flowers. Some are just grown because they work well has hedges, which are like fences. Right now, I’m thinking of growing those plants because like with roses and other flowering plants it’s the hybridizing that makes the most money. The only disadvantage that I can see right now is that most of the ornamental hort farms are family run. There’s a commune on Ring 5, but they don’t have an ornamental hort farm. Dadi said it is a very nice commune and I would be very happy there if I could convince them to let me raise roses and shrubs and maybe flowers, too. But that’s a long time from now and I’ll have to go to an Ag university to get what Dadi calls hands-on experience. Anyway, that’s what I want to do.”

“A very commendable pursuit,” Nanny said. “At least you’re trying to better yourself, unlike your brother.”

“What about my brother?”

“He’s just a futbol player,” Nanny said. “He isn’t studying anything. If he’s not careful, he’ll get in trouble with the bot authorities. If he’s good enough for one of the pro teaching leagues, they’ll leave him alone. If not, well they’ll make him study something. He could coach a team of kids, but he’d have to get a degree for that. You should talk to your Dadi or Momi about it. I know all the nannies around here are really concerned about him and all of you. The security bots might arrest all of you, or worse.”

“No, that’s not right, they can’t do that,” Moli said, as shock splashed across her face.

“I’m afraid that’s what will happen,” Nanny said. “Talk to your nanny, she knows. Ask her why she hasn’t spoken to your Dadi or Momi. They need to know, right now. Futbol isn’t everything, even if you only want to be a goalie.”

“How do you know all of that?” Moli asked, knowing the answer.

“Nannies know a lot more than you realize,” Nanny said.

“Come on, Moli let’s go to the kitchen and get Cook to make our sandwiches. I usually eat in my room because I study so much. Would you like a lemon or lime soda, we have apricot, too?”

“You have apricots? I haven’t had apricots in years because of the blight. We have to buy the few we can get at the harvest fairs in town and all they’re good for is preserves.”

“I bet you could buy your apricots from my parents. They’re ripe right now.”

“Wow, fresh apricots!” Moli exclaimed. “What kind of sandwiches are we having?”

“I asked for salmon with mayo and brown mustard.”

“I had salmon last night for supper, I guess it’s in season, but what’s brown mustard?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

Later, sitting on the carpet in Eugeni’s room, the two girls remained uncomfortably quiet. Moli liked her sandwich; except for the salmon because Eugeni’s cook had grilled it, unlike her cook who always poached salmon and other fish like that.

“How’s your sandwich? Is the brown mustard okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” Moli said, uncertain what to say since they only had Gene in common. “Momi said you’re a genius. I don’t know what that is, except that you’re very smart, but why did you ask me all those questions about ornamental horticulture.”

“Yes, I am a genius and I’m very intelligent, but that doesn’t mean I know everything. Give me a problem and I can usually solve it if I know a little bit about the subject. Now, take that apricot blight your stepparents had all those years ago. There was a bactericide on the market they could’ve gotten from the bots, but they didn’t and you guys don’t have apricots anymore. Plus, your farm is under quarantine. I’m surprised your Momi or Dadi let you come over today. I know I can’t go over there because the bacteria might still be there. See, I can solve problems given the right set of circumstances. Do you want to play a game?”

“A what?”

“A game, don’t you know anything about games?”

Moli simply shook her head, thinking it must be something geniuses did, but why ask her, she wasn’t a genius.

“They come on the module if you are given permission. I know what, we’ll play Spaceship Attack, it’s the easiest one I have. We can play against each other, but I’ll help you along until you get the hang of it. Okay?”

“I suppose, but is this something geniuses do? I know I’m smart enough to learn ancient languages, but I’ve never seen a game before. I’ll have to set the alarm on my watch so I can stop in time to leave by one.

“Oh, yeah, that might be a problem. Do you think you can stay longer if you can contact your stepparents?”

“No, Dadi said I can stay until one, no longer. He’s like that. Last night he sent Molus to his bedroom without dessert. I don’t dare ask.”

“Wow, Glorus isn’t like that.”

“Who?”

“My father.”

There was a knock at the door and it opened. There was a man standing there. He stared at Moli and said, “Who are you?”

“This is Moli, from the next farm over the trail,” Eugeni said.

“You’re not allowed here, your farm is still under quarantine,” the man said.

“But, Glorus, we’re becoming friends, like Gene is friends with Moli.”

“If you want to meet, go to the log or message each other. Neither of you can go to the other’s farm. We don’t want the apricot blight over here.”

“Speaking of apricots, do you think they could buy some of ours? They have to buy apricots at the harvest fairs and you know the quality of those.”

“We can’t deliver them and they can’t pick them up, so you’ll have to come up with a solution if you want me to sell them some of our apricots. I’m sorry Moli, but you’ll have to leave now.”

“I’m going to walk her to the trail, is that okay? Glori said I could.”

“Well, I can’t argue with your mother.”

“Thank you, sir, for being so kind about this. This probably explains why I don’t have any friends except Gene.”

********

Later that evening, Moli sat at the dining table pushing around a pile of butter fried red potatoes, as she thought about the day’s visit to Eugeni’s place. Almost, as if on cue, Dadi asked her a question.

“Did you have a good time today?”

“Sort of, we had grilled salmon sandwiches with mayo and brown mustard. I had an apricot soda with it.”

“Apricot soda, how did you get that?” Molus asked. “I thought everybody had the blight.”

“No, just us,” Dadi said. “What about the rest of your visit, Moli?”

“I had to leave early because Eugeni’s stepfather came into her bedroom. He said that since we’re under quarantine because of the blight bacteria, I shouldn’t have been allowed over there. Is that right, Dadi?”

“Yes, we should’ve stopped you.”

“He said we could buy some of their apricots if we could figure out a way of getting them over here. What do you think, Dadi?”

“Well, I guess we could hire a bot transport vehicle to go over there and pick up some boxes or a full pallet if they have that much to sell to us. I know a pallet could be put up for a lot of things in the coming year. I just wish the bots would lift the quarantine. It’s been nearly ten years since our last apricot tree died. Maybe, they have a bactericide we could spray on our orchard to ensure the blight is eradicated. You look sad, Moli, what’s wrong.”

“Their nanny said some things about Molus.”

“What did she say about me?”

“That you’re not studying and if you don’t start studying the bots are going to come here and arrest us all, or worse.”

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Dadi exclaimed. “Nanny! Get your tin butt in here.”

“Yes, sir, you wanted something?” Nanny asked as she trundled into the dining room.

“Did you know that Molus is not studying?” Dadi asked.

“Well, I have been meaning to talk to you about that. Yes, he is not studying and all he does on his module is play games and message teammates. I have been meaning to talk to you about this, but I could not find the right time.”

“And, how long have you been doing this young man?” Dadi asked.

“Oh, not long. Moli, you’re going to get it. I’m going to see to that.”

“No, you’re not, maybe it’s time we stopped this futbol stuff anyway, since you certainly aren’t getting any better playing goalie,” Momi said. “Nanny, do you or the other nannies in the district have any ideas of what we should do about this, since he’s obviously been doing this for longer than he says.”

“There is a special school for boys over on Ring 4 where troubled youth are taught how to behave correctly.”

“How do we contact them, through the bot authorities?” Dadi asked.

“I’ll send a message up line to check on this.”

“Thank you, Nanny,” Momi said. “Molus, go to your room.”

“But, I can explain, you can’t do anything anyway, I’m going to be a pro futbol goalie, they’re going to move me over to one of the pre-league teams where I can learn how to be a real goalie. I’ll get you Moli, you just wait.”

Later that night, Moli’s screams filled the residence. Soon her Momi and Dadi came running into her room, turned on the light, and saw Moli’s bloody face.

“Molus! Where are you?” Dadi yelled. “Molus! Where are you?”

“Momi, Molus kept hitting me, he wouldn’t stop, Momi it hurts,” Moli cried. She turned away from Momi and began to sob as the pain in her face began to numb all her other senses.

“Molus isn’t here, he’s nowhere in the residence, I’ve got to call the bots,” Dadi said when he came back to Moli’s room.

“I’ll get some cold cloths for Moli’s face, you find Molus,” Momi said. “Nanny! Molus has run away!”

“Where’s Nanny?” Dadi said. “She’s not in her closet.”

“I am coming, sir,” Nanny called out as she came back into the residence. “The bot authorities are out looking for Molus and when they find him he will be taken to detention. He is in for it now. This might ruin his chances of going to that special school, but we will not know until the morning. I will let you know what is happening.”

“Thank you, Nanny,” Momi said as she came back into the room with a bowl of cold water and a washcloth.

“Nanny, all of this might have been avoided if you had let us know what was going on earlier,” Dadi said.

“Yes, sir, I accept full responsibility for this incident,” Nanny said. She trundled out of the room and everyone heard the door to the closet close.

“Will Nanny be replaced?” Moli asked through bloody lips.

“I think so, Moli,” Momi said.

“She wasn’t doing her job, was she?” Moli asked no one in particular.

“No, Moli, she wasn’t,” Dadi said.

Moli looked up at the sparkly thing in the ceiling and saw that it was sparkling brighter. She supposed it was sending data to the bots. She also expected there might be a bot or two down at their residence in the morning. It was a shame about Nanny, though, she knew she was going to miss the bot and secretly hoped the next one would be better. As her mother daubed up the blood Moli thought about Molus and wondered if she would ever see he again. She hoped he would never come back after what he did to her tonight.

The front doorbell sounded and Dadi left to see who it was. After a short while, he came back followed by a human nurse and a bot. There was a man with them. The nurse told Momi she’d take care of Moli and told the bot and the man to take the stepparents out into the living room. Something was going on, Moli thought. Something bad had happened to Molus. The nurse was gentler than Momi and after Moli felt a little prick on her arm, she closed her eyes as painless sleep overcame her.

When Moli woke up the following morning she immediately became aware she was not in her bed and not in her bedroom. She looked around and saw the nurse from last night.

“Good morning, Moli,” the nurse said. “You’re at the clinic in town. You required some stitches so we brought you down here. You’ll be able to go back in a little while. Your brother is dead; he wouldn’t stop running when told by the bots and he fought them when they tried to subdue him. I’m sorry this had to turn out this way.”

Moli stared up at the ceiling and saw another of the sparkly things in the ceiling watching her. She shut her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. So, Molus was dead; bots were like that, killed humans every chance they got. That was what happened when you didn’t do as a bot told you. He beat her up and tried to run away, but, obviously, didn’t get very far. She knew she was going to miss him, but she also knew she was relieved that he was gone; he was never much of a brother.