Project Sky- Chapter 6
Chapter 6:
Earlier that day, Samuel and Laura were walking down the suburban sidewalks of the small town they visited. The streaks of clouds that blended in with the open twilight captured Samuel’s eyes. “It’s a beautiful sight, don’t you think?” Asked Samuel, pointing to the sunset. “Yeah, it sure is,” silently spoke Laura. They walked by a seven-foot bush on the sidewalk. Its hedges were finely trimmed and little flowers on it began to bloom. “Well, that’s spring in a nutshell,” Samuel commented. As they turned the corner, they saw a simple two-story house with an enormous lawn. It contained flowers placed neatly to ensure the most artistic look possible with a walkway leading straight directly to the door. Leaning on the door was a young man whose arms were crossed as he tried to avoid getting his own hair in his eyes. “Samuel? Is that you?” Asked the man. “M-Mr. Williams, you should know what I look like by now,” Samuel joked. Laura turned her head to the side, trying to avoid direct eye contact with the man. “Laura, you know that he’s safe to look at now. We forgave him, remember?” Laura refused to look towards him, crossing her arms and staring at the sky. “Listen, do you have time to talk privately?” Mr. Williams offered as he walked towards Samuel. “Sure thing,” Samuel consented as he walked towards Williams. “What is it now?” “Read this.” “Huh?” Samuel snatched a piece of paper from his hands. “101 reasons why you shouldn’t and couldn’t win Laura’s heart,” he read. “What the hell is this?” Samuel began to slowly crumple up the paper. “You know how much I can make it right this time!” “You still don’t remember, do you?” Williams tried to explain. “You’ve seen what happened before, so do I need to explain to you for the tenth time? She will interfere with the mission and the research. That rat Daniel will corrupt her thoughts and then…” “I get it. I can control them. Just give me some time.” “Your loss, Sam. Your loss…” “Must you treat everything like it’s inevitable, Jack?” Samuel began to walk away. “I only say things I know are precise,” Williams muttered as he entered his house.
"Okay, Laura, are you ready to see the machine again?" Samuel said, placing his hand on a small metal door. Laura slowly nodded. “Why of course I’d like to see the machine again.” He scanned his finger on a nearby touch-screen, and the door flew open. Walking for a couple of minutes, they finally stood upon a huge platform surrounded with a glass barrier. The floor, walls, and lights all illuminated a white color. “This is the control room,” Samuel snickered. Laura’s chip that hung on her forehead began to slightly glow a hue of yellow. Looking out the glass, she noticed a giant spike with a small, smooth sphere on top. The platform of which the spike was on was only connected to a long metal beam that extended from the center to the area right below them. “Samuel, what are the dimensions of this thing?” Laura inquired. “Four dimensions…” Samuel then realized what she meant. “Oh! I’m sorry. That platform on the bottom of that thing is around 25x25 ft. The total height of the spike is around 20 ft. tall not including the sphere over there. Now, do you want to know how to operate the machine or not?” “Of course,” she clasped her hands together looking attentively at Samuel, with her forehead chip glowing brighter. “Okay, first you…”
Two hours later, after Samuel showed her all of the interface commands, Samuel reached for Laura’s hand. “That’s the lesson for today, Laura. Do you want to learn anything else not about this?” Samuel asked intently, staring at their hands grasping. “Well, I want to know what it’s like to love. It’s been lonely within these past few months…” Laura awkwardly spoke, blushing. “Well, let’s start with the basics. Do you know how to kiss?” “N-No.” “Let me demonstrate then.” Samuel leaned towards Laura, and pressed his lips against hers. Right then and there, Samuel noticed that it was the brightest he saw Laura’s chip glow within the past year. Carefully, he tossed a small piece of crumpled paper from his pocket into the trash.
