Authors note: A non-canon Christmas take on the iridescent sun universe, with homages to nothingsp's Christmas stories. I havn't finished it, feel free to finish the story if you want. I'm rather stuck on an ending.
Iridescent sun Christmas.
It was an ordinary house in the early start of Christmas eve.
The air was cold with frost on a windowsill. The snow was supposed to arrive early, but it looked like the weather report had got that wrong.
Another day of christmas, Ezekiel Scrooge mused. Far be it that the world had changed since... that day. He recalled it well. Some had considered him a mad eccentric to shut himself off from the rest of the world, in his old house. Of course, the world had moved on without him. He didn't miss it, there was no place for him in that world.
He rose from his bed, his body old and wrinkled. He had given up shaving months ago. What was the point? He certainly didn't desire to see anyone, and nobody desired to see him. He ran his company from his house. In this day and age, he didn't need to actually see anyone to do this.
How many years had it been... was the sun still changed? It didn't matter if it had turned back, the truth is it had changed once and it could do so again.
The old man showered and put on a bathrobe, looking at his shaggy hair in the mirror. The letters were posted through his letterbox. So here is how it starts, another day at work. Christmas didn't mean the world stopped, regardless of what other people thought.
Strange... a Christmas card. It was a very small one, only about the size of a matchbox. He had to put on his glasses to read it.
Merry Christmas Ezekiel, Phil.
The old man blinked. Nobody had sent him a Christmas card before. Who was this Phil? He had so many employees and faceless people that it was all just a blur. "Humbug," he shouted throwing the card away.
Were this the old days he would have had all his employers working through the season just as he had. Times were tough and getting harder still. Finding a way to just 'survive' in this world was difficult enough as it was... how many still even retained their humanity? The sunlight changed everyone into beasts... finding a decent hard worker was near impossible! How many excuses had he heard. 'I can't do this because I don't have hands' I can't do this because I need to breathe underwater' I can't do this because I won't fit in the building' 'I can't do this because I'm now too small?' Pah! Excuses excuses.
So of course he fired them. Every last one of them, to strengthen his company. A group was only as strong as their weakest link, and he would now allow the whole to suffer because of a few individuals.
Ezekiel didn't have a care for anyone. Perhaps they mocked him for his isolated existence, but then he didn't suffer the trauma of having a loved one pained by a sudden change of fate. No, he was a miser and he would die a miser.
He got onto his computer to check the progress reports of the day. Indeed he was already getting reports of slacking off. The key logging programs installed told him when people were working and when they were messing around...
"Get back to work all of you!" He said over the microphone. His voice reverberated across the wires and into the work houses. He could almost feel the tension building across the other end.
Could we have more heat please? one of his employers had the gall to respond across the connection.
Ezekiel blinked. Someone actually dared to ask him that? He glanced at the remote thermostat. Yes- he did have a remote access to that. Practically everything in the environment he controlled from his little house. "I'm reading you have enough heat as per the law requires" He said annoyed.
But it's feeling really cold
"Then wear a sweater!" He shouted again. Honestly... if he put it up by one degree, then that was another $10 a month!
Ezekiel continued to check on the progress of his employees... but he wasn't sure why, he had this vague feeling he was being watched. Where was it coming from? Irritated he rose up from his work station, and looked about the dark dismal setting that had been his home for 5 years. Here he was, human... possibly the last human. Oh they said there were still humans living underground, probably in a filthy depressing existence. Here he was still a king to his subjects.
A strange thought that was indeed... he was the last human. He was automatically better then anyone he would ever meet in the world. Still his life had not always been so. It simply had to be now. Having closed himself off to survive...
Ezekiel Scrooge
What... was that? The old man glanced around. Someone called his name... he quickly lit a candle, and walked around the dusty dining table. "Who's there!" He shouted. He didn't have anything worth stealing, it couldn't possibly be a robber.
Ezekiel Scrooge
There it was again! Who was calling him.... not in the kitchen. There were old instant cooked foods, and a microwave. His electric cooker was never used. It simply cost too much money. He found he saved more just be eating instant foods and a microwave.
Ezekiel Scrooge
The shaggy man swallowed and looked back to his workstation. The voice was coming from the speaker! But that was impossible. He had already turned it off. How could anyone be...
he saw a figure on the monitor. It was not part of any program he had run on the system before. She had green hair, and wore a dress of white and blue.
It couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be! "What the devil," he cried angrily. "Impossible. You are a hallucination. A dream!"
No. I am a digital fairy. she said with a smile.
Ezekiel huffed and tried to push the reset button... but nothing happened.
The fairy looked stunned but stood firmly. please don't do that. I just wanted to talk to you.
The old man sat down, sneering a little. "Talking to a hallucination. This should be rich."
"Then you must certainly care a lot about it right?" Asked the digital fairy smiling a little more.
"Don't be sassy with me young lady. Money is humanity. It is civilisation... it is everything."
"But it is not happiness," said the girl from the screen a bit sadly. "Won't you turn on the camera so I can see you?"
"No!"
"What are you afraid of?"
"I fear nothing. However I detest being mocked at in my own home. You have invaded my computer and think yourself my better, when I can simply pull the plug and begone with you."
The digital fairy swallowed slightly. "Were you to do that, I would leave long before my life is taken... we've adapted quite well."
"Just what do you want then? Let me guess, you want money to buy an artificial human to host you? My company makes such arrangements. Make an appointment."
"I have a host thank you..." said the fairy softly. "And a loving family. You did once, right?"
"What do you know of my family?" said Ezekiel.
The fairy started to bring up old pictures from the hard drive. She pieced together ones that had been deleted with incredible ease."You last accessed these images over ten years ago... this one you had accessed over a dozen times a day on a Christmas."
Ezekiel stood there stunned. The fairy was accessing his personal images... "She's gone. I do not know that woman."
"What happened?" asked the fairy curiously.
"If you must know, the sunlight took her. What she became I do not know, nor cared. That picture is the only one I have of when she was human."
The green haired fairy looked sadly. "Many people changed... it wasn't her fault. How could you so easily dismiss her?"
"Because I learned life is unfair... and even in this new world, money is still the most important thing in the world. You say it can't buy happiness? Poppycock. It is the only thing."
The fairy started to access more images of past times... pictures of family. She even played a song she dug up from an old memory.
Ezekiel stood there, staring at the computer. "Away from me demon! These...are things I rather not think of any more. It's gone... all of that is gone and is past. Yes I loved... but look where it got me? Nowhere! You will not trick me with such drivel."
"It's not a trick Ezekiel... someone out there, cares for you a great deal. You will find out soon..." the fairy left the computer.
Ezekiel sighed as he looked at the various songs and images. They were all still there... he thought he had deleted them, yet somehow the digital fairy brought everything back. His lost love, Marlyn... what did become of her?
Ezekiel spent hours on the computer at all the undeleted programs. His computer was in some ways a digital shadow of memories long before. Here it was now restored to what it was ten years ago... even the wall paper, adorned with himself and Marylyn, together.
This was nonsense.
He turned off his computer, the mood to work now no longer in his heart. It was then he heard a knocking on his window. Was this another trick? Someone trying to make him open the window? "Go away! Whatever you are leave me in peace!"
"I just came to talk sir," said a voice.
"What are you!" There was no way for him to see what it was. The window was over twenty feet high. There was no way for anyone to climb it...
"I'm a harpy. A raven type," said the voice. "Small one. Please let me in. It's very cold out here."
Ezekiel rolled his eyes. "Go away!"
He heard a flutter... and thought the being had done as he bayed. But then he heard a movement of his letterbox, and the strangest fluttering sound. He practically jumped onto his bed as the strange dark raven-girl appeared.
"Hello Ezekiel," smiled the raven.
"I have nothing you can take bird. Leave me be."
The raven-girl glanced around in the darkness. There were candles lighting the house giving it a very strange feeling. Not quite as warm as one would expect. still she was glad for a small fire and started to warm her body to the candles. "I just came to talk to you," she smiled.
"Just what do you want?"
The raven-girl fluttered to a small chair and sat down. "I'm new to your company. I wanted to get to know my new boss."
"W-what? I did not hire any bird," Ezekiel said with surprise.
"Well, I didn't mean to hide it. But- you never visited. You never even interviewed me except by telephone. "I'm Miranda," she said with a smile.
Ezekiel just couldn't believe it. This was his... 'assistant'? "Fine. So you met me. You can go now. I'll be generous and not fire you for lying to me."
"When did I lie?" Asked Miranda. "You never asked what I was."
"It's not really allowed by the laws. I have to fire employees 'after' they are not suitable. A very stupid law if you ask me," Said Ezekiel.
"Well the laws are intended to protect workers rights... I actually came to also invite you to a Christmas party."
"I'm an unchanged human. I can not go," said Ezekiel. It was always his automatic response.
"What if... we had the party here in your house?" Smiled Miranda.
"Never!" The shaggy man exclaimed angrily. "You should all be working. I authorised no party at Christmas."
"Well, I've found a nice artificial human willing to be your eyes at the party. Just log on to this IP address and see."
"Fine.. I suppose I might as well see who is wasting time." Ezekiel said in the end.
Miranda grinned. "Merry Christmas Ezekiel"
Ezekiel sighed as he looked at his computer. He was glad to see there were no hidden surprises this time. No strange creatures floating about. He went to the IP address and indeed, found he was seeing through an artificial human's eyes.
Very strange indeed. There was practically no lag whatsoever. It was almost as if, the entire internet was being devoted to him seeing this...
The elderly man watched the scenes play out. People laughing, joking... there seemed to be a game of cards going on in the background. They were scenes very similar to how he once lived his life. He brought up a few pictures again of Marilyn. Golden head of curls, and the most wonderful eyes you could have ever seen. She was unusual in that she had one green eye, and one blue eye. Oh how he loved those eyes..
he glanced back at the party. He should be noting down who was wasting time. They could be getting on with far better things... there were tax forms to fill for the new year, there were deals to settle in, goods to process... yet here they all were, just wasting time.
Still... the elderly man started to feel a sense of sadness. They were all such strange people, and he was a human. He couldn't join in any fun... that had gone long ago.
A strange 'rabbit' girl was there, and a small one at that. "I'd like to propose a toast to Ezekiel Scrooge. Who with his generosity, and keeping the company alive, has allowed us to provide for our families."
What followed were a number of derogatory comments and how anyone speaking his name was either just kissing up to him, or out of their mind. The rabbit girl didn't seem to mind though.
Ezekiel glanced at those expressions of shock and horror. Was that the impression he made with people?
Finally he had had enough and turned off the connection. let them enjoy their party... he would fire the lot of them and start over.
