The Other Box: Chapter 9 (by Elliot Bowers)
..
The Battles for Downtown
...
_____It was a bright afternoon, and the heat seemed intense enough to burn the
city streets. But the sun didn't make for the heat. It was the fires that
made things warm. Fire and smoke...
_____There were fires burning on this street, a legacy of violence. Some
burning cars and burning shops at the sides, smoke wafted up to the blue sky
above the urban street. A person would notice that, if such a person were
able to ignore the occasional triple cr-cr-crack of gunfire and the shouting.
_____Yes indeed, this downtown neighborhood seemed like a lost cause. Over
half of the beautiful storefronts and facades on this block were smashed in.
And all of the shopkeepers were gone. Yet there were no looters here to
steal--because anyone left with two legs had fled, not wanting to be killed.
As for those who did not escape, their torn bodies lie on the streets.
____Yes, there were bodies...not immediately noticable as there was so much
debris here, anyway. The p-type cyborgs did a pretty good job of wiping out
human beings. Scaring and killing people was their primary function! Dead
bodies and scattered waste everywhere....
_____Cr-cr-crack, CR-CR-CRACK, came the gunshots A wooman's shout echoed from
one street over. "Charlie Team, move in! Push those two back a few meters!"
A new spate of automatic gunfire echoed through the nearby streets. Not that
the dead bodies on this street cared, but Metro Cops still kept fighting over
there. A person could really hear it!
_____Cr-cr-crack! "Damn it! Concentrate your fire!" And the sounds of guns
continued. All sorts of sound and fury over there.
_____Well, at least the Metro Cops could fight--and KILL--the metal-bodied
freaks. On this street, a few of the things lie broken. Among the bodies on
this downtown block, there were several metal corpses. These silvery bodies
were riddled and dented, shot up by ferro-ceramic rounds. They lie among the
dead they helped kill.
...
_____Cr-cr-crack! More gunfire... A lot of commotion was happening over on
Brighton Street, where three teams of Metro Cops were taking on two cyborgs.
Not just two standard cyborgs, these things were the size of small construction
vehicles--with the bulk and strength to match! Compared to the size of their
massive bodies, their rubber-faced heads seemed small. The rubber faces snarled
as Metro Cops continued to fire from behind abandoned cars.
_____"I SAID, concentrate your fire!" shouted Police Corporal Kim, her helmet
visor tilted up. Yes, she was definitely here to fight and command--with
kevlar body armor on and a submachine gun in her gloved hands. Once just
plain "Officer Kim," the young blonde woman was field-promoted to her current
rank amidst the battles--after her partner was beheaded by one of those freaks,
after she continued her duty despite later injuries and trauma. She would
fight on....
_____TWHUNK! There was an explosion of safety glass as one of the two huge
cyborg beasts SLAMMED one of its massive metal fists into a car roof--the car
that four Metro Cops had ducked behind. One of them went down, clutching his
bleeding face when the little shards of the flying safety glass hit him in the
cheeks and eyelids. Though such glass was designed to break into non-injuring
pieces when broken, it was flying very fast. So fast that it acted like
shrapnel. Too bad that Metro Cop neglected to have his helmet visor down.
_____Another officer grabbed him by the shoulders and began dragging him away.
That left two other officers to fire on the huge metal beast that smashed the
car. The thing pulled back its gigantic fist, ready to do a repeat performance
of that same attack.
_____"Bravo Team, move to assist Charlie Team!" shouted Kim. Today, Kim could
have stayed back at the 2nd Precinct headquarters.... She could have been at
a dispatcher's desk as this attack on downtown happened. But, she was among
the very first wave of Metro Cops to hit the scene.
_____No, Police Corporal Kim did not want to do desk duty now. She had
experience with fighting cyborgs. And her experience was NEEDED out here. As
she watched her second team of fellow Metro Cops run up behind another car,
shooting at the two huge cyborgs in the street, she silently wished again.
Wished for the cyborg-girl that these polices relied on to help.
_____As six Metro Cops kept one of the oversized cyborgs busy with gunfire, Kim
hoped for the cyborg-girl's return. Hell, one Gally was worth a hundred Metro
Cops! It would be great if the cyborg-girl were to drop out of the sky somehow,
right on top of one of those two hulking metal beasts. The metal-bodied girl
would have dashed circles around the huge things and cut their armor to pieces
with those alloyed fists of hers. Then, she'd go for the cyborgs' heads.
_____Most certainly, she'd beat the jumbo-sized cyborgs quickly! Oh, Gally
appearing RIGHT NOW would be a God-send. She would appear to knock those big
metal bastards' heads off! Knocking...off...? Wait a minute!
_____Enlightenment seemed to smack Kim in the head. How STUPID of her! All
of this time, without her specifying, the Metro Cops under her command were
just firing wherever they could--targeting the easier parts of the big cyborgs.
They thoughts the cyborgs' heads were too small to aim for, so they kept on
firing on the abdominal areas. This chipped away the metal monsters' armor,
but there was still work to do.
_____With one of the monstrous metal beasts making noise and threats, the other
huge thing was standing still. Its rubber face smiling. It seemed amused as
its fellow metal beast tried to intimidated Metro Cops with growls and stomps.
Kim was over here alone, looking. There was a rare chance here. She had a
clear shot at the enemy.
_____Popping a fresh clip of ammo into her submachine gun, Kim laid herself
flat atop the hood of this car. Her armor felt a bit bulky, but that was good:
the bulkiness would help keep her more still--so she could aim better. Her
padded elbows on the hood, she took aim...held her breath...sque-e-zed the
trigger....
_____CR-CR-CRACK! The shots hit! Stunned at her success, Kim first didn't
move. Her carefully aimed, oh-so-lucky shots had taken the oversized metal
freak right in the head. Over there, the metal beast GROW-W-WLED, began to
stomp and stagger around as darkened blood dripped from its shot-up metal
skull. That thing's brain was dying.
______The cyborg designers still built the things' brains into the heads!
Maybe for design reasons, the brain was still kept in the skull. Atop the
body, it made for a small--but critical--target.
_____There was a solid metallic CRASH of metal when that jumbo-sized cyborg
toppled to the street. Its armored back and abdomen had been chipped and
damaged, but it was the head-shot that stopped the giant. It was a very, very
lucky, lucky, shot!
_____But there was still one more. That large cyborg turned to see that its
fellow metal beast had been taken down, then it let forth a R-R-ROAR! A roar
that seemed to shake the street! It sounded like a mix between a diesel truck
and an angry jungle beast.
_____Then it began stomping in Kim's direction. The huge cyborg--like all the
other prototype cyborgs--wasn't too intelligent as its brain had been mutilated
and modified to enhance its killer instinct. But, the cyborg wasn't so stupid
as to not understand where new gunshots came from--as with the gunshots from
Kim's positoin.
_____While some Metro Cops reloaded, the others Cops began firing at that
remaining cyborg's back. Whereas their prevous barrages of gunfire were just
to wear down the enemy, this barrage was a last-ditch effort to stop the
monster before it killed Kim. And they didn't care if they risked weapons
overheat or backfire. As the police corporal here ducked behind the car, the
thing continued to stomp in this direction. Gunfire continued as well.
_____Kim did NOT want to be hit with stray ferro-ceramic bullets, so she stayed
behind this car. Damn, these bullets are designed to damage metal bodies.
Such bullets would easily drill straight through a flesh body; body armor would
not work to stop the new ammunition.
_____Anyway, ducking gave Kim a chance to check her own submachine gun, making
as sure as possible wouldn't jam. All the while, she heard the massive footsteps
stomp closer...closer...CLOSER. And the other Metro Cops kept firing.
_____Cr-cr-cr-cr...! The other Metro Cops kept up their barage. Damn, Kim
could actually HEAR their ferro-ceramic bullets chip away at the back of the
big metal beast--chipping sounds heard during the intervals between bass-toned
and ground-shaking footsteps.
_____The quaking footsteps stopped. That big thing was here. With the sounds
of guns firing and bullets still chipping away at its armored back, the
fifteen-foot metal giant towered over the car--seeming to block out the sun.
Kim looked up, her mouth opening in surprise as the thing began moving over
her. She ran away from the car, then spun to open fire on the cyborg--adding
her gunfire to the prevous gunfire against the oversized cyborg.
_____Actally, the metal beast's forward movement was a falling movement. With
a massive CRASH of collapsing metal and breaking glass, yet another street-parked
car was destroyed. The metal beast had fallen atop the car Kim hid behind
thirteen seconds before now.
_____All of those recent shots to its back had chipped away at the thing's
armor. Eventually, the armor was so damaged that some bullets had gone into
the body. And enough internal damage was done to the thing--stopping it.
_____Her submachine gun in her black-gloved hands, Kim saw the wreck. The
giant still lay atop the ruined car. Sparks and smoke came from the thing's
damaged back. And that was all the life it showed; it did not move. The fight
was done.
_____Seven other Metro Cops ran over to here--to be sure that they won this
time. They aimed their submachine guns at the fallen thing, even poked its
rubber-faced head. A normal sized head atop a massive metal body--a pin-head!
_____Then Kim herself went over there, where the cyborg lay broken atop the
smashed car. She looked at the sparking, smoking huge thing. "I have to be
sure," she said. "Stand back, people..." The other Metro Cops backed off,
then Kim began shooting the thing's head--the ferro-ceramic bullets putting
more holes in the things head than holes in swiss cheese.
_____When there were no more bullets comfing from the hole of her now-smoking
submachine gun, she lowered the weapon. Dark blood oozed from the thing's
ruined head; it was clearly dead. The fight here was over.
_____With the adrenaline rush over, Kim felt her entire body ache--muscle strain,
along with bruises. There was just too much fighting done today. Too many
Metro Cops died. Too many died yesterday. And, too many died the day before
that. Too many died the day before THAT, as well. Too many dead this week,
and last week. Probably more next week, if this kept up.
_____She said, "I wish... I really, really wish...." Her voice trailed off.
Looking at other Metro Cops here, she added, "We could truly use some hope
right now." Soon as Kim said that, her walkie-talkie beeped. It was an
incoming transmission from headquarters.
_____She communicated with the 3rd Precinct headquarters--told them that her
unit won the battle, defeated the p-type cyborgs. This latest attack--the one
Kim's unit had just stopped--was just one battle. There was another battle
going on in another part of downtown: the 4th Precinct. Damn, the p-type
cyborgs were doing double-duty today. Other Metro Cops shared Kim's wish in
mind, too.
...
_____Their collective desire was granted. Gally came back. And she came back
in the speed of a blink, fully conscious. The cyborgg-girl was not in
optimal condition.
____The first thing Gally felt was a slamming headache. It was the sort of
headache that could stopped a person--and drive him or her into unconsciousness.
She blinked, eyesight blurry, holding her head in her hands... Swaying on her
booted feet, she finally collapsed to a kneeling position. Her head was so
full of splitting pain that she wanted to SCREAM!
_____Blinking and breathing heavily, she tried to concentrate. Her vision
cleared a bit. Now Gally saw that she was "herself" again--a physique of
metal, wearing a sleeveless bodysuit that fit her body's shape. Calf-length
boots to complete her outfit.
_____Her transition-induced headache was going away. And through the slowly
fading haze of pain, she looked down at the concrete of the sidewalk. A ruined
sidewalk. There was broken brick and glass here...scattered debris. Along with
dried blood.
_____The shattered glass was from a nearby broken storefront window. The blood
was from someone killed earlier. Gally forced herself to stand up. She was
back in the nameless city, somewhere in the downtown area. The last thing she
remembered was being in sleeping clothes, in Delsea. This time, her transition
to this place was instant--so much so that it gave her that headache she just
had. "R-R-RUN, GIRL!"
_____Surprised, she looked around for the source of the stuttered shout... It
came from the broken storefront window--a familiar voice coming from an
unfamiliar place. She saw an unbroken television in a storefront display
case, a television facing this city sidewalk: Max Headroom, the computer-
generated man.
_____"GET-GET-GET OUT OF HERE!" stutter-spoke the man in the television.
"They're still around a-and AROUND!"
_____Just now, the last of her headache was going away, but Gally was still
slightly confused. She addressed the man in the television. "Mr. Headroom,
what do you mean? Tell me, WHO remains here?"
_____"WH-WHO? Buz-z-z, WRONG question! Y-y-you mean to ask WHAT remains here!"
shouted the computerized man in the television. "Those THINGS are still here!
Your e-evil cousins, p-type cyborgs! Waiting-waiting for stragglers! They
al-al-already killed the cops that came here! So...RUN for your L-L-LIFE!
AIE-E-E!"
_____Indeed, all around was a scene of urban destruction. Along with scattered
and mutilated bodies of well-dressed citizens, there were also a few torn bodies
of Metro Cops. They lie on the sidewalks and in the streets, among smashed
cars and broken storefront windows. Then Gally heard a metal-footed "thunk"
land right behind her. Something had dropped down from a nearby shop roof.
_____She whipped herself around, just as a metal fist SLAMMED against her.
The blow struck her high in her metal chest, just beneath her neck--making her
gasp.
_____A new headache gripped her head. And there was pain in her body. Something
inside her must have been damaged. Gasping for air, the cyborg-girl then
realized that one or a few of her artificial organs must have been knocked out
of calibration by that blow--it was, very likely, damage to her blood-pump.
_____She was now facing one of the many skeletal p-type cyborgs that had staged
terrorist attacks here in the city, its rubber face leering at her from atop
a body of metal. The thing wanted to kill her.
_____Ka-thunk--metal feet hitting the street. Another p-type cyborg jumped
down from the roof of the city shop, turning to face Gally. The thing's
rubber lips stretched as it leered at Gally. Then two more hopped down from
that store-roof, joining the others. A four-to-one fiht: This was going to
be quite a rumble.
_____Gally felt a building lump of hotness within her chest... Her malfunctioniing
and miscaliberated blood pump must be working hard to keep her conscious--
overheating as it worked incorrectly. Auto-repar systems would correct the
problem--if she let herself fall into unconsciousness. But, sleeping now
would mean death.
_____The skeletal p-type cyborgs grinned down at her, wondering which part of
this little cyborg-girl they were going to try and take apart first. They
truly were murdering machines, mutilated human brains with no real consciousness--
simple brutality. Not even with enough intelligence left to use weapons to
do their killing. Their claw-hands bloody from previous slaughter, they wanted
to cause more pain! One of them raised its gleaming left metal arm, and so the
fight began.
...
_____Gally half-ducked and blocked at the same time. The blow CLINKED off of
her titanium forearm, sparks spraying from friction. She then countered with
a side-kick, knocking one cyborg away.
_____But that still left three more here. KLINK! One of them struck her on
the shoulder, making her stagger. Another one lunged as her balance was
compromised--metal claw-hands reaching out, gripping Gally by her neck.
____KLINK, KLINK, KLINK, KLINK... The other two began hitting her. Blows
coming from everywhere! Hits to her abdomen, hits to her back. This, while
metal claw-fingers tried to crushed the delicate machinery of her throat. And
the hits...kept...coming...
_____She brought up her own solid hands, gripping the claws that held her.
With a hard YANK, she brought down the p-type cyborg--a metal creature almost
twice her height. Then she did a reverse somersault, her right leg kicking up
at the same time--knocking off that freaky cyborg's head.
_____Landing from the somersault-kick, she leapt again. This time, she went
forward--solid right fist lashing out at the same time. The cyborg she
attacked took the blow in its metal abdomen, small cyber-parts and thin metal
armor scattering everywhere! Dark liquid and sparks gushing from its shattered
abdomen, that one fell over, twitching. Meanwhile, the beheaded p-type cyborg
fell over.
_____Breathing heavily through her slightly damaged throat, Gally now turned
to look at the last of the four p-type cyborgs--standing six meters away. It
was the one she first kicked away. She looked into its camera-lens eyes, set
in its rubber face. There was no fear in those camera-eyes... Just nothing.
And then it smiled as so many others of its kind did--a smile that was not even
human.
_____Feeling that rising hotness inside her chest, Gally RAN at the remaining
enemy as one thought ran in her mind. In a word, KILL. The metal skeleton-
thing made some kind of futile gesture, probably tried to swipe at the cyborg-
girl.
_____But Gally was airborne--nothing could stop her, flying at the metal
monster. Then, something spectacular happened--a spectacle of exploding
darkened blood and metal. It was hard to tell exactly WHAT she did, but the
effect was amazing. She had flashed for a split second as she came at the
skeletal cyborg, a white-hot flash of power. And the p-type cyborg EXPLODED--
skinny metal arms and legs flying in all directions, little metal pieces flying
outward like shrapnel.
...
_____Gally skidded to a stop, her boots skidding on the asphalt. Stood there,
breathing more heavily than before. She looked around for more p-type cyborgs.
There were cracks and dents in her back and on the left side of her abdominal
armor, from when all four of those cyborgs beat on her during the battle. And
she heard as well as felt slight crackling sound coming from within her body...
A little thread of smoke puffed steadily from one of the cracks in her back.
Now her legs seemed not to be working right.
_____By now, the hot-spot in her chest was BURNINGLY hot! Breathing rapidly was
what kept her blood-pump from heat-overload right now... But that wasn't the
worst of it. The overload was barely being contained by her auto-repair
systems--the small and self-regenerating supply of nanobots within her.
_____Over by the side of this city street, the television had turned on again.
Max Headroom was back, his voice coming from the little speaker. "G-G-GALLY,
you're in b-b-ad shape! CAN'T YOU FIND A TOO-TOO-TOOLKIT OR SOMETHING WHILE
H-H-HELP GETS HERE?"
_____Her legs weak and torso heating, the cyborg-girl weakly shook her head.
All of this damage... But the pain was not just physical; it was also
spiritual. She had returned to the city too late to help these Metro Cops. By
God, there must be over eight of them dead around here. Probably more.
_____"TALK to m-m-me, Gally..." said Max Headroom from in that television over
there, almost scolding. "You're pretty quiet now. I don't-don't want you DYING
on me now! You j-just got back, just for justice! Sure, there are a few
c-c-corpses around... Okay, make that MORE than a few. B-b-but, don't let
THAT let you down. Besides, Edison is on his way. The c-c-cops are sort of
busy at-at the moment, so I couldn't get-get them."
_____Despite Max Headroom's bolstering talk, Gally was still feeling quite down.
Innocent civilians were dead, lying around. The Metro Cops here were dead.
Her body was extensively damaged... And she was unsure if she--her brain--was
going to live.
_____She would try to find something, try to get to somewhere. Her insides
feeling heated, legs weak, Gally tried walking away from this carnage. Eyes
down, she stepped around the occasional strewn body--some bodies of flesh,
some of them the remains of metal-type cyborgs. Then she tripped over one
black-padded body, one of a strong-jawed Metro Cop.
_____It took effort to get up. Her vision hazed with pain and damage, Gally
brought herself to her knees. She saw that she had tripped over the bloodied
corpse of a fallen Metro Cop. The dead eyes stared up at the blue sky overhead,
mouth slack and drawing flies... But she knew those eyes. She knew the face.
She knew now that Officer Murphy was dead.
_____On her knees, she continued to look into the dead eyes of the officer.
He died in fending off a wave of p-type cyborgs. His empty, dented submachine
gun was still clutched in his right hand. The dents were from when he had tried
to attack p-type cyborgs by using the empty weapon like a club--to give some
surviving civilians time to escape.
_____Whenever Chief Thunderhorse had Gally go on patrol, she was partnered with
this Metro Cop--this man. Now he--her Metro Cop partner--was dead. If all
the pain she felt before had hurt, then this was the final blow to her soul.
This all pained too much....
_____She failed. Giving a gasping sob, the cyborg-girl fell onto her side.
This was all too much. All the pain and damage, all of the hurt and misery.
Everything had gone wrong here, everything going down. The hurting inside of
her body began to fill her brain, and she let it. She let the damage and pain
close over her as she closed her eyes. All the while, she heard Max Headroom's
distant voice trying to cheer her on... So...far...away...
...
_____A reddish-orange Network 23 news van screeched to stop at the intersection--
a block from a scene of chaos in the downtown area. Well, that would be
actually one of several scenes of chaos today; the cyborg-terrorist attacks
happened in more than one place. And, plenty of people were killed. Knowing
this, the two tele-journalists in the van deeply knew what sort of danger they
were getting into.
_____Because, knowing things was part of their job. The network van stopped,
and its side door slid open. Out hopped two tele-journalists with video-
cameras. One was a long-haired, thin woman in her early twenties--loose-fitting
pants and a tight long-sleeved shirt, a multi-pocket vest worn over the shirt.
Brown boots made her small feet seem large.
_____Though a thin woman, experience and skill allowed her to port her video
camera with almost as much ease as the seasoned tele-journalist she was with:
Edison Carter.
_____Edison had on loose clothes: a polo shirt and slacks, a trenchcoat worn
over the clothes. Thick soled work-shoes on his feet, he looked ready for
adventure. Because, covering these latest p-type cyborg attacks was adventure.
_____Looking down at the female tele-jornalist, he asked, "You ready for this,
Xu?" Then he looking around, checking for potential trouble. If there was
any trouble, they could just hop in the van and be gone. "I mean, anything
could happen out here."
_____The thin female tele-journalist, Xu, gave Edison a look. Holding her
camera with her right hand, she opened up one of her vest pockets--taking out
a folded hat with a stylized dragon on its front. She shook it once, put it
atop her dark-haired head. "I'm now wearing my lucky hat! I'm ready for
anything!"
____"Let's hope that's GOOD luck," said Edison while quickly checking his own
camera. While Xu checked hers, Edison turned around to slide the van door shut.
"Okay, Janx! We're good!" he said to the driver. "You know when to pick us
up." Then he stepped back as the network van sped away. To Xu, he said,
"Let's move."
_____Putting video cameras atop right shoulders, the two tele-journalists began
1moving toward the nearest scene of chaos. Gyroscopic and mercury-switch
mechanisms within the cameras gave an almost steady view regardless of how
much the two jounced as they moved at a quick jogging pace along this
beautiful downtown city street...heading for a ruined street.
_____As they ran, Edison thought he knew what to expect. Back at Network 23
headquarters, he saw the net-cam shots of the scene--courtesy of none other than
Max Headroom. And the computer-generated man had screamed about Gally being
in trouble! G-g-get Gally-girl, said Max after showing the scene. Bodies
all around, there was carnage there.
_____And now the two tele-journalists came to the actual scene itself, on this
street. Xu stopped, gripping her video camera. She looked around--slowly.
"Oh my...goodness... Edison? This is... Ach!"
_____She would not throw up. Using her free hand, Xu opened another one of
her vest pockets and took a gag reflex-suppression pill--to keep her from
vomiting. Then she brought her video camera up to her right shoulder,
getting the scene by slow-pans left and right.
_____Edison brought his own camera up to bear, made sure that the communcations
link was on. He then said, "Control, Xu and I are both on-scene, alive. But
it seems like no one else is." A breeze blew along the street... "Max said
that Gally was here, so I guess I'll have to find her."
_____A familiar voice came through the camera speaker, but it wasn't Theora:
Edison's usual controller. It was the voice of Murry: a middle-aged manager
back at headquarters. Theora had gone missing in one of the earlier attacks.
She was still missing. And though Edison was among the first on the scene
where she was last seen, after the p-type cyborgs, no one found her body.
____Murry's voice came through calmly. "Okay, Edison. But don't forget that
you're a reporter too, not a rescuer. Though if you see Theora there, try to
bring her back after recording some good disaster footage..." Murry was
Theora's manager, and he wanted her back on the job. "And don't forget,
either you or Xu have too go on the air in twenty minutes--rescue or no rescue."
_____"Edison," said Xu, "Let's start moving up the street." Something in that
anti-vomit medicine of hers must have also suppressed her fear--if only
temporarily. "I'll cover the right side, you cover the left side. We'll find
Gally here... It's a Max Headroom guarantee!"
_____Edison added, "And if either of us is cut to death by killer cyborgs, the
other can get it all on video. Good ratings all around..." Xu's slender
shoulders
slumped, her mouth gaping. "Okay, forget I said that." Speaking into the
camera speaker, "Sorry, Murry."
_____Before Murry could say anything, Edison walked towards the left side of
the street--which was as wrecked-looking as the right side. Or, was it worse?
Video camera pointed down, he swept the view left and right, looking at the
various debris and dead bodies around here. Most of the bodies were of men
in business clothes, bloodied and torn--with the occasional female corpse for
variety. There were some Metro Cops here, too... The kevlar padding and
helmets they wore didn't seem to be too much protection the claws of the
cyborgs that did them in. Somehow, eyeing this through the view of his
camera made it a bit more tolerable.
_____Then Max Headroom appeared in the camera's view! "H-H-HI, GUY!" came his
loud and cheery voice through the video camera speaker, stammering the greeting.
"Glad you-you could ma-ma-MAKE it here!"
_____Edison nearly dropped his video camera. "For crying out loud! Max, we're
here. Now, where's Gally? Around here? You could save Xu and I the trouble
of digging through dead bodies and broken stuff."
_____"Like dig-dig-DIGGING for buried TREASURE!" quipped Max from inside
the camera. "Sounds like fun! If I had hands, I'd give you one. A h-h-hand,
that is." Then his voice took on a pirate's timbre. "Arr, mateys... We'll
find me T-T-TREASURE. Then we'll CONQUER the S-S-SEVEN SEAS! Arr, ARRH!"
_____"Max! People are DEAD here!" shouted Edison. "And, any second, maybe
those metal monsters will be back to make ME and Xu dead. Now where EXACTLY
did you see Gally last?"
_____"Sh-sheesh, so impatient! I'll tell you..." came Max's voice through
the camera speaker. "G-G-GOSH, and letting you just look around would have
been S-S-SO much more fun! Now I'll just tell you what y-you're looking for.
_____"What's left of Gally sh-should be over by-by 'Patty's Perfume Parlor.'
Which, by the way, is next to a store called Vinny's Video Boutique. But
Vinny's dead! He was k-k-killed by those p-type cyborgs. What's the store
going to-to be named now, HUH? How d-d-does 'DEAD Vinny's Video Boutique'
sound?"
_____A shout cut through the air. "EDISON!" It was Xu's voice, sounding
especially worried. And it seemed that the medication she took must not have
been strong enough to suppress the fear she had now. Something was up!
_____"You're a big help, Max," said Edison, jogging over to where Xu stood
further along the street. "Now go." Nigttime kneeling over at the right-side
sidewalk, video camera off of her right shoulder, looking at something.
_____Running, the tall tele-journalist was soon by Xu's side. Finding a clear
patch of sidewalk, without blood on it, he knelt as well. "Oh, no... No..."
He felt worse than he sounded.
_____He didn't know cyborgs, but he knew a broken body or a broken machine
when he saw one. Now, he saw something he recognized as broken. Gally was
broken, lying on her side. He tried not to look at her petite, damaged body
that looked so much like a girl-woman's body in armor--dents and cracks in her
midsection and back. At least the cyborg freaks didn't ruin her pretty face.
He brushed aside some lengths of her dark hair. Eyes closed, the cyborg-girl's
face had a look of silent serenity. The "flesh" was cold.
_____Then Edison heard Xu give a loud sniff. He saw a shiny wet tear rush
down her face. "I'm sorry..." she said. "I'm trying to be professional. But
she reminds me of my--" A loud shout rang out.
_____"Hey-hey! I-I'M BA-A-CK!" came Max's voice from Edison's camera. "I was
just now a BIG help! Why-why, you ask? Because I just called Bryce--boy genius
and friend to cyber-fans!"
_____"You should have called the Metro Cops again," said Edison. "Should have
told them that Gally's here... And that she's dead." More annoyed, he said,
"You know what? You could be even MORE helpful by GOING AWAY FOR NOW!"
_____"Sure thing..." came Max's tinny response through the video camera speaker.
"I'll just let-let-let you talk to the smart boy. Sure, talk to him, Bryce.
He won't listen-listen to his own electronic doppleganger."
_____"Hey, Edison. It's me." The voice coming through the camera was now the
voice of teenage Bryce, Network 23's head R&D researcher. "Did you just tell
Max that Gally is DEAD?"
_____"Well..." said Edison. He saw that Xu had put down her video camera. She
had just taken out a stethoscope fom one of her many vest pockets, then set
the earpieces in her ears--about to put the other end to Gally's chest. "She
looks that way."
_____Bryce's voice took on a businesslike tone. Said, "Let's not jump to
conclusions, Edison. The thing to keep in mind is that Gally is a cyborg:
She's never legally 'alive' to begin with, as her original body is probably dead
and gone somewhere. However, TECHNICALLY, we may be able to save her. Now
give me a view of Gally."
_____Giving a mental shrug, Edison complied--being sure that the camera lens
focused on Xu as she bent over Gally, stethoscope place high on the cyborg-
girl's sternum-area. Xu's hat and lengths of curtaining hair shielded her
facial expression.
_____She then looked up, taking the stethoscope ear-pieces out of her ears.
"I heard something," she said to Edison and the camera. "It's a sort of low
humming sound. Machine sounds inside... Her insides don't sound HUMAN at
all."
_____"That's EXACTLY what I'm referring to!" came Bryce's enthusiastic reply.
"Gally could rightly be called a machine, as it seems that only her brain is
human. Though, given video-recorded data on her fighting capabilities, I
strongly suspect that her brain must be cybernetically augmented to some extent.
That should include at least SOME protection against brain damage in the event
that her body is damaged. We should be able to REPAIR her, Edison! But...
There could be one variable catch."
_____Edison looked down at the fallen cyborg-girl on the pavement. The
pavement, which was strewn with bodies of the dead--including a nearby Metro
Cop's body without a helmet. "What's the catch, Bryce?" said Edison into the
camera speaker. "Can we or can't we save Gally? Tell me now. I don't want
to have to worry about her."
_____Xu interrupted. Saying, "I think you SHOULD worry, Edison. I think that
with the Metro Cops fighting a stalemate battle with these cyborg-monsters,
Gally should be able to tip victory in our favor. I'm a reporter, too. I pay
attention to things."
_____The decision was obvious. "Xu, is your camera still on?" asked Edison.
"I want to talk to Murry." He saw Xu put her stethoscope in one of those vest
pockets of hers before picking up the video camera.
_____Murry's voice came through Xu's speaker. "I heard it all, Edison. What's
the deal? You have about nine minutes before you go live. As in, ON THE AIR!
Broadcasting to all of the citizens. So, make it quick." Even heard through
the camera's speaker, Murry's He was beginning to sound impatient.
_____"Murry, I need a spare van to get over here. Gally's small, but I don't
think anyone can carry her--or even lift her up. If we want to save her..."
_____"A RESCUE? Edison, what about THE STORY?" came Murry's impatient voice
through the speaker. "Let me remind you that you are a paid reporter for this
NETWORK! If you, Edison Carter, don't cover the story, then our ratings won't
be optimal. Do your job, and leave rescues to the Metro Cops."
_____"Murry, if you were listening, then you would have heard what Xu said,"
answered Edison, looking into Xu's video camera. "If we don't at least TRY
and rescue Gally, then there won't be ANY ratings...or any Networks...ever
again. Because, the city will go straight to Hell. Anyway, ALL the networks
are covering this."
_____"Bad word choice, Edison," came Murry's answer through Xu's camera. "Bad,
because it's rude to me--your boss. But... Sure, I'll play along. I'll send
a spare van by to pick you two up. Just be sure to get EXCLUSIVE coverage of
this so-called 'rescue' of yours."
_____Nodding, Edison answered, "You're the boss, Murry! And make sure the
driver is a very strong person. I mean, able to pick up metal." That, because
broken cyborg-girls are heavy. Even short ones.
...
_____About nine minutes later, a Network van ambled along this street. Though
the driver tried to avoid riding over most of the bodies, he ran over a corpse
or two... And he would regret doing so for a long, long time. The driver, a
strong-looking man, stepped out of the van...and promptly threw up.
_____After he recovered (with a little help from something out of Xu's vest
pockets), the driver and Edison both strained muscles in lifting Gally up into
the van's back. Wiping his brow, Edison then hopped into the van. Xu got in as
well, closing the long door. The driver ran over three more bodies in getting
off this street--away from the city block.
...
_____Somewhere else in the city, a large wall-screen rolled down from the
ceiling. It was blank at first... Then it came to florescent life, showing a
single and direct image--a corporate logo. It was the logo of Network 66, red
letters on a black background. And then there was a quick clash of music--the
new Network 66 fanfare.
_____Several seconds passed, and the fanfare faded out. Then, the background
behind the logo brightened. A person could now see that the logo was actually
mounted on a marble wall. But it was hard to guess where; the camera was just
showing on the logo on a blackbooard.
_____The camera zoomed back--showing a view of a long dark table in a
florescent-lit room. There was just one man seated at that long table, seated
at the far end. He looked strong--broad shoulders and chest covered by jacket
and buttoned shirt. He had slicked-back hair and icy-looking blue eyes. Now,
he set his glove-covered hands atop the table, interlaced his fingers, and put
on a hint of a smile.
____"Good afternoon...or whatever time it may be when you get around to seeing
this oh-so-important announcement," he began. "I am Mr. Grossberg, CEO and
sole proprietor of Network 66. That explains why I sit alone at this table:
because no one else rules this corporation now. No one but myself. That makes
me the most economically powerful man in the city.
_____"Oh, but economics is not everything...as you--the citizens--have
discovered over the past few weeks. During that time, you have fallen victim to
random spates of extreme ULTRAVIOLENCE. The likes of which have never been
seen before! Not even during the acts of 'suppression' the Metro Cops were once
infamous for in Fringes riots of decades ago.
_____"Ultraviolence? What am I talking about? For those too thick-headed to
understand, I am talking about terrorism--plain and simple. Prototype CYBORG
terrorism. During these attacks, cyborgs would leap out, seemingly out of
NOWHERE, and have killed!" He raised his left hand. "Now, here's the
punchline, people: The cyborgs are under the control of this very corporation,
MY network. They are tools of my power over you."
_____At this point, Mr. Grossberg raised his left hand, put two fingers together.
With a crisp SNAP of those gloved fingertip-type cyborgs walked into the
camera's view.
_____The metal monsters walked in a hunched over sort of way, flanking the
business-suited man. Those rubber-faced metal monsters, they were always
seen killing and rampaging. But now, they stood like docile animals--their
metal claw-hands at their sides... Not even looking at the CEO.
_____Mr. Grossberg raised his glove-covered hands, gesturing to the p-type
cyborgs that obeyed him--as did all of them. "Indeed, THESE are my tools.
Tools, so strong that not even the Metro Cops can stop them. The Metro Cops
are, after all, but the token remnants of a City Council that does nothing but
barely and selectively enforce existing laws...for the good of corporations
like my own! Yes, the City Council merely uses the Metro Cops to keep the
Fringers in their place--while ordering them to look the other way while we
businessmen do as we please!
_____"That only left those damned reporters to keep an eye on us! Meddling
bastards. If it were not for the tele-journalists of other networks publicizing
some of our activities, we could do more! A lot more! But, the City Council
was compliant enough. To that I must say, 'Thank you!' Thank you...for giving
me the time I needed to gather and build my resources! To build up my legion
of p-type cyborgs.
_____"Ahem! Now, for the moment you have been waiting for: the main point
of this public announcement. The reason why I speak to you now.
_____"At this time, I now demand that the Metro Cops surrender--and that the
city's government cede all political power to me. Because I, Grossberg, shall
become SOVEREIGN over the city--by BLOOD and STEEL. As cliche as this sounds,
I'll say it anyway. Surrender...or die." He shook his head. "Damn, that
sounded corny, but that's where things stand now!"
_____Looking up at the p-type cyborg standing left of his seat, Mr. Grossberg
pointed to the one seated at his right. "Number 186, I want Number 185's head.
Now."
_____Soon as those words were said, the p-type cyborg on the left walked over
behind the other. Next, the thing used its metal claw-hands to GRIP the
head of its fellow cyborg. With a feirce metallic wrenching sound, the
rubber-faced head came off the metal neck--darkened blood and sparks coming
from the wiry neck-stump. The headless metal body stood there twitching for
some seconds, then it fell backward--out of view.
_____Number 186 handed the cyborg's head to Mr. Grossberg. The man frowned
at it, tilted it slightly and angling it--as if inspecting its quality. Then,
holding the dripping skull-thing aloft in his left hand, he said, "Alas, poor
Yorick! Ha ha ha ha...! Ahem!" He placed the rubber-faced skull-head onto the
table--face foward, so its dead camera eyes stared.
_____With the cyborg head steadily dripping on the table, he said, "How is
THAT for trite? Now, I expect the full surrender by 9 p.m, tonight. That
should be more than enough time for the City Council to disband all of its
worthless police precincts and for them to come over to the Network 66 building.
Then, there must be a GRAND public ceremony--in which they will declare me
the Sovereign over the city. Unless you want more citizens dead, don't let
me down! Good evening, and do not leave me waiting!"
_____As he stared into this camera, the scene faded...leaving the Network 66
logo on the screen. The Network 66 fanfare blared once more. At the bottom
of the screen, a message appeared in white text. One sentence: REMEMBER,
21:00 IS THE DEADLINE! And someone paused the video.
...
_____On that screen, the message stayed. The nine members of the City Council,
sitting at grand marble desks, all saw that announcement played for them on that
big screen. They saw it before. Now they wondered why Police Chief
Thunderhorse bothered to play it here and now. They did NOT have to be reminded
of what threat faced them!
_____There was all sorts of commotion in this grand chamber as the City Council
members did what politicians do well: argue. Argument, without coming to a real
consensus. The police chief stood there at the front of the Council Chamber,
below the big screen while the arguing continued. Finger-point, oath-swearing,
and noise-making went on until Mr. Thunderhorse used a remote to finally turn
off the video screen.
_____At the right side of the room, a well-dressed and big-bellied City Council
member stood up and pointed at the police chief. "YOU! Why the HELL weren't
you able to find out WHO did all of this...until it was TOO LATE? For somebody
rumored to be over a hundred years old, you sure do lack the wisdom of your
age!"
_____Chief Thunderhorse smiled. "That's another reference from Shakespeare,
isn't it? About me having grown old without having grown wise? Well, let me
flex a bit of my wisdom and tell you why I could not trace the source of the
terrorist attacks.
_____"For one, consider the size of the city. I was unable to find the source
of the attacks simply because the city is quite large--and there are not enough
of my personnel to cover it all.
_____"Another fact: Not all of the city is charted. The Fringes, which
surrounds the city core-region, is uncharted territory. Anyone could hide
anything out there, can DO anything--provided the person has enough paper money
to keep mouths shut. Also, recall that the city is built upon layers of
previous urban development. Not only are there sewers, but there are also
subterranian ruins going half a mile deep--the legacy of this city's history.
_____"And, above all: The primary reason why my officers have not been able
to uncover Network 66 as the enemy? Why, Mr. Grossberg said it. According to
various laws, Metro Cops are forbidden to encroach on corporate-owned property.
This goes as Networks have their own private armies--security forces. YOU
voted to pass those laws, Mr. Council-Member...because of quite sizable bribes!"
_____That Council-Member at the right side of the room was stunned, stupified
with red-faced anger. He stood while the police chief said those things--a
man seeming ready to explode with anger. But, he could say nothing to counter.
Everything Police Chief Thunderhorse said was true.
_____Standing up from her marble desk in the middle, a thin elderly woman
stood--her stylish clothes not quite hiding her thin frame. "Chief Thunderhorse,
I hope you forgive Council-Member Rinchgrin over there... And please forgive
me for having failed to convince others to stop taking Corporate bribes. But,
regardless of wether or not you choose to forgive us, the trouble..." She
was interrupted!
_____"Shut it, you dried-up bitch!" shouted the still-standing portly Council-
Member. "Everything was working fine up until a few weeks ago! The corporations,
unrestricted, kept the economy humming while we just made sure that those dumb
fucks in the Fringes didn't make too much trouble. We were doing fuckin'
SWELL!"
_____Other Council-Members clapped to show their support. Indeed, unrestricted
corporate activity was what they believed in--because bribes and wealth
brainwashed them into following such thinking. But they quickly quieted down
when they remembered their current situation.
_____Yet the emotional damage was done. The thin, elderly woman sat down.
Despite much in the way of genetic treatments against most effects of aging,
early years of drug abuse had caught up with her. She did not age as well as
Chief Thunderhorse. Indeed, no one did.
_____Now, Thunderhorse spoke up. Looking once into the eyes of the elderly
Council-Member, he said, "I believe I know what you wanted to say...before you
were interrupted. You wanted to say that, regardless of whether or not I chose
to forgive you, the trouble STILL REMAINS. That is true. What is also true is
that surrendering to Grossberg is not yet an acceptable answer."
_____A Council-Member at the left side of the room stood up from his marble
desk. He was dressed in a green suit, and his hair was somewhat long. Said,
"Oh, and why the Hell DON'T we surrender? What, do you WANT more citizens to
be fucking KILLED because of some damned last-stand act of Metro Cop bravado?"
He banged on his marble desk. "Give me ONE DAMNED GOOD REASON why we SHOULDN'T
SURRENDER! RIGHT NOW! Surrender, while there are still living citizens to
partake of the deal."
_____"Why NOT surrender? Because our hope has returned," answered the police
chief. "GALLY has returned. You see, I was contacted by a helpful party--
regarding her whereabouts. The cyborg-girl was found, but severely damaged.
Her body is broken, yet--if repaired--she should be able to tip things in our
favor."
_____A fourth Council Member stood up--a bespectacled short man in blue suit.
He asked, "What do you mean by that, Thunderhorse? A third party gave you
reassurance? What good is that, really? Didn't you just say that the cyborg-
girl is broken? And what good is one against many?"
_____Chief Thunderhorse answered. Said, "Why, she's...ha, ha. She's our
Battle Angel! A being worth many more in fighting. And she won't stand alone
against Grossberg, because I will see to it that every surviving and able-
bodied Metro Cop rallies around her when we give our answer to Network 66."
_____The inquisitive blue-suited Council Member shook his head and stood again.
"But, why do you assume? Stand against Mr. Grossberg? My knowledge of
technologies is limited, but isn't it true that cyborgs are actually beyond
generally available technology? As Network 66 alone has working cyborg
technology, who will lift up our fallen 'angel'?"
_____"I cannot tell you that," answered this police chief. "But, I will admit
that there is no guarantee that Gally will live... Or, function again. In the
meanwhile, I have preparations to make. It is now 15:00, three o'clock p.m.
by the old count. We will all be busy--up until the deadline." He then walked
away from the center of the Chamber, stopped at the door. "Just maybe, in the
meanwhile, you all should say your good-byes--just in case I fail to save the
city."
..
The Battles for Downtown
...
_____It was a bright afternoon, and the heat seemed intense enough to burn the
city streets. But the sun didn't make for the heat. It was the fires that
made things warm. Fire and smoke...
_____There were fires burning on this street, a legacy of violence. Some
burning cars and burning shops at the sides, smoke wafted up to the blue sky
above the urban street. A person would notice that, if such a person were
able to ignore the occasional triple cr-cr-crack of gunfire and the shouting.
_____Yes indeed, this downtown neighborhood seemed like a lost cause. Over
half of the beautiful storefronts and facades on this block were smashed in.
And all of the shopkeepers were gone. Yet there were no looters here to
steal--because anyone left with two legs had fled, not wanting to be killed.
As for those who did not escape, their torn bodies lie on the streets.
____Yes, there were bodies...not immediately noticable as there was so much
debris here, anyway. The p-type cyborgs did a pretty good job of wiping out
human beings. Scaring and killing people was their primary function! Dead
bodies and scattered waste everywhere....
_____Cr-cr-crack, CR-CR-CRACK, came the gunshots A wooman's shout echoed from
one street over. "Charlie Team, move in! Push those two back a few meters!"
A new spate of automatic gunfire echoed through the nearby streets. Not that
the dead bodies on this street cared, but Metro Cops still kept fighting over
there. A person could really hear it!
_____Cr-cr-crack! "Damn it! Concentrate your fire!" And the sounds of guns
continued. All sorts of sound and fury over there.
_____Well, at least the Metro Cops could fight--and KILL--the metal-bodied
freaks. On this street, a few of the things lie broken. Among the bodies on
this downtown block, there were several metal corpses. These silvery bodies
were riddled and dented, shot up by ferro-ceramic rounds. They lie among the
dead they helped kill.
...
_____Cr-cr-crack! More gunfire... A lot of commotion was happening over on
Brighton Street, where three teams of Metro Cops were taking on two cyborgs.
Not just two standard cyborgs, these things were the size of small construction
vehicles--with the bulk and strength to match! Compared to the size of their
massive bodies, their rubber-faced heads seemed small. The rubber faces snarled
as Metro Cops continued to fire from behind abandoned cars.
_____"I SAID, concentrate your fire!" shouted Police Corporal Kim, her helmet
visor tilted up. Yes, she was definitely here to fight and command--with
kevlar body armor on and a submachine gun in her gloved hands. Once just
plain "Officer Kim," the young blonde woman was field-promoted to her current
rank amidst the battles--after her partner was beheaded by one of those freaks,
after she continued her duty despite later injuries and trauma. She would
fight on....
_____TWHUNK! There was an explosion of safety glass as one of the two huge
cyborg beasts SLAMMED one of its massive metal fists into a car roof--the car
that four Metro Cops had ducked behind. One of them went down, clutching his
bleeding face when the little shards of the flying safety glass hit him in the
cheeks and eyelids. Though such glass was designed to break into non-injuring
pieces when broken, it was flying very fast. So fast that it acted like
shrapnel. Too bad that Metro Cop neglected to have his helmet visor down.
_____Another officer grabbed him by the shoulders and began dragging him away.
That left two other officers to fire on the huge metal beast that smashed the
car. The thing pulled back its gigantic fist, ready to do a repeat performance
of that same attack.
_____"Bravo Team, move to assist Charlie Team!" shouted Kim. Today, Kim could
have stayed back at the 2nd Precinct headquarters.... She could have been at
a dispatcher's desk as this attack on downtown happened. But, she was among
the very first wave of Metro Cops to hit the scene.
_____No, Police Corporal Kim did not want to do desk duty now. She had
experience with fighting cyborgs. And her experience was NEEDED out here. As
she watched her second team of fellow Metro Cops run up behind another car,
shooting at the two huge cyborgs in the street, she silently wished again.
Wished for the cyborg-girl that these polices relied on to help.
_____As six Metro Cops kept one of the oversized cyborgs busy with gunfire, Kim
hoped for the cyborg-girl's return. Hell, one Gally was worth a hundred Metro
Cops! It would be great if the cyborg-girl were to drop out of the sky somehow,
right on top of one of those two hulking metal beasts. The metal-bodied girl
would have dashed circles around the huge things and cut their armor to pieces
with those alloyed fists of hers. Then, she'd go for the cyborgs' heads.
_____Most certainly, she'd beat the jumbo-sized cyborgs quickly! Oh, Gally
appearing RIGHT NOW would be a God-send. She would appear to knock those big
metal bastards' heads off! Knocking...off...? Wait a minute!
_____Enlightenment seemed to smack Kim in the head. How STUPID of her! All
of this time, without her specifying, the Metro Cops under her command were
just firing wherever they could--targeting the easier parts of the big cyborgs.
They thoughts the cyborgs' heads were too small to aim for, so they kept on
firing on the abdominal areas. This chipped away the metal monsters' armor,
but there was still work to do.
_____With one of the monstrous metal beasts making noise and threats, the other
huge thing was standing still. Its rubber face smiling. It seemed amused as
its fellow metal beast tried to intimidated Metro Cops with growls and stomps.
Kim was over here alone, looking. There was a rare chance here. She had a
clear shot at the enemy.
_____Popping a fresh clip of ammo into her submachine gun, Kim laid herself
flat atop the hood of this car. Her armor felt a bit bulky, but that was good:
the bulkiness would help keep her more still--so she could aim better. Her
padded elbows on the hood, she took aim...held her breath...sque-e-zed the
trigger....
_____CR-CR-CRACK! The shots hit! Stunned at her success, Kim first didn't
move. Her carefully aimed, oh-so-lucky shots had taken the oversized metal
freak right in the head. Over there, the metal beast GROW-W-WLED, began to
stomp and stagger around as darkened blood dripped from its shot-up metal
skull. That thing's brain was dying.
______The cyborg designers still built the things' brains into the heads!
Maybe for design reasons, the brain was still kept in the skull. Atop the
body, it made for a small--but critical--target.
_____There was a solid metallic CRASH of metal when that jumbo-sized cyborg
toppled to the street. Its armored back and abdomen had been chipped and
damaged, but it was the head-shot that stopped the giant. It was a very, very
lucky, lucky, shot!
_____But there was still one more. That large cyborg turned to see that its
fellow metal beast had been taken down, then it let forth a R-R-ROAR! A roar
that seemed to shake the street! It sounded like a mix between a diesel truck
and an angry jungle beast.
_____Then it began stomping in Kim's direction. The huge cyborg--like all the
other prototype cyborgs--wasn't too intelligent as its brain had been mutilated
and modified to enhance its killer instinct. But, the cyborg wasn't so stupid
as to not understand where new gunshots came from--as with the gunshots from
Kim's positoin.
_____While some Metro Cops reloaded, the others Cops began firing at that
remaining cyborg's back. Whereas their prevous barrages of gunfire were just
to wear down the enemy, this barrage was a last-ditch effort to stop the
monster before it killed Kim. And they didn't care if they risked weapons
overheat or backfire. As the police corporal here ducked behind the car, the
thing continued to stomp in this direction. Gunfire continued as well.
_____Kim did NOT want to be hit with stray ferro-ceramic bullets, so she stayed
behind this car. Damn, these bullets are designed to damage metal bodies.
Such bullets would easily drill straight through a flesh body; body armor would
not work to stop the new ammunition.
_____Anyway, ducking gave Kim a chance to check her own submachine gun, making
as sure as possible wouldn't jam. All the while, she heard the massive footsteps
stomp closer...closer...CLOSER. And the other Metro Cops kept firing.
_____Cr-cr-cr-cr...! The other Metro Cops kept up their barage. Damn, Kim
could actually HEAR their ferro-ceramic bullets chip away at the back of the
big metal beast--chipping sounds heard during the intervals between bass-toned
and ground-shaking footsteps.
_____The quaking footsteps stopped. That big thing was here. With the sounds
of guns firing and bullets still chipping away at its armored back, the
fifteen-foot metal giant towered over the car--seeming to block out the sun.
Kim looked up, her mouth opening in surprise as the thing began moving over
her. She ran away from the car, then spun to open fire on the cyborg--adding
her gunfire to the prevous gunfire against the oversized cyborg.
_____Actally, the metal beast's forward movement was a falling movement. With
a massive CRASH of collapsing metal and breaking glass, yet another street-parked
car was destroyed. The metal beast had fallen atop the car Kim hid behind
thirteen seconds before now.
_____All of those recent shots to its back had chipped away at the thing's
armor. Eventually, the armor was so damaged that some bullets had gone into
the body. And enough internal damage was done to the thing--stopping it.
_____Her submachine gun in her black-gloved hands, Kim saw the wreck. The
giant still lay atop the ruined car. Sparks and smoke came from the thing's
damaged back. And that was all the life it showed; it did not move. The fight
was done.
_____Seven other Metro Cops ran over to here--to be sure that they won this
time. They aimed their submachine guns at the fallen thing, even poked its
rubber-faced head. A normal sized head atop a massive metal body--a pin-head!
_____Then Kim herself went over there, where the cyborg lay broken atop the
smashed car. She looked at the sparking, smoking huge thing. "I have to be
sure," she said. "Stand back, people..." The other Metro Cops backed off,
then Kim began shooting the thing's head--the ferro-ceramic bullets putting
more holes in the things head than holes in swiss cheese.
_____When there were no more bullets comfing from the hole of her now-smoking
submachine gun, she lowered the weapon. Dark blood oozed from the thing's
ruined head; it was clearly dead. The fight here was over.
_____With the adrenaline rush over, Kim felt her entire body ache--muscle strain,
along with bruises. There was just too much fighting done today. Too many
Metro Cops died. Too many died yesterday. And, too many died the day before
that. Too many died the day before THAT, as well. Too many dead this week,
and last week. Probably more next week, if this kept up.
_____She said, "I wish... I really, really wish...." Her voice trailed off.
Looking at other Metro Cops here, she added, "We could truly use some hope
right now." Soon as Kim said that, her walkie-talkie beeped. It was an
incoming transmission from headquarters.
_____She communicated with the 3rd Precinct headquarters--told them that her
unit won the battle, defeated the p-type cyborgs. This latest attack--the one
Kim's unit had just stopped--was just one battle. There was another battle
going on in another part of downtown: the 4th Precinct. Damn, the p-type
cyborgs were doing double-duty today. Other Metro Cops shared Kim's wish in
mind, too.
...
_____Their collective desire was granted. Gally came back. And she came back
in the speed of a blink, fully conscious. The cyborgg-girl was not in
optimal condition.
____The first thing Gally felt was a slamming headache. It was the sort of
headache that could stopped a person--and drive him or her into unconsciousness.
She blinked, eyesight blurry, holding her head in her hands... Swaying on her
booted feet, she finally collapsed to a kneeling position. Her head was so
full of splitting pain that she wanted to SCREAM!
_____Blinking and breathing heavily, she tried to concentrate. Her vision
cleared a bit. Now Gally saw that she was "herself" again--a physique of
metal, wearing a sleeveless bodysuit that fit her body's shape. Calf-length
boots to complete her outfit.
_____Her transition-induced headache was going away. And through the slowly
fading haze of pain, she looked down at the concrete of the sidewalk. A ruined
sidewalk. There was broken brick and glass here...scattered debris. Along with
dried blood.
_____The shattered glass was from a nearby broken storefront window. The blood
was from someone killed earlier. Gally forced herself to stand up. She was
back in the nameless city, somewhere in the downtown area. The last thing she
remembered was being in sleeping clothes, in Delsea. This time, her transition
to this place was instant--so much so that it gave her that headache she just
had. "R-R-RUN, GIRL!"
_____Surprised, she looked around for the source of the stuttered shout... It
came from the broken storefront window--a familiar voice coming from an
unfamiliar place. She saw an unbroken television in a storefront display
case, a television facing this city sidewalk: Max Headroom, the computer-
generated man.
_____"GET-GET-GET OUT OF HERE!" stutter-spoke the man in the television.
"They're still around a-and AROUND!"
_____Just now, the last of her headache was going away, but Gally was still
slightly confused. She addressed the man in the television. "Mr. Headroom,
what do you mean? Tell me, WHO remains here?"
_____"WH-WHO? Buz-z-z, WRONG question! Y-y-you mean to ask WHAT remains here!"
shouted the computerized man in the television. "Those THINGS are still here!
Your e-evil cousins, p-type cyborgs! Waiting-waiting for stragglers! They
al-al-already killed the cops that came here! So...RUN for your L-L-LIFE!
AIE-E-E!"
_____Indeed, all around was a scene of urban destruction. Along with scattered
and mutilated bodies of well-dressed citizens, there were also a few torn bodies
of Metro Cops. They lie on the sidewalks and in the streets, among smashed
cars and broken storefront windows. Then Gally heard a metal-footed "thunk"
land right behind her. Something had dropped down from a nearby shop roof.
_____She whipped herself around, just as a metal fist SLAMMED against her.
The blow struck her high in her metal chest, just beneath her neck--making her
gasp.
_____A new headache gripped her head. And there was pain in her body. Something
inside her must have been damaged. Gasping for air, the cyborg-girl then
realized that one or a few of her artificial organs must have been knocked out
of calibration by that blow--it was, very likely, damage to her blood-pump.
_____She was now facing one of the many skeletal p-type cyborgs that had staged
terrorist attacks here in the city, its rubber face leering at her from atop
a body of metal. The thing wanted to kill her.
_____Ka-thunk--metal feet hitting the street. Another p-type cyborg jumped
down from the roof of the city shop, turning to face Gally. The thing's
rubber lips stretched as it leered at Gally. Then two more hopped down from
that store-roof, joining the others. A four-to-one fiht: This was going to
be quite a rumble.
_____Gally felt a building lump of hotness within her chest... Her malfunctioniing
and miscaliberated blood pump must be working hard to keep her conscious--
overheating as it worked incorrectly. Auto-repar systems would correct the
problem--if she let herself fall into unconsciousness. But, sleeping now
would mean death.
_____The skeletal p-type cyborgs grinned down at her, wondering which part of
this little cyborg-girl they were going to try and take apart first. They
truly were murdering machines, mutilated human brains with no real consciousness--
simple brutality. Not even with enough intelligence left to use weapons to
do their killing. Their claw-hands bloody from previous slaughter, they wanted
to cause more pain! One of them raised its gleaming left metal arm, and so the
fight began.
...
_____Gally half-ducked and blocked at the same time. The blow CLINKED off of
her titanium forearm, sparks spraying from friction. She then countered with
a side-kick, knocking one cyborg away.
_____But that still left three more here. KLINK! One of them struck her on
the shoulder, making her stagger. Another one lunged as her balance was
compromised--metal claw-hands reaching out, gripping Gally by her neck.
____KLINK, KLINK, KLINK, KLINK... The other two began hitting her. Blows
coming from everywhere! Hits to her abdomen, hits to her back. This, while
metal claw-fingers tried to crushed the delicate machinery of her throat. And
the hits...kept...coming...
_____She brought up her own solid hands, gripping the claws that held her.
With a hard YANK, she brought down the p-type cyborg--a metal creature almost
twice her height. Then she did a reverse somersault, her right leg kicking up
at the same time--knocking off that freaky cyborg's head.
_____Landing from the somersault-kick, she leapt again. This time, she went
forward--solid right fist lashing out at the same time. The cyborg she
attacked took the blow in its metal abdomen, small cyber-parts and thin metal
armor scattering everywhere! Dark liquid and sparks gushing from its shattered
abdomen, that one fell over, twitching. Meanwhile, the beheaded p-type cyborg
fell over.
_____Breathing heavily through her slightly damaged throat, Gally now turned
to look at the last of the four p-type cyborgs--standing six meters away. It
was the one she first kicked away. She looked into its camera-lens eyes, set
in its rubber face. There was no fear in those camera-eyes... Just nothing.
And then it smiled as so many others of its kind did--a smile that was not even
human.
_____Feeling that rising hotness inside her chest, Gally RAN at the remaining
enemy as one thought ran in her mind. In a word, KILL. The metal skeleton-
thing made some kind of futile gesture, probably tried to swipe at the cyborg-
girl.
_____But Gally was airborne--nothing could stop her, flying at the metal
monster. Then, something spectacular happened--a spectacle of exploding
darkened blood and metal. It was hard to tell exactly WHAT she did, but the
effect was amazing. She had flashed for a split second as she came at the
skeletal cyborg, a white-hot flash of power. And the p-type cyborg EXPLODED--
skinny metal arms and legs flying in all directions, little metal pieces flying
outward like shrapnel.
...
_____Gally skidded to a stop, her boots skidding on the asphalt. Stood there,
breathing more heavily than before. She looked around for more p-type cyborgs.
There were cracks and dents in her back and on the left side of her abdominal
armor, from when all four of those cyborgs beat on her during the battle. And
she heard as well as felt slight crackling sound coming from within her body...
A little thread of smoke puffed steadily from one of the cracks in her back.
Now her legs seemed not to be working right.
_____By now, the hot-spot in her chest was BURNINGLY hot! Breathing rapidly was
what kept her blood-pump from heat-overload right now... But that wasn't the
worst of it. The overload was barely being contained by her auto-repair
systems--the small and self-regenerating supply of nanobots within her.
_____Over by the side of this city street, the television had turned on again.
Max Headroom was back, his voice coming from the little speaker. "G-G-GALLY,
you're in b-b-ad shape! CAN'T YOU FIND A TOO-TOO-TOOLKIT OR SOMETHING WHILE
H-H-HELP GETS HERE?"
_____Her legs weak and torso heating, the cyborg-girl weakly shook her head.
All of this damage... But the pain was not just physical; it was also
spiritual. She had returned to the city too late to help these Metro Cops. By
God, there must be over eight of them dead around here. Probably more.
_____"TALK to m-m-me, Gally..." said Max Headroom from in that television over
there, almost scolding. "You're pretty quiet now. I don't-don't want you DYING
on me now! You j-just got back, just for justice! Sure, there are a few
c-c-corpses around... Okay, make that MORE than a few. B-b-but, don't let
THAT let you down. Besides, Edison is on his way. The c-c-cops are sort of
busy at-at the moment, so I couldn't get-get them."
_____Despite Max Headroom's bolstering talk, Gally was still feeling quite down.
Innocent civilians were dead, lying around. The Metro Cops here were dead.
Her body was extensively damaged... And she was unsure if she--her brain--was
going to live.
_____She would try to find something, try to get to somewhere. Her insides
feeling heated, legs weak, Gally tried walking away from this carnage. Eyes
down, she stepped around the occasional strewn body--some bodies of flesh,
some of them the remains of metal-type cyborgs. Then she tripped over one
black-padded body, one of a strong-jawed Metro Cop.
_____It took effort to get up. Her vision hazed with pain and damage, Gally
brought herself to her knees. She saw that she had tripped over the bloodied
corpse of a fallen Metro Cop. The dead eyes stared up at the blue sky overhead,
mouth slack and drawing flies... But she knew those eyes. She knew the face.
She knew now that Officer Murphy was dead.
_____On her knees, she continued to look into the dead eyes of the officer.
He died in fending off a wave of p-type cyborgs. His empty, dented submachine
gun was still clutched in his right hand. The dents were from when he had tried
to attack p-type cyborgs by using the empty weapon like a club--to give some
surviving civilians time to escape.
_____Whenever Chief Thunderhorse had Gally go on patrol, she was partnered with
this Metro Cop--this man. Now he--her Metro Cop partner--was dead. If all
the pain she felt before had hurt, then this was the final blow to her soul.
This all pained too much....
_____She failed. Giving a gasping sob, the cyborg-girl fell onto her side.
This was all too much. All the pain and damage, all of the hurt and misery.
Everything had gone wrong here, everything going down. The hurting inside of
her body began to fill her brain, and she let it. She let the damage and pain
close over her as she closed her eyes. All the while, she heard Max Headroom's
distant voice trying to cheer her on... So...far...away...
...
_____A reddish-orange Network 23 news van screeched to stop at the intersection--
a block from a scene of chaos in the downtown area. Well, that would be
actually one of several scenes of chaos today; the cyborg-terrorist attacks
happened in more than one place. And, plenty of people were killed. Knowing
this, the two tele-journalists in the van deeply knew what sort of danger they
were getting into.
_____Because, knowing things was part of their job. The network van stopped,
and its side door slid open. Out hopped two tele-journalists with video-
cameras. One was a long-haired, thin woman in her early twenties--loose-fitting
pants and a tight long-sleeved shirt, a multi-pocket vest worn over the shirt.
Brown boots made her small feet seem large.
_____Though a thin woman, experience and skill allowed her to port her video
camera with almost as much ease as the seasoned tele-journalist she was with:
Edison Carter.
_____Edison had on loose clothes: a polo shirt and slacks, a trenchcoat worn
over the clothes. Thick soled work-shoes on his feet, he looked ready for
adventure. Because, covering these latest p-type cyborg attacks was adventure.
_____Looking down at the female tele-jornalist, he asked, "You ready for this,
Xu?" Then he looking around, checking for potential trouble. If there was
any trouble, they could just hop in the van and be gone. "I mean, anything
could happen out here."
_____The thin female tele-journalist, Xu, gave Edison a look. Holding her
camera with her right hand, she opened up one of her vest pockets--taking out
a folded hat with a stylized dragon on its front. She shook it once, put it
atop her dark-haired head. "I'm now wearing my lucky hat! I'm ready for
anything!"
____"Let's hope that's GOOD luck," said Edison while quickly checking his own
camera. While Xu checked hers, Edison turned around to slide the van door shut.
"Okay, Janx! We're good!" he said to the driver. "You know when to pick us
up." Then he stepped back as the network van sped away. To Xu, he said,
"Let's move."
_____Putting video cameras atop right shoulders, the two tele-journalists began
1moving toward the nearest scene of chaos. Gyroscopic and mercury-switch
mechanisms within the cameras gave an almost steady view regardless of how
much the two jounced as they moved at a quick jogging pace along this
beautiful downtown city street...heading for a ruined street.
_____As they ran, Edison thought he knew what to expect. Back at Network 23
headquarters, he saw the net-cam shots of the scene--courtesy of none other than
Max Headroom. And the computer-generated man had screamed about Gally being
in trouble! G-g-get Gally-girl, said Max after showing the scene. Bodies
all around, there was carnage there.
_____And now the two tele-journalists came to the actual scene itself, on this
street. Xu stopped, gripping her video camera. She looked around--slowly.
"Oh my...goodness... Edison? This is... Ach!"
_____She would not throw up. Using her free hand, Xu opened another one of
her vest pockets and took a gag reflex-suppression pill--to keep her from
vomiting. Then she brought her video camera up to her right shoulder,
getting the scene by slow-pans left and right.
_____Edison brought his own camera up to bear, made sure that the communcations
link was on. He then said, "Control, Xu and I are both on-scene, alive. But
it seems like no one else is." A breeze blew along the street... "Max said
that Gally was here, so I guess I'll have to find her."
_____A familiar voice came through the camera speaker, but it wasn't Theora:
Edison's usual controller. It was the voice of Murry: a middle-aged manager
back at headquarters. Theora had gone missing in one of the earlier attacks.
She was still missing. And though Edison was among the first on the scene
where she was last seen, after the p-type cyborgs, no one found her body.
____Murry's voice came through calmly. "Okay, Edison. But don't forget that
you're a reporter too, not a rescuer. Though if you see Theora there, try to
bring her back after recording some good disaster footage..." Murry was
Theora's manager, and he wanted her back on the job. "And don't forget,
either you or Xu have too go on the air in twenty minutes--rescue or no rescue."
_____"Edison," said Xu, "Let's start moving up the street." Something in that
anti-vomit medicine of hers must have also suppressed her fear--if only
temporarily. "I'll cover the right side, you cover the left side. We'll find
Gally here... It's a Max Headroom guarantee!"
_____Edison added, "And if either of us is cut to death by killer cyborgs, the
other can get it all on video. Good ratings all around..." Xu's slender
shoulders
slumped, her mouth gaping. "Okay, forget I said that." Speaking into the
camera speaker, "Sorry, Murry."
_____Before Murry could say anything, Edison walked towards the left side of
the street--which was as wrecked-looking as the right side. Or, was it worse?
Video camera pointed down, he swept the view left and right, looking at the
various debris and dead bodies around here. Most of the bodies were of men
in business clothes, bloodied and torn--with the occasional female corpse for
variety. There were some Metro Cops here, too... The kevlar padding and
helmets they wore didn't seem to be too much protection the claws of the
cyborgs that did them in. Somehow, eyeing this through the view of his
camera made it a bit more tolerable.
_____Then Max Headroom appeared in the camera's view! "H-H-HI, GUY!" came his
loud and cheery voice through the video camera speaker, stammering the greeting.
"Glad you-you could ma-ma-MAKE it here!"
_____Edison nearly dropped his video camera. "For crying out loud! Max, we're
here. Now, where's Gally? Around here? You could save Xu and I the trouble
of digging through dead bodies and broken stuff."
_____"Like dig-dig-DIGGING for buried TREASURE!" quipped Max from inside
the camera. "Sounds like fun! If I had hands, I'd give you one. A h-h-hand,
that is." Then his voice took on a pirate's timbre. "Arr, mateys... We'll
find me T-T-TREASURE. Then we'll CONQUER the S-S-SEVEN SEAS! Arr, ARRH!"
_____"Max! People are DEAD here!" shouted Edison. "And, any second, maybe
those metal monsters will be back to make ME and Xu dead. Now where EXACTLY
did you see Gally last?"
_____"Sh-sheesh, so impatient! I'll tell you..." came Max's voice through
the camera speaker. "G-G-GOSH, and letting you just look around would have
been S-S-SO much more fun! Now I'll just tell you what y-you're looking for.
_____"What's left of Gally sh-should be over by-by 'Patty's Perfume Parlor.'
Which, by the way, is next to a store called Vinny's Video Boutique. But
Vinny's dead! He was k-k-killed by those p-type cyborgs. What's the store
going to-to be named now, HUH? How d-d-does 'DEAD Vinny's Video Boutique'
sound?"
_____A shout cut through the air. "EDISON!" It was Xu's voice, sounding
especially worried. And it seemed that the medication she took must not have
been strong enough to suppress the fear she had now. Something was up!
_____"You're a big help, Max," said Edison, jogging over to where Xu stood
further along the street. "Now go." Nigttime kneeling over at the right-side
sidewalk, video camera off of her right shoulder, looking at something.
_____Running, the tall tele-journalist was soon by Xu's side. Finding a clear
patch of sidewalk, without blood on it, he knelt as well. "Oh, no... No..."
He felt worse than he sounded.
_____He didn't know cyborgs, but he knew a broken body or a broken machine
when he saw one. Now, he saw something he recognized as broken. Gally was
broken, lying on her side. He tried not to look at her petite, damaged body
that looked so much like a girl-woman's body in armor--dents and cracks in her
midsection and back. At least the cyborg freaks didn't ruin her pretty face.
He brushed aside some lengths of her dark hair. Eyes closed, the cyborg-girl's
face had a look of silent serenity. The "flesh" was cold.
_____Then Edison heard Xu give a loud sniff. He saw a shiny wet tear rush
down her face. "I'm sorry..." she said. "I'm trying to be professional. But
she reminds me of my--" A loud shout rang out.
_____"Hey-hey! I-I'M BA-A-CK!" came Max's voice from Edison's camera. "I was
just now a BIG help! Why-why, you ask? Because I just called Bryce--boy genius
and friend to cyber-fans!"
_____"You should have called the Metro Cops again," said Edison. "Should have
told them that Gally's here... And that she's dead." More annoyed, he said,
"You know what? You could be even MORE helpful by GOING AWAY FOR NOW!"
_____"Sure thing..." came Max's tinny response through the video camera speaker.
"I'll just let-let-let you talk to the smart boy. Sure, talk to him, Bryce.
He won't listen-listen to his own electronic doppleganger."
_____"Hey, Edison. It's me." The voice coming through the camera was now the
voice of teenage Bryce, Network 23's head R&D researcher. "Did you just tell
Max that Gally is DEAD?"
_____"Well..." said Edison. He saw that Xu had put down her video camera. She
had just taken out a stethoscope fom one of her many vest pockets, then set
the earpieces in her ears--about to put the other end to Gally's chest. "She
looks that way."
_____Bryce's voice took on a businesslike tone. Said, "Let's not jump to
conclusions, Edison. The thing to keep in mind is that Gally is a cyborg:
She's never legally 'alive' to begin with, as her original body is probably dead
and gone somewhere. However, TECHNICALLY, we may be able to save her. Now
give me a view of Gally."
_____Giving a mental shrug, Edison complied--being sure that the camera lens
focused on Xu as she bent over Gally, stethoscope place high on the cyborg-
girl's sternum-area. Xu's hat and lengths of curtaining hair shielded her
facial expression.
_____She then looked up, taking the stethoscope ear-pieces out of her ears.
"I heard something," she said to Edison and the camera. "It's a sort of low
humming sound. Machine sounds inside... Her insides don't sound HUMAN at
all."
_____"That's EXACTLY what I'm referring to!" came Bryce's enthusiastic reply.
"Gally could rightly be called a machine, as it seems that only her brain is
human. Though, given video-recorded data on her fighting capabilities, I
strongly suspect that her brain must be cybernetically augmented to some extent.
That should include at least SOME protection against brain damage in the event
that her body is damaged. We should be able to REPAIR her, Edison! But...
There could be one variable catch."
_____Edison looked down at the fallen cyborg-girl on the pavement. The
pavement, which was strewn with bodies of the dead--including a nearby Metro
Cop's body without a helmet. "What's the catch, Bryce?" said Edison into the
camera speaker. "Can we or can't we save Gally? Tell me now. I don't want
to have to worry about her."
_____Xu interrupted. Saying, "I think you SHOULD worry, Edison. I think that
with the Metro Cops fighting a stalemate battle with these cyborg-monsters,
Gally should be able to tip victory in our favor. I'm a reporter, too. I pay
attention to things."
_____The decision was obvious. "Xu, is your camera still on?" asked Edison.
"I want to talk to Murry." He saw Xu put her stethoscope in one of those vest
pockets of hers before picking up the video camera.
_____Murry's voice came through Xu's speaker. "I heard it all, Edison. What's
the deal? You have about nine minutes before you go live. As in, ON THE AIR!
Broadcasting to all of the citizens. So, make it quick." Even heard through
the camera's speaker, Murry's He was beginning to sound impatient.
_____"Murry, I need a spare van to get over here. Gally's small, but I don't
think anyone can carry her--or even lift her up. If we want to save her..."
_____"A RESCUE? Edison, what about THE STORY?" came Murry's impatient voice
through the speaker. "Let me remind you that you are a paid reporter for this
NETWORK! If you, Edison Carter, don't cover the story, then our ratings won't
be optimal. Do your job, and leave rescues to the Metro Cops."
_____"Murry, if you were listening, then you would have heard what Xu said,"
answered Edison, looking into Xu's video camera. "If we don't at least TRY
and rescue Gally, then there won't be ANY ratings...or any Networks...ever
again. Because, the city will go straight to Hell. Anyway, ALL the networks
are covering this."
_____"Bad word choice, Edison," came Murry's answer through Xu's camera. "Bad,
because it's rude to me--your boss. But... Sure, I'll play along. I'll send
a spare van by to pick you two up. Just be sure to get EXCLUSIVE coverage of
this so-called 'rescue' of yours."
_____Nodding, Edison answered, "You're the boss, Murry! And make sure the
driver is a very strong person. I mean, able to pick up metal." That, because
broken cyborg-girls are heavy. Even short ones.
...
_____About nine minutes later, a Network van ambled along this street. Though
the driver tried to avoid riding over most of the bodies, he ran over a corpse
or two... And he would regret doing so for a long, long time. The driver, a
strong-looking man, stepped out of the van...and promptly threw up.
_____After he recovered (with a little help from something out of Xu's vest
pockets), the driver and Edison both strained muscles in lifting Gally up into
the van's back. Wiping his brow, Edison then hopped into the van. Xu got in as
well, closing the long door. The driver ran over three more bodies in getting
off this street--away from the city block.
...
_____Somewhere else in the city, a large wall-screen rolled down from the
ceiling. It was blank at first... Then it came to florescent life, showing a
single and direct image--a corporate logo. It was the logo of Network 66, red
letters on a black background. And then there was a quick clash of music--the
new Network 66 fanfare.
_____Several seconds passed, and the fanfare faded out. Then, the background
behind the logo brightened. A person could now see that the logo was actually
mounted on a marble wall. But it was hard to guess where; the camera was just
showing on the logo on a blackbooard.
_____The camera zoomed back--showing a view of a long dark table in a
florescent-lit room. There was just one man seated at that long table, seated
at the far end. He looked strong--broad shoulders and chest covered by jacket
and buttoned shirt. He had slicked-back hair and icy-looking blue eyes. Now,
he set his glove-covered hands atop the table, interlaced his fingers, and put
on a hint of a smile.
____"Good afternoon...or whatever time it may be when you get around to seeing
this oh-so-important announcement," he began. "I am Mr. Grossberg, CEO and
sole proprietor of Network 66. That explains why I sit alone at this table:
because no one else rules this corporation now. No one but myself. That makes
me the most economically powerful man in the city.
_____"Oh, but economics is not everything...as you--the citizens--have
discovered over the past few weeks. During that time, you have fallen victim to
random spates of extreme ULTRAVIOLENCE. The likes of which have never been
seen before! Not even during the acts of 'suppression' the Metro Cops were once
infamous for in Fringes riots of decades ago.
_____"Ultraviolence? What am I talking about? For those too thick-headed to
understand, I am talking about terrorism--plain and simple. Prototype CYBORG
terrorism. During these attacks, cyborgs would leap out, seemingly out of
NOWHERE, and have killed!" He raised his left hand. "Now, here's the
punchline, people: The cyborgs are under the control of this very corporation,
MY network. They are tools of my power over you."
_____At this point, Mr. Grossberg raised his left hand, put two fingers together.
With a crisp SNAP of those gloved fingertip-type cyborgs walked into the
camera's view.
_____The metal monsters walked in a hunched over sort of way, flanking the
business-suited man. Those rubber-faced metal monsters, they were always
seen killing and rampaging. But now, they stood like docile animals--their
metal claw-hands at their sides... Not even looking at the CEO.
_____Mr. Grossberg raised his glove-covered hands, gesturing to the p-type
cyborgs that obeyed him--as did all of them. "Indeed, THESE are my tools.
Tools, so strong that not even the Metro Cops can stop them. The Metro Cops
are, after all, but the token remnants of a City Council that does nothing but
barely and selectively enforce existing laws...for the good of corporations
like my own! Yes, the City Council merely uses the Metro Cops to keep the
Fringers in their place--while ordering them to look the other way while we
businessmen do as we please!
_____"That only left those damned reporters to keep an eye on us! Meddling
bastards. If it were not for the tele-journalists of other networks publicizing
some of our activities, we could do more! A lot more! But, the City Council
was compliant enough. To that I must say, 'Thank you!' Thank you...for giving
me the time I needed to gather and build my resources! To build up my legion
of p-type cyborgs.
_____"Ahem! Now, for the moment you have been waiting for: the main point
of this public announcement. The reason why I speak to you now.
_____"At this time, I now demand that the Metro Cops surrender--and that the
city's government cede all political power to me. Because I, Grossberg, shall
become SOVEREIGN over the city--by BLOOD and STEEL. As cliche as this sounds,
I'll say it anyway. Surrender...or die." He shook his head. "Damn, that
sounded corny, but that's where things stand now!"
_____Looking up at the p-type cyborg standing left of his seat, Mr. Grossberg
pointed to the one seated at his right. "Number 186, I want Number 185's head.
Now."
_____Soon as those words were said, the p-type cyborg on the left walked over
behind the other. Next, the thing used its metal claw-hands to GRIP the
head of its fellow cyborg. With a feirce metallic wrenching sound, the
rubber-faced head came off the metal neck--darkened blood and sparks coming
from the wiry neck-stump. The headless metal body stood there twitching for
some seconds, then it fell backward--out of view.
_____Number 186 handed the cyborg's head to Mr. Grossberg. The man frowned
at it, tilted it slightly and angling it--as if inspecting its quality. Then,
holding the dripping skull-thing aloft in his left hand, he said, "Alas, poor
Yorick! Ha ha ha ha...! Ahem!" He placed the rubber-faced skull-head onto the
table--face foward, so its dead camera eyes stared.
_____With the cyborg head steadily dripping on the table, he said, "How is
THAT for trite? Now, I expect the full surrender by 9 p.m, tonight. That
should be more than enough time for the City Council to disband all of its
worthless police precincts and for them to come over to the Network 66 building.
Then, there must be a GRAND public ceremony--in which they will declare me
the Sovereign over the city. Unless you want more citizens dead, don't let
me down! Good evening, and do not leave me waiting!"
_____As he stared into this camera, the scene faded...leaving the Network 66
logo on the screen. The Network 66 fanfare blared once more. At the bottom
of the screen, a message appeared in white text. One sentence: REMEMBER,
21:00 IS THE DEADLINE! And someone paused the video.
...
_____On that screen, the message stayed. The nine members of the City Council,
sitting at grand marble desks, all saw that announcement played for them on that
big screen. They saw it before. Now they wondered why Police Chief
Thunderhorse bothered to play it here and now. They did NOT have to be reminded
of what threat faced them!
_____There was all sorts of commotion in this grand chamber as the City Council
members did what politicians do well: argue. Argument, without coming to a real
consensus. The police chief stood there at the front of the Council Chamber,
below the big screen while the arguing continued. Finger-point, oath-swearing,
and noise-making went on until Mr. Thunderhorse used a remote to finally turn
off the video screen.
_____At the right side of the room, a well-dressed and big-bellied City Council
member stood up and pointed at the police chief. "YOU! Why the HELL weren't
you able to find out WHO did all of this...until it was TOO LATE? For somebody
rumored to be over a hundred years old, you sure do lack the wisdom of your
age!"
_____Chief Thunderhorse smiled. "That's another reference from Shakespeare,
isn't it? About me having grown old without having grown wise? Well, let me
flex a bit of my wisdom and tell you why I could not trace the source of the
terrorist attacks.
_____"For one, consider the size of the city. I was unable to find the source
of the attacks simply because the city is quite large--and there are not enough
of my personnel to cover it all.
_____"Another fact: Not all of the city is charted. The Fringes, which
surrounds the city core-region, is uncharted territory. Anyone could hide
anything out there, can DO anything--provided the person has enough paper money
to keep mouths shut. Also, recall that the city is built upon layers of
previous urban development. Not only are there sewers, but there are also
subterranian ruins going half a mile deep--the legacy of this city's history.
_____"And, above all: The primary reason why my officers have not been able
to uncover Network 66 as the enemy? Why, Mr. Grossberg said it. According to
various laws, Metro Cops are forbidden to encroach on corporate-owned property.
This goes as Networks have their own private armies--security forces. YOU
voted to pass those laws, Mr. Council-Member...because of quite sizable bribes!"
_____That Council-Member at the right side of the room was stunned, stupified
with red-faced anger. He stood while the police chief said those things--a
man seeming ready to explode with anger. But, he could say nothing to counter.
Everything Police Chief Thunderhorse said was true.
_____Standing up from her marble desk in the middle, a thin elderly woman
stood--her stylish clothes not quite hiding her thin frame. "Chief Thunderhorse,
I hope you forgive Council-Member Rinchgrin over there... And please forgive
me for having failed to convince others to stop taking Corporate bribes. But,
regardless of wether or not you choose to forgive us, the trouble..." She
was interrupted!
_____"Shut it, you dried-up bitch!" shouted the still-standing portly Council-
Member. "Everything was working fine up until a few weeks ago! The corporations,
unrestricted, kept the economy humming while we just made sure that those dumb
fucks in the Fringes didn't make too much trouble. We were doing fuckin'
SWELL!"
_____Other Council-Members clapped to show their support. Indeed, unrestricted
corporate activity was what they believed in--because bribes and wealth
brainwashed them into following such thinking. But they quickly quieted down
when they remembered their current situation.
_____Yet the emotional damage was done. The thin, elderly woman sat down.
Despite much in the way of genetic treatments against most effects of aging,
early years of drug abuse had caught up with her. She did not age as well as
Chief Thunderhorse. Indeed, no one did.
_____Now, Thunderhorse spoke up. Looking once into the eyes of the elderly
Council-Member, he said, "I believe I know what you wanted to say...before you
were interrupted. You wanted to say that, regardless of whether or not I chose
to forgive you, the trouble STILL REMAINS. That is true. What is also true is
that surrendering to Grossberg is not yet an acceptable answer."
_____A Council-Member at the left side of the room stood up from his marble
desk. He was dressed in a green suit, and his hair was somewhat long. Said,
"Oh, and why the Hell DON'T we surrender? What, do you WANT more citizens to
be fucking KILLED because of some damned last-stand act of Metro Cop bravado?"
He banged on his marble desk. "Give me ONE DAMNED GOOD REASON why we SHOULDN'T
SURRENDER! RIGHT NOW! Surrender, while there are still living citizens to
partake of the deal."
_____"Why NOT surrender? Because our hope has returned," answered the police
chief. "GALLY has returned. You see, I was contacted by a helpful party--
regarding her whereabouts. The cyborg-girl was found, but severely damaged.
Her body is broken, yet--if repaired--she should be able to tip things in our
favor."
_____A fourth Council Member stood up--a bespectacled short man in blue suit.
He asked, "What do you mean by that, Thunderhorse? A third party gave you
reassurance? What good is that, really? Didn't you just say that the cyborg-
girl is broken? And what good is one against many?"
_____Chief Thunderhorse answered. Said, "Why, she's...ha, ha. She's our
Battle Angel! A being worth many more in fighting. And she won't stand alone
against Grossberg, because I will see to it that every surviving and able-
bodied Metro Cop rallies around her when we give our answer to Network 66."
_____The inquisitive blue-suited Council Member shook his head and stood again.
"But, why do you assume? Stand against Mr. Grossberg? My knowledge of
technologies is limited, but isn't it true that cyborgs are actually beyond
generally available technology? As Network 66 alone has working cyborg
technology, who will lift up our fallen 'angel'?"
_____"I cannot tell you that," answered this police chief. "But, I will admit
that there is no guarantee that Gally will live... Or, function again. In the
meanwhile, I have preparations to make. It is now 15:00, three o'clock p.m.
by the old count. We will all be busy--up until the deadline." He then walked
away from the center of the Chamber, stopped at the door. "Just maybe, in the
meanwhile, you all should say your good-byes--just in case I fail to save the
city."