"Can I get everyone's attention, please?" Rover's voice bounced off the walls of the train. The train became silent, save for a few quiet sobs and sniffles. "I know what has just happened is a bit. . .traumatizing for you." At that, Agent S let out a wail. A few others followed her example. Rover was taken by surprise, but tried his best to collect himself. "P-please calm down. Listen, this is not the end, okay?" He spoke soothingly, trying to put the crowd of refugees at ease. "There are thousands of towns out there. Millions! You're bound to find one." the crying quieted down. Rover continued. "This train will make a stop at each town we pass. When it does, you can move there if you like, or you can wait for another one. It's up to you." He smiled a wide, unintentionally creepy smile. "It's your choice now."
For a few minutes, the train was completely quiet. Even the crying had stopped. Then, a small voice mumbled from somewhere in the crowd. "How could she just get rid of us?" This caused a wave of muttering to ripple through the small bunch, complaints ranging from their lost town to their homes to their feeling of betrayal by someone who was supposed to be their friend, eventually coagulating into one precise thought: how could she?
"If it makes you feel any better," Rover finally shouted over the rising volume, "it won't matter to you after awhile." Every head turned to look at him. "I can't explain it to you. It would be difficult for you to process. Just know that your memories will fade. You won't feel this pain forever. So," he clapped his paws together and folded them, "here's to your new futures. Embrace them. I truly wish you the best." The crowd began to speak amongst itself again, though the general atmosphere was much lighter than it had been just a few minutes prior. All seemed content with the idea of a new future and forgetting their betrayer. All but one, who dragged Rover to the back of the train as far away from the others as possible and plopped him and himself down onto the floor.
"Waddaya mean, 'Yer memories will fade'?" Roscoe hissed.
"Just what it sounds like." Rover pushed Roscoe's hoof off his shoulder, "The system is programmed for situations like this. Mayors delete their towns all the time, so a safety precaution had to be taken in order to keep a bunch of depressed animals from running around." Roscoe blinked at him. "The code from the new town will eventually overwrite the code from the old town. Soon enough, it will be nothing more than a vague memory that you think about every so often through the rose-colored lenses of nostalgia. And, should you decide to move again, that data will be rewritten as well, wiping out the first set of memories entirely."
Roscoe thought about this. He gasped quietly when he realized what that meant. "The original set of memories. . .does that apply to Lucy's and mine's old town?" Rover nodded. Roscoe felt numb, then shaky. "All of the times we shared, all of her letters, all gone?"
"Frankly, I'm surprised they lasted this long. The system should've already started to erase them."
Roscoe didn't admit it to Rover, but a few memories had become a bit more unclear. He couldn't remember most of his old neighbor's names and their faces were blurry, as if someone had taken a giant watercolor brush and smudged them. The memories that were clearest were the ones of him and Lucy, and even the more insignificant of those were trying to escape. "I love her." he said in a low voice. "She's the best friend I've ever had. I don't want to forget her so easily."
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter." Rover's voice was sympathetic, but firm. "You can't disobey your programming anymore than I can. You tried to break one of its rules before, and look what it got you."
"What if I want to, huh?" Roscoe had to keep himself from shouting angrily at the cat, "what if I want to disobey? I can try to keep on remembering her. I can try to keep those feelings I have alive."
"You'd just be lying to yourself." he said softly. He let the firmness slip from his voice. "You'd be miserable. Trying to hold on to feelings you just don't have. Trying to convince yourself that you feel them. I don't want you to live whatever time you have left like that." He sighed, knowing it must be hard for Roscoe to hear such things. "Just accept it. Stop fighting against the system. Stop defying your coding. It's not your choice to make, don't you get that?"
No. I don't. That's stupid. You're wrong! That's what Roscoe wanted to believe, what he wanted to say, but he knew that it was a lie. Rover was smart. Very smart. He knew things Roscoe felt he could never even hope to understand. He understood how the system worked, how all of it worked and functioned. Who was he to question his knowledge when he himself didn't even really know what code or data was? What any of it was? What was all the more painful for him was that it made sense. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it really did make sense. He had been growing close to Sadie, thinking of her as a very good friend. If time had allowed it, would he have come to think of her as his best friend? He swallowed hard. Yes. Most likely. He let out a shaky sigh. Yes. The last time he had gone against Rover's wishes, he had wound up with a death sentence. If he were to do it again, if he were to continue defying his coding, what would happen? He feared he might quicken the process of his own demise, speeding it up until he was no more. He decided that it was time to stop being so stubborn. To listen to the cat who seemed to have honest, good intentions for him. Who knew what he was and how their small game of a world worked. I wish I was smart like you. Maybe then I could figure out a way to cheat the system. . .or at least understand how it works. Why it works the way it does. Finally, he spoke.
"I get it. You're right, too." He stood. He wasn't happy about it, but he knew being upset wouldn't change anything. It was time to look to the future, however much of it he got to enjoy. "Thanks for everything, man. I think I'll just. . .settle down in whatever town I end up in."
"You sure?" Rover asked, standing and stretching, "You can always move after awhile. It would make the memories of Sadie start to fade."
"I don't need them to." He wiped his face, only then did he notice that he had been crying. "I can handle 'em." If I can handle losing Lucy, I can handle anything. The thought gave him new-found hope, though it left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He looked out the window, waiting for a new town to come into view.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Come on. Just one wifi visit?"
"I told you, I'm busy with this bull crap my boss assigned me. I can't right now."
"But I just made a new town! Please? Pretty please?"
". . .maybe later, okay?"
"Okay. Tomorrow's Saturday. Can you play then? Please?"
"Maybe. Look, I really have to go. Talk to you tomorrow, 'kay?"
"Fine. Love you."
"Love you, too."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The train was almost empty. Most of the villagers had found new places to call home. Roscoe hadn't liked any of them. They were too big. Too developed. Too perfect. They reminded him of Sadie's town. The fabulous blue unicorn stepped off the train and waved to Aurora and Roscoe, who were now the only two still without a home. Roscoe had to admit, he'd miss that guy. They hadn't talked more than once, but from what he could tell, the guy had enough class for an entire town. The train lurched forward once he was a few feet away. They waved to him until he was out of sight and the surroundings were once again that of the familiar brick tunnel. The car was filled with the sound of the train clicking along the tracks, and not much else.
"I guess this is goodbye, huh?" Aurora said, her flippers folded in her lap.
"Guess so." Roscoe said. He'd miss her. She had been so helpful to him. He hoped she would find happiness in whatever town she chose.
"Take care, alright?" She said, standing. She held out her flippers.
Eh? Oh. He put his hooves around her as much as he could without actually touching her, and she did the same. "You too, kid. Glad I got to know ya." Again, sort of. Instead of getting off the train, she curled up in one of the seats and fell asleep. Guess she wanted to say goodbye in case I wasn't here when she woke up. The thought made him feel good. It was nice to have met someone so kind. He felt that he had redeemed himself for whatever had caused him and his old Aurora to stop being friends, though he wished that he had been given more time to know this one. He sat across from her and waited for an opportunity to leave. It took about fifteen minutes for a small, underdeveloped town to show itself. There were only a few trees and no special roses. He could only see a few houses. From what he could tell, it was opposite Sadie's town in every conceivable way. Perfect. He stood. "This is my stop." The train halted and the doors opened. "So long." He whispered to the napping penguin, then stepped off the train and into his new home.