Cassian - Journal entries
Date: February 20, 2100 Okay, so Mom made her famous lasagna tonight, which, spoiler alert, still tastes like cardboard. I swear, it's mostly melted cheese and soggy pasta. Dad was all like "You should appreciate your mom's cooking". How can you appreciate something that tastes like regret? I love mom, but cooking is just not her forte. I ended up sneaking out some Ritz swiss cheese crackers from the secret snack stash later.
Today at school, Mrs. Harlow (she's the human teacher who actually talks to us like we're people, not machines) gave us this ridiculous assignment: write an essay on why Aletheia's standardized tests are "fair and necessary for personal growth." It's not like I can write, "Because we don't have a choice, DUUUH." Theron said he's going to BS his way through it, but I'm tempted to turn it into some kind of satire. Too bad sarcasm doesn't go over well with the graders. She keeps saying how important this essay is for our scholarship.
Tbh the AI assistants are sorta helpful. They don't roll their eyes at you when you ask a dumb question. It's kinda weird with them sometimes tho. They're too perfect and too polished. They explain everything but they don't rlly want you to think outside of the box.
Date: February 22, 2100 I saw a bird today. It was this tiny sparrow fluttering around one of the few remaining trees in High Park. I don't know why it felt like such a big deal, but it was the first time I'd seen a bird in weeeeeks. With all the construction happening, it's like there's no space left for the animals. High Park used to be one of my favourite places. Back when I was a kid, Mom and Dad would take me there on weekends. There was this giant field where people would picnic and watched the sunset. I still remember that hot dog stand. I think it was called Andrew's Dogs?...odd name haha but mmm I could really go for one of those right now with some relish. ANYWAYS, now half of the park is fenced off for some new luxury condo project.
Date: Feberuary 25, 2100 We had a soccer game today against the school in Scarborough and it was amaaaazing. We totally crushed them. BOOYAHHH. 4-1 and I scored two goals which Dad was proud of. Until he started asking about my test prep... Like BRUH, can't I just enjoy one thing without it turning into a lecture about school? After the game, this kid called me a "privileged" kid. I mean, what do I even say. It's not like I chose to go to a learning center in the heart of Toronto with the best funding. I guess it's easy to hate someone when it feels like they've got more than you, but it's not like I ASKED for this. It's not like everything is perfect here.
Date: February 27, 2100 Something weird happened today. I was lying on my bed, texting Astra about that essay we have to do. I wish I could gain the courage to ask her out but idk...the only thing I'm able to talk about with her right now is school. She probably thinks I'm boring but she just makes me nervoussss. That's all I'm gonna say cuz God forbid someone finds this journal. Anyways, all of a sudden my screen glitched. This video popped up, totally random. There was this reporter talking, and the captions said stuff like "Citizens kept in the dark" and "Aletheia is an organized censorship". Something about propaganda? I had to look that one up afterwards. Before I could even try to look into it, the screen glitched again and my phone restarted. It was no longer there. I tried to go into my search history and my camera roll but there was no trace of it ever showing up on my phone. I mean, what the hell was that?
Date: March 1, 2100 I can't stop thinking about that video. Was it some kind of glitch or was I MEANT to see it? A virus maybe? Theron said it's probably nothing, but he wasn't the one who saw it. I'm starting to think it wasn't supposed to reach me. I keep checking my phone to see if it'll happen again but nothing so far. Just regular stuff, school announcements, texts from Dad about test prep. Speaking of which, I can't even focus on studying right now. My brain keeps looping back to that reporter's voice.
Date: March 5, 2100 I ran into some students from a different neighbourhood at Union station today on my way back from soccer practice. I overheard them talking about how their learning center barely has any real teachers and how the AI assistants glitch out all the time. I didn't say anything but I can't lie, it kinda stuck with me. It's not like our center is perfect but at least we have decent resources. Why is it so different depending on where you live? Aren't we all supposed to be equal under Aletheia?
Date: March 6, 2100 Okay, I decided to try finding that video online. Bad idea. Every search I tried came up empty or redirected me to generic Aletheia "truth and order" content. It's like it doesn't exist. This is just messing with me too much.
Date: March 10, 2100 Dad's been watching me like a hawk lately. He keeps dropping little hints, like "You can always talk to me if something's on your mind." Like ummmm ok? It's weird. I almost told him about the video at dinner tonight but then he just kept going on and on and onnnn about the "Aletheia saved us from chaos" stuff. Same thing over and over again. He believes in them so much. I guess I get why. But what if he's wrong?
Date: March 10, 2100 Wait, I just had another thought. What would life be like without Aletheia? I mean, I've heard stories from before, about the chaos, the misinformation and all that. But it's not like the people talking about it go into great detail. I wonder if things would really fall apart without their rules. I think some people truly believe that they're the only choice for us.
Date: March 14, 2100 Theron came over today to check out my new VR set. Got it last Christmas as a gift for my good grades. Mom and Dad are strict about my grades but I guess they just want the best for me. I guess some of the things we learn at school are pretty interesting too which makes it easier to learn sometimes. I ended up finishing that essay but it was a bunch of blah blah, I agree, blah blah blah, Aletheia's tests help us align with proper values, la dee da. The game we played was one of those immersive simulations where you can go to all of these historical moments, but you get to change the outcome. Anyways, I didn't bring up the video. I wanted to but I thought if I say it out loud, then it becomes real, and I don't know if I'd be ready for that. He did say something interesting tho. Well, he said it jokingly but he was like "LOL, what if Aletheia is always watching us" and then got quiet. I think he was trying to see my reaction. I laughed it off but what if they actually are?
Date: March 21, 2100 I'm convinced Spezzy is plotting something. She's been stealing my socks for WEEKS now and when I caught her sitting on my fresh pile of laundry, she just started at me totally smug. Dogs are so silly. School was whatever today. Mrs. Harlow did her usually thing, explaining how the neural networks behind Aletheia's AI assistants are similar to ours. I don't really get it tho...I mean, they don't rlly think. The AI assistants in our class were buzzing around helping the students who couldn't keep up, like they always do. After that, we were dismissed for lunch. Theron dared me to eat one of those disgusting cafeteria nutrient bars. Spoiler, they're as bad as they look. The label says they're "balanced for optimal brain function" but I'm pretty sure they're just punishment in bar form. It turned into a competition of who could create the grossest food combo. I'm preeeeetty sure I won with my masterpiece of mashed potatoes, mustard and crumbled nutrient bar. Theron almost puked just looking at it.
Date: March 26, 2100 I asked Mom tonight about the old days. Like, what is was like before Aletheia took over. She got super quiet, which I found a little weird. She said it was chaos, but again, doesn't go into more detail. I think it freaks her out to think about it this much. I seriously just asking questions. Is it bad to want to know? Every time someone talks about Aletheia it's like they're reading from a script. It's all the same stuff. Order. Progress. Idek who I could talk to about this.