Jake Barry
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Chapter 37
🕑 Added 2023-04-19 22:38:36 +0000 UTCTime sure does fly when you are running the best and only lab in the city. I have had my schedule fully booked for months. Being the workaholic I am, that does not bother me. I love giving lectures, running workshops, overseeing research, and developing personal projects. It is what I do.
I like having others rely on me. I can manage the pressure and responsibility is nothing I shy away from. Sometimes I think that is why I'm here, why it was me, Icarus, who was brought to this city, and not some other engineer. I know my purpose. It is to share knowledge and put it to use in a way that only I can do. Well, Dad and I to be exact, but same idea. Lately I have been taking on more of a 'doing' role, as he prefers to teach. We have students now, former Remnants that want to better themselves through education. They are like my old students from Provecta, except way more motivated. I do not have to kick them in the butt to make them focus, they do that all on their own. I find it interesting how those who never had the resources use them so much better than those who always did.
My job gets easier every day. Dad and I used to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Now we can trust those we work with to shoulder the burden with us. It is both a relief and a source of great irritation. I do not want to run out of things to do. Dad tells me I've more than earned a break, but who says I want one? Nothing bothers me more than sitting still. I do not do well with boredom.
In other news, not much has changed for Magna Gratia lately. The last big event was Jeannine moving the city. It is hard to believe that was six whole months ago. Feels like just yesterday. In the time since then, Jeannine's summer break ended, and she entered her final year of university. We do not see her as often, due to her increased workload. The unfinished parts of the city were also completed. We have expanded our borders to the shelf above us, upon which sits a small, industrial settlement.
There is a freight elevator that carries both people and cargo between the 'levels' of or now-vertical city. Our power grid also benefitted from the increased elevation. The drafts through the bedroom allow the wind farm to generate nonstop power. We renovated older buildings, built new ones, and completed construction on every district. Special focus was put on expanding the residential district, to accommodate our new arrivals. Our population was sitting at around ten thousand, last I checked. We even built a new park over the ruined one, with loads more beauty. I cannot claim much credit for that since I was busy with other projects at the time.
One of those projects involved building a working computer. I had to develop it literally from scratch, but with help of my team, we got it done. I cannot describe the feeling of seeing it boot up for the first time. It was magical. Call me a nerd or a geek or whatever, but I rode that high for a week. Suffice it to say, I took most of the credit for that one, going as far as to name the operating system was developed, 'IcarOS'. Why yes, I am incredibly humble. That prototype did not have the ability to connect to networks, but we overcame that issue with the second model. The same network Nick uses to communicate with Jeannine, the one that uses her local network, also worked with our system. I was so proud. Nothing felt out of reach to me.
But for the first time ever, Jeannine was not happy with something I had made.
Nick walked into the lab one day and pulled me aside to discuss 'security issues'. He asked me if our new computer could be used to access the internet. I proudly told him that it could, and that we were aiming to mass produce them for our citizens to use. He was not too happy about that. Apparently, he had relayed the news of our computer system to Jeannine. She worried that someone could potentially use one to communicate with the outside world, potentially revealing the secret of MG's existence.
I honestly had not thought of that. Though it would be in no one's interest to do that, it is certainly a possibility. I had been so caught up with if I could make something, that I had forgotten about if I should. We were blessed with so much freedom that I forgot that we are an illegally situated territory in the bedroom of a young Brob woman. While she has never made a claim of ownerships over us, I doubt the authorities would see it that way. MG would be destroyed, we would all be relocated, and Jeannine would be arrested. What a nightmare scenario. I like to think I am a smart guy, but I can be very stupid sometimes. I am glad there are reliable people to reign me in from time to time.
After some lengthy dialogue, I managed to convince them to allow us to keep the project from being shut down. That came with the assurance that information could only be downloaded, never uploaded. It was not easy, but we made it possible. Additionally, Mayor Rin banned the mass production of our systems. Only certain individuals can use them, and they can only be stationed in certain places, such as our lab. While I did not like the restrictions, I was not in a position to argue. The council makes the rules, I merely follow them. What is important was that I proved that I could do it. Hopefully, others will still benefit from my creation.
The other project I had been tasked with was leading the design team for Elysium, the state-of-the-art resort that Ori and Jeannine produced. It sounded like the stuff of dreams, at first. I had no clue how we would make it possible. MG can only exist because it is in a controlled, predictable environment. Putting a settlement outside seemed impossible. Dad, as well as many others on our team, agreed. Thankfully, I do not know the meaning of the word. I am the type of man who is motivated by challenges. Pushing boundaries, proving people wrong, that is my kind of thrill!
And so, we made it happen. While my role ended after the design stage, the construction team has been hard at work turning our concept into a reality. Every morning Jeannine carries workers, construction equipment, and materials in her hand, down to the pot to work. Every night, she brings those same workers back up to us. That has been the routine for a while now. They tell me that it will be complete in three weeks. I cannot wait to check it out. Those of us in the city can see it, sitting on the floor far below. It is looking fairly good if I do say so myself.
"Alright, enough patting myself on the back. Back to work." I laugh, talking to myself like I always do.
I am on the roof of our lab now, standing beside a large, spheroid vehicle. I must have zoned out for a while, as I was pouring the third bucket of fuel into its tank. Tossing the bucket aside, I screw the lid onto the fuel filler neck and secure the seal. I walk around the body of my newest project, a pod that is roughly twice the size of an automobile and press a button on its exterior to open the entry hatch. I climb inside and get seated, strapping in and pressing another button to close the hatch behind me. It lowers automatically, making a sharp sound as it seals itself airtight. I reach above my head and flick a couple of switches, starting up the onboard systems. The dashboard in front of me then lights up, prompting me to run diagnostics. I confirm, waiting a few seconds until a dynamic table of information presents itself on the digital display to my left.
"Okay. Let us see here..."
I programmed the system to alert me if anything is amiss, but I know better than to trust the system blindly. Never trust a computer to do a human's job. I run through all the checks manually, checking and then double-checking that everything is functioning as intended.
"Cabin temp: check. Fuel: check. Life support: check." I whisper under my breath. "...and navigation: check. Seems we are good to go!"
I put my hands on the yoke and grip it tightly. I flex my fingers, hearing my knuckles crack as I do so. I take a deep breath, pray that I did not forget anything, and press a button on my right to start the primary engine. I feel the vehicle rumble as it seemingly comes to life. Nervously, I press the button beside it to engage the two secondary engines as well. Another, louder rumble is felt as it starts up. I move my right hand back to the yoke, pulling at it while looking out through the windshield. The entire vehicle tilts upward slightly, as if it is being towed by some invisible vehicle in front. I carefully push my hands forward, which returns the vehicle to its previous position, flat on the roof. of the building.
"Controls are more sensitive than expected. Might need to lower the sensitivity later."
Keeping my left hand on the steering device, I move my hand to a lever by my leg and begin to pull on it slowly. The previously quiet primary engine now joins its siblings and makes some noise. I feel an unsteadiness as the entire vehicle begins to lift off the ground. I leave the lever where it is before the pod can go any higher, coming to a stable hover a foot off the roof.
"Holy shit... I'm flying."
I sit in my seat, in awe of my invention. Nothing like this existed back in Provecta. Sure, we had theories and concepts, but nothing of substance. The issue was never about building a flying vehicle, but rather how to power it. I had been collaborating with my team to produce a fuel energy dense enough to achieve lift. While synthesis is difficult and time consuming, not to mention quite unrenewable, the product does in fact work. I glance at the fuel tank, seeing that I am still at ninety-eight percent capacity. My testing already used up a little. At this rate, I probably will not have more than fifteen minutes of flight time at best.
"Oh well. Guess I should make use of it while I can."
I guide the pod forward, moving to the edge of the roof. I try turning around, then left, and then right. The vehicle responds flawlessly. It is even better than I had anticipated. It makes me want to go for a full-on test drive, if only that were possible. I am not going to fly this thing over a populated city. It is unsafe, and quite frankly I am not looking to disturb people. This thing is not exactly quiet.
"Then again..."
My gaze goes out, beyond the border of the city, to the room beyond. All I see is a wide, open space, practically beckoning me. It is so tempting. Irresistibly so.
"Jeannine's rules forbid us from leaving the border for any reason, but a bunch of exceptions have been made. She obviously doesn't want to accidentally step on us, but I won't be anywhere near the ground." I weigh the risks against the benefits, slowly convincing myself that it is not going to be a problem. "She's in her living room right now. Am I willing to risk her coming in and seeing me?"
Deep down, the answer to that question is a resounding 'no'. Despite that, my excitement gets the better of me. Before I know it, I have gotten one hand pulling on the lever and the other guiding the pod into the skies.
It only takes me a few seconds to zoom out of the city's airspace. I go higher but remain low enough to avoid the shelf above us until I am clear of it. Once I am far enough away, I slow the craft, cruising at a constant altitude. The system tells me I am currently over five kilometers high, slightly higher than the city's elevation. I can go higher. I guide the pod up, higher and higher, until the system tells me I've climbed to a whopping eleven kilometers of altitude.
"Wow. I am higher up than Jeannine is tall. I would be comfortably over her head..."
I look up at the ceiling, seeing that there's still more sky to claim. I will surely go higher, but for now, there is something else I want to evaluate.
I fly the pod forward, increasing the speed to about half its maximum velocity. I do not go anywhere I should not, out of respect for Jeannine's privacy, enjoying a view that no Lilli before me ever has. As much as I would like to take my time, I am limited by the pod's fuel. Checking the tank again, I notice that it is depleted to ninety one percent. I decide to hurry up, increasing my speed to sixty five percent and continuing on my way.
I fly across the bedroom, taking a lap around the walls. The trip begins at the glass door of her balcony, and I take in the view of the streets below. I see impossibly large cars, no different than the ones we have, parked way down there. As a Lilli, I appreciate getting to look down at something, rather than up. It is a refreshing change. I wish Dad could see what I am seeing right now, or any of my friends for that matter.
I follow the wall around to the side opposite the city, flying over her bedside table. I notice an outlet with a charging cable plugged into it, as well as a half-finished plastic bottle of water. A quick mental calculation tells me it is about the same amount of water in the city's entire sanitation system, but significantly less than what Elysium will use. Quantities on the Brob scale never cease to amaze me. Think about them too much and you will give yourself a headache.
I continue around, now flying over the largest object in the room, Jeannine's bed. I fly lower now, hovering over the sea of sheets. To my right I see a mountain range of pillows, two to be exact. One has a gigantic indentation resulting from Jeannine's head resting on it every night. I do not take too much time staring at it, continuing on my way as I climb to my previous altitude. Even at my current speed, it takes a while to cross the enormity that is her queen-sized bed.
Coming around the next corner, I pass by the door to her bathroom, which is slightly ajar.
I keep my gaze focused forward; fairly sure I will catch a glimpse of something I should not if I glance through the crack. I pass her closet next, before coming around yet another corner. Below me is a trash can, and not too far from that is the door to the room, neither of which are particularly interesting. The door is shut, but as I fly by it, I think I can hear Jeannine on the phone somewhere beyond it. I continue on my way, now seeing the shelves straight ahead. Before it, lower down, is Jeannine's desk. I guide the pod down to it, eager to visit the place where I first met our friendly giantess, so long ago. I come to hover above it, cruising slowly as I check out her laptop, various papers, and some pens, all of which are big, obviously. I turn the pod to the left, so that I can look out at the bedroom. From this position, I am essentially in the same position as that day. It is a funny feeling.
"Alright, I should probably head back now. Fuels at fifty percent already."
I begin to climb up to the altitude of the city, gradually making my way toward it. Having proven my invention not only works, but is easy to use, I feel a sense of satisfaction. Several months of development have bore fruit. While I do not see these things becoming available to everyone, I am curious what Jeannine will think when I present it to her. I will probably want to do something flashy. I have a good track record when it comes to impressing her, and my fellow Lillis for that matter, and I wouldn't want to ruin my perfect record. Maybe I could do a lap around her? I would need to be going faster than I have been going, though. Likely eighty or ninety percent if I want to approach her walking speed. I am not sure that is possible.
"Only one way to find out."
The pod suddenly swerves left, heading back out toward the room. I push the controls forward, causing all three engines to roar. The noise startles me, but I maintain my grip on yoke even as I zoom forward. I keep my eye on the dashboard.
I have hit ninety percent speed. I climb higher, reaching the eleven-kilometer mark like before. Something inside of me, something impulsive and rash, spurs me on. Before I know it, I am zooming up toward the ceiling at ninety six percent speed, now almost fifteen kilometers in the air. The pod begins to shake as the engine temperature rises rapidly.
"What is that?" A voice suddenly asks.
I look over to the source, seeing Jeannine standing at the doorway. Her gaze is focused on me, trying to figure out if the strange tiny object is an insect or something more. Distracted by her, I do not realize where I am going. As my gaze returns forward, I realize I am on a collision course with the bright, hot bulb of her light fixture in the middle of ceiling. Unable to react in time due to the blinding light, the automatic life support system ejects me from the vehicle and into the air. I watch as my beloved project continues toward the bulb, crashing into it, and bouncing off. Smoke emerges from the pod as it plummets, before becoming engulfed in flames and ultimately exploding.
As I fall from incredible heights, I do my best not to succumb to panic. I am wearing a flight suit equipped with a parachute. I just need to pull the string to deploy it. Reaching over my shoulder, I yank at the cord as I tumble through the air. The chute deploys, slowing my fall with a force akin to being punched in the gut. It knocks the wind out of me, causing considerable pain. I wince, my vision blurry from all of the motion, waiting for my vision to focus once more. I feel two of the cords snap, causing my fall to pick up speed. The next thing I know, I am on the ground. Unprepared for the landing, my knees buckle and I fall forward, flat on my face.
"W-What the...?"
The ground is soft, and there is no way I reached the ground that quickly without dying. It does not make sense.
I lift my head up, body still on the ground, and try to figure out where I am. As my vision finally focuses again, I see that I am in the middle of a palm. Apparently, Jeannine caught me in her hand. I raise my head higher, to meet the gaze of my savior. Her expression is a mix of confusion, worry, and anger. I remove the remains of the parachute from my body and clamber to my feet, stumbling slightly. It would seem I have been caught red-handed.
"The only person I know who's crazy enough to pull a stunt like that is you, Icarus." She says, in a tone that is not as angry as I had expected. "I just have one question for you. What were you thinking?"
I remain silent, partially because I have nothing to say in my defense, but also because there is no way she will hear me. She stares at me, her expression becoming more irritated by the second. Her eyes close and she sighs loudly, blowing hot air in my face. When her eyes open again, her expression has softened.
"I'd be really mad if I wasn't so impressed." She cracks a smile. "A flying car... I never thought I'd see one." She looks down at the ground, to the many pieces that were once my invention. She then looks back at me, frowning. "That's a shame."
I fall to my knees as she begins walking, bringing me over to the city. She raises her hand, close to her lips so she can whisper. "I'm going to overlook that you broke a rule. Do not do it again, okay?"
Her hand then moves away, carrying me over the roof of a random building. She holds her hand still, allowing me to climb off to safety. "Stay safe, Icarus."
With that, she gives me a friendly wave and walks over to her bed, where most of the debris landed. She cleans it up without a word, tossing the project I spent so much time on into her trash can with a smile. I suppose that is her idea of a punishment. Needless to say, the message came through. I do not think I am going to take to the skies again.
"Maybe it's time to slow down. Breaks...can be a good thing."
Comments
Haroon
Yeah breaks can be good Icarus lol!
Jake Barry
I couldn’t resist. If I was going to do it, I made sure to give it a “happy” ending instead. The ambitious little man retains the favor of his “goddess” rather than losing it. Glad you liked it!
Morgan Freeman
The moment I read Icarus’s name, I just knew something was going to happen to the kid. And sure enough, he did fly into the “sun”…but one difference between the myth and here would be the existence of a benevolent miles tall goddess. All jokes aside though, I love this chapter! It really shows how Jeannine is changing everyone’s fate and lives. Even with those who have death written on their face are given a second chance (and even more) by her and it really is so heartwarming to see it happen. But it also put into perspective how quickly all of this can go down too. MG can make all these advancements and developments, but the jig could be over in a heartbeat if they “fly too close to the sun.” Looking forward to how the resort develops though and the scenes that could take place there!!
