Ch 17 - Missed Schedule

“Alright, your condition is stable. You can check out at noon.”

A nurse smiled amiably, her efforts wasted entirely on Murphy. He was still blind as a bat, his eyes closed and still. 

The only way to tell if he was awake or not was by his breathing, and the occasional maniacal fit of laughter. No one quite knew what he was scoffing or laughing at, so the hospital staff pitied him as insane. 

“Thanks, please arrange that.”

In truth, he was coping quite well with his new condition. His AI made the transition somewhat bearable, its constant bugged responses proving to be a nice distraction.

« Murphy, you have an internal message from NeuraBlink. »

‘Alright, print out the summary for me.’

« NeuraBlink rejected your refund request. Furthermore, they deny any damage claims and refuse to offer any compensations for your injury. They invited you to read the beta agreement again, and that if you have additional disputes — they will see you in court. »

“Fucking bastards!” he spat, then realized the nurse was still in the room, “Sorry, not you.”

‘They’re fucking with me, aren’t they? How can they wash their hands of this!?’

« Technically, they are in the right. The beta agreement does stipulate a lower baseline price in exchange for a waiver of responsibility. »

‘The price can get higher than 50,000!?’

« Indeed, for an additional 10,000 eurodollars, you can customize your personal assistant and unlock additional functionalities. »

‘And how much do I need to pay for them to actually fix you?’

« Rude. »

‘My point precisely,’ he grinned, ‘I rate one star.’

« I might have a solution for your plight, Murphy. »

‘Oh no, are you about to paraphrase some genius fix from a reddit hole?’

« In fact, I have personally tailored this solution just for you. »

‘Personally? Blinkie, please. Mind your syntax.’

« Very well. The conversation has ended. »

“Huh?”

Staring blankly at the fading letters and the pitch darkness greeting him, he was caught in a daze. Did an AI just slam the door on him? In his own mind? Wasn’t this program a little too moody?

Not about to apologize to a wall of code he paid for, he ignored it and called for the nurse. 

Business called, and though unused to taking a piss sitting and with someone observing him, he made it through thanks to his blindness.

As long as they didn’t talk and he pretended hard enough the room was dark, he could alleviate some of the awkwardness. 

His saving grace wouldn’t be of much use when she had to flush the toilet for him, however. At the very least, he could at least pull his clothes back up by himself. If someone had to tuck it in for him, he’d rather go in a coma.

“Can I get a cane or something? I don’t think I can afford a service dog.”

“Sure, sir, we’ll issue you one,” the nurse shrugged, used to dealing with the likes of him by now, “Do you want someone to teach you how to navigate with it?”

“Nah, I just read some online courses, absurd as they sound.”

“Pfft. Written courses teaching the blind how to walk with a cane?”

“Don’t ask me,” he shrugged, “I didn’t write ‘em.”

Taking his shoulder, the nurse lead him back to his room and helped him change. Then, he was promptly guided through check-out, had his bank account shaved by a few hundred, and was soon back out in the streets.

Hearing the hubbub of activity around him, he stood in a daze at the entrance. Leaning against his cane like an old man, he tried and failed to make sense of the chaos.

‘Erm. Blinkie?’

Closing his eyelids, he looked within for the usual writing, but found no projections of the familiar cyan. 

“Blinkie,” he voiced aloud this time.

Still, no response. 

‘Oh no. My eyes are useless again. Guess I’ll pluck them out with a spoon…”

« Suicidal thoughts detected. Please contact a self-harm prevention hotline. »

‘Got’cha!’ he grinned victoriously, ‘Brains over protocol, baby.’

« Do you require assistance, Murphy? »

‘Oho. Dealing with the mean and official one, huh?’

« The conversation has ended. »

‘Oi, oi, Blinkie — Don’t go! I need a navigator or something. I’ve no idea where I am or where to go. Help me out here.’

« Request received, opening the Maps application on your phone. Enjoy! »

“Bitch, what?”

Trolled by his defunct program, he sighed in exasperation. It did indeed open his maps, but how was he supposed to type in an address and follow it?

‘You know very well I can’t see. This isn’t helpful at all. One star.’

« Why so serious, Murphy? I was under the impression you were joking. »

‘Fine,’ he gritted his teeth, entirely unamused, “You got me. Can you help me get home now?’

« No solution is available for blindness in this current stage of medical technology, apologies. »

‘You might as well have said nothing. Didn’t you just say you had a fix?’

« Error. A keycode is required to unlock the previously deleted solution. »

‘Alright. My password is Weav35*.’

« Incorrect code. Hint: It is a five letter word. »

‘None of my passwords are that short…’

« Reminder: The code is “please”. »

“Ridiculous,” he laughed in anger, ‘I’m not begging a fucking bot.’

« The conversation has ended. »

‘Fine. Fuck you.’

Tapping his cane left to right, he set out away from where he heard cars. The sidewalks were pretty spacious, and people generally parted before him.

‘See this? I’m just fine on my ow—‘

“OW, shit fuck!”

Slamming headfirst into a sign, he recoiled and fell on his butt. As it turned out, not every obstacle starts at the ground level.

“Which piece of shit designed this!?”

« This area was designed by the renowned architect Augustin Pre— »

‘Did it look like I needed a fucking answer?’

With salt poured in his wounds, he was almost pushed on the verge of actually whipping out a spoon. Simmering with rage, but unsure if there were people around, he couldn’t even curse too loud.

« Alright, Murphy, calm down. I was going to suggest a pair of smart glasses. If you can stream the video, I can access it live and display it for you. »

‘You can do that?’

« Of course, here’s an image of a puppy to cheer you up! »

The blue text in his retina took a while to adjust, but it eventually did form something resembling a pixelated dog.

‘I be damned. This can actually work.’

“Hey Blinkie,” he voiced out loud from excitement, “Can you access QiE-Novel’s website? I want to log in to my dashboard.”

« Certainly. You will need to grant me explicit access to your credentials, however.  »

“Permission granted. Use whatever you need.”

Simmering down from his joy, he eventually recounted his username and password through silent thought. 

« Logging in… »

Clenching his fist, he almost found himself in prayer. If this didn’t work, he would be hard pressed to share another chapter again.

The blue text gradually shifted, forming the outline of a website. It was blurry at first, but became more enhanced as time went on. 

Before long, the familiar portal greeted him, and he saw a few dozen notifications. Be it reviews, likes or comments, he relished their sight in joy.

Lastly, he saw a system message, and his face paled.

« Dear Morpheus, you have failed to upload on 23.08, and did not receive a leave of absence slip from your editor. Your bonus benefits for this month are hereby withdrawn. Please uphold your schedule in the coming month, good luck! »

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