The Color of Static

FANTASCI's 2017 Shades of Summer Anthology Entry
Short Story

~

Everything I knew would soon fall to pieces.
And it was all my fault.

The last article, which I was actually interested in because I was helping work on it, was the one I maximized the window of and read hungrily, as if my life depended on that. And, technically, it did.
If it was completed, perhaps the government wouldn't need me anymore and I'd become a war test-subject.
My heart began beating heavily. Selfishly.
I inhale.
It is finished, the title read. Over the past seven years, workers have been putting together the machine that would change life as we know it. Weather has been the number one cause of death and worker-loss for many years now, heat the main culprit of our critical decrease in population. However, this morning the devices will have the final touches applied to them via coding, and will be up-and-running at around three this afternoon. After three, please remain inside and away from all windows. We will do our first test-run of the devices here in our country. Once the test is over, the sirens will silence and all citizens can return to their normal work schedules.
My fingers were steady as I closed out of the last news article. A message popped up, assigning me to a task.

Coding.
Workers required: 1
Check codes for flaws and irregulations. This is the final step in completing your job. Congratulations.