CORONAS

CHAPTERS 1. AGE CALCULATION

In the last ten years, the development of science and technology has accelerated very rapidly. Specialized, or even almost all knowledge and research devoted to the medical field. People who have a chronic illness, people who are stricken with a deadly virus, people who despair with the rest of their lives, such as getting a second chance to live their lives. In 2026, scientists have found a tool that can destroy all dangerous and chronic diseases in humans – whether it is cancer, heart, tumor, or others. There is no need for vaccines, serums, medicines, surgery, chemotherapy, and other treatments. However, it does not immediately disappear. These diseases are converted into the residual numbers of human life. It is called Life Point.

A metal nanocomposite that emits active radio waves is attached to the necks of people with deadly diseases. Radio waves emitted into the body of the wearer will increase immunity to the highest point. So as to prevent the worsening of the disease in the body. At the same time it is able to paralyze the activity of viruses and bacteria that cause disease or freeze the danger of cancer, tumors and all deadly diseases in the body according to the type of waves emitted. This object is in the form of a circle/necklace that is attached to the neck. The thickness is no more than one centimeter, the surface width is two centimeters. On the front of the surface there is a screen that shows the digits of the rest of human life. Some indicate the rest of the day, the rest of the hours, or the rest of the minutes. These necklaces are strong, waterproof, and resistant in a variety of circumstances. But do not forget to check the performance of this tool regularly to detect interference before this object is damaged. Because if it is damaged, the active radio emitted will stop and will immediately eliminate the life of the wearer.

The active radio emitted by this tool is sourced from a mixture of chemical elements that scientists studied and developed known as the Dier – Disease Paralyzer (Disease Paralyzer). And people used to call this necklace Kaldier.

Sunday, 11 March 2046. I, Eldan Wihami, am nineteen years old. That means it's been eleven years since this caldier was stuck in my neck. My family is just my mother now. If it was Dad, my brain would've buried it deep in the most basic part of memory. Because when I was young, I worked as a prostitute in the capital. He decided to stop his work after he knew that he had tested positive for HIV/AIDS and moved to the city we currently live in, namely Kisaran. At a time not far apart, he was holding me. Luckily in those moments Dier had been successfully created. Given the number of sufferers of deadly diseases at that time, the inventors sold it at a price that was quite affordable for the benefit of human life. My mother was one of the buyers. And with the rest of his savings, he switched professions as a small trader to finance the lives of both of us.

Based on medical science, HIV takes time to develop into AIDS within nine to ten years. Therefore, my mother paired me with a caldier when I was eight years old. Once the caldier is installed, a number of 1876 appears on the digital number screen on the front of this necklace. At first I did not understand the appearance of the numbers on this calendar. Clearly, my mother always said that if I helped and helped people who needed help, the numbers on this calendar would increase, and I'll give you a gift when those numbers hit their set targets. But he also always reminded not to be afraid if the number will decrease one every day.

“Bu, food has been prepared. Do not close the store too long if you still want the food to stay warm. I don't want to reheat it!” I cried with a slight threatening joke from behind the back door of the shop.

“Iya, yes .... What day does the rice pack want to ship on? And want to send through-”, he said while continuing his small business. I smiled leaving.

When I was a kid, I grew up without anything extraordinary. For me, the order of my mother who often tells me to help others is not a burden, but a direction in life. My SD friends always gave me an explanation that was in accordance with my mother's explanation when they asked me about the necklace I used. Because none of them wear the same thing. Until time leads me to accept a reality. It happened when I just entered junior high school. Some of the kids who were supposed to be my new friends were having a conversation about the secret behind using caldiers. The numbers listed on the caldier screen are Life Point. Numbers that show the rest of my life. The number 1876 when I first signed it was the rest of my time for 1876 days. This news managed to knock down the pillars of support that solidified my mind. I immediately approached my mother to ask about what my new friend had said. With a gloomy and heavy-hearted face, he conveyed his truth. My mom and I have the same disease.

For five years at that time, I wore something I never knew its true function. During that time there were also many adults around me who often asked for help from me and my mother. Especially me. From then on I could only conclude that at most they were sorry for a child who had hung his life on a man-made device.

 

The function of the caldier work is described in detail by my mother. That, every time we finish helping someone else, the sensor on this necklace will scan the emotional wave of satisfaction someone has helped. Whether he feels happy, happy enough, or happy to get help from us. The scanned waves will be converted into certain numbers according to their satisfaction, then added to the existing Life Point. The more happy someone feels helped, the greater the number we get. If we help someone with the same caldier or deadly disease as us, our Life Point won't increase. Also, the scanner sensors don't work on our family. Because at the time of buying it, it is necessary to register family membership status such as father, mother, and siblings. Data such as family and other caldier users will be recorded and stored on central caldier data. In short, these scanner sensors only work on people who do not wear caldiers and are not from family members of the wearer. A little challenging. But only in this way do we extend life.

Monday, 12 March 2046. Still busy with activities on campus this afternoon. I was about to step into the next class before my steps were blocked by someone's voice.

“Happy birthday, Eldan,”, said a white curly-haired woman named Yuva. His hand grabbed my hand and tied a black bracelet to my wrist. “This is a gift from me. Sorry I was so busy last night so can't see you.”

“Thank you, Yuva,” reply me while commenting on a smile. Amused smile. Because the bracelet he gave was a bracelet with a black cat character motif that he liked.

“Neverything to be sad about. You see, on my birthday, you have to buy me a Hitameong-shaped bolster pillow. The price is a bit expensive. Save it! Spirit!” reply with absolutely no hesitation. Turns out that's the real purpose. Although tears want to come out when considering the price of the bolster pillow he has ever shown it.

“Ah yes, don't forget to meet me at the library when your last course is over. We will go visit Grandma Reni at her house,” Yuva comments again reminded while gradually leaving me.

Yuva was my high school friend and my boyfriend. Just like me, he is also a deadly person. He was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of sixteen. Based on the calculation of the caldier about the rest of his life, Yuva obtained Life Point for 377 days at the time of installation. Ever since Yuva fitted the device, we became close. Because Yuva consults me often to do good things to prolong her life.

The Life Point I currently have is 12768 days. Or about thirty years. Yuva only has 146 days. This girl who majored in IT is very difficult to govern her own feet to move to help people if I do not accompany her. Not confident if alone the reason. Our time at the same time is limited. We are separated by majors and courses whose study time is different. Sometimes when Yuva is empty, I go to class, or when I am empty, Yuva enters class. Not to mention his nature that did not care so much about the rest of his Life Point was annoying.

“Still a lot, still a lot. I can certainly collect a hundred Life Points in a day if you are with you,”.

At five in the afternoon, Yuva and I arrived at Grandma Reni's residence. He is now eighty years old. He lay helpless as his body grew older. Grandma Reni is one part of us. Yes, people with deadly diseases. Because his physical condition is getting weaker, he becomes difficult to do activities to help others. So that his Life Point will continue to decrease every day.

“Atime!” reprimand Arfi – my friend and Yuva. This athletic brown-skinned guy is waiting right at Grandma Reni's doorstep.

“Sorry, my lecturer is in the spirit of teaching today. So it took a little longer to get out of class,” my reply reasoned.

Soon the three of us headed to the room where Grandma Reni was lying. In this grandmother's house, there were people whom I knew very well. They are all caldier users, including Arfi. Some of us formed a special community of caldier users. Not for fun. But to help each other and share information about places and people who need help. It is also to promote brotherhood between us. Everyone came to see Grandma Reni. All came because they felt they had the same suffering as Grandma Reni.

“You should put in more effort, Yuva. You are young but your Life Point is very concerning,” said a short black-haired adult woman with makeup impressed sangar. He was standing right in front of Nek Reni's room door that was open because he was holding a burning cigarette in his hand.

“Kak Alma, long time no see. Yes, yes I know,” replied Yuva with a face like ignoring.

“Smoking boy in here? Didn't you see how Grandma Reni was doing?” reprimand Arfi again with his bring.

“Huh! This man bring. That's why I'm standing out here so as not to disturb Grandma Reni!” reply Brother Alma with a high tone.

“Do not be noisy at the door! Shrink your voices!” sounds snapped from the room. The voice belonged to a curly-haired adult man of the same age as Kak Alma named Bang Auron.

“You too!” shouted Alma and Arfi together.

Then there came the sound of a weak, faltering yet long throb of an old woman sitting on her bed. Yuva and I turned towards the source of the laughter, then moved closer to him. Yuva sat right next to Grandma Reni on her bed while wrapping her hands around Grandma Reni's body. In the room were a few more people we knew. Some were sitting on chairs, others were leaning against the wall because there were no seats left. Including my mother – who was sitting close to Nek Reni's bed. Everything came for Grandma Reni who we love so much.

The screen on Granny Reni's caldier already showed the numbers in a matter of minutes. 43 A. D., which means Grandma Reni's age can only last for forty-three minutes. There is a significant difference between the numbers that show the day, hour, and minute on the screen. D denotes the unit of day, H indicates the unit of hour, and M for minute. The timelines painted on Nek Reni's face showed no sadness at all despite knowing the rest of her life was very close. He, even we have been loved by his mind by something called resignation.

A middle-aged woman came in carrying two glasses of drink on a flat, circular container. He invited me and Yuva while thrusting the two glasses. Then he moved to sit next to a woman who looked similar, but looked a little older than him. Both of them are Granny Reni's biological daughters. Although both are not caldier users like us, but they also look resigned to the condition of their mother. There's nothing to do. Although we can continue to live by reaping Life Point from the people we help, if our physical condition is already weak due to age, we will not be able to go anywhere. Nor can you do anything. Kaldier can't freeze human time.

Need to be reminded again. Helping your own family who need help will not provide additional Life Point. Because at the time of installation of the caldier, information about the biological family is also included data. Therefore, in order to find Life Point, we have to get out of our lair and look for people who have no blood relation with us to be helped according to the help he asked.

“You are all excited,” said Nek Reni suddenly. “Everyone will surely die,” his voice slightly stammered, paused. “Even if this caldier .. can extend our life,” he continued again like a person out of breath. “Not mean give immortality,” one sentence every one breath.

Those words were like a powerful trigger pushing out a warm liquid from the corner of my eyelid and then passing along the line of my cheek. Then the remnants of the water grains that still did not flow, making my view as in a car dashed with rain whose wipers were not turned on. I turned my face towards the window to just hold back so that these tears did not come out more and more. The sound of a sobbing from the other direction started to sound. That's Yuva's sobbing. Hugging Grandma Reni tightly, she could not help but cry. The old hand of Nek Reni hit Yuva's hand slowly encircling the upper part of her body. She didn't want Yuva to cry.

“Until any time, Yuva will always love Nek Reni,”.

“If dear .. promise to live on .... Do not be lazy ... again to help others .... His Life Point improved,” reply Nek Reni warm. Yuva just nodded. “Eldan ..., help ... and continue to support Yuva ... to improve her Life Point .... Life Point 146 days .. for a child your age .. that's very worrying,”.

Let me say something Nek Reni said. Without even being told I would definitely work on it. Because Yuva is the woman I love the most besides my mother. Faithful time leads us to warm, flowing talk. Nek Reni often joked at the rest of his life so that we were not too pressed by a lever called sadness. Every now and then we smile, with a load that feels hundreds of tons charged at the two corners of the lips.

“Then so ... I have no regrets. I am happy .. can spend .. my life .. with many ... helping people. I .... absolutely .. have no regrets .. wear this necklace.”

Forty-two minutes almost passed. The numbers on Nek Reni's caldier turned into numbers that continued to decrease rapidly. Like a countdown to a rocket launch or a race start count. But this is not a count to make Nek Reni participate in a race. It could probably be said to be a count to launch it somewhere. Exactly. But it is evil to think like that. This count is the count of his last moments. And for the first time my eyes recorded a second count on the caldier. A very thrilling count. I felt the atmosphere of the room becoming heavier. Without me going in any direction, I'm sure all the pairs of eyes in this room are pointing in the same direction I saw. The leaflet on my chest grew.17, 16, 15, 14, and the numbers kept decreasing, making my chest even more crowded.

As the final explanation. Wave Disease Paralyzer is indeed useful to paralyze the virus or disease in the body. But basically Dier waves are active radio waves. Viruses, bacteria, and all diseases in the body will slowly mutate to become more virulent due to the influence of active radio radiation. Even though he was paralyzed. If the Dier wave stops being emitted because Life Point becomes zero, then the disease that has mutated it will immediately rise from his sleep and attack the sufferer to kill him directly like a bomb that exploded.

At the last moment, Nek Reni smiled. From the light of his face he looked fearless. Peace, lightness, then happiness. It seemed like he had prepared everything to be able to display such facial features when his age was over. That warm clear liquid again burst out and flashed along my cheek line. Then the number zero is listed on the screen kaldier. The hand that had been holding Yuva's wrist fell drooping. His eyelids closed. The installed Kaldier also issued a rather long flat tone and then automatically detached. Nek Reni breathed her last in Yuva's arms.