Powerless

Dr. Anthony awoke to a frustrating situation: overnight, his phone and laptop had both died, and so he was unable to check Meh, his favorite website. Out of bed, he began looking for an outlet, but he found that all of them–his tiny apartment had only three–were occupied.

The first two were used for his aged pet iguana, Dr. Anthony Jr., who Dr. Anthony often called, “The Second”: one by the respirator keeping the poor old lizard alive; the other by a UV-lamp (less necessary, but as The Second suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder, Dr. Anthony didn’t want to risk it).

The third was in the kitchen area, a rare single outlet. He devoted this to his coffee regimen: he would grind the coffee, unplug the grinder, then plug in the coffeepot to brew. He could charge his laptop or phone here, but doing so would delay his coffee, which he liked to drink while he checked Meh. Instead, he chose to make his coffee first, then plug in his computer, and check Meh standing in the kitchen.

“There has to be a better way to live,” Dr. Anthony muttered to himself.

He finally got his computer booted, and had just opened his web browser when something occurred to him: there was a better way to live. Rather than go to Meh, Dr. Anthony searched for real estate listings.

It disappointed him to see how prices had climbed in the many years since he purchased his efficiency. But he could afford it. He was a scientist and a professor, after all. He studied the concept of cloning. He liked the idea of taking one thing and making many others.

After a morning of searching, he found a new condo that seemed as though it would suit his needs. Turning from the screen, he looked around the tiny apartment that had been his home for nearly two decades. A tear came to Dr. Anthony’s eye but he brushed it away. It was time to move on. He copied the real estate agent’s number from the screen onto a post-it note, and took out his phone to make the call.

At which point he remembered, his phone was dead.