I do not own the Archangel Protocol series or any of the ideas. I just made a fanfic and that's all I get credit for. XP
"Anyone could have shown those damn LINK Angels were a fake!" Aria lamented, her feet pounding angrily through the deserted streets and run down old side-walks.
Then why didn't you?
"I was busy taking those worms out of your sorry ass code- or did you forget?" Her scowl deepened, sending one of the homeless scurrying for cover- or was it her appearance? No- it was her scowl.
I remember well, but you should remember was They said to you. A flower appeared in her vision, a bright lily blooming in pale white hands.
She paused and studied it. It was beautifully done, the coding perfectly rendered to match the image she had been sent, it was only missing the ominous voice of Them that told her to stay silent- her time would come.
She huffed and blinked away the image, secretly saving it in her LINK. She rubbed the almond shaped lump at her temple, damning that AI for being so perceptive. The LINK was implanted at birth (if you were fortunate enough to be able to afford a good hospital) and activated at the age of majority when you declared a legal religion. It connected you to the world- the economy, the schools, entertainment- everything. Hell, you couldn't even order food in most restaurants without the LINK to place the orders. The only ones that didn't have the LINK though were dissenters- atheists and some of the old secular scientists mostly- those who couldn't afford it, those without a legal religion, or the People- those born as the People anyways.
The People, more commonly and derogatorily called Gorgons, were the biological byproducts of the Medusa Bomb dropped at the end of the last war. The Medusa was the invention of a crazed, overly knowledgeable, under tested bunch of science freaks. It was filled with nanobots that changed everything they came across into glass. While most of the areas bombed had been changed instantly, the Glass was still 'hot' and slowly but surely, the nanobots were moving outwards and changing everything. The People were those who had been born in the Glass cities, their DNA changed by the nanobots. They were easily distinguished by their pale, ghostly white skin and hair, their yellow eyes, and their fang-like teeth. They were fast learners, fast growers- reaching their full size by two, but only lived for a handful of years, five to seven at the most, though there were rumors of some who had lived twelve years or more.. Most people considered Gorgons to be feral, even going along with the rumors that they ate human flesh. It wasn't true, but it was a rumor the People let persist.
Aria was a Gorgon- partially. She hadn't been born one, she'd been bit by the Glass last year. Her skin wasn't the deathly pale yet, and her hair was more silvery than white. She was a medical mystery really- the doctors who had first seen her said she would be turned within a month and would only have a handful of years to live. The Medusa was slow on her though. It had been over a year and her DNA was still partially intact. Now at least, they were giving her around fifteen years, instead of seven.
She sighed again, pausing to glance around and see where her bitter feet had taken her. Just ahead was the Glass of New York- the Bronx. It was where she'd been bit, only a mile or so from this very spot in fact. Odd that she should come here after a day like today…
Not really, Aria. Humans often seek solace in the past pain. There came a sympathetic sigh with the statement, and a few images of POWs drifted through her LINK.
"Stupid program." She shot at her friend, but more teasingly than with any real anger at it.
I'm an AI. A sentient being according to the world, thank you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be able to do half what you do. He materialized in front of her, looking pouty but playful from their usual banter. He took the form of one of the People, though with vividly green eyes and none of the feral look. His shoulder-length hair was softer and straighter than a real Gorgon, and his skin seemed merely pale, rather than roughly white. He wore tight fitting pants that showed muscular form beneath, and an old shirt with some band name from decades ago. He liked the old-school stuff, odd for such a modern day creation.
Aria sighed and smiled, "You are so cocky. You won't even let them know you exsist, so how can you be sure you are an AI?" It was the same argument as always, but they never seemed to tire of it.
I am what I am. He shrugged and smiled softly at her in an almost brotherly fashion.
She gave him a snarl and stuck out her tongue, mumbling to herself without bothering to subvocalize for the LINK, "You could at least give me credit for creating you… Stupid Program."