Free Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by Mars Dorian

Orden’s attention from across the room but she ignored it. Hecto was the only one frowning. He threw me a glance ripe with blame.
    “You better watch your words, rookie. You’re already walking on thin glass plates.”
    “Talking about glass, her sensibility seems to be made of it. What’s her problem?”
    Glitch enlightened me.
    “In case you don't know, she's the Chief Controller of the Bulwark Cluster."
    “Sounds like a dream job.”
    “She’s basically making sure we all operate at maximum value levels. That’s why she walks around and reminds people of their duty.”
    Ceedee nodded.
    “She’s also involved in mission planning. You see her in a lot of operations lately.”
    “But she’s not running the place?”
    They shook their heads.
    “So who is?”
    Another sentence fired into the void. The amount of silence was staggering. Everyone feared saying the wrong stuff. It was hard to believe these were the same people who dashed through the ruins and acted all swashbuckling. Hecto finished his drink and roared his fatherly voice for the first time.
    “I think it’s better to return to your cell, rookie. You don’t want to overstay your first leisure period. The Bulwark is hard on newcomers, especially the ones with big mouths. They want to know if you're worth the resources they feed you.”
    A smart-ass comment lingered on my tongue, but Hecto was right. I had already experienced much today and got to know a little bit more about the world’s status. Pushing my luck wasn’t getting me anywhere, so I excused myself from the group. Ceedee looked up at me.
    “Your life will be tough from now on. You will face days when you’re close to giving up, but remember that you have folks standing behind you. Prove yourself worthy to the cluster and you’ll see the sunny side of Bulwark life.”
    ‘Sunny side’ and ‘Bulwark’ in one sentence sounded as believable as overheated snow. But in states of confusion, her comment was welcoming. Friends were the most valuable resource.
    “Appreciated."
    My legs pushed me toward the club bar's entrance.
    "Keep it tight, folks. Thanks for the sightseeing tour."
    I saluted them goodbye, traversed the sky bridges and reentered the main building of the cluster. Back in my cell, I prepared for my so-called big day tomorrow.
    What did Konforma schedule for me?
    Ah, yes, I remembered...

25
     
    Oh, cell life.
    How I not missed you. The four steel walls greeted me with their bland surface. The door closed behind me and stayed shut. I wanted to check whether I could still go outside, but the voice put me in place.
    “Your limit has been reached. Your right to go out will be replenished in twelve hours, forty-five minutes and eleven seconds.”
    I was not going to argue with the door. I had my fun today, and experienced more aliveness than in the last months combined. For some reason, I craved human interaction just as much as the exercises in the training facility.
    Fighting and folks, that’s what it was all about.
    But why was that? 
    No matter how much I dreamt and pondered, the holes from the pre-ruin days remained hidden in the shadows. The earliest memory was hearing Ceedee’s lovely voice and having her icy-blond hair brush at my dusted face. Not a bad place to start from, but still. 
    I wanted to know the person I used to be.
    And although the body wanted to rest, the mind stayed awake. I touched the wall-screen and looked up my profile. Opened the permission protocol and read some of the disabled rights. 
    The right to remain silent within a questioning.
    The right to use a tier one firearm.
    The right to request a personal five minute conversation.
    The right to walk around for 120 minutes. 
    The right for three rations a day.
    And 1000+ other ones I was too lazy to scan through.
    Seriously.
    So. 
    Many.
    Damn.
    Rights.
    I needed to earn.
    Why couldn’t I speak about the past, or the future?
    This world was a never ending mystery box. And for every new