It was eight PM when I arrived back at my flat located in the sweet old crime-infested Tenderloin of the San Francisco District. However, due to recent gentrification, crime rates in the District have gone down quite a bit.
Instead of a glorious average of twenty robberies per day, there are only eighteen. Luckily the building I lived in had upped its security quite a bit. Still not as comfortable as I would like but got to make do with what I have.
Shutting the door behind me with a solid double lock mechanism, I tossed my card key into a little plastic holder I salvaged from the dump and placed the manila envelope R gave to me right next to it. Besides the envelope were images of my deceased family, one with my parents and the other with my grandparents.
I was an only child and my parents were the only children of their respective families. Hence, I had no close uncles or aunts. Most of the ones remaining were cousins of my parents who were estranged from them so I couldn’t exactly rely on them for help.
I think I can officially proclaim myself as one of the unluckiest guys in the world. My parents died in a random car accident when I was three then my grandparents a few months ago from some weird illness all before my eighteenth birthday. Makes me wonder if the Heavens are playing some strange tricks on my life out of pure entertainment.
The flat I lived in was an officelet. It was an apartment concept that originated from Asia in order to create affordable housing for younger people like myself. The rent was about 600 Bells a month and only comprised the bare minimum for an apartment. It had a small kitchen with a two-burner stove, refrigerator, microwave, and a washer right under the stove; a bathroom with a shower a toilet, and a sink; and a living space sufficient enough for a bed, a desk, a small wardrobe, and a few shelves for the meager amount of books I possessed.
I slumped down on my bed, placing my right arm against my forehead as I try to process what had happened to me. The thought in the back of my mind that I had nearly died reminded me that it was in my best interest to follow what R had told me. I wanted to scream. Cry for help. Then I was reminded, that I no longer had anyone who cared for me in this world. I really couldn’t afford to dwell on the matter too long cause I knew there was only one thing I could do in order to guarantee that my ending wasn’t too terrible.
So I let out a deep exhale, pulled myself together, and snatched the envelope from the foyer table. I rip open the top seal to have my eyes encounter a black box that was half the size of my cellphone. In the center of the box was a small button with the ever so universal power symbol. I press the button and suddenly, I felt something prick my index finger. The black block flew out of my hand and onto the bed.
“Ow.” I wince in pain ever so slightly to find that my index finger had drawn a small dot of blood. “What was that for?”
Click.
Tak.
Tak.
I hear the sounds of gears whirling.
Ignoring the little bit of blood that was drawn, I averted my attention to the black blood which had now separated itself into two parts. In between the two parts was a glowing yellow screen, making the total length of this device the same as a tablet.
I picked up one of the halves of the black box to find the other one following along with it as if it were a magnet. Yet, these magnets did not touch almost like their poles had been reversed. And there you have it, I found myself face to face with technology that was perhaps two decades ahead of my time.
Then the screen on the device flashed.
[Welcome User 32040883 to Umbra]
[Please wait as we process your information]
So this was the Umbra R was speaking of, it doesn’t seem like your ordinary communicator. I waved my hand through the automated message on the screen but felt no glass, only the cold air from my room.
A holographic screen?
As I played around with this curious little device in my hand, the automated message disappeared.
[Confirmed]
[Welcome, Mr. Jamison. We are now preparing your experience.]
The text disappeared again and now I was face to face with a bunch of concentric circles drawn all over the screen. Within each of these circles, I encountered some applications I was familiar with like Safari or Instagram and some new ones exclusive to Cyphius such as the employee database and Skull Marketplace which I assumed was a dark web shopping platform. Before I could explore this new device any further, the messages began to pop up on my screen once again.
[Hello, Mr. Jamison. Welcome to Umbra.]
Okay, I’ve seen this message three times already.
[What is Umbra?]
[Umbra is a multifunction communication device utilized through Cyphius. It’s built with state-of-the-art technology and has many applications integrated into its software. From now on Umbra will serve as your means of communication. If you haven’t done so already, please discard your former device. Additionally, please crush the chip your former device also possesses to prevent your data from being replicated.]
“Why wasn’t this mentioned earlier, couldn’t the authorities have already heard bits and pieces of our conversation. Then what about my conversation with R?”
[Do not worry, Umbra possesses a short-range jamming device that prevents any devices from working within a two-meter radius only when Cyphius matters are involved. The conversation that you had with R was not heard by the authorities for the same reason. Even if any proximal devices had picked up on the conversation, the Cyphius monitoring server automatically erases those conversations from the cellphone companies database immediately. Rest assured.]
“That’s a relief. Then why did you prick my finger?”
[Umbra does not utilize facial recognition software or fingerprint for security purposes. Instead, Umbra utilizes a blood identification program to prevent those with shape-shifting abilities from forging your identity. Once your blood is registered in our system, Umbra will only need to perform a scan to verify your identity and no longer prick your finger.]
“That makes sense. So it’s to prevent shapeshifters from accessing Umbra.”
[Affirmative]
“Nice, wait Umbra, if you’re so advanced then does that mean you could easily transfer my info from my old device here?”
[Yes. Mr. Jamison, your files are all here. You may now discard your old device as instructed]
As soon as Umbra finished its last reply, I removed my cellphones old chip, stormed out of my apartment, kicked my door stopper into place, and chucked the ancient smartphone on the barren, cold, concrete ground watching its tempered glass screen shatter into a million pieces. I felt a surge of regret wash over my consciousness as I looked at my 500 Bell phone I bought from the pawnshop laying on the ground in shambles. The minuscule shard of glass reflects the light from the ceiling.
Next, I place my chip on the ground, and with a loud stomp, I destroyed it into three jagged pieces. Funny enough, when I took a glance at the pattern the cracks formed, it looked like a crooked V.
“I should’ve probably destroyed them in a garbage bag instead,” I grumbled told myself as I picked up the sweeper and dustpan hiding under one of my shelves. “Whatever, too late for that.”
A few minutes later, I had finished sweeping up the remnants of my destroyed device. Tossing them down the trash chute in the apartment building. Once I returned to my room, Umbra had returned to its box-like state but on top of the box was a flashing yellow message. I pressed on the message, it was from R.
[Hello Mr. Jamison, as mentioned earlier on 11/22 you will be meeting at 1501 7th Avenue, San Francisco District at 11 AM. Upon your arrival, follow the instructions from the person at the door. I look forward to our cooperation.]
“Same here R,” I spat bitterly as I felt my consciousness fade away. “Same here.”
And so, I felt my conscious drift away as I fell into a deep slumber.
>>>
I dreamed of my grandparents.
They were my maternal grandparents as my paternal ones meet their end a few months before I was born.
They were the ones who took care of me for nearly fifteen years of my life.
My grandfather sitting in his wooden rocking chair out in the living room of the two-bedroom apartment in Bayview. My grandmother watched her classic soap operas from three decades ago on one of those nostalgia channels. Both their heads were full of fluffy white hair akin to the snow that could be seen atop Mount Diablo in the winter.
I had many memories with them.
My grandmother cooked sunny-side-up eggs in the morning along with extra crispy bacon with thick pancakes stacked so high they met my face at eye level. My grandfather read the daily newspaper like the old-timer he was while sipping on his cup of watered-down Folger's coffee with cream. Me packing my bags up to attend school while being constantly nagged by my grandmother to study for my exams. My grandfather having hour-long conversations with me regarding my career choices.
I recall every single one of them.
To be honest, if they saw me now, they would be disappointed.
Yet, they had to leave this world due to a 'mysterious' illness and a debt in my name.
As much as I loved them, I couldn't forgive them for pushing their mistakes onto me.
Bitterness welled up inside of me as I contemplated why they had such a large debt.
The only thing I was told was that they made a huge loss from one of their investments some years prior.
It was a biotech company that later went under due to some rather unsuccessful experiments.
Its name isn't even worth mentioning.
What mattered to me now was paying off that debt as soon as possible.
I was desperate.
Desperate to get rid of this shameful thing that my grandparents 'bestowed' on me.
That blasted debt and I was willing to do anything to eliminate it from my sights for good.
Perhaps that's why R's persuasion worked so well. He took advantage of my desire and used blackmail to convince me to join Cyphius and if I refused, that would mean prison or death.
I was scared.
Scared of what would happen to me from now on. There was no certainty I would live.
I had committed to something I couldn't reject and had just sold my soul to the devil.
