The Other Box: Chapter 5 (by Elliot Bowers)
..
A Metal Beast-Man
...
_____Damn him, thought Gally. Damn that madman's soul many times over! When
the madman opened THE box, the darkness from inside it had taken her in.
Gally swore and cursed Dr. Nova for what he had done, cursed his name for all
of this. He was an insane fool to play games with the rules of time and space;
he was insane to have made THAT box! Then she lost consciousness...
...
_____Her eyes opened, and she found herself seated in the same place she saw
in a dream--the decrepit room. This room was not well-lit, but she could see
some details. The chair she was in was an old, but sturdy, wooden chair. The
floor was made of wooden planks. And, peering through the gloom, she could
see that the paint was peeling from the walls--revealing concrete beneath.
Yes, she dreamed of being here before, when she slept in Police Chief
Thunderhorse's office.
_____This time, there was something different about the room; there were now
two doors out instead of just one. One door was set in the left wall, and
the other was set in the right wall. If her memory served her correctly, the
left-side door was the correct way out.
_____But, could she trust her memory? When she was in Delsea, her mind was
infiltrated with false memories particular to that town. And her body had
betrayed her by changing, becoming something else. As a cyborg, changes in
one's body was part of living. But an alteration of one's brain, that was a
more troubling issue. How could Gally trust her own mind, her memory, now?
_____Then the door on the right side swung opened, pouring out white brightness
that lit up this room. Gally squinted and swiveled sideways in this chair to
avoid the glare, but the flaring brightness managed to strike her eyes once,
anyway, giving her a slight headache. The right-side door then closed, and
the room sank into gloom again.
_____Footsteps approached, accompanied by a wheezing sound. Footsteps of
whoever entered this room.
_____Clump, clump, clump... The hard-shod footsteps crossed the wooden floor.
And the wheezing sounds were just as rhythmic. Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h... When
the footsteps stopped, she could hear the wheezing right in front of where
she sat.
_____Since the room's lighting was low again, easy on the eyes, Gally dared
to stop squinting. She looked up at who approached her, and she saw HIM. It
was HIM, the Kindly Old Man. He appeared as he usually did: in slacks and
buttoned shirt, with suspenders worn over shirt and shoulders.
_____His presence completed the picture: Like the dream she had in Chief
Thunderhorse's office, the Kindly Old Man was here again. Standing before
her, his hands in his pockets, his wrinkled old face regarded her.
_____Could she be sure this was this a dream? Dreams were never this solid.
Dreams never felt this significant before.
_____"Hah-h-h..." wheezed the Kindly Old Man. "You have seen trouble, but you
shall also soon FEEL trouble. Hah-h-h... And, others will know about trouble!"
_____Gally wanted to ask, What do you mean by that? But, like in Delsea, she
found that her voice failed her here as well. Unlike Delsea, though, there
was no explanation forthcoming as to WHY her voice was not working; she simply
could not speak.
_____Looking at Gally's face, the Kindly Old Man must have sensed her
confusion and curiosity. His face took on a look of indignation, and he
raised a warning finger. "Hah-h-h... SOMETHING IS HAPPENING! Something
happens in ONE place, then it passes through THE breeze! Hah-h-h... It is
slow to happen, but IT happens!"
_____What did he mean by that? This was yet more incoherent gibberish from
the Kindly Old Man; she was still unable to understand how he spoke. What
was he talking about? WHAT was happening? Did this have anything to do with
her transitioning between realities?
_____As if that were not bad enough, the Kindly Old Man continued his ranting.
It was yet more gibberish for Gally to try and understand!
_____"Do you UNDERSTAND why something is happening? Dr. Nova stirs the
oatmeal. He should leave it alone! That, and he is EATING it. Do you KNOW
what happens when someone EATS OATMEAL?"
_____Now, it was Gally's turn to be indignant. She knew perfectly well that
Dr. Nova ate FLAN, not oatmeal. Nothing the Kindly Old Man said made sense.
That is, unless...
_____Inspiration struck. She suddenly understood what the Kindly Old Man was
doing: He was speaking in metaphors. Things in dreams are metaphors--puzzles
and mysteries. The Kindly Old Man was a puzzle.
_____A crafty smile on her face, Gally looked up at the Kindly Old Man. What
he was saying made a twisted sort of sense: That is, the Kindly Old Man must
be talking about Dr. Nova's reality-manipulation experiments, his usage of
THE box. And because of the experiments, there were consequences.
_____Seeing a look of understanding on Gally's face, the Kindly Old Man smiled.
"Hah-h-h... You begin to understand! Something happens to the bowls, too!"
he added. Then he went over to the left-side door, opened it.
_____Gally turned her head, expecting to be hit with another glare of bright
light--like the brightness behind the right-side door. But, beyond the left
door was sheer darkness, and Gally felt herself being taken away through it.
...
_____Gally then felt cool wetness pattering on her face, heard the distant sound
of thunder. It was a cool night-time rainstorm, and she was outside. Blinking,
she opened her eyes and sat up...on the sidewalk.
_____Yes, it was night-time now, here in the nameless city. Looking around,
she saw that she was on a well-kept sidewalk--lit by bright streetlamps and
indirect illumination from the nearby buildings. As the structures here were
so well-kept, and there was no trash anywhere to be seen, Gally presumed she
must be in the downtown area. Some new-looking cars passed by, splashing
water.
_____She bent her knees to sit cross-legged on this rainy sidewalk, considering
her situation. Glancing down at her dark-clad body, the petite cyborg-girl saw
that she was once again her "original" self--metal-bodied. Putting metal
fingers to her childlike face, she felt synthetic flesh. Some wet lengths of
her dark hair got into her eyes....
_____Stroking aside strands of wet silken hair, she stood up--feeling unsteady.
Now, where was she? Of course, this was the nameless city. But, where in it
was she? She looked around, saw well-kept buildings. This was the downtown
core area.
_____Knowing that she was here in the wealthy core area was helpful. It would
be more helpful if she had a reference point...
_____She looked up and around again, then looked left across the street. There!
Across the street was one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city. Looking up
against the rain, she saw the glowing red logo of the corporation--a logo
perched high atop the building, glowing in the night: Network 23.
_____It was probably no coincidence that she reappeared near the Network 23
building. Her recent friend, Edison Carter, worked there. Edison Carter--the
tele-journalist with an electronic double.
_____Gally remembered how Edison looked: a tall professional man with the
strong-looking face. And now, she needed a fresh batch of starting
information. That, because Dr. Nova always seemed to arrive in places before
she did. He was probably stirring trouble, and Gally needed updated
information as soon as possible.
_____At least, Gally hoped to get information from someone. She looked
hopefully at the huge Network 23 skyscraper across the street, the tall building
standing up against the night rainy sky. Was Edison there? Did he remember
her? As Dr. Nova's box had caused chaos with Gally's memories, she could not
be sure of anything. Not really...
_____"G-G-GOOD EVENING, YOUNG LADY!" came a chorus of same-sounding voices
from behind. Gally stood stock-still, surprised by the voices. "SO YOU'RE
B-B-BACK IN TOWN! THAT'S GREAT-GREAT-GREAT!"
_____She turned around, faced the short building behind her: an entertainment
electronics shop, with a storefront window. In the big window were six
televisions, stacked behind the glass for display--facing the street. Now,
all of the televisions showed Max Headroom, that computer-generated man who
existed through televisions and computer networks.
_____Gally stepped closer to the televisions, and most of the copied images
of Max blinked off--all but one of the screens. She spoke to the man in the
televsion. Said, "Max Headroom, good evening. How is it that you knew where
to appear, to find me?"
_____"That's-that's-that's EASY," answered the computer-generated man in the
television screen. "I can be any-any-anywhere! As televisions in the city
are equipped with camera-equipped r-r-ratings monitors and microphones, and
because computer networks are everywhere, I can glance at many p-p-places.
I'm like a GOD, ex-ex-except that you don't have to worship-worship me to get
to heaven. Well, a LITTLE worship of me would be n-n-nice."
_____Leaning closer to the window, face closer to the television with Max, she
spoke. Asked, "Now what of Edison? Does he remember me? Or, has he
forgotten? Lost memories?"
_____The computer-generated man shrugged. "Of course he-he-he does! And,
of course he hasn't-hasn't-hasn't!" He sighed. "Yes, he DOES remember you.
No, h-h-he HASN'T forgotten you-you. You've only been gone for about t-two
weeks. I'm telling you now-NOW-now that he was a bit WORRIED. But don't
tell him what I've told YOU-YOU-YOU. He doesn't want to look like a sissy,
caring about lost-lost-lost little kids."
_____Hearing this, Gally felt fresh hope. She was remembered in this city!
This also meant that her other new allies in this city must not have forgotten
about her, either. Now, to get started. "Is Edison indeed over there?" She
pointed a wet metal finger across the rainy street. "Network 23 headquarters?"
_____"He's there, he's tired, and he's worried!" answered Max. "Sheesh-sheesh,
he's working late again, worrying about metal-bodied boogeymen. And worried
about a certain boogeywoman. Not that you're scary-scary-scary... Y-Y-You're
a CUTE sort of boogeywoman. Now, cutey, just s-s-skip on over to our BIG
happy building, and I'll tell Edison to meet you."
_____Glad for the help, Gally smiled and gave a slight bow. "I thank you for
your assistance, Max Headroom! You are most helpful. Thank you!" She then
turned back to the rainy street, looked both ways to avoid the occasional cars,
hurried across to the Network 23 building.
_____"Yes, so I am worshipped. I'll be a di-di-diety yet!" said Max before
disappearing from the third television in the window. All of the televisions
then went back to showing late-night programs from various networks.
...
_____Doing a light jog across the rainy street, avoiding cars, she crossed
over to the lighted, marble-paved plaza in front of the Network 23 building--
the rain making the marble look shiny in the florescent lighting. Coming
closer to the double doors, she barely saw two bulky figures flanking the door:
security guards. There were very slight "click" sounds as the shadowy figures
clicked off their gun safeties--aiming their weapons on the cyborg-girl. She
stopped... A small spotlight came on, brighter than the other lights here.
_____Just then, the double doors far over there opened. "It's okay, security!"
said the newcomer. "She's with me!" It was Edison Carter over there at the
double doors, shouting through the rain. "Come on in, Gally! Max told me you
were back in town."
_____The dark-clad security guards pointed their guns downs, stood with
military rigidity. Gally's large dark eyes on the guards over there, she
muttered, "And, I give a friendly greeting to you as well, Edison." She went
the rest of the way across the plaza, half-expecting a paranoid guard to try a
shot or two at her.
...
_____They, the trained and experienced security personnel of Network 23, did
not fire at her. Inside the skyscraper, Edison led Gally across the wide
first-floor lobby and past the security desk. It was quiet here, the lunch-shops
quiet and benches empty: the day's corporate business was done before sunset.
_____Now it was dark. Most everyone else was home. Gally and Edison rode
the elevator up to a place just beyond the fiftieth floor.
...
_____And they came to a rather spare-looking hallway that extended to the left
and right for a ways. "Where do we go?" asked Gally, eyeing the empty hall
"Are we here for a reason?"
_____"Why ARE we here, indeed?" asked Edison in turn, putting his hands in his
pockets. He leaned his back against the wall opposite the elevators. "Maybe
we were put on this earth to just LIVE. But what would be the point in that?
Plants just live... Well, some of them do. Pollution killed most plant
species off. Maybe..." He stopped when his eyes met Gally's annoyed stare.
"I'm just kidding, kid." Taking his hands from his pockets, getting away from
the wall, he said, "Okay, we're here to talk with Bryce. His research lab is
on this floor. Come on, I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. I mean that: SEE
you, if you catch my drift."
_____Edison then led Gally left of the elevators, through the hall. About
what Edison said... Gally understood the implication in Edison's tone. But
she chose to ignore it, refusing to honor the implication with a response.
The implication that someone in this city of real-bodied people had found her
attractive was absurd.
_____Why? Beneath her form-fitting bodysuit, there was not a real female body:
but a body of metal, a body merely shaped like that belonging to a young woman.
Metal, not of flesh. Her face was synthetic flesh; her hair was dark silken
polymer strands: not real, either. Only her brain was real--a lump of living
think-meat.
_____If Bryce wanted to SEE her, then it could ultimately come to nothing. She
could never have sex with the boy, even if she wanted to. The thought alone
of that began to frustrate her.
_____Edison soon led Gally to one of several plain-looking doors. From beyond
it was a steady low humming--the sound of much electronic machinery. Occasionally,
there was the sound of keyboard keys clacking. Edison then opened the door.
...
_____In here was a small, but seemingly well-equipped room. This was a room about
the size of a janitor's office, seven-by-seven meters in dimensions. But
there were many waist-high machines here--some of them looking like video
cameras with extra circuitry attached. At least, the machines were waist-high
to someone of ordinary height; the cyborg-girl was barely able to see over
them. Some of the machines seemed to be cyber-machines the size of washing
machines. Along the walls, there were shelves that went from floor to
ceiling--dissected computer parts neatly set up.
_____"Follow me," said Edison, stepping between some of the machines and
through a small path in here. Gally followed, eyeing some of the odd equipment.
Some of the machinery was on, little red and green indicator lights flickering.
_____Beyond the machinery, one end of this small room was actually clear--only
filled with the glow from three computer monitors at a computer workstation.
Here was Bryce, regarding items on one computer screen while digitally
dissected images sat on another screen. The third screen, the one on the left,
was blank. Whatever he was doing, it seemed extensively intricate; he did not
seem to notice who walked in.
_____Edison knelt next to the bespectabled teenager at the computer workstation.
"Hey Bryce, guess what? Gally's back. She's right here..." He jerked a
thumb to the right--indicating the dark-haired cyborg-girl. "Aren't you even
going to say 'hello'?"
_____The boy typed a few more lines of code, saving his work, then looked to
his right. He saw her, then smiled. "Hello, Gally." Then his smile faded.
"WHERE did you go?! It's like you literally vanished from existence! I'm still
analyzing security video footage to see how you did that vanishing trick. And
how did you leave the city without being seen at all?" His smile returned.
"You are amazing, do you know that?"
_____He was staring. Gally tried to stare back. But she blinked, looked
away. The stare made her uncomfortable. She was now very conscious of her
metal physique; she was an oddity compared to the citizens of this city--a
city still unfamiliar with cyborg technology. There must be over a million
real-bodied fully human girls in this city. How could the boy look at Gally
that way?
_____Patting Bryce on the head, Edison said, "So much for 'inefficient
biological reactions,' eh Bryce? Why, I DO believe that someone has finally
found something more attractive than powerful computers."
_____Cheeks flushing red, the boy blinked a few times and pivoted to face his
computer screens again. "AHEM! Well...! As you requested, Edison, I analyzed
the video data from the most recent events in certain sectors of the Fringes.
I concentrated on date about the so-called 'metal-bodied monsters'. And, no,
it seems that they are not robots. They must have biological brains."
_____Gally crossed her solid arms. "As I said before, cyborgs inhabit your
city. Just perhaps, they are cyborgs who have lost their sanity. Such can
easily happen due to brain damage."
_____"Good theory, Gally," answered Bryce, typing on the computer keyboard.
"And, it seems like a correct theory. The wounds the 'metal-bodied monsters'
inflict on their victims are sadistic in nature, sometimes psycho-sexual. If
the metal-bodied monsters were purely robots, computer-minded, then their
movements would be more efficient. They could, for instance, just do one-hit
kills. Single attacks to vulnerable parts of the human anatomy. But they don't.
Look at this, for example." He finished typing another command.
_____On the main computer screen, one smaller window-image appeared: the image
of a prototype cyborg on a sidewalk. In its metal-clawed grip was the shoulder
of a teenage girl--a red-haired waif in street clothing.
_____Then the image animated. The prototype cyborg took a swipe at the girl's
midsection, blood flying. Then came another silver-clawed strike--a deeper
cut. Dying, the girl's eyes closed--body twitching in reflex.
_____But the cyborg kept cutting away at the body. The girl was dying, but
the cyborg still continued inflicting horrible wounds. Then, the metal-bodied
monster SLAMMED the twitching mutilated body to the sidewalk, and the small
video-window stopped there.
_____"See what I mean?" said Bryce. "That video data was from one of the very
few functioning net-cams in the Fringes...from Sector W-2. We just saw the
thing MUTILATE her to deatn. Why didn't it just break her vertebrae? Or,
why not poke a hole in the heart? The point is, the cyborgs LIKE to mutilate.
Hmm..." He mused on his own thoughts. "Maybe it's because they're prototype
cyborgs. More advanced cyborgs would be much more efficient. And, they would
be MUCH more intelligent." He glanced at Gally. "I mean, LEAGUES more
intelligent."
_____"But that still doesn't explain where they came from," said Edison. "It
doesn't make sense! Only corporations would have the capital needed to
develop and manufacture cyborgs. Furthermore, corporations only do things for
profit. What profit would there be in sending groups of rampaging cyborgs out
to the Fringes to kill innocents?
_____"What ALSO doesn't make sense is the cyborg we have here," continued the
tele-journalist. "Gally, YOU'RE not crazy--and you seem a lot more advanced
than those prototype things that slaughter people in the Fringes. If the
technology to make advanced cyborgs exists, then why are you the only advanced
cyborg around?"
_____Bryce turned partway from the main computer monitor. Said, "For that
matter, how is it that such advances in synthetic body technology were made
in such a short period of time? Last year, working cyborg technology was just
a rumor. Now, it's starting to appear. Listen, given the current rate of
cybernetic hardware development, and the previously stifled corporate
interest in cyborg technology, there should not have been any prototypes for
at least another fifty years. Something is not right here."
_____"The answer is simple," said Gally. "My target, Dr. Nova, is likely to
blame. As it is, a device of his is responsible for me being here--in this
strange city of yours. I SHALL have his head for what he does!"
_____Edison stood up and crossed his arms. He would have begun pacing, but
there was not much room in here. So much room was occupied with cyber-equipment.
It seemed stifling, but Bryce seemed not to mind.
_____"Hmm..." began the tall tele-journalist. "Okay, let's put our facts
together. Wherever you came from, Gally, cyborg technology is already a
working reality. And now, it seems that someone also from 'wherever' brought
that technology with him. Now, you say that person is named Dr. Nova? Hmm...
Never heard that name before anywhere. Bryce, look up the name. Unless this
'Dr. Nova' is a 'blank,' he should be registered."
_____Bryce began typing. "I'm on it... Checking the municipal registry." The
left-side secondary computer screen changed to a secured governmental web-page.
He entered the name.
_____Several results appeared. "Dr. Nova, you say? Hmm... Odd, there is
no one with the family name of 'Nova.' There are a few people named 'Novarro'
and 'Natalie,' but that's it." Indeed, a small text message said, NO EXACT
MATCH.
_____Edison shrugged. "Well, so much for that. This still wouldn't make
sense: Only people in the Fringes are 'blanks,' and no one in the Fringes
runs a corporation!" He saw Gally's questioning stare when he said "blanks."
_____"'Blanks,' you say?" she asked. "What is such a person? An outcast from
society's system?"
_____"Well," began Edison, "Sort of. 'Blanks' are people who have had their
names wiped from every central registry--no offical records of their existence
exist. They use paper cash since they can't get cred-rods. But things still
wouldn't make sense. Again, a blank wouldn't have the resources of a
corporation, unless..."
_____Gally answered. "Unless, Dr. Nova--as an unregistered person--must now
be covertly with one of these so-called corporations you speak of. He must
have bartered his technological knowledge in exchange for something. Likely,
he probably took flan in payment for sharing his knowledge."
_____"Flan? You mean, the foreign desert?" asked Edison. "That sounds NUTS!
But the rest of what you said, it kind of makes sense. So, we could now have
a real-life 'mad scientist' somewhere in the city, working for a so-far-
unnamed corporation that is willing to waste money on prototype cyborgs for
the simple sake of mass murder. Oh, all we have to do now is to find which
corporation is responsible."
_____Bryce nodded in agreement, kept to working on the computers. Edison looked
over there at Bryce's computer screens. "And let's hope that you don't
disappear in the meanwhile, Gally. We need a cyborg to handle cyborgs. By
the way, did you check back with the Metro Cops? Did you tell them you're
back in town?"
_____"I did not do so," she said. "Was there concern about me from the Metro
Cops? I should return to apologize for departing without cause or immediate
explanation. And, perhaps Police Chief Thunderhorse should know that--"
BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEEP! Gally's words were cut off by a loud alarm that blared
in this cyber-lab.
_____Edison had to SHOUT to be heard above the loudness. "THAT'S THE SECURITY
ALERT! WHAT LEVEL?"
_____BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEEP...! Bryce looked at the left computer monitor of
his workstation. He shouted, "IT'S A LEVEL 6 ALERT! THE WORST!" He tapped
some keys. On the left monitor, there was a security camera view of the
front plaza. "WOW! LOOK AT THAT!"
_____Setting metal fingers to her own synth-flesh ears, Gally looked at the
left monitor. She saw something that looked more at home in Scrap Iron City
than in this cyborg-lacking city.
_____The thing displayed on the monitor looked like a bastardized hybridization
between a construction vehicle and a professional wrestler. Thick metal legs
powered by hydraulics, a torso with armor plating, and jointed thick metal
poles for arms--with claws for hands. The head looked small as the body was
so big. And the metal being was MASSIVE--eight feet tall and at least six feet
across.
_____Then, rushing in from the bottom of the screen's view came black-clad
men--members of Network 23's security, armed with light machine guns. They
knelt in front of the huge metal-thing and opened fire at close range--aiming
for the chest.
_____The metal beast simply gave a massive SWIPE of its left claw-arm, and
the three security-men were SWACKED aside--trailing blood as they flew away,
out of the camera's range of vision.
_____BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEEP...! Despite the apparent danger and the loudness of
the klaxon, Gally grinned. Her machine-perfect ceramic teeth glinting, and her
eyes were wide with glee. "THE FIGHT IS MINE!" she shouted. She then did a
handspring to get over some of this room's equipment--bringing her to the
door.
_____Out in the hall, she found the elevator and pressed the DOWN button. The
elevator came empty; NOBODY wanted to go down to ground level now! That is,
no one execpt her.
...
_____She rode the elevator down to the wide public lobby--and saw more black-
clad security personnel. At least twenty of them here--athletic-looking men
and women ready to defend Network 23 headquarters. Some were putting on extra
kevlar armor, sitting on the marble benches while others stood ready to go
outside. No one was here but security personnel.
_____No one paid attention to Gally at first; because she also wore black,
like the security personnel, the cyborg-girl was not immediately noticed. She
ran her way over to the double doors--getting out of here.
_____Outside, it was still raining. The wet plaza was lit as bright as day
by spotlights mounted from the skyscraper's windows--light that shone through
the rain. The lights were all focused on the metal beast-man, a massive
cyborg. And, down here, it looked bigger than eight feet tall. One security
guard fired at the huge metal-man, and the bullets just PLINKED off of its armor.
_____A sergeant of Network 23 security raised her left fist in signal. "STOP!
Hold your fire, Cletus!" she shouted. "GIRL, what are you doing? That thing
will CRUSH YOU!"
_____Speaking low, Gally said, "Perhaps..." But her smile went all the more
wider. Stepping within fifteen meters of the beast, she raised her fists.
_____Looking at the petite cyborg girl, the massive man of metal tilted back
his head and GROWLED to the rainy night sky above. It was a GROWL that
sounded like a cross between a truck engine and a lion. He made a massive
STOMP in Gally's direction, and the battle began.
...
_____Standing to its full eight feet of height, the metal giant pulled back
its left claw arm. His small black eyes fixed on Gally, anticipating the
damage it would do to this silly little girl.
_____Gally dashed toward the enemy, feet pattering on the wet marble surface
of the plaza. She leapt up and forward, swinging her left fist. THUNK! Her
fist actually penetrated the abdominal armor, making for a jagged hole. And
she kept her fist in the metal man's chest.
_____Arrgh...! The massive metal man used his big right claw-hand to GRIP
Gally, grabbing her like one would grip a hated doll. The claws closed around
her shoulders, leaving her legs to wriggle. He then THREW her diagonally
down...
_____THUNK! Gally's struck the marble of the plaza with her left shoulder,
and her neck wrenched to the side--the side of her head just tapping the hard
wet marble surface. Though the electromechanical strength of her slender neck
saved her head from a full impact, she was still a bit dazed from the hit.
_____Giving a shake of her head, she snapped to her feet and whipped herself
around, ready to face the huge enemy again. This was becoming quite an
invigorating challenge!
_____The metal giant pivoted his upper body to face Gally's new direction, the
hole in his chest now visible. Its rain-wet rubber face showed slight
puzzlement: Why was this little girl still alive?
_____Gally stared at the metal giant over there. She did not notice the
torso ring-joint before. But, because she now knew it was there, she knew
what to do. And she RAN at the massive metal man.
_____With another GROW-W-WL, the enemy spread his huge titanium claws and began to
shambled his big feet so all of him could face the oncoming threat. And the
threat, the girl, moved quite fast.
_____Too fast, in fact. She leapt, her left leg lashing out. There was a
solid THUD as her booted foot STRUCK the joint-ring at the metal giant's
waist. Something cracked inside.
_____Landing from the attack, Gally then made a quick dash around the huge
metal being, managing not to slip on the wet marble surface as she moved. The
metal giant tried to pivot his upper body around to face Gally... Yes, he
TRIED.
_____Instead, there were terrible grinding sounds coming from his waist. His
rubber face took on a befuddled look as his waist made sparks and noise. The
jagged hole in his chest began to billow gray smoke. The point was, he could
not turn his upper body. If the massive metal man wanted to face Gally, it
had to waddle around. It was now very vulnerable.
_____With a smile on her lips, Gally moved into action. She leapt and SLAMMED
her left fist INTO the metal man's big wet armored back. Staying there, she
then used her right fist--forming another hand-hold. Then came the left fist
again, making for a higher hole.
_____In this way, she climbed her way up the metal man's back. She would punch
one hole, pull herself up, then punch another hole. Punching holes to make
her own hand-holds as she continued up.
_____The metal man GROW-W-WLED...! He began to stomp his feet, making for
cracks in the hard marble plaza surface. He did not like this! And he would
most certainly NOT like what Gally was going to do next.
_____She arrived at his shoulders, wet with rainwater. With an agile movement,
she clamped her solid thighs around the metal neck. Sitting herself astride
his shoulders. Then she sank two metal fingers into the metal man's eyes.
_____GROW-W-WL...! The massive metal-man twisted and growled, wriggling and
shaking. Gally tried to stay on, thoroughly enjoying the sounds of pain from
the metal man. The metal man's movement soon became so troublesome that
Gally had to leap off.
_____But there was still fun to be had from the ground! With the metal giant
taking swipes around, Gally leapt and struck the chest. She then did so a
few more times, determined to make the metal giant's chest armor have more
holes than a sieve!
_____"GIRL! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted the Network 23 security sergeant.
Grinning, Gally turned to look back towards the double doors--over where the
security personnel were. She saw at least fifteen guns pointing in this
direction. Time to dodge!
_____But the security personnel were not aiming at her. Running in a sleek
crouch, the cyborg-girl dashed to the right, away from the metal man. Sparks
came from his eye-sockets and some smoke was coming from the many holes in his
back and chest. His insides were so hot that the rain hissed when it fell
through the holes.
_____"Alpha and Bravo teams! 12 o'clock, OPEN FIRE!" shouted the security
sergeant. Then came a cavalcade crackling of machine-gun fire in the plaza.
Cr-cr-cr-cr-cr..! Bullets flew at the metal giant by the thousands, like
a steady steel swarm of bees in the cool night air.
_____Before, the bullets could not get through the armor. But now, there were
so many holes in the metal giant that the security personnel had no trouble in
getting shots through. Bullets flew into the chest, bounced around, hitting
all sorts of electronics and electromechanical systems. And the security
personnel kept firing: ...Cr-cr-cr-cr...!
_____The metal man shuddered, being hit so many times inside. Bullets still
went in, and it staggered. Yet more bullets bounced around its insides. Then
something inside blew--giving a flash of flame.
_____"Cease fire!" shouted the security sergeant. The gunfire stopped. The
metal man staggered, then collapsed to his left knee. Metal arms limp, his
bullet-torn rubber-faced head hung in defeat. Smoke poured from its back,
spotlights filtering through the fumes that billowed from the metal man. And
the rain poured down on the huge broken figure. Defeated... The fight was
done.
_____"Spread out!" shouted the security sergeant. Gun forward, she said,
"Alpha Team! Let's confirm the kill!" Then she and five other security
personnel ran toward the ruined metal giant. Came to stand within yards of it.
_____Looking up at it, she shouted, "GOD-DAMN IT! WHO MADE THIS THING?" Her
men shook their heads, some looking into the holes, some poking the huge thing
with their guns. They had no answer for the security sergeant.
_____She then asked, "Where's metal-girl? We owe her some thanks! I never
saw such a little girl kick ass like THAT before!" The security sergeant then
ordered her men to fan out and find Gally. But the little fighting girl was
no longer in the plaza.
...
_____Across town, something had happened at the Network 66 building. More
exactly, something happened in the newly converted cyber lab on the sixtieth
floor of that building.
_____Most of this wide lab was in darkness, lights off, except for one light
on the far left side. The light shone on someone seated in a reclining
leather seat, a helmet on his head. Standing around him rrounding him were
six scientists, most of them in casual clothing and lab-coats.
_____The only scientist wearing a tie was Dr. Nova. And, the only one eating
here was him, eating yet another bowl of flan. He eyed the man in the leather
seat, watched for any physical symptoms of malfunction. Nova did not need to
consult the machine readouts on the helmet; he oversaw the making of the
whole system and could tell by looking if anything were going wrong.
_____The business-suited man in the reclining seat began to spasm, flopping
like a live fish tossed onto a hot skillet, and the scientists rushed close.
Then he relaxed; the spasming was just a side-effect of being disengaged from
the system.
_____"Damn," he grunted. He took the device off his own head. It was Mr.
Grossberg, forehead somewhat sweaty from being behind that helmet. "She beat
me! The BITCH!"
_____Dr. Nova was the first scientist to speak. He stepped into the pool of
light, then said, "I take it your preliminary strike against a corporate rival
was unsuccessful? How so? And, how was the experience itself?"
_____Mr. Grossberg sat up, helmet gripped in his hands, light shining down on
him. "Yes, I was unsuccessful. But ONLY BECAUSE A DAMNED CYBORG INTERFERED!"
He hopped off of the seat, stood very close to Nova. Mr. Grossberg was a tall
man, physically strong, and therefore intimidating. "WHO DESIGNED THAT LITTLE
BITCH? WHERE DID SHE COME FROM? Why wasn't I TOLD ABOUT HER? Why the HELL
did she SCREW ME?"
_____The other scientists quivered quivered when the CEO spoke like that, his
voice booming throughout the wide, dark lab. Backing off a step himself,
Dr. Nova smiled nervously. "Oh, then you must have encountered Gally while
controlling the robot-proxy. If you want to be angry, please do not be angry
at us... None of us designed her!"
_____Another scientist spoke up from the darkness outside the pool of light,
a boyish voice. "Heh heh... Look at it this way, Mr. Grossberg. We're just
getting started again on humanoid automatons, see. Robots and cyborgs, you
know? We're resurrecting research on that sort of hardware. Pretty soon,
we'll be able to design better and BETTER bodies for cyber-beings. That body
you controlled was the best we could do...last week. We're already working on
something better."
_____A third scientist chimed in, a young female voice. "Yeah, yeah! Hee
hee...!" she giggled. " Just you wait, Mr. Grossberg! We're working on
something MUCH better for you. It'll be GREAT! You'll be able to get MORE
power out of what we're working on. We promise! Right, Dr. Nova?"
_____Straightening his tie, Dr. Nova nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! Two items,
in fact. We are at work on ameliorating the bio-electronic interface. Using
the primative brain-interface hardware available in this city, we are
fortunate to have reached this level of cyborg technology. That, and the mass
production facilities have been upgraded."
_____The CEO looked down at the cyber-helmet gripped in his hands, listened
to what the scientists said. The helmet was how he was able to control the
eight-foot metal giant--the one that attacked the Network 23 building, which
was on the other side of the downtown area. No, he did not just control that
metal man, he WAS the metal man!
_____Oh yes, using this remote device, he felt that he WAS a big and powerful
machine. A powerful being of mighty machinery! He was able to look down on
those who fired their pitiful little guns at him. That, while he had a bigger weapon
than all of those security personnel combined: himself! Then SHE came along,
the dark-haired little cyber-bitch.
_____"Dumb luck was how she defeated me," said Mr. Grossberg. "However, with
sheer power, I can break her." He GRIPPED the cyber-helmet. "Oh yes, I will
certainly break her--along with my rivals!" Though the cyber-helmet casing
was made of steel, small dimple-dents appeared where Mr. Grossberg's fingers
pressed. Something was not right about this Network 66 CEO.
...
_____After the dark night, morning finally came to the city. The first rays
of light appeared on the jagged eastern horizon--sunlight shining between
buildings. First, the eastern skyline was blood red, burning away the darkness
of the night. Then, the roundness of the bright pale-yellow sun vanquished
the black, making for the blue of a clear and almost cloudless sky.
_____Several hours later, here in the downtown area, well-dressed people got
up from bed and prepared for the day. They washed, ate breakfast in their
well-furnished apartments, drove their cars to work. Some of them were driven
to work by taxi cabs, some by chauffeurs.
_____Gally slowly opened her eyes, then gasped--not daring to move. There
was a gun barrel pressed against her forehead, ready to fire. "Foolish child,"
said a man's voice. "Were you not warned about sleeping in alleys?" The
gun came away. "If not me, then someone else could have just as easily been
standing over you."
_____But she was not in an alley now. This was a richly furnished office--one
with wood paneling on the walls and a carpet under the feet. The desk before
her was also made of wood, also expensively done. This was the office of
Police Chief Thunderhorse, in the 1st Precinct of the Metro Cops.
_____Chief Thunderhorse himself was here, dressed in slacks and white buttoned
shirt with tie, brown shoes on his feet--a brown that was slightly lighter than
his swarthy skin-tone. But now, he had a shoulder holster worn over his shirt--
a holster he now used to hold his revolver.
_____Holstering his gun, he sat behind his desk. "For days now, girl, I almost
suspected that you were taken by chop-shop operators or body bank profiteers.
You vanished from the city for two weeks and three days."
_____Gally sat up in her swivel seat. "Well, I can care for myself. Last
evening, after an invigorating battle, I used the credit-rod to purchase
food bars. Soon after the evening meal, I grew weary. I found an alley nearby,
here in the downtown area of this city, then slept. Is this area not patrolled
by the police-people?"
_____"That said, such a patrol found you! Sleeping in an alley, eyes closed,
completely vulnerable!" exclaimed Thunderhorse. "Though this is not the
Fringes, and though this region of the city is cleaner and better-patrolled,
there are still dangers!" He then spoke more softly. "Still, child, you do
not know the ways of this city."
_____Gally's eyes narrowed for an instant when Chief Thunderhorse called her a
"child." But it was true that she still did not know the ways of this city.
Perhaps, if a patrol did not find her, she would not have been alive at all.
_____Leaning back from his grand desk, the police chief continued. Saying, "I
do not apologize for the way I spoke to you, Gally. Because of the rising
level of danger in this city, I will not." He unholstered his silvery gun
and held it up. "The bullets in this weapon have been developed for the
level of rising danger. Ferro-ceramic rounds jacketed in steel.
______"Gally, such bullets are somewhat effective against the bodies of the
psychotic cyborgs that have been used to attack random sectors in this city.
Yes, somewhat effective. Such is what my officers have told me when they
used the ferro-ceramic rounds. However, the guns have not been as effective
as your fighting capability." He holstered his gun again. "But, that is not
all..." He leaned forward, reached down to open a desk drawer.
_____Then he raised up what he took from the drawer, put it atop his desk for
Gally to see. It was a rubber-plugged glass beaker, two-thirds full of a dark
oily liquid. Though this office was well-lit, the dark substance in the beaker
seemed to swallow the light that shone on it. Gally recognized that dark
substance; she saw it several times before.
_____"Ah," went Chief Thunderhorse, "I see a look of recognition on your face,
a look darkened slightly with fear. You have encountered this substance more
than once before, in more than one place."
_____Gally stared into the darkness of the substance. A deep darkness that
a person could stare into and get lost in--a bottomless darkness. She had to
force herself to look away.
_____"Such is true," she said. "You know that I have been gone from this
city for the time of two weeks. In truth, I was taken to another land. A
small town. Do not ask how; I do not fully understand how, myself. But, in
that town, I came to hear of an endemic--a troubling disease somehow connected
with that substance."
_____Thunderhorse nodded. "A disease? Yes, that would make sense... This
was extracted from the bloodstream of a man who was caught eating human flesh.
No one knows why: He did not have a history of insanity, nor was he starving.
He was far from starvation, in fact. He was an executive at Network 40. A
well-educated, wealthy man--from a high-standing family. Then, he took to
visiting the Fringes.
_____"One day, his wife's mother called. She was worried about her daughter,
as she had not taken her weekly visit. In fact, not only did the mother of
the man's wife worry about her, but most everyone did--including some
shopkeepers. You see, she never left the apartment..." Gally gasped, her
eyes going wide with realization; Chief Thunderhorse did say the husband was
eating human flesh...
_____"Yes," continued the police chief, "when we entered his apartment, we knew
what had happened to his wife. The man was sitting down to lunch..." He
shrugged. "He tried to attack the detective who had entered his apartment.
Tried to attack a combat-experienced detective with a gun. When shot, THIS
foul substance poured from his wounds--not blood.
_____"By the way, a similar substance was found in the corpse of the tall man
who attacked your friend Officer Murphy and company. But this substance seems
more advanced. The substance has a complex chemical composition that keeps
changing. The lab techs cannot even begin to understand it."
_____Gally looked at the dark substance in question, the dark substance in the
plugged beaker atop Chief Thunderhorse's desk. "Something must be happening
to this city," she said. "That happens as something repeatedly happens to ME.
I blame someone for all of this. And I will find him."
..
A Metal Beast-Man
...
_____Damn him, thought Gally. Damn that madman's soul many times over! When
the madman opened THE box, the darkness from inside it had taken her in.
Gally swore and cursed Dr. Nova for what he had done, cursed his name for all
of this. He was an insane fool to play games with the rules of time and space;
he was insane to have made THAT box! Then she lost consciousness...
...
_____Her eyes opened, and she found herself seated in the same place she saw
in a dream--the decrepit room. This room was not well-lit, but she could see
some details. The chair she was in was an old, but sturdy, wooden chair. The
floor was made of wooden planks. And, peering through the gloom, she could
see that the paint was peeling from the walls--revealing concrete beneath.
Yes, she dreamed of being here before, when she slept in Police Chief
Thunderhorse's office.
_____This time, there was something different about the room; there were now
two doors out instead of just one. One door was set in the left wall, and
the other was set in the right wall. If her memory served her correctly, the
left-side door was the correct way out.
_____But, could she trust her memory? When she was in Delsea, her mind was
infiltrated with false memories particular to that town. And her body had
betrayed her by changing, becoming something else. As a cyborg, changes in
one's body was part of living. But an alteration of one's brain, that was a
more troubling issue. How could Gally trust her own mind, her memory, now?
_____Then the door on the right side swung opened, pouring out white brightness
that lit up this room. Gally squinted and swiveled sideways in this chair to
avoid the glare, but the flaring brightness managed to strike her eyes once,
anyway, giving her a slight headache. The right-side door then closed, and
the room sank into gloom again.
_____Footsteps approached, accompanied by a wheezing sound. Footsteps of
whoever entered this room.
_____Clump, clump, clump... The hard-shod footsteps crossed the wooden floor.
And the wheezing sounds were just as rhythmic. Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h... When
the footsteps stopped, she could hear the wheezing right in front of where
she sat.
_____Since the room's lighting was low again, easy on the eyes, Gally dared
to stop squinting. She looked up at who approached her, and she saw HIM. It
was HIM, the Kindly Old Man. He appeared as he usually did: in slacks and
buttoned shirt, with suspenders worn over shirt and shoulders.
_____His presence completed the picture: Like the dream she had in Chief
Thunderhorse's office, the Kindly Old Man was here again. Standing before
her, his hands in his pockets, his wrinkled old face regarded her.
_____Could she be sure this was this a dream? Dreams were never this solid.
Dreams never felt this significant before.
_____"Hah-h-h..." wheezed the Kindly Old Man. "You have seen trouble, but you
shall also soon FEEL trouble. Hah-h-h... And, others will know about trouble!"
_____Gally wanted to ask, What do you mean by that? But, like in Delsea, she
found that her voice failed her here as well. Unlike Delsea, though, there
was no explanation forthcoming as to WHY her voice was not working; she simply
could not speak.
_____Looking at Gally's face, the Kindly Old Man must have sensed her
confusion and curiosity. His face took on a look of indignation, and he
raised a warning finger. "Hah-h-h... SOMETHING IS HAPPENING! Something
happens in ONE place, then it passes through THE breeze! Hah-h-h... It is
slow to happen, but IT happens!"
_____What did he mean by that? This was yet more incoherent gibberish from
the Kindly Old Man; she was still unable to understand how he spoke. What
was he talking about? WHAT was happening? Did this have anything to do with
her transitioning between realities?
_____As if that were not bad enough, the Kindly Old Man continued his ranting.
It was yet more gibberish for Gally to try and understand!
_____"Do you UNDERSTAND why something is happening? Dr. Nova stirs the
oatmeal. He should leave it alone! That, and he is EATING it. Do you KNOW
what happens when someone EATS OATMEAL?"
_____Now, it was Gally's turn to be indignant. She knew perfectly well that
Dr. Nova ate FLAN, not oatmeal. Nothing the Kindly Old Man said made sense.
That is, unless...
_____Inspiration struck. She suddenly understood what the Kindly Old Man was
doing: He was speaking in metaphors. Things in dreams are metaphors--puzzles
and mysteries. The Kindly Old Man was a puzzle.
_____A crafty smile on her face, Gally looked up at the Kindly Old Man. What
he was saying made a twisted sort of sense: That is, the Kindly Old Man must
be talking about Dr. Nova's reality-manipulation experiments, his usage of
THE box. And because of the experiments, there were consequences.
_____Seeing a look of understanding on Gally's face, the Kindly Old Man smiled.
"Hah-h-h... You begin to understand! Something happens to the bowls, too!"
he added. Then he went over to the left-side door, opened it.
_____Gally turned her head, expecting to be hit with another glare of bright
light--like the brightness behind the right-side door. But, beyond the left
door was sheer darkness, and Gally felt herself being taken away through it.
...
_____Gally then felt cool wetness pattering on her face, heard the distant sound
of thunder. It was a cool night-time rainstorm, and she was outside. Blinking,
she opened her eyes and sat up...on the sidewalk.
_____Yes, it was night-time now, here in the nameless city. Looking around,
she saw that she was on a well-kept sidewalk--lit by bright streetlamps and
indirect illumination from the nearby buildings. As the structures here were
so well-kept, and there was no trash anywhere to be seen, Gally presumed she
must be in the downtown area. Some new-looking cars passed by, splashing
water.
_____She bent her knees to sit cross-legged on this rainy sidewalk, considering
her situation. Glancing down at her dark-clad body, the petite cyborg-girl saw
that she was once again her "original" self--metal-bodied. Putting metal
fingers to her childlike face, she felt synthetic flesh. Some wet lengths of
her dark hair got into her eyes....
_____Stroking aside strands of wet silken hair, she stood up--feeling unsteady.
Now, where was she? Of course, this was the nameless city. But, where in it
was she? She looked around, saw well-kept buildings. This was the downtown
core area.
_____Knowing that she was here in the wealthy core area was helpful. It would
be more helpful if she had a reference point...
_____She looked up and around again, then looked left across the street. There!
Across the street was one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city. Looking up
against the rain, she saw the glowing red logo of the corporation--a logo
perched high atop the building, glowing in the night: Network 23.
_____It was probably no coincidence that she reappeared near the Network 23
building. Her recent friend, Edison Carter, worked there. Edison Carter--the
tele-journalist with an electronic double.
_____Gally remembered how Edison looked: a tall professional man with the
strong-looking face. And now, she needed a fresh batch of starting
information. That, because Dr. Nova always seemed to arrive in places before
she did. He was probably stirring trouble, and Gally needed updated
information as soon as possible.
_____At least, Gally hoped to get information from someone. She looked
hopefully at the huge Network 23 skyscraper across the street, the tall building
standing up against the night rainy sky. Was Edison there? Did he remember
her? As Dr. Nova's box had caused chaos with Gally's memories, she could not
be sure of anything. Not really...
_____"G-G-GOOD EVENING, YOUNG LADY!" came a chorus of same-sounding voices
from behind. Gally stood stock-still, surprised by the voices. "SO YOU'RE
B-B-BACK IN TOWN! THAT'S GREAT-GREAT-GREAT!"
_____She turned around, faced the short building behind her: an entertainment
electronics shop, with a storefront window. In the big window were six
televisions, stacked behind the glass for display--facing the street. Now,
all of the televisions showed Max Headroom, that computer-generated man who
existed through televisions and computer networks.
_____Gally stepped closer to the televisions, and most of the copied images
of Max blinked off--all but one of the screens. She spoke to the man in the
televsion. Said, "Max Headroom, good evening. How is it that you knew where
to appear, to find me?"
_____"That's-that's-that's EASY," answered the computer-generated man in the
television screen. "I can be any-any-anywhere! As televisions in the city
are equipped with camera-equipped r-r-ratings monitors and microphones, and
because computer networks are everywhere, I can glance at many p-p-places.
I'm like a GOD, ex-ex-except that you don't have to worship-worship me to get
to heaven. Well, a LITTLE worship of me would be n-n-nice."
_____Leaning closer to the window, face closer to the television with Max, she
spoke. Asked, "Now what of Edison? Does he remember me? Or, has he
forgotten? Lost memories?"
_____The computer-generated man shrugged. "Of course he-he-he does! And,
of course he hasn't-hasn't-hasn't!" He sighed. "Yes, he DOES remember you.
No, h-h-he HASN'T forgotten you-you. You've only been gone for about t-two
weeks. I'm telling you now-NOW-now that he was a bit WORRIED. But don't
tell him what I've told YOU-YOU-YOU. He doesn't want to look like a sissy,
caring about lost-lost-lost little kids."
_____Hearing this, Gally felt fresh hope. She was remembered in this city!
This also meant that her other new allies in this city must not have forgotten
about her, either. Now, to get started. "Is Edison indeed over there?" She
pointed a wet metal finger across the rainy street. "Network 23 headquarters?"
_____"He's there, he's tired, and he's worried!" answered Max. "Sheesh-sheesh,
he's working late again, worrying about metal-bodied boogeymen. And worried
about a certain boogeywoman. Not that you're scary-scary-scary... Y-Y-You're
a CUTE sort of boogeywoman. Now, cutey, just s-s-skip on over to our BIG
happy building, and I'll tell Edison to meet you."
_____Glad for the help, Gally smiled and gave a slight bow. "I thank you for
your assistance, Max Headroom! You are most helpful. Thank you!" She then
turned back to the rainy street, looked both ways to avoid the occasional cars,
hurried across to the Network 23 building.
_____"Yes, so I am worshipped. I'll be a di-di-diety yet!" said Max before
disappearing from the third television in the window. All of the televisions
then went back to showing late-night programs from various networks.
...
_____Doing a light jog across the rainy street, avoiding cars, she crossed
over to the lighted, marble-paved plaza in front of the Network 23 building--
the rain making the marble look shiny in the florescent lighting. Coming
closer to the double doors, she barely saw two bulky figures flanking the door:
security guards. There were very slight "click" sounds as the shadowy figures
clicked off their gun safeties--aiming their weapons on the cyborg-girl. She
stopped... A small spotlight came on, brighter than the other lights here.
_____Just then, the double doors far over there opened. "It's okay, security!"
said the newcomer. "She's with me!" It was Edison Carter over there at the
double doors, shouting through the rain. "Come on in, Gally! Max told me you
were back in town."
_____The dark-clad security guards pointed their guns downs, stood with
military rigidity. Gally's large dark eyes on the guards over there, she
muttered, "And, I give a friendly greeting to you as well, Edison." She went
the rest of the way across the plaza, half-expecting a paranoid guard to try a
shot or two at her.
...
_____They, the trained and experienced security personnel of Network 23, did
not fire at her. Inside the skyscraper, Edison led Gally across the wide
first-floor lobby and past the security desk. It was quiet here, the lunch-shops
quiet and benches empty: the day's corporate business was done before sunset.
_____Now it was dark. Most everyone else was home. Gally and Edison rode
the elevator up to a place just beyond the fiftieth floor.
...
_____And they came to a rather spare-looking hallway that extended to the left
and right for a ways. "Where do we go?" asked Gally, eyeing the empty hall
"Are we here for a reason?"
_____"Why ARE we here, indeed?" asked Edison in turn, putting his hands in his
pockets. He leaned his back against the wall opposite the elevators. "Maybe
we were put on this earth to just LIVE. But what would be the point in that?
Plants just live... Well, some of them do. Pollution killed most plant
species off. Maybe..." He stopped when his eyes met Gally's annoyed stare.
"I'm just kidding, kid." Taking his hands from his pockets, getting away from
the wall, he said, "Okay, we're here to talk with Bryce. His research lab is
on this floor. Come on, I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. I mean that: SEE
you, if you catch my drift."
_____Edison then led Gally left of the elevators, through the hall. About
what Edison said... Gally understood the implication in Edison's tone. But
she chose to ignore it, refusing to honor the implication with a response.
The implication that someone in this city of real-bodied people had found her
attractive was absurd.
_____Why? Beneath her form-fitting bodysuit, there was not a real female body:
but a body of metal, a body merely shaped like that belonging to a young woman.
Metal, not of flesh. Her face was synthetic flesh; her hair was dark silken
polymer strands: not real, either. Only her brain was real--a lump of living
think-meat.
_____If Bryce wanted to SEE her, then it could ultimately come to nothing. She
could never have sex with the boy, even if she wanted to. The thought alone
of that began to frustrate her.
_____Edison soon led Gally to one of several plain-looking doors. From beyond
it was a steady low humming--the sound of much electronic machinery. Occasionally,
there was the sound of keyboard keys clacking. Edison then opened the door.
...
_____In here was a small, but seemingly well-equipped room. This was a room about
the size of a janitor's office, seven-by-seven meters in dimensions. But
there were many waist-high machines here--some of them looking like video
cameras with extra circuitry attached. At least, the machines were waist-high
to someone of ordinary height; the cyborg-girl was barely able to see over
them. Some of the machines seemed to be cyber-machines the size of washing
machines. Along the walls, there were shelves that went from floor to
ceiling--dissected computer parts neatly set up.
_____"Follow me," said Edison, stepping between some of the machines and
through a small path in here. Gally followed, eyeing some of the odd equipment.
Some of the machinery was on, little red and green indicator lights flickering.
_____Beyond the machinery, one end of this small room was actually clear--only
filled with the glow from three computer monitors at a computer workstation.
Here was Bryce, regarding items on one computer screen while digitally
dissected images sat on another screen. The third screen, the one on the left,
was blank. Whatever he was doing, it seemed extensively intricate; he did not
seem to notice who walked in.
_____Edison knelt next to the bespectabled teenager at the computer workstation.
"Hey Bryce, guess what? Gally's back. She's right here..." He jerked a
thumb to the right--indicating the dark-haired cyborg-girl. "Aren't you even
going to say 'hello'?"
_____The boy typed a few more lines of code, saving his work, then looked to
his right. He saw her, then smiled. "Hello, Gally." Then his smile faded.
"WHERE did you go?! It's like you literally vanished from existence! I'm still
analyzing security video footage to see how you did that vanishing trick. And
how did you leave the city without being seen at all?" His smile returned.
"You are amazing, do you know that?"
_____He was staring. Gally tried to stare back. But she blinked, looked
away. The stare made her uncomfortable. She was now very conscious of her
metal physique; she was an oddity compared to the citizens of this city--a
city still unfamiliar with cyborg technology. There must be over a million
real-bodied fully human girls in this city. How could the boy look at Gally
that way?
_____Patting Bryce on the head, Edison said, "So much for 'inefficient
biological reactions,' eh Bryce? Why, I DO believe that someone has finally
found something more attractive than powerful computers."
_____Cheeks flushing red, the boy blinked a few times and pivoted to face his
computer screens again. "AHEM! Well...! As you requested, Edison, I analyzed
the video data from the most recent events in certain sectors of the Fringes.
I concentrated on date about the so-called 'metal-bodied monsters'. And, no,
it seems that they are not robots. They must have biological brains."
_____Gally crossed her solid arms. "As I said before, cyborgs inhabit your
city. Just perhaps, they are cyborgs who have lost their sanity. Such can
easily happen due to brain damage."
_____"Good theory, Gally," answered Bryce, typing on the computer keyboard.
"And, it seems like a correct theory. The wounds the 'metal-bodied monsters'
inflict on their victims are sadistic in nature, sometimes psycho-sexual. If
the metal-bodied monsters were purely robots, computer-minded, then their
movements would be more efficient. They could, for instance, just do one-hit
kills. Single attacks to vulnerable parts of the human anatomy. But they don't.
Look at this, for example." He finished typing another command.
_____On the main computer screen, one smaller window-image appeared: the image
of a prototype cyborg on a sidewalk. In its metal-clawed grip was the shoulder
of a teenage girl--a red-haired waif in street clothing.
_____Then the image animated. The prototype cyborg took a swipe at the girl's
midsection, blood flying. Then came another silver-clawed strike--a deeper
cut. Dying, the girl's eyes closed--body twitching in reflex.
_____But the cyborg kept cutting away at the body. The girl was dying, but
the cyborg still continued inflicting horrible wounds. Then, the metal-bodied
monster SLAMMED the twitching mutilated body to the sidewalk, and the small
video-window stopped there.
_____"See what I mean?" said Bryce. "That video data was from one of the very
few functioning net-cams in the Fringes...from Sector W-2. We just saw the
thing MUTILATE her to deatn. Why didn't it just break her vertebrae? Or,
why not poke a hole in the heart? The point is, the cyborgs LIKE to mutilate.
Hmm..." He mused on his own thoughts. "Maybe it's because they're prototype
cyborgs. More advanced cyborgs would be much more efficient. And, they would
be MUCH more intelligent." He glanced at Gally. "I mean, LEAGUES more
intelligent."
_____"But that still doesn't explain where they came from," said Edison. "It
doesn't make sense! Only corporations would have the capital needed to
develop and manufacture cyborgs. Furthermore, corporations only do things for
profit. What profit would there be in sending groups of rampaging cyborgs out
to the Fringes to kill innocents?
_____"What ALSO doesn't make sense is the cyborg we have here," continued the
tele-journalist. "Gally, YOU'RE not crazy--and you seem a lot more advanced
than those prototype things that slaughter people in the Fringes. If the
technology to make advanced cyborgs exists, then why are you the only advanced
cyborg around?"
_____Bryce turned partway from the main computer monitor. Said, "For that
matter, how is it that such advances in synthetic body technology were made
in such a short period of time? Last year, working cyborg technology was just
a rumor. Now, it's starting to appear. Listen, given the current rate of
cybernetic hardware development, and the previously stifled corporate
interest in cyborg technology, there should not have been any prototypes for
at least another fifty years. Something is not right here."
_____"The answer is simple," said Gally. "My target, Dr. Nova, is likely to
blame. As it is, a device of his is responsible for me being here--in this
strange city of yours. I SHALL have his head for what he does!"
_____Edison stood up and crossed his arms. He would have begun pacing, but
there was not much room in here. So much room was occupied with cyber-equipment.
It seemed stifling, but Bryce seemed not to mind.
_____"Hmm..." began the tall tele-journalist. "Okay, let's put our facts
together. Wherever you came from, Gally, cyborg technology is already a
working reality. And now, it seems that someone also from 'wherever' brought
that technology with him. Now, you say that person is named Dr. Nova? Hmm...
Never heard that name before anywhere. Bryce, look up the name. Unless this
'Dr. Nova' is a 'blank,' he should be registered."
_____Bryce began typing. "I'm on it... Checking the municipal registry." The
left-side secondary computer screen changed to a secured governmental web-page.
He entered the name.
_____Several results appeared. "Dr. Nova, you say? Hmm... Odd, there is
no one with the family name of 'Nova.' There are a few people named 'Novarro'
and 'Natalie,' but that's it." Indeed, a small text message said, NO EXACT
MATCH.
_____Edison shrugged. "Well, so much for that. This still wouldn't make
sense: Only people in the Fringes are 'blanks,' and no one in the Fringes
runs a corporation!" He saw Gally's questioning stare when he said "blanks."
_____"'Blanks,' you say?" she asked. "What is such a person? An outcast from
society's system?"
_____"Well," began Edison, "Sort of. 'Blanks' are people who have had their
names wiped from every central registry--no offical records of their existence
exist. They use paper cash since they can't get cred-rods. But things still
wouldn't make sense. Again, a blank wouldn't have the resources of a
corporation, unless..."
_____Gally answered. "Unless, Dr. Nova--as an unregistered person--must now
be covertly with one of these so-called corporations you speak of. He must
have bartered his technological knowledge in exchange for something. Likely,
he probably took flan in payment for sharing his knowledge."
_____"Flan? You mean, the foreign desert?" asked Edison. "That sounds NUTS!
But the rest of what you said, it kind of makes sense. So, we could now have
a real-life 'mad scientist' somewhere in the city, working for a so-far-
unnamed corporation that is willing to waste money on prototype cyborgs for
the simple sake of mass murder. Oh, all we have to do now is to find which
corporation is responsible."
_____Bryce nodded in agreement, kept to working on the computers. Edison looked
over there at Bryce's computer screens. "And let's hope that you don't
disappear in the meanwhile, Gally. We need a cyborg to handle cyborgs. By
the way, did you check back with the Metro Cops? Did you tell them you're
back in town?"
_____"I did not do so," she said. "Was there concern about me from the Metro
Cops? I should return to apologize for departing without cause or immediate
explanation. And, perhaps Police Chief Thunderhorse should know that--"
BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEEP! Gally's words were cut off by a loud alarm that blared
in this cyber-lab.
_____Edison had to SHOUT to be heard above the loudness. "THAT'S THE SECURITY
ALERT! WHAT LEVEL?"
_____BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEEP...! Bryce looked at the left computer monitor of
his workstation. He shouted, "IT'S A LEVEL 6 ALERT! THE WORST!" He tapped
some keys. On the left monitor, there was a security camera view of the
front plaza. "WOW! LOOK AT THAT!"
_____Setting metal fingers to her own synth-flesh ears, Gally looked at the
left monitor. She saw something that looked more at home in Scrap Iron City
than in this cyborg-lacking city.
_____The thing displayed on the monitor looked like a bastardized hybridization
between a construction vehicle and a professional wrestler. Thick metal legs
powered by hydraulics, a torso with armor plating, and jointed thick metal
poles for arms--with claws for hands. The head looked small as the body was
so big. And the metal being was MASSIVE--eight feet tall and at least six feet
across.
_____Then, rushing in from the bottom of the screen's view came black-clad
men--members of Network 23's security, armed with light machine guns. They
knelt in front of the huge metal-thing and opened fire at close range--aiming
for the chest.
_____The metal beast simply gave a massive SWIPE of its left claw-arm, and
the three security-men were SWACKED aside--trailing blood as they flew away,
out of the camera's range of vision.
_____BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEEP...! Despite the apparent danger and the loudness of
the klaxon, Gally grinned. Her machine-perfect ceramic teeth glinting, and her
eyes were wide with glee. "THE FIGHT IS MINE!" she shouted. She then did a
handspring to get over some of this room's equipment--bringing her to the
door.
_____Out in the hall, she found the elevator and pressed the DOWN button. The
elevator came empty; NOBODY wanted to go down to ground level now! That is,
no one execpt her.
...
_____She rode the elevator down to the wide public lobby--and saw more black-
clad security personnel. At least twenty of them here--athletic-looking men
and women ready to defend Network 23 headquarters. Some were putting on extra
kevlar armor, sitting on the marble benches while others stood ready to go
outside. No one was here but security personnel.
_____No one paid attention to Gally at first; because she also wore black,
like the security personnel, the cyborg-girl was not immediately noticed. She
ran her way over to the double doors--getting out of here.
_____Outside, it was still raining. The wet plaza was lit as bright as day
by spotlights mounted from the skyscraper's windows--light that shone through
the rain. The lights were all focused on the metal beast-man, a massive
cyborg. And, down here, it looked bigger than eight feet tall. One security
guard fired at the huge metal-man, and the bullets just PLINKED off of its armor.
_____A sergeant of Network 23 security raised her left fist in signal. "STOP!
Hold your fire, Cletus!" she shouted. "GIRL, what are you doing? That thing
will CRUSH YOU!"
_____Speaking low, Gally said, "Perhaps..." But her smile went all the more
wider. Stepping within fifteen meters of the beast, she raised her fists.
_____Looking at the petite cyborg girl, the massive man of metal tilted back
his head and GROWLED to the rainy night sky above. It was a GROWL that
sounded like a cross between a truck engine and a lion. He made a massive
STOMP in Gally's direction, and the battle began.
...
_____Standing to its full eight feet of height, the metal giant pulled back
its left claw arm. His small black eyes fixed on Gally, anticipating the
damage it would do to this silly little girl.
_____Gally dashed toward the enemy, feet pattering on the wet marble surface
of the plaza. She leapt up and forward, swinging her left fist. THUNK! Her
fist actually penetrated the abdominal armor, making for a jagged hole. And
she kept her fist in the metal man's chest.
_____Arrgh...! The massive metal man used his big right claw-hand to GRIP
Gally, grabbing her like one would grip a hated doll. The claws closed around
her shoulders, leaving her legs to wriggle. He then THREW her diagonally
down...
_____THUNK! Gally's struck the marble of the plaza with her left shoulder,
and her neck wrenched to the side--the side of her head just tapping the hard
wet marble surface. Though the electromechanical strength of her slender neck
saved her head from a full impact, she was still a bit dazed from the hit.
_____Giving a shake of her head, she snapped to her feet and whipped herself
around, ready to face the huge enemy again. This was becoming quite an
invigorating challenge!
_____The metal giant pivoted his upper body to face Gally's new direction, the
hole in his chest now visible. Its rain-wet rubber face showed slight
puzzlement: Why was this little girl still alive?
_____Gally stared at the metal giant over there. She did not notice the
torso ring-joint before. But, because she now knew it was there, she knew
what to do. And she RAN at the massive metal man.
_____With another GROW-W-WL, the enemy spread his huge titanium claws and began to
shambled his big feet so all of him could face the oncoming threat. And the
threat, the girl, moved quite fast.
_____Too fast, in fact. She leapt, her left leg lashing out. There was a
solid THUD as her booted foot STRUCK the joint-ring at the metal giant's
waist. Something cracked inside.
_____Landing from the attack, Gally then made a quick dash around the huge
metal being, managing not to slip on the wet marble surface as she moved. The
metal giant tried to pivot his upper body around to face Gally... Yes, he
TRIED.
_____Instead, there were terrible grinding sounds coming from his waist. His
rubber face took on a befuddled look as his waist made sparks and noise. The
jagged hole in his chest began to billow gray smoke. The point was, he could
not turn his upper body. If the massive metal man wanted to face Gally, it
had to waddle around. It was now very vulnerable.
_____With a smile on her lips, Gally moved into action. She leapt and SLAMMED
her left fist INTO the metal man's big wet armored back. Staying there, she
then used her right fist--forming another hand-hold. Then came the left fist
again, making for a higher hole.
_____In this way, she climbed her way up the metal man's back. She would punch
one hole, pull herself up, then punch another hole. Punching holes to make
her own hand-holds as she continued up.
_____The metal man GROW-W-WLED...! He began to stomp his feet, making for
cracks in the hard marble plaza surface. He did not like this! And he would
most certainly NOT like what Gally was going to do next.
_____She arrived at his shoulders, wet with rainwater. With an agile movement,
she clamped her solid thighs around the metal neck. Sitting herself astride
his shoulders. Then she sank two metal fingers into the metal man's eyes.
_____GROW-W-WL...! The massive metal-man twisted and growled, wriggling and
shaking. Gally tried to stay on, thoroughly enjoying the sounds of pain from
the metal man. The metal man's movement soon became so troublesome that
Gally had to leap off.
_____But there was still fun to be had from the ground! With the metal giant
taking swipes around, Gally leapt and struck the chest. She then did so a
few more times, determined to make the metal giant's chest armor have more
holes than a sieve!
_____"GIRL! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted the Network 23 security sergeant.
Grinning, Gally turned to look back towards the double doors--over where the
security personnel were. She saw at least fifteen guns pointing in this
direction. Time to dodge!
_____But the security personnel were not aiming at her. Running in a sleek
crouch, the cyborg-girl dashed to the right, away from the metal man. Sparks
came from his eye-sockets and some smoke was coming from the many holes in his
back and chest. His insides were so hot that the rain hissed when it fell
through the holes.
_____"Alpha and Bravo teams! 12 o'clock, OPEN FIRE!" shouted the security
sergeant. Then came a cavalcade crackling of machine-gun fire in the plaza.
Cr-cr-cr-cr-cr..! Bullets flew at the metal giant by the thousands, like
a steady steel swarm of bees in the cool night air.
_____Before, the bullets could not get through the armor. But now, there were
so many holes in the metal giant that the security personnel had no trouble in
getting shots through. Bullets flew into the chest, bounced around, hitting
all sorts of electronics and electromechanical systems. And the security
personnel kept firing: ...Cr-cr-cr-cr...!
_____The metal man shuddered, being hit so many times inside. Bullets still
went in, and it staggered. Yet more bullets bounced around its insides. Then
something inside blew--giving a flash of flame.
_____"Cease fire!" shouted the security sergeant. The gunfire stopped. The
metal man staggered, then collapsed to his left knee. Metal arms limp, his
bullet-torn rubber-faced head hung in defeat. Smoke poured from its back,
spotlights filtering through the fumes that billowed from the metal man. And
the rain poured down on the huge broken figure. Defeated... The fight was
done.
_____"Spread out!" shouted the security sergeant. Gun forward, she said,
"Alpha Team! Let's confirm the kill!" Then she and five other security
personnel ran toward the ruined metal giant. Came to stand within yards of it.
_____Looking up at it, she shouted, "GOD-DAMN IT! WHO MADE THIS THING?" Her
men shook their heads, some looking into the holes, some poking the huge thing
with their guns. They had no answer for the security sergeant.
_____She then asked, "Where's metal-girl? We owe her some thanks! I never
saw such a little girl kick ass like THAT before!" The security sergeant then
ordered her men to fan out and find Gally. But the little fighting girl was
no longer in the plaza.
...
_____Across town, something had happened at the Network 66 building. More
exactly, something happened in the newly converted cyber lab on the sixtieth
floor of that building.
_____Most of this wide lab was in darkness, lights off, except for one light
on the far left side. The light shone on someone seated in a reclining
leather seat, a helmet on his head. Standing around him rrounding him were
six scientists, most of them in casual clothing and lab-coats.
_____The only scientist wearing a tie was Dr. Nova. And, the only one eating
here was him, eating yet another bowl of flan. He eyed the man in the leather
seat, watched for any physical symptoms of malfunction. Nova did not need to
consult the machine readouts on the helmet; he oversaw the making of the
whole system and could tell by looking if anything were going wrong.
_____The business-suited man in the reclining seat began to spasm, flopping
like a live fish tossed onto a hot skillet, and the scientists rushed close.
Then he relaxed; the spasming was just a side-effect of being disengaged from
the system.
_____"Damn," he grunted. He took the device off his own head. It was Mr.
Grossberg, forehead somewhat sweaty from being behind that helmet. "She beat
me! The BITCH!"
_____Dr. Nova was the first scientist to speak. He stepped into the pool of
light, then said, "I take it your preliminary strike against a corporate rival
was unsuccessful? How so? And, how was the experience itself?"
_____Mr. Grossberg sat up, helmet gripped in his hands, light shining down on
him. "Yes, I was unsuccessful. But ONLY BECAUSE A DAMNED CYBORG INTERFERED!"
He hopped off of the seat, stood very close to Nova. Mr. Grossberg was a tall
man, physically strong, and therefore intimidating. "WHO DESIGNED THAT LITTLE
BITCH? WHERE DID SHE COME FROM? Why wasn't I TOLD ABOUT HER? Why the HELL
did she SCREW ME?"
_____The other scientists quivered quivered when the CEO spoke like that, his
voice booming throughout the wide, dark lab. Backing off a step himself,
Dr. Nova smiled nervously. "Oh, then you must have encountered Gally while
controlling the robot-proxy. If you want to be angry, please do not be angry
at us... None of us designed her!"
_____Another scientist spoke up from the darkness outside the pool of light,
a boyish voice. "Heh heh... Look at it this way, Mr. Grossberg. We're just
getting started again on humanoid automatons, see. Robots and cyborgs, you
know? We're resurrecting research on that sort of hardware. Pretty soon,
we'll be able to design better and BETTER bodies for cyber-beings. That body
you controlled was the best we could do...last week. We're already working on
something better."
_____A third scientist chimed in, a young female voice. "Yeah, yeah! Hee
hee...!" she giggled. " Just you wait, Mr. Grossberg! We're working on
something MUCH better for you. It'll be GREAT! You'll be able to get MORE
power out of what we're working on. We promise! Right, Dr. Nova?"
_____Straightening his tie, Dr. Nova nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! Two items,
in fact. We are at work on ameliorating the bio-electronic interface. Using
the primative brain-interface hardware available in this city, we are
fortunate to have reached this level of cyborg technology. That, and the mass
production facilities have been upgraded."
_____The CEO looked down at the cyber-helmet gripped in his hands, listened
to what the scientists said. The helmet was how he was able to control the
eight-foot metal giant--the one that attacked the Network 23 building, which
was on the other side of the downtown area. No, he did not just control that
metal man, he WAS the metal man!
_____Oh yes, using this remote device, he felt that he WAS a big and powerful
machine. A powerful being of mighty machinery! He was able to look down on
those who fired their pitiful little guns at him. That, while he had a bigger weapon
than all of those security personnel combined: himself! Then SHE came along,
the dark-haired little cyber-bitch.
_____"Dumb luck was how she defeated me," said Mr. Grossberg. "However, with
sheer power, I can break her." He GRIPPED the cyber-helmet. "Oh yes, I will
certainly break her--along with my rivals!" Though the cyber-helmet casing
was made of steel, small dimple-dents appeared where Mr. Grossberg's fingers
pressed. Something was not right about this Network 66 CEO.
...
_____After the dark night, morning finally came to the city. The first rays
of light appeared on the jagged eastern horizon--sunlight shining between
buildings. First, the eastern skyline was blood red, burning away the darkness
of the night. Then, the roundness of the bright pale-yellow sun vanquished
the black, making for the blue of a clear and almost cloudless sky.
_____Several hours later, here in the downtown area, well-dressed people got
up from bed and prepared for the day. They washed, ate breakfast in their
well-furnished apartments, drove their cars to work. Some of them were driven
to work by taxi cabs, some by chauffeurs.
_____Gally slowly opened her eyes, then gasped--not daring to move. There
was a gun barrel pressed against her forehead, ready to fire. "Foolish child,"
said a man's voice. "Were you not warned about sleeping in alleys?" The
gun came away. "If not me, then someone else could have just as easily been
standing over you."
_____But she was not in an alley now. This was a richly furnished office--one
with wood paneling on the walls and a carpet under the feet. The desk before
her was also made of wood, also expensively done. This was the office of
Police Chief Thunderhorse, in the 1st Precinct of the Metro Cops.
_____Chief Thunderhorse himself was here, dressed in slacks and white buttoned
shirt with tie, brown shoes on his feet--a brown that was slightly lighter than
his swarthy skin-tone. But now, he had a shoulder holster worn over his shirt--
a holster he now used to hold his revolver.
_____Holstering his gun, he sat behind his desk. "For days now, girl, I almost
suspected that you were taken by chop-shop operators or body bank profiteers.
You vanished from the city for two weeks and three days."
_____Gally sat up in her swivel seat. "Well, I can care for myself. Last
evening, after an invigorating battle, I used the credit-rod to purchase
food bars. Soon after the evening meal, I grew weary. I found an alley nearby,
here in the downtown area of this city, then slept. Is this area not patrolled
by the police-people?"
_____"That said, such a patrol found you! Sleeping in an alley, eyes closed,
completely vulnerable!" exclaimed Thunderhorse. "Though this is not the
Fringes, and though this region of the city is cleaner and better-patrolled,
there are still dangers!" He then spoke more softly. "Still, child, you do
not know the ways of this city."
_____Gally's eyes narrowed for an instant when Chief Thunderhorse called her a
"child." But it was true that she still did not know the ways of this city.
Perhaps, if a patrol did not find her, she would not have been alive at all.
_____Leaning back from his grand desk, the police chief continued. Saying, "I
do not apologize for the way I spoke to you, Gally. Because of the rising
level of danger in this city, I will not." He unholstered his silvery gun
and held it up. "The bullets in this weapon have been developed for the
level of rising danger. Ferro-ceramic rounds jacketed in steel.
______"Gally, such bullets are somewhat effective against the bodies of the
psychotic cyborgs that have been used to attack random sectors in this city.
Yes, somewhat effective. Such is what my officers have told me when they
used the ferro-ceramic rounds. However, the guns have not been as effective
as your fighting capability." He holstered his gun again. "But, that is not
all..." He leaned forward, reached down to open a desk drawer.
_____Then he raised up what he took from the drawer, put it atop his desk for
Gally to see. It was a rubber-plugged glass beaker, two-thirds full of a dark
oily liquid. Though this office was well-lit, the dark substance in the beaker
seemed to swallow the light that shone on it. Gally recognized that dark
substance; she saw it several times before.
_____"Ah," went Chief Thunderhorse, "I see a look of recognition on your face,
a look darkened slightly with fear. You have encountered this substance more
than once before, in more than one place."
_____Gally stared into the darkness of the substance. A deep darkness that
a person could stare into and get lost in--a bottomless darkness. She had to
force herself to look away.
_____"Such is true," she said. "You know that I have been gone from this
city for the time of two weeks. In truth, I was taken to another land. A
small town. Do not ask how; I do not fully understand how, myself. But, in
that town, I came to hear of an endemic--a troubling disease somehow connected
with that substance."
_____Thunderhorse nodded. "A disease? Yes, that would make sense... This
was extracted from the bloodstream of a man who was caught eating human flesh.
No one knows why: He did not have a history of insanity, nor was he starving.
He was far from starvation, in fact. He was an executive at Network 40. A
well-educated, wealthy man--from a high-standing family. Then, he took to
visiting the Fringes.
_____"One day, his wife's mother called. She was worried about her daughter,
as she had not taken her weekly visit. In fact, not only did the mother of
the man's wife worry about her, but most everyone did--including some
shopkeepers. You see, she never left the apartment..." Gally gasped, her
eyes going wide with realization; Chief Thunderhorse did say the husband was
eating human flesh...
_____"Yes," continued the police chief, "when we entered his apartment, we knew
what had happened to his wife. The man was sitting down to lunch..." He
shrugged. "He tried to attack the detective who had entered his apartment.
Tried to attack a combat-experienced detective with a gun. When shot, THIS
foul substance poured from his wounds--not blood.
_____"By the way, a similar substance was found in the corpse of the tall man
who attacked your friend Officer Murphy and company. But this substance seems
more advanced. The substance has a complex chemical composition that keeps
changing. The lab techs cannot even begin to understand it."
_____Gally looked at the dark substance in question, the dark substance in the
plugged beaker atop Chief Thunderhorse's desk. "Something must be happening
to this city," she said. "That happens as something repeatedly happens to ME.
I blame someone for all of this. And I will find him."