The Other Box: Chapter 10 (by Elliot Bowers)
...
Stupidity
...
______There are several elitist academies within the nameless city: top-level
schools in which child geniuses are educated in the ways of technology as so
they can be economically useful. Once upon a time, there was just one such
school. But the growing corporate need for more technology prompted the need
for more academies--more elitist schools. Corporations not only wanted, but
NEEDED technology. So the corporations put cash into these schools to keep
them running...
_____Why? The thinking was simple. Excellent profits come from excellent
technology, and excellent technology cannot exist without EXCELLENT schools.
With that thinking in mind, the corporations of the city subsidize the
academies--knowing that they will be rewarded with excellent tech-workers. It
is philanthropy...with a purpose.
_____One of these schools--the Howard Leeds Institute of Technology--was in
the northern sector of the downtown core. There was just one building for the
school, but it was enough. This was a cube-shaped structure that took up an
entire city block--a building four stories high. There was not much room for
many students, because most of the building floors was dedicated to cyber-
labs of various sorts. This was THE place for future corporate researchers to
learn computer and even robot hardware. Rumors spread that some students were
even working on ways to build artificial people--androids and gynoids.
...
_____Though the rest of the city was rather subdued due to the latest
troubles regarding the cyborg terrorist attacks, the Howard Leeds Institute of
Technology was very busy. But the troubles were the exact reasons why the
school was so busy now: They were working on the way to save the city from
that insane fool who wanted to rule. Rule the city, like a tyrant out of
ancient times.
_____The students and instructors of the Howard Leeds Institute of Technology
kept working late into the afternoon, knowing that the deadline was 21:00:
9:00 p.m. on the old-time clock. Their goal: Repair the advanced cyborg-girl
before the deadline. Because if they did not, then there would be little hope
against Mr. Grossberg's legions of p-type cyborgs. He would conquer the city,
and everyone would be doomed to serve a madman driven by a lust for power.
_____At first, the people of this institute didn't think they could succeed.
For goodness sake, they didn't even know that cyborgs were possible until
they started appearing in the city! And they didn't think that advanced cyborgs
like Gally could exist. Now they had to repair her, whose body was made from
technological innovations that seemed to be decades into the future!
____But Bryce convinced them that they could fix her. For the sake of the
city--and the freedom to continue tech research--he convinced them. Personally,
he said that nothing was impossible; it just took time.
_____Time? TIME? It would have take fifty years AT LEAST to understand the
simple--yet brilliant--technologies that went into making Gally. The people
here didn't have fifty years; they didn't have a year. They did not even have
a day! So those at this academy had to do some hurried analysis to understand
the workings of the damaged cyborg-girl before they could begin to attempt
repairs.
...
____And... Well, she was a mess! Her armored exterior was dented in the torso.
Some segments of her abdominal armor had been taken out. There was impact
damage to some of her artifical organs. Her blood pump had nearly been burned
out. Plenty of her control circuitry needed replacement. The few software
components there were inside her had to be connected to computers for recalibration.
Odd, some of her parts seemed like they belonged in a motorcycle... Anyway,
after analyzing Gally's damaged body, they found that they had some serious
work to do.
_____They divided the work. The lower levels of the academy did hardware work.
They scanned Gally's various mobility systems, control systems, and energy
distribution systems. The upper levels of the school--second floor and
above--worked on more concise software for her. But... Damn, there was still
so much that they had to fix.
...
_____A precious few hours later, they were finishing up. Well, the basic repair
work wasn't so much work after all. But they had to use a lot of current
technology to get the job done. For example, Gally's exoskeletal armor wasn't
as strong as it was before; they had to use current alloys. And some
electromechanical components used to replace the damaged ones were simpler
than the ones Gally originally had. So now, they were tweaking the cyborg-girl.
Everyone on every floor was doing cyber-work to help Gally.
...
_____With all the work being done on other floors and in other labs, there was
just one basement cyber lab at the center of the work--a very teched-up sort of
room. This cyber-lab was the size of a classroom, yet much of that space was
occupied with machinery--controlled by computer workstations in the middle.
Everything was connected together with electrical and fiber-optic cables
strung along the floor and through the walls. But the teenagers and adults
here did not trip over the cables. After all, they were geniuses.
_____And maybe, the most ingenious genius here was the teenage R&D techie from
Network 23--Bryce himself. Though dressed casually in jeans and tee shirt, he
was all business. He sat at one of the computer workstations, watching a
diagnostics program run. Hmm... Something needs modification.
_____Leaning sideways, he spoke to someone elsewhere in here. "Julie, could
you increase Gally's servomechanical redundancy by five percent? I'd actually
like ten percent more, but do what you can."
_____Julie was a thin, red-haired waif of a girl, dressed in jeans and blouse.
Large eyeglasses over her crystal-blue eyes. She was next to a rectangular-
shaped boxy machine--an automated repair machine. Inside it were electromechanical mechanical arms that
were able to repair anything placed within it...except for human beings. Now,
it had been used to repair the cyborg-girl. Maybe, in the far future, such
a machine could be used to operate on human beings...
_____An odd expression on her face, Julie tapped a few keys to try and
increase Gally's servomechanical redundancy. Some whirring sounds came from
within the automated repair machine as it scanned the cyborg patient within.
Scanning... Unable to comply!
_____"Can't do it, Bryce!" she said. "The servomechanical components inside
Gallly are already modified for as much redundancy as possible! If we try to
squeeze any more redundancy into that small amount of metal-enclosed space,
we'll have to add extra backup components. Gally would need breast enlargement!"
_____Another student, standing at this machine, leered at Julie. He was looking
at her chest. "Heh heh... You could use some 'redundancy' and 'enhancement'
yourself, Julie! I know this great guy at another academy who could do a..."
SLAP! "Hey! I was KIDDING!"
_____Bryce sighed... These child-geniuses were but a few years younger than
himself, but they still seemed so much more immature. "OKAY, do what you can
without compromising the exoskeletal integrity. We just fixed her exoskeletal
armor, and I want her to be optimal for tonight's action. If she isn't optimal,
then maybe we'll all end up swearing allegiance to 'Grossberg the Great.'"
_____Just then, an academy instructor stepped into this cyber-lab--a curly-
haired young woman in dress and lab coat. She walked between some machinery,
walking over to Bryce. Her poise and lab coat indicated her rank and position
at this academy. In fact, some of the students working in this room were her
students.
_____Hands in her labcoat pockets, she addressed Bryce. "I really think it
is time to increase the artificial metabolism.... Wake up Gally's brain."
_____"But...she's not optimal, Miss Briette," said Bryce, tapping a few keys
on the computer. "It's bad enough that we couldn't get her exoskeletal armor
back to one-hundred percent. There are still some weak points that can't be
perfectly fixed. Now we're trying to make up for that defficiency by boosting
the integrity of her servomechanical components. She's only up to seventy-five
percent cardiovascular stamina, too..."
_____Miss Briette raised her right hand, and Bryce went silent. "The police
chief called," she said. She took her left hand out of her labcoat pocket,
revealing a silvery wrist-watch on a slender wrist. "It is now 18:40, and he
said that he was going to move with his plan at 19:00...with or WITHOUT her
being ready."
_____Bryce rolled his eyes, then swiveled his chair to face away from the
computer workstation. "Well... I suppose we'll have to try. And if her upgraded
circulatory system doesn't work as well as we HOPE it does, at least we can
say we had to try--before we die."
_____"Bryce..." went Ms. Briette, "our repairs will not fail. We have gone
over Gally's artificial physiology at least nine times. We repaired and
tested all of her systems--damaged and undamaged. We even know plenty about
how her chemically enhanced brain works. We know so much about her brain
that we were able to delete her latest traumatic memory--the death of that
Metro Cop.
_____"And finally, if Gally's brain dies during the wake-up, it won't be a
permanent problem. We could just use your mind-dopple program to make an
artificial brain... Like, you did for Edison Carter to make Max Headroom.
Gally would be 'dead,' but not permanently. So begin the booting process
already."
_____That silenced Bryce. Ms. Briette had presented three very effective
arguments. He could not counter any of them. "Okay, okay... I'm on it," he
said, swiveling around in his seat to start the procedure.
_____Miss Briette nodded and began walking away. She clapped her hands twice to
get people's attention. "Listen up, everyone! Bryce is increasing the
metabolism rate on our cyborg. Have the backup and support peripherals ready!"
_____"Su-u-u-re...!" went Bryce, entering various computer commands. His fingers
working on the keyboard, eyes on the computer monitor. He switched the computer
over to the program needed to interact directly with the cyborg-girl--who was
still inside the machine that Julie designed and operated.
_____"Okay!" he said aloud. "I entered the wake-up protocols!" Muttering to
himself, "Let's hope this works."
...
_____Slowly, quietly, Gally's mind began to work again. The last thing she
remembered, some terrible events had come to pass. She had returned to this
city, arriving in a ruined area, before she fought a group of those vicious
p-type cyborgs. She fought them, and then... Then...
_____Her mind was almost blank on what came to pass next. For some reason she
could not remember, she went unconscious after the fight. It was probably due
to excessive damage to her body or hits to her head. But still... She just
could not remember.
_____She was now hearing voices, slight murmurs. And she sat up! The startled
students and adults here hopped back a bit, not sure of what to expect. They
stared at her, and she knew that they were not dangerous.
_____"Welcome back to our world, Gally," said someone familiar, stepping through
the gathered group to stand in view. "Remember me? I'm Bryce... You know,
from Network 23?" He indicated the people around him. "My friends and I, we
repaired you... Well, we did what we could..."
_____"Why so? Under what reason did you repair me?" asked the cyborg-girl,
looking down at her own bare metal body. Because she did not have on any clothing,
she was able to see all of herself. Her legs and hips were fine, but some
segments of her abdominal armor had been replaced. Her chest armor was a
different color--a different alloy... They must have repaired her body using
this city'stechnology.
_____But the people did what they could. And she was alive now. She could
feel that she had most of her strength returned. "I thank you," she said
aloud. "But, deeds are not done without expectations of rewards. I lack the
big cash to repay you..."
_____"I don't know about everybody else, but I know how you could repay ME!"
went one boy. "How about a date, metal babe? We couldn't fuck, but you could
probably give me a KILLER blow job!" The female students gasped, looked at
him aghast.
_____Unhindered, the lewd boy continued to speak. "And the b.j. would just
be a down payment. We could work on giving you a synthetic vagina so you can
finish off the debt! From there, I could find the synthetic-flesh body Miss
Briette designed so we could..." SLAP! "OW-W-W! I WAS KIDDING, JULIE! Are
you trying to break my jaw?"
_____"Well... Ahem!" went Bryce, putting his hands in his jeans' pockets and
deliberately taking on Miss Briette's straight-backed pose. "Please ignore
Clyde. He's a bit on the unstable side. Anyway, you COULD repay us by
helping the Metro Cops arrest Mr. Grossberg--so the city is saved. They were
thinking about just BLOWNG UP his building, but that would lead to the
destruction of too many other structures. So it's going to be a real city
battle." His voice took on a more shrewd tone. "Oh, and by the way... We're
ninety-six percent sure that the man named Dr. Nova works there. Clyde and I
hacked the Network 66 employee registry and found his name. "
_____"Yeah, hee hee!" went Clyde, the lewd boy. "And we fucked with the
elevators and air circulation systems there, too! Shoved our cyber-dicks right
into their soft ports!" SLAP-P-P! "Ow... OW-W-W! Ohf my Goff! I thinkf
my jaw'f bwoken! Miff Briette, ma' Julie STO' SLAPPI' ME!"
_____Shaking his head twice at Clyde's behavior--or misbehavior--Bryce spoke
on. "If you want to help the Metro Cops, Gally, there are about three vehicles
waiting to escort you. They're up and outside."
_____Gally climbed up and out of the coffin-like automated repair machine...
Then she looked once more at her bare metal physique. Not that she was too
concerned about her own "nudity" (as her body was but metal), but walking
into battle without clothing felt...inappropriate.
_____Miss Briette must have recognized Gally's hesitation. "Bryce, get Gally's
replacement clothes... An no snide comments, please."
_____Bryce wondering why he was being treated like a common errand boy... But
all of this this was for Gally. He went elsewhere in here and went over to a
plastic-wrapped parcel set atop one of the bulky machines.
_____Stepping between machines, feet going over electrical cables, he came
back here. In his hands was a plastic-sealed bundle. "We weren't able to put
your body EXACTLY as it was before, but at least our technology is good enough
to refurbish your synthetic-leather clothes. And we did the same for your
boots, because some parts were melted."
_____"You are doing much for me," said Gally as Bryce gave her the package.
She tore open the plastic wrapping and found her clothing: her sleeveless
black bodysuit and boots, along with the stubby cred-rod that the police chief
gave her. Everyone's eyes on her, Gally slid on the form-fitting one-piece
garment. And she buckled her boots... The cred-rod went into one of her
slit-pockets. They stared because they never saw a cyborg get dressed before.
_____Re-clothed and repaired, she now felt almost fully herself. But now
she had a task to complete. It was a bounty to claim... A claim on Dr. Nova's
head. She walked over to Bryce, looked up into the teenager's bespectacled
eyes. "Did you say, Metro Cop cars await outside?"
_____Bryce looked around. "Sure. They're outside this building. They've been
really nice by not barging in here and stare at us while we work, but they
REALLY wanted to be here when you were ready."
_____"So, time comes to do what is necessary," she said. "Again, thank you
all." And the small crowd parted as she went towards the door. She strode
in a hurry.
_____"Gally?" asked Bryce. Her right hand near the door handle, she stopped.
"When you're done with Grossberg, could you come back and...hang out for a
while? Well, because..." He was temporarily at a loss for words.
_____She shook her dark-haired head. "I may not return from the fight. If
the p-type cyborgs could amass and defeat me once, they may be able to defeat
me again." Then she opened the door and went into the hall.
_____The students and instructors hesitated, then quickly followed the fast-
walking cyborg-girl into the hall. Though they followed her, they kept their
distance. Gally continued until she found the stairs and she stepped up them.
Up and at the carpeted first floor, she followed signs to get out and out of
the double glass doors...
...
_____It was night-time here in the city, everything outside lit by florescent
lamps that shone down on the streets and lit the buildings' exteriors. Bryce
and the people of this institute followed Gally to the front steps, watched
her go down and over to the street.
_____Over there... Parked on this side of the street, several vehicles awaited
her, along with at least nine Metro Cops--standing around and waiting. They
clapped and cheered when they saw that the cyborg-girl was repaired and well.
That, and one of the Metro Cops jogged over to one of several vehicles here.
An expensive vehicle.
_____One of the waiting vehicles was a long blue limousine. Someone especially
important must be inside it because there were several Metro Cops standing around.
It was this vehicle that the jogging Metro Cop approached--to open the rear
door.
_____Amidst cheers for the cyborg-girl, the Metro Cop took off his helmet and
put it in one hand, opening one of the rear limousine doors. There he stood,
waiting for Gally to get in.
_____Feeling overwhelmed with attention, Gally went over to the vehicle. It
was dimly lit inside. And there, she again met Chief Thunderhorse--who had
been waiting for her until now.
...
_____In this limousine, she sat in a wide leather seat, feeling small. The
passenger compartment of this long car was like a small living room--beige
carpeting and long leather seats. A light shone from a small chandelier
attached to the limousine's low ceiling. The door closed to the city night,
and the police chief looked at the cyborg-girl.
_____Gally returned the stare put on her. Police Chief Thunderhorse was dressed
more businesslike than usual--a dark blue suit and tie to go with his pressed
pants and white shirt--dark shiny shoes matching his dark tie.
_____He gave a nod to her, then pressed a button. This signaled the driver.
And this vehicle began to move through the night streets.
_____"Well, then!" began Chief Thunderhorse, his square-jawed face regarding
the cyborg-girl seated across from himself. "We are going to the Network 66
building. Do you know what that means?"
_____"It means, you have discovered the corporation responsible for the attacks,"
she began. "And it means that there is no other alternative but direct
physical confrontation."
_____Chief Thunderhorse surprised Gally by laughing! "Ha ha ha...! Hmm...
No, child, there are always alternatives to fighting. There are always
alternatives. But, at times, etiquette requires that we choose particular
choices." He leaned forward and smiled. "At this time, etiquette requires
that we move to punish the criminals in the most shameful and public way
possible. This city shall be kept safe."
_____After that was said, there was but the low sound of this limousine moving
through the downtown city streets. Gally had nothing to say immediately. She
Looked to her right, looked through this tinted window to see outside. Quiet
and troubled downtown streets, no one was out there. Nobody wanted to be
outside tonight.
_____Chief Thunderhorse's question interrupted Gally's thoughts. "Gally, do
you believe you could ever say 'No' to a fight? Even if it were to be your
last?" A pause of silence. "Will you ever know peace?"
_____"WHAT?" went Gally, quickly turning her head to look at the police chief.
Her voice had almost been a shout. Thunderhorse gave a slight smile, unshaken
by the exclamation.
_____Suddenly embarrassed, Gally lowered her voice and bowed her head slightly.
"I give an apology for the outburst, Chief Thunderhorse. However, I cannot
apologize for the sentiment behind it. Peace is but a distant ideal, and
ideals are not all compatible with reality. The eternal halls of human
history are a testament that." She then leaned forward in a way similar to
Chief Thunderhorse. "Let me put a similar question to you. Will YOU ever
see peace in this city?"
_____"I may not," answered Chief Thunderhorse. "I may become impatient with
these silly mortals and leave them to do what they will to each other. After
several centuries, a being of my stature can only tolerate so much."
_____"Centuries?" asked Gally, slightly confused. She looked at Police Chief
Thunderhorse, wondering about what he just said. The man was either insane
or had somehow come across medical nanotechnology--giving him immortality.
But because this city did not even have cyborg technology until Dr. Nova came
along, insanity must be the answer.
_____"No, I am not insane--at least, not yet," said Chief Thunderhorse, answering
Gally's thoughts. "Just midway through patience, is all. Not even the gods
have infinite patience."
_____Gally looked into Chief Thunderhorse's dark eyes. She blinked... Something
was not right. She could feel that something was happening. Something
flashed in those eyes, something disturing. Gally then felt the air in this
limousine become charged with static electricity--felt the static electricity
through the hundreds of pressure-sensors embedded in the armor of her body.
_____Then she FELT Chief Thunderhorse's stare entering her mind, going into
her. A stare that came inside and filled her. But it did not feel invasive.
Not at all. It was an extremely healing feeling. It almost felt... NO!
_____She forced herself to look away, averting her face and eyes. If the
flesh of her face was real, her cheeks would have heated with embarrassment.
She felt warmth and comfort, like a hug, but many millions of times more
comforting. She never felt so much...love before. It was a relief when the
static current in the air went away, and things became normal again.
_____But this was...impossible... With just a stare, Gally felt a world of
caring. She denied that so much positive feeling could even exist in the
world. All that she ever knew, all the darkness and misery, it seemed to
temporarily vanish in the hold of Thunderhorse's stare. Almost gasping, Gally
asked, "What are you?"
_____"I will say this much," said Chief Thunderhorse, his voice seeming to be
as calm as eternity. "I could easily bring this foolishness to an end, all of
it. I could end the lives of Mr. Grossberg and Dr. Nova with but a simple
command. All of my kind can do so. I... No, we could also do much more!
But I have my reasons for allowing all of this to pass."
_____Still feeling somewhat flushed, she tried a few more words. But, she
found that her voice would not work. Moving her fingers to the collar of her
bodysuit, she could just look at Police Chief Thunderhorse. He was not just
a man. Chief Thunderhorse was...something else...
_____He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. There was a rushing
sound of wind. Gally felt a rush of slight dizziness, and she saw that there
was darkness outside the limousine windows. Deep darkness. As if this vehicle
was suddenly moving through a void.
_____And suddenly...things outside the limousine returned to normal. This
limousine stopped, and there were florescent streetlights out there--along
with flashing lights atop the parked cars of Metro Cops.
_____"Oh, would you look at that!" said Chief Thunderhorse. "I do believe
that we have--quite suddenly--arrived at our location!" He winked. "Don't
leave everyone waiting now!"
_____The limousine door at the right side opened. And out there was the wide
front entranceway to the Network 66 building, with Metro Cop cars parked all
around here. There were murmurs of radio communication out there among the cars,
along with sounds of car engines idling. Gally staggered out of the limousine,
her mind spinning with all that she found out about Chief Thunderhorse.
...
_____The series of events that followed had a jarring and unsettling rhythm--a
too-fast rhythm. First, Gally got out of the limousine to get in among the
police and their vehicles parked outside the entrance to the huge Network 66
building. Many Metro Cops were here, ready for battle. Some of them turned
to look.... And they all cheered! THE CYBORG-GIRL IS HERE! YEAH, YEAH!
WE'LL WIN! GROSSBERG CAN'T HAVE OUR CITY! Then the fighting began.
_____A horde of those metal-bodied bastards came RUSHING out of the Network 66
building. A wave of iron monsters, they came running out on their bare metal
feet--clawed metal hands out and ready... And they all had smiles on their
rubber faces.
_____Of course, the dozens of Metro Cops here opened fire! As Gally ran to
duck behind a vehicle, she saw and heard dozens and dozens of submachine guns
open fire--weapons loaded with ferro-cerramic rounds. All of those weapons
cracking at once made for a sound not unlike a massive and unnatural electrical
storm that echoed to the dark sky above.
_____For the Metro Cops, this was their night...for justice. For too many
weeks, those cyborg freaks have done TOO MUCH. Hiding in vans, crouching in
the sewers, ducking in abandoned buildings, those p-type cyborgs did too much.
Too many citizens and Metro Cops were killed by those things. Now, it was an
outright battle, and the p-type cyborgs were going to be destroyed! Destroyed
to the last! With the Battle Angel on their side, the Metro Cops felt that
they would surely win this night.
_____And the thunderously loud gunfire continued. When a Metro Cop's gun ran
out of ammo, the gun was simply reloaded. Plenty of ammo in the cars. Every
car here had hundreds of clips of the special anti-cyborg ammunition. Extra
guns, too. If a weapon jammed, there was always another. The Metro Cops were
extra well-equipped tonight because of extra revenues from corporations. The
result was a steady onslaught of deadly gunfire that tore through the night
air.
_____At first, it seemed as if the destruction would be all night. Waves of
those p-type cyborgs kept coming out--to be blasted to metal pieces by Metro
Cop gunfire. Their skeletal metal bodies kept piling up, sparking and twitching--
that darkened blood of theirs flowing onto the night-darkened city street.
_____Then their numbers thinned. No longer was there a massive rush of those
metal monsters from the building. They were now just coming out in a trickle.
A few at a time.
_____And then they stopped coming out of the building completely. But the
Metro Cops kept shooting, until.... "Cease fire!" shouted various police
sergeants above the cracking sound of the shooting. The gunfired stopped.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Enough Metro Cops heard it and stopped firing--
guns smoking.
_____Gally saw this as her chance! She leapt over a car, landing on her booted
feet--a dark-clad and dark-haired shadow with a pale face. And she dashed
towards the building, stepping over the fallen and broken bodies of the many
p-type cyborgs.
_____"Bravo Team! LET'S MOVE IN! FOLLOW THE BATTLE ANGEL!" shouted a muscle-bound and armor-clad police sergeant, climbing over a car hood with submachine gun in hand. Then, about twenty of the Metro Cops did the same--moving in. If the cyborg-girl was moving in, they'd help her.
...
_____Gally ran into the brightly lit wide lobby of the Network 66 building,
stepping over broken glass on the vast marble floor. Like the Network 23
building lobby, there were elevators at the far end of here. And, most likely,
the important floors were near the top. She heard the booted feet of many
Metro Cops coming up behind her...
_____Someone's walkie-talkie radio crackled. Standing in here, that Metro Cop
unhooked it from his belt. "Who the HELL is this?" he said. "Some kid prankster?
Oh, it's YOU. Heh-heh... Sorry about that, guy. Hey, Battle Angel! It's for
you!" This Metro Cop then walked over to give Gally the walkie-talkie.
_____Battle Angel? The Metro Cop was actually referring to her. She took the
proffered walkie-talkie. Bryce's voice came through the small speaker. "Hey
Gally! My academy friends and I are watching you and the Metro Cops on the
Network 66 security cameras; we've completely hacked the security systems in that building!
You're doing quite well. However, you have sixty floors to get up. And you'll
have about sixty problems waiting for you."
_____"Then, there is trouble on all floors," said Gally into the walkie-talkie."
And we have eliminated just one floor of resistance." Sixty floors full of
p-type cyborgs, and unknown dangers. The task seemed daunting.
_____Bryce's voice again came through the walkie-talkie speaker. "No, it's
not going to be that bad, really... Like I've said, we've hacked the Network
66 security systems--including the controls to the elevators and all the doors.
Watch this..."
_____D-D-DING! Several elevator chimes echoed throughout the lobby at once.
Gally looked to the far end--saw that several elevator doors remained open.
_____"Mr. Grossberg is in his 60th-floor office," came Bryce's voice through
the walkie-talkie. "A quick ride, and you'll be up there in a jiffy!"
_____Gally looked to some tall Metro Cops who stood close by, looking at her
expectantly through helmets with tilted-up visors. Some of them had worried
looks that seemed to say, Can you trust those elevators?
_____"Come on, Gally! Move!" said Bryce. "We see Mr. Grossberg right in
his sixtieth-floor office! He's sitting behind his desk, with a guy in a labcoat
standing by. Some guy eating something out of a white bowl. That Dr. Nova
guy. And about Mr. Grossberg... It's almost like he's waiting for you..." He
paused, letting the implications sink in. "By the way, we're getting some
STRANGE interference on some cameras too, so you'll probably want to be
careful."
____"Dr. Nova is there, so I will go!" proclaimed the cyborg-girl. She thrust
the walkie-talkie into the gloved hands of a nearby Metro Cop, then strode
towards the waiting elevators. She went into one of the elevators, and all of them
closed.
_____Some Metro Cops ran over to the elevators, also trying to use them. But
it was no use... They were sealed. A short Metro Cop then came into the lobby--
Police Corporal Kim. She saw the situation. "We'll take the stairs!" she said,
checking her weapon as she walked across the lobby, towards one of the doors
at the left side. Of course, more Metro Cops followed.
...
_____Gally rode this elevator... Quite an odd experience, actually. The
elevator walls were shiny and well-polished, a black marble floor beneath her
feet. Light music played on in here, one of any number of classical-sounding
pieces. As she had over seventy floors to travel, the music became more than
a bit annoying...
_____DING! Soon, but not soon enough, the elevator came to the sixtieth floor.
Gally came to a short and dimly lit hallway. The floor was made of red-streaked
black marble, and the walls were paneled with wood. She walked through the
short hall, her booted legs quiet, her solid fists clenched.
_____There was a tall wooden door in her way, but not for long! THUNK! A
quick kick from her right leg, and the door seemed to explode open. And she
walked into Mr. Grossberg's office.
_____A grand and vast office, lit by a chandelier... Like the hall, the floor
was made of red-streaked black marble. Wood panels at the left and right, with
a waist-high window at the end. In front of the window was a wooden desk.
_____Mr. Grossberg! He was there, sitting behind the desk, with Dr. Nova
standing at his left--eating flan. Mr. Grossberg looked perfectly sinister,
dressed in black suit and black gloves--his slicked-back hair seeming darker
than it was before.... "Well, well, well! Hello, Gally!" said that CEO.
"So you're the little cyborg-girl everyone's ranting about! Hmmph, like the
Kindly Old Man, your reputation is legendary."
_____Gally stopped. Standing fifteen meters from the desk. Her pretty face
took on a darkened look, large dark eyes glinting. She had four words to say.
"I want Nova's head."
_____Dr. Nova stopped chewing his beloved flan. Sweat broke out on his
forehead, a very frightened look on his face. Suddenly, he temporarily lost
his appetite...
_____Mr. Grossberg's eyebrows went up. "DO YOU NOW! But, the trouble is...he's
MINE. He's given me SO much power." He stood up, using a gloved hand to
grip Dr. Nova by a shoulder--making the doctor wince.
_____"Yes, this man has given me oh-so-much. He's given me a legion of
modified cyborgs, a way to DOMINATE the city! Then, he's given me a vision.
Yes, an amazing vision. It was vision enough to give me confidence in his
cyborg technology. Confidence enough for me to trust him with my life."
_____"Ha ha ha..." Bowl of flan in hand, Dr. Nova gave a nervous laugh. His
eyes were on the cyborg-girl who had a look in her eyes. It was a look thirsty
for pain-spilled blood. His blood.
_____"You heard the girl, Nova. She WANTS your head, but she can't have it,"
said the CEO. "Go wait in the corner and sit in the waiting chair. This
shouldn't take long. Go on..." Then, giving a not-so-gentle push, he got
Dr. Nova to move towards a seat in a distant corner of this grand office.
"As for YOU...! Ha ha! I can kick your ass!" Then he took off his black
gloves.
_____First, Gally saw Mr. Grossberg had hands of metal--modified metal hands.
In place of knuckles, there were diamond-spikes. But the metal did not end there.
He rolled up his sleeves, and Gally saw that the arms were metal too. So, Mr.
Grossberg must have had himself turned into a cyborg.
_____"Dr. Nova has assured me that this body is strong against most any of
your standard attacks," he said, flexing his metal forearms--his suit-covered
chest making slight machine sounds. "And, I have taken a bit of hypnosis-based
instruction in all styles of kickboxing, so I know how to use this body. I
am now the most skilled fighter in the city--in the WORLD. In fact, I'll
prove it by pummeling you. Then I'll use salvaged parts from your broken body
to become even stronger. En guarde, cyber-bitch!" Then he leapt over his
desk, starting the fight.
...
_____His first attack was fast and bold. There was a SWISH as his diamond-tipped
left fist cut through the air, a lunging swing. He was moving and striking
at the same time, his momentum into the blow. If Gally hadn't ducked, she
would have surely lost her head.
_____TH-THUNK! Still ducking, she struck Mr. Grossberg. Her two fists moved
machine-fast when she struck. The blows cut against Mr. Grossberg's solid
abdomen, cutting his business jacket and deeply scraping the metal beneath.
_____But Mr. Grossberg angled himself as so Gally's blows only sheared off
some metal, bouncing off. Then one of his fists had come around blur-fast,
KNOCKING Gally away!
_____Sliding back, Gally tried to land on her feet...but staggered and fell
onto her back. There was a bit of damage, and she felt somewhat shaken. But
it was not critical damage; the diamond-spiked knuckles didn't penetrate her
exoskeletal armor. Lucky.
_____She snapped to her feet, then RAN across the floor to get back at Mr.
Grossberg. It was time for offense. And she leapt, her right foot lashing
out...
____The sound that followed SHOOK the entire office, an explosion of sound.
It made the floor vibrate, and the office window vibrated. The chandelier
exploded from the sound, sending crystal shards all over the marble floor.
Even Dr. Nova had to cower to avoid being cut with the crystal.
_____Mr. Grossberg stood there. He had a large, smoking boot-print on his
solid chest where the business jacket had been burned away--revealing what
was beneath. His chest had dozens of little metal spikes on it. And the
spikes were capable of delivering a quick but massive plasma shock--like the
intense plasma shock he delivered to Gally.
_____Gally lie on her chest. She was stunned, her left leg twitching, the boot
there melted. She shook her head, blinked, then used her right leg and both
arms to try and get up. Too late...
_____"Come here, BRAT!" growled Mr. Grossberg, reaching down with his left
metal fist to grab the cyborg-girl by the neck. It was a painful hold! Gally
struggled, trying to use her armored fingers to get the fingers off the
vulnerable machinery of her throat.
_____He had her as so she faced him, holding her to chest height. Then, his
shoes crunching on the shattered chandelier crystal, he shook her once--like
a much-hated metal-bodied toy. "Consider my position... Here I was, poised
to OWN this city. The Metro Cops would've been beaten, and I would have been
Sovereign! But no-o-o...! YOU had to fall into the picture. Of course, I'm
glad that Dr. Nova's precious box brought him here, but I HATE how it brought
YOU here as well." He TIGHTENED his one-handed grip.
_____Gally gasped... She could hear slight cracking and snapping sounds as
some delicate parts of her neck machinery bent and broke. Her metal-ringed
throat was being bent shut. It was becoming a bit harder to breathe...
Desprate, she then kicked Mr. Grossberg with her still-working right leg.
_____With a GRUNT, Mr. Grossberg staggered, then THREW Gally clear across the
vast office... THUNK! The cyborg-girl HIT a wood-paneled wall at the right
side and bounced, landing on the floor. The wood paneling radiated cracks
from where she hit.
_____After that, the cyborg-girl couldn't get up. Was on her knees. Her head
spun with dizziness, and she held a hand to her damaged throat. She tried to
stand again...but couldn't. Mr. Grossberg would surely finish her off now.
_____So, this was how it was to end. Despite all that she had done, it was
all going to come to nothing. There was no one here to help her this time.
Failing here, in the office of Mr. Grossberg, there would be no Edison Carter
to find her and call friends. Now, she was surely going to die in failure.
_____"Heh...heh... heh..." The Network 66 executive chuckled to himself as he
stepped across the floor, shoes crunching on chandelier crystal shards. He
walked slowly, sure of his position. Then his steps became faster. Too fast
in fact.
_____Whoops...! Maybe Mr. Grossberg should have taken some more time to get
used to his metal body, the mass and balance of it. His right shoe slipped on
crystal shards. It wasn't just a little slip, but a really big and sloppy slip
of the foot.
_____"What the Hell...?" he grunted, trying to recover his balance. Arms and
leg moving, he tried to stop slipping. But that only worsened things. His
shoes still slip-slided some more, sliding on shattered chandelier crystal that
covered the black marble floor.
_____Seeing Mr. Grossberg now was like watching something from slapstick
comedy out of the old days. His arms and legs moved quite rapidly. The soles
of his shoes found no purchase, and he kept slip-sliding away... And his
slippery momentum carried him towards one side of the office, where one of his
swirling arms shattered the window.
_____There was now nothing between the inside of this office and the city night
outside. And the wind came whistling in from outside. Outside, a high-up
view of the city at night. This office is pretty far up...
_____"Shit," grunted Mr. Grossberg, a fated look on his face. He knew what
was going to happen next. Then he tumbled out of the window. He fell. It
was sixty floors to the ground...
...
_____Whoosh...! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Mr. Grossberg was falling head-first.
As he fell through the night sky, on the way to the ground, this CEO wasn't
afraid. No, the opposite: He was downright ANGRY. Angry, because what just
happened was just so unsurpassably fucked up. The night air whistled by his
ears and whipped over him as he continued his far fall to the artificially lit
streets below. He wasn't even going to smash into the plaza... No, he was
falling right to the street. Streetlamps and police cars with lights flashing...
_____For just a while, he was positioned to be on top of everyone in the city.
Damn it, he was just so close. He would have frightened and beaten the city
into submission, taking it ALL. No God-damned economic maneuvering would
have been required; it was simple conquest. But that little metal-bodied bitch
had to come along and really fuck his plans! He HATED being fucked.
_____But it was over. It was over in the most stupid way possible. Falling
to the street below, because he SLIPPED. Damn, he couldn't wait for all of
this to be over with. He wanted to hurry up and hit the ground!
_____He looked up...which was down because he was still falling head-first.
Falling faster now. He could see Metro Cops and police cars looking up, down
there on the street. Then he spread his arms and gave a great bellowing laugh.
If he was going to go out, he was going to go out with a bang!
_____AAH, hah, hah, hah, hah...CRASH! He hit. It sounded like the end of the
world. Then everything went into a twisted, sickening darkness....
...
_____When the body smashed into the street, all the Metro Cops out here flinched
at once. First, they thought it was a bomb. But a bomb would have EXPLODED,
you know? That thing didn't blow up.
_____"What the HELL was that!" exclaimed one of the Metro Cops standing in the
Network 66 plaza, turning to look to the street. His comrades turned to look,
and he what the smashing was about. And he saw the mess.
_____Metro Cops gathered around the place in the street just beyond the plaza,
getting closer to the amazing sight. They've seen bodies after high falls,
but they've NEVER seen a fallen body do THAT before. Normally, a body is
smashed and like...MUTILATED after a high fall--really broken. But this was
a freaky exception.
_____This time, it was the STREET that was broken. The body in a business
suit fell head-first INTO the hard asphalt, to the waist. And the legs were
dangling outside... Overall, it looked as if the body had dived half-way INTO
the pavement itself.
_____"Looks like some kind of God-damned champion diver!" commented a Metro
Cop. Others agreed. How the Hell could anybody do that?
_____Then the legs began twitching, legs in dark slacks. "HOLY SHIT!" exclaimed
somebody when the legs began sparking a bit. Some Metro Cops backed off, not
knowing what the HELL to expect next. A shoe flew off and smacked big Officer
Carolla in the head--the shoe bouncing off of his dark helmet.
_____The response was instantaneous: NOBODY fuckin' hurls a shoe at Officer
Carolla! Not even a corpse! That big Metro Cop ran up to the twitching body
upturned in the street and opened fire--shooting downward and into the body.
There was all sorts of noise and fury as the ferro-ceramic bullets tore into
the corpse. Some of the bullets ricocheted back and thumped into his body
armor, but he didn't care!
_____"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" shouted somebody. Officer Carolla stopped firing, gun
smoking... He looked at his handwork. The bullets had shredded the dead man's
business clothes--going right into the body beneath... Well, would you look
at that!
_____No wonder the body went INTO the street. The body was metal! Beneath
the expensive clothing, there was metal. Looks like another one of those
cyborg-things that caused so much trouble.
_____Another Metro Cop walked close to Officer Carolla. A female officer.
"Hmmph," she went. "You wasted your ammo on just another p-type cyborg, one
that was as good as dead anyway."
_____Officer Carolla KICKED the ruined hips of the business-suited cyborg
embedded in the street. Indeed, seemed like just another one of those p-type
cyborgs--except that it wore a business suit. Pretty expensive suit, by the
looks of things. "Yeah, I guess I did," he conceded. "The Battle Angel must've
killed this one before throwing it out the window. With her around, any other
cyborg freak is fuckin' doomed."
...
_____Back up in the sixtieth floor office, Gally struggled to stand. Her left
leg was still shut down completely--total malfunction. Her abdomen felt hot
and odd, but it was not too bad. The plasma shock did not damage her permanently.
But there were slight grating sounds coming from her neck whenever she moved her
head. Her head... The blow from hitting the wall made her a bit dazed.
_____She sat up, managing to sit propped up against the wood-paneled wall she
had been hurled against. And her attention was held to the scene unfolding
before her in this vast and theater-sized office. A scene involving HIM.
_____HE was here, the Kindly Old Man HIMSELF--sitting behind Mr. Grossberg's
desk. And his wheezing was audible, above the sound of the wind blowing
through the huge broken window. Stepping carefully on the floor, shoes crunching
on yet more shattered crystal, Dr. Nova came close...to stand by damaged Gally.
But he was sure to stand outside of her reach.
_____"Bounty hunter, do you know who HE is?" said Dr. Nova, his voice quivering
with fear. "Do you know HIS role in all of this? Over all of this? And do
you KNOW what we are to HIM?"
_____Her neck making slight grating noises, Gally turned her head to look up at
Dr. Nova. She knew that, given her condition, Dr. Nova could easily escape by
running away--with her only able to limp after him. So she sat there, glaring.
_____Dr. Nova looked down at the damaged cyborg-girl. Said, "I have been
studying THE box and all of its karmic properties. As its shape kept changing,
it revealed yet more of its nature. This provided more data on its origins.
Little did I know that my data also led to implications regarding HIM."
_____As if in response to Dr. Nova's talk, the Kindly Old Man's wheezing became
more audible. "Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h..." HE went, leaning back in
that chair behind the desk. HE even lifted his slacks-covered legs to prop
his feet up on the desk. All the while, HE did not look at Dr. Nova or Gally.
_____The wheezing was an uncomfortable sound. Gally wondered if the Kindly
Old Man had a kind of severe respiratory illness. The illness should have
killed HIM by now.
_____"How foolish it was of me to assume that the Kindly Old Man was merely an
anomaly, an indirect result of using THE box to snag with the fabric of our
reality," continued Dr. Nova, looking towards the being seated behind the
desk over there. "But, instead, the opposite is true. The Kindly Old Man owns
THE box. It belonged to HIM all along. And in truth, all of this city belongs
to..." CRUNCH! "AR-R-RGH!" Giving a loud grunt of pain, Dr. Nova went down,
his left shin bloody and shattered.
down with her.
_____He fell onto his back, whimpering. And he made no move to get up, to
even look at his injury. Good thing, because that limb was bent in a way that
no leg should be. Blood soaked the cloth beneath the knee.
_____Still damaged, Gally was not have been able to stand. But she was able
to put Dr. Nova in a similar position. As he talked, she had slid over and
struck the scientist in the left leg--beneath the knee. Now he had to be
_____A dark grin on her face, Gally then used her arms and right leg to get
over to where Dr. Nova lie. She managed to get close enough to sit atop him,
sitting on his hip--holding him still with her solid thighs. Yes, she was
astride the crippled, whimpering scientist. Bounty or no bounty, she wanted
to do this for a very long time.
_____Her left hand went to his jaw--metal on flesh. She whispered something,
because whispering was all she could do with her damaged throat. "You have...
made for...so much...trouble. Trouble and toil." Dr. Nova muttered something
about his broken leg, his lips moving. "But now comes...satisfaction. Slow...
and...wonderful..."
_____Atop a helpless Dr. Nova, Gally did not know where to begin. She wondered
if she should start from the face? Maybe, tug off his nose? Or, pop his eyes
like grapes? No, she wanted to see his eyes as she DID him. His pain-filled,
frightened eyes, looking up at her.
_____So she pinched his eyelids...and tore them off. They came off quite easily.
Made slight wet tearing sounds. Dr. Nova continued to whimper.
_____"Hah-h-h..." wheezed the Kindly Old Man, looking at what was happening
over here. "Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h... Quite amusing for amusement. Is this
revenge? Or is something else waiting?"
_____The question instantly put Gally out of the mood! Angered, she could but
give a harsh whisper. "Do...be...silent. He is...mine." In response, Dr. Nova's
whimpering went up a notch.
_____"Hah-h-h... Who is yours? Do you own anything here? What is yours
when you sleep?" asked the Kindly Old Man. Then he looked to the desk, and
THE box slowly faded into view. This time, THE box was brown.
_____Gally was still atop the bloody-eyed Dr. Nova; she was not facing the
Kindly Old Man at all. But she had the impression that something had just
happened. Something very important.
_____"HAH-H-H...! We own NOTHING when we sleep!" said the Kindly Old Man.
"We just BORROW what there is. Nothing is ours forever!" Then he brought his
feet off of the desk and sat forward, reaching for THE box. "Hah-h-h... As
we DREAM!"
_____Gally gasped. What did the Kindly Old Man mean by that? She had an idea
as to what the Kindly Old Man was saying, but she did not fully understand.
And there was something in the way he said it.
_____Then THE box was opened--THE box. Darkness closed over everything here.
Gally felt herself falling through that infinite blackness again. Maybe she
should have let Dr. Nova finish what he was saying. Whatever the case, she
would soon find out what this all meant. The truth behind everything.
...
Stupidity
...
______There are several elitist academies within the nameless city: top-level
schools in which child geniuses are educated in the ways of technology as so
they can be economically useful. Once upon a time, there was just one such
school. But the growing corporate need for more technology prompted the need
for more academies--more elitist schools. Corporations not only wanted, but
NEEDED technology. So the corporations put cash into these schools to keep
them running...
_____Why? The thinking was simple. Excellent profits come from excellent
technology, and excellent technology cannot exist without EXCELLENT schools.
With that thinking in mind, the corporations of the city subsidize the
academies--knowing that they will be rewarded with excellent tech-workers. It
is philanthropy...with a purpose.
_____One of these schools--the Howard Leeds Institute of Technology--was in
the northern sector of the downtown core. There was just one building for the
school, but it was enough. This was a cube-shaped structure that took up an
entire city block--a building four stories high. There was not much room for
many students, because most of the building floors was dedicated to cyber-
labs of various sorts. This was THE place for future corporate researchers to
learn computer and even robot hardware. Rumors spread that some students were
even working on ways to build artificial people--androids and gynoids.
...
_____Though the rest of the city was rather subdued due to the latest
troubles regarding the cyborg terrorist attacks, the Howard Leeds Institute of
Technology was very busy. But the troubles were the exact reasons why the
school was so busy now: They were working on the way to save the city from
that insane fool who wanted to rule. Rule the city, like a tyrant out of
ancient times.
_____The students and instructors of the Howard Leeds Institute of Technology
kept working late into the afternoon, knowing that the deadline was 21:00:
9:00 p.m. on the old-time clock. Their goal: Repair the advanced cyborg-girl
before the deadline. Because if they did not, then there would be little hope
against Mr. Grossberg's legions of p-type cyborgs. He would conquer the city,
and everyone would be doomed to serve a madman driven by a lust for power.
_____At first, the people of this institute didn't think they could succeed.
For goodness sake, they didn't even know that cyborgs were possible until
they started appearing in the city! And they didn't think that advanced cyborgs
like Gally could exist. Now they had to repair her, whose body was made from
technological innovations that seemed to be decades into the future!
____But Bryce convinced them that they could fix her. For the sake of the
city--and the freedom to continue tech research--he convinced them. Personally,
he said that nothing was impossible; it just took time.
_____Time? TIME? It would have take fifty years AT LEAST to understand the
simple--yet brilliant--technologies that went into making Gally. The people
here didn't have fifty years; they didn't have a year. They did not even have
a day! So those at this academy had to do some hurried analysis to understand
the workings of the damaged cyborg-girl before they could begin to attempt
repairs.
...
____And... Well, she was a mess! Her armored exterior was dented in the torso.
Some segments of her abdominal armor had been taken out. There was impact
damage to some of her artifical organs. Her blood pump had nearly been burned
out. Plenty of her control circuitry needed replacement. The few software
components there were inside her had to be connected to computers for recalibration.
Odd, some of her parts seemed like they belonged in a motorcycle... Anyway,
after analyzing Gally's damaged body, they found that they had some serious
work to do.
_____They divided the work. The lower levels of the academy did hardware work.
They scanned Gally's various mobility systems, control systems, and energy
distribution systems. The upper levels of the school--second floor and
above--worked on more concise software for her. But... Damn, there was still
so much that they had to fix.
...
_____A precious few hours later, they were finishing up. Well, the basic repair
work wasn't so much work after all. But they had to use a lot of current
technology to get the job done. For example, Gally's exoskeletal armor wasn't
as strong as it was before; they had to use current alloys. And some
electromechanical components used to replace the damaged ones were simpler
than the ones Gally originally had. So now, they were tweaking the cyborg-girl.
Everyone on every floor was doing cyber-work to help Gally.
...
_____With all the work being done on other floors and in other labs, there was
just one basement cyber lab at the center of the work--a very teched-up sort of
room. This cyber-lab was the size of a classroom, yet much of that space was
occupied with machinery--controlled by computer workstations in the middle.
Everything was connected together with electrical and fiber-optic cables
strung along the floor and through the walls. But the teenagers and adults
here did not trip over the cables. After all, they were geniuses.
_____And maybe, the most ingenious genius here was the teenage R&D techie from
Network 23--Bryce himself. Though dressed casually in jeans and tee shirt, he
was all business. He sat at one of the computer workstations, watching a
diagnostics program run. Hmm... Something needs modification.
_____Leaning sideways, he spoke to someone elsewhere in here. "Julie, could
you increase Gally's servomechanical redundancy by five percent? I'd actually
like ten percent more, but do what you can."
_____Julie was a thin, red-haired waif of a girl, dressed in jeans and blouse.
Large eyeglasses over her crystal-blue eyes. She was next to a rectangular-
shaped boxy machine--an automated repair machine. Inside it were electromechanical mechanical arms that
were able to repair anything placed within it...except for human beings. Now,
it had been used to repair the cyborg-girl. Maybe, in the far future, such
a machine could be used to operate on human beings...
_____An odd expression on her face, Julie tapped a few keys to try and
increase Gally's servomechanical redundancy. Some whirring sounds came from
within the automated repair machine as it scanned the cyborg patient within.
Scanning... Unable to comply!
_____"Can't do it, Bryce!" she said. "The servomechanical components inside
Gallly are already modified for as much redundancy as possible! If we try to
squeeze any more redundancy into that small amount of metal-enclosed space,
we'll have to add extra backup components. Gally would need breast enlargement!"
_____Another student, standing at this machine, leered at Julie. He was looking
at her chest. "Heh heh... You could use some 'redundancy' and 'enhancement'
yourself, Julie! I know this great guy at another academy who could do a..."
SLAP! "Hey! I was KIDDING!"
_____Bryce sighed... These child-geniuses were but a few years younger than
himself, but they still seemed so much more immature. "OKAY, do what you can
without compromising the exoskeletal integrity. We just fixed her exoskeletal
armor, and I want her to be optimal for tonight's action. If she isn't optimal,
then maybe we'll all end up swearing allegiance to 'Grossberg the Great.'"
_____Just then, an academy instructor stepped into this cyber-lab--a curly-
haired young woman in dress and lab coat. She walked between some machinery,
walking over to Bryce. Her poise and lab coat indicated her rank and position
at this academy. In fact, some of the students working in this room were her
students.
_____Hands in her labcoat pockets, she addressed Bryce. "I really think it
is time to increase the artificial metabolism.... Wake up Gally's brain."
_____"But...she's not optimal, Miss Briette," said Bryce, tapping a few keys
on the computer. "It's bad enough that we couldn't get her exoskeletal armor
back to one-hundred percent. There are still some weak points that can't be
perfectly fixed. Now we're trying to make up for that defficiency by boosting
the integrity of her servomechanical components. She's only up to seventy-five
percent cardiovascular stamina, too..."
_____Miss Briette raised her right hand, and Bryce went silent. "The police
chief called," she said. She took her left hand out of her labcoat pocket,
revealing a silvery wrist-watch on a slender wrist. "It is now 18:40, and he
said that he was going to move with his plan at 19:00...with or WITHOUT her
being ready."
_____Bryce rolled his eyes, then swiveled his chair to face away from the
computer workstation. "Well... I suppose we'll have to try. And if her upgraded
circulatory system doesn't work as well as we HOPE it does, at least we can
say we had to try--before we die."
_____"Bryce..." went Ms. Briette, "our repairs will not fail. We have gone
over Gally's artificial physiology at least nine times. We repaired and
tested all of her systems--damaged and undamaged. We even know plenty about
how her chemically enhanced brain works. We know so much about her brain
that we were able to delete her latest traumatic memory--the death of that
Metro Cop.
_____"And finally, if Gally's brain dies during the wake-up, it won't be a
permanent problem. We could just use your mind-dopple program to make an
artificial brain... Like, you did for Edison Carter to make Max Headroom.
Gally would be 'dead,' but not permanently. So begin the booting process
already."
_____That silenced Bryce. Ms. Briette had presented three very effective
arguments. He could not counter any of them. "Okay, okay... I'm on it," he
said, swiveling around in his seat to start the procedure.
_____Miss Briette nodded and began walking away. She clapped her hands twice to
get people's attention. "Listen up, everyone! Bryce is increasing the
metabolism rate on our cyborg. Have the backup and support peripherals ready!"
_____"Su-u-u-re...!" went Bryce, entering various computer commands. His fingers
working on the keyboard, eyes on the computer monitor. He switched the computer
over to the program needed to interact directly with the cyborg-girl--who was
still inside the machine that Julie designed and operated.
_____"Okay!" he said aloud. "I entered the wake-up protocols!" Muttering to
himself, "Let's hope this works."
...
_____Slowly, quietly, Gally's mind began to work again. The last thing she
remembered, some terrible events had come to pass. She had returned to this
city, arriving in a ruined area, before she fought a group of those vicious
p-type cyborgs. She fought them, and then... Then...
_____Her mind was almost blank on what came to pass next. For some reason she
could not remember, she went unconscious after the fight. It was probably due
to excessive damage to her body or hits to her head. But still... She just
could not remember.
_____She was now hearing voices, slight murmurs. And she sat up! The startled
students and adults here hopped back a bit, not sure of what to expect. They
stared at her, and she knew that they were not dangerous.
_____"Welcome back to our world, Gally," said someone familiar, stepping through
the gathered group to stand in view. "Remember me? I'm Bryce... You know,
from Network 23?" He indicated the people around him. "My friends and I, we
repaired you... Well, we did what we could..."
_____"Why so? Under what reason did you repair me?" asked the cyborg-girl,
looking down at her own bare metal body. Because she did not have on any clothing,
she was able to see all of herself. Her legs and hips were fine, but some
segments of her abdominal armor had been replaced. Her chest armor was a
different color--a different alloy... They must have repaired her body using
this city'stechnology.
_____But the people did what they could. And she was alive now. She could
feel that she had most of her strength returned. "I thank you," she said
aloud. "But, deeds are not done without expectations of rewards. I lack the
big cash to repay you..."
_____"I don't know about everybody else, but I know how you could repay ME!"
went one boy. "How about a date, metal babe? We couldn't fuck, but you could
probably give me a KILLER blow job!" The female students gasped, looked at
him aghast.
_____Unhindered, the lewd boy continued to speak. "And the b.j. would just
be a down payment. We could work on giving you a synthetic vagina so you can
finish off the debt! From there, I could find the synthetic-flesh body Miss
Briette designed so we could..." SLAP! "OW-W-W! I WAS KIDDING, JULIE! Are
you trying to break my jaw?"
_____"Well... Ahem!" went Bryce, putting his hands in his jeans' pockets and
deliberately taking on Miss Briette's straight-backed pose. "Please ignore
Clyde. He's a bit on the unstable side. Anyway, you COULD repay us by
helping the Metro Cops arrest Mr. Grossberg--so the city is saved. They were
thinking about just BLOWNG UP his building, but that would lead to the
destruction of too many other structures. So it's going to be a real city
battle." His voice took on a more shrewd tone. "Oh, and by the way... We're
ninety-six percent sure that the man named Dr. Nova works there. Clyde and I
hacked the Network 66 employee registry and found his name. "
_____"Yeah, hee hee!" went Clyde, the lewd boy. "And we fucked with the
elevators and air circulation systems there, too! Shoved our cyber-dicks right
into their soft ports!" SLAP-P-P! "Ow... OW-W-W! Ohf my Goff! I thinkf
my jaw'f bwoken! Miff Briette, ma' Julie STO' SLAPPI' ME!"
_____Shaking his head twice at Clyde's behavior--or misbehavior--Bryce spoke
on. "If you want to help the Metro Cops, Gally, there are about three vehicles
waiting to escort you. They're up and outside."
_____Gally climbed up and out of the coffin-like automated repair machine...
Then she looked once more at her bare metal physique. Not that she was too
concerned about her own "nudity" (as her body was but metal), but walking
into battle without clothing felt...inappropriate.
_____Miss Briette must have recognized Gally's hesitation. "Bryce, get Gally's
replacement clothes... An no snide comments, please."
_____Bryce wondering why he was being treated like a common errand boy... But
all of this this was for Gally. He went elsewhere in here and went over to a
plastic-wrapped parcel set atop one of the bulky machines.
_____Stepping between machines, feet going over electrical cables, he came
back here. In his hands was a plastic-sealed bundle. "We weren't able to put
your body EXACTLY as it was before, but at least our technology is good enough
to refurbish your synthetic-leather clothes. And we did the same for your
boots, because some parts were melted."
_____"You are doing much for me," said Gally as Bryce gave her the package.
She tore open the plastic wrapping and found her clothing: her sleeveless
black bodysuit and boots, along with the stubby cred-rod that the police chief
gave her. Everyone's eyes on her, Gally slid on the form-fitting one-piece
garment. And she buckled her boots... The cred-rod went into one of her
slit-pockets. They stared because they never saw a cyborg get dressed before.
_____Re-clothed and repaired, she now felt almost fully herself. But now
she had a task to complete. It was a bounty to claim... A claim on Dr. Nova's
head. She walked over to Bryce, looked up into the teenager's bespectacled
eyes. "Did you say, Metro Cop cars await outside?"
_____Bryce looked around. "Sure. They're outside this building. They've been
really nice by not barging in here and stare at us while we work, but they
REALLY wanted to be here when you were ready."
_____"So, time comes to do what is necessary," she said. "Again, thank you
all." And the small crowd parted as she went towards the door. She strode
in a hurry.
_____"Gally?" asked Bryce. Her right hand near the door handle, she stopped.
"When you're done with Grossberg, could you come back and...hang out for a
while? Well, because..." He was temporarily at a loss for words.
_____She shook her dark-haired head. "I may not return from the fight. If
the p-type cyborgs could amass and defeat me once, they may be able to defeat
me again." Then she opened the door and went into the hall.
_____The students and instructors hesitated, then quickly followed the fast-
walking cyborg-girl into the hall. Though they followed her, they kept their
distance. Gally continued until she found the stairs and she stepped up them.
Up and at the carpeted first floor, she followed signs to get out and out of
the double glass doors...
...
_____It was night-time here in the city, everything outside lit by florescent
lamps that shone down on the streets and lit the buildings' exteriors. Bryce
and the people of this institute followed Gally to the front steps, watched
her go down and over to the street.
_____Over there... Parked on this side of the street, several vehicles awaited
her, along with at least nine Metro Cops--standing around and waiting. They
clapped and cheered when they saw that the cyborg-girl was repaired and well.
That, and one of the Metro Cops jogged over to one of several vehicles here.
An expensive vehicle.
_____One of the waiting vehicles was a long blue limousine. Someone especially
important must be inside it because there were several Metro Cops standing around.
It was this vehicle that the jogging Metro Cop approached--to open the rear
door.
_____Amidst cheers for the cyborg-girl, the Metro Cop took off his helmet and
put it in one hand, opening one of the rear limousine doors. There he stood,
waiting for Gally to get in.
_____Feeling overwhelmed with attention, Gally went over to the vehicle. It
was dimly lit inside. And there, she again met Chief Thunderhorse--who had
been waiting for her until now.
...
_____In this limousine, she sat in a wide leather seat, feeling small. The
passenger compartment of this long car was like a small living room--beige
carpeting and long leather seats. A light shone from a small chandelier
attached to the limousine's low ceiling. The door closed to the city night,
and the police chief looked at the cyborg-girl.
_____Gally returned the stare put on her. Police Chief Thunderhorse was dressed
more businesslike than usual--a dark blue suit and tie to go with his pressed
pants and white shirt--dark shiny shoes matching his dark tie.
_____He gave a nod to her, then pressed a button. This signaled the driver.
And this vehicle began to move through the night streets.
_____"Well, then!" began Chief Thunderhorse, his square-jawed face regarding
the cyborg-girl seated across from himself. "We are going to the Network 66
building. Do you know what that means?"
_____"It means, you have discovered the corporation responsible for the attacks,"
she began. "And it means that there is no other alternative but direct
physical confrontation."
_____Chief Thunderhorse surprised Gally by laughing! "Ha ha ha...! Hmm...
No, child, there are always alternatives to fighting. There are always
alternatives. But, at times, etiquette requires that we choose particular
choices." He leaned forward and smiled. "At this time, etiquette requires
that we move to punish the criminals in the most shameful and public way
possible. This city shall be kept safe."
_____After that was said, there was but the low sound of this limousine moving
through the downtown city streets. Gally had nothing to say immediately. She
Looked to her right, looked through this tinted window to see outside. Quiet
and troubled downtown streets, no one was out there. Nobody wanted to be
outside tonight.
_____Chief Thunderhorse's question interrupted Gally's thoughts. "Gally, do
you believe you could ever say 'No' to a fight? Even if it were to be your
last?" A pause of silence. "Will you ever know peace?"
_____"WHAT?" went Gally, quickly turning her head to look at the police chief.
Her voice had almost been a shout. Thunderhorse gave a slight smile, unshaken
by the exclamation.
_____Suddenly embarrassed, Gally lowered her voice and bowed her head slightly.
"I give an apology for the outburst, Chief Thunderhorse. However, I cannot
apologize for the sentiment behind it. Peace is but a distant ideal, and
ideals are not all compatible with reality. The eternal halls of human
history are a testament that." She then leaned forward in a way similar to
Chief Thunderhorse. "Let me put a similar question to you. Will YOU ever
see peace in this city?"
_____"I may not," answered Chief Thunderhorse. "I may become impatient with
these silly mortals and leave them to do what they will to each other. After
several centuries, a being of my stature can only tolerate so much."
_____"Centuries?" asked Gally, slightly confused. She looked at Police Chief
Thunderhorse, wondering about what he just said. The man was either insane
or had somehow come across medical nanotechnology--giving him immortality.
But because this city did not even have cyborg technology until Dr. Nova came
along, insanity must be the answer.
_____"No, I am not insane--at least, not yet," said Chief Thunderhorse, answering
Gally's thoughts. "Just midway through patience, is all. Not even the gods
have infinite patience."
_____Gally looked into Chief Thunderhorse's dark eyes. She blinked... Something
was not right. She could feel that something was happening. Something
flashed in those eyes, something disturing. Gally then felt the air in this
limousine become charged with static electricity--felt the static electricity
through the hundreds of pressure-sensors embedded in the armor of her body.
_____Then she FELT Chief Thunderhorse's stare entering her mind, going into
her. A stare that came inside and filled her. But it did not feel invasive.
Not at all. It was an extremely healing feeling. It almost felt... NO!
_____She forced herself to look away, averting her face and eyes. If the
flesh of her face was real, her cheeks would have heated with embarrassment.
She felt warmth and comfort, like a hug, but many millions of times more
comforting. She never felt so much...love before. It was a relief when the
static current in the air went away, and things became normal again.
_____But this was...impossible... With just a stare, Gally felt a world of
caring. She denied that so much positive feeling could even exist in the
world. All that she ever knew, all the darkness and misery, it seemed to
temporarily vanish in the hold of Thunderhorse's stare. Almost gasping, Gally
asked, "What are you?"
_____"I will say this much," said Chief Thunderhorse, his voice seeming to be
as calm as eternity. "I could easily bring this foolishness to an end, all of
it. I could end the lives of Mr. Grossberg and Dr. Nova with but a simple
command. All of my kind can do so. I... No, we could also do much more!
But I have my reasons for allowing all of this to pass."
_____Still feeling somewhat flushed, she tried a few more words. But, she
found that her voice would not work. Moving her fingers to the collar of her
bodysuit, she could just look at Police Chief Thunderhorse. He was not just
a man. Chief Thunderhorse was...something else...
_____He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. There was a rushing
sound of wind. Gally felt a rush of slight dizziness, and she saw that there
was darkness outside the limousine windows. Deep darkness. As if this vehicle
was suddenly moving through a void.
_____And suddenly...things outside the limousine returned to normal. This
limousine stopped, and there were florescent streetlights out there--along
with flashing lights atop the parked cars of Metro Cops.
_____"Oh, would you look at that!" said Chief Thunderhorse. "I do believe
that we have--quite suddenly--arrived at our location!" He winked. "Don't
leave everyone waiting now!"
_____The limousine door at the right side opened. And out there was the wide
front entranceway to the Network 66 building, with Metro Cop cars parked all
around here. There were murmurs of radio communication out there among the cars,
along with sounds of car engines idling. Gally staggered out of the limousine,
her mind spinning with all that she found out about Chief Thunderhorse.
...
_____The series of events that followed had a jarring and unsettling rhythm--a
too-fast rhythm. First, Gally got out of the limousine to get in among the
police and their vehicles parked outside the entrance to the huge Network 66
building. Many Metro Cops were here, ready for battle. Some of them turned
to look.... And they all cheered! THE CYBORG-GIRL IS HERE! YEAH, YEAH!
WE'LL WIN! GROSSBERG CAN'T HAVE OUR CITY! Then the fighting began.
_____A horde of those metal-bodied bastards came RUSHING out of the Network 66
building. A wave of iron monsters, they came running out on their bare metal
feet--clawed metal hands out and ready... And they all had smiles on their
rubber faces.
_____Of course, the dozens of Metro Cops here opened fire! As Gally ran to
duck behind a vehicle, she saw and heard dozens and dozens of submachine guns
open fire--weapons loaded with ferro-cerramic rounds. All of those weapons
cracking at once made for a sound not unlike a massive and unnatural electrical
storm that echoed to the dark sky above.
_____For the Metro Cops, this was their night...for justice. For too many
weeks, those cyborg freaks have done TOO MUCH. Hiding in vans, crouching in
the sewers, ducking in abandoned buildings, those p-type cyborgs did too much.
Too many citizens and Metro Cops were killed by those things. Now, it was an
outright battle, and the p-type cyborgs were going to be destroyed! Destroyed
to the last! With the Battle Angel on their side, the Metro Cops felt that
they would surely win this night.
_____And the thunderously loud gunfire continued. When a Metro Cop's gun ran
out of ammo, the gun was simply reloaded. Plenty of ammo in the cars. Every
car here had hundreds of clips of the special anti-cyborg ammunition. Extra
guns, too. If a weapon jammed, there was always another. The Metro Cops were
extra well-equipped tonight because of extra revenues from corporations. The
result was a steady onslaught of deadly gunfire that tore through the night
air.
_____At first, it seemed as if the destruction would be all night. Waves of
those p-type cyborgs kept coming out--to be blasted to metal pieces by Metro
Cop gunfire. Their skeletal metal bodies kept piling up, sparking and twitching--
that darkened blood of theirs flowing onto the night-darkened city street.
_____Then their numbers thinned. No longer was there a massive rush of those
metal monsters from the building. They were now just coming out in a trickle.
A few at a time.
_____And then they stopped coming out of the building completely. But the
Metro Cops kept shooting, until.... "Cease fire!" shouted various police
sergeants above the cracking sound of the shooting. The gunfired stopped.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Enough Metro Cops heard it and stopped firing--
guns smoking.
_____Gally saw this as her chance! She leapt over a car, landing on her booted
feet--a dark-clad and dark-haired shadow with a pale face. And she dashed
towards the building, stepping over the fallen and broken bodies of the many
p-type cyborgs.
_____"Bravo Team! LET'S MOVE IN! FOLLOW THE BATTLE ANGEL!" shouted a muscle-bound and armor-clad police sergeant, climbing over a car hood with submachine gun in hand. Then, about twenty of the Metro Cops did the same--moving in. If the cyborg-girl was moving in, they'd help her.
...
_____Gally ran into the brightly lit wide lobby of the Network 66 building,
stepping over broken glass on the vast marble floor. Like the Network 23
building lobby, there were elevators at the far end of here. And, most likely,
the important floors were near the top. She heard the booted feet of many
Metro Cops coming up behind her...
_____Someone's walkie-talkie radio crackled. Standing in here, that Metro Cop
unhooked it from his belt. "Who the HELL is this?" he said. "Some kid prankster?
Oh, it's YOU. Heh-heh... Sorry about that, guy. Hey, Battle Angel! It's for
you!" This Metro Cop then walked over to give Gally the walkie-talkie.
_____Battle Angel? The Metro Cop was actually referring to her. She took the
proffered walkie-talkie. Bryce's voice came through the small speaker. "Hey
Gally! My academy friends and I are watching you and the Metro Cops on the
Network 66 security cameras; we've completely hacked the security systems in that building!
You're doing quite well. However, you have sixty floors to get up. And you'll
have about sixty problems waiting for you."
_____"Then, there is trouble on all floors," said Gally into the walkie-talkie."
And we have eliminated just one floor of resistance." Sixty floors full of
p-type cyborgs, and unknown dangers. The task seemed daunting.
_____Bryce's voice again came through the walkie-talkie speaker. "No, it's
not going to be that bad, really... Like I've said, we've hacked the Network
66 security systems--including the controls to the elevators and all the doors.
Watch this..."
_____D-D-DING! Several elevator chimes echoed throughout the lobby at once.
Gally looked to the far end--saw that several elevator doors remained open.
_____"Mr. Grossberg is in his 60th-floor office," came Bryce's voice through
the walkie-talkie. "A quick ride, and you'll be up there in a jiffy!"
_____Gally looked to some tall Metro Cops who stood close by, looking at her
expectantly through helmets with tilted-up visors. Some of them had worried
looks that seemed to say, Can you trust those elevators?
_____"Come on, Gally! Move!" said Bryce. "We see Mr. Grossberg right in
his sixtieth-floor office! He's sitting behind his desk, with a guy in a labcoat
standing by. Some guy eating something out of a white bowl. That Dr. Nova
guy. And about Mr. Grossberg... It's almost like he's waiting for you..." He
paused, letting the implications sink in. "By the way, we're getting some
STRANGE interference on some cameras too, so you'll probably want to be
careful."
____"Dr. Nova is there, so I will go!" proclaimed the cyborg-girl. She thrust
the walkie-talkie into the gloved hands of a nearby Metro Cop, then strode
towards the waiting elevators. She went into one of the elevators, and all of them
closed.
_____Some Metro Cops ran over to the elevators, also trying to use them. But
it was no use... They were sealed. A short Metro Cop then came into the lobby--
Police Corporal Kim. She saw the situation. "We'll take the stairs!" she said,
checking her weapon as she walked across the lobby, towards one of the doors
at the left side. Of course, more Metro Cops followed.
...
_____Gally rode this elevator... Quite an odd experience, actually. The
elevator walls were shiny and well-polished, a black marble floor beneath her
feet. Light music played on in here, one of any number of classical-sounding
pieces. As she had over seventy floors to travel, the music became more than
a bit annoying...
_____DING! Soon, but not soon enough, the elevator came to the sixtieth floor.
Gally came to a short and dimly lit hallway. The floor was made of red-streaked
black marble, and the walls were paneled with wood. She walked through the
short hall, her booted legs quiet, her solid fists clenched.
_____There was a tall wooden door in her way, but not for long! THUNK! A
quick kick from her right leg, and the door seemed to explode open. And she
walked into Mr. Grossberg's office.
_____A grand and vast office, lit by a chandelier... Like the hall, the floor
was made of red-streaked black marble. Wood panels at the left and right, with
a waist-high window at the end. In front of the window was a wooden desk.
_____Mr. Grossberg! He was there, sitting behind the desk, with Dr. Nova
standing at his left--eating flan. Mr. Grossberg looked perfectly sinister,
dressed in black suit and black gloves--his slicked-back hair seeming darker
than it was before.... "Well, well, well! Hello, Gally!" said that CEO.
"So you're the little cyborg-girl everyone's ranting about! Hmmph, like the
Kindly Old Man, your reputation is legendary."
_____Gally stopped. Standing fifteen meters from the desk. Her pretty face
took on a darkened look, large dark eyes glinting. She had four words to say.
"I want Nova's head."
_____Dr. Nova stopped chewing his beloved flan. Sweat broke out on his
forehead, a very frightened look on his face. Suddenly, he temporarily lost
his appetite...
_____Mr. Grossberg's eyebrows went up. "DO YOU NOW! But, the trouble is...he's
MINE. He's given me SO much power." He stood up, using a gloved hand to
grip Dr. Nova by a shoulder--making the doctor wince.
_____"Yes, this man has given me oh-so-much. He's given me a legion of
modified cyborgs, a way to DOMINATE the city! Then, he's given me a vision.
Yes, an amazing vision. It was vision enough to give me confidence in his
cyborg technology. Confidence enough for me to trust him with my life."
_____"Ha ha ha..." Bowl of flan in hand, Dr. Nova gave a nervous laugh. His
eyes were on the cyborg-girl who had a look in her eyes. It was a look thirsty
for pain-spilled blood. His blood.
_____"You heard the girl, Nova. She WANTS your head, but she can't have it,"
said the CEO. "Go wait in the corner and sit in the waiting chair. This
shouldn't take long. Go on..." Then, giving a not-so-gentle push, he got
Dr. Nova to move towards a seat in a distant corner of this grand office.
"As for YOU...! Ha ha! I can kick your ass!" Then he took off his black
gloves.
_____First, Gally saw Mr. Grossberg had hands of metal--modified metal hands.
In place of knuckles, there were diamond-spikes. But the metal did not end there.
He rolled up his sleeves, and Gally saw that the arms were metal too. So, Mr.
Grossberg must have had himself turned into a cyborg.
_____"Dr. Nova has assured me that this body is strong against most any of
your standard attacks," he said, flexing his metal forearms--his suit-covered
chest making slight machine sounds. "And, I have taken a bit of hypnosis-based
instruction in all styles of kickboxing, so I know how to use this body. I
am now the most skilled fighter in the city--in the WORLD. In fact, I'll
prove it by pummeling you. Then I'll use salvaged parts from your broken body
to become even stronger. En guarde, cyber-bitch!" Then he leapt over his
desk, starting the fight.
...
_____His first attack was fast and bold. There was a SWISH as his diamond-tipped
left fist cut through the air, a lunging swing. He was moving and striking
at the same time, his momentum into the blow. If Gally hadn't ducked, she
would have surely lost her head.
_____TH-THUNK! Still ducking, she struck Mr. Grossberg. Her two fists moved
machine-fast when she struck. The blows cut against Mr. Grossberg's solid
abdomen, cutting his business jacket and deeply scraping the metal beneath.
_____But Mr. Grossberg angled himself as so Gally's blows only sheared off
some metal, bouncing off. Then one of his fists had come around blur-fast,
KNOCKING Gally away!
_____Sliding back, Gally tried to land on her feet...but staggered and fell
onto her back. There was a bit of damage, and she felt somewhat shaken. But
it was not critical damage; the diamond-spiked knuckles didn't penetrate her
exoskeletal armor. Lucky.
_____She snapped to her feet, then RAN across the floor to get back at Mr.
Grossberg. It was time for offense. And she leapt, her right foot lashing
out...
____The sound that followed SHOOK the entire office, an explosion of sound.
It made the floor vibrate, and the office window vibrated. The chandelier
exploded from the sound, sending crystal shards all over the marble floor.
Even Dr. Nova had to cower to avoid being cut with the crystal.
_____Mr. Grossberg stood there. He had a large, smoking boot-print on his
solid chest where the business jacket had been burned away--revealing what
was beneath. His chest had dozens of little metal spikes on it. And the
spikes were capable of delivering a quick but massive plasma shock--like the
intense plasma shock he delivered to Gally.
_____Gally lie on her chest. She was stunned, her left leg twitching, the boot
there melted. She shook her head, blinked, then used her right leg and both
arms to try and get up. Too late...
_____"Come here, BRAT!" growled Mr. Grossberg, reaching down with his left
metal fist to grab the cyborg-girl by the neck. It was a painful hold! Gally
struggled, trying to use her armored fingers to get the fingers off the
vulnerable machinery of her throat.
_____He had her as so she faced him, holding her to chest height. Then, his
shoes crunching on the shattered chandelier crystal, he shook her once--like
a much-hated metal-bodied toy. "Consider my position... Here I was, poised
to OWN this city. The Metro Cops would've been beaten, and I would have been
Sovereign! But no-o-o...! YOU had to fall into the picture. Of course, I'm
glad that Dr. Nova's precious box brought him here, but I HATE how it brought
YOU here as well." He TIGHTENED his one-handed grip.
_____Gally gasped... She could hear slight cracking and snapping sounds as
some delicate parts of her neck machinery bent and broke. Her metal-ringed
throat was being bent shut. It was becoming a bit harder to breathe...
Desprate, she then kicked Mr. Grossberg with her still-working right leg.
_____With a GRUNT, Mr. Grossberg staggered, then THREW Gally clear across the
vast office... THUNK! The cyborg-girl HIT a wood-paneled wall at the right
side and bounced, landing on the floor. The wood paneling radiated cracks
from where she hit.
_____After that, the cyborg-girl couldn't get up. Was on her knees. Her head
spun with dizziness, and she held a hand to her damaged throat. She tried to
stand again...but couldn't. Mr. Grossberg would surely finish her off now.
_____So, this was how it was to end. Despite all that she had done, it was
all going to come to nothing. There was no one here to help her this time.
Failing here, in the office of Mr. Grossberg, there would be no Edison Carter
to find her and call friends. Now, she was surely going to die in failure.
_____"Heh...heh... heh..." The Network 66 executive chuckled to himself as he
stepped across the floor, shoes crunching on chandelier crystal shards. He
walked slowly, sure of his position. Then his steps became faster. Too fast
in fact.
_____Whoops...! Maybe Mr. Grossberg should have taken some more time to get
used to his metal body, the mass and balance of it. His right shoe slipped on
crystal shards. It wasn't just a little slip, but a really big and sloppy slip
of the foot.
_____"What the Hell...?" he grunted, trying to recover his balance. Arms and
leg moving, he tried to stop slipping. But that only worsened things. His
shoes still slip-slided some more, sliding on shattered chandelier crystal that
covered the black marble floor.
_____Seeing Mr. Grossberg now was like watching something from slapstick
comedy out of the old days. His arms and legs moved quite rapidly. The soles
of his shoes found no purchase, and he kept slip-sliding away... And his
slippery momentum carried him towards one side of the office, where one of his
swirling arms shattered the window.
_____There was now nothing between the inside of this office and the city night
outside. And the wind came whistling in from outside. Outside, a high-up
view of the city at night. This office is pretty far up...
_____"Shit," grunted Mr. Grossberg, a fated look on his face. He knew what
was going to happen next. Then he tumbled out of the window. He fell. It
was sixty floors to the ground...
...
_____Whoosh...! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Mr. Grossberg was falling head-first.
As he fell through the night sky, on the way to the ground, this CEO wasn't
afraid. No, the opposite: He was downright ANGRY. Angry, because what just
happened was just so unsurpassably fucked up. The night air whistled by his
ears and whipped over him as he continued his far fall to the artificially lit
streets below. He wasn't even going to smash into the plaza... No, he was
falling right to the street. Streetlamps and police cars with lights flashing...
_____For just a while, he was positioned to be on top of everyone in the city.
Damn it, he was just so close. He would have frightened and beaten the city
into submission, taking it ALL. No God-damned economic maneuvering would
have been required; it was simple conquest. But that little metal-bodied bitch
had to come along and really fuck his plans! He HATED being fucked.
_____But it was over. It was over in the most stupid way possible. Falling
to the street below, because he SLIPPED. Damn, he couldn't wait for all of
this to be over with. He wanted to hurry up and hit the ground!
_____He looked up...which was down because he was still falling head-first.
Falling faster now. He could see Metro Cops and police cars looking up, down
there on the street. Then he spread his arms and gave a great bellowing laugh.
If he was going to go out, he was going to go out with a bang!
_____AAH, hah, hah, hah, hah...CRASH! He hit. It sounded like the end of the
world. Then everything went into a twisted, sickening darkness....
...
_____When the body smashed into the street, all the Metro Cops out here flinched
at once. First, they thought it was a bomb. But a bomb would have EXPLODED,
you know? That thing didn't blow up.
_____"What the HELL was that!" exclaimed one of the Metro Cops standing in the
Network 66 plaza, turning to look to the street. His comrades turned to look,
and he what the smashing was about. And he saw the mess.
_____Metro Cops gathered around the place in the street just beyond the plaza,
getting closer to the amazing sight. They've seen bodies after high falls,
but they've NEVER seen a fallen body do THAT before. Normally, a body is
smashed and like...MUTILATED after a high fall--really broken. But this was
a freaky exception.
_____This time, it was the STREET that was broken. The body in a business
suit fell head-first INTO the hard asphalt, to the waist. And the legs were
dangling outside... Overall, it looked as if the body had dived half-way INTO
the pavement itself.
_____"Looks like some kind of God-damned champion diver!" commented a Metro
Cop. Others agreed. How the Hell could anybody do that?
_____Then the legs began twitching, legs in dark slacks. "HOLY SHIT!" exclaimed
somebody when the legs began sparking a bit. Some Metro Cops backed off, not
knowing what the HELL to expect next. A shoe flew off and smacked big Officer
Carolla in the head--the shoe bouncing off of his dark helmet.
_____The response was instantaneous: NOBODY fuckin' hurls a shoe at Officer
Carolla! Not even a corpse! That big Metro Cop ran up to the twitching body
upturned in the street and opened fire--shooting downward and into the body.
There was all sorts of noise and fury as the ferro-ceramic bullets tore into
the corpse. Some of the bullets ricocheted back and thumped into his body
armor, but he didn't care!
_____"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" shouted somebody. Officer Carolla stopped firing, gun
smoking... He looked at his handwork. The bullets had shredded the dead man's
business clothes--going right into the body beneath... Well, would you look
at that!
_____No wonder the body went INTO the street. The body was metal! Beneath
the expensive clothing, there was metal. Looks like another one of those
cyborg-things that caused so much trouble.
_____Another Metro Cop walked close to Officer Carolla. A female officer.
"Hmmph," she went. "You wasted your ammo on just another p-type cyborg, one
that was as good as dead anyway."
_____Officer Carolla KICKED the ruined hips of the business-suited cyborg
embedded in the street. Indeed, seemed like just another one of those p-type
cyborgs--except that it wore a business suit. Pretty expensive suit, by the
looks of things. "Yeah, I guess I did," he conceded. "The Battle Angel must've
killed this one before throwing it out the window. With her around, any other
cyborg freak is fuckin' doomed."
...
_____Back up in the sixtieth floor office, Gally struggled to stand. Her left
leg was still shut down completely--total malfunction. Her abdomen felt hot
and odd, but it was not too bad. The plasma shock did not damage her permanently.
But there were slight grating sounds coming from her neck whenever she moved her
head. Her head... The blow from hitting the wall made her a bit dazed.
_____She sat up, managing to sit propped up against the wood-paneled wall she
had been hurled against. And her attention was held to the scene unfolding
before her in this vast and theater-sized office. A scene involving HIM.
_____HE was here, the Kindly Old Man HIMSELF--sitting behind Mr. Grossberg's
desk. And his wheezing was audible, above the sound of the wind blowing
through the huge broken window. Stepping carefully on the floor, shoes crunching
on yet more shattered crystal, Dr. Nova came close...to stand by damaged Gally.
But he was sure to stand outside of her reach.
_____"Bounty hunter, do you know who HE is?" said Dr. Nova, his voice quivering
with fear. "Do you know HIS role in all of this? Over all of this? And do
you KNOW what we are to HIM?"
_____Her neck making slight grating noises, Gally turned her head to look up at
Dr. Nova. She knew that, given her condition, Dr. Nova could easily escape by
running away--with her only able to limp after him. So she sat there, glaring.
_____Dr. Nova looked down at the damaged cyborg-girl. Said, "I have been
studying THE box and all of its karmic properties. As its shape kept changing,
it revealed yet more of its nature. This provided more data on its origins.
Little did I know that my data also led to implications regarding HIM."
_____As if in response to Dr. Nova's talk, the Kindly Old Man's wheezing became
more audible. "Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h..." HE went, leaning back in
that chair behind the desk. HE even lifted his slacks-covered legs to prop
his feet up on the desk. All the while, HE did not look at Dr. Nova or Gally.
_____The wheezing was an uncomfortable sound. Gally wondered if the Kindly
Old Man had a kind of severe respiratory illness. The illness should have
killed HIM by now.
_____"How foolish it was of me to assume that the Kindly Old Man was merely an
anomaly, an indirect result of using THE box to snag with the fabric of our
reality," continued Dr. Nova, looking towards the being seated behind the
desk over there. "But, instead, the opposite is true. The Kindly Old Man owns
THE box. It belonged to HIM all along. And in truth, all of this city belongs
to..." CRUNCH! "AR-R-RGH!" Giving a loud grunt of pain, Dr. Nova went down,
his left shin bloody and shattered.
down with her.
_____He fell onto his back, whimpering. And he made no move to get up, to
even look at his injury. Good thing, because that limb was bent in a way that
no leg should be. Blood soaked the cloth beneath the knee.
_____Still damaged, Gally was not have been able to stand. But she was able
to put Dr. Nova in a similar position. As he talked, she had slid over and
struck the scientist in the left leg--beneath the knee. Now he had to be
_____A dark grin on her face, Gally then used her arms and right leg to get
over to where Dr. Nova lie. She managed to get close enough to sit atop him,
sitting on his hip--holding him still with her solid thighs. Yes, she was
astride the crippled, whimpering scientist. Bounty or no bounty, she wanted
to do this for a very long time.
_____Her left hand went to his jaw--metal on flesh. She whispered something,
because whispering was all she could do with her damaged throat. "You have...
made for...so much...trouble. Trouble and toil." Dr. Nova muttered something
about his broken leg, his lips moving. "But now comes...satisfaction. Slow...
and...wonderful..."
_____Atop a helpless Dr. Nova, Gally did not know where to begin. She wondered
if she should start from the face? Maybe, tug off his nose? Or, pop his eyes
like grapes? No, she wanted to see his eyes as she DID him. His pain-filled,
frightened eyes, looking up at her.
_____So she pinched his eyelids...and tore them off. They came off quite easily.
Made slight wet tearing sounds. Dr. Nova continued to whimper.
_____"Hah-h-h..." wheezed the Kindly Old Man, looking at what was happening
over here. "Hah-h-h... Hah-h-h... Quite amusing for amusement. Is this
revenge? Or is something else waiting?"
_____The question instantly put Gally out of the mood! Angered, she could but
give a harsh whisper. "Do...be...silent. He is...mine." In response, Dr. Nova's
whimpering went up a notch.
_____"Hah-h-h... Who is yours? Do you own anything here? What is yours
when you sleep?" asked the Kindly Old Man. Then he looked to the desk, and
THE box slowly faded into view. This time, THE box was brown.
_____Gally was still atop the bloody-eyed Dr. Nova; she was not facing the
Kindly Old Man at all. But she had the impression that something had just
happened. Something very important.
_____"HAH-H-H...! We own NOTHING when we sleep!" said the Kindly Old Man.
"We just BORROW what there is. Nothing is ours forever!" Then he brought his
feet off of the desk and sat forward, reaching for THE box. "Hah-h-h... As
we DREAM!"
_____Gally gasped. What did the Kindly Old Man mean by that? She had an idea
as to what the Kindly Old Man was saying, but she did not fully understand.
And there was something in the way he said it.
_____Then THE box was opened--THE box. Darkness closed over everything here.
Gally felt herself falling through that infinite blackness again. Maybe she
should have let Dr. Nova finish what he was saying. Whatever the case, she
would soon find out what this all meant. The truth behind everything.