Line and the Automata

 

Have you ever thought about today's technological inventions that are getting more and more sophisticated and growing rapidly these days!? for example such as the electronics industry, everyday equipment that is often found in homes, such as cellular networks, or a robot for example!?

It must all be very useful right!?, As evidenced by the condition of modern society that considers cellphones to be part of our souls today, and our work is made easier by the presence of computers and other modern devices.

It all started with the discovery of the 1st Generation internet network or 1G, the first cellphone technology to use an analog system, which is commonly known as AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) and TACS, which have developed considerably until now from the era of 2G, 3G, 4G, to 5G, but... that's not what I want to ask right now.

What I want to ask is, how's the condition of humanity in the future? Will it be much better with the technology that is more modern and more sophisticated than the current one !? Or, will it even be the source of the destruction itself because we are too greedy and selfish because dependent on technology!?

What if we know something terrible that will happen in the future!? might as well make humanity completely extinct! Will we just sit and watch it all !?

Uuuum- Let's change the topic of conversation, what if your smartphone is lost!?

* Sfx: screaming woman.

I tell you something, how about you forget about your cellphone then return to the crude where we use paper to write and do everything with our own hands, playing snakes and ladders and hide and seek together, come on! It will be much more fun! What do you think?

I guess the answer would mostly be a no...

Do you know why? Because we're just going with the times! Current trends, and other cool things.

What if the future people don't like it and send something terrible over here? I mean, to this day and age!

Huuuh~ just imagining it gives me goosebumps...

So what do you think? After reading my review, can you stop your intention to buy the latest PC product and switch to the old product?

"Liiiiiine ... Stop talking... hurry up and serve customers already!"
"Urgh, will do Mom!" I answered.

"Yes, you know my friend, your story is getting better and better, but I suggest you don't tell it here, or you will be mistaken... umm crazy," said Jay, turning his finger beside his head.

"Yes yes yes thank you for the suggestion, Jay, I will remember it well" I responded to Jay's response while still focused on packing the new PC he was going to buy.

My name is Line, a 12th-grade high school student who works as a cashier at an electronic appliance store, and he is my best friend Jay, we are both in the same class at school, he came here to buy a US$ 5.000.00 PC gaming product that are in my shop, to be more precise, it my father's shop.

Although my skin is white while he is brown but we are not arguing about skin problems to be friends, it started with him who accidentally stopped by to visit my parents shop. His intention was just to look around, but in the end, he ended up buying a box of stickers bearing the G-energy logo, which has recently become a trend 2 years ago.
Since then he got to know me in class when we first entered high school because of my familiar face sitting at the cash register.

"The total of everything would be US$5.000.00 Jay," I said, giving the PC which I had packed.

"You know buddy, tomorrow night I have an event at my house at 6 pm, I hope you still have the latest G-energy Logo that I ordered at that time," Jay said, digging into his pocket.

"Yeah-yeah, take it easy, I'll take it during our secret gathering time" I replied.

"You must!" Jay emphasized his words while pointing his index finger at me but his gaze remained focused on finding the money in his pocket.

After taking the PC and giving me US$5.500,00, he headed for the exit. But I shouted to ask him to stop because the money he gave me increased by 500 dollars. but, Jay said that it was a tip for me for telling a pretty interesting story to him, so he kept stepping his feet hurriedly and immediately left.

Where did he get that much money even though he was still a high school student!?, Well, It's because he made online transactions or BitCoin, I don't know exactly how it works but 1 BitCoin is worth US$16.685,00 at the time, you can look it up on the internet if interested.

His father worked as a taxi driver and her mother worked as a math teacher at our school, no wonder he had that much pocket money for his narrow purse. Oh yes, that is also part of the strange hobby of wearing a narrow and small purse pocket, even me, who as his friend, doesn't even understand the reason why he keep using it.

The wall clock shows 10 p.m., which means that when I look after the shop is over, I'm part of the night watch from 3 pm to 10 pm (although I can get permission if I have something to do) and 5 am to 3 pm is my mother's part, by the way, my father is dead and me...

I don't want to talk about it right now, besides that's because the hour is already this late, which means it's time for me to close the shop.

[My private room]
After I finished closing the shop, I went to the attic, which is my room as well as my private room, why do I call it a private room !? Because that's where I keep all my personal belongings!

In the attic there's only me, the bedroom, some school supplies, and clothes, also a pile of old computers and strange equipment that I often tinkered with, why did I do that? Of course, for hobbies! Everyone has their hobbies including me.

My hobby is making old things into new ones, like this automatic coffee machine! Once I press this button, it will automatically pour the coffee water that I have prepared in it.

* Sfx: water flows

"Hmmm cold, I think the microwaves are broken again"

Well even though technical problems like this often occur ...

Tomorrow I would have to go to school, you don't feel like it's going to be Monday even though it's just a school holiday, holidays are only one day a week, that's too long-awaited but quickly when it passes.

"This kind of life, I wonder what it will become like in the end?"

That thought crossed my mind as I lay on my father's old bed, yes you could say I didn't have a room and my only room was a room belonging to the legacy of my father, whose hobby was the same as mine, the only difference is where the tools he created were greater than his son.

"I'd better go to bed, tomorrow will be the most boring day of the week..."
(What I mean is Monday)

***

[Field ceremony]
Because I was addicted to looking for information about the vortex of electromagnetic waves that I read from the internet to make popcorn kernels expand, I came to school late, and also the news about the popcorn seeds I read was a hoax.

(It's a waste I stayed up late then)

So I was punished standing in front of the flagpole with one leg while pinching my ears.

Jay was punished with me by the way, this time the reason he was late was because he was busy taking care of his younger brother.
(Pffff ... Come on, don't believe this, he's lying)

The last time I saw her getting along with her sister was when I visited her house with Stessy, talking about Stessy, she also has brown skin and happened to be passing in front of us.

"Wiuuuuw ~, did you see that?" Jay asked me, whistling.

"What are you looking at?" I replied glancing towards what Jay saw.

"Her butt was sparkling," Jay said bluntly.

"If she hears you say that, you're dead!"

"Oowh, I think I can handle it because I often delete my search history!"

She is also the girl Jay is aiming for, unfortunately, Jay still doesn't dare to tell Stessy his feelings.

"Uehehe, ouch! What the hell's wrong with you man?"
"Again you say things that are not appropriate! You pile of goat dung!" Jay's mother snapped, hitting Jay's head from behind with a textbook.

"M-mom! Since when were you here !?" asked Jay, while shaking.

"Line, you can just go to your class!" Jay's mother ordered.

"T-thanks, Mrs. Hain" I replied hurriedly away.

"What about me!?" said Jay.

"You are still here, land hippopotamus!, this time you will be directly watched by me!" said Mrs. Hain.

"Noooooo~h ... !!!"

It turned out that Jay's mother had been watching us from behind, because Jay was caught saying things that should not be said, so he was punished longer than me, of course with the supervision of his mother.

[Classroom 12B]
And here I am, coming late to class due to being late for school. So I was told to stand again in front of the class besides the blackboard while the teacher explained, I didn't feel ashamed because this was not the first time for me.

At that time the subject happened to be astronomy, one of my favorite subjects when I was in elementary school, discussing the difference between comets and meteors. When the question and answer session started, I was the one who raised my hand first.

"Yes, what is your question Line !?" asked Mr. Holan Morgan, a teacher of astronomy subjects.
"Ah well sir, if someone is sucked into a black hole, where will that person go !? Another dimension? For example to the future? The past? Or ...?"

The class fell silent, I waited for an answer that might give me a clue.

"Ummm, it seems that the name" black hole "itself seems to have created a misunderstanding. Many people imagine these objects as portals that lead to other worlds or dimensions. But that is all wrong!" said Mr. Hosan Morgan to the class.

He then glanced at me.

"Then if we get sucked into a black hole, where are we going to come out later? Or, what's on the other side of the black hole? Where will the black hole take us? Too bad, sorry for destroying your imagination, because black holes won't make you go anywhere. " he then stood up and told me to take a few steps back because he would try to illustrate it in a picture on the blackboard.

"A black hole is a large black hole ball in space with an incomprehensible gravitational field, just like your girlfriend if you have one. They are black because even light, the fastest object in the universe, has given up escaping its gravitational pull."

He illustrated it in a picture that looked like a kindergarten child, even added a picture of a person which he named Line.

"Now, what happens when we are sucked into a black hole is, the gravity of the black hole is so large it will tear our bodies into the stream of atoms, which in turn makes our body mass added to the black hole itself, roughly speaking: we will die. "The picture of the person that Mr. Holan made, he scribbled using chalk.

"So, if you have a plan to travel to a black hole, I suggest reconsidering that plan. Instead of entering a black hole to enter another world or dimension, I can suggest reading a good science fiction or fantasy reading book so you can .. "explore" the world, or ... another dimension of your version, would you? " he said looking at me with a funny look.

"So ... Do you understand now ... Line?"
"Ummm ... Okay ... sir ... I understand" I replied.

Sfx: the lunch bell rings.

"Good! Because it is already lunchtime, so the lesson is quite up to here, thank you for a spectacular question from a Line, please excuse me, that's all."

When Mr. Holan was out through the classroom door, the whole class laughed at me. Not long after that, Jay enters the classroom not knowing what happened.

"Looks like something funny happened, what did I miss !?" asked Jay over to me where I stood.

"It's nothing," I said I went to my desk chair to put the bag.

"Hey where are you going?" asked Jay, who was still standing at the blackboard.

"... Lunch," I said past Jay.

"Oh... then wait for me!" said Jay hurriedly put his bag and followed me from behind.

[School canteen]
The dishes I bought at the canteen were red bean vegetables with a plate of rice, a glass of milk, and a dessert in the form of an apple. Meanwhile, Jay bought a hamburger with extra cheese, L soda and a packet of french fries.

We sat next to a few people from another class, but when they saw us coming, they immediately muttered to each other and then immediately left.

"What's wrong with them?" asked Jay.

"I don't know, (I think they're talking about me)" I said, who sat down with Jay.

"So how about your mother?" I asked.

"She's alright ... Umm you know, I asked some people in the canteen queue earlier, and you can guess what I got?" Jay said, eating his extra cheese hamburger.

"Don't know ..." I replied, who would soon taste my peas.

"It's about you buddy! Why did you ask something that didn't make sense earlier in class !? I mean look at you ... You're already smart and you don't need to study anymore, let alone what is lacking !?"

Hearing this made my appetite disappear.

"All that I am missing is love and respect!" I answered while tidying up the food that I didn't taste earlier then hurried off to find another empty place.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not done talking yet"

"Go find peace!" I answered.

".... Owh, does that mean I can take this apple?" Jay said pointing to the apple I forgot to bring.

I then rushed back to Jay's table.
"No way!" and take back my Apple.

[Classroom]
School ends at 2.00 in the afternoon, I pack my notebooks back, sometimes I check under the table I'm afraid there is more trash from nosy people, and it turns out that there is a pile of paper piling up under the table.
I opened one of the lumps of paper that was written in red ink
"Get away, loser!"

"...."

After reading that I was quite satisfied, the people here don't like losers like me. I can guess who the person who wrote this is, it must be Jordan and his group, the school delinquents have been laughing while glancing at me. From the expressions on their faces I already know for sure they were the culprit.

For that, I took all the paper trash and put it in my bag so it was more efficient so I could easily throw it in the trash can later.

As soon as I went out past them, the thugs said to me.

"See you later, trashman!"

Their laughter pissed me off, I said to myself.
(Laugh as much as you want, someday I'll teach you a lesson that you won't forget, just watch!)

With the annoyance that I endure, I hurriedly leave that sad place.

[City streets]
After finishing school I went straight to the shop, you could say a shop as well as a house because my shop was 2 floors and was close to the hardware store across the street. The clock shows 2.30, it takes at least 30 minutes to walk from home to school and vice versa, I used to have a vehicle of my own making, a folding bicycle, but because of an incident 2 years ago at school made my folding bike destroyed.

Well, I'll tell you, Jordan and his friends did it. They rode my bicycle without permission and deliberately crashed it with a public transport bus, luckily there were no injuries in this incident, but because of the tragedy, it made me give up carrying my favorite object to school.

Plus I didn't dare to tell my mother about how they treat me at school, I'm afraid that later it will make her worry, just one child is troublesome for a widow like my mother who requires her to be the backbone of the family taking care of her only child.

Thanks to her dedication to educating me to be someone who is at work and willing to try, I started my job (more precisely a hobby because I haven't made any money) as a craftsman, even though I couldn't be as good as my father.

"Huh? Locked?!... that's rare, is mom not there?" I said, turning the key to the shop door.

When I went inside, there was no one there but a collection of hardware and a sheet of paper written on the counter.

After I read, it turned out that my mother had indeed gone out to buy some things for the shop

"All right, I think I'm alone here," I said looking around the shop.

Sfx : play symphony orchestra music

I took a rag and cleaned the floor, then wiped the shop glass, cleaned some cardboard boxes, watered the ornamental plants near the window, arranged some things to make them look pleasing to the eye, after that, turned the closing sign into an open sign.
.
"Done !, the rest is just standing still and waiting for customers to come," I said, wiping the sweat with my hand.

Sfx: the shop phone is ringing.

I went to the cashier table and picked up the phone.

"Hello Enderson hardware store, what do you want to order?"

"Line, this is with mom. Line, I might come home late tonight, while waiting for me to come home can you help me clean up the shop ?!"

"it's done!"
"Already!?"

"I cleaned everything"

"Including watering the plants near the window?"

"Well already mother, I even cleaned the floor"

"Ooh, that's great honey! then wait for me to come home, soon I will finish buying some food for us to eat, ok, I see you tonight!"

After I hung up the phone, I saw the clock showing that it was 3:15 PM.
I decided to go to my private room to change shop uniforms and put my bag on the bed because the room around was full of my father's belongings.

My mother used to throw away all of my father's belongings because she thought they were no longer used, but I turned all of them into multipurpose tools to keep them here.

Of all the tools some tools look a bit strange and complicated, for example, my father's old computer that I don't understand how to operate.

I mean every time I activate it, there is always a virus logo warning that makes me unable to do anything on the computer screen. Before I knew how to operate it, it was just a pile of old computers.

Sfx: bell sound.

Someone is pressing the bell near the cashier counter, usually, a customer who wants to buy some stuff here, I then get off without turning off the old computer first.

"Welcome, what can I -... Jay !? What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised to see Jay wearing a black suit.

"Guess what, who's ready for a surprise?" Jay teased.

"Urgh, don't know"

"I'm here to get my G-Energy sticker, darling !"

"Nice suit ... But unfortunately, your sticker isn't here yet!"

"Hehehe, wait ... what !?"

"Your G-E-ner-gy sti-cker - not - here - yet!" I spell it out so he understands what I mean.

"Come on, Buddy, you must be kidding! Hear this, didn't you say there will be now !?" Jay complained to me.

"I don't remember saying there will be now, I just said the stickers will arrive tonight"

"Haaah, alright ... The sticker should be there tonight, yeah! Because I promised to show it to my friends at 6 o'clock tonight, I begging you, please help me!" asked Jay.

"Yeah yeah, don't show that disgusting expression in front of me, now if you have no other business, can you help accompany me here?"

"Aaaa ... I want to but, unfortunately, I have business to attend to, so .. see you!" Jay stepped back toward the exit then waved his hand and walked away.

"As I thought, if I told him to accompany me he would go... Thank God ..."

It was already 6 pm, but my mother still hadn't returned home with stickers and other groceries, plus the number of customers today was low, only two or three people came.

I started to worry about mom during the road, plus Jay's words that were ringing in my head as if telling me to send the sticker I ordered as soon as possible.
It's 7 pm, but there is no sign of anyone's existence, I returned with a glass of water and put it on the counter.

"Jay will be furious!" I muttered as I lowered my gaze to the table.

"Now it's past 7.43, where do you go mom?! You don't usually shop late at night" I said looking at my watch.

When I was about to drink water in a glass, I suddenly remembered something.

"Oh damn I forgot to turn off the old computer," I said, putting the glass back on the table.

But not long after that, I heard the sound of a glass shaking, I tried to check it and then I saw the vibration of water in the glass on the table, accompanied by vibrations from under the floor and several items falling, it seemed like an earthquake was happening.

I hid under the counter, the shop lights suddenly flickered and from the attic, there was a very bright green light.

I tried to check in up there but the light got brighter,
it made my eyes confused, I also closed my eyes with a reflex, and somehow I felt like a wave had just passed my body, after that which all the lights and other electrical equipment went out.

In complete darkness, I tried to go back to my private room which I had seen there appeared a very bright green light, after I got there I tried to take a sticky incandescent lamp that could light up when I bent it a little, even though it wasn't so bright but at least I can saw something. It seemed normal to the corner of the room.

But behind it all, I felt something strange, like someone....

Or, something was watching me from above! Because the light of this incandescent rod was unable to reach the roof where there were still wooden cavities so I decided to throw one of the lamps above...

How shocked I was when the light passed through several wooden beams, the reason was that “something” was hanging on one wooden beam like it was watching me from there.

I was shocked until it made me fall because "something" suddenly emitted light from his green eyes and then fell.

The sound of wood screeching by that "something" was a sign as if it was slowly approaching me.

"Who are you! Back off! I warn you I have a deadly weapon in my hand!" I said while taking whatever is beside me to become a weapon of self-defense.

The incandescent light stick that I threw rolled towards "something" earlier, and I saw there was a leg that looked like a female human.

She then took it with her hand that even resembled to a human hand,

and what made me 100% surprised was when she took the lamp and bring it close to her face. Even her face was very similar to a human, only with glowing green eyes.

"W-what is this! ... W-who are you !?"

"Greetings! My name is ERI, I am a robot sent from the future"

 

To be continued...