Creation

Mikey’s apartment was, and always would be, a total pig sty. Clothes were strewn everywhere almost all the time, with the minor exceptions of just after Gerard had made a visit to the Laundromat, but the mess soon picked up again every time. The largest amount of free space that existed was the kitchen, because all Gerard and Mikey really needed to live was a coffee maker, a microwave and a takeout menu, and very small amounts of other food items. The bedroom was the worst , ‘bedroom’ being singular, because being as simple-lived as they were, they only had a one bedroom apartment, and really, that was mostly because they couldn’t afford anything more. Mikey and Gerard had a kind of business going that brought in a small amount of income. Mikey had a small web-based clothing shop, selling mostly t-shirts, hoodies and bags, but they had plans for starting to sell some plimsolls or something, too. Gerard would create simple designs, even though he didn’t like them all that much. He wanted to draw zombies and superheroes, but the clothes were aimed at the freestyle market, much to his dismay. But that market brought in the most profit, and that was all that mattered at this stage. Gerard was trying to get a job, but unfortunately, his history of drug and alcohol abuse was on his electronic record, and not even the comic book store would take him. The same went for Mikey, but he wasn’t looking for a job, too busy with the internet. He was a little bit of a hacker. He insisted he was only a little bit of a hacker, and he was certain that his crimes were victimless. Nobody believed him.

So, yes, their bedroom was the worst. They had two separate beds, but they lived in one of the more dodgy areas of New Jersey, which really is saying quite a lot, and the heating was constantly cutting out. Mikey had complained several times to Gerard on his regular rants that in this day and age, he’d have thought that technology had reached the point where even the cheapest residences in New Jersey would be functional enough to support human life, and that it was 2063 already, where are all the human rights standards? God clearly wasn’t listening or just didn’t care about New Jersey or hackers to any extent, because the heating still cut out again no matter how much effort Mikey put into his rants. When it did, it became impossible to sleep if you didn’t conserve body heat, so they would push their beds together and get out the double duvet.

Having said that, it was rare for the pair of them to stick to the social norms of sleeping. Mikey’s peak time was usually between 9pm and 4am, and during these hours he was usually online talking to his friends, all of whom were technologically gifted in some way, trading the latest programming tips or spreading rumours. Gerard rarely slept, and when he did, it was on a pretty random schedule; he had a couple of hours here and a couple of hours there, and in between he was either working on his art or peering interestedly at what Mikey and his “shifty hacker people” were talking about.

This time, it was 10pm and Gerard had surfaced from his own little world of creativity to peer over Mikey’s shoulder at the screen of his modified Linux computer. “Something kicking off?”

“Hmm, yeah.” Mikey didn’t remove his eyes from the screen, and continued to tap the keys at lightning speed. “Rumours. No big deal, really.”

Gerard produced a dining chair from the corner of the room, somewhere under a pile of clothes and, for some reason, loose wires, and brought it up next to Mikey so he could have a good look at the conversation. He spent several moments reading over what was being rapidly passed between Mikey and what looked like a good six or so other people before asking, “Then why are you so excited about...” he trailed off to read the forum title. “Rumours of Apple planning a secret operation to build a human being?”

“I’m not excited. I’m interested,” he said with humour in his voice. He was tapping more furiously now, trying to get a message through before he had any interruptions. Gerard couldn’t comprehend Mikey’s typing speed, ever.

Gerard leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands behind his head and yawning. “How would that work?”

Mikey made a vague, absent noise of curiosity, and when he had still received no response a few seconds later, he tore his eyes away from the screen to look a little further in the general direction of Gerard. “How would what work?”

“That,” Gerard said, indicating to the screen. “Building a human being. Could they do that?”

Mikey paused. “Theoretically.”

“That’s a yes, then?”

Mikey leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. He slowly turned his head to face Gerard fully, and cautiously said, “Yes,” as if he might get struck if he gave the wrong answer.

“You think so?”

He went back to typing. “Yes, I think it’s possible. I just don’t think Apple would have been given the permissions to do it.”

“Unethical, right. So there aren’t going to be person-bots walking the streets anytime soon?” Gerard asked, but Mikey didn’t answer. His attention seemed to have been momentarily grasped by something being said on the screen by one of the strangers, which read:

‘got info that pilot models have been randomly allocated to citizens of U.S.’

Mikey instantly replied, ‘for??’

‘for ecological testing of pilot models’
‘source says they’ll be delivered at 12pm tomorrow night’

“Wow,” Gerard commented. “Seems possible now, no?”

“Not at all,” Mikey said suddenly and stubbornly. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he said as he typed out, ‘what’s your source’.

“You think it could be true,” Gerard said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Gerard knew his little brother better than anyone else. Gerard knew an excited and hopeful Mikey when he saw one. Onscreen, a message appeared.

‘Apple itself my man’, it read, followed by a message from another individual. ‘Confirmed, source is Apple, project is no myth guys, everyone keep in touch or prepare to die!!!’

“Mikey?” Gerard asked, wary. “Is this a big deal?”

“Yes,” Mikey said. He sounded breathless, like he’d just been winded. “Yes,” he repeated. “This is a big deal. This is...” he trailed off, standing. “This is a huge deal. I don’t.” He started to pace, looking back and forth between the screen and his path of pacing. “I don’t know what to do with myself. This is huge!”

“What does this mean?”

“This is revolutionary. This is unheard of. This is...” Mikey paused, taking in deep breaths. His hands went to his head, pulling at his hair. “This is incredible.”

Gerard stood, rubbing Mikey’s upper back soothingly. “Well, that’s nice to know.”

“Gerard, you clearly don’t understand. You’re underwhelmed Gerard, completely underwhelmed!”

Gerard sighed, smiling. “Mikey, with you, everything is overwhelming. I’m used to it.” He began to walk to the kitchen, and at the doorway, he turned back to ask, “Coffee?”

If Mikey’s adoring expression was anything to go by, the answer was yes.