The naked old man setting on the bench was obviously crazy. He was taking a huge risk by breathing unfiltered air, but somehow did not seem sick. He was eating some sort of strange manna, but that did not seen to harm him either. He actually looked vibrant for his age. I knew that I should get away from him quickly. As soon as a sidewalk camera or a drone focused on him, the authorities would come and take him away, and me with him if they determined him to be contaminated. It was dangerous, but I had to pause a little when he focused his eyes on me. He really was a strange sight. I think he was not even connected and was making a strange sound with his lips.

That sound. What was it? I am sure I had never heard such a thing before, but there was something familiar about it. It was as if he was trying to communicate with me and I was driven to listen.

He aimed his finger at the round ball he was eating and the sound from his lips was "apple." I do not know why but I understood. The sound was a language. It was English and I was learning to comprehend it. I knew the authorities would come soon, but I could not walk away. He was speaking past my implant and causing me to think of things I believed I once knew. He kept saying, "Remember, Remember."

"Remember back before the pandemic. Remember when people walked outside with out the virus suits. Remember when we used verbal languages to talk to each other with out the devices. Remember jobs. Remember wives. Remember friends.

It was all too fast for me. I was not used to that sort of vocal input. I was not used to remembering. I was not used to trying to think about things. I was disturbed but intrigued. For the first time I felt my own lips and said, "Friends? Are we authorized to have friends?"

The old man looked at me and the corners of his lips turned upwards. I do not know why but I perceived that as a happy face. He looked up for a while watching a camera pan, then jumped up and darted behind the bench and put his back to the building wall. He said, "Follow me," and I did. I stood next to him with my back to the wall. I followed him as he stooped to move a cover that hid a space between two buildings, then followed him between the buildings. The space was only about two feet wide but he reached around me and placed the cover back in place.

There I was, way out of my authorized area and trapped between two buildings with and insane man. Or was he the sane one and I the lunatic? I was not sure. I looked at him again in the dim light and realized that he was not naked like I first thought. He was just wearing his inside clothes on the outside. I had a strange mental image of myself wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt and not wearing even a simple mask. It was becoming obvious to me that he was not the crazy one, but for some reason that gave me some freedom.

As soon as we had gone three or four feet into the alley, he suddenly unzipped my virus suit. He took a device and plugged it into my communicator. He told me that he was not sure if the authorities still track people or not, but it is better to block GPS and data input. He also told me that it is easier to have a real conversation with out that thing working. I was disconnected but did not feel lonely.

NOTE: This is just the first two pages of a six page chapter. It is just a tease.