I take the bubble wrap-covered item from its cardboard home and unfurl it like a carpet. Of course, I give the wrap to Veronica who immediately proceeds to jump on it.
Eleanor raises an eyebrow? "Is that a Rubick's cube?"
I frown. "I... don't think so? It's all white on all sides."
It looks like a Rubick's cube but it feels lighter. I rotate the cube many times to check if I'm missing something. Nothing.
"Hmm. Maybe try playing it? Something might happen if you fiddle around with it," Eleanor suggests while joining Veronica on her quest to pop all the bubbles.
I lie on the sofa and do what she suggested. Bad idea. The moment I did so, a flash of light and mechanical sounds start to fill the room. I immediately drop it and back up against Veronica and Eleanor, leading them towards the door.
"What the fuck did you do? Ugh, my fucking eyes." she yells.
"I fiddled with it like you said!" I reply.
"It's on my fucking couch man. What if it burns a hole through it?"
If it does, the couch is the last of our concerns. I wait for a few moments, the strange sounds and flashing lights are replaced with a slight hum and mellow blue glow. Deeming it safe, I go near the object and immediately, a certain pattern catches my eyes.
"It's math," I gasp.
"What?" Eleanor grasps my wrist preventing me from getting closer.
I reassure her with a motion of my hand and go closer until I can see it clearly.
[2+2]
Clear as day. A simple equation presents itself on all sides of the cube. My heart jumps as if I was a child again on Christmas Eve.
"I think it's a Mathphile's cube," I tell her with a huge smile on my face.
"A what? Devon, there's nothing on the couch. Also, what in the fuck happened? What was that glow? My Kaleidoscope went to shit so I had to close my eyes," she says while blinking multiple times and looking up the ceiling.
"You can't see that?" She shakes her head. I then turn to Veronica. "Sweetie, you see that right?"
"Yeah! Fow!" she answers.
"That's right!"
It's strange. Seems that Veronica and I, the two people in this room that don't have the upgrade, can see it but Eleanor can't after it activated. I take the cube and put it in my coat that's hanging at the arm of the couch.
"Man, that was terrible," she sighs. "You," she points at Veronica, "clean up your bubble wrap and get ready. We're gonna see grandma today."
Veronica nods and excitedly runs to her room."Grammaaaa."
"And you," she points at me. "Don't you need to meet Tom today for a 'guys hang out' or something."
I wince. She's right! It's the weekly Sunday Bro-nch. It's short for bro lunch. Tom named it and I was too tired to argue with him on the day that he dubbed our hang out time. I swiftly grab my coat, yell goodbye and briskly walk on the wet, muddy roads of the Metropolis. So far, we only got heavy raindrops across the acrid, polluted sky. Which is nice. Of course, Central, the literal heart of the city where businesses and millionaires make their nest, has the climate equivalent to that of the Bahamas in spring. Speaking of which, Tom decided to meet with me there today. I told him many times that I've got no business being there but he just loves taking me to places I didn't wanna go.
I take the cube out of my pocket and see the same equation glowing on all sides. Actually, upon closer inspection, there seems to be arrows on one of the rows pointing towards the right. The only conclusion I can come up with is that the answer to the equation is the number of times I have to rotate that row in that direction. So, I did. Upon completing the fourth rotation, mechanical sounds briefly ring out from it before another formula and a new set of arrows appear.
[3 X 4] [Left column; arrows pointing upwards]
I feel a grin forming as I look up at the sky to thank Mitchel for his final gift to me.
I continue to solve formula after formula until the clear, translucent dome of Central looms over me. Guards are positioned on all eight points of entry. Their navy-blue coats and white undershirt stand out among the steady stream of people who are making their way to them while their similarly blue caps protect them from stray droplets flicked by the wind. It didn't take long until it is my turn to show my physical passport and visa to the guard.
The guard raises his eyebrow as I hand him the crisp, leather covered identification. He receives it and looks at his fellow guard who then stifles a laughter.
"I haven't seen this shit in a long time man. How old are you?" he scoffs as he hands them back to me.
"26," I chuckle weakly.
"We took a look at your file," the other guard adds when he finally composes himself. "No shady business. Hope you understand that a young man like yourself not having a Kaleidoscope is kind of a red flag nowadays."
I sigh as another guard proceeds to frisk me. "I'm not much for watching the news but have Return to Gaia caused any problems recently?"
The guard who took my documents scratches his head and sighs deeply. "Don't worry about it man. We're just on high alert right now. If you see any suspicious people in there, report to us immediately. Have a nice day."
I nod and I'm escorted into an entirely new world of vibrant splashes of green and blue. I breathe in the fresh, non-acidic air and feel the gentle wind on my hair. On the streets of Central are obvious big-shots who literally run the economy of Metropolis. In the more recreational areas are their children, sharing gossip, making connections, and planning for world domination. Of course, Tom is among them.
"Devon!" he shouts while waving wildly in a crowded coffee shop.
In his table are the same people who approached me during lunch but now they're wearing semi-formal attires. Honestly these rich kids can wear anything and look so cool. Meanwhile, here I am approaching these superstars with a polo shirt, simple pants, and the steel mask that hid my shame.
After exchanging greetings, we went on with the day. We went to the arcade, the bowling alley, the shopping complex, and then we settle down at the most famous bar in all of Metropolis: Florenza.
Martin, the stylish guy who gave me a year-long free pass in all of his restaurants, whispers something to the guard and we are all let in.
"Everything's free for Devon," he announces as we walk into the low toned lights and the soft caress of jazz. "As for the rest of you, pay your damn tab," he chuckles.
Tom and Raph click their tongues while the two ladies gravitate towards the tall stools at the long bar table. As for me, I am still processing everything. All around me are unfamiliar faces dressed in outfits that would put actors walking the red carpet to shame. Speaking of, I think I see Jenelyn Santiago, one of the most prominent action stars of our time. Overwhelmed, I instinctively reach out to the Mathphile's Cube for comfort. But before I could bring it out, Tom senses my bewilderment and hooks me with his arm to bring me to where the rest of the guys are sitting.
"Thanks for suggesting to bring him here Martin," Tom laughs as he basically throws me on the leathery embrace of the red sofa.
"You promised not to mention anything," he mumbles with wide eyes and gritted teeth.
Tom mockingly covers his mischievous smile and takes a seat beside me. Before long, drinks are ordered and all of us started drinking high class liquor like water. Normally, just thinking about the cost would give me hives but since it's all free, I let myself lose somewhat.
Hours go by and Martin has clearly gone past his drinking limit. Raph is still fine but he is getting close. Tom likes to pace himself since, according to his words, "the fun stops when you can't remember shit." Meanwhile, I am tipsy to the point of having a loose tongue but still not too far gone that I would start divulging my deepest, darkest secret. It is at this point where the conversation takes a turn for the juicy.
"I think this is the night my men," Martin announces with resolved etched into his eyes. "I'll tell Jessica how I feel."
"Who's Jessica again?" I ask as I fiddle with the cube. I... actually don't know when I took it out.
"Stop fiddling with nothing and pay attention," he slaps me gently. "She's that one," he points at the dark-haired lady who I met briefly.
Raph scoffs. "You've been saying that for the past month. Only when you're drunk do you have the balls."
"Shut the fuck up retard," now it is his turn to get slapped. "You got no right when you haven't even told Sophia either."
Ralph returns the slap and then both of them laugh. Meanwhile, in the corner of my eye, I see Tom with his wide smirk in full display.
"Tom, don't do it," I say in monotone while my hands are steadily working through formula after formula.
Without hesitation, Tom whisks the two away and whispers something in both of their ears as they approach the ladies at the bar. Not having the heart to see how this unfolds, I listen to the call of nature and head towards the Men's room. I've been here many times throughout the night but I still can't get used to the sparkling state of the facilities and the smell of non-irritating soap in my nose. Of course, it's only possible because of the J.A.N.I.T.O.R.S., fully automated semi-humanoid robots that are designed to keep the place spotless. At first, they were built to reduce sickness and improve sanitation when the Great Pandemic 19 hit, but now, all businesses use them. It's rare to see one since they're programmed to avoid humans so it became a running joke in my school that if you see one and make a wish, it will come true.
The cube's difficulty has spiked to its all-time high just as I was about to wash my hands. I furrow my brow. Did it recognize that I've been solving the formulae at a fast pace and decided to hit me with its hardest equation? Why the heck would it give me a Diophantine Equation all of a sudden?
"Ok, you little shit. Game on," I whisper to myself ignoring the other people in the washroom.
Fueled with immense fighting spirit and a couple of $300 bottles of other spirits, I sit down near the sink and begin to write the formula on one of the walls using the bottle of golden liquid soap that was in the dispensers.
As I write number after number, all sensation become lost to me. I don't know how much time has passed, how many people came into the Men's room, and how many times the J.A.N.I.T.O.R. came by. All I know is that after much time, I finally got the answer. I laugh maniacally and turn the rows and columns according to the answer. Then, the cube emits its usual mechanical sounds but this time, it lasts longer. I wait patiently for the next formula but to my disappointment, the cube stops emitting light after the sounds stop.
I sighed. "I guess that's that. Maybe I can reset it and answer it slowly next time."
But there won't be a next time since as I am about to pocket the cube, it falls apart like sand in my hand. I try to catch each cube but to no avail. At first, my focus was on the mess I made on the floor. But after adjusting my non-sober mind, I see what the cube left on my hand: two circular cases connected by a thin rubber. On them is Medacorp's signature M sign.
I gasp. "Mitchel, what the fuck?"
Instantly, I forget the cube I was lovingly playing with since this morning and my attention is fully plastered on plastic case. Gingerly, I open them revealing two familiar contact lenses that were paraded in every gigantic hologram bill board and at every beginning of any TheyTube video.
"Kaleidoscopes," I grin then shout at the top of my lungs which echoes off of the tiles and stall.
"Shut the fuck up," an angry patron shouts back with the intensity second only to the sounds of his shits.
I carefully take each of them with trembling hands and place them on my eyes. It's irritating at first so I blink multiple times before suddenly, words and images invade my vision.
+
[Kaleidoscope Serial #000001 Activating]
[Activated]
[Installing main components]
[Installed]
+
"This is so cool!" I'm now giddy like when I got my first gaming console as a kid.
+
[Connecting to Internet]
[Disabled]
+
"Huh?"
+
[Searching for servers]
[Servers not found]
+
My heart sinks. Is there something wrong with this? Maybe it's a knockoff? No, impossible. Medacorp has killed any company that tries to even replicate it. Then, an alarming message follows.
+
[Administrator Override Activated]
[Welcome Sheriv Nazar]
+
"What the fuck?" I fall on the bathroom floor instinctively. My hands gravitate towards my eyes but an electric shock discourages me from any tampering.
+
[Since no servers are detected, the Kaleidoscope will use the Host's brain as its Core Processing Unit and Hard Drive]
[Activating Cerebral Synchronization Protocols]
[Cerebral Synchronization Protocols Activated]
[Error: Two brainwaves detected]
[Unique System: Parallel Thoughts Activated]
[The two brain waves will briefly meet]
[Host prepare for shock in]
[3]
"Wait a fucking minute," I try to reach for my eyes again only to be met by another electric shock. "Agh!"
[2]
"Aaaaargh."
[1]
Then, my vision goes blank and my ears ring as sharp stab pierces my head and my entire nervous system catches on fire. In the midst of the excruciating pain, I hear whispers, see visions, glimpses of a life not mine. A female's voice? Sheriv Nazar.
"The project will be complete soon," echoes.
"I'm sorry sister," a tearful echo this time.
Then, a solitary, clear voice.
"I am alive too."