Thatched dog art

Decided to write something about Nkechi-32 and Agu meeting and naming Pulled pork

“Don’t you think the Vanguard has anything better for us to do? I mean look at this place- There’s barely any signs of life here since the Collapse. Apart from the weeds.” Examining the remains of a golden-age bullet train, Agu drifted slowly away from her Guardian- Nkechi-32 who was slowly walking across the top of a train carriage, one foot in front of the other, her arms outstretched for balance.

“This place used to be full of life, you know. Hundreds of people, thousands even, would pass through here every day. The trains could take people all over Mars in minutes.” Realising Nkechi wasn’t paying attention, Agu resisted rambling on more about ancient public transport.

“Agu come quick!” Nkechi called to her Ghost from across the platform without averting her gaze from the rust-coloured sand dunes.

“What? What is it?”

“Look. I think that’s a Ghost”

A tiny glint of sunlight shone off a perfect little machine that was floating about, meticulously combing through the ruins of Freehold.

“Wanna say hi? I’ve never talked to someone else’s Ghost before.”

“Sure,” Agu spoke reluctantly. “But some Ghosts are real weirdos. Just a heads up.”

The setting sun on the red desert cast great shadows on the half-buried roads and streets of the once bustling city of Freehold. The sand still held the warmth of the day, but a cool breeze gently washed over the wastes. It was calming, or it would be if not for the subtle miasma of decay. The sand beneath Nkechi’s boots turned what should have been a five- maybe ten minute walk into about twenty minutes. Treading through sand made exceptionally fine by millennia of stirring in the wind proved far more difficult than the duo had expected.

“HELLO!” Nkechi yelled a little too enthusiastically as she tired of trudging and had lost the patience to get close enough to not have the need to shout.

The Ghost looked up from a dilapidated truck he was scanning, previously unaware of his approaching company. The Ghost’s shell had a thick crust of rust and oil, covered in deep scars- if one could call them scars.

“Hi my name’s Nkechi, Nkechi Thirty-Two. And this is my Ghost, Agu”

“Well how do you do, Miss Nkechi. Agu.” The Ghost chirped back.

“Where’s your Guardian?” Nkechi inquired wondering if her counterpart was in an equally poor condition. Or if not, how they could let their Ghost get so dirty and damaged.

“Oh I haven’t found my Guardian yet, I’m actually looking for them right now.”

Agu could hear the slight sadness in his voice despite his chipper attitude. She recognised the longing- That yearning, that all Ghosts seem to be burdened with until they find their spark.

“What’d you do to your shell?” Agu asked in intrigue. “You look like if a scrapyard were a person.”

“I think he looks more like pulled pork” Nkechi interjected

“Ohhhh… You know what? I see it. Yeah, he does” agreed Agu quickly circling the run-down Ghost before returning to hover by her spark’s shoulder

The Guardian and her two Ghost companions strolled through the ancient city for a while as the little robot in desperate need of repair thoroughly looked over broken down vehicles, rocks, industrial machinery- Anything

“I don’t think pulled pork over here’s gonna find a Guardian anytime soon. Look! He’s just scanning rocks. Literal rocks.” Agu said in a hushed voice to Nkechi

“Well think about it. The little guy’ll find someone that way eventually, right? If he leaves no stone unturned, its bound to happen.” Nkechi’s confidence in their new friend reminded Agu why she loves her Guardian. “So, you got a name pulled pork?” Nkechi asked the little drone as he gently puttered through a car window.

“No one has ever given me one, Miss Nkechi Thirty-Two. Who would?”

“I suppose your Guardian will. I named Agu. Its short for- “

Nkechi cut herself short. The trio now found themselves on the ground floor of an office building. Or perhaps it wasn’t the ground floor. It was hard to tell with these huge mounds of sand hugging the city so tightly that almost every building was being choked by an impossible amount of red dust. The room they were in looked as if it used to have large windows all along one wall. But now it was a single incredibly big opening where the desert had flooded in.

Half buried and in several scattered pieces, lay a skeleton that looked like it’d turn to a cloud of dust upon even the slightest disturbance. The trio stared in silence for a moment, then that silence was broken by Agu’s impatient yet encouraging voice. “Well? This could be your chance. What are you waiting for Pulled Pork?”

“I don’t know… Shouldn’t I… You know. Feel something? I just feel normal. What would I say to them if it worked? What was it like when you resurrected Miss Nkechi?”

“Hey, hey easy there! You’re going to blow a bulb. Don’t stress about it. Cross those bridges when you get to them. For now, just look, pay attention. Can you see it? That spark. That little light inside that calls to you. Look carefully and you will know if you’ve found your charge.” Agu was surprised to hear herself being so supportive and encouraging. Especially to someone she’d only met a little while ago. But the truth is she knew this wasn’t going to be the Ghost’s other half. There’d be no hesitation, and right away he’d know what he would have to do. It’d almost happen automatically. Nonetheless Agu and Nkechi watched as their new friend slowly approached the remains. He looked long and hard, almost as if he were reading if this were to be his Guardian or not. Then, long streams of blue light poured from his eye and slowly crept up each and every bone. Each vertebra, each rib, until finally he reached the tip of the skull. Pulled Pork paused and looked up.

“I don’t think this is the one.” He said glancing at the bones and back. “It just felt the same as when I scan anything else”

“Maybe because that person is practically just dust” Nkechi quipped before being nudged by Agu- The way one nudges in an absence of elbows, a way that says ‘Oh shut up’