Short fiction from a recent writing project. Feature image from Unsplash
The next day, Arthur was still feeling unaccountably argumentative. He started a fight with Tom about covid for no reason.
"You're just parroting lies," said Arthur.
"Of course vaccination stops the virus from spreading!" said Tom.
"Not according to the data," said Arthur. "The virus has no problem spreading through vaccinated populations."
"Next you're going to bring up Bill Gates and 5G," said Tom.
"I'm just saying that nothing we've done has stopped the virus from spreading," said Arthur. "Not the lockdowns. Not the masks. Not the vaccine. None of it stopped the spread. And the people in charge must've known that none of this stuff would stop the virus from spreading. It's like the whole thing is some kind of act. A performance displaying conformity. A charade."
"Hey, my grandma died from it," said Tom. "If they had the vaccine then, she might have lived."
"Now, see, the data does support that idea," said Arthur. "It protects against severe illness if the virus is contracted. But the vaccine doesn't stop the virus from spreading."
"Whatever, man," said Tom, heading for the door. "I've gotta go."
Alone with his thoughts, Arthur felt on edge. Agitated. This was unusual. At some point yesterday, he'd gone from being agreeable to being contrarian. And this last conversation was evidence that he remained in such a state.
Arthur meditated for half an hour and felt more himself. But he suspected that his newfound tranquility was fragile. It might not survive contact with another person. Regardless, it was Arthur's day off and he wanted to do something. So he texted Zelda, who surprised Arthur by agreeing to meet him.
The Vietnamese restaurant where they met wasn't crowded. Arthur managed small talk without starting any trouble. Then the food came. "Have you ever just wanted to fight?" he asked. "With everyone about everything?"
"It's called a bad mood," said Zelda. "They happen."
"Mine's been going since yesterday," said Arthur. "Today I fought with my roommate about the virus. You believe that?"
"So why call me?" asked Zelda. "You want to fight?"
"Maybe," said Arthur. "What's your stance on 3-D printed ghost guns? Because I favor them."
"You what?" asked Zelda.
"Why shouldn't everyone be able to make untraceable ghost guns in the comfort of their own homes?" asked Arthur. "It's a free country."
"Yesterday it was ghosting and today it's ghost guns," said Zelda. "I'm not going to fight with you about that. You sound like a libertarian. Think of something better."
Arthur grinned. "You think of something better," he said.
"I quit my job today," said Zelda. "Over bullshit. The company provides webmail with custom addresses. People are promised two gigs of storage when they pay for the service. But after less than a hundred megs, the company tells customers that their storage limit has been reached and forces them to pay for a service upgrade. Like I said, bullshit. So today, I finally just had enough and quit."
"What company?" asked Arthur.
"Ionos," said Zelda.
"Yeah, they suck," said Arthur. "What are you going to do now?"
"No idea," said Zelda. "What do you do?"
"Make web apps," said Arthur. "But I never get to do the fun part."
"There's a fun part?" said Zelda.
"The creative stuff," said Arthur. "I just do grunt work."
"You really think everyone should have ghost guns?" asked Zelda.
"Not really," said Arthur. "I just saw a video about them and thought they looked cool."
"If we're going to fight, it should be about something we both actually care about," said Zelda.
"Okay," said Arthur. "The truth? I think society should just fucking collapse already. Everything is already getting shittier and shittier. Why not just give up and start over already?"
"Start over how?" asked Zelda.
"Cancel all debt," said Arthur. "Form a new government. Make all corporations worker-owned. Change everything."
"And what about the people who depend on the system?" asked Zelda.
"There are two winners in the current system," said Arthur. "Rich old men and attractive young women. Our whole society is designed around keeping these two kinds of people happy. I say fuck that."
"And I call bullshit," said Zelda. "Do you seriously not see how oppressed women are? Look at the Texas abortion law."
"Texas is a fair point," said Arthur. "But I'm talking about the fine structure of the social fabric. The credit game. Incarceration rate disparities. Power in social media."
"Jesus, you sound like an incel!" said Zelda.
"And you sound like someone who treats men like disposable commodities while secretly thinking women should run the world," said Arthur. "But if that attitude is any indication, a world run by women would suck more than this garbage fire we've already got."
"I don't treat men like disposable commodities," said Zelda, who did in fact treat men that way.
"Oh?" said Arthur. "Maybe you tell yourself the story that all men are creeps and then only date creeps to prove yourself right again and again?"
"For your information," said Zelda. "I was thrilled when you texted today. I thought maybe I'd finally met someone nice."
"And I thought I'd just be going on yet another first date with someone who wouldn't give me the time of day if she had anything else going on at all," said Arthur.
"Whatever," said Zelda. "I mean, you're not wrong. But do you have to be such a jerk about it?"
"Sorry," said Arthur. "I just can't pretend like any of this is okay anymore. It's like a switch flipped in my mind yesterday and now suddenly I've got no filter."
"Aww," said Zelda. "You're just a nobody who thinks he deserves a better life. That's probably hard. I won't take it personally."
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