The Last Ferry (Part V)
(Serial Flash Sci-fi) "Cornelius tapped his temple twice to move the information into his short-term memory."
Episodes
The Last Ferry (Part V)
By Annie Hendrix
Cornelius steered Marcus into a small office. The moon was on display above the arc of the Earth’s soft blue atmosphere, framed by a picture window. Cornelius gestured for Marcus to sit down, then zip-tied his wrist to the chair’s armrest.
“Is this really necessary?” asked Marcus.
Cornelius raised his long, bushy white eyebrows and smiled, then turned his attention to a screen mounted in the wall. “Echo, display all collected data: Subject Marcus Antoninus. Citizen status, undocumented.” Marcus’s face appeared on the screen next to a summary of his collected data.
“Looks like plenty of documentation to me!” said Marcus.
Cornelius tapped his temple twice to move the information into his short-term memory. “We try to vet all of our employees thoroughly. Not thoroughly enough, in your case.”
“Is that why you lied to me on the elevator? I thought you were on vacation.”
“And I thought you were going to be more cooperative. Apparently you were dishonest on the personality exam. You’re asking questions, disobeying regulations, breaking into our event space. We do not hire risk-takers, but here you are.” Cornelius sat in a chair across from Marcus and crossed his arms. “You could have had a great life, you know.”
“On Mars?”
Cornelius tilted his head and assessed Marcus’s slumped posture, creased brow, and slight frown, then sat upright. “You were excited on the elevator.”
“I was excited before I knew it was fake.”
“Nonsense,” Cornelius snapped. “Where did you hear that?”
“Isn’t that information already in my file?”
“Everything you’ve experienced since you entered the elevator is on file. So let’s make this easy, just tell me.”
“If it’s not fake, why do you care?”
Cornelius cleared his throat, then touched his temple. “Angel. Can you come in here please?”
“Tell her to bring the tray of Lava Pretzels!” said Marcus
To be continued…
More Short Sci-Fi by Annie Hendrix:
Moon Dollars
Stan’s repair shop occupied the far south corner of Main Street in the small coastal town of Shore Cliff. The other storefronts were empty, abandoned one by one as the …
Portrait of a Bird
The automatic double doors parted for Leonard as he entered the hardware store. The breeze followed and carried the remaining smoke from …
Well at least Marcus got his Lava Pretzel, and a whole tray at that! All in all, a truly fascinating story!
The mystery of the simulation hangs in the air, casting an intrigue across it. Like a favorite series canceled with a session finale hitting at the next going into someplace unusual.
I know this one is discontinued. Gives it a bittersweet beauty.
You’re an amazing writer! I’m looking forward to seeing what other stories you come out with.