Revolution (16 page)

    “I didn’t realize. I mean, I didn’t realize I would-”

    “You’ll also receive the standard fringe benefits of a level four Executive,” Broderick interrupted him. “You’ll receive the standard company air-car and apartment. You’ll also receive a family green pass to visit Virtual-world any time during the year.”

    “Virtual-world?” Peter asked, stunned.

    “Surely, you’ve heard of Virtual-world!” Broderick exclaimed, raising his thin, black eyebrows.

    “Sure, I’ve seen it in commercials. It’s just that I’ve never been there.”

    “How could you? You’ve been a grunt for the last eight years.” Broderick said, laughing. “But you’re an Executive now and you had better get used to your new status and adjust your attitude accordingly.”

    “That won’t be a problem, Mr. Broderick,” Peter replied.

    “Good. Then, we’re almost done here. When you leave this meeting, you can go on your way.”

    “Mr.Broderick, I just have one more question.”

    “Spit it out, Rayne.”

    “You’ve explained that I’ve been promoted to an Executive level four, but my wrist code still designates me as a level two employee.”

    “I prefer to call your kind grunt,” Broderick commented, exhaling another thin cloud of whitish-gray tobacco across the desk. “But not to worry, Rayne. Follow me and I’ll personally change your code.”

    Rayne followed the Executive Personnel Manager to a small table placed in the far corner of the office next to the giant glass wall. Broderick picked up a device, which looked similar to an antique store-pricing gun.

    “Okay, Peter, give me your left wrist,” the tanned Executive said.

    Rayne placed his hand within range of the gun and Broderick ran the metal device over his skin. Peter felt a brief tingling sensation, but that was it. From now on, he guessed if he rode his arm along the ultraviolet coding device at work, the computer would say, “EIGHT O’CLOCK AM, PETER RAYNE, EXECUTIVE LEVEL 4. ADMITTED.”

    He would no longer have to be concerned with tardiness. As an Executive, he would be able to make his own hours, take as long as he wanted for lunch, and even issue DPs to employees.

    “You’re all set, Rayne,” Broderick said.

    “Thank you, Mr. Broderick,” Peter replied.

    “Sure. There are just a few more details to take care of and I can get you out of here. I’m sure you’re anxious to start your new job.”

    “Absolutely, Mr. Broderick.”

    “Follow me, Rayne.”

    Peter followed the suited Executive along the seemingly endless office wall until they reached a tall mahogany cabinet located next to the edge of the artificial jungle. He couldn’t resist asking a question.

    “Mr. Broderick, what’s with all the plants?”

    Broderick’s eyes narrowed. He turned to Rayne and spoke to him condescendingly like a college professor explaining a complex concept to a fourth grader.

    “Rayne, it’s my way of bringing the outdoors indoors,” Broderick spoke, haughtily, as he stopped to survey the lush green plants forming a wall at the edge of his office. “Many of those plants no longer exist. Before most of the world’s rainforests were re-zoned for commercial purposes, many seedlings were extracted and bred in captivity. All the plants in my collection are originals. You won’t find any clones among these specimens.”

    “So, I guess owning an endangered plant is sort of a status symbol,” Rayne commented, rolling his eyes.

    He didn’t know why he couldn’t just stay silent on the issue. Something about the idea of keeping endangered plants hidden away in a private collection rubbed him the wrong way.

    “Mr. Rayne, I can’t expect someone with your background to understand the significance of my collection. There’s no way you can comprehend the value of these plants. Sure, there are other private gardens in the world. But most of the plants in them are clones; they are mere genetic copies. There are no cloned plants in my collection.”

    “I have to admit, that’s a pretty impressive collection,” Rayne lied, trying to assuage the sarcasm of his last comments.

    Broderick entered a numeric code into a small panel on the side of the cabinet and pulled open the door. Running his fingers along a row of keys, he stopped when he reached a set of keys labeled “LEVEL FOUR.” Taking the keys down from the cabinet, he handed them to Rayne.

    “This ring includes the key to your company issued air-car. Its number is engraved on the key. Simply take it to the Executive Parking Garage and match it with the right numbered vehicle. The ring also contains the key to your office on the twenty-fourth floor. It is labeled 24-18.”

    “Thank you very much, Mr. Broderick,” Peter said.

    He reached out and clenched onto the keys like a vise. He knew it was irrational, but he thought if he didn’t hold on tightly, the air-car key might disappear.

    “Hold on. I’m not done yet,” Broderick said, reaching into the opposite side of the cabinet.

    “Here are the keys to your new apartment. It should be ready by tomorrow. If you want any furniture moved from your old apartment, you must call the Personnel Office and give them your former address. Do you understand?”

   
My old furniture? He must be kidding,
Peter thought
. That stuff is crap.

     “Yes, sir,” Rayne said, placing the apartment key in his right jumpsuit pocket.

    He kept the air-car key clamped in his sweaty grip out of the superstitious fear it might disappear.

    “Now there’s just the issue of your green pass,” Broderick said, re-securing the cabinet. “I can take care of that here too.”

    Broderick turned away from the cabinet and took long strides toward his desk. He took a seat at the desk and gestured for Rayne to sit down. He opened a drawer, grabbed something out of it, and placed it on the desk in front of him. Rayne thought it must be the green pass until he saw Broderick remove his ivory pipe from his jacket pocket and fill it with tobacco.

    “Stop looking so anxious to get out of here, Rayne,” Broderick said, leaning back in his plush leather office chair and blowing a small cloud of smoke across the desk. “By law, I need to explain the benefits and restrictions of your green pass. The green pass will allow you and your family access to the Virtual-world Executive Entertainment Center. The green pass does not allow access to New Washington. A ticket holder must meet government requirements as stated on the back of the document. This ticket must be used by February 13, 2059. Expired tickets will not be honored. Do you understand these conditions?”

    “Yes, sir.”

    “Then you may receive your green pass,” Broderick said as he reached into another drawer and pulled out a rectangular green piece of paper slightly larger than a dollar bill. He handed it to Rayne.

    Peter quickly scanned the small green document. Gold-scripted lettering on the ticket explained all the benefits and restrictions.

    “I’ll bet you never thought you’d be able to get over to that place. Am I right?” Broderick asked.

    “No, sir,” Rayne replied. He leaned forward anxiously in his chair. The faster he could get out of the meeting, the faster he could check out his new company air-car. “Thanks for all your help, Mr. Broderick.”

    “Mr. Rayne, it was my pleasure,” Broderick replied with obvious sarcasm.

    Rayne stood from his chair and waited for Broderick to do the same so they could shake hands. Soon, he realized that Broderick had no intention of moving from his comfortable position. The Personnel Manager continued to lean back in his plush leather chair, staring at him through a haze of pipe smoke waiting for him to leave. Peter nodded at him before turning and leaving the area.

   
Well, that was interesting
, Rayne thought as he took long strides down the tiled pathway intersecting the miniature tropical forest.
Instead of being terminated, I get promoted. Imagine that.”

    Rayne left the tropical path and cut across the lounge area. Exiting the office, he strode down the hall like a schoolboy on his way to an ice cream shop. He held the keys to his company air-car in a jealous grip as he entered the elevator.

Chapter 14

    Rayne didn’t relax his vice-grip on the air-car key as he punched in the number of the Executive Parking Garage: G4. He rode the elevator down and stepped out as soon as the doors opened. Peter expected to find an ordinary concrete parking garage similar to the crumbling remains of the old ground vehicle garages left over in Inner City. Instead, he walked into a bright sunlit dome the size of a football stadium.

    The dome reminded him of a giant honeycomb with thousands of individual, octagon-shaped glass sections, which allowed the filtered sunlight to shine in from all angles. It was hard to believe how warm it was in the dome. The outside temperature couldn’t have been more than thirty degrees, but it was at least seventy in the dome.

    The layout was extraordinary. Rayne was standing on a walkway at mid-level next to a line of air-cars parked on an upwardly sloping ramp. Looking up, he saw a maze of ramps spiraling upwards. Each ramp contained endless lines of parked anti-grav cars. The ramps also had an adjacent catwalk for pedestrians to reach their vehicles.

    The curving ramp started at the top of the dome and swirled downward along the outside edge until it eventually reached the bottom. That way, all the cars had access to the necessary sunlight to charge their anti-grav batteries. 

    Rayne leaned over the catwalk railing and looked down. He had expected to find cars parked on the floor of the dome, so he was surprised when he saw trees and grass. The lower ramp ended in a small tropical garden similar to the one in Broderick’s office.

    This place is unbelievable. I should have gotten myself promoted sooner.

    Rayne saw that each parking space was marked with a number in sequence. Contrary to logic, the numbers were higher on the lower part of the ramp and became lower as the immeasurable car ramp ascended. The number on his key was four-hundred twenty-four. The car in the space in front of him was 220, so he assumed his car was somewhere on the lower ramp levels. He followed the gently sloping path of the pedestrian catwalk downward.

    As Rayne reached the bottom level of the dome, he saw the cars on the lower ramp were parked next to the small tropical garden area he had seen earlier from above. He found air-car number four twenty-four and was about to turn the key in the door, when he stopped to admire the gorgeous work of art.    

    Rayne shivered with excitement as his eyes scanned the sleek curves of the aerodynamic machine. The streamlined body form reminded him of an antique Corvette, but gull wing doors had replaced traditional horizontal doors. He opened the driver’s side door with a trembling hand and sat on the plush leather driver’s seat. 

    Rayne scanned the seemingly endless rows of lights and levers on the dashboard. He was surprised to see the interior of the craft was similar to an automobile. There was a directional switch, a headlight switch, a cigarette lighter, a music disc deck, and even a drink holder. However, the steering wheel was “U” shaped like an airplane. A small computer screen in the center of the dashboard panel appeared to be the nexus of all the car’s operations. A small menu, listing the various functions of the computer, appeared on the screen. He quickly scanned the menu: ROAD MAP, DIRECTIONS, AUTOPILOT,” and “EMERGENCY.

   
Now, I have to figure out how to work this thing. The last thing I want to do is crash it on the first day
.

    Peter found an Owner’s Manual in the glove compartment that described the details of the car’s operation. He skimmed through it and discovered that the car’s forward thrust was powered by standard gasoline, while the anti-gravitational force operated on electromagnetic power. The more powerful the magnetic force, the higher the vehicle was able to rise. The anti-grav source gave the vehicle its vertical movement while combustion fuel gave it horizontal motion.  

    According to the manual, black solar panels were built into the vehicle’s roof, hood, and trunk surfaces to absorb and store radiated energy from the sun. Sunlight provided the necessary energy to get the car off the ground.

   
That explains why they’re parked in a transparent dome.

    Located in front of the passenger seat next to the glove box was a five-pronged electrical outlet. A small sign below it read: THIS OUTLET IS COMPATIBLE WITH MOST ANTIGRAVITATIONAL RECHARGING MACHINES. Below that, in smaller letters, he saw “this outlet should only be used if the vehicle is depleted of electromagnetic power or there is a lack of natural sunlight during daylight hours.”

   
Wow, this thing works like an electric forklift at Breechlere. If there’s no sunlight, you just plug it into a charger.

    Between the black polished leather seats was what looked like an emergency brake. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was actually landing gear. The owner’s manual indicated that if the vehicle lost power while air-bound, two sets of wheels could be lowered by use of the lever. The vehicle’s interior alarm would sound and the craft would slowly descend to earth where it could be used as a ground vehicle.