CHAPTER 4: INVITATION

Mr. Helsiner responded the way that most uppers respond to news of cheating lovers, thieving partners, or boosting housewives.

He started with denial. There were accusations that gutter scum like me were just a spiteful little men that attempted to ruin successful mens' lives. There was a moment where he raised his fist with the promise of a physical attack, but then he thought better of it.

After a few minutes of shaking his head no, screaming at me, and pacing his luxurious living room, he broke down in tears. His uncontrollable sobbing was my cue to leave, but he begged me to stay.

"Please, Kaiser. What do I do? How can I get her off the drugs?"

"Not my field, Mr. Helsiner. I just provide the information that you pay me for, nothing more and nothing less." I had to have this conversation more times that I could count.

"Will she always be hooked?" He said through falling tears. Seeing a grown man that couldn't stop crying, even long enough to get a sentence out, was pitiful.

I finally felt bad for him. The boost was wearing off.

I turned and left the sobbing husband to his thoughts and tried to not wonder what he might do to Monique Helsiner when she came home from her weekend bender.

I was downstairs in a flash, and the uppers that walked along the street sent dirty looks in my direction. If there was one thing that uppers hated, it was for gutter scum to be in their part of town.

If I didn't get a taxi soon, or get off the street, someone was sure to call the authorities and I wasn't sure that I could depend on Mr. Helsiner to give me the alibi I would require to avoid a night in lock up and departure train to a random location in the ghetto.

It became apparent that there weren't going to be any taxis on this part of town that would take the risk of picking up a fare from me.

I started walking quickly, avoiding a run to keep suspicion down.

Paige, did we get any appointment request last night?

I moved passed a group of younger adults, obviously drunk or high or both. They laughed and giggled as they staggered past me, pointing judging fingers at me.

As much as uppers hated gutter scum, I hated uppers. I really hated younger uppers.

We received one appointment request, Kaiser. Senator Hernandez has requested your presence, as soon as possible. Would you like for me to show you the videomail? She asked.

A senator wanted to see me. That was probably the most worrisome thing I'd ever heard Paige say.

Nobody from the slums ever wants to hear that a senator wants to see them.

Sure, Paige. Patch it through. I said.

The video came up on the heads up display of my right eye. It wasn't the senator, but I assumed that it was his secretary or someone else of that caliber.

She was young and pretty, but when she spoke she almost had an android-like quality to her voice. It was unnerving to hear such a young and pretty girl speak in such a monotone and cold voice.

"Mr. Vrix, your company has been requested by Senator Juan Hernandez for a possible job offer. We are located at 75 West Ministry Boulevard on the top floor. There is no need to respond to this message, as we are sure that you will grace us with you presence. Any time today is fine, and please come prepared to answer a series of questions that will help us determine if you should be the candidate elected for this position."

The video clicked off and I could feel a cold sweat running down my back, which oddly enough felt great given the heat that was left over from the daytime.

The secretary had made it abundantly clear that saying "no" to this offer was not an option, and the last thing that I needed was to disrespect a well known senator. I'd already gotten on his radar somehow, but as of now I was in good graces. It would be in my best interest to keep it that way.

West Ministry Boulevard was only fifteen blocks back from where I was, which meant that I would have to go through the uppers again. At least the video from Senator Hernandez was a better alibi, and more than likely enough to get me out of any trouble.

I doubled back the same street that I'd been walking, passed Mr. Helsiner's building, crossed a bridge over the purified river, and made my way to the Senator's building.

I could see it from the bridge, and it was the single tallest building in the upper neighborhood.

The white building stood like a monument to the rich, and powerful with a spotlight ontop that put a beam of white light towards the sky to let the heavens know that these people had money and influence.

It was an hour before I got to the building at hand, and I was covered in sweat.

To my surprise, I never once was approached by the authorities. Perhaps they had been given a heads up to my arrival.

I was sure that the senator had synced to the public domain and done a thorough background check on me already, and there were probably even more files on me in the government domain, so I'd have bet that he knew I didn't own a vehicle.

The authorities would have known that I would arrive on foot or in a taxi.

When I got the building, I approached the young woman from the videomail.

She was standing, almost like a guard at the entrance of the fortified establishment, stone cold and like a statue.

I wanted to ask her if she was an android, but I left it alone.

"Mr. Vrix, please follow me."

I had a bad feeling in my gut, but it was hard to tell if it was my instinct or the boost leaving my system. Either way, I wasn't prepared for a job interview from a senator that could have me locked away for the rest of my short life with one stroke of a pen.

The young woman, who still hadn't introduced herself, led me to the door, put her eye up to a iris scanner, opened the door, and ushered me in.

The lobby was the grandest that I'd ever seen. Mr. Helsiner's building was nice, but this was just this side of ridiculous. If any of the gutter rats had known that places like this even existed, we didn't talk about.

I'd never even imagined that places like this were reality. Fiction spun in a movie maybe, but not real life.

The place was a near blinding white, and it gave you the sense that there wasn't even so much as a speck of dirt in the whole building. Little cleaning androids raced around the floor, gathering up dust that couldn't be seen with even my replacement eyes.

There was a front desk, but no one behind it. I assumed this was where our lovely, unnamed, possibly android, secretary was stationed.

She led me across the immaculate floor, underneath the most complex chandelier that I'd ever seen, and to a single sliding door that concealed the elevator.

"Senator Hernandez is on the top floor. He is expecting you, so let yourself in."

On that note, she turned and went back to her desk.

The elevator made a "ding" sound and opened up.

I made myself step inside, and the uneasy feeling in my stomach doubled in strength.

It was instinct now.