Battery Life

The sun crept over the horizon, but no one waiting in line seemed to notice, yet everyone saw the movement inside the Life Store as the employees readied to sell the just launched _Life Phone Unlimited_.

From his car, Ian missed the sun’s rise as well. Instead, he sat there flabbergasted by the number of people standing in line. Had any of these people watched his video review of the newest Life Phone, warning them about its dangers? Were people such slaves to the ecosystem that they might risk their lives for a shiny new toy?

Ian had never published a review like it before, and most viewers’ reactions felt drastic. The device worked fine. Its headlining feature offered a phone that never needed charging, but fog covered him whenever he touched it, which made him uneasy about the technology inside it. Plus, the fog felt eerie.

After he published his video, the Life Company’s security force stormed into his studio and recovered his review unit. No one spoke a word during the recovery, but he knew it happened because he gave the revolutionary new device a poor review.

The public reacted viscerally to his review, threatening violence and death. Used to users trolling his reviews, he had never received a death threat before.

The entire thing drove him to question all of his life’s choices. He had always dreamed of being a technology personality. Ian had always wanted to test new devices and live on the world’s cutting edge. He had chased that dream and even become one of the biggest names in the business, but now his future felt unclear.

The newest Life Phone had created a crack in his confidence. Why was he even doing this if so many people were still looking to purchase a phone? He had spent years reviewing devices, and while he had millions of likes on his content, had he actually done anything to change people’s minds?

Ian knew he should avoid the launch but couldn’t help himself. Besides the optimism of the moment, he wanted to see what happened when people got their hands on the new device. Would they feel the same fog as he did? Would they react with trepidation, return the phone, or continue as usual? Regardless, he needed to continue as normal until he could figure out what was next: putting together a launch day video.

As Ian got out of his car, he pointed his camera at the line of buyers. A few people point at him in recognition. As the people smiled at the camera, he felt an ease wash over him. The good feelings pushed the frustration and threat of assault out of his mind. 

He panned the camera down the line, most people waving at him. He surveyed the group, trying to pick some interesting and beautiful people to interview. Over the years, he developed a knack for spotting someone that would make his videos pop. He spotted a young woman in yellow and blue who could light up the camera. She watched him as if hoping Ian would talk to her.

“You’re Ian Techs It All, right?” She asked. 

“I am,” he said. He framed her in the lens, her yellow shirt and blue romper popping on the screen. “You follow me?” 

“You suck,” a man shouted from the line. Ian flinched, fear tightening its grip on him. 

He focused even harder on the girl, trying to keep the disgruntled fan from getting under his skin. The young woman appeared happy to be on camera and overlooked the jeer. The fear loosened its grip slightly as he continued to talk to her. 

She focused on the camera. “I do follow you! Am I going to be on your channel?”

“There’s a good chance,” he said. “So you’re still going to get the new Life Phone?” 

She nodded. “Of course. I’ve gotten all of them since the second generation.”

“So, the way it made me feel didn’t make you question it?” 

“I mean, it didn’t make you pass out, right?”  

“I didn’t pass out,” he responded, wondering what it would take to keep someone from buying the device. 

“Not all the other reviewers felt something, though,” she said. 

It was true. Most reviewers had discussed the device before publishing their respective takes. Only two other reviewers had felt anything. The rest had published glowing reviews. It had frustrated him that anyone would publish a positive review of the device, but it made him feel better that at least one other person had felt something when using the phone.  

“But some did. Marques said he felt a tingle that felt odd to him-” he started.

“Justine said it was the best and coolest phone she ever used,” she interjected. 

“I saw that,” he said. 

The doors to the Life Company store opened to an explosion of applause. 

He smiled at her. “I hope you enjoy your device,” before closing the interview.

Ian moved toward the entrance to the store. He wanted fans’ reactions as they moved inside the store and the first people with their new phones. As he moved parallel to the line, he continued recording.

Ian arrived just in time for the first customer to leave the store. A tall woman, dressed like he could afford to buy everyone in line a phone, held the phone in her right hand and a Life Company shopping bag in her left. She exited the door to cheers from those still in line. The woman soaked up her moment of fame as she held her new phone to record everyone’s reaction. She spun around, recording herself and the line. 

Then she stuttered.

First, one leg buckled as she took her selfie. She shrugged it off like nothing happened. Then, as she tried to record herself again, her legs went out from under her. In an instant, she looked up at the morning sky.

Ian stopped recording and rushed to her side. One of the Life Company employees tending to the door reached her shortly before he did. Ian put his recording equipment on the ground, ready to help however he could. No one moved from their spot in line.

“What happened,” the employee asked, his voice cracking. 

Ian reached up to her neck to check her pulse. After searching for a few seconds, he found the weak beat.

He rolled her still body into a more comfortable position. As he did, the woman dropped her phone. Seconds after losing contact with the device, her eyes fluttered open. 

“What happened?” She asked, her voice weak and her eyes blinking open. 

“You had a little incident,” Ian said. “Are you okay?” 

“I feel _weak_,” she said, trying to sit up.

“Take it easy there. You had a nasty fall,” he said. 

“It must have been something I ate,” she said as she sat up. The color returning to her face. 

“Has that ever happened before?” he asked. He had a sinking suspicion of what had caused her fall. He glanced from her to the phone on the ground. 

She shook her head. 

While Ian and the Life Company employee attended to the woman, others exited the shop with their new phones. Each one left the store with devices in hand and smiles on their faces. 

The fallen woman attempted to stand up, but the store employee stopped her. Ian agreed that she shouldn’t try to stand up yet. Instead, the woman reached for her phone. Ian didn’t like it, but he didn’t have reason to stop her.

Upon touching her phone, the color on her face faded immediately.

Another Life Store manager approached as they waited, speaking into a radio but stopping as he came within earshot. As the manager approached, Ian heard him say something along the lines of _”We have one down here, but only one so far.”_

After assessing the situation, the manager rushed inside, pushing his phone buttons. Ian sensed a panic far more extensive than a woman losing consciousness, so he tried to listen as the manager retreated back to the store. 

“A young woman—Came to—not touching her phone,” the manager said as if he were alone in the world. “Only one– I think we should stop. I don’t care what coorp-” his voice disappeared as he hurried inside. 

Ian watched as more people streamed out of the store. No one seemed bothered by anything. For a moment, he wondered if everything had been in his head. Had he just wanted the phones to cause the problem?  

Then, an older gentleman went down as he exited the store with his new phone. The fall finally caused some in line to question what was happening. Two or three people surveyed the fallen bodies before they got out of line. 

Ian moved over to the fallen man, leaving the woman with the store employee. Like the woman before him, the fallen man looked lifeless, and Ian feared the worst. The man’s face turned ghastly, his chest still. 

“Someone call for help,” Ian implored. He pleaded with the people still waiting to go inside to purchase a phone. Ian felt the man’s cold, paper-like skin as he searched for a pulse. He pleaded with his fingertips to find any beat, yet as they moved around the man’s neck, he felt nothing.  

Ian turned to the employee who had helped him moments before. The woman had once again lost consciousness. Ian spied the phone still in her hand. “Get that phone away from her and call for help!” 

The employee looked from him to the two bodies on the floor and then to the phone, yet the attendant refused to move. 

“Now!” Ian shouted. 

The employee finally sprang to action. Ian swatted the phone from the older man’s hand. He waited for the man to spring back to life like the other patient, but the man didn’t move. 

He couldn’t believe people were fainting or worse, most likely because they were using a phone that drained its user of life, yet people continued to stay in line. 

His frustration boiled over. He could understand when it had simply been him saying he felt a haze, but now that two people had fallen in front of them and yet they remained– he couldn’t fathom. He shouted, “What are you doing? Don’t you see what’s happening?” 

Most in line either glanced at their phone or the store’s door. The few who regarded him did so with pity. 

A few more stirred in line, debating whether they should leave, but no one vacated their position. 

He spied the woman he had interviewed earlier. She had advanced to the front of the line. She locked eyes with him, her eyes set with fear. Ian pleaded with his own for her to escape. She had proven logical enough; she knew the risks and saw the consequences, yet she couldn’t give up collecting the new phone. 

“You set this up, didn’t you?” Someone shouted at Ian. Ian scanned the crowd and then refocused on the lifeless man at his knees.

The manager exited the store, flanked by six Life Company Security men. He pointed to the two bodies on the floor and the two people helping. He raised his hands to the people in line before announcing, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are pausing sales while we work out a few kinks in the system.”

Finally, the crowd emoted. The boos and hisses drowned out the sound of the security force scooping up the bodies and phones from the ground. “What’s going on?” someone from the crowd shouted.  

The manager kept his hands raised. “We just need to make sure these people get the help they need, and these… heroes are well rewarded.” The manager turned toward Ian and slowly clapped. 

 One of the security guards clutched Ian under the arm and hoisted him up, but he didn’t release his grip once Ian found his feet. Instead, the guard forcibly ushered him toward the store. 

The murmurs and boos from the people in line drowned out the clapping from the manager. 

The security guard dragged Ian through the store’s door. He peered over his shoulder at the line of people watching him getting taken inside. Most seemed angry that they couldn’t get their new device, while some looked worried.

Yet none of them got out of line. 

He wondered not about his fate, which seemed doomed, but what it would take to get someone to change someone’s mind.