For The Love of Orange

For The Love of Orange.

The sound of the rain and thunder woke me from my sleep. The lightning was so severe I just knew it had hit the pod. I wiped my eyes clean and stared. I just laid there watching the storm. This was the first thunderstorm I had seen since before my pod was released into this world. It was kind of nice.

My body was relaxed as I stretched and felt Felix cuddled into my right side where he always slept. I gave him a gentle rub on his striped fur to alert him that morning had come. He stretched and yawned letting out a small purr. It was morning, and it was time to start the day.

We were lucky to have our pod so close to a lake. Felix loved a morning drink and bath, contrary to popular belief that cats hated water. When he transformed outside the pod into his wilderness form, he required different things. Inside the pod, I carry him, outside the pod he carries me. My lifelong friend he is. We protect each other. That’s why we were created- for each other.

I can always tell when my battery is fully charged before I even open my screen. A full battery always made me feel more. My human side was always sluggish, it needed food to live, it needed water and rest. It put a lot of pressure on my battery. But of course, all of this was explained in my “Hybrid Living: The Balance of a Multi-System Being” book that I was given on my third birth year. I remember having to download the entire book to my memory system before I was able to eat the big piece of orange flavor birthday cake.

Orange was my favorite color and flavor. I wasn’t sure if it was my human side that loved everything orange or if it was the fact that it was the first color that was introduced to my system. Either way, it brought me a sense of calmness. When I downloaded my chosen outer exterior in first grade, I picked natural orange hair. I picked mocha skin. They denied me at first but my mind or my system was fixated on it. They recognized that I would not change my mind at let me choose. That was the first time they almost kicked me out of The H.A.P.P.Y. community.

The day I was created, so was Felix. He’s a hybrid too but not of any robotics. It was silly kind of when you think about it, but he’s a hybrid of cat and wild cat. He was given to me by my human side. He will be here with me forever in various forms of his kind. So right now, he’s cat and tiger which he’s been for 18 years now. He’s supposed to transform soon and loves the water. So this is where we keep our pod until it’s time to move on.

I felt kind of bad for being the reason we lived in this pod now. Life had its perks in the community. We were well fed, well mostly Felix. We had a comfy place to stay, it was stable. But they created us hybrids so that they could partially control our lives. I guess my system failed them. I gained control of my system and recognized the ability to override decisions that weren’t from my human side. It always made me stand out. And I never apologized for it. That’s why my only regret is involving Felix. He was treated well there, but life there without me would have destroyed him. So he protects me. And I think he is still happy. At least that’s what I want to believe.

I suppose it’s time for me to download the day's agenda. This was a nagging part of the day for me. The Hybrid Acceleration Protection Providential Yeomanry (HAPPY) Community kept a close eye on all the data being loaded into our systems each day. We do our absolute best to stay off the radar. We escaped seven months ago and I have had to get very creative finding ways to avoid being seen by their system. So when it’s time to download an agenda for the day it requires a higher level of finesse. I have a window between 8 am and 9:15 am. It takes about 10 minutes to download the longest agendas. What do I do to avoid being detected? I just upload my agenda in five-second intervals. In their system, if an agenda isn’t completed after 8 seconds, the system will discard the agenda and begin a new one. So instead of discarding it, I save it. And it still comes up as waste. Now you’re probably thinking ‘why even go through that just don’t download an agenda’. I wish. The way my robotic side functions is off of commands. Setting agendas for each day is what drives us. It’s almost like keeping track of time. We do things within a certain order and that’s how we get our systems booted up.

It takes a lot to maintain this lifestyle. We found this lake by accident and It has been the perfect place since we’ve been on our own. We had a few trials and errors. Felix has a problem getting along with the free animals out here. We were so used to being around creatures that lived like us. Felix in his tiger state did behave like the tigers that roam the world. They were all about survival. They even ate other tigers just to establish boundaries. Inside the community, we were required to share every inch of life. They believe that people function better when they are doing the same things and thinking all alike. Anyone who questioned that or thought out of term was considered a threat. I am a threat.

“Chiza. Chiza. CHIZA! Are you awake yet??” I hurried to the muffled intercom to respond. “Yea Jexa. You got fifteen seconds make it quick!”

“Yes, I know. They went on a search party for you again. This time they took the pod magnets. So wherever you are, be careful. And you could always come back and my family will hide you.”

“Thank you Jexa. But no. Thank you for the update. Bye.”

Jexa is my best friend. She and I were created two days apart. She lived in the unit behind my family. It had been a long time since I thought about family. My family was good until it wasn’t. My mom’s pod was released from the community before my eighth creation date. She was my human parent. She defended me every time I’d make my own decision and got kicked out for it. The plan has always been to go find her when I finished downloading each life skill level that was necessary before I was on my own. But I was released before I could download my final skill, perhaps the most important. How to maintain the human mind.

In the human world, people don’t operate with a computer that generates their thoughts and feelings. They are ruled by feelings and we can’t process them correctly which can get us into trouble. Full-bred humans use their emotions as a weapon of destruction for themselves. Because I am half-human, there is always a chance that my human brain functions will override my system, causing me to do something I never got to learn.

Now we are on this quest to find my mom hoping she can teach me. She is fully human, but she had been studying the process of hybridization from the time she joined the community in the year 2426, 20 years before I was created. She was one of the first human women to volunteer to join the community and donate eggs to their research lab. She got pretty high in the ranks because of her commitment to the community. She organized an outreach program to recruit new women from the human world. According to them, they are trying to sustain and preserve life with the inclusion of robotics. It is their understanding that we live longer and function better as hybrids.

My mom, Hebiza L48, believed in science and even more in the community. It wasn’t until after she had me she could see what was being done. Once she recruited a woman, she hands her off to Rebix V73 who was the bridge from orientation to placement. Once the woman goes with Rebix, my mother was no longer allowed to communicate with them. She never questioned it though, she sincerely believed in the process.

She sacrificed being with the love of her life. A man name Dezmane North. He didn’t believe in this community. After the Great Flood of March 2286, the earth deteriorated beyond scientific understanding. Life on earth had only become sustainable by magnetic waves. Many life forms adapted to the new version of nature. Billions died. And some relied on science. It worked, the science for the most part. They were able to generate life forms inside of labs using the DNA from those man of bodies found daily on the streets. The air did not even become breathable until 2300.

The HAPPY Community was an extension of the scientific community that contributed to helping sustain life on earth after the flood. People trusted them because they offered hope during a time where people were dying every time you blinked. If you were surviving somehow, you were scrambling to find a way to maintain it.

Mom and Dezmane started building a life together. Dezmane was a scientist creating ways to harvest the energy of the sun to fuel

the air filter in the sky that also cleans the rain. Mom was a chemistry professor and counselor at Sea Bridge University, where she also graduated from. I remembered her telling me stories about her life before the community with Dez. She talked about how they met at a science fair and bonded over a conversation about plastic gardens. He would go on about his belief in giving everything in the world the ability to procreate, even plastic. He told her that he is building a machine to meltdown, sanitize and transform plastic into new items. She said to him “You could have a plastic garden”. He thought she was a genius and needed her right by his side.

They fell deeply in love. As the years pass by they invented plastic garden stations around their neighborhood. They buy a home together and begin discussing children. My mother, after suffering three miscarriages due to air quality and food that was grown out in the spaces where this air dwelled.

After realizing the problem causing so many like her to have infertility, she began to speak up about it all. That’s when she met a woman named Rebix V73. She took particular interest in my mother’s knowledge. She offered help at fundraisers, donated a lot of money. They had grown to become really good friends. That’s when Rebix introduced her to the leader, her husband, and great-grandchild of founding leaders Baxtis K00. He began rallying for the cause and showing grand support. He dumped a lot of money into the foundation. Then they preyed on her.

Baxtis invited my mom and Dezmane to a Gala by the HAPPY Community. They had all become good friends. They introduced them to several other members of their community and were welcomed in warmly. It was like a dream. Then there was a presentation done during dinner that celebrated and acknowledged the work of its community. The video began showing all the babies born in the community with the last month, which instantly pulled my mother in. Dezmane grabbed her hand to comfort her as he scanned the room for other reactions. The video continued.

‘ The HAPPY Community, where life grows on!

Hi, I am Baxtis K00. My great-grandfathers' dream was to solve the most basic life-sustaining thing there is; giving birth. With the world being inadequately available to provide the kind of life that can adapt to what life is today, as scientists we have the DUTY to intervene. It is up to us to make sure we remain populated on this earth.”

The crowd began to clap. Dezmane was still very hesitant, but also intrigued. Mom was hooked and ready to hear more. The video went on.

“The way we do this is simple really. Think about this, you all probably have a cell lens with a wrist screen I’m sure. Just imagine yourself being able to function and process like all of your different communication pins. Imagine that being available inside your mind every day. Then imagine this…

Imagine not needing two humans to make a baby. Imagine being able to create a

baby using your eggs and our technology. Imagine having a child grow to need 50% less food to eat. Imagine being able to download information onto your child's system and them not needing to learn only to download. Can you imagine it? Probably not. Because most likely you probably can’t even imagine having a baby. That is how bad the world is.

Inside this community, we are protected from the shattered dreams of growing our families. In this community, instead of fighting life with technology, we decided to marry the two and create HAPPY people.

The Hybrid Acceleration Protection Providential Yeomanry Community is here to offer you an alternative life.

Now, if this did not move you, it’s perfectly fine, no hard feelings. Life will go on. But I will say, why should you settle for life going on when here Life Grows On?”

The entire gala stood and applauded. My mom says speechless with tears swelling in her eyes. Dezmane was speechless as well. They continued the evening with very expensive meals with music and wine. They enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Mom had let me download that memory onto my system. She wanted me to see the magical night that inspired her to have me.

She and Dezmane were both sold on the community at first. She said that after weeks of getting everything together to join the community, he all of a sudden backed out. She remembered that they had an appointment with the psychiatrists and he began to move differently. He was showing disinterest in the community, he wouldn’t say why just that he didn’t want to go anymore. It crushed her. Her dream of having a baby had grown increasingly prominent since she saw the pictures at the gala. All she could do was imagine life like that and nothing else. He still didn’t back down, so she left and went alone. Her desire to have a baby mattered so much more. And she told me daily that it was the best decision she ever made.

The sweetest person in the world is her. We have to find her. No matter what. I so many questions, so much to download. I knew this quest wasn’t going to be easy and I am willing to go forever to find her. I can’t do this human world much longer without someone. Just like my human, my can take over, so can my robot side. And if that does ever happen they can gain easy control to locate me. They released me on purpose, so why are they trying to get me back? I guess I’ll tell you that as well.

Since my mom was such good friends with Rebix, we had access to certain things. She became a part of the community leaders' family, that’s how she got hired to do the outreach program. And it might’ve helped that she was an activist with a great following to recruit new members. She was good at the job, no she was great at it. So they gave her everything she desired, that didn’t stop after I was born.

The day I demanded to customize my appearance, they all told me that I could not and should not choose that. They all told me to pick from the ‘frequently used’ tab. When I refused, my mom said “well what’s the sense of there being options if she can’t choose one herself?” Everyone coldly stared at her, then they laughed it off and said to me “sure it’s your pick”. I proceeded. A messenger bot came in and gave mom a note. She read it and smiled, then she said “let’s head home”.

When we got home she began changing into her working clothes. “I will be back soon. Nan bot will be here to help and do anything you need. I love you. Shut down by 10.” That was the last time I saw my mother.

They sent a messenger bot with a note that read “We spare you because you are our creation. But this is a reminder to you that we are one! We got you HAPPY girl”, with a picture of my mom from this day smiling wave bye. My human side was devastated and my bot side could not compute.

I spent the next few days and nights going through all my mom's things. She had a lot of clothes, books, notebooks. I read all of her journals. It was my daily thing to keep me close to her. I imagined what she was doing if she had found Dez or the absolute worst.

One day I reorganized her workspace, after about 3 years of her being gone. I had left everything thinking should be back but then I needed to move it to let that hope go. While moving the desk, I feel a taped piece of paper or an envelope underneath the desk. I pulled out a mid-size black envelope with gold lettering on it that said “have fun Hebiza!”. I sat back in the chair and opened this black envelope lined with gold paper. I pulled out a note but could tell there was still something inside. I looked at the top of the note that said ‘How to Use’. That’s when I poured out a golden heart-shaped locket into my palm. It was beautiful. It was in perfect condition as if it was made a place directly in this envelope.

I opened the note and read:

“How to Use

Have fun Hebiza but be careful this is a lot of power I am letting you see and there are only three things that exist in the world so be careful!

1. Put it around your neck then stand outside.

2. Then begin by thinking of one thing you always wanted to know.

3. Here is the fun part, the answers will download instantly.

4. Go for it and learn it all!!

ps- powers go away when you take it off and you can retain the answers unless you drink what is inside. BUT DO NOT. Like I said there only 3 in the world so we must preserve such power! But I wanted you to see this for your birthday! Should be a fun one. Love ya !”

I couldn’t believe what I was holding. It scared me. I was young and didn’t know how to even deal with it. I kept of hidden though and always pretended that I didn’t know what it was. There were always rumors about but I never believed it was real. Rebix knew my mom couldn’t have taken it because she would have come to get me by now, but she believed me when I told her that I didn’t know about it. She still made herself available in my life and gave me things. But I’m sure that was always to keep an eye on me.

I spent the rest of my life being raised by bots and staying to myself with Felix. They bothered me a lot though, everyone in the community. I was always considered inadequate because I was raised by mostly bots. Kids tease about anything. My friend Jexa was kind because we had so

much in common, and she knew my story and cared. I got kicked out on purpose because I was covering for Jexa. I wanted to go find my mom and Jexa wanted to eat a bunch of seaweed cream which was forbidden for teenagers. I took a bunch from the store and gave them to her to eat up. I got caught and because I was a regular for the trouble they just assumed it was me anyway. This time I was gone!

On the first day out from the community, I made a rash decision to put the locket on. I was scared trying to protect myself and Felix so I felt desperate. Once I did, it consumed me. I could see everything and knew what and where everything was. I could people’s lives where they were what they were eating. I could even smell it.

Then I Saw Rebix, and she saw me too. I snatched the locket off of me. Now it was time to run….