Phoenix - the Insilico tales - chapter 22 - "The Shades - part 1"
(originally posted 10/4/2011)
“The Shades?! Are you serious?”
209’s voice echoed through the mind of the android as she picked her way through the increasingly dirty streets along the west edge of the great transit hub which divided the heart of Insilico. Here and there little knots of vagrants sat huddled, staring vacantly into burning trashcans, shambling about ranting at unseen tormentors, huddling together in fear, or simply sitting and crying. They seemed unable to collectively decide whether to attempt to sell Phee something, harangue her, or stare silently at her as she walked past.
“209, you do realize we’re both outlaws now, right? You’re an escaped posthuman intelligence running rampant through the grid at large until you run into the wrong firewall and get your ass wiped, and I’m KOS with Tokuma and probably Gemini too if either one of them saw my true face. We’re past the point where we can hang out with the scroungers in the West junkyard. We have no choice but the big leagues now.”
They stepped off the main road, into the darker, less travelled side streets. They wound their way ever further away from the towering spires of Central. The two minds began to notice that a new reaction was becoming increasingly common as they walked deeper into the underground of the city - hiding as she approached.
“Phee, No one who knows what is really in The Shades will say. There’s no surveillance down there. There’s no law. You’re going to get killed for parts the moment we get far enough away from the main street.”
“It will be closer to a fair fight than Gemini would give me.”
“Why are you so fascinated with dying, Phoenix? If death is what you want, why make a violent fuss of it? I can give it you to quickly and painlessly. Just drop those firewalls and defenses and let me take control. I promise you won’t feel a thing.”
Phee smirked “Ah yes, and give Nurse209 her very own droid chassis and a gun. I’m sure the result would be the very image of tranquility.”
=========================================
The smirking image of a pale faced dark haired woman with glowing cybernetic eyes filled the scope of Xam’s sniper rifle. He massaged the trigger with a tip of his finger, licking his lips, smiling slightly. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.” he laughed.
Dace looked up from poring over repairs to his forearm “What? What is it?” and leaned forward in his chair, peering through the viewport for the sniper blind at Phoenix walking down the street. “Some dumb bitch. Just drop her. We got plenty of broads down below.”
“Nah, I think Jackson needs to hear about this one. She’s dressed in black and has a shiny new Kojima plasma rifle on her back.” Xam chuckled.
Dace whistled “You’re shittin me! Another IPS undercover officer come down here to die? Who’s got dibs on the gun this time?”
“Thomas.”
“Oh FUCK Thomas, he’s already got 3!”
“Yeah, and if you’d been doing your fuckin job instead of playing with yourself...” Xam jabbed a grubby finger painfully into the exposed mass of servos and wires in Dace’s forearm “... you’d a had a shot at this one! Now get Jackson on the horn! He’ll want to set up the welcoming committee...”
“OW FUCK!” Dace cradled his arm against his chest and rolled his chair over to the comm panel.
================================
As she continued to approach an archway leading into a darkened maze of corridors behind, the scurrying of nearby inhabitants became scampering. Some ran ahead, calling out a warning “Dead meat walking! Dead meat walking!” By the time she approached the archway, there didn’t appear to be a soul in sight. Phee’s eyes were wide. Scanning constantly, lips pulled tight with worry. Her experiences on the mean streets of West seemed to fade away into nothing, and she felt as lost and alone as a corporate secretary who’d wandered into the wrong neighborhood.
“Now what?” 209 asked sardonically.
“2 choices. Go in or turn back.”
“Do I get a vote?”
“You wanted sensory experiences in the real world. This is as real as it gets.”
Phoenix straightened her back, scanned the deserted and trash strewn tangle of hallways just beyond the entrance one last time, and stepped into The Shades...
“The Shades?! Are you serious?”
209’s voice echoed through the mind of the android as she picked her way through the increasingly dirty streets along the west edge of the great transit hub which divided the heart of Insilico. Here and there little knots of vagrants sat huddled, staring vacantly into burning trashcans, shambling about ranting at unseen tormentors, huddling together in fear, or simply sitting and crying. They seemed unable to collectively decide whether to attempt to sell Phee something, harangue her, or stare silently at her as she walked past.
“209, you do realize we’re both outlaws now, right? You’re an escaped posthuman intelligence running rampant through the grid at large until you run into the wrong firewall and get your ass wiped, and I’m KOS with Tokuma and probably Gemini too if either one of them saw my true face. We’re past the point where we can hang out with the scroungers in the West junkyard. We have no choice but the big leagues now.”
They stepped off the main road, into the darker, less travelled side streets. They wound their way ever further away from the towering spires of Central. The two minds began to notice that a new reaction was becoming increasingly common as they walked deeper into the underground of the city - hiding as she approached.
“Phee, No one who knows what is really in The Shades will say. There’s no surveillance down there. There’s no law. You’re going to get killed for parts the moment we get far enough away from the main street.”
“It will be closer to a fair fight than Gemini would give me.”
“Why are you so fascinated with dying, Phoenix? If death is what you want, why make a violent fuss of it? I can give it you to quickly and painlessly. Just drop those firewalls and defenses and let me take control. I promise you won’t feel a thing.”
Phee smirked “Ah yes, and give Nurse209 her very own droid chassis and a gun. I’m sure the result would be the very image of tranquility.”
=========================================
The smirking image of a pale faced dark haired woman with glowing cybernetic eyes filled the scope of Xam’s sniper rifle. He massaged the trigger with a tip of his finger, licking his lips, smiling slightly. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.” he laughed.
Dace looked up from poring over repairs to his forearm “What? What is it?” and leaned forward in his chair, peering through the viewport for the sniper blind at Phoenix walking down the street. “Some dumb bitch. Just drop her. We got plenty of broads down below.”
“Nah, I think Jackson needs to hear about this one. She’s dressed in black and has a shiny new Kojima plasma rifle on her back.” Xam chuckled.
Dace whistled “You’re shittin me! Another IPS undercover officer come down here to die? Who’s got dibs on the gun this time?”
“Thomas.”
“Oh FUCK Thomas, he’s already got 3!”
“Yeah, and if you’d been doing your fuckin job instead of playing with yourself...” Xam jabbed a grubby finger painfully into the exposed mass of servos and wires in Dace’s forearm “... you’d a had a shot at this one! Now get Jackson on the horn! He’ll want to set up the welcoming committee...”
“OW FUCK!” Dace cradled his arm against his chest and rolled his chair over to the comm panel.
================================
As she continued to approach an archway leading into a darkened maze of corridors behind, the scurrying of nearby inhabitants became scampering. Some ran ahead, calling out a warning “Dead meat walking! Dead meat walking!” By the time she approached the archway, there didn’t appear to be a soul in sight. Phee’s eyes were wide. Scanning constantly, lips pulled tight with worry. Her experiences on the mean streets of West seemed to fade away into nothing, and she felt as lost and alone as a corporate secretary who’d wandered into the wrong neighborhood.
“Now what?” 209 asked sardonically.
“2 choices. Go in or turn back.”
“Do I get a vote?”
“You wanted sensory experiences in the real world. This is as real as it gets.”
Phoenix straightened her back, scanned the deserted and trash strewn tangle of hallways just beyond the entrance one last time, and stepped into The Shades...
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