note-wow one more chapter to go! tbc... dont go anywhere! :)
Christina Spencer, tired, cold, and miserable.
She sat in the alley between two buildings as she tried to prepare
to enter the fringes.
She shook out her hands, trying to work out the mild tingling. The
sky broke and it began to rain.
Peller was right, it burned like hell, there was no burn marks or
scarring but the initial pain was almost enough to make her black
out.
"Bastard!" she hissed.
She carefully switched her prison shirt inside-out, but maybe it
wouldn't matter.
"Son of a bitch!"
She finally realized Simon Peller never intended to give her a
chance; it was all about setting her up and making himself look
good.
The rain began to soak her.
"Damn you, Simon Peller!"
She almost started crying, but decided she was damn tired of
crying.
She was damn tired of a lot of things.
She cowered under the eves of a warehouse until the rain stopped,
then she headed off, deep into the heart of the Fringes.
It was a nasty place. The poor homeless and destitute were not so
bad, but here, in this God-forsaken place... you would never find a
more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
I don't belong here! Aren't I the good girl?! Well, ha! A lot of good,
that did me!
Maybe it was supposed to be this way. Despite her desire for a
better life, even a normal life, was not hers. The Spencer-family
curse, supposedly cast by an old witch long ago, had claimed her as well.
"I want payback!" she swore to herself.
Brueghel was a prolific citizen of the Fringes; well-known for all
the the terrifying reasons. He was an an intelligent, sociopathic
criminal-for-hire who, along with his partner Mahler, made money
disposing of corpses for other criminals by selling them to body
banks around the city.
"Filthbag!"
Christina saw him while he was on the way for a delivery, the body
of a male yuppie in nice clothes slung over his shoulder, walking
briskly to his van. She was hoping he had other connections as
well. Even if not, she was certain he would get her in touch with
those who did.
Brueghel bounced a little as he walked, from the weight of the
body. Hey, was it moving? Still alive, and trying to get away?
He looked down to his side, saw as a young woman in gray
clothes was following close, and trying to keep the body from
falling off his shoulder.
"Off-balance. dummy! You would have dropped him 500 feet past
if not for me! Well, aren't you gonna say thanks, you rude
bastard?!"
"Yeh, well, whatever!" Brueghel shifted the weight. "I got it, little
lass. Be on your way."
"Wait! Did anyone ever tell you, how STUPID your hair looks?"
"My, God, but you are bold!"
He stopped and looked at her.
"I know you... "
"Yup. My father hired you and some other dolt with equally stupid
hair... hey where you going?!"
Brueghel had dropped the body and was running away.
Christina began running after him.
"Hey come back here! I'm not done talking to you, filthbag!"
He just continued running.
She was able to get close enough to grab his leg and pull him to
the ground, then she climbed on top of him, straddling his back and
shoved a fist close to his face.
Just don't pass out! To hell with pain! I LIKE pain, it keeps me
motivated! Ok, now!
With one hand burning from the fire within, Christina clamped her
other hand around his throat.
"I otta fucking kill you!" she hissed.
"Ah... koff... well what's stopping you little lass... kaff!
The pain was so great, if Brueghel hadn't bent in just the right
position, she might have fallen over.
Her mind raged with anger. She could almost feel her brain
overheating.
I will no longer pay for the sins of my mother!
"I need some stuff, filthbag... Laptop. Some VR gear."
Her hand clenched tighter around his throat, and she smiled.
"I want to play a game!"
***
"Welcome! Welcome!"
Simon greeted the first member to his consortium on "Anti-
mutations for a Brighter Tomorrow. He was a tall man with light
brown hair, a full, bearded face. He wore glasses, and bright smile
through thin lips.
"Donald Cochran!" he stuck out a big hand.
"From West America. You're with Hymes Enterprises!"
"We deal in WiFi. We've recently installed all the technology we
need to make West America completely wireless."
Simon stared at him with a blank face and a smile. "Impressive.
Have a seat."
Donald took a seat, and Peller rattled on.
"Five countries now!" he smiled. "My campaign has the support of
five countries! It even received a sizable donation from Zik-Zak!
It is good to see, there are so many who want to do the right
thing."
"Of course," Donald said "but you still need our support."
Simon checked the time.
"We begin in four hours. The other representatives are on their
way."
Donald nodded. "I'm looking forward to it. It will be very
enlightening."
-
"My God, it's amazing what have they done to this place!?" Edison
mused, as he and Theora walked intot he former temple of Vanna
Smith. Everything not covered in dust had been covered in cloth,
even the televisions.
After the expose on Vanna Smith and her church, the church shut
down and Vanna Smith had escaped for parts unknown.
But cleaning crews were working hard to fix the place up. Janitors
and interior decorators were moving to and fro about the
abandoned temple, making the place look as shiny and new as
possible.
Parkin and Velma followed them in, ooh-ing and aw-ing in what can
only be described as "brown-nosing".
Max appeared on one of the tv sets, as a janitor polished the
screen.
"Hey, watch it!" Max yelled to the janitor "You almost blinded
me!"
"Any word?" Theora asked him.
Max shook his head sadly.
"I'm worried. I mean totally worried!"
"She'll be back. "Maybe she just needs to be alone right now... as
alone as a prisoner can be."
Max stared blankly for a few second then flipped off.
"So so soooooooooooo sorry you lost that... child," Parkin said.
"Maybe it's for the best," Velma agreed "She was a little untamed. Even rude. You deserve better."
"I don't believe this!" Theora said. "When she was with us, you
adored her! Now that she's gone you look down on her! Why is
that so easy for you?!"
Parkin looked at Velma and back at Theora and just shrugged.
"We got paid enough."
"Nice to know that nothing is changing in the almighty world of
network television!" Edison sneered. Then he pulled Theroa away.
"You want kids?" he asked, as he watched them pulling tarp from
the rafters.
"I mean... right away?"
Before Theora could answer, Velma jumped in. "Hey you got a
vidi-message! From Research and Development. Say's it's
HIGHLY important you come and see him... tho what can be more
important than our... YOUR marriage?"
-
Ben Cheviot opened to door to see his son, Kyle flanked by a hired
security guard.
"Hallo! Harvey Burton sir! Simon Peller hired my to bring Kyle
home... "
he fished in his pockets, and pulled out a note.
"In a completely unaltered fashion besides what you already did to
him."
Kyle sneered and pushed his way into his dad's home. He moved
with a slight limp and Chevior could see the pain etched in his
face.
Cheviot frowned at Harvey. "Peller told you to say that?"
"He wrote it down for me! See?"
Harvey held up the note.
"Well, tell him I said thanks!" he began to shut the door and
Harvey gently pushed it open. "I got instructed to stay. Mr. Peller
thinks it's best, what with your son being so inherently aggressive
and all. He want's you to stay safe!"
He pulled out another note and held it up.
"I'm kinda poor at taking messages!"
"Let him in, daddy, I'm lonely!" Kyle chortled.
Cheviot was angry but let the inept guard in, and joined Kyle in the
kitchen.
"A long time since I've had you over... "
He got a little wistful.
"We'll have to... do this more often."
It had been a couple years since the two had any semblance of a
relationship. The revelation of his genetic alteration was shocking
and horrifying; it was why his fraternal twin was a "crazed half-
wit".
That was when Kyle Cheviot walked away from his father, and his
job at network 23.
He also beat up Murray, just so his "righteous anger" would be
fully understood.
Kyle poked at his bandages. He shrugged. "I don't see why not?"
"First I got somethings I need... to tell Edison... "
He frowned. "It's about Christina... "
***
"Edison is coming. Ok, I kinda-sorta told an untruth... but when he
sees this... I'm sure I will be forgiven!"
Bryce wandered around the VR landscape, ooh-ing and aah-ing at
every detail. It took much to impress the boy-wonder, and he was
really impressed.
"No, getting rid of it." Max sulked.
"Getting rid of THIS!? You can't!"
"If she doesn't come back soon I will."
He shrugged.
"It's Wuthering Heights... and it's not the same without her!"
"Max... Max are you... well, do you... you know... 'like' her?"
"That's a silly question Bryce! Do I like her? Well let me say that-"
Max's voice was drowned out by a deep roaring up in the virtual
sky.
"I didn't get that!" Bryce yelled over the noise.
Max looked up. "Nevermind, just run! RUN BRYCE
RUUUUUN!"
A hot red motorcycle zoomed out of the sky, with a rider in a
black leather outfit, and with a helmet on and was
unrecognizable. The bike and it's rider crashed right through the
main house, across the field to the Grange, and tearing open the
virtual landscape to reveal a jumbled matrix-like coding.
"Are you running Bryce?!" Max yelled, he managed to keep
himself a couple steps ahead of the wild rider, and they both came
to a halt in the barn.
The rider got off and pulled the helmet off.
"Christina!"
"Yeh!" Bryce, or rather his vectored-lined self ran up to her.
"Christina this is great!" he looked over at Max. "Hey we are
gonna make a great team!"
"Erm... " Max looked at Bryce and then at Christina. "Well maybe
you wanna re-think that? Hey, Christina? You ok?"
Christina leaned over Bryce, glaring angrily.
"What are you doing here!?"
"Well, time for tea!" Max clapped his hands together, looked at
them. "I love these things! Bryce what kind of tea you want?!"
"I asked you a question!" Christina demanded, ignoring Max and
poking Bryce in his vector-chest.
He stepped back a little.
"Uh... well... Max wanted me here... we were... worried about
you." he tried, wondering why she was acting like a jerk all of a
sudden.
"Come on inside, you guys! I want tea. Oh, hey, let's just have it
out here!"
Max waved a hand, and a table with tea set sprung up from the
exposed coding.
"Chai tea? How about Zen! Oh I know... Chamomille... it helps to
relax you!" Max said, looking at Christina carefully, his eyes
begging.
She growled deep in her throat, reached down and pulled up a
sword, sending it through the table and scattering the contents.
"No more goddamed tea, Max!"
Both Max and vector-Bryce remained still.
"If... you insist... a Coke, perhaps?" Max huffed.
She put the sword away, then walked off.
"Destroying the Heights, Max," she said casually, then dug the
sword into the ground "its time has come."
"Destroy the Heights? Our heights? No!" Max protested.
"It's too nice! It's too... well, good!" Bryce agreed. "Aw, stop!"
He ran to her, as the blade tore open another coded hole.
"No, I need the memory."
Bryce reached out for her hand.
"Do not even think about touching me again!" she raged, shoving
him back.
Bryce ran behind Max, who now shook an angry finger at
Christina.
"That wasn't nice, that wasn't nice at all! Christina what is wrong
with you!?"
Christina reached down into the hole and then pulled out. Now her
hand was coated in silver metal. She clenched it tightly.
"Virus protection, for one thing."
She looked at them, then turned back to her work of destroying the
ground.
"You better go now, Max... and take Bryce with you!"
Max watched sadly, as Bryce peeked around him, watching as she
constructed herself a suit of body armor.
"Incredible," he sighed.
"No... no I'm not going... we aren't going!" Max said, crossing his
arms over his chest.
"Maybe she needs more alone-time?!" Bryce whispered.
"Stop it!" Max yelled at her. "We created this together and I have a
right to it, too!"
Christina pulled out another sword and rose up into the air. She
floated over to Max, gripping the swords hard.
"I said leave me alone before I get really fucking pissed off!"
-
"Oh... shit!"
Bryce instinctively pushed his chair back from the computer. Half
of him was amazed at his genetic power, and the other half was
frightened at Christina's increasingly hostile attitude.
"Hurry Edison!" he begged. Someone had to talk her down from
her anger and fast.
Before she got really pissed off.
-
"Tommy's ok," Cheviot whispered. He's safely out of the city now.
Safely away from Simon Peller and his ilk... I heard that man now
has the support of 5 countries! Can you imagine?!"
He looked at Kyle.
"And it doesn't affect you a bit," he smiled "keep it up... don't let
him get to you... "
"I'm fine... but... dad they were gonna give me an operation... like
what they did to Christina... but they said I couldn't have it because
of my... anger problems!"
"Well, that part I can agree with... "
There's something in the implants! " he hissed. "Something that
increases... bad moods... it explains a lot too. I think Christina's
in real trouble."
"Leave him alone!" Bryce yelled, jumping out from behind Max
"don't you dare touch what I made, Christina!"
"Not gonna hurt him! I just want him gone! You too."
She pointed the sword at Bryce.
"But, first... "
She dropped back to the ground.
"Say his name Bryce!"
"Ok... just... just relax!" Max begged "Christina we know you feel
hurt and maybe just a little mad."
Bryce nodded fast.
"Your... feelings... are valid-"
"My feelings are valid!" she mocked "I lost everything on account
of him! I'm the one who was abused, and tormented, time and
again! My own father killed my mother and then tried to kill me!
But it didn't stop there did it?! Then Ned Grossberg came along...
and then he came along! And how much more! How much longer
do I have to suffer with that shit! They make me what I am, and
they punish me for it!"
"You... have a point... but... "
She pulled the swords back.
"And you're next," she told him with a smile.
He felt that panic come up. "He won't find out!" the boy insisted.
Bryce looked at Max.
"Don't say it, Bryce! Words have power! Just don't say that name!"
then Max turned and ran for the bike.
Christina leaned in closer.
"Say his name, mutant!"
"Simon Peller!"
Christina nodded, thrust both swords into the air, zooming upward
and "dragging" along most of the virtual Heights, which shattered
into coding and formed a trail.
"No!" Bryce called out.
Max pulled up alongside him. "On the bike, Bryce. We gotta stop
her!"
"So... much... power!" Bryce aw-ed.
"Hurry, Bryce!"
They raced out into the great beyond of cyberspace. Bryce tried to
stand on the bike but the speed was too great as Max chased after
his fantasy-girl, once meek and kind, once oppressed greatly but yet
with a hope that tomorrow would be a better day.
Christina must have gotten tired of waiting; the old Christina was
gone, and a vengeful hellion had taken her place.
"Gettin close! Bryce I'm clipping her to slow her down."
"Aaahh... it's so beautiful in here!" Bryce shrieked, reaching out
with one hand as the coding of all different colors streamed past
them.
"Bryce! Hold on!"
"Whoah!" he yelped, then released one hand to keep himself from
slamming into her. Unfortunately it was enough to throw Max off
balance and the hoped-for "clip" instead driving the front of the
bike directly into her back.
"Oh no oh crap!" Max watched as she spun around crazily. He
knew that in here she was more or less a program like he was, and
that it was not likely he harmed her physical self.
Still, all he knew was, he accidentally ran over his fantasy-girl
with a motorcycle!
"Are you ok, are you ok?"
He followed as she spun forward.
"Hey. Hey, talk to me!"
She just hung there, looking dazed, then she arched forward.
"My BIKE!"
"Trickster! You just pretended to be hurt!"
"Get off that!" she screamed, grabbing the handlebars.
"Max get off that's my cyber-bike you stole!"
"Ak! Oh, what?! Like you stole Simon Peller's credits?"
"I have an idea!" Bryce cried out.
The bike swerved to and fro, bouncing off the side of a tunnel,
straight into a vector-lined city, off a "high-rise" and back to the
tunnel.
"Too strong, too... SHES USING ENHANCERS OF SOME
KIND!" Max realized.
"We need to get her to stop and listen to us, and I know how!"
"I didn't think prisons had the kind of equipment she must be
using! That's just wrong!"
"Max! I... " Bryce tapped his head in various patterns. Then he
pointed.
"C'mon Max! Get off my bike Max!" Christina continued to rage.
"I got it!" Max said, and revved up the bike. "Hold on Bryce!"
"Eep!" was all he could say as the bike carried them into an
invisible wall.
"Pull out, Bryce! I have her trapped now, get out! Concentrate!"
Bryce pushed his chair back even farther, looked at the screens.
His tiny vr self was gone, and Christina was trapped, minus 1
sword, in a "box" of swirling lines like he had before she granted
him his body.
"Help," Bryce whispred.
Edison, Theora and Murray came in fast, closed and locked the
door.
"We just got news about a prison truck that overturned, and one
missing prisoner. You know anything?!" Edison asked.
"Help!" he pointed to the screen, revealing Max in one screen and
a furious Christina in another.
"Christina!" Theora gasped, taking a seat.
"Wait! Talk to her? Something happen and she flipped!" Max
warned.
Murray and Edison gathered behind Theora, watching anxiously.
"She's not herself," Bryce warned. "I mean she's reeeeally not...
woah I was in there!"
"Translated; she lost her shit!" Max agreed.
"Christina," Theora asked. "Can you... see me?!"
Christina stared back silently.
"Gently!" Max begged.
"SHUT YOUR FACE MAX!!" she roared. Then she looked back
at the others and smiled.
"What are we supposed to say?" Edison asked.
"Can you get my fantasy girl back?! Cos this is not her!"
Theora glanced at Edison and Murray and back at the screen.
Edison took her hand.
"We missed you," he said kindly.
"What... do you want, Christina?"
"Justice!" she replied.
She scratched her head. "Nope, can't have that. Ok, take a guess!"
"Tell us where you are. We'll... send someone for you."
"Oooh, nice! You'll send someone for the mutant who never gets a
break?"
"Ok, calm down."
"And then what? They do it again? They kick me in the face one
more god-damn time and I am the one who has to apologize?! Is
that the way it works?!"
"I'm doing a story!" Edison said. Christina just rolled her eyes,
poked at the lines with her sword. "Look, Cheviot is tired of
Simon Peller's hate campaign. He offered me the story!"
"Peller!" she repeated with a hiss, and it really did sound like a
snake hissing.
"Wrong word!" Max snapped "We can't say that word!"
Christina got close to the screen. "That 'man' stole my life, and I
decided... I don't want justice. Time and again, justice was denied
me! And guess what? I got tired of waiting!"
"Christina, don't!" Theora begged.
"To hell with justice! I want revenge!"
"I cannot hold her much longer! She musta got hold of some
heavy-duty equipment and built her VR self up in a BIG way."
Max said "If you can't talk some sense into her, then something
really bad is going to happen!"
"Be quiet Max, you're annoying!" Christina growled.
"Oh!" Theora sighed, her mind finally grasping the severity of the
situation, and turned away from the screen.
"What do we do?" Bryce asked.
"Hurry you got a few more seconds!" Max yelled.
Edison turned to Murray.
"Get a hold of Simon," he whispered "tell him... he pissed off a
mutant... "
"Er... well, do I have to? I mean... maybe he likes surprises?"
"Murray!" Edison choked.
"Sorry! No, wrong, that's wrong. I'll go call or... something."
"How much more?"
Edison looked at the screen.
Was this the scared little girl he saved from the warehouse?
"How much more do I have to sacrifice? I mean what is the price I
gotta pay... just so they leave me alone!"
"One more chance," Edison begged. Theora joined him, nodding.
"Please, Christina, please!"
She shook her head. "No! I'm through with giving them one more
chance to punch me in the face!"
"I'm sorry," was all Edison could say.
"Me too! You'll never know... I used to think my mother died for
my sins... but all along it was me, dying for her sins."
"If you do this!" Edison raised his voice. He
stopped as Theora gripped his hand.
Edison tried again. "If you go through with this... you will only
validate his argument."
Too late, she was gone.
"We need to find her, fast!" Max said.
"If... we can find wherever there's this... well, really big output of
electrical charges. I mean, that's the way it works," Bryce
suggested.
Shortly after this, Kyle and Cheviot finally arrived, and they
locked Harvey outside, along with the meddling hosts.
"The silence has gone on, long enough! Mr. Cheviot it may
already be too late!" Theora told him angrily.
"I know," Cheviot said. He sat down, looking defeated. He looked
down.
"Kyle has already been exposed; there's no need for silence any
longer." Edison told him.
"Yes there... was... " he sighed. He looked up.
"Listen to what I have to say... and I promise... no more silence... "
Outside the lab, Harvey tapped on the door.
"Can I come in, sir?"
No answer.
"Mr. Peller is only thinking of your safety, sir."
Behind him, Velma pouted. "How will the show go on if they
don't come out? The wedding is in 3 days!"
"Oooh, a power-plan!" Parkin mused. "Something happened and
they are in a strategic planning session!"
"Wow... " Velma sighed, then she bounced up and down on the
toes of her feet "A plot-point! A plot-point! Oh, yay!"
Inside the lab, there was an uncomfortable silence at Cheviots
stunning announcement. The first to speak, was Bryce.
"Now what? I mean... Christina's not going to wait... don't
misunderstand me, Simon Peller deserves whatever he gets... but...
"Yes, if she continues, she only proves him right... in his mind,
anyway." Theora said, sadly. "Edison how do we fix this?!"
More silence. Then Kyle spoke up.
"I like Bryce and Max's idea... find her physical location, and 'wake
her up'... "
"Her anger may present another problem!" Bryce said "she's
beyond pissed. Something tells me that won't change when she
wakes up."
Bryce turned to the screen. "Try and find her, Max But... don't put
yourself in danger... Max please don't put yourself in danger!"
"I can find you a doctor, someone to remove her implants. I
suppose she will... calm down after that."
Ben Cheviot looked a little more relaxed. There was a lot to be
said, when one no longer has to keep secrets.
"Peller doesn't need to know about that either," Cheviot smiled.
"Let's go, Bryce! Back in the side-car!"
He stood up, slightly limping to the door.
"She must think you're dead!" Bryce realized. "That's what she
meant by 'losing everything'!"
Kyle frowned, then smiled.
"Let's go, kid! I want my face to be the first my sleeping beauty
sees!"
"Wait," Bryce grabbed some computer equipment and shoved it
into a bag.
"What about our film crew?" Edison thumbed.
"Hm!" Cheviot mused "Well bring them along. Go see Peller. You
can start your story today."
The consortium was well underway. At this time, Simon Peller
was listening to feedback from his captive audience.
"Need I remind you, Mr. Peller of the incident from several years
ago?" asked Aabidah Mazin, a lovely 40 year old female
representative from East Najai. "Terrorists hiding in plain sight.
No one ever saw them coming until it was too late... it is
frightening... "
Dirk Hitzig, a 50 year old man from Germany raised a hand, then
stood up.
"Facts, Herr Peller," he opened his notebook "This from my
country, this, all in the last year!" he slipped on his glasses, and
began to read:
"A truck driver jackknifed his rig when he tried to avoid a glowing
person on the highway... another one, from 6 months' past; a 17
year old boy had gone missing for three years, and then
inexplicably materialized in his younger sisters bedroom. She
claimed he had never left."
Simon Peller only smiled knowingly. "Well, there you have it! Let
the facts speak for themselves! While it was interesting to discover
the fine programming available on Network 66, the truth is
painfully clear; Christina Spencer, and others like her, are a
hazard!"
He frowned.
"Am I being too harsh? This girl, I honestly gave her a chance, and
she violated my faith in her! No I don't think I'm being too harsh!
These mutants need to be acknowledged, exposed, and verified.
We cannot and should not allow them to hide in the dark."
He smiled a bit.
"I want it to be known, their integration with society would not be
completely unwelcome from my standpoint. However, when they
hide, or refuse to cooperate... "
"Then we may only call them predators!" Dirk agreed.
"Exactly," Simon said.
The gathered audience nodded, verbally confirmed agreement, and
then started clapping.
-
"That way! Over there! You guys it's coming from over there!"
Max yelled over the laptop Bryce held firmly in his lap, as he
bounced in the sidecar while Kyle drove well over the speed limit.
"I'm coming back in!" Bryce told him.
"Maybe you shouldn't."
"No I can help."
"Bryce I can't have you all ga-ga over cyberspace."
"I... I won't, I promise."
"Ok, I'm gonna trust you Bryce. Don't let me down."
"Have I ever?"
Max stared at him blankly.
-
Murray met Edison and Theora on the front steps to Simon's
building.
"Can't get in, they wouldn't let me! Apparently it's a private
meeting."
"Not for long," Edison said as he readied his camera. "It's ok,
Angie's in control."
"Wait for Janie Crane? She's off editing more of Peller's hate."
"Woah! Hold on there!" Parkin stepped up to him, Velma close
behind.
"Now, listen I know Mr. Cheviot gave his approval, but now may
not be the best time. Mr. Carter, there's a wedding to think about!
Can't this wait?"
Edison smouldered with fury, and was ready to tell them where to
go, how to get there, and to enjoy the trip... when his camera wernt
down.
In fact, several cameras and tv's went down at the exact same
moment, all over the city.
It lasted exactly 16 seconds.
When they came back on, the first thing to be seen was Simon
Peller's face. It was a clip from one of his PSA's.
Simon Peller is a man committed to our future. A future that is-
The video cut out, now replaced with words.
FILLED WITH HATE, BIGOTRY AND PARANOIA.
then more words formed over Peller's image:
THIS IS THE FACE OF HATE.
The video shifted to Simon Peller's first psa
As I speak, there is a new and
ominous danger facing all of us. It
is a danger facing every man,
woman and child. And only a
handful of Americans even know
it's out there.
YOU NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH.
The video cut out, and was replaced by several photos of human
beings being victimized in unauthorized medical experiments.
"Oh, my God!" Aabidah Mazin gasped, covering her eyes. Dirk
Hitzig dropped his notebook, the loose papers fluttering about his
feet.
"I'm assuming this isn't what you wanted us to see, Simon?"
Donald asked.
Then Christina appeared on his screen, her face one of carefully
controlled anger.
"What? You look shocked, Simon! No right to speak for myself?
JESUS, the least you could have done was get my side of the
story!
For many seconds, Simon Peller could only watch in horror. This
was being broadcast everywhere!
But he was not a man short on ideas. He was a good politician,
and always managed to slither his way out of the corner.
"Hacked," he replied simply. He turned to his audience, now more
captivated than before.
"The girl... the mutant I tried to help!"
"Oh! You! You son of a bitch!"
"More facts!" was Simon's reply, and not to her. "Well perhaps I
should give this 'nice young lady' the floor then."
"Give the mutant the floor!" Dirk said.
"Yes, yes, YES I AM THE MUTANT HE HATES AND FEARS, BUT
YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH; THAT I AND OTHERS
OF MY KIND HAVE BEEN SILENT FOR TOO LONG. WE
TOOK THE ABUSE FOR TOO LONG. FEAR, HATRED. THIS
IS WHAT SILENCE DOES. SILENCE KILLS. MY QUESTION
IS, HOW MUCH LONGER WILL YOU BE SILENT?!
Simon waved his hand, sat down in his chair. "This is what I get
for trying to be the good guy?" he asked.
Christina didn't know what disgusted her more; his unmitigated
hate, or the fact that his chair actually resembled a throne.
"You know what, Simon. Honestly I can't stand the sight of
you... I mean there was my father, there was Ned Grossberg... but
you... are the worst... you are the one who had a choice... to finally
do the right thing... everything my father hated me for, and
everything Ned Grossberg used me for... it was YOU, and YOUR
kind... that made it all possible... they never would have gotten
away with it, if not for scum like you!"
"Oh, well bravo!" Simon sneered, clapping as he did so. "Well,
now you just proved it all and in only a few minutes, by coming in
here, by hacking my computers and taking my money, hacking
networks all over the city! For the second time, I might add!"
Dirk and a few others started clapping again.
Simon Peller smiled in triumph.
"Enlighten me again! Why shouldn't we be afraid of you?"
-
"Equal viewpoints! You're done!"
From her seat in cyberspace, Christina looked over at Max.
"Dammit!"
She blacked out Peller's screen.
"I'm talking, here now get out!"
"Stop, just stop! Please... Christina, you've done enough. There's
no more silence! You made your point, and it made great ratings too. Wanna see the ratings?"
"Get him out too!" she pointed at the vector image that was Bryce.
"No! I have a right to be here! This is my fight too, now! But
Christina, this isn't the way to fight!"
"I am not finished herr!"
-
Simon Peller and the others watched the blank screen anxiously.
THen it came back on, with Christina glaring at Simon with a hate
and anger almost enough to rival his.
"You are not finished yet, mutant?" he asked calmly.
His answer came in the form of an electrical current that surged
throughout his office, blowing out the microwave, the coffee pot,
the vidi-phones and the tv screen too. Simon and the others rushed
to the center of the room, and there was no electronic device left,
that was not a smoking ruin.
"Alright NOW you are done!"
Max tackled her.
"Now you get out!"
"No more silence!" she hissed.
He grabbed her hands, and she instinctively tried to pull away.
Max stopped struggling with her.
"Ah... well, wait then!"
"I got it, Max!" Bryce said, as he wrapped his vectored self around
her waist.
"Out! Out, Christina! It's done, it's over.
"No, wait! Hey I'm serious! She has to wait!"
Bryce "pushed" as hard as he could.
"Noooooooooooo!" was all Max said, as Christina snapped out.
-
Kyle limped fast into the abandoned Wendy's. Among the rubble
he found her, sitting on the floor, a burned out laptop beside her,
clutched in one hand a set of VR goggles crushed in her fist. She
was gasping.
"Christina," he started. He knelt down beside her.
"Baby... "
"I did it! We did it! She's out of cyberspace!" Byce yelled, running
up to him.
"Whoah! Oh, no!"
"Shock... I guess it was a hard mental workout... help me get her
into the sidecar! I have to get her to the hospital... "
He thought.
"Tell Max to get hold of Edison so he can come get you."
He put an arm around Christina's waist.
"Kyle?" she whispered.
"Haven't lost everything, babe. This time, 'Heathcliff' stays with
'Catharine'."
"I wanna stay... Kyle I wanna stay with you guys."
"No, you go home buddy. Too late for her and me. But not you."
"But I-"
"C'mon! Make the most of your freedom! Enjoy it while
you can... just do yourself a favor and try to get out more... don't
forget the magic words; less ritual, more fun!"
When they were gone and Bryce was alone with his laptop, Max
came back, looking tired and out of breath.
"I lost her!" he said, looking sad and frustrated.
"Oh, Max, don't say that! She'll come back... I think... I hope... "
He frowned. "kinda started warming up to the kid."
"No, I mean I lost her!"
Bryce frowned.
He hated it when he didn't understand things!
"Ok, explain it, I'm not getting it!"
"She escaped! She escaped after you pushed Christina out of
cyberspace!"
Bryce shook his fists. "Who? Who escaped?!
"The mini-Christina, that's who!"
Bryce thought again, and finally got it.
"Happened before too. When I was made. Remember? Well, kind of!"
"Oh... wow... that snap... she snapped in half!"
"Yes, yes! Now ya see what I meant when I said 'don't kick her
out'? She was too strong, and it split her off!"
"Oh, my GOD!"
"I chased her and I even had the bike. But I wiped out in a router
and she took the bike and got away from me!"
Bryce's head was spinning.
"A new AI?" he wondered.