Chapter Thirteen

     Dyan entered the old home of her late grandfather Eli. The house had been unoccupied for years. It should have been sent to the demolition program years ago when Eli passed away.

     After her father’s funeral, she was looking through her grandfather’s possessions. There was not much since most of his things that were more than 10 years old were sent in to be recycled. Of course, not everything was sent and because of sentimental value. He even had things in his house that belonged to her parents.

Her mother was a sentimental person and had a collection of relics from the past. Her father never really touched anything after her mom passed away. Dyan looked through her mom’s things first.

     There were a couple of science fiction movies like Terminator and Her. Or what would be considered sci-fi, anyway since they were old and probably considered nonfiction or fiction to some people.

     She wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue the tradition of holding on to the past or send everything to the demolition program. She looked through the house. Maybe she could keep some items.

     She went to the back of the house to where an office was. The room was dusty and had been untouched for many years. Eli abandoned technology not too long before he passed away.

     Dyan was unsure why. He was one of the most respected people in the recycling programs. He was one of the few people who thought of ways to reuse waste that didn’t even seem to be useful anymore.

     Eli retired from his position and slowly vanished from the public eye. He became old-fashioned one might say. Dyan thought this was odd since he never really spent much time with the family. Maybe he was away camping. She never really knew if he was at home.

     Dyan found so many things that she only read about in learning modules. She found a flat, vented box on top of the desk. She felt drawn to it.

     There was something that felt very powerful about that this black box. It was mysterious. It was an antique. Dyan picked it up and slid it into her bag.

     Dyan walked around her grandfather’s quiet home. She looked at the books on the bookshelf. There were a couple of notebooks. She found it odd that people still wrote everything down instead of typing a digital copy.

     She took the notebooks and put them into her bag. Dyan continued looking around. She looked through everything in the closets and drawers. She couldn’t really find anything she could use or anything sentimental to her.

     Dyan took one more look before walking out and closing the door one final time. As she walked outside she noticed that the recycle team arrived. A man with an electronic clipboard approached her.

     He lowered his sunglasses, “Dyan?” She nodded. “Is this property ready?”

     Dyan glanced at her grandfather’s house one last time, “Yes.”

     “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “He was a great engineer and scientist. He had many useful ideas. This program wouldn’t exist without him.”

     She nodded “That’s what I understand.”

     “You never met them?” He asked.

     “No, this property was my father’s after my grandfather died,” she said. “This is extra property that I do not need.”

     The man asked, “You cannot keep this one? Your grandfather was such a significant person in history.”

     “I thought about it,” she said. “This house has sat vacant for long enough. I already have a home.”

     He nodded his head and gave in, “Put your finger here.” He held out the clipboard to her.

     She touched the screen and it scanned her fingerprint. The man touched the square at the bottom of the screen to finalize the release of the property. A crew of people went into the house to search for materials to recycle.

     Dyan watched as her grandfather’s possessions were removed and placed in various trucks. She thought about how serious her grandfather’s work may have been. He did help come up with the recycle program after all.

     The man approached her holding a book in his hand, “You might want this.”

     She took the book feeling a little curious, “Thanks.”

     Books, actual physical books, did not exist anymore. They were the equivalent to the ancient cuneiform tablets of Babylon. Books could still be found in the library, but everything has been moved to digital format. What was given to her was a relic and seemed to be a treasure to this man.

     “I’m not a fan of books, but this looks like something you will need,” he smiled like he did the world a huge favor and went back to work.

     Dyan began to wonder what her inheritance had gotten her into as she put the book and her bag. Her lawyer just gave her a file of everything her father owned. Her friend Sierra was a huge fan of her grandfather and knew a great deal about old technology. Maybe she needed to pay her a visit.