Draft 1.23
Golem Project In Progress
Wessel slept like a rock for nearly ten hours, waking before his parents at the crack of dawn. As soon as he felt the couch, saw where he was, the memories of yesterday jolted him away.
Just one more day before the power might come back on. If Lillian still had his computer at that point, it might be impossible to keep the program from leaking out to the world.
That one day started now.
Wessel quietly got up, dressed in his room, then snuck over to his parent’s door. It was still dark in their room. Back curtains hung over the windows, only letting in shafts of light. The room was clean, Wessel hoped, because he’d have to do this by memory.
Inch by inch, he eased the door open. Holding his breath, he stepped into the room. His father’s golem stood just to the left, watching, waiting. The houseplant Wessel needed was attached to the shining white knight.
There, Wessel hesitated.
His father had a connection to the golem, just like Wessel did. Even if this golem couldn’t talk, there might be some feedback. Would he notice this? It would be hard to explain.
He didn’t wait long. Every second was precious. Planning out each action smoothly, Wessel flipped the switch, grabbed the little plant as it stopped spinning, and was out the door without checking to see if his father woke.
Come on, Aizi, he thought, and they silently left the small apartment together.
Even from near the top of the parking deck, Wessel could see the world returning to normal. Dawn’s light gleamed off the golems trundling through the streets. There weren’t as many as before the storm, but the houseplants were getting attached and activated. Still no pod-cars on the streets, still few lights on in the buildings, but it was a start.
From his vantage point, Wessel could see the tower that loomed over the city. It bustled with activity. Cranes, ladders, mechanical climbing drones, golems that could get up there one way or another, all working together to restore the rotating coil and bring the power zone back online.
It would be a while yet, but according to what Wessel had heard, that wasn’t the only tower being worked on. The backup tower and the city-wide power-generator coils were on the rise as well.
Even without the power zone active, Wessel was beginning to feel that static hum, the prickling on his skin once again. It came and went, based on the flow of golem traffic below, but it was just barely there.
“We need to hurry,” Wessel said.
“Yes,” Aizi agreed. There was nothing more to add.
Ethany was waiting for them already, a one floor down from Wessel’s apartment. It took a moment for Wessel to recognize her. She was… clean, and overnight her hair had been cut shorter than his. It stuck out in all directions, clearly not combed in any way, shorn uneven.
“Hey,” she said. “Sleep good?”
“Okay,” he said. His gaze moved to the golem waiting behind her. The panther. Dark, animalistic, with articulated movements that were smoother than a lot of golems Wessel had seen.
“Got an old golem-keyed houseplant,” Ethany said, following his gaze. “Mom’ll be madder than a stepped-on hornet’s nest when she finds out, but I think we decided this was important.”
“Golem-keyed?”
“It only works on golems. From back when my parents lived in the— outside the power zone, before my mom and I moved here.” Ethany shrugged. “I think my mom will be safe without her golem today.”
“Oh. I hope so,” Wessel said. Aizi and this cat-like golem were so different. If I had chosen something different as my word, what would I have ended up with? Wessel thought.
“Hey, what’s that look about?” Ethany asked. “Something on your mind, Wes?”
“What did you choose?” he asked. “For a symbol.”
“Freedom,” she said, without hesitation. “There were multiple versions, so I asked for the hieroglyph one. Ancient, powerful. Makes sense, I guess, that an old Egyptian word gave me a panther.”
“Oh. You wanted to be free?”
“I miss the open country. Part of that, I guess.” Ethany pursed her lips to the side, in some kind of smirk, then changed the subject. “So, this Lillian girl. Do you know where to find her?”
“I don’t,” Wessel said, looking up at Aizi.
“No,” Aizi added, only in Wessel’s head. “Not without the data from online. By then, it will be too late.”
“You don’t, huh? What kinda jackhead doesn’t know where his girlfriend lives?”
“Hey!” Wessel said. “She— she’s not my girlfriend!”
Ethany raised both eyebrows. “Really? ‘Cause I saw that look of betrayal when you seen what was on that camera. I could practically see the heartbreak goin’ on.”
Wessel flushed redder. “No,” he said. “She is just— was just a friend.”
“Okay, alright,” Ethany said. “So we don’t know where she is.”
“No.” Wessel exhaled, glad to be back on subject. His shoulder’s slumped. “We need a plan if we’re going to find her.”
“Got any ideas?” Ethany asked. Before Wessel could answer, she added, “Your teachers might know. If we find one, we can threaten them with superior golem power or steal the info, and be good to go!”
Wessel frowned as he thought about that. “Do all of your plans involve breaking the law and making golems fight?”
“Only most of them.” Ethany tilted her head. “Why, you got better?”
“I’ve been thinking, and I only have some ideas,” he said. “I don’t know which one we should go with.”
“Why not try multiple?” Ethany asked.
“But that— when do I give up on one and try another?” Wessel asked. “It’s good to have one plan, and make it work. That’s how I got Aizi.”
“That’s why you need Aizi. And why you need me!” Ethany pointed a thumb at herself. “We can work together and try a bunch of things at once!”
Wessel swallowed. He didn’t like the idea of improvising. Could they even get anything done without focusing on one thing? But then, he had others with him. He could focus on his own plan, and they could focus on theirs, and whoever succeeded first would find Lillian. That could work.
“Okay,” he said. “First there are places Lillian might have gone, or people who might know where she is.”
“Alrighty,” Ethany said. “Who?”
“You already said teachers,” Wessel said. “Lillian is very interested in golem and program stuff, so maybe a library or bookstore. And—”
“You think she could be getting help to use your computer?” Ethany asked. “Didn’t she already know how?”
“No,” Wessel said. “She isn’t even in programming class.”
“Hot dog, that’s a lead. What else?”
Wessel shrugged. “We could ask the cops, if we find one.”
“Nah, let’s not. Trust me, as a former country gal. Cops ain’t all that.”
“Well, I can ask one,” Wessel said. Ethany frowned at that, but didn’t say anything. “That’s all the people I know to ask.”
“What if nobody tells us?”
“The other idea is to use our golems sensors and just look for Lillian,” Wessel said. “But this city is big.”
“She can’t live far from here,” Ethany said.
“Huh?”
“She came while the power was out, which means she didn’t have much time to get here and couldn’t have planned in advance. She had to get here and get home quick.”
How did Ethany know all of that? Wessel only nodded. She’d been right so far. “So what then?”
“We can get our golems to scan so long as we’re doing other stuff,” Ethany said. “Maybe we’ll hit pay dirt. Maybe not. We got all day.”
“Okay,” Wessel said. “Do you think we’ll find her?”
“I think we will, based on what we know,” Aizi cut in. “Our odds of success increase if we get moving more quickly.”
“Yeah,” Ethany said, while Aizi was speaking. “We can do this.” “Follow me,” Wessel said. “I know where to go first.”
Kyle Adams 