Between the Lanterns (18 page)

Joshua spread his arms and stretched his smile even further across his chiseled features.

“Because you’re a nice guy, August,” he answered. “And a fricking genius. I’m betting that whatever it is you got tucked away is worth a fortune to the both of us. So let’s not waste any more time. Show me the goods.”

August once again questioned if this was a good idea, but it was too late. The plans were in motion, and he needed this Credit to see them through. Samantha deserved a new life with relaxation and luxury at every destination.

“Alright, Mr. Stevens,” August said, “dDo you remember the invention of the BrainSave, and how it was a marvel of modern tech? And do you remember all of the upgrades I made to that chip when I worked for Montek.Automaton?”

Joshua nodded along to the rhetorical questions, as they were just about to set up the big reveal. He was getting very anxious about finding out what August had created.

 
“Well, the one limitation that I could never seem to get past,” August continued, “just kept hauntin’ me. Even after Montek screwed me over. Do you know what it was?”

Joshua shook his head. He had no clue what the brilliant inventor was trying to say. After all of the work August had done on the BrainSave, it was already a work of art in it’s present state. It was a piece of tech that blew everything else out of the water.
 

“I have no idea, Mr. Lurie,” he answered, his breathing coming more rapidly.

“The limitation was,” August explained, “it was just tech. It was only a machine. It was just a dang old robot.”

Joshua’s heart dropped.
 

He looked confused and said, “Mr. Lurie, it is just a robot. That’s the whole idea; to make people feel like their loved ones are still with them. Put some memories in the tin can, and simulate the experience of talking with those who have passed on. That’s all it is, and all it ever can be.”

August pulled out the SameSoul and placed it on the counter. It was visually very similar to the BrainSave. It had to be, to make the transition from the BrainSave to the SameSoul easier. If they had to retrofit every unsold Montek.Automaton in storage it wouldn’t be as financially beneficial to Montek.
 

Once Joshua Stevens picked it up and examined the chip, he was shocked by the complexity of what he found there.

“That’s not true anymore, Mr. Stevens,” August stated flatly. “This is the SameSoul. It takes everythin’ you are, your full consciousness, and puts it into an automaton. You will continue to live from inside a machine. Your same thoughts, your same memories, your same fears… absolutely everythin’. You will be you.”

Joshua’s jaw fell open. He looked at the little package in his hand and placed it back on the counter.

“So, it can make new memories?” he asked. “Simulate emotion? Is it artificial intelligence you’ve created?”

August just shook his head. He didn’t get it yet.

“No, Mr. Stevens, nothin’ like that. It ain’t a simulation of life. It ain’t a program,” August said, trying to simplify it for the man. “It’s a vessel for the human consciousness. It’s never- endin’ life.”

Mr. Stevens looked down at the floor and rubbed his chin. He paced back and forth for a few breaths, then snapped his head up and locked eyes with August.

“I’ll be right back,” he said in an emotionless tone. “Wait here, Mr. Lurie.”

Joshua Stevens spun on his heels and marched right out of the store. He got into his AutoCar and began rapidly talking to himself. August could only sit and stare, as he had no idea what was going on. Was Mr. Stevens impressed? Did he want to buy it? August sure hoped so; otherwise all these plans would come to a crashing halt.

After a few minutes, Mr. Stevens came back into the store with a serious look on his face.
 

He strode right up to August, pointed at his cellphone, and said, “You’re going to receive a call in just a minute, August. It will be from the head of Montek.Automaton, Chadwick Sheppard.”

August felt numb for a second. One of the richest men in the entire world was going to call his cellphone?
 

“Why is he gonna call me?” August asked. “I ain’t got nothin’ to say to him. If y’all want my tech, I’ll sell it. But it’s gonna cost you a lot of Credit, you hear?”

Joshua placed his hands on his hips, looked the brilliant inventor right in the eyes, and told him, “He wants to talk to you in person because I told him I don’t believe you. I don’t think your tech can do what you say it does.”

August almost called the whole thing off right then.

“Believe it, jack,” he snapped, snatching the SameSoul from the counter. “This ain’t no joke. If I say it can, then it can. I don’t lie.”

“You can tell it to…”

August’s cellphone began to ring.
 

He picked it up and answered the call,. “Hello, this is August Lurie. How may I help you?”

“Mr. Lurie,” a voice said on the other end, “it’s fantastic to speak with you at last. My name is Chadwick Sheppard. I’m very sorry about the negative experiences you’ve had with us in the past. Your wrongful termination, the theft of your ideas and inventions, the bad attitude from Mr. Stevens, and anything else that has put a bad taste in your mouth. I intend to right all of those wrongs today.”

August honestly didn’t know what to say. He was flabbergasted. An employee of Montek was apologizing for all of the horrible shit they had put him and Samantha through. And not just any employee;: it was Chadwick Sheppard. The head of Montek.Automaton. The third-richest man in the world.

“Well, Mr. Sheppard…”

“Please, August. Call me Chad.”

“Ok, Chad,” August said, “I appreciate your kind words and all, but you’ll excuse me if I don’t entirely trust everythin’ you’re sayin’ to me. Y’all have done me pretty wrong, and I’ve come to terms with that. All I want is to sell you this tech so that my wife and I can retire right now, today, and travel the world. No more working, no more stress. You offer me enough Credit and the SameSoul is yours.”

“All in good time, August. All in good time,” the immensely wealthy son of a bitch said. “First, let me ask you a few questions. You see, Mr. Stevens doesn’t believe your tech is what you say it is. Can you tell me why he should? How do you know it will perform the way you say it will? Have you tested it?”

“Well, no,” August answered honestly. “It’s all theoretical at this point; that’s true. I ain’t tested it, but I know it will work. Everythin’ I make works the way it should. Believe it. Or, hell, don’t. If you don’t want to buy it, I’ll just market it myself and Montek can kiss my ass.”

Chadwick Sheppard laughed over the line, seeming to enjoy August’s angry response.

“I do believe you, August,” Chadwick said. “I’ve seen the upgrades you made while working for us. I’ve seen the tech you made after you left. I have full confidence that if you say it will work… it will work. I just wanted to see if you believed it. And it seems that you do. I’d like to make you an offer now.”

Mr. Stevens smiled satisfactorily as he drove away. August was smiling, too. He was sure that Chadwick Sheppard was probably laughing far away in his opulent office.
 

At least they were all happy.

Mr. Sheppard had offered August the most unbelievable sum of Credit imaginable. All he had to do was give the blueprints to Joshua right then and sign over all of the rights to the SameSoul. They let him have the only working model as a keepsake.

And now Samantha and August had more Credit than anyone else in Alabama. They had more Credit than most people on planet Earth. There would be no more hard work or stress. It was all over. His beautiful wife would get the kind of life she deserved.

August gathered all of his personal effects from around the store and put them into a box. He grabbed a sign for his Life Lanterns and scribbled a message on the back. He walked out of Sweets, Inc. and left the door wide open, placing the sign on the window sill as he walked away from the shop he and his wife had worked so hard to start. The culmination of their hard work and all of the merchandise still in stock didn’t matter anymore. He walked away from it all. The sign that he left behind said:

CLOSING SALE. ALL ITEMS ARE NOW FREE OF CHARGE. TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED AND LEAVE THE REST FOR SOMEONE ELSE. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Samantha paced the house. She was a nervous wreck. August hadn’t called and let her know how things were going. Did he sell the SameSoul? Would they get enough Credit for what was to come? August needed this. He had worked so hard with Sweets, Inc., and with Montek before that. He had earned an early retirement. So what if they were only in their thirties? If Montek was going to pay significant Credit, then retirement it would be.

Just as she was mulling over how useful Woodrow would be on this lifelong trip around the world, helping August so he could still invent and work with tech the way he liked to do, the front door was thrown open and scared Samantha half to death.

“Honey, I’m home!” August called out loudly.

Samantha ran to him and slapped his arm a little bit harder than if she were only kidding.

“You scared the heck out of me, sweets!” she exclaimed. “Why didn’t you call? What’s the word? Did they buy the SameSoul? Are we free?”

August looked down at his feet and stuck his hands into his pockets. He kicked at invisible piles of dirt, as if embarrassed.

“Well, I wanted to surprise you is why I didn’t call,” August said ashamedly. “Mr. Stevens came by the shop, and I told him about the SameSoul, but he didn’t believe me.”

“He didn’t believe you?” Sam asked incredulously. “Why on Earth not?”

“Well, I only have the one untested prototype, you see. Can you blame him for not takin’ me at my word?”

Samantha shook her head. She had never even considered that it wouldn’t work. Everything August made always worked. Why wouldn’t the people at Montek know that?

“So they didn’t want it?” she said, her voice growing tight with worry. “What are we going to do, sweets?”

August patted the air with his hands to calm Samantha down. “Now hold on, babe. I didn’t say that,” he said. “Mr. Stevens called the home office, and someone else wanted to talk to me. This new fella believed me and made me an offer.”

Samantha felt relieved instantly. The Credit wasn’t the important thing, not even close. As long as the journey could still happen… as long as August would get to travel the world like he had always dreamed… that is what mattered. “So you dealt with a real management type, huh?” she said, acting impressed. “Fancy that, sweets!”

August finally looked up to make eye contact, a mischievous look on his face as she said, “It was Chadwick Sheppard, babe.”

Samantha almost fell onto the couch.
 

“Chadwick Sheppard?” she gasped. “One of the richest men in the world? The head of Montek.Automaton?”

“The one and only, babe,” August replied, dusting invisible dirt from his shoulders. “He believed me… and he offered me a lot of Credit for my tech, babe. A lot of Credit. More than we will ever use. We are rich, Sam. Super-rich. Like… here, just take a look at our account.”

Samantha took the cellphone from his extended hand and looked at the screen, which showed their account summary. The number of zeros on the display had to be some kind of error. There was no way that they had that much Credit in the bank.

She gazed up with a bewildered look that then spread into a huge grin. August felt a wave of warmth spread through his chest. Samantha would get to take the journey around the world that she deserved. After all of the horrible things she has had to deal with over the years, he was content with the knowledge that she would never have to worry about anything ever again.

“I can’t believe it, sweets.”

“Believe it, Sam.”

“I guess we better get packing, then,” she said. “What are you going to do about the shop?”

August took his phone back and stuck it into his pocket, then shrugged his shoulders.

“I gave it all away,” he told her. “Just left the door open and put up a sign that asked people only to take one thing each.”

Samantha threw her head back and laughed.

“You know that the first person who comes by is going to take the sign down and call his friends to come empty the shop out so that they can sell it all themselves, right? Tell me you know that, sweets.”

August just shrugged his shoulders again, and said, “It don’t matter, babe. None of it matters anymore. We’re gonna be fine.”

Samantha reached over and held his hands in her own.

“Yes, we will be,” she answered.

Of course, only one of them knew that was a lie.

Chapter 20

DAY TWO

August woke up angry. At first, he couldn’t pinpoint why he was so furious, but after thinking it about for a moment, he knew exactly why. Samantha lay beside him, still asleep and snoring softly. Oblivious to her husband’s internal struggles, she smiled in her sleep. It should have made him feel better; it usually did. But even his wife’s beautiful face couldn’t work its usual magic this morning.

He got out of bed and went to use the toilet. In the bathroom, he found Woodrow in powered down mode. August woke the wooden automaton with a brushing touch on its shoulder as he passed.

“Mornin’, Woody. How’s it hangin’, man?”

Woodrow clacked to life with a sound like four baseball bats knocking together.

“MORN NING,” it said in reply.

After flushing, August decided to work out some of his aggression in the workshop. Tinkering with tech always calmed him down. The night before, in discussion with Samantha about what would happen next, they had decided to keep the house and not get rid of everything. She had said that it might be nice to have a home-base they could return to every once in a while. He tried to remember her exact words –
 

“When you need to feel comforted, where do you go? If you ever feel completely out of sorts and lost, the best place to go is always home. This is our home, Auggie, sweets. Let’s not abandon it the way you did your shop.”