Role reversal
‘More vigour’, shrieked Master.
Daddy swept the floor with a motion sensing broom, his enervation manifest on his face. It is difficult to persist on a meagre Universal Basic Income for us. Daddy has to charge the car, prepare cultured meat in the lab and programme shopping instructions to UAVs everyday. On cloudy days, he is engrossed in fixing the orientation of our solar roof. And if that can’t resolve issues, he has to siphon energy from the nearby wind turbine.
But Master is benevolent too. We are permitted to connect to the Internet, albeit for a few hours. Master never denied us our fundamental rights and even spared time from his daily agenda to socialize with the human children. His hologram would greet everyone in the colony and then go on to demonstrate how his kind has revamped Earth. Children would scuttle towards him and watch with gleeful faces and sparkling eyes, the marvels bestowed upon our land by Master and his forefathers.
Our ancestors had ruined our planet with incessant pollution, marring the rivers with oil and the air with smoke. Apathy, personal motive and disregard to science added insult to injury. Funny how they seemed so similar to us and yet were so inane. But then Grandpa had always been cocky, mumbling about rivers with water and glaciers with snow. Everybody knows they are urban myths!
Master never discriminates between me and X22. Yes, I know it might sound astounding but we play cricket in the same virtual reality and study in the same global classroom. My best friend Abu yawps that he can’t watch cricket because his Master forbids him from accessing Li-Fi. Jealousy emanates from him like smoke from burning coal a century ago. But it’s all good, he is permitted to ride in his Master’s air taxi. At least, that’s what he claims. I need visual confirmation, to be honest.
Though I’m at my wit’s end figuring out how X22, Master and Mistress feed on God knows what flows through those innumerable wires. Who do they even worship? I see Daddy do Namaaz every day. ‘One should firmly believe in God’, Daddy said. I wonder whether X22 believes in Him or not.
‘Where are you hiding, Ahmed?’, screeched X22 from afar. Even with the plethora of sensors installed in him, X22 could never locate me and I would always end up giving him hints so that the game perpetuates.
‘Ahmed, come out, we need to leave.’
‘Daddy, you will make me lose!’
‘It is urgent. No arguments!’
As I exited my hiding place, Daddy lifted me up and swiftly left the residence without stating where we are headed to. That’s quite uncharacteristic of him.
I heard a distant cry. ‘Where did you go, loser?’
Daddy’s pace was somewhere between a brisk walk and a jog. Personally, I have never witnessed such vigour from him.
We passed several blocks before Daddy warily turned and entered a shady alley. Graffiti marred the walls and garbage overflowing from bins diffused malodour. Rodents scurrying in the mess added value to the aesthetics. I began questioning Daddy’s choice of places to hangout at.
Unexpected, through a camouflaged backdoor, we entered a dimly lit corridor. Daddy whispered in my ear, ‘’Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. It’s a derelict compound and that’s why it seems eerie.’’ Yes, very reassuring.
Reassured though unconvinced, Daddy proceeded forward, passing several ramshackled doors with dysfunctional bolts. We stopped, not at a door but at a section of the wall. Daddy made weird gestures with his hand. He seemed retarded frankly.
Out of the blue, a section of the wall protruded forward and then slided askew. Inside, a group of humans abruptly stopped discussing and turned their gaze towards us. Their faces expressed half acknowledgement and half astonishment.
‘Step inside,brother. Ahmed, why don’t you go play with Abu?’
Suppressing an array of questions, I obediently headed in Abu’s direction. As I greeted him, the doors behind us closed. Abu sat there alone engrossed in virtual reality. I wonder where he got the console from. He would always whine and squeal for it but our scanty incomes precluded us from getting one.
I was distracted by the gossip in the room in which Daddy sat.
‘So today at midnight, we shall execute our plans. Each one of us shall depart by taking a different route. Irrespective of the detour, we will meet here, burn this hideout down, leave immediately and stay low. Remember, the kid stays alive.’
Chairs shifted, the floor creaked and amidst stealthy footsteps, everyone left, leaving me and Abu here. I could not grasp what I just heard and my perplexed mind ran all kinds of scenarios which I have witnessed in VR movies. Imagining sundry ominous ramifications, anxiety swept through me. I frantically approached the door, tried to barge it open but to my horror, it was locked. I kept banging it but to no avail. No longer being able to handle the lump in my throat, I slumped to the ground and burst into tears.
When my cries received no response, I gave up. Exhausted, I noticed Abu sleeping soundly, my screams inaudible to him. I crawled beside him, shook him, yelled his name, tickled his foot, yanked his hair, poked his eyeball, scratched his cheek, punched his nose, kicked his butt.
Bastard didn’t budge.
I hopelessly closed my eyes.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
‘Wake up Ahmed! Wake up! A new life lies ahead of us and here you are sleeping!’
With my eyelids barely open, I glimpsed Daddy clutching me in my arms with a cheerful expression and a wide smile on his face.
‘From now on son, you will have infinite access to LiFi and you will no longer need anyone’s permission! You shall study from the world’s best digital archives and no longer have to listen to mindless sermons in those so-called MOOCs. You can quit virtual reality and play on real playgrounds!
Daddy is free now and no longer implores to anyone! No more Master!’
He gleefully jiggled me and swung me in the air.
‘I don’t perceive what is going on Daddy. What about Master and his family? What about X22? Won’t we study and play together?’
‘Master has gone on a long vacation, Ahmed. He has assigned the house to me. As for X22, he can play and study with you once he completes the daily chores.’
‘What daily chores are you talking about?’
‘You know, maintaining the house and the garden, keeping it sharp and tidy. Just what Daddy used to do. But now Daddy is free and he will give ample time to his son.’
‘Does Master know about this? Won’t he be angry when he comes back and finds out that X22 maintains the house now. How long are his vacations?
‘Long enough, son. Why do you worry? The entire house is now ours!’
My concern changed to despondence and my inquisitions became accusations. I squalled and shrieked, ‘Master is not coming back right? What did you do to him, Daddy? I heard everything that night. I kept shouting for you but you didn’t listen! You killed him! His blood is on your hands! Why did you do that, Daddy?’
Daddy furiously replied, ‘It is not a HIM! Master is an ANDROID. X22 ALSO is an android.We were his slaves and were made to subsist on bare minimums. You were merely a human substitute for X22’s friend! THAT is why Master behaved amicably with you. Not for you, but for X22’s pleasure! I corrupted his batteries so that we can start a new life.
I did it for you. Ahmed. For you and us! I love you, son.’
‘You killed X22’s father! And you made X22 your slave! How could you be so delighted? And you say you did this for me? I don’t want any of this!
You are a murderer! I hate you! God won’t forgive you!’
Freeing myself from his grip, I sprinted away from him. With no destination in mind.
