"Crys, have you heard of Eutopia?" Jeison asked me, his gaze out the
window. I sat in his 'office', a chaos of papers, diagrams, charts. I
suppose that saying I 'sat' in his office wasn't the write word for it
either, because really I had just perched myself on the tallest stack of
papers. His office had no chairs, because it rarely had anybody in it.
"The city full of full-fleshes?" I asked curiously, my interest
captured. Sure I had heard of it. It was a walled city. A sort of Zalem
that lied on the ground instead of floating on the sky. Only 'full-fleshes'
(that is, a person that is all human instead of partially cyborg) could
earn the right to citizenship. They left the trade circuit open to keep
their city thriving, but there were no cyborgs allowed other than that. The
citizens of Eutopia could come and go freely, however.
"That's the one. Your next delivery assignment is going to be to
Eutopia."
"Eutopia?! But that's...at least a day's walk away!" I squeaked. I
had never spent the night outside of the clinic. That is to say that of all
the memories I had access to I couldn't remember one. But that's a
different story. The thought of being on my own for the night scared me
like it scares any child leaving home.
"You're right, it is. But I think that you'll be able to handle it."
He smiled at my frightened face, ensuring me that he believed in me, and I
couldn't help but return it.
"What is it I'm going to be delivering?" I asked, trying to sound as
brave as I possibly could, while rummaging about in my pouches to ensure I
had adaquate room to store this new part.
"Ah, what you'll be delivering won't be able to fit into any of your
bags, Crys. This is something much larger"
What could possibly be larger than a part?
*******
The plains outside of Scrap Iron City are a desolate landscape. Just a bunch of dust and rocks. I had only been there once before this trip, and I couldn't say that I was ecstatic to be returning. My battered old tan cloak shrouded me from the harsh wins as I trudged along, my black-blue hair whipping madly about my face. Occasionally I would glance down at the 'delivery' which trudged along beside me. "Who knew they made cyborg DOGS, too" I said aloud to myself. The lonely pup had lifted its ears and wagged its iron tail as I had entered its pen that morning to begin its journey home. Apparently cyborgs themselves weren't allowed in Eutopia, but there was no guideline for pets. This poor little guy had once been a beautiful golden lab, but had sustained an almost fatal attack by fellow dogs in his home city. Now his back legs and the left side of his face had been replaced by shiny new steel. He seemed all the more cheerful for it, however, for he romped about me as I trudged along, grumbling about yet another sand storm. Before I knew it I had become attached to the little guy. Vermathrax was his name. I thought it a strange name, but I couldn't say anything considering the oddity of my name. I made a mental note to ask Jeison why he had come to decide my name would be 'Crysania'. "Looks like we're going to have to set up camp little guy" I cooed affectionately at the romping puppy who lifted both his real and his glass eye to regard me curiously. I spread out my portable sleeping pallet on the flattest piece of ground I could find, then set out the small, folded up blanket I had brought for the puppy. He gave it one glance, then trotted back over and flopped himself down on the foot of my pallet. "Hey!" I cried in annoyance, wriggling my feet in a vain attempt to move him "This is MY sleeping place, yours is over THERE!" I pointed my index finger as if it would have any affect on him. Undaunted, the pup simply curled up, laying his head on his tail and closing his eyes. It made such a cute picture that I found myself without the heart to move him, and soon I found myself dozing off into blissful sleep
*****
Rampant barking drifted into the thick darkness of sleep, followed by a pained yelp. Within an instant I was awake, and bolted upright to see what was going on. At first all I could see was the thick darkness of the plains, before my night vision came on. Anger coiled in me and I sprang up to face the band of plain thieves that had sprung upon my wounded pup. "Oh, look what we have here boys, a little girl too" The gruff voice was followed by sinister laughter which seemed to float to me from some distant place. Ignoring this supposed ringleader, I turned to his accomplice, who held my cyber pup in his arms. "Put him down" I said in a voice I hardly recognized as my own, which had a bite to it that startled me, and even caused the thief to lose the cocky expression on his face. After a moment's silence there was more laughter, and the leader of the group advanced on me. I knew I should have been scared, but I wasn't. A feeling I hadn't experienced before began to coil inside me, bubbling through my body like a plague. The changes I suddenly went through frightened me, but I seemed powerless to stop me. There was a flash of steel. The leader had pulled a knife and was lunging at me. He seemed to be moving in slow motion. I watched as his mouth slowly opened in a battle cry that rang in my ears with an echo not of this world. The hand holding the knife came up, up, above his head, preparing itself to take the plunge into my body. Apparently he had no clue I was a cyborg. His eyed seemed to pop from his head. He was headed right for me, too. I had to wonder how he could see me this well. He didn't seem to be a cyborg himself, but appearances could be decieving. He was drawing nearer. My sense of smell was over powered by his stench, which combined sweat, dirt, and a cologne I couldn't begin to guess why any human being would wear. "Move!! Move or he's going to hit you!" The frightened side of me cried from somewhere far away. And then suddenly, fluidly, I WAS moving. The problem was that I was moving TOWARDS him, and not away. "What are you doing?! Get away! You're out numbered! They'll kill you!" the voice came again, but it went unheeded. My fist raised, pulled back. Tension built. I watched in detached fascination as the expresion of the thief changed, from one of blood lust to one of confusion. Briefly I wondered why the whole world seemed to be moving so slowly. I could hear every heart beat around me, including the frantic beating of the pup still painfully clutched in the arms of my battle partners buddy. Tension released. My fist shot forward,aimed straight for the face of the thief. He didn't have time to react, to scream. Before he knew it, steel smashed into his soft-boned head, shattering instantly. I felt the bite of steel as it tore through my shoulder, causing the small amount of pain that a cyborg experienced (the pain was a mechanism built into cyborgs), but it barely affected me. My fist kept going, spurred on by the incredible force that it had built. I felt blood pour over my hand like a warm river, heard the momentary scream of fatal pain from my victim. Suddenly the world ran in normal time again. The rush of the change made me dizzy, and I almost fell forward onto my victim, but somehow managed to keep my balance and stay up. I watched in horrified fascination as the body of the thief slumped to the ground. I raised my hand to examine its new coating of blood, brains, and bits of bone. I began to feel whoozy. I had always been squeemish of blood, and had never in my life come in contact with this much at one time. Let alone the fact that it now coated my hand and parts of my arm like a liquid glove. The last image I remember was the remainder of the gang of thieves, now minus a leader, high tailing it across the desert to their cycles. I must have been scowling at them, judging by the way they backed up. My hand went to my shoulder to ensure no pipes had been severed and were leaking. Then my eyes rolled up into my head, and my unconscious body slid to the desert floor. I briefly wondered what had happened to Vermathrax.
*******
The plains outside of Scrap Iron City are a desolate landscape. Just a bunch of dust and rocks. I had only been there once before this trip, and I couldn't say that I was ecstatic to be returning. My battered old tan cloak shrouded me from the harsh wins as I trudged along, my black-blue hair whipping madly about my face. Occasionally I would glance down at the 'delivery' which trudged along beside me. "Who knew they made cyborg DOGS, too" I said aloud to myself. The lonely pup had lifted its ears and wagged its iron tail as I had entered its pen that morning to begin its journey home. Apparently cyborgs themselves weren't allowed in Eutopia, but there was no guideline for pets. This poor little guy had once been a beautiful golden lab, but had sustained an almost fatal attack by fellow dogs in his home city. Now his back legs and the left side of his face had been replaced by shiny new steel. He seemed all the more cheerful for it, however, for he romped about me as I trudged along, grumbling about yet another sand storm. Before I knew it I had become attached to the little guy. Vermathrax was his name. I thought it a strange name, but I couldn't say anything considering the oddity of my name. I made a mental note to ask Jeison why he had come to decide my name would be 'Crysania'. "Looks like we're going to have to set up camp little guy" I cooed affectionately at the romping puppy who lifted both his real and his glass eye to regard me curiously. I spread out my portable sleeping pallet on the flattest piece of ground I could find, then set out the small, folded up blanket I had brought for the puppy. He gave it one glance, then trotted back over and flopped himself down on the foot of my pallet. "Hey!" I cried in annoyance, wriggling my feet in a vain attempt to move him "This is MY sleeping place, yours is over THERE!" I pointed my index finger as if it would have any affect on him. Undaunted, the pup simply curled up, laying his head on his tail and closing his eyes. It made such a cute picture that I found myself without the heart to move him, and soon I found myself dozing off into blissful sleep
*****
Rampant barking drifted into the thick darkness of sleep, followed by a pained yelp. Within an instant I was awake, and bolted upright to see what was going on. At first all I could see was the thick darkness of the plains, before my night vision came on. Anger coiled in me and I sprang up to face the band of plain thieves that had sprung upon my wounded pup. "Oh, look what we have here boys, a little girl too" The gruff voice was followed by sinister laughter which seemed to float to me from some distant place. Ignoring this supposed ringleader, I turned to his accomplice, who held my cyber pup in his arms. "Put him down" I said in a voice I hardly recognized as my own, which had a bite to it that startled me, and even caused the thief to lose the cocky expression on his face. After a moment's silence there was more laughter, and the leader of the group advanced on me. I knew I should have been scared, but I wasn't. A feeling I hadn't experienced before began to coil inside me, bubbling through my body like a plague. The changes I suddenly went through frightened me, but I seemed powerless to stop me. There was a flash of steel. The leader had pulled a knife and was lunging at me. He seemed to be moving in slow motion. I watched as his mouth slowly opened in a battle cry that rang in my ears with an echo not of this world. The hand holding the knife came up, up, above his head, preparing itself to take the plunge into my body. Apparently he had no clue I was a cyborg. His eyed seemed to pop from his head. He was headed right for me, too. I had to wonder how he could see me this well. He didn't seem to be a cyborg himself, but appearances could be decieving. He was drawing nearer. My sense of smell was over powered by his stench, which combined sweat, dirt, and a cologne I couldn't begin to guess why any human being would wear. "Move!! Move or he's going to hit you!" The frightened side of me cried from somewhere far away. And then suddenly, fluidly, I WAS moving. The problem was that I was moving TOWARDS him, and not away. "What are you doing?! Get away! You're out numbered! They'll kill you!" the voice came again, but it went unheeded. My fist raised, pulled back. Tension built. I watched in detached fascination as the expresion of the thief changed, from one of blood lust to one of confusion. Briefly I wondered why the whole world seemed to be moving so slowly. I could hear every heart beat around me, including the frantic beating of the pup still painfully clutched in the arms of my battle partners buddy. Tension released. My fist shot forward,aimed straight for the face of the thief. He didn't have time to react, to scream. Before he knew it, steel smashed into his soft-boned head, shattering instantly. I felt the bite of steel as it tore through my shoulder, causing the small amount of pain that a cyborg experienced (the pain was a mechanism built into cyborgs), but it barely affected me. My fist kept going, spurred on by the incredible force that it had built. I felt blood pour over my hand like a warm river, heard the momentary scream of fatal pain from my victim. Suddenly the world ran in normal time again. The rush of the change made me dizzy, and I almost fell forward onto my victim, but somehow managed to keep my balance and stay up. I watched in horrified fascination as the body of the thief slumped to the ground. I raised my hand to examine its new coating of blood, brains, and bits of bone. I began to feel whoozy. I had always been squeemish of blood, and had never in my life come in contact with this much at one time. Let alone the fact that it now coated my hand and parts of my arm like a liquid glove. The last image I remember was the remainder of the gang of thieves, now minus a leader, high tailing it across the desert to their cycles. I must have been scowling at them, judging by the way they backed up. My hand went to my shoulder to ensure no pipes had been severed and were leaking. Then my eyes rolled up into my head, and my unconscious body slid to the desert floor. I briefly wondered what had happened to Vermathrax.