Historical Holograms From A Runaway Punk

Mil-RAT timer says “34 hrs – 02 min – 34 sec.” We are now in the Army satellite control center. Yes, we found it! And when I say “we,” I mean Tiger and Zi-Yen. I can’t believe Tiger is my dad. Like, holy hash crap, right? Still not sure what to make of it. So let me explain how we got here.

Mayor Sye found me hiding. He was about to shove me in his solid black Skypoe cruiser parked on his balcony. But Tiger rushed up behind him and grabbed the mayor.

“Tiger! What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m saving the city,” came Tiger’s cold reply.

Mayor Sye was stunned. Tiger returned the Mil-RAT to me and told me to get in the mayor’s cruiser. He got us up in the air just in time as the building cracked, falling apart with Mayor Sye still on it. Tiger pointed to the Mil-RAT in my hand and said, “Open it.”

I did what he asked, revealing the hologram map to the Army’s secret command control center. The entrance was hidden under a water fountain in some old park just outside the city walls, called Legacy Fountain. Tiger recognized the location and flew in that direction.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked Tiger.

“Your mother is a very tricky woman.”

“She said she wasn’t my mother.”

“Yes, she is.”

“I was grown in a lab! I remember.”

“To protect you. She was afraid to have a baby.”

“She didn’t care!” I yelled at him.

“She gave you the power to save Tech City,” he said calmly, handing me a little purple four-leaf clover.

I started to get tears in my eyes, “Why did she do this?” I was feeling confused.

“She saw your future,” he said.

“I don’t even know who my father is.

“Your mother is a very tricky woman.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“She tricked me one night before you were born.”

“Wait… you’re telling me you’re my father? Wow.”

“Yes, quite the shocker.”

“So, what are we supposed to do now?” I asked him.

“Well, we do nothing and let Tech City crumble to pieces. Or, we can save it and make it better. The choice is yours.”

“I want to find my brother. Ki-Yo dropped him in the Skypoe Station.”

So we raced to get my brother and found Legacy Fountain. I noticed several circular holes where the water used to come out from. One of them was the keyhole to fit the Mil-RAT, but I needed to find the right spot first.

“Now what?” I asked Tiger.

“Start with outside holes first, then work towards middle,” suggested Zi-Yen.

The earthquakes were worsening, making me rush and fumble with the ball. Finally, the Mil-RAT fit into the correct slot, opening the ground; two sides pulled apart and revealed a hidden staircase going down into an underground tunnel.

We went down the stairs and into the satellite command control center filled with giant blue screens, silvery chrome knobs, and rainbow-colored lights blinking. It smelled terrible, like a dead rat had been left there for days. I could hear one screen buzzing with sparks showing the Army satellite hovering in the topmost layer of the atmosphere above Tech City, obviously not operating under normal circumstances.

“So, now what?” asked Tiger.

“Um, I don’t know?” I shrugged.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean, I DON’T KNOW! I was just following the map.”

“King, you the Ark, remember,” said Zi-Yen soothingly.

With the purple four-leaf clover in my hand, I sat down and wondered with my mind. Ki-Yo wanted me to remember too, especially my childhood. So I closed my eyes and thought of our times together, visiting her lab, the faces of the other scientists, visiting other strange places outside of Tech City, and the later years of my life, the time I died my hair purple.

Then I felt the shift; I was not in my mind anymore; I was in Ki-Yo’s. I could see her memories, the places she visited, and what she discovered. The Neuralink central brain chip turned on, working on my mind. I navigated through other people’s minds and memories, some of whom had parents in the Army. I saw the Army’s secret command center from their minds, looking at the control panels, the screens, the satellite, and the buttons they pushed. Was Ki-Yo still alive?

I opened my eyes and saw the same control panel in front of me, fascinated by the memories, knowing how to control the rogue satellite. I quickly pushed a sequence of buttons and put the satellite in its correct orbit, ending all Tech City’s earthquakes.

Entranced by my new power, I got an idea, “These walls are coming down.”

Before anyone could stop me, I reprogrammed the satellite to destroy the walls around Tech City and watched it move into position. A laser from the satellite beamed into the wall surrounding the city, and we watched the wall get crumbled into dust.

The sun is barely lighting up the horizon, signaling that a new day is upon us.