Ramona sat in her armchair, upside down of course, while reading her paper. “So we’re calling these System bombers ‘anti-bytes’ now,” I heard her say as I wiped down the kitchen counters. I wasn’t entirely sure if she was talking to me or herself.
“Aejiorwehfiojdoght the Strokes were the problem,” she continued. “Of course the System would retaliate wwejtoiewmfklshtijeowklrfmekdsed. All anyone had to do was leave the System alone – bytes are perfectly happy to keep to themselves.”
I froze. Had I heard her right? I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Hm?” Ramona replied, looking my way as if she just noticed I was there. So she was talking to herself.
I turned around fully, crossing my arms as I spoke. “Did you just say bytes are ‘perfectly happy’?”
“Yes. It’s the truth.”
I took a deep breath in, briefly glancing away. I could not believe what I was hearing! “Why would you possibly think that?” I asked. “What gave you that idea?”
“Because of the journals,” Ramona replied.
All I could do was give her a blank stare. What in the world was she talking about? Ramona suddenly sat upright in her chair with an excited smile, her eyes gleaming.
“There are historical records,” she began, “from before the System was founded. People were excited it was being built and… I can show you.” Ramona abruptly stood from her chair and waved for me to follow her.
Which I did. Out of our apartment, through the streets of Illagu, into a library. Ramona walked up to a counter where a woman sat, stamping through a stack of books.
“Hello, Olivia,” Ramona called.
The woman, Olivia looked up, blinking in surprise. “Ramona, I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I want to show my friend Dax the journals,” Ramona replied through a grin.
At that, Olivia immediately led us to a back room where she carefully laid out several dusty books onto a table. Ramona, now with gloves on, turned the pages of the books to where she wanted.
The entries Ramona showed me were written strangely with odd spellings and outdated grammar. But they were understandable enough that I could see what Ramona had told me was true. People of the past had been excited to be part of the System. They referred to her as a safe haven, an escape. Several entries mentioned the System would protect them from a war. That sounded familiar.
I frowned at Ramona. “Maybe the original bytes were happy,” I admitted, “but things are different now. The System’s changed and she’s only grown worse.”
Ramona’s smile faded. She muttered something about context as she carefully closed the journals. A line from one caught my eye, a line that seemed pleased magic would be against the rules in the System.
I glanced at Olivia, who was closely watching Ramona as she shut the remaining journals. “Do you have any books on magic?” I asked Olivia.
She turned to me with a shining smile. “Plenty.”
To be continued…