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Chapter Four

FOUR

 Gloss & Silicon

 

In the dim light of the warehouse, Mauro lay asleep on the table, surrounded by the server's points of light behind him, processing data with flickering screens. The reflections of the screen's glow danced on his face, creating intricate neural patterns.


A progress bar advanced on the central monitor, the largest in the setup, while all the others were filled with codes and waves moving with intelligent motions, adjusting automatically. One of them displayed a network of interconnected nodes by threads, the interior of the square prism, lines disconnecting and reconnecting with other information centers, seeking a perfect coupling.


When the progress bar completed, the computer emitted a tonal sound, and Mauro's eyelid twitched involuntarily. He opened his eyes and realized that part of the process had finished. He blinked several times to regain focus. He could still feel the white lights of the Faktor Bar blinding his vision during Liliana's fainting spell; the memory had seeped into his dreams.


He pushed himself back and stood up. He observed the light from the small window located high in the warehouse. It was already morning. He checked the time on the thin black bracelet on his wrist, and the digital numbers appeared in blue on the surface.

 

He splashed more water on his face from the tap, turned fully to the mirror, and leaned over the sink.


Most of his reflection remained blurred due to the worn surface, except for his chest, where Liliana's star-shaped pendant dangled. It was a silver, flat hexagonal star. He couldn't help but take it between his fingers, caressing the metallic surface, wishing his girlfriend could feel his touch again.

 

*

 

He remembered her sitting on the bed, still under the covers, working on her translucent digital tablet. She looked downcast, despite her attempt to hide it. She wore her star pendant necklace on her chest, as always.


Mauro poured the steaming liquid from a thermos into a glass and warmed it up with water from a transparent pitcher. He moved away from the desk to bring her the glass, but before he reached her, Liliana opened the camera app and started recording herself.


"Hey, guys, how are you today? I hope you're doing well. I'm feeling a bit under the weather, seems like I caught a cold with all these never-ending rains, but don't worry, I'll see you this Friday at the Paradise Bar, as scheduled. You can find all the info in my bio. Stay tuned, see you there!" She finished recording and began writing the description.


"If you get better," Mauro said with a touch of irony.


"Don't be such a pessimist."


Her boyfriend offered her the glass of water and a white pill.


Liliana dropped the tablet on the comforter, placed the pill on her tongue, and swallowed it with the water down to the last drop.


"It's not that I'm pessimistic," Mauro clarified, "it's just that I've never seen anyone faint as a first symptom of a cold. We should see a doctor."


"Ah, you're starting already," he returned the glass. "I just... I felt suffocated by the audience, it was so hot, that's all. You're being overly dramatic."


His girlfriend reached for the tablet again, but Mauro snatched it away instantly.


"What are you doing?" she protested. Leaning forward, she stretched her arm to try to grab it by his shoulder, but her hand only brushed against it. She had to step back, leaning on the bed, and sat on her knees.


"Mauro, I need to organize the next event," she showed him her palm, waiting for him to return the device.


"You need to rest if you want to perform on Friday at the Paradise Bar," he told her, his back turned, as he opened the menu to turn off the app.


Liliana got off the bed violently and approached from behind, letting her anger show.


"Give me that!" she demanded. Her boyfriend moved away and extended his arm to keep the tablet out of her reach. "Hey, you don't understand what I'm trying to..." She ran out of air. For a moment, she lost her balance and had to put her hand on the desk to steady herself.


Mauro placed the tablet on the dresser and approached, intending to help her, but Liliana extended her other arm, also weak, to keep him from coming closer.


"I'm fine," she told him, her head bowed. She tried to stand up but lost her focus and, right then, fainted.


Mauro quickly moved forward and knelt down to the ground, catching her just in time before her head hit the floor.


—Lily... Lily...


*

 

Some doctors walked through the hallway, and there were only a few people sitting in the waiting room. Despite the empty chairs, Mauro preferred to stand, leaning against the wall near the fire extinguisher. He didn't want to think about anything. He struggled to keep his mind blank, to avoid imagining negative scenarios. It had been two hours since Liliana had been admitted through the emergency room. Maybe it was an exaggeration, but he couldn't stand to see her unwell; it drove him to despair. A single fainting episode could have been due to a lack of air or perhaps claustrophobia, but two consecutive ones meant something more.


He hadn't been able to get any news about her. The doctor had mentioned that they had to notify the family first. Liliana's mother was working when he called her on her cellphone to tell her what had happened, and she left as soon as she received the news. She wouldn't take long to arrive.


He looked up at the sliding door. It opened automatically, and Lourdes, Liliana's mother, a woman in her fifties but who looked ten years younger, walked straight to the reception with a brown bag and navy blue executive attire. The receptionist raised her arm to indicate that she could enter the elevators, and Liliana's mother hurried across the waiting room, not noticing Mauro's presence, who let her pass. He didn't want to interrupt her; he just had to wait a little longer.


*

 

An hour later, Mauro was sitting in the clinic's outdoor café, at one of the tables in the green space. He expected to see Lourdes pass through the glass walls on her way to the exit so he could ask her about Liliana. He hadn't ordered anything and was absentmindedly caressing the star-shaped pendant on his girlfriend's necklace, which he had to take off to enter the clinic with the doctors.


A woman took a seat at the opposite table, her back to him. After placing her bag on the adjacent chair, she put a white saucer with a cup of coffee on the table. It took Mauro a few seconds to recognize her; it was Lourdes.


She looked up as she sensed him getting closer, and Mauro noticed her worried expression.


"Thank you for bringing her," she said.


"Don't worry," he replied, putting his hands in his pant pockets.


There was an awkward pause. He didn't dare ask about Liliana; he had a bad feeling.


"¿How is she?"


They informed me that the infection test had a negative result. They will conduct additional tests. I hope it's not something serious.


*

 

During the day, doctors conducted various exams on Liliana, and Mauro did not leave the cafeteria. Lourdes conveyed the diagnoses to him, but none revealed the cause of the fainting spells. After some time had passed since finishing his last coffee, Mauro continued to sit, staring into the distance. The clinic's lights had been on for a few hours, casting reflections on the glassy architecture that also allowed him to see the street with its nighttime activity.


He then noticed a figure approaching quickly down the hallway, a figure that seemed familiar to him. When she came into the cafeteria, he was able to identify her. She was wearing black boots, form-fitting jeans with torn and unfamiliar sections, a pink crop top, and her typical black leather jacket. It was Victoria.


As she approached, he recalled that she had phoned him more than thirty minutes ago concerning something important. However she remain silent after learning that Liliana was still at the clinic.


Victoria easily located Mauro at the restaurant since he was one of the three diners present. She reached the table, took off her backpack, and sat down in front of him. While wearing her augmented reality transparent glasses, she refrained from exchanging any pleasantries after observing his fatigued stat.


"How is Liliana?" she asked, her breath slightly agitated.


"They don't know yet," Mauro replied after a few seconds, in a monotone voice. We need to wait for another exam, but... I'm not sure... I just don't know..." He let out a heavy sigh and rested his forehead on his hand.


Victoria frowned with concern.


"Don't worry; she'll get better," she reassured him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "And you? How are you feeling? Would you like me to bring you a glass of water?"


"No, I'm fine," Mauro replied, leaning back in his chair. "What did you want to tell me on the phone?"


"I know it's not the best time, but... we received a notification from Mindsoft."


Victoria opened her backpack, pulled out a silver folder, and placed it on the table. The corporation's logo stood out with its characteristic minimalist typography, engraved on the metallic cover. When she opened it, the contents consisted of a single gray sheet with minimal text. It had several barcodes and small silicon-embedded chips of the same thickness as the page, glistening.


"They sent us the names of the people who will be working with us. Tomorrow, we'll meet them and get everything organized," she explained. She slid her finger over the images projected by the microcircuits on the document. One profile after another contained the information of the professionals.


The immersive reality glasses were complemented by a pair of thin electromyography bracelets, a technology derived from neuroscience that captured the electrical activity of the nervous system and translated it into digital commands.


"Victoria, I can't think of anything right now. Can you do it?" Mauro asked her.


She fell silent for a few seconds and then leaned back with suppressed annoyance. She had warned him not to receive this kind of response, but it had been in vain; once again, Mauro came up with excuses.

"Aren't you going?" she asked.


"I can't think of anything," Mauro replied, his gaze fixed in the distance.


"Mauro, I understand it's difficult, but I warned you, if you don't show up, I won't be able to cover for you."


"I don't know if I'll go or not. It depends on Liliana's diagnosis."


"It can't depend on that, Mauro. You have to be there if you don't want Mindsoft to fire us."


"It's not normal for Liliana to undergo so many exams. Something is wrong with her. Tell them about the situation."


"It won't work."


"She needs me. Remember that her dad is no longer here, and the rest of her family lives in another city. Just tell them."


"I know, Mauro, but it doesn't work like that; you have to come."


"You don't care about her, do you?"


"Of course I do; she's my friend too."


"Then just tell them that I can't go because Liliana is in the clinic!" he raised his voice, and his hands trembled.


"And what the hell do they care!" Victoria challenged him, even louder.


The sound reverberated through the empty tables, and the couple who had been sitting having coffee turned to look at them.


Victoria pressed the button on the left side of her glasses to turn off the augmented reality images and took them off.


"For them," she looked him in the eyes, "we are merely two insignificant worker ants. If you miss this, Mauro, we'll practically be handing them the project. Do you remember how much effort I put into this?


Mauro couldn't find the words to respond. Victoria had been the one with the idea for the project, and he had witnessed how much she had sacrificed to get Mindsoft's attention. He didn't want to let her down.

Victoria put the folder away in her backpack.


"I really hope nothing bad happens to Liliana, but if you're not at Mindsoft tomorrow, you'll not just lose the best job you can get, you'll lose a friend too," Victoria remarked, slinging the backpack over her shoulder before standing up and leaving.


Mauro could do nothing but watch her leave while she put her polycarbonate glasses back on.


Chapter Five