The Psychocybertronic Man
Prologue
The year is 2237; the United States has taken over every nation in the world by 2020. Under the leadership of the United Tea Party lead by presidents Beck and Palin free though and expression was stifled everywhere. Dissidents in the occupied nations were forced to wear bioengineered caps that detected thought and ate that part of the brain with its sharp teeth. Through the nonillion for play law every child born in the USA was given a astronomically large sum of money, the only requirement was that they must serve in the nation's sport, Football, and its organization, The NFL, or lose the money altogether. Nuclear explosions had destroyed the atmosphere but it was re-engineered by scientists, ending global warming and for 217 years, conservative rule had dominated the world. The United States became a beacon for other planet's countries, for the other once rich nations that now were forced to pay the head country all their funds. The laws of nature stopped applying to everything, and the growing science of Psychocybertronics had grown into a trillion dollar business. Things are changing now; the National Bohemian Party has taken control of the government in landslide election. Change is about to come to the world, but at what price?
The metal rain fell on the park in Death City's Nature district, covering the grass with chrome sheen. Metal rain was the result of a terrorist placing a paper clip in the middle of a small Ohio steel plant and detonating it. The fallout was immense and in return, the world was now treated to periodic spurts of metallic rain in addition to other phenomenon. You needed to be protected in this rain. One drop on your skin and it immediately covered your entire body and later your internal organs, instantly turning you into a metal statue within seconds. Death was always certain.
Homicide detective Maka Albarn and her Partner Soul Evans stood looking at the corpse in the middle of the park. It could not be affected by the rain; little silver drops fell on its pale skin. Maka's coat and pigtail braids had special disrupters that kept the rain off her body, Soul's headband kept his whole body covered. The corpse was of a young man, maybe early twenties, no signs of attack or injury.
"It's odd don't ya think Soul? Maka said and she tilted the Applesoft e-brella over her head, the rain made tinking sounds as it solidified on the LCD surface.
"Poison, probably. There are no defensive wounds and no blood. Could be a natural death?" Soul said Maka stared at him.
"Check the detector." Maka said. Soul shrugged.
"Forgot it." He said. Maka growled.
"How could you forget it, we're on a case!" She shouted.
"I thought it would be a gangland thing so I didn't bring it! Jesus, lighten up. Maybe I installed that new app on the e-brella?" Soul said. Maka tapped the handle, a cheerful voice spoke.
"Welcome," It said "please state the nature of use." Maka spoke to it.
"Search apps, poison detector." Maka said. The e-brella made frowny face.
"Sorry no record of that app, shall I download it?" it asked Maka told it no and the LCD screen went blank.
"Damn it Soul, if you weren't the best weapons expert on the force I would have asked Havar to be my partner. " Maka said.
"At least I didn't develop tits until I was 18." Soul said. Maka pulled out her Kindle XLK and scanned it to a medical dictionary. Pressing the key a thick, heavy book appeared.
"Maka Chop!" She shouted and slammed it on his head. Soul rubbed the lump that was forming.
"Internal affairs, Maka, one more fucking time with that book and it's internal affairs for your ass." Soul said.
"My descendants did that all the time." Maka said. Every time she mentioned her descendants, it always brought up the fact that in fact there was a girl in the 21st century that looked like her and a boy that looked like him. In fact, there was a long line of Evans and Albarns in death city. He wondered if they even had the same parents. Maka pressed the button on her glove.
"Comlink connect with coroner, direct connect Ox Ford." She spoke into the glove. Ox's voice came through the comlink speakers.
"Hey, hey, hey, how are my favorite homicide detectives today?" Ox said. Maka smiled.
"We're the only detectives you know Ox. Anyway, we got a body in the nature district, 32nd block of Portugal on where it meets Yankton Boulevard. No trauma or wounds found, looks to be a male." Maka said.
"Collector XQJ37 is on its way, adios!" he said and the link shut off. Maka walked back to the car.
"Shouldn't we wait for the collector?" Soul asked.
"By the time we reach the coroner it should be there. They are quite fast you know." Maka said and turned commanded the car to start. Soul shut the door and changed the radio to a 21st, 20th station. The modern stations were playing a song by one of a Descendant of Blanket Jackson he hated the Jackson's period. It wasn't cool. Frank Zappa however was, and he drummed his fingers to the song about the catholic girls.
The new president of the United States sat at the end of the table his hands clasped in front of him. It was his first cabinet meeting and he knew some people would give him hell. His ideas were radical, to the point of lunacy. But then again the Bohemian Manifesto's author was a loony too.
"I'll be frank for a moment," The president said his eyes gazing across the table, "I want you to be honest about my ideas, If you think they're bullshit say so. I won't get angry. "He said and then looked at his notes. "I am making two executive orders this week. One will end the "Nonillion to play" program and the other will give all the nations we have control of their sovereignty." He said. This drew some angry shouts and growls. His chief of staff was the first to speak up.
"Sir, let me just say your plans are fiscally irresponsible and dangerous to this nation. We get over 999 trillion in funds just from the resources in these nations and another 1 trillion in taxes alone. Add to it that we have eliminated poverty in this nation and have ended the obesity problem. Why would you want to stop this?" he said.
"I appreciate your concern Axelrod," he said, "but let me make myself 100 percent clear, I will not live in a country that is a former shell of itself. We spent 2 centuries sending those who made under 50 thousand dollars a year to camps, they were killed, their bodies ground up into meat for the other prisoners. We exterminated people who were considered middle to lower class. In its wake, we had a system that stifled creativity in this country. Can you look me in the eye, and name me one medical or technological advance since the Tea Party and the Jockracy took over? Hell no you can't," he said slamming his fist on the desk, "Other than Psychocybertronics we have jack shit. No cure for aids, or cancer, nothing whatsoever to improve human life, that is bullshit. We were Nazis for two centuries, killing those who were not wealthy, white, Anglo-Saxon, and protestant. African Americans make up .0009% of the population, Latinos less than they make up that, Native Americans, completely wiped out; we are almost completely a white planet! I for one think this is wrong I want us to go backward into the 21st century not the here and now. I want to make America a bastion for other nations to look at and see our own renaissance. My party took control because those in the camps, once given their voting rights back, saw us as a party of change. We have 100 percent control of both houses of congress, we have supportive judges on the high court, and we can do this. If you don't like it, there is a saying in Conesville, Ohio: Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya! In other words, put up or shut up." He said and watched as they left the room. His advisor, stood next to him as he stared out the window.
"Anything I can do for you Mr. President?" She said.
"Susan, call my speech writer and have him proofread one of my speeches to the nation tomorrow. Also for my southwest trip in two weeks, I want to make a stop at one of the former campsites in Death City. Can we do it?" He said. Susan nodded.
"Good. Oh and Susan," he said, "I want the letters of resignation for that pigfucker Axelrod on my desk by five PM sharp. I don't like his attitude." Susan walked out. Sighing, the president opened his laptop and looked at his draft.
"What do you have for us Ox?" Maka said as the door to the coroner's office slid open with a pneumatic hiss.
"Same as the others, ashes, brain cremation. I couldn't even pick the damn thing up."
"How can a brain turn to ashes?" Soul asked.
"Well medically it is possible for the human body to cook itself to death. In cremation, the body is burnt up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit but, if that happened his organs would be ash too."
"Could you scan his brain?" Maka said.
"Psychocybertronics has not made enough advances to scan brains post mortem, even something like this couldn't be scanned." Ox said letting the ash sift through his fingers.
"Could you say it was a homicide?" Soul said.
"Most likely one of those designer drugs they sell at the hacker cafes. Overdose sounds likely." Ox said.
"But this guy wasn't a hacker. Name's Matt Edwards, a poli sci major from Reno, age 23. This guy wouldn't know hacking if it bit him in the ass, I checked. His hobbies include Game Shows and watching the news. No medication, no hackers guild membership, guy's a loner." Maka said.
"That rules out drugs, maybe it is homicide?" Ox said and tapped his tablet with his stylus to change the cause of death. "Well, I've done all I can. Hopefully you can find this bastard." Ox said. Maka shook his hand and turned towards the door. Three bodies on the exact same day of the week for three weeks, she loved puzzles but this one was going to be of her toughest.
Eiji Kasuma walked through the streets of Death City like a ghost. People bumped in to him but he couldn't feel them, nor they feel him. He was a perception, something people think but not really know if it is there. Sure, those with senses tuned to the perceptionspace could feel everything and see everything, but to others unfamiliar with the growing science, he was a ghost, a real one. The wind was cold. Death City was in the middle of a cold snap that was caused by the gigantic air cooler in the atmosphere. The government wanted all states and occupied territories to have the same amount of abnormal weather phenomenon. Therefore, deserts got snow and rain on occasions and grassy plains got dry hot heat. The president said he was going to fix that. Ryan Stevenson, that bastard was president. He was going to pay, pay for his friends, pay for what he did to the health committee, and pay for Rumi. For now, Eiji was feeling drowsy, he walked into perceptionspace gaming café, crawled into an open electrical outlet and dozed off. Vengeance would be his soon enough, he hoped some bastard didn't want to plug something in. He'd hate to kill again.