I stared blankly at the IV needle that had just been attached to the back of my left hand. Not because it hurts. But I feel like I don't need it anymore. My hands are not shaking like yesterday. Food portions have also returned to normal—well, although the porridge has been replaced and the taste of each menu is not far from bland and bitter. After all, my condition is much better, seriously. I'm sure I can throw an apple right into Danial's forehead if he does it again.
"Is there a problem, sir?" The nurse-tagged Daisy tilted her head while maintaining a friendly expression.
"I don't need another IV." I raised my left wrist. Don't forget to throw a pleading glare.
Daisy widened her lips to narrow the corners of her further already slanted eyes. "You know that I'm just a crumb here, right?"
I'm fast.
Daisy's smile had now completely turned into a smirk. "I will obey you if the Chief Executive himself conveys it directly to me."
Argh! Unlucky!
If this is the situation, I won't be able to immediately find the novel that was lost in my coat pocket! It doesn't matter if the book is found by someone else. After all, they must only think of the stories in them as mere fiction. But still. I can't calm down.
"Did I leave anything in my coat or pants pocket before you took these clothes to the laundry ?" I finally managed to ask after Danial returned from the laundry yesterday.
The youth ran his eyes in all directions for two seconds before shaking his head. "I've double-checked."
This isn't true although it's a bit of a relief.
After Alpha's surveillance team finishes its work, I'll recheck my car. Who knows the novel will fall under the seat. For now, I can only watch Danial's actions. If everything he did deviate from the story's content, it could be possible that he had read the book and chose not to tell the truth.
"Oh yes." Daisy's voice made me realize that the nurse was still there.
He pulled a black gadget from the pile of pencil boards in his arms—which I immediately greeted with joy.
"Master Danial left this early in the morning." Daisy didn't take her hand away as soon as I received the tablet. Her fingers were still dangling, anticipating my grip dropping. She still couldn't believe my recovery speed.
"Did he say he'd be here after his business was done?" I looked up again after placing the tablet in my lap.
"No," Daisy confirmed with a shake.
After saying thank you, I was left alone laughing happily.
As an observer, life feels empty one day without holding a gadget. Especially if almost all aspects of today's life cannot be separated from the help of electronic devices. For example, the pencil board that Daisy brought to record the progress of the patient's health is a tablet that has been modified to be as ergonomic as possible.
I opened the Iflex window — a streaming service specializing in showing movies and television shows of four-star quality and above. The quality is not judged by the clarity of the image, subtitles according to EYD, the download feature without expiration, or the program including a full month subscription for every internet quota top-up with any nominal. More than that, Iflex only shows cinemas that have at least brought trophies from one of the world's most prestigious film awards.
I'm not going to explain the various awards held every two years because I don't care. To be sure, Iflex does not half serve its customers.
I took a short breath.
Just for this week, while Father gives me a little rest, I will heal my heart and mind. I think thinking about the novel's plot is causing my health to suffer.
The keyboard popped up a second after my index finger touched the search field.
"Human Evolution History after …" My smile grew wider. The promotional cover of the film depicts ten people looking back looking at a dystopian panorama that appears on the far left of the monitor. I recognized it immediately.
I quickly straightened the pillow that supported my back while I had not yet reached the opening scene. I don't like to miss a second of this movie.
"Human Evolution History after World War III-CerO." Just spelling the title makes me feel calm and proud at the same time.
Twenty-seven years ago, I first watched this film through an illegal channel and the picture quality cracked as the lighting on my low-spec phone increased. The cellphone as a birthday gift from my father became the most luxurious item of its time.
After almost five days, he showed me this film. I was on strike from school. I, who still didn't understand that my eyesight was that special, was ostracized by my peers because of the 'devil's child' rumor spread by the seniors on the basketball team. It's not enough to spread slander without even a teacher knowing, they bullied me every day. It took the disciplinary committee six months to find out about the bullying, and that was after my father bumped into the principal.
"You're not weird, kid. Really." Father kissed me long and deep for the crown of mine, still curled up in the corner of the room—feeling guilty after stubbornly refusing to throw the cell phone in any direction.
"Let's watch it together." He reached out. "You are special, son. Very special."
***
"The evolution of mankind into the highest success that science can achieve, and a sad decline at the same time."
Ah, what an epic opening monologue. Just from the intonation alone, the pride that was crushed by the irony could pierce my heart. Both then and now—or maybe forever—that pathetic smell still lingers.
"The presence of the CerO virus is the beginning of what was initially a scourge for everyone." People who died in various frames were visualized alternately with a pause of no more than five seconds. It gives the impression that they died at almost the same time. The horror he was trying to convey made me wince in horror.
"It took nearly half a century for researchers to tame this mycobacterium to make it useful, even if only for a short time." I let out a long sigh as the screen imaged the power and effort of scientists. The fear that was successfully conveyed made me hold my breath involuntarily.
"The CerO virus first appeared in 2158 as a continuing effect of World War III." Prof. Dr. Harris Margo Kusumo, MA, was one of the speakers. The bald cultural man's name appeared right in front of his chest. The faded yellow background that blocked the text made my attention straight to it. No matter how many times I watched this film, the bright lemon color always caught my attention.
"The underlying motivation for scientists to create CerO was to destroy the remnants of radiation in cities affected by nuclear disasters before World War III. With hope," he raised his intonation while hanging his last sentence. "The remaining humans can survive because the entire land is barely habitable anymore."
I nodded in agreement. No matter how good my current economic level is, I've also lived in times when things weren't perfect. When CerO appeared, I was ten years old. Our life in an orphanage whose residents are overloaded has been problematic. Me and nine other slightly older children were forced to do all kinds of menial jobs to support our ten younger siblings who were still toddlers.
Where are the investors? Where are the benefactors? Do we have no more money? Isn't there funding from the Foundation? The questions honestly weren't enough to move me out on the streets and do any job instead of going to school anyway. I finally heard Miya, one of our remaining two caregivers, crying with Gana—our sister who was six months old, because there was no rice left in the storage barrel. That's when I cursed myself for only knowing two things. First, it turns out that Gana has only consumed starchy water all this time. And secondly, the reason the caregivers resigned leaving only two people because their wages had not been paid since half a year ago.
We experienced a little of the impact caused by World War III. But climate disruptions around the world are exacerbating the consequences of the feud.
"The resultant selfishness of certain parties fueling the Raine Country led them to violate the North Atlantic Peace Treaty and Duarrr unintentionally!" Prof. Harris raised his hands above his head to describe the severity of the consequences of the fraud. "This action has offended the United Nations. Those who originally tried to quell the Countries' anger under its auspices decided to raise their hands."
Prof. Harris raised the frames of his drooping glasses before shaking his head in concern. "They are still stubborn even though so many parties have criticized them. Even so, I salute them. The West was the fastest to rebuild civilization after being crushed by Resisjke Country's laser torpedoes." Then, his laughter echoed throughout my inpatient room. I quickly turned down the tablet volume.
"You could say the laser torpedo was also a plot twist." The tan-skinned fat man straightened his slumped sitting position. His eyes sparkled brightly. "At a time when almost everyone lauds the Trodient—a missile that is believed to be able to sink a landmass in one hit, deified it and uses it to create the image that 'Oh, this is the terrifying weapon.'" Prof. Harris wiggled his right hand while pouting his lips. "Resisjke has something even more extraordinary and surprising to him," He leaned in and whispered—through useless because there was a microphone on his collar. "No spies from any country know the process of the creation and development of the torpedo."
I cracked a grin. Inside the heart bursts with joy.
The victors create history. But ironically, no one knows whether the champion is fighting for the truth or the other way around. But for World War III the conflict was very clear. Who is right and who is wrong, no one can deny it.
The screen illustrates the chaos in World War III in black and white. The sad music without the singer's voice amplifies the smell of sadness and bitterness.
My gaze is shining.
I think my childhood was already the most difficult.
"Are you too focused on the tablet or have you lost your intuition?"
I was shocked.
A man with short curly hair was standing beside me.
What an air of existence that I have not felt since earlier. How long had he been standing here?
I glanced at the closed bedroom door.
Did he come in here and shut it down right away? I'm sure there was no sound of the door sliding.
"Who are you?" I only released the volume buttons when the tablet was in mute mode. "What do you need me for?"
The man wearing the patient's pajamas smiled—or smirked?
I frowned uncomfortably.
His monolid eyes flashed slyly. When he pulled the corners of his lips, the slightly protruding gums made his already deceitful face even more suspicious and sinister.
This man giggled in a strange tone. The screeching is very annoying. It was as if a needle had pierced—!
I groaned. I cover my ears. My back arched forward. The dizziness hit more and more intensely. The pain weakens the entire joint. It even feels like Earth's gravity is pulling me along.
Damn it! Damn bastard!
"Adam Kusuma." His laughter was getting louder and louder.
My tongue is numb. I struggled to squint, trying to look back at him.
"You aren't as strong as the rumors."
My teeth are crunching.
No matter how painful my body was being pressed down, I mustered all my strength to reach for the tablet in my lap. I managed to ward off his raised wrist. The folding knife in the man's hand flew out of nowhere.
His feet took a step back, he was surprised by my actions. Finding the small gap, I pulled out the IV needle before charging forward, aiming for his vital point.