“Can you please try again?” Zenith sounded exasperated.
“Sir, unfortunately, this is the best I can do with the credits you have” An AVITA responded in a voice that was borderline mechanical.
Zenith yearned for the time when humans used to be customer service agents a century ago; they were probably more reasonable. AVITA (or Automated Voice Interface Ticketing Assistant) like other voice assistants had replaced all customer service reps.
Zenith was eagerly looking forward to this trip to his hometown on Mars after his semester at Terran University on Earth ended this week. He’d lived frugally last semester and saved enough credits to travel in a Decalon home, but the tickets were hard to come by. Resigned to his fate, Zenith prepared himself to travel in a slower “Centrain” which would take around 10 hours instead of an hour in a Decalon.
As he adjusted himself to a narrow seat on the coach of a Centrain, he saw a Cyb taking a seat facing him.
“This day just gets worse, now I have to stare at a Cyb the whole journey,” Zenith muttered to himself.
“I hope this day only gets better from here unless there is one more catastrophe in store for me. What was that Terran expression - Bad luck comes in 3,” Zenith mused
Cyborgs or Cybs were folks with handicaps who enhanced their bodies with biomechanical parts. They were kind of looked down upon for their looks and this particular Cyb sitting opposite Zenith was definitely not a looker either. He seemed to be in his late forties with half of his face in wheatish metallic color. His right eye had red pupils. He had crisp black hair which seemed like a hairpiece. Clearly, he had been in some accident where he lost the right half of his body but Zenith had no sympathy for him. He did look sturdy and when he sat down, he heard some creaking sound. All these gears and wiring has made him more than a functioning member of society. He could do feats Zenith could only dream off. This was the crux of hatred of humans towards Cybs, the enhancements which make them superhuman.
As this Cyb sat down, he smiled at Zenith weakly. Zenith chose to ignore and tried to look somewhere else. Best avoid contact with a Cyb at any cost. A Cyb equality movement has been going on in the last decade and it has turned particularly violent with a faction of Cybs and sympathizers resorting to terrorism. Zenith was even warier of traveling in a Centrain with a Cyb now.
The Centrain jolted above and soon reached escape velocity. Zenith was counting hours now. An hour into the journey, Cyb slowly woke up and checked his luggage at the top by opening and closing it and went towards the next coach. 10 min, 30 min, 45 min - Zenith realized something was amiss. He was scared and he started asking other co-passengers where the Cyb went. They just shrugged. Zenith, now in panic mode, alerted the Centrain security who arrived quickly and Zenith pointed them to his bag. As the security was rummaging through his belongings, the Cyb came back limping. While he was questioned, he mentioned he had a neck gear malfunction which took time to fix in the restroom. The Cyb was embarrassed and was looking at everyone. Zenith felt a bit bad about it but he brushed his feelings off that a Cyb deserves it for being a Cyb.
The Cyb after settling slowly and repacking his bags - kept a sandwich on the side. Expecting a shorter journey, Zenith didn’t pack any food and felt pangs of hunger. His eyes darted here and there and while pausing at the sandwich. The Cyb was more perceptive and offered Zenith another Sandwich he packed while smiling weakly. A seed of acceptance was planted in Zenith’s mind as it grew further in this interplanetary journey.