Young Writers Society

High above the glow of Nylon City, a young man stares at a flickering holographic screen, exhausted. He runs his fingers through his messy brown hair as his eyes start drooping. He sighs, leaning back on his chair and grabs a mug sitting at his desk. It’s filled to the brim with a blue liquid, and he takes a sip. The effect is immediate; he feels a surge of energy course throughout his body.

The young man calls out to the darkness. “Did you find them yet?”

A woman spins over in her chair. She has long, black hair and a purple and white cloak that looks comfortable, rebellious, and stylish all in one. She glances at his cup.

“Ocean Zing? You’re really accepting the chaser life, Jason.”

“This is just an energy drink, Z.”

She laughs knowingly. “A chaser energy drink. If you keep drinking those, you’ll rot your brain just like the rest of them.”

“Can you just tell me if you found them yet?”

After giving her a serious glare, Jason glances around uncomfortably. He doesn’t like this place at all. It’s messy and dark, with dim lights all around to add to the creepy ambiance. He doesn’t understand how Z can just live here.

She spins on her chair a few times, then shoves her tablet in his face. “I did find them, actually! They bought some Tier 3 passes, hit the Galleria Lux, and just ate at a street stall.”

Jason grimaces. “So they’re buying into the lie.”

“Oh, please. You’re the biggest hater of Nylon City, Jason. Learn to live a little.”

“Easy for you to say when you actually believe their lies. Just stick to hacking.”

She laughs and leans close to his face, seeming to relish in his uncomfortable reaction. “I think I will stick to hacking. You haven’t forgotten I’m infamous for being the greatest hacker in all of Nylon City, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. But if you ask me, a hacker with a name could never be a good hacker. The real good ones are the ones you don’t even know exist.”

Ignoring him, she spins in her chair again, almost like a little kid getting bored of the serious conversation.

“And stop spinning in that chair. It’s annoying. I’m getting dizzy just looking at you.”

“Don’t forget you’re on my skyliner right now.”

“This janky little thing? It’s nothing like The Celestial.”

Jason gets up from his chair, straightening out his jacket. He hops over a few wires and electrical cords that are strung about in the messy room. Then, he glances back for one last request.

“Send their purchase logs to me and keep me updated if there’s more spending.”

Z glances at Jason, curious. “What are you planning to do now?”

“I need to find them before things get out of hand.”

. . .

Cody steps cautiously into the clearing up ahead. In the middle, there’s a gray walkway that goes straight through the clearing. On both sides, there’s dark tiles with multicolored neon outlines strewn across the floor, forming some wild mosaic. Near the walls, there’s rows of neon plants that Cody’s never seen before, maybe to add to the quiet mood. Up above, there aren’t any lights—the walls open up for the stars.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Cody says, poking Lilian as he looks up at the sky.

“The stars? Ruby was just explaining it to me before she walked up ahead. She said they’re always there, but the sun is always too bright so it blocks them out. Isn’t that sad?”

“It is pretty sad.”

“Wait, we shouldn’t talk about sad things. Let’s make some music!”

Cody doesn’t hear anything—just the faint hum of the garden’s power source and Lilian’s quiet breathing beside him. “Music?”

Lilian smiles and steps to the side. The tile beneath her foot lights up in soft violet and emits a gentle harp sound that shimmers in the air like glass wind chimes.

“There,” she says, spinning on her heel and stepping onto another tile. This time it hums a deep note like a cello string being plucked.

Cody jumps slightly. “That was you?”

“Every tile plays a sound when you step on it. She said something about a layered music experience.”

Cody hits one with a cautious tap of his boot. It flashes orange and gives off a quick synth ping that fades into the others. He then holds his foot on it for longer, creating a longer note.

Lilian giggles and hops beside him onto a blue tile. A percussive beat, gentle like a hand drum, echoes beneath her step. She spins to a bright green tile and hits a high, flute-like note that dances with Cody’s synth.

“See? You’re making music!” she says, turning to him with a sparkle in her eye. Cody laughs incredulously. He still doesn’t understand Nylon City—not one bit, but he’s starting to realize one thing: Lilian was made for this city. She belongs here.

“Cody, I was wondering something.” Lily says as she hops on a new tile. It’s a quieter blue that releases the soft voice of a singer.

Cody stops in the middle of a red tile, the low string reverberating quietly. “What?”

“Do you like Nylon City?”

“. . . I guess. Why?”

Lilian takes a deep breath and continues. “I think we should stay here, even after we find Rylan. I mean, it’s definitely better than the Sub-City. And we have this amulet. We don’t need to overspend but we can just live like this, just the three of us. Maybe Ruby can join us, too!”

“You want to . . . stay?”

“You probably don’t like the idea right now, but just think about it. It makes sense.”

Cody feels his brain agree, but for some reason, he still feels uneasy.

Lilian continues, “Also, I was thinking—you remember what Ruby was telling us earlier, right? The story about that boy she met before. Doesn’t that sound so much like Rylan? What if Ruby knew Rylan? We should ask her.”

Cody shakes his head. “There’s no way. That’d be way too much of a coincidence.”

“But it’s the first lead we’ve had since getting here. I think we should ask.”

“Fine, but it’s definitely not the same person. I’m sure plenty of people like Rylan come for the same reasons.”

“Well, you don’t know—”

She collapses forward midsentence. Barely able to react, Cody catches her in his arms.

“Lily? Are you okay?”

She pushes him away, regaining her balance. “Yeah, just felt a little dizzy. I’m fine.”

Cody’s eyes widen as he watches Lilian clutch her head, wincing in pain. She stumbles a bit, and Cody quickly grabs her before she falls. There’s no way. She’s only dizzy. It’s probably just because she’s tired. But Lilian used to always stay up longer than Cody while they were in the Sub-City. It couldn’t possibly be that.

“Dreamrot.” The word comes out of Cody’s mouth before he realizes. When Lilian hears it, she flinches.

“There’s no way. I’ve only been here for one day, and I still feel fine. Look, I’m not even dizzy anymore!” Lilian says nervously, but Cody senses weakness in her posture and voice.

“We need to find Ruby right now,” he says slinging Lilian’s left arm over his shoulder and helping her walk through Echo Garden. She complains, saying she doesn’t need the help, but Cody does it anyway. Each step on the music tiles still release sounds, but they now are no longer in harmony, and clash in dissonance. It’s almost as if the garden itself is angry with their presence. “You thought you belonged?” It seems to say.

“Ruby? Where are you? We need your help!” He shouts, but no response is heard. Where is she when we need her? He remembers Lilian saying she went up ahead, so he takes her forward through Echo Garden.

When they finally get out, Cody looks around, and sure enough, Ruby is waiting off to the side, but her expression seems colder, more businesslike. Her posture is straighter and she looks at them offhandedly.

“Ruby. Lily needs your help. She might be dizzy from dreamrot.”

She just stares at him, unmoving.

“Ruby?”

Finally, she responds, but her voice is nothing like before. It’s clean. Robotic. Inhuman.

“Trial period complete. Guidance services require 500 credits per additional hour.”

“. . . what?”

“Please provide payment.”

He steps back instinctively, one arm wrapping protectively around Lilian.

Lilian asks, her voice cracking, “Ruby, why are you acting like a servoid?”

“Please provide payment.”

Cody’s mouth opens, but no words come. His pulse drums in his ears. The lights around them blink rhythmically—too fast, too bright. His head throbs as he tries to understand the situation unfolding before him.

“Ruby . . . what are you?”

“Nexus Servoid Model: HN-7, Orientation Unit. Please provide payment to resume the experience.”

Cody feels his fear shift to anger. The pieces start falling into place. “Was anything you said true? The story about being a human. About meeting that hopeful boy in the past that we reminded you of?”

“Please provide payment.”

Cody trembles furiously, wanting only to get as far away from this robot as he can, but he realizes he has no other options. In this dangerous unfamiliar world, it would be impossible to do anything without help from a local, and Ruby is offering that help. He looks at Lilian, who nods weakly. She pulls out her amulet and presents it to Ruby, who scans it.

“Alternative payment method detected. Verifying connection to Milanova account.”

After a pause, Ruby says. “Verified. The experience will now resume.”

Lilian slips the amulet back in her shirt as she rests on the ground, laying on her back.

Immediately, a human-like expression returns to Ruby’s eyes as she kneels down next to Lilian. “I’m guessing she was feeling dizzy earlier in Echo Garden?”

Cody blinks, then quickly nods.

“She might be experiencing early symptoms of Deprivation Trauma. She must be extremely vulnerable to it if she starts contracting it on her first day. We should take her to a MedCenter right now. The nearest one would take about half a system hour to walk to.”

Ruby reaches toward Lilian, but Cody slaps her arm away instinctively. He feels a rage start to slowly boil in his mind. He quickly gets in between her and Lilian.

“Don’t touch her.”

“I’m only trying to help,” Ruby says, her eyes serious. She doesn’t look like a robot, and she certainly isn’t acting like one. “She needs medical attention. It’s not very urgent, but she definitely needs a diagnosis.”

Cody feels himself lashing out at Ruby. He shouts at her angrily. “How can we trust what you say? Was anything you said true? The story about the hopeful boy you met years ago?”

“The story was fabricated to increase user trust.”

“What about your . . . emotion?”

Ruby shakes her head. “Servoid’s don’t feel. We act. If you want, I can be more robotic, but it would make it more difficult to communicate. Please remember that I will still help you out to the best of my ability for the next hour.”

Cody feels himself shaking, but he reels his emotions in. He has to remain calm. “Then tell me. What is the best course of action for Lilian right now?”

“. . . we should find a MedCenter. It would be very beneficial to know what’s happening in her body.”

“We already know what’s happening. It’s dreamrot. Can they cure her?”

“I don’t think there’s a . . . cure at this moment, but you should still take her to a MedCenter.”

Cody glances at Lilian. She looks fine now. Is it really that serious?

“One more thing. If you’re really helping us, then tell me where Rylan is.”

Ruby stares at him for a moment before replying. “I don’t have access to that information. You can file a report to a spectroid—they have access to location data of all residents of Nylon City.”

Cody looks at the servoid carefully, weighing his options. He wants to scream with frustration. If Ruby was acting earlier, why did it feel real? Is he just too naive to notice? He wants to doubt her, but honestly, he’s not sure what’s real anymore. At the very least, he’ll take her words with a grain of salt. There could be some truth in them.

Ruby looks at Lilian again. “But most importantly, I recommend we head to the MedCenter for Lilian.”

Cody ignores her, turns around, and slowly helps Lilian off the ground.

His voice is low as he whispers, “Lily, can you run?”

“Run? Why would I need to run?”

“Just answer the question.”

“I guess I could. I’m not dizzy anymore.”

Right as she says this, Cody whirls around, his hand curling into a fist. With the entire force of his body, he throws a right hook at Ruby’s head, sending her stumbling backwards. The punch rips apart the right side of her face, revealing wires and mesh beneath the fake skin.

Everyone freezes in place for a moment—even Ruby looks surprised for a second. Cody slowly looks down at his fist, red from the impact. His hand trembles slightly, as if surprised that the body threw it in such a violent punch. Lilian’s eyes are wide with shock. Did I just . . . attack her?

Shifting her expression, Ruby looks up at Cody calmly, a hand lifted to examine the damage to her face. “Intentional damage to private property. If you run now, I’ll notify the spectroids. They will find you in less than a system hour.”

Cody starts breathing faster, realizing the gravity of their situation. He starts backing up, Lilian’s hand held tight in his own.

“You will regret this decision!” Ruby shouts after them.

He turns around and starts running, leading Lilian through the darker night streets.

She hesitates slightly, looking at him with a terrified expression. “Are you sure I don’t need to find a MedCenter?”

“We’ll look for one. But not with that servoid’s help.”

The night is still quiet, but now filled with an air of urgency. As they run through the streets, Cody’s unease doesn’t fade. In fact, it continues to grow. They may have escaped Ruby, but something worse could be waiting just around the corner.

He doesn’t look back. He’d rather face the unknown ahead, running away from the poisoned dream.