Choice | A flash fiction story
84 of đź’Ż
“You’re kidding, right?” Maya was in her crimson uniform, her combat helmet under her arm. “I’m a cog, not a beta tester.”
The room was foggy with vanilla-scented smoke. The vape became part of Frank’s organism when he was anxious, and Maya had a unique way of making him get there. He couldn’t even look at her. He was standing behind his desk, staring through the blinds at a striped world of colorful lights.
“I told you, it’s not my choice.” He puffed from the vape. “This order dropped directly from Olympus.”
“I won’t use Atlanta’s untested surrogate bots,” she said. “Besides, I like walking these streets with my actual body. I don’t want to watch the world through the cameras.”
“It’s not like you have a choice.” He sucked hard on the vape. Maya was his best cog, but also a bit of a loose cannon.
He heard a thud and braced himself for what would come next, but she said the next sentence in a soft voice.
“There’s always a choice, Frank.”
He dropped his vape when he spun around. She was leaving his office, her helmet on his desk.
“Wait, Maya!” he called. “Where are you going?”
“Tell the AI to erase me. I’m tired of beating up poor people for a living, anyway.”
< Distinguished | Choice | Blob >
