A man commands. A slave obeys. But a finn saves the day.
I OWN AND REGRET NOTHING!
...III...
ANNOUNCEMENT!
I'M GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED!
SUMMARY:
On the 13th day of the 13th month of the 13th year...magic will return to the world...and the streets will run red with the blood of the (semi)innocent...unless the world is saved by the most unlikely of hero's...baking cupcakes?!
The title is '13/13/13' and it'll be coming to a bookstore or E-Book site near you! Xilbris is the publisher, also available at Amazon, Inkitt and BarnesandNoble.
...responses...
...III...
Finn walked through fire...
Finn walked through death...
Finn walked through the now upside-down world of Columbia...
Finn finally notices it's upside down and falls-
BOOM!
The songbird flies through and shatters Columbia to bits...
The burning and screaming forms of his mother, Kara, Mr. Sokolov, his dad and many others surround him as they all fall...
Finn frantically puts out their fires...
He saves them all...
But the fire spreads to him and burns off his clothes and his arm...
Now Finn is screaming, naked, his limb reduced to ash, still on fire and still falling to the unforgiving earth below...
Suddenly a giant, Golden owl floats in front of him-
HOOT!
Finn gasped as he woke up in fright. He panted and looked around at the familiar skyscape of Columbia. Finn sighs, it was just a dream...
He looks down and suddenly realizes he's VERY close to the edge and nervously edges away quickly. Ordinarily he loved watching the clouds caress Columbia as it floated through them...at the moment he felt more anxious at the sight then anything.
He hears a grunt behind him, he looks behind him to two familiar hulking figures come out of a nearby sewer grate. The sight of Subject Delta and his 'little' sister always made Finn feel deeply conflicted. On the one hand they looked very happy together...like a father and daughter couple...on the other hand; how their bond was created was really messed up...but he just could never bring himself to report on them or turn them in...
Elanore Lamb...now a full grown teenager that had somehow scored some sweet Big sister, smiled and waved at Finn. He smiled and waved back...even as 'big daddy' glared holes at him.
"Finn! Where are you!?"
Subject Delta turned around, as if ready to fight. But a quick motion from Elanore convinced him to flee instead.
Finn looked up and saw his oldest friend Kara coming around the corner. "Kara, I'm right here!" Said Finn confused over his friends distress.
His seeker friend bounded toward him. Finn tried VERY hard not notices how her 'figure' bounced... sweet mercy she really needed to find a stronger sports bra that could hold up under her 'girth' without snapping. The last thing he needed was his mother detecting his arousal levels and trying to hook him up with Kara...dream nothing, he'd probably jump off the city in embarrassment if that happened.
"Finn, where have you been!? Your mom's been worried sick!"
Finn looked at her baffled, "What are you talking about Kara? I've only been gone for only an ho- He paled at the sight of his Pip-boy, it had been over FIVE hours!
"OH BLOOD!" Shouted Finn as he realized he'd overslept, his mom was gonna flip! He was about to run, But then Susan grabbed him up and used her enhanced speed to get them there faster...
Finn was a little annoyed to basically be luggage...but he appreciated Susan helping him out...it was also hard to be too upset with a woman when the two BIG proof's of her 'womanhood' were pressing against his back.
Desperate, he tried to focus on something, ANYTHING to get his mind off Susan once again not noticing that her 'lumps' had broken free of their 'prison'.
So he tired to take in the sights as they wized by to keep his mind off things...
One such sight was memorial plaza; a landmark dedicated to the memory of everyone who died during the 'times of trouble'.
Finn could barely remember the 'times of trouble'; he'd only been five when his mom broke into the house and bundled him off to safety...
Or tried to...it was hard to do that when half of a floating city was on fire...
Finn didn't truly understand everything that happened, but here's what he was told afterwords: before his mother came to power, their had been a ruling council in Columbia...which frankly hadn't been too good at their job...and was positively RIPE with corruption...
Of the lot of them, these four had been the most problematic:
Zachery Comstock: A religious leader who advocated taking back the 'Sodom and Gomorrah below' from the 'freaks and abominations'...as well as the ethnic cleansing of all 'subhumans' in Columbia(which basically meant all helpers, seekers(due to their implants and nanites)and splicers(That last one was actually a bit more practical, loathe as Finn was to admit it)). Thankfully, his following never grew big enough to do more then rant and rave. That changed during the 'Times of trouble', frightened, desperate people have a nasty tendency to make bad decisions that can make a terrible situation WORSE. Many citizens and Hiders- desperate to escape the hellhole the city had become -flocked to his banner and stormed the docks. Slaughtering many of the overwhelmed Seekers as many hijacked ships to flee...and were immediately wiped out by the relentless guardian of Columbia: The Songbird. Thankfully, he and the majority of his following were killed off as a result before they could cause too much damage.
Sophia Lamb: formerly a clinical psychiatrist in charge of re-educating Hiders...it was long rumored that she was actually brainwashing them to be part of her collectivist cult; 'the Columbian family'. During the 'Times of trouble' she rallied hundreds more desperate people to her cause and tried to take advantage of the anarchy to take over Columbia. Once she'd gathered enough Adam and followers, she instructed them all to commit mass suicide through conception of 'purple koolaide'/Adam cocktail and transfer their intellect, skills and Adam to her daughter Elanore to create the perfect vessel for utopia... Thankfully, Elanore's 'father' broke her free of Sophia's programing before the 'ritual' could be complete...the entire cult still died though...
Andrew Ryan: Now Finn would be lying if he said he didn't have mixed feelings about the philosophical entrepreneur. On the one hand he agreed with his 'put hardwork and merit' before all else...on the other hand he just couldn't swallow the whole 'altruism is the root of all evil' concept. He and his mother constantly butted heads over the helper program. His mom wanted to keep medical care free for all while Ryan refused to give up his hard earned money to 'enable parasites'. He constantly tried to get the Helper program shut down, defunded or privatized... One time his mom had forced through an initiative to have many acres of land converted into a nation park/health clinic...the main problem is that a key area needed for the initiative was some forest land that belonged to Ryan. He fought tooth and nail against it. But in the end...it was clear he was going to loose it...so he burnt it down the day before it was to be seized. The rest of the committee immediately backtracked and made the excuse that without that key area, the initiative was pointless...but everyone knew that they were just afraid of what Ryan would do next... When the 'Time of Trouble' came, Ryan took more initiative then all others and had has Ryan industries private army rise up and seize power more effectively then any other. He quickly killed many of his opposition and almost all of the Helpers...
Frank Fontaine: But of everyone on this list: Fontaine was largely considered both the worst and the most responsible for the 'Time of Trouble'. He ran Fontaine Futuristics, more importantly it was him who created 'plasmids'. An amazing product that could cure all diseases, enhance your personal skills and even give you superpowers...what the jingles DIDN'T tell you was that not only was it highly addictive, if you stopped taking them your body and mind started to degenerate into psychotic monsters. Worse, he kidnapped people to created the big Daddies and little sisters to covertly go out, kill people and harvest their corpses of Adam(They marketed the Big Daddies as 'maintenance automatons' as an excuse to allow them to go throughout the city unhindered while they discretely carried the little sisters in their chest cavity compartments to their victims. These cover-ups kept going on until his top researcher- Dr. Gross -accidentally let loose a Adam-infused virus during an experiment. Desperate to save her own skin, she bargained for a pardon. Between all the incriminating evidence she brought in regards to Fontaine and the fact she was the only one in Columbia with both the expertise and insider knowledge to combat this epidemic, she was granted it. Sadly, it was a matter of too little too late, the pandemic had already spread throughout the island. Not only did it kill thousands, but many more were reduced to savage splicers. Worse, somehow word of Fontaine's schemes reached local vigilante/rabble rouser Atlas. Who was quick to rally the majority of the enraged population to storm not only Fontaine Futuristics but ALL the Ruling Council as well. Along with Fontaine, most of the council was killed. But between all of Fontaine's splicer experiments escaping into the city and the likes of Ryan, Sophia and Comstock trying to fight Atlas forces while trying to seize power for themselves and the pandemic still extracting a heavy toll...the 'Times of Trouble' had truly begun...
Finn was pulled from his thoughts as they finally got to his home. He could hear his mom having a heated discussion with someone...or rather his mom's HOLOGRAM was having the discussion.
His mom literally gave up EVERYTHING to end the 'Times of Trouble'. The Founders created a device called the 'Quantum Circuit' when the foundations of Columbia were first being raised to the sky. A person could- in times of crisis -merge their mind, their very ESSENCE to cyberspace and become the controlling A.I. of the floating city.
However, this was a dangerous procedure. There was real risk of a person dying or worse, having their psyche absolutely shattered by the process. So no one eve dared considered it...except his mom...
Most of the city in flames, half the population dead, dying or worse, hunted by a vengeful Ryan's hitmen who'd been ordered to kill HIM as well as his mother...Minerva had been forced to take drastic action...
...many years ago...
Minerva planted a kiss on a young Finn's head as he drowsily struggled to keep himself awake, it had been a long day for him... She turned to Dr. Gross, "Is it ready?"
Dr. Gross looked up from the computer, she looked ragged as well. "I've done the best I could, but a lot of this tech has been lost for centuries. There's still a real chance this could kill you or worse."
"Dozens of islands have already failed and fallen to the earth below, the Songbird keeps massacring everyone that tries to leave and Atlas and Ryan seem determined to rip the city apart just to kill each other...what choice do we have? If I don't do this the city will be destroyed...and so will my son."
Finn manages to wake himself up just in time to see his mom enter the machine...and began to scream in agony!
"MOM!"
...
4 days...4 days Finn had to watch his mother suffer, powerless to help her...and then...everything that just made her...was gone...well, not 'gone gone'...she became the A.I. that had complete control of Columbia(1)...still...having an overprotective mother that could watch your every move and interfere with every aspect of your life...it was 'challenging' to say the least...
Finn's thoughts are again interrupted as he overhears some of his Mom's and Dr. Gross's conversation...
"And your sure about this?"
"Yes, I double-checked the body myself."
Minerva's hologram groans, "This is the last thing we need before Ryan's hearing..." She trails off when she senses Finn approaching, "We'll talk later."
As Dr. Gross left, Finn glared at her. Despite his mom's assurances, he never did like her(2)...
FINN MERTEN! Where have you been?!" Demanded Minerva annoyed.
"I'm sorry Mom, I Fell asleep and-
"You fell asleep? In the middle of the day?! Are you exhausted?! Do you feel sick!? Are you coming down with something!?" She shouted worried.
Finn paled as he knew where this was going, "No! Mom, I'm fine. Really! I don't-
But his words fell on deaf ears as Minerva subjected Finn to yet another examination...with all his clothes yanked off by mechanical arms...while Kara was still in the room!
Both Kara and Finn went very red as his naked form was exposed as his mother poked, prodded and tested for ANYTHING that could hurt or inhibit her son...
Kara knew she should feel bad for Finn when his mom subjected him to this- more or less every week -but dang, Finn had REALLY grown up into quite the MAN!
After several hours, Minerva was FINALLY satisfied that Finn was fine...
"So Finn your Birthday party is coming up, soon you'll be recognized as a 'of age citizen' by Columbia law...what kind of party do you want?" Asked Minerva as her son got dressed.
"Mom, I don't want to make a big deal of it. Just you and some close friends like Kara."
Minerva's hologram sighed but smiled, "Very well, it's your big day after all...and afterwich, you'll become a helper!" She exclaimed excited.
Finn just gave her a smile...even if deep down he didn't match it. In fairness, he DID want to be a helper...ever since he couldn't help all those people- including his mom -during the 'Time of Trouble', he'd wanted to help people...but the simple fact of it is... Ever since his Mom took over Columbia...there was just no NEED for Helpers anymore. His mom was just too good at her job! And even if by some miracle there was trouble...Finn knew his mom would move heaven and earth to keep him away from it.
He could easily imagine his life full of nothing but being trapped behind a desk doing paperwork, unclogging toilets or measuring the grass so it's 'regulation'...and that vision left him feeling rather depressed and unfulfilled...
But really, what other options were there? Nothing else really appealed to him and it least this job would be indirectly connected to what he wanted to do with his life...
"By the way, I couldn't help but notice your arousal level was up when Kara broke yet another bra of hers..."
Kara and Finn's attempt to escape the house was thwarted by Minerva's wide variety of mechanical arms, forcefields and stun cables...
...many hours, awkward talks, matchmaking attempts, compatibility charts and fertility GRAPHS later...
Finn wouldn't lie, he was VERY tempted to castrate himself just to make sure the last several hours of HELL would never happen again...whatever...he falls on his bed like a stone...and is out like a light...
Once more he is naked...once more his arm is gone...he walks over a great land...all the mountains,forests, oceans and animals all bow to him...
There's a deafening shriek from above, Finn looks up- IT'S THE SONGBIRD! The land transforms into a sword that he takes and charges at it...
HOOT!
...
An exhausted Cosmic owl returns to Prismo. "Why the hell did we get the short straw? Our prime universe counterparts didn't have to work nearly as hard!"
Prismo shrugs and hands him a pickle...
Tomorrow was going to a LOOOOONG day...
...III...
TO BE CONTINUED?
(1): Many Colombian security systems- like control of the songbird -have either largely reverted to automatic, no longer operate as the knowledge to control it had been lost, or fallen into disrepair. Minerva using the Quantum Circuit allowed her to re-access these lost technologies. Soon she reactivates and regains control of all these systems. The one's that are damaged, she reactivates the long-forgotten 'nano-restore' feature. Soon Columbia is ready to end the fighting. She asks all to lay down their arms. Atlas- after a quick vote in Minerva's favor -agrees to her terms. Ryan refused to submit and nearly blew up Columbia out of Spite, before she brought him and his forces down! The splicers- being more like wild animals at this point -were even harder to bring in line. To this day, there are still stragglers murdering innocent people in the back-alleys, desperate for their next 'fix'.
(2):Despite Minerva's reassurances, everyone knew Gross only left Ryan's side to help her because she learned Ryan was planning on blowing up EVERYONE- himself, Splicers, his people, Atlas, ALL Columbia -if Atlas won. These days she's- among other things -trying to rebuild the Seekers and continuing Re-education of Hiders(this is still a necessity- reasoned Minerva -not only to rebuild the devastated Columbia population but to stop people from getting killed in pointless quests to the 'deathworld' below(Well, that and the Songbird. For although Minerva has SOME control over it now, for whatever reason it can mostly ignore her orders if it goes against it's prime directives. Which included killing anyone that tries to escape Columbia) In any case, no one really trusted her or liked her both because of her past and her being the head of the seekers and Reeducation.
AN: Want me to continue this? I'm willing to take Bribes! Go to my P,a,t,r,e,o,n account!
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