Lily sits at the very edge of a wide stainless steel table, trying to both distance herself from the vet and look as small as possible. Rick empathizes with his frightened pet–the office reeks of a disinfectant, and the sharp light and white walls only magnify its artificial, sterile atmosphere–but he reminds himself that this is for her own good.
The vet, a short, bearded fellow with piercing blue eyes, is standing on the opposite side of the table, explaining the procedure using a detailed anatomical illustration displayed on the screen of his computer.
“I will inject the chip intravenously in her leg. It will be immediately picked up by the bloodstream and with a few course corrections find its way to the brain,” he pauses, and makes a circle with his finger: “This is the cerebral cortex. The chip will anchor itself in this spot,” the tip of the finger touches the screen. “And seamlessly interface with the neurons–”
“Wait!” Rick blurts out. “How safe is that exactly? Can it misfire and cause permanent damage there?”
He realizes he’s being rude, cutting his counterpart off this way but what he’s just heard is making him feel really uneasy about the whole thing.
“That’s impossible,” the vet shakes his head. “The device is too small to induce physical trauma. In the unlikely event of a malfunction, it will detach itself and will be eventually flushed out of the body. And to answer your first question, it’s as safe as a standard vaccination shot, if not safer. No need to worry.”
Rick nods.
“And she will remain the same?”
“Absolutely. The chip doesn’t alter personality. It merely influences the decision-making process; and even that to a very limited extent. Let’s say that you don’t want her jumping up on the kitchen counter or wandering off into the street where she can get hit by a car or attacked by another animal. You define the desired restricted areas and borders on your phone–I will help you set the app up–and then whenever Lily gets the notion of going anywhere she’s not supposed to go, the chip will detect it and provide an alternative stimulus. This is usually a powerful sensation that will make her abandon the original decision–change her mind, if you will. I am of course oversimplifying things here but that’s pretty much the gist of it.”
Rick doesn’t say anything. He feels the knot of tension in his gut ease somewhat, but his conscience gnaws at him. Sure, he would like for Lily to stop knocking stuff from the shelves, running into the closet whenever he opens it, and jumping down from the balcony–that’s why he agreed to the vet’s offer in the first place–but is this the right way? Isn’t it too unnatural?
Although he doesn’t voice these concerns, he gets the sense that his counterpart knows exactly what’s going on in his head. After all, Rick can’t be the first pet owner facing these doubts.
“It’s much more reliable and humane than sprays, shock collars, or other methods,” the vet says kindly.
“Will it hurt?” Rick asks quietly.
“No, it’s completely painless. Lily won’t feel a thing–except for the initial injection.”
Rick nods again and looks down at the furry little bundle cowering in front of him.
“Okay,” he says finally.
The vet gives him a reassuring smile, readies the syringe, and calls his assistant over to help him pull the protesting feline to the center of the table.
#
Some twenty minutes later, Rick is on his way home. His mind is finally at peace–there were no complications whatsoever with the procedure itself, or the subsequent pairing of the chip with his phone–and Lily seems to be her usual self. She is, sure enough, sulking in the back end of the pet carrier, refusing to look at him (she does that after every trip to the veterinary clinic), but other than that, she isn’t exhibiting any unusual behavior.
Rick decides to buy her some treats as they are the single most effective way to get back on her good side. As he is about to enter the pet store, located at the very edge of the outer city, a car speeds past him, heading into the Center. It’s one of the latest self-driving models, equipped with so much state-of-the-art tech that it makes other vehicles look like relics from a museum. Rick feels a pang of envy: he could never afford it.
Yet for them it’s probably the norm to own one, he tells himself bitterly, thinking about the inhabitants of the Center. They live in their luxurious villas and penthouses like some kind of modern aristocrats, visit their own restaurants and bars boasting foods and beverages of unparalleled quality and shopping malls with dozens, no hundreds of outlets, relax in parks with controlled climate… Why should all of that be just for them? It’s so unfair!
Rick gets a sudden urge to visit the Center, and see for himself what he’s seen only on television and on the internet, see what it must feel like living in a place where abundance is the status quo and where you never have to worry about a thing.
He’s just going to have a look around; that’s not illegal, right?
Swapping hands with the carrier, he takes a few determined steps forward–
Hunger.
Rick stops dead in his tracks. He is so damn hungry–why didn’t he realize it before? He needs to get something to eat and asap.
Wait, what was he thinking about?
He rummages through his mind for a bit, scratching a tiny little bump on his shoulder–the memento of last year’s mandatory inoculation that sometimes itches like hell–but then shakes his head. It doesn’t matter. He’ll buy something good for Lily and then get a take out–maybe from that old Chinese place on the corner next to his building.
Satisfied with the conclusion, he smiles and heads back to the pet store.
—
Martin is an emerging author from the Czech Republic, currently living and working as a University librarian in Malta. He first started writing and publishing in Czech but as time went by and his affinity for English language grew, he switched to English. Some of his flash fiction and short stories appeared (or are forthcoming) in Theme of Absence, Asymmetry Fiction, Aphelion, Aurora Wolf, AntipodeanSF, Four Star Stories, 101Words, The Weird and Whatnot, and 365tomorrows. You can find him at: https://martinlochmanauthor.wordpress.com/ or twitter: @MartinLochman.
