The Reporter

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Lily Adams was unusually short; she had long blonde hair that reached down her back, and she had a pair of sharp wooden glasses that were slightly too big to fit her face. Ralphie agreed to meet her at Trident, a coffee shop, bookstore hybrid that was open late. One of the very few bookstores that still existed.

Lily stood out because, despite being integrated, she forgoed a CelTec paycheck, which operated its own news network that was globally broadcast, isolated from the autonomous reporter. CelTec was infamous for not including information that demeaned them, and threatened that the autonomous reporter was an illegal operation. But despite attempts to take it down, it always cropped back up. It was common that smaller, outspoken reporters would disappear. Lily had a security team constantly surrounding her.

The New Times Report was nationally recognized as the biggest media company on The Autonomous Reporter. It was also the only company in the world that used newspapers, as it was the most secure way to reliably keep the flow of information.

Ralphie had gotten to the coffee shop a little earlier so he could get a croissant, one of his favorite snacks. He sat there tapping his fingers rapidly on the table. He was unusually nervous as he understood the stakes at hand.

When Lily arrived, she grabbed coffee before she walked over to Ralphie, giving him a brief hug with a huge smile.

“I’m glad to finally meet you. How are you?” Lily said.

“Doing well, sorry for not reaching out to you sooner. I kept getting caught up.”

“That's no problem. Do you want to sit down here or shall we walk through the bookstore?” Lily looked at Ralphie with a fierce curiosity.

Ralphie ran his hand through his hair, brushing it up a bit, “Let's walk. I want to make sure this is all anonymous.” Lily smiled at him before saying, “If you want it, the reporter doesn’t need your name to authenticate what you told me.”

Lily sensed Ralphie's anxiety. “You don’t have to worry about anyone here. My security has the place secure and is vetting everyone in this store.” Ralphie nodded, looking around at the various people in the bookstore. He wondered how many of them were a part of her security team. The bookstore was more crowded than he was used to.

They walked through a green door that had red and gold accents that connected the bookstore to the coffee shop. The bookstore was quite spacious, and the walls were covered with towers of books that went all the way to the ceiling. Each tower was berated with a multitude of different colored books.

Lily looked up in amazement, “You know I’ve always wanted to come here, but I’ve never had a chance. I’m glad we agreed to come here. It's beautiful.” Ralphie looked over at her, “My mom used to take me here every weekend when we were younger. It holds a special place in my heart.”

“I like that,” Lily said, pausing for a second to think. “Your family, they have ties to Chuck Thorne and CelTec, don’t they?”

“We don’t have ties to CelTec; they killed my brother for speaking out, but as you know, Chuck Thorne is closely connected within CelTec. My parents have been very close to him for a long time, going back to college. We hope he will finally bring much-needed change.”

“Do you know when Chuck Thorne became Integrated?” Lily asked?

Ralphie nodded before he responded, “The story that my father always told me was that Chuck Thorne was smart and cunning in school. Great attendance, that sort of thing. Chuck Thorne despised what was happening with CelTec, so he became heavily involved in the student body. Chuck Thorne and my Father would organize these rallies with hundreds of people as a part of a Club they started called the Spades. Chuck Thorne was the face of the rallies, while my father dealt with behind-the-scenes, planning the details that sort of thing.”

“What were the rallies about?” Lily asked.

“Anything,” Ralphie responded. “Global Issues, they rallied for changes within CelTec, for proper Integration. Which, as most people seem to forget, was the ultimate end goal of CelTec. They were a good team.”

A Man bumped into Ralphie, but Lily waved it off as being nothing. “That's nothing to worry about,” Lily reassured.

Ralphie seemed annoyed. “Anyway, during a rally that they were both a part of, my father noticed something had changed in Chuck Thorne. He was able to know exactly how much time was left for the rally without having to check the clock. Almost every school around that time had been outfitted with CelTec technology that integrated The Minds. But they didn’t realize at the time, because around then, almost no one had developed The Minds. But Chuck Thorne's integration progressed fast, allowing him to access the news without having to even read anything; he could send messages without having to type a single word, and he could operate a computer without having to press a single button. Most people who awaken the Minds have to build up, and it takes a while to work up and operate things. But not Chuck Thorne, he was a natural, and before long, he was able to do everything that my dad was able to do. My father's job inside the Spades had essentially become obsolete.”

“That's interesting, I had no idea,” Lily said. “So what happened to your father?”

“Chuck Thorne could have easily left my father behind, but he didn’t. Goes on to show what kind of a man he was.”

“Do you know what happened to the Spades?” Lily asked.

Ralphie nodded as they circled, “They attempted to disband the club after they graduated. But some of the members felt strongly about it. Under new leadership, they took a more radical approach. Now they are an extreme group that my parents and Chuck Thorne condone. They want to forcefully bring change to CelTec. The club they started has no relation to the current Spades.”

“This might be a good place to sit?” Lily gestured.

Ralphie sat down. “Do you mind if I ask about the story? Leon seemed to be pretty excited.

Lily nodded, “If you want, I’m an open book. But before I let you in on the story, I just have a few more questions. I want to know how close you are to Chuck Thorne.”

“What do you mean?”

“How involved is Chuck Thorne in your life?” Lily said, leaning against the chair.

“He’s Family. I view him like I would my own uncle, and Flix is basically my cousin. Not by blood, but it almost feels like it. He was very involved in my life when I was younger. There was even a period of time when he took care of me. My parents had to leave for important work right after my brother died.”

“Do you have any idea what made them leave?”

Ralphie shook his head, “No, I was too young. I remember Chuck Thorne arguing with them about it. Whatever it was, it was dangerous.”

Lily scratched the back of her neck. “What was it like when your parents came back?” Ralphie squished his face trying to remember, “It was so long ago, I remember they were different when they came back. My brother's death had taken a toll on them. They were tired and had less energy than before. But I was so young, my parents told me not to worry about it, and they would never talk about what happened. I don’t understand what this has to do with your story.”

Lily sipped her coffee, “It doesn’t, but I was curious, and often my curiosity gets the best of me.” Lily looked up from the table and nodded to a man who sat on the other side of the room. The man nodded back. “Do you know about the data leaks?” Ralphie nodded. It was hard not to know about the data leaks; it was all everyone talked about. “Well, we think we have a big one, but we need to confirm. Do you know who Dullahan is?”

Ralphie shook his head. “Someone from the leak,” he questioned.

“Supposably a man that CelTec created out of flesh a weapon of sorts.” Lily paused, giving Ralphie a second to catch up.

“How is that possible?” he demanded.

Lily gripped her coffee, “There are a lot of things that CelTec is capable of that we don’t know about. According to the leaks, they have subjects listed as Puppets. We don’t know why, but we need as much information as we can give to the public. It’s also important that we make sure Chuck Thorne is the right person to replace Polland.”

Ralphie paused, looking at Lily for a moment, her hair glistened gold, "Aren't you just a reporter?”

Lily smiled at him, “A hell of a reporter.”

Ralphie looked at her sternly, “He is, I know it. I’ve known him my whole life. No one is better suited for this task than he is.”

Lily smiled, “I don’t doubt you. But here’s the thing: I did some digging and found a development project involving human subjects. Chuck Thorne's name is attached to it, called Project Commedia. We are trying to verify the nature of it before we move forward. We have to make sure before we endorse him. Do you know anything about this?” Lily asked.

Ralphie shook his head, “I have no idea, maybe it's too integrate all of the disconnected. He sat there in thought. The idea made him giddy; integrating everyone would cripple CelTec, causing their grip to slip. Even though CelTec claimed it would take too much energy, he knew it was possible. “No clue, we did visit the CelTec building yesterday. But I have never heard of this project. The room we visited was geared towards studying evolution, but that was with animals. They had these metallic snakes that studied evolution. Maybe that has something to do with it. Chuck Thorne signs off on many different projects.” Ralphie said.

Lily reached up, stretching. “That could be the case, but I need you to do something for me. I’m close to finishing my story, but I need more. I need you to find out what Chuck Thorne knows about Project Commedia and what a Puppet is.”

Ralphie looked at Lily, confused, “I doubt Chuck Thorne knows anything about this.”

“That's a good thing; we need more evidence that people can use to prove that he can be trusted. We also have other sources looking into this.” Lily saw that Ralphie's attention was starting to drift away. “I need you to do this for me. Promise me you will try, it's crucial.” Ralphie looked into Lily's eyes, “I will. Hey, let me show you something.” Ralphie walked over to the head cashier. “Is Stew in today?”

The cashier looked confused. “I’m not sure, I thought I saw him, but he might have left.”

They walked around to a section in the library where the lights were slightly dimmer, and the books were locked up behind a thin layer of metal bars.

“What are these?” Lily asked.

“Banned books, a couple of months ago, a couple of CelTec officials came in and demanded that the bookstore destroy these. The store owner was able to negotiate with them to have them locked away.”

Lily stuck her fingers through the bars so that she could feel the rough spine of the books. They were old and worn out.

“What are they about?” she asked.

Ralphie replied, “Various things, I think there might even be a coloring book in there.”

Lily laughed, “Why would there be a coloring book in there?” Ralphie smirked, “I don’t know, I guess it doesn’t align with CelTec's values.”

“Or because that's the most dangerous book in the whole store,” said a man standing behind them. The man had faded brown hair that was wispy and sprinkled with the tiniest bit of grey. His face was slightly red, and he displayed a fashionable smile.

“Stew,” Ralphie said with excitement, hugging the man.

“It's been a bit, Ralph, good to see you,” Stew said, still smiling. “Who's your friend?” he asked.

“This is Lily, she's a reporter,” Ralphie turned to her, “This is Stewart, he's the owner of this place.” Stewart outstretched his hand in a firm handshake, “I believe I’ve heard of you, New Times Report, correct?” Stew asked.

Lily smiled. She loved it when someone recognized her work, “That's me.”

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m sure Ralphie didn’t tell you he used to work here, he's quite the reader.” Stew gave Ralphie a pat on the back of his head. “Let me show you something,” he pulled out a set of keys, unlocking the book cabinet. “Where is it?” he muttered to himself. “Ahh, here it is,” he exclaimed, pulling out a small book covered in a deep brown that almost looked black in the light. In bold white letters on the top, it read, “Life, freedom, and a sprinkle of love.”

“This is one of my favorites,” Stew exclaimed proudly, handing the book to Lily. “On the house”, Stew smiled before he looked over at Ralphie, “Stay out of trouble, Ralph, keep your eyes peeled. Hopefully, we can catch up soon.”

“We will,” Ralphie said, hugging Stew before he hurried off back into the shop.

“Lily looked at him a little perplexed, “You didn’t say you used to work here.”

Ralphie looked around for a second in thought, “I was going to get to it.”

“Hmm,” Lily said, amused. “There's a revolution brewing; people are waking up.”

“Sure, there is,” Ralphie smirked in disbelief. “I don’t see it anywhere. Everyone is so caught up in their lives that they don’t care much for the way things are. Plus, most people would kill to be integrated. I mean, some do.”

“We could use your help,” Lily said, smiling at him.

Ralphie looked at Lily, taking it all in. “I’ll try to help as much as I can.”

Lily handed Ralphie her card. “Thank you for talking to me. Are you going to stay here?

“I might grab another coffee. I’ll see you around.” Ralphie's coffee was hot and steaming as he watched it whip away into the air. Had he done enough? He sat there mulling over Lily's words. Chuck Thorne was the proper candidate; there was no doubt in his mind.

The sun had begun to go down when Ralphie exited the bookstore. A soft breeze blew down the road, whistling as it went by. No one was out on the road. It was past the time when most people had already gone home. Ralphie rubbed his arms together. It was just cold enough to chill him to the bone, and he wasn’t wearing much. He let out a long yawn, his vocal cords letting out a low drum. His car was parked across the street, shaded in darkness from a large tree that rested above his head. It was so quiet that as Ralphie walked over, he could hear each step that he took. The gravel crunching as it grinded beneath his feet before echoing down the empty street.

Ralphie's car was made of old patches of steel that sat underneath a peeling red coat of paint. There were scratches across the hood of the car, and the left side was badly dented, mangled, and misshapen. It was the first car that Ralphie ever owned, and he cherished it. While everything else was falling apart, the engine of the car was sound and would purr when it fired up. It was a good car, Ralphie thought to himself; there was no reason to get rid of it.

Ralphie gripped the handle, the smooth metal pressing against his palm. The car had a manual lock, and it rarely worked. Ralphie wrestled the key, squirming it around, trying to get the teeth to catch. He grunted, “Fuck, come on.” He leaned up against the car, trying to get leverage, but still it wouldn’t budge. He pushed back and forward several times before a bag slid over his face. The bag was scratchy as he felt an arm press against his mouth, preventing him from shouting. He let out a muffled grunt as his arm twisted behind his back, and he fell to the ground.

A soft voice spoke to him, “Calm, Calm, I am not here to hurt you,” the voice said, stumbling over its words. There was an odd familiarity that kept Ralphie from panicking. It was a calm and collected man's voice. “Be careful, I do not want to deceive you, only help you understand what currently seems impossible. Be careful of the Puppets; there are more of them than you realize. You will be led down a path where you will realize that someone has betrayed you. Chuck Thorne holds their muzzles.” Ralphie felt the bag get loosely tied around his neck. “Trust yourself. I will find you eventually. Godspeed.” There was a snapping crack before a quiet buzzing noise. Ralphie felt the electricity surge through his back before his vision faded to black.