City of Walls: Ch 13

         

          "Let me get this straight." I rubbed my eyes with my hand as I stood over the kitchen table. "You left out all the anti-energy siphon code."

          "The programming protocols for interaction with nannites dictates that the AI would ignore the nannites and proceed as if they didn't exist. I figured I didn't need to bother with the extra code." Sonj interrupted.

          "But you allowed it resource commandeering!" I retorted hotly.

          "Only under specific circumstances!" She slumped back into her chair. She threw her arms up over her head "How was I supposed to anticipate some punks illegally accessing the program with hacked nannites?"

          "There's a reason for safety protocols. The end user hacks around the safeties because they're too restrictive. The programmers leave some out because the product wasn't intended for that kind of interaction. Where does it end?" Why do so many people feel the need to change things? Why aren't more content with what they have?

          "Hey! The resource commandeering was simply meant to be a protective measure. Seraph¹ would use the assailant's tools to protect his charge."

          "Then why didn't he just take the modrpunks nannites? Why did he go after them?"

          "Blasting O!"²

          "Watch your mouth please." I replied with an exasperated sigh.

          Sonj quirked her left eyebrow as she turned to look at me. "Wh... Oh snap. I mean sorry, habit." She scrolled the document in the holo³ back towards the beginning, and stopped at the second set of rules. "I'd forgotten that I'd given him a drive for justice and vengeance."

          "Oh man." I shook my head and began to pace. "Maybe instead of focusing on what went wrong and fixing it, we should find your 'Seraph' before he has his justice."

          "Ok then. How do we find a pack of altered hoodlums? I don't think they'll be hanging around the scene of the crime."

          "The city is under quarantine, right? They couldn't have gotten very far." I stopped my pacing in front of Sonj. She looked up at me and frowned. "The hexes⁴ are locked down tight right?" I could hear my voice rising in tone.

          "Girl, you don't pull any news feeds, do you?" She snapped her fingers and her own holo popped up in front of her. She tapped the screen a few times then pointed to me. My ocular receiver⁵ beeped softly in my ear, alerting me that my netlink⁶ had just received some new data.

          "These are highlights from the Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News, those should catch you up to speed on all the developments on the nannite situation." She snapped the fingers of her other hand, shutting down the netlink. "Which brings us back to your question. The Fort Worth half of the Metrodomes⁷ is locked down. You can't even get to the mid-city area. But inside of the city, all the hexes have open access. That way people, like them modrpunks, can get to a hospital."

          "What about the other smaller cities, like Saginaw, Lake Worth, or River Oaks."

          "They're suburbs of Ft. Worth, so they can still travel in. Especially since they don't have any hospitals of their own."

          I huffed. How are we going to find them? "We might need help to find them." I began pacing again, I think I know what might do the trick.

          "We can't call the authorities, Tara!"

          "That's not what I meant." I sat in the chair next to her at the table. "Remember I used to make robots." Sonj nodded slowly. "One of the ones I made in Russia was an adaptable form and program. It's very basic, but you could do something to the code. The only thing is, it's with some things in storage."

          "That's ok. We field trip it, then head back to 7th."

          "It's just off of University. That's a 40 min walk, and I don't have the creds⁸ for a podtrans⁹."

          "You seriously need your own vehicle."

          "I can't afford it. Plus I hardly go anywhere."

          "I don't mean the powered variety. Just how do you think I got here today?" She stood up and placed her hand on her hip.

          My forehead knit in confusion. "I just thought you came via a podhop¹⁰."

          "An leave a public record of my coming here? Come on, let's head downstairs."

          We grabbed our gear and jackets then headed for the elevator. In the lobby the receptionist began waving at me. We walked over to the elderly Asian gentleman seated behind a desk.

          "Ms. Tara. I have delivery for you."

          "Is it my groceries from Satisfying Sundries?"

          "Yes'm."

          "Could you hold it in the kitchen until I get back Mr. Harry?

          "Sure! Don't forget, the kitchen closes at 10, or you'll have to wait until the morning."

          "Thanks Mr. Harry. I should by back by then."

          We continued on our way out the building. Outside Sonj walked to the corner, where a bike row was stationed. "Here it is, old fashioned, self powered, and power producing. Bicycles." Sonj cackled as she undoes the mechanism holding her bike in place.

          "But I don't have a bike."

          "Rent one." She turned around and called to a little Black boy sitting on a bench nearby. "Hey, there was an attendant here earlier."

          "He went for his break, he said he'll be back in a minute." He took a backpack off his shoulders and placed it on the ground. The kid must've just come from school. Do you want a bike? I know which ones have been here for a while."

          "I don't want to buy one, I just want to borrow it."Just then a young Hispanic man came out from the lobby. He pulled a ring of keys from his  pocket.

          "Do I hear someone in need of a ride? I can help you out, for an exchange." He winked at us as he sauntered over. "Hey, shorty-bean, thanks for not letting them get away man." He tossed the kid a piece of candy. He grabbed it in air, and ran off leaving his bag. "I bet he's got a note for his momma in there." He turned back to me. "I'll deliver that later. But as I mentioned earlier, I think I can help you out."

          "I don't have any spare creds.." I replied

          "But she lives here." Sonj cut in. "So she can pay you back."

          "You do look familiar. Lemme see your deck¹¹ key." I fish my security key and held it out for him. "OK, how's this." He pulled out a crystal, strung on a short silver chain. "For however long you ride it bike, you keep this hooked on your left ankle. That way, any excess energy you build up during that time, belongs to me. You earn enough power, I might even sell it to you."

          "How do I know this is even your bike to sell?" I eyed him carefully.

          He pulled a wallet out of his back pocket, and held out an ID card. It read Pablo Gonzales. Worker on Bike Station #57, City of Fort Worth. "I don't own the bikes, but I do have authority to sell bikes that have been here for over a year. The city also supplies each station with extra bicycles. Seeing as we are close to a TransHub, we only get two extras." He then began retrieving a few that were closest to the street light the row was anchored to. "Once you own a bike, storing it here, or any other station is free." Done with his sales pitch, he stood behind the four bikes available.

          Sonj whispered in my ear, "You should get the Cherry Red one."

¹ Designation for Artificial Intelligence Guardian. ² Mild oath, short for Basting Orifices. ³ Holographic projection from a netlink device. ⁴ Region, or neighborhood of a city covered by a hexagonal dome. ⁵ Signal receiver; worn like an ear piercing in the tragus or anti-tragus.. ⁶Personal Computing Accessory; highly customizable, jewelry like device which uses biological electricity converted from the user to sustain itself. Basic units consist of a synthetic data crystal, conversion chain, ring emitter, and gyroscope ring. Additional components include inner ear and occular ear recievers, conversion arm ring, bracelets, power storage bracelets, and specialized gems. ⁷In the year 2048 the DFW Metroplex is covered by a complex series of domes. ⁸Derivative form of the currency at the time; credit. ⁹Powered Transportation; latest iteration of the "smart car". Runs on bioelec energy supplied by the user, or purchased with credit. Travels overhead on magnified rails. ¹⁰Public Transit. ¹¹Small studio apartment. Approximately 52 per floor.