The forevers fixer 13, p.18
The Forevers - Fixer 13, page 18
“I’m good, sort of,” responded Jayne.
“I see I have been offline for a few days. May I ask the reason I was left offline for so long?” Lucky asked.
“I am sorry. I took you offline because I needed to be alone to think and I went back to school and forgot to reinstate your AI,” Jayne apologized.
“That is alright. I see you applied to the Gyver competition. I do hope you will get in,” he chimed.”I see some of your friends also applied. Most of your GravBall team anyway.”
At that moment her VID beeped and Jayne looked at the complex 3D icon rotating on the screen. It was probably organized by Sara. She loved the complexity and artistry of Iconese. The icon was a cube formed from six square pyramids. The cube disassembled into a ‘T’ shape of pyramids. Each of the pyramids was from one of her GravBall team members. The overall pattern of the six pyramids consisted of a pictogram sequence that basically said that they loved her and wanted her help with their Gyver preparation ‘cause she was so good at it. The individual pyramids opened to individual members’ requests for various specific needs. Jayne opened the pyramid from Spike by touching the apex. It unfolded and a plain text message simply said, “I hate Iconese. I don’t need your help. Sara made me send something to fill out her cube-to-pyramid icon pretty picture pattern. If you need any help from me just let me know. I am planning to win this anyway, so don’t trust I will give you anything helpful. Ha!”
Jayne laughed out loud. She touched each pyramid apex in turn and answered with a definite yes. Spike’s return message was an audio recording of Jayne making a loud and long raspberry sound, “Phuuuuuuuutttttttt.” No one had been formally approved as a participant but it was expected they all would be and so they were all preparing. Jayne didn’t think there was anything to prepare. She loved the ancient adage, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” When she first heard it she had no idea what a chocolate even was. Even now she only had a vague impression. She understood it to be a box of various kinds of sweets with their nature concealed in a coating of chocolate. She had never tasted chocolate but she understood the comparison. The Gyver puzzles would be a surprise. That was the part she loved - the surprise. She would still meet with her friends the following day and help where she could.
Practicing for the Gyvers was primarily a mind game. You conceived of a task that must be completed. There was always a measure of danger. There were always a few seemingly unrelated objects near at hand. There was always a time factor that related to the danger. You had to complete the task before the danger became life threatening.
Later that day, in the gym, the six of them met. There were Sara, Josie, Olive, Izzy and Pinky. Spike was absent. Sara said she thought he felt outnumbered and so he did not join them. Jayne made six. They sat and watched a few Gyver situation holograms. They linked all six of their VIDs in a circle and projected the holos. The level of detail was exceptional, with all six VIDs working together. They watched a holo and then looked at possible solutions. Spike arrived during the last holo. The Gyver they viewed followed a common theme. The problem to be solved involved a room with a locked door, no windows, no possible exit other than the door and a key hanging out of reach in the center of the room. The only way to escape was to get the key and unlock the door before the timer reached zero and the bomb went off. On the floor were 10 sheets of corrugated plastic sheeting, one by two meters each, some string, a roll of duct tape and a small box cutter. “Why are we watching this crap?” asked Spike, after watching the setup of the Gyver problem. The group would watch the setup, pause the holo and discuss the possible solutions. Then each would try to come up with an original solution and see if he or she had solved the problem. So far, all the solutions had been fairly simple and the group had found a workable solution to each problem.
“This is different,” retorted Jayne. “This problem must have a solution. What follows in the holo is a series of attempts, but no one has solved it.”
“Maybe there is no solution,” said Pinky.
“There is always a solution or they couldn’t use the problem. Right, Thirteen?” said Sara, deferring to Jayne.
“Supposedly. This one doesn’t look that hard. Let’s give it a try and see what we come up with,” said Jayne. She stared at the frozen holo of the room with the key dangling six meters from the floor. “As I see it, we have three options. Option 1 – we do not need the key to open the door. I don’t think that is likely if the door is locked. Option 2 – we bring the key to us by cutting the string holding it in place. Option 3 – we go to the key and get it. Can anyone see any other options?”
“There could be another way out that we have not noticed. Maybe there is a secret door hidden under that pile of corrugated plastic,” purposed Josie.
“That would be a ‘Search for a Secret Passage Puzzle’, not a Gyver,” said Spike. “Gyvers must have a set problem to solve, not a secret problem and a bunch of red herrings. No, you have to get the key to open the door. The solution is all about getting the key. According to the Gyver rules anyway.”
“He is right,” Jayne said, turning to Spike. “Boy, you have done your homework.” She nudged him in the ribs and laughed. “So are we in agreement that we have to get the key and open the door?” Everyone nodded. “OK. So let’s look at bringing the key to us. Any ideas?”
“Hey, guys. I think she already knows the answer to this problem and she is just teasing us and leading us along,” Spike said, pointing at Jayne. “Do you know the answer?”
Jayne shrugged. “I know what I would do but that is not the same as knowing the answer.”
“Well, what do you think?” asked Olive.
“What is the point in me telling you that? You asked me to help you prepare so let’s prepare,” said Jayne flatly.
“What about the box cutter? We could tie it on the string and swing it around and cut the string holding the key. That is what I would try. What do you think, guys?” asked Izzy.
“Sounds good to me,” said Josie.
“How are you going to get the cutter up there with any degree of accuracy? You would be swinging it for a swarm’s age,” said Sara.
“How much time is given?” asked Olive.
“Boy, you might as well quit now! All Gyvers are 30 minutes long. You have 30 minutes. Let’s see, five minutes to get the string tied to the box cutter, 10 minutes to swing it around, trying to get it high enough to reach the string holding the key, then realizing after 20 minutes has passed, that you are too far away to even come close. With 10 minutes left you might as well sit in the middle of the floor and wait for the bomb to tick down and the ‘exit door’ to appear, because that is the only way you will get out,” laughed Spike.
“Don’t be such an ass,” said Jayne. She turned to the group. “This brings us to the most important first action you can perform. You must start by logically eliminating all the possible solutions that just won’t work. You do not have the time to try them and see. You must choose the option with the greatest chance of success and go with it. If you choose wrong, then you will leave by the ‘exit door’. But, at least you will know that you gave it your best try and you didn’t run around like so many other unsuccessful competitors have done.”
“And just how do we do that?” questioned Spike, his face still red from Jayne’s verbal slap.
“We look at everything carefully so we know what we are truly dealing with, instead of making assumptions that are not necessarily true,” said Jayne. She reached out to her VID and zoomed in on the key. “What do you see?”
“That is not a string holding the key. It looks like a piece of cable, and the key is connected to the cable with a steel clip. The box cutter would never cut that in a million years,” said Izzy.
“Right! That eliminates all of the string cutting solutions. That key is attached to the ceiling in such a way that one must go up and get it. Remember, this is a Gyver problem. In the biomes there are no prepared puzzles. Everything is out in the open. Nothing is deliberately hidden. What you see is what you get. You may have to turn over a rock or two but observation is everything,” said Jayne firmly.
“How about we make a tower with the corrugated plastic sheets, the tape and the string?” suggested Sara.
“Yeah! We could make a tower and just climb up and reach the key,” exclaimed Josie.
“This brings us to the enemy. Time. So it must be considered in any solution. Is there enough time to complete the plan?” said Jayne. “How many boxes would we need? Could we construct them so that they hold our weight? How long would it take us to construct one box?”
Spike stood up. He was much more serious. “Building something would work, but I don’t think it is possible to build a box strong enough or fast enough in 30 minutes. It might be a good solution if you had a whole day, but not 30 minutes. You would need a stairway of boxes. I’m not sure that there is even enough material to build that many, even if we did have all the time in the world. Maybe we could build a ladder?”
Olive brightened, “I think that is a great idea. I bet we could build a ladder. We would need to create a tripod thing like an easel. And put steps on it so we could climb up. The corrugated plastic could be cut to form triangles, taped together or something like that. What do you think, Jayne?”
“Good idea, Spike. We have to build something to get up there. Perhaps a ladder would do. Time is still the enemy. Could you build, for that matter, could anyone build, a ladder that would reach … ” Jayne stopped and looked at the height of the key, “six meters in the air, allow one of us to climb it and hold any of our weight in under 30 minutes?”
Sara spoke. “That is unlikely. You would have to make three uprights six meters long to form the triangle and then attach a series of steps to two of them. Once you had it standing up, I think you would also have to somehow stop the legs from sliding out by bracing the bottom. Remember, this would have to be built by one person. It wouldn’t be the whole crew of us.”
Pinky shrugged in abandonment. “I could never build a ladder like that in 30 minutes. It would take me 30 minutes to figure out how to make the legs.”
“Yeah, this is looking pretty impossible,” said Josie. She turned to Jayne. “I suppose you have an elegant solution.”
Jayne had rolled up two pieces of the waxy food serving sheets into tight tubes. She was tapping each on the table top like drumsticks. She grinned. “Yep. I think I could build it in 30 minutes and reach the key.” She tapped more obviously on the table with the rolled up wax sheets. Everyone looked at her, stunned. “Oh, come on you guys. Tubes!”
“You want to build a ladder with tubes made from the corrugated plastic? I thought we decided that there was not enough time to build a ladder,” said Spike, “tubes or no tubes.”
“Not a ladder,” retorted Jayne.
“Then what?” asked Sara, somewhat irritated.
Jayne looked at each of their faces and grinned. “Stilts!” she said. “I would build a set of two stilts. I would roll up six of those one by two meter pieces of corrugated plastic and tape them to form spiral tubes. I would place them end-to-end and connect them together with another smaller piece encircling the joints. I would roll up small pieces for the steps and notch the long tubes, place the steps in the notch at an angle and tape them on. I would stagger the steps from tube to tube, except for the top. I would place the last two steps about a meter from the top so I could stand and reach the key. What do you think?” asked Jayne.
“Great, now you have two stilts. I just don’t think you could keep your balance and climb up the stilts. I’ll admit you could probably build them in the 30 minutes but I think it would take a lot of practice to climb them without someone holding at the bottom,” challenged Spike.
“I would put them in the corner of the room and lean them against the walls. I would climb up them, alternating from support to support and walk the three or four steps to the center of the room. Once there, I could hold on to the cable holding the key to keep my balance. All I would need to do is remove the key from the clip, stagger back to the corner and climb down. I think I could do it in the 30 minutes. What do you guys think?” Jayne asked.
“I think I could do it. I doubt that skinny little body of yours could even lift one of the stilts,” mocked Josie. “What is the recommended solution?”
Sara picked up her VID, flicked her finger over the surface and spoke. “God, I hate you!” she exclaimed with false passion.
“What does it say?” asked Pinky.
“Stilts. It just says ‘Stilts’,” said Sara and she dropped her VID into her pouch. She shook her head from side to side and smiled. “You are a piece of work, Wu. Thanks for the tips. I hope we all get in the competition. I don’t expect to win, not against you, anyway. But I am going to kick these guys’ asses.” She laughed.
The whole group got up and gathered their VIDs. Suddenly there was a series of beeps and chimes coming from the various pouches and knapsacks. They all opened their VIDs. Sara was first. She turned her VID to face the others. It said, “Application to the Gyver Competition has been ACCEPTED.” Each in turn showed the others their VIDs. They all said the same thing. Jayne was standing staring at her VID. She said nothing. She suddenly smiled and spoke. “I have got to get back to my cube. See you guys later. Congrats on the Gyver.” She turned and left. The rest of her friends followed and headed off to their cubes. None had bothered to ask Jayne if she had made it into the competition. They all assumed she had. Even Jayne assumed she was a shoo-in to the competition but her VID had read, “Application to the Gyver Competition has been REJECTED.” She wiped a tear from her eye as she stepped on the PUT pad.
C hapter 26 – “Fake’n It”
The culture, as a whole, had a purpose and that was to enable the survival of the species. If you lived in a biome, you were an integral part of that purpose. You may not be a part of the new version of humans but at least your progeny would carry your newly modified genes into the galaxy and into the future. The job of everyone on the planet was to ensure that it all happened as planned. Almost everyone. There were subcultures that rose up and shouted to be heard. The most common voice yelled out the futility of it all, especially for those left behind when the swarm hit. Their genes would be transformed to space dust. These voices had to be quieted. Harmony had to be restored. So it was decided to preserve the genetic blueprint of every person and send these genetic patterns to the stars with each of the biomes. Each and every person who was a part of the great plan would, in some form, travel to the stars with the rest of the living. It was a small thing with great potential.
Jayne slept fitfully, her sleep filled with dreams of the nursery. She was no longer a tech. In her dreams she had become a cleaner. She had been rejected from all the jobs she had applied for and had to return to the nursery and work as a cleaner. She woke in a sweat. She was dreaming of cleaning a large floor but, no matter what she did,the dirt always reappeared right after she had cleaned it. He supervisor stood in the doorway to the room slowly shaking her head and calling her name, “Thirteen … Thirteen … Thirteen.” She woke to some music playing softly.
Lucky spoke. “Thirteen, it is time to wake. Ah. Good morning, Thirteen. I hope you slept well. I anticipated your waking time and took the liberty of making you breakfast. A small package arrived last night. I have scanned it. It appears to be harmless but I stress caution anyway. It may contain a danger I do not recognize.” Jayne got out of bed and washed and dressed. She sat at the table and picked at her breakfast. She finally picked up the small package off the table. She turned it over in her hands. None of her friends would send her something like this.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” asked Lucky.
“Yes, but not now,” said Jayne as she pushed away the food. “I’m not hungry.” She slipped the small package into her pouch and rested her head in her hands.
“You do not appear to be very happy. Did something disconcerting happen? I was not informed of anything. I am a good listener. Perhaps you would like to share your feelings with me. I will activate my psychology AI if you like. You can talk to me and I will listen,” said Lucky softly.
“It is nothing. Perhaps I will lie down for awhile,” said Jayne. She regretted her words almost immediately. It was too late. Lucky had already shifted into concerned parent mode.
“Something is wrong. I will scan your latest communications. Perhaps I will discover the cause of your melancholy,” he said in his most concerned voice.
“No. Please don’t!” snapped Jayne. It was too late.
“I do not believe it. How could they reject your application? I will investigate the cause. We will formally protest. There must be a mistake,” Lucky said, aghast. His tone suddenly changed. “Oh, they say you are too young to participate. They say a person of your age cannot possibly make mature decisions. They say that the Gyvers might put you in harm’s way and they cannot be responsible for any physical and psychological repercussions.”
“I am a couple of months away from being a full TechElecMech fixer, licensed to work Biome 3 and yet I cannot take part in a silly Gyver competition because I might hurt myself. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard,” spat Jayne.
