“The air is better today,” Simon agreed as they walked into the garage. He helped Tilly up into the back of the hover as Nora started the engine. A renewed focus to gather as much as he could had solidified during the night, after he took inventory of everything in the house and found it inadequate.
Tilly grinned widely, clutching her doll to her chest as she put the seatbelt on.
Nora turned to him as soon as they cleared the garage and the long road toward her house. “Okay. Same spot good, or do you know of anywhere else we should look?”
Simon knew of several, but there also were a lot of items that he had left the first time at the mall where he was discovered. As much as he didn’t want to return there, now that he had a better idea of what was prized, he could source the valuable items more easily. “Same place right now, the mall, but I do know of others later.”
“Alright.”
Once they got there, Simon shooed them to the side, more assertively pointing out a safe spot relatively flat and close to where he was going. The goal to find more for trade to help replenish Nora's supplies had taken priority in his processors.
It warmed him to see Nora still wringing her hands though, watching and telling him to be careful. Her obvious concern was touching, but unnecessary. Simon, now that he had a better idea what to get, tore apart internal pockets in the mall in the areas where it had not fully collapsed. His hands tested and moved the ancient concrete with ease, until he actually needed to breathe to bring in air to cool off his processors.
Yes.He grinned down at the cleared area. There, contained within the previously inaccessible sections, was a treasure trove, almost a time capsule of humanity. He gathered some items in his arms and walked back outside, eager to show Nora.
“Woah, Simon,” was Nora’s reply as he brought out magazines in plastic, along with other items.
The pure wonder on her face satisfied him. He added the picture to his memories.Such excitement.He held up his finds besides the magazine she first looked at. A stapler still in its plastic clamshell packaging, only barely rusted within due to water not being able to penetrate. Two video game cartridges all wrapped up. “All of these were common in my time.”
“Common?”
“Yes.” Simon’s eyes lit up looking at Nora’s face just as much as hers did when she saw the packaging, and what was inside.
He regarded Nora’s arms, now filled with things that made it seem like she had just been to the store in his time. That is, if one could ignore the aged, yellowed packaging.
“This is . . . incredible.” Her eyes were shiny and bright, tugging at Simon’s emotions.
“There is more,” Simon said. He didn’t wait for Nora’s reply before he went back.
“Okay. Well, I’ll just start putting these in the hover,” he heard her yell as he entered again.
Soon the entire hover was filled with trinkets and history, an average shopping trip in Simon’s time if you could ignore the signs of age.
“Wish Max didn’t know about you and I could avoid going to him for everything. I would love to spread all this out to get more,” Nora said, attempting to pack the delicate items in a box in the back so they wouldn’t move around.
“Here, let me help.” Simon strapped the findings down further so nothing would slide with some rope he’d brought from the garage. It felt good to see so many items. Simon swallowed.This has to help.
Nora backed up and let him take over the organizing, more structured than she originally had it, while she turned the items over in her hands. “If the gang knows this much stuff is still out here people might start scavenging again though.”
Simon handed one of the emergency power scooters to Tilly to make room while he organized the boxes. “The items can be spaced out.”
“Yeah. At the very least I’ll give a bit to Anna too to turn in on her own. In case she ever needs any money. Heaven knows she’s helped feed us sometimes when things were lean. Those months right after I had Tilly were hard.” Nora held up a magazine. “I kinda want to try to read a few of these myself. The pictures look so crazy.”
On the cover there was a heavily photoshopped picture of a woman standing next to an android. Nora pointed to the woman’s flawless face, the only imperfection being the distorted color from the age of the paper and a few tears around the edges. She held the magazine next to her face and smiled, trying to match the same serene expression. “Did people really look like this, Simon? No one I’ve ever seen does.”
Simon examined the airbrushed photos in disdain, vastly preferring Nora’s face next to it. “No, not really. They used a computer to make the image look different. More perfect. And all the angles are exaggerated.”
The magazine dropped a little in Nora’s hand. “So nothing is real?”
Simon scanned closer. “The android is accurate. That was a female model.”
Nora tapped the front of the photo. “A computer, huh.”
The magazine she held was put in a box on its own up front to keep from damaging the pages. Nora kept her eyes on it, flipping through a few more pages before sealing it away. Her face was scrunched. “This would fetch so much money but . . .” She pointed to the caption. “Look, this says it has android information in here. I can still sell the magazine after we read it. I never get to see old stuff like this.”
Simon, now finished packing, stood next to Nora as dutifully as he once did for his hated mistress while she shopped. Only instead of holding designer clothing, he held more ancient magazines as Nora sorted through what he carried in his arms. The area that he had found was a checkout aisle, so there were several magazines lined up to be taken, many sealed in plastic bags that had kept them relatively intact.
Soon they were packed up, the emergency scooters fitted back in around the boxes. As they drove home Simon had a moment of melancholy, still holding one of the magazines, the picture of the artificially perfect female standing next to an android on the cover. The letters underneath said,“It’s easy to look good when your android has the newest beauty uploads!”
