City of Walls: Chapter 3

          Author's note: Only just realized that the wrong version of chapter 3 was posted. This is the correct version.

 

          Walking ahead a few paces I looked around for signs of recent fire damage, or signs of decay. Some structures can be too old and weak to handle modern power. Electrical surges running into older wiring systems had a tendency to blossom into all kinds of trouble. It was not uncommon for whole areas to be blockaded until each and every wiring junction was tested. What was uncommon was the lack of workers, or even work vehicles. No one was checking the area. I turned around quickly and began to race back the way I had come. "Almost a block in, what was I thinking? How stup.." My teeth clacked down on my words as I looked up.

          From the darkened entryway of the second building I'd passed on my way in, a figure emerged. Tall, muscular, and gruesome. It had scales covering the upper portions of its torso, biceps, shoulders, and neck. The abdomen wash a mash of scales, hair, and patches of bare skin, as though different physiques were at war. From the waist down short hair tufted out from rips in the pants it wore.

          My mind raced, trying to make sense of what I saw before me. No shirt means it's probably male. The face was wrinkled with features tightly drawn together, as though someone had molded it in clay then scrunched it together after seeing the result. Bright eyes peered through the folds, a blunt nose sat atop a fat lipped mouth, which joined a protruding chin, giving a snout like feel to the face. An oddly doomed head toped overall appearance of the thing before me. Gotta be a modrpunk.

          "Look," I stammered, thinking good just wants creds, maybe I can get him to take watts instead, "I'm just a messenger, I don't get a lot. But I'll give what I have."

          "Not a lot huh? Pretty little face like that don get born often. Tell you what, you get to keep your creds. I like for those who believe to eat another day. Jus gimme your beauty nannites. Carl, Genie, we got a believer out here." He called somewhere off to my right.

          My heart pounded, and my breath rushed out of me. Curse my face! It thought I had nannites that made me pretty. My ancestral roots were in Native America, Pacific Islander, and Euro-Spanish. My family tree looked very interesting charted over the world. My face had a somewhat unique structural texture. Gracefully curved angles, large yet almond shaped eyes, medium length nose rounded at a small point, full lips drawn in a delicate bow. Growing up my eyes had been too large, nose too small, and lips almost perpetually puckered. I'd hated it. Recently, I started to notice more looks cast in my direction, but I never knew for sure. Family said I looked like my mother. She died when I was younger; I thought she was gorgeous.

          Yet here I was, staring at a modrpunk, that had sculpted itself (himself?) as menacing and intimidating a form I could have imagined, that thought I was pretty because I had beauty nannites that formed my face. And it wanted to take what I didn't have.

          Before I could say anything, two more figures approached us. Carl, I assumed, did not outwardly look like a modrpunk. Slightly smaller than average height, lean musculature, more malnourished really. Almost long, unwashed hair flopped against his face hiding most of his features. Ratty jeans hung all the way to the floor. A white, stained shirt protected pale skin form the light. A narrow chin jutted forward, with thin lips carefully pressed close. Behind him, Genie, a female of lissome figure. She was tall, with a generous hourglass figure, and glistening olive toned skin. Long limbs curved gracefully as she walked right up to me. Dark brown hair with a golden sheen flowed down her back and followed her as though it where a wedding train. While the others had no jewelry that she was aware of, this woman rivaled the Queen of Sheba. Bracelets encrusted with an array of sparkling gems, rings of gold, silver and platinum, arm bands carved with intricate patterns and precious stones set focal points. She wore one strand of the finest silver around her neck, and many diamond pendants were strung on it.

          Net link data storage, I thought, she must hold all their data. Instinctively my hands tightened into fists, and pushed downward into my pockets. A command that set my highest security protocols in place as well as starting my personal encryption file. It would encrypt all the data I had first with separate and simplistic protection, then jumble the documents together, and encrypt it once again. Not much, but based on my own code combined with an archaic code, hopefully it was enough.

          Genie, whose face resembled the starlet on this month's cover of OMG!, was now standing face to face with me. Her hand reached put and gently cradled my chin, tilting my face upward, letting the light hit my face full on.

          "I wouldn't give her high marks for beauty, but she'd score well for ingenuity. I don't think anybody has structural lines quite like these encoded on models. On a larger or even a smaller head it wouldn't go well, even with proper scaling code applied. Still, I could wipe the code from the nannites memory and use them as filler." Letting go of my face she turned and addressed Carl, with a laugh in her voice "Do your thing, boy machine."

          As he came closer, he lifted his head, revealing his eyes for the first time. A soft green light actually shone out of them. His left eye was just a solid orb, his right one appeared normal at first. Yet as she gazed at it, the iris and pupil melted into a sickly green reticule. Oh man, he's a harvester! I felt a hot, scratchy pressure begin to prick at the base of my collar bone. It rapidly traveled up my neck towards my jaw, across the check to the nose, and finally into my eyes. Hundreds of needles pricked at my eyes, and a searing heat stole my sight.

          "Aaaahh" I cried out as knees buckled under me, sending me to the ground. The last thing I remember before I blacked out, was hearing a voice sounding surprised.