One day, I was watching TV with Carlos when Mama came home early from work. I wanted to keep watching my show about the puppies because they always had fun adventures I wanted to do someday. Mama asked me to turn it off, even though we were at the best part, they were about to save their friend from the volcano. I did what she said, even though I really wanted to see how they saved them. Grandma always told me I needed to listen to my elders because they knew what was best for me.
After I turned off the TV, Mama gave me a super cool bag with my favorite puppies from the puppy show I was just watching. Mama said that I would start going to school next week, now that I was 6. This bag was for me to fill with all the school stuff I would need. I was so excited. I knew this meant I was going to be a big boy for the first time.
I forgot all about the Puppy show and started asking my Mama all sorts of questions about what school would be like. She told me to look in the bag and ask Carlos to show me how to use everything I found.
When I opened the bag, it was filled with all kinds of things. There was a whole new set of crayons inside. I thought we already had so many colors in Carlos’ pack, even though the blue was already used up, but this one was even bigger. I did not know there were so many colors in the whole world. I could not even count as high as the number of crayons in the pack, and I could count all the way to 30. Now I wouldn't have to use the messy paints when Carlos didn't want to share.
I had a whole workbook full of letters and numbers to practice with. Carlos said I would get bored with practicing my letters and numbers soon, but I was going to be super good at school, so I'd do it anyway. There were two new coloring books in the bag, too. I had a book with blank pages, so I could make up whatever I wanted and draw in it all on my own. Everything was so colorful, I felt more excited than when I got three whole books for my birthday. One of those three new books was about dragons, so I didn't think it was possible to get an even better present than that.
There were lots of other things in the bag that I did not know what they were for. Carlos took me into our room to show me what I was supposed to do with all the cool stuff I found in the bag. He showed me everything: pencils, pencil sharpeners, and an eraser. Carlos showed me how to use them all. The pencil wasn't very colorful, but it was pretty magical because you could make it disappear with the eraser. There was a cool lunchbox with an extra awesome skateboarder guy on it.
When I heard I'd have to eat lunch at school, too, it made me nervous. I had never been away from Grandma or Mama for that long. Carlos said that if I wanted to be a big boy like him, I would have to do lots of things on my own. I was scared, but I would do it because I was a big boy, and that means I can do lots of things now. We kept going through everything in the bag. There was a binder for holding loose papers, and folders to separate the different subjects.
I didn’t know what the different subjects were, but Carlos said there were a lot of them. He said his favorite subject was PE, and it sounded fun, but I was most excited about Art. I was going to try super hard for them all, even maths, which sounded extra hard.
When we came back out of our room after playing with everything I had gotten for school, both Mama and Grandma were watching the TV. I was getting hungry for dinner, so I ran over to Mama and jumped on her lap. I asked what was for dinner, but she told me to be quiet for a bit. Mama had the serious tone she used when I had done something wrong, but I hadn't done anything bad today.
I just sat in her lap as she watched the TV. It had the News on instead of anything I wanted to watch. I had a hard time concentrating on what they were saying because they said everything in a boring adult voice.
“Advent Systems has just moments ago announced their newest technology, The Infinity System. As we all know, Advent Systems is known for its cutting-edge medical technology. Though it is expensive, everyone who uses the Phoenix System swears it has changed their life.”
Grandma made an unhappy sound when the news person said this.
“That Phoenix System costs more than this house for a single treatment. No one I have ever met is swearing about anything except how it is just a cheat for rich people.”
Grandma was still paying close attention to the TV even though she seemed unhappy. “If the information that has been supplied about the Infinity System is accurate, it is astonishing that Advent was able to prevent any leaks about this technology until they made this announcement just moments ago.
The extent to which the Phoenix System repairs your body is well documented. To those who have not had the luxury of going through the process, I will share a few details about what takes place. When you undergo the Phoenix treatment, you undergo an extensive suite of medical tests to identify anything in your body that is not functioning optimally. Then, Advent programs a nanobot swarm to fix all the issues that were found. Finally, you are put into an extended sleep. During that sleep, you are injected with the single-use programmed nanobot swarm, and all identified improvements and repairs are made while you are asleep over the following 48 hours.
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This technology revolutionized the medical industry. The Infinity system promises to do even more. According to the information Advent has provided, the new Nanobots are no longer single-use and will remain in your body after installation. This is why they call it the infinity system. This change to the technology is incredible, but Advent says that not only does Infinity function like a perpetual Phoenix System, but it also offers even more functions.”
I didn’t know what they were talking about. I knew that a Phoenix was a cool firebird from this book of mine. It was about two brothers who went to find a way to bring their mama back from the dead because they were so sad. They try to find a Phoenix, thinking it will know how to bring someone back from the dead, but it doesn't, and it chases them off for bothering it. It was a sad story because they could never save their mama, but the brothers learned to rely on each other. I knew I relied on Carlos, but I don’t know if he relies on me.
I ran to get the book from my bookshelf. I was hoping Mama would read it to me tonight when it was bedtime. When I came back from my room with the book in my hand, Carlos had sat down in front of Mama on the carpet and was also watching the boring News.
“Standing next to me is one of the first voluntary users of The Infinity System, Derrick Biggens.
‘How long have you been using the Infinity system?’
‘It has been about three months now. I struggle to think of what life would be without it. It has changed so much about how I approach the world.
‘Are these changes to your approach to the world because of the status screen that is included with this system?’
‘Yes, that is part of it, but knowing that the skills that I gain with The Infinity System will never fade, and the physical and mental improvements I accomplish will stay with me forever, even if I don’t use them for years, motivates me to dedicate so much more of my efforts to improving. It seems like the reverse would be true, after all, there is no need for constant effort to keep your body, mind, and skills sharp, but that has not turned out to be true for me or any of the other beta testers. We are all trying to see how capable we can become.”
There you have it, folks, this new Infininity System is more than a fancy evaluation tool with the ability to keep you at the optimal state physically. It is something that can change your life in countless ways. The question in everyone’s mind is what the price is going to be for this world-changing system.”
I started tugging on Mama’s sleeve because I wanted to show her the book I had picked out for bedtime. She finally paid attention to me after Grandma turned off the TV.
“Yes, that is nice, hunny. I will make sure I make all the different voices when I read tonight.”
Mama still seemed to be extra serious because of the News. She looked over at Grandma and said.
“What do you think, Mom, is this going to change anything?”
She did not call Grandma Mom unless she needed to talk about something super adult. I decided I still needed to be quiet, so I hugged Mama’s leg as she talked to Grandma.
“I don’t know, Maria, this new System sounds like magic. I don’t think anyone we know will ever be able to afford it, but that doesn't mean it won't change things. When those with all the power grow stronger, it can only mean they will push harder on those beneath them.”
Sometimes Grandma said things in a way you knew they were supposed to be important. I always tried to remember what she said, even if I did not understand it. If I keep remembering it until I learn a bunch of stuff in school, I am sure I will understand it then. I could ask my teacher what it means when I get to school in a week.
Mama kept talking to Grandma while I tried to remember what Grandma had said.
“It just makes me so mad. These people have all the money, and now they can try less and get even more. This feels like there is no hope for anyone who is not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I know I sacrificed my chance to make something of myself so my babies could have a better life. I just want both Carlos and Jaun to have the best opportunities in the world.
I would do anything to give my babies something that could help them get ahead, like the Infinity System. If they had something like that, it would not matter where they started; they could just keep working hard and get all the way to the top.”
Grandma sounded mean when she responded to Mama, and it scared me a little bit.
“It does not matter what you want. You're always looking at everything through a lens of light and optimism. The world does not work like that. People are trying to scrape by and can only look out for themselves, sometimes not even that.”
Juan did not like it when Grandma and Mama fought. It made him feel like they were upset with him. His Mama was talking about him and Carlos when Grandma started getting upset. Jaun thought he had done something wrong, so he decided to try to make them feel better.
“Grandma, Mama. I am going to be super good at school. I promise to be so good that I don’t need anything that costs lots and lots to get to the top. That way, you don’t need to worry, Grandma, and you can be happy, Mama.”
When I said this, both looked at me and smiled. Then Mama went into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.
I am glad that I was good at making people feel better. Sometimes I thought that Carlos was good at everything else, but I was good at making people happy.
