There was merry in the air. People laughed, burped, barfed, and chirped. A fitting place for drunkards. Indeed, John and Theo made their way to the local underground pub. Although drinking wasn't illegal, it wasn't that popular nowadays and often frowned upon.
With advance genes, the fun of alcohol had died down. It would have taken at least a gallon of wine for a soldier to get drunk, but he'd still be able to function with just a few hiccups. So not many enjoyed drinking. After all, the purpose of drinking for most wasn't just for plain fun, rather it was to escape from reality.
"So, basically you're finally heading off to space?"
"Did you even listen to what I said?" Theo whined, burying his head on the table.
"I did. And it sounds okay to me. You should take it; been your dream for a long while."
"Yeah, I've been thinwing the same." Theo's drink was almost finished. He swirled the last of his drink and chugged it all down. He was already semi-drunk.
John on the other hand wasn't even affected yet. "What an irony. Even with great genes I still haven't had a proper job and yet, look at you. I can't even get drunk like you." John chuckled. But some part of him was sad.
"It's too swoon to be jealoush. Oh I know. Why don't you apply for the job ash well? With your shuperior traits, I bet they'd be wall over you. I'll be at easeh twoo." Theo got tongue-tied a few times but he managed to speak just fine.
"I don't know man. I'd be stealing your show." John looked over his glass. It was half empty. How many glasses did he have tonight? Seven maybe: or perhaps eight already?
Theo poured in another glass. He was almost wasted with just one glass. "It-'ll be fine. Hicc*"
"Are you sure you should be drinking this much?"
"Fine, fine," Theo's head slammed on the table before he could say anything else: his drink just rolled off the table.
Shatter!
He was fast asleep.
With the increased resistance to alcohol, the actual percentage of alcohol increased as well. So it wasn't that much of an ordinary people-friendly drink anymore. It still wasn't enough to make most of the soldier types drunk though. Give them, rectified spirit and they'll even chug that stuff down without making a fuss. Their bathrooms might suffer a little the next morning though.
John drank, emptied his glass, smiled faintly, and stared at the sleeping guy on the table. "That's so like you."
The merry in the air, felt distant as he just stared at the wine bottle, sighing.
***
With an aching head, Theo woke up. Around him were his ever-so-familiar things. He was in his room. 'Did I pass out? So John brought me here?'
He looked around but John wasn't here. Even if he was, he'd already left.
Theo went to the bathroom and got fresh. His head felt like it'd explode. His eyes magnified whatever he tried to see and it hurt. He had hangovers before but today wasn't the best day for this.
He checked the time and he was already a little late. But since Jonathan Deberie never really confirmed a time, no one would be able to fault Theo, at least that's what he thought. Even so, getting up at 11 in the morning wasn't really desired upon in this age.
He got dressed, ate an omelet, and made way for the hover station. But before that, he took a detoxifier tablet for his intense hangover, just in case.
The sunlight was intense, and he had to cover his eyes for a minute. The detoxifier was working but his hangover was just a bit too intense this time around.
Sounds! Who knew sound could be so excruciating? He wanted to cut his ears off for a second.
It did fade away but even so- 'I'm never drinking again…'
After a long time, he'd be getting on a hovercraft. It'd be a little expensive but he didn't care. His head was up in the clouds. Finally, his dream would be realized. He didn't give a damn about the consequences.
The black and white boring world, seemed colorful and everything seemed full of life. The large displays on the building, the tubes across the sky and the road itself, was full of life today. After a long, long time, Theo felt this way.
He reached the station quickly and got up. The craft had roughly ten passengers. Most of the rich used Teleports while the middle class used Hovercrafts. The poor however just escalated their way out of financial crisis.
The craft slowly got airborne and sped up exponentially. The passengers felt nothing, as though they were sitting in their own room. Although, the craft might have been a little more comfortable than Theo's couch.
The buildings looked like contrails even in broad daylight. With large screens hanging from every corner of the buildings, that wasn't all that shocking. Theo's destination was roughly three hundred kilometers away, but he'd arrive in less than seven minutes. He was excited and he couldn't wait.
He felt like a kid again.
Theo's stop came and he got out. Payment was on credit, so he didn't have to worry about it, at least not yet.
Everything looked so clean. Humans, R.I, and Qmales were going on about their days. Hovercrafts floated, teleports teleported while long tube trains just ran freely. It really was a magnificent sight. So full of colors.
'Let's hurry…'
***
The building in front of Theo was both wider and larger than all the other buildings in the same area. It was probably the best building in the entire city: no, the entire country. Or perhaps the whole planet?
"Hold it right there." Before Theo could step in, he was stopped by a robot.
The robot looked fairly human. From skin tone to behavior, everything was human-like. If the word, R.I wasn't written on its shirt, no one would have been able to discern it didn't have life, at least not on first glance.
Although the building was probably one of the most important places of the country, security was taken care of by R.I. And R.I for that matter were fairly equipped to handle modified humans.
"I have an appointment with Jonathan Deberie."
'Shoot I forgot to ask him to send me an invite.'
"I have no such records."
"Contact him and tell him Theodore Black has come to see him," Theo almost ordered the R.I. He knew acting weak now would mean he'd be forcefully thrown out of here.
R.I were the only ones Theo could talk with some confidence. If he spoke to others like that, they'd brand him as a condescending bitch or something like that. Being ordinary was problematic enough. He wouldn't have been able to even get out of the house if he were to be branded as such.
On that note, others talked to him much more condescendingly anyway. Especially the guys with superior genes.
"Wait just a moment." The R.I. closed his eyes. "Go right in. Have a great day." It smiled: a PR grin.
"You too."
But Theo wasn't someone who'd talk however he pleased. He was careful about how he spoke: even to robots.