Black Feather: Episode VII
"Drifting"
Global Cortex Surface Base, Branch GC-05
5:31 p.m., 03/06
(Brook Rustic Bowling Alley)
"SCHEE----RIKE!!! Malirant scored another whole-in-one.
Qastor gazed blankly at the polished cement walls, leaning forward on his seat, his right fist on his right cheek. Malirant looked back at Qastor and saw his blank expression. He shook his sturdy head and sighed. He strolled toward his friend and warmly patted him on the back.
"You gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine..."
"What happened to *Gaidoz?"
"Don't ask me right now. I don't feel like talking... Please..."
Malirant opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it instead. He signed out at the registrar and gave a slight jiggle on his keys. That meant he'd wait in the car. How long he'll wait? Right now, as long as Qastor wants...
He walked past Qastor, patted him on the shoulder, headed into the parking lot, and got into the truck. Quiet instrumental music gave him space to think while he tapped to the rhythm.
Qastor signed out.
_____________________________
(Meanwhile, in Global Cortex Postal Area GCPA-365/B1)
Dear Mother and Father,
"First off, let me tell that I'm perfectly happy where I am. Living on the surface is completely different from Layered. I'm working as a sales representative for Mirage. I receive a good salary. It's good to be independent in such a time as this. I feel empowered by how far I've gone. Anyway, I just want to let you know that I'm fine and am thriving on the surface."
Your Daughter, Iris
Iris held the envelope hesitantly, standing dreamily in the postal area. It was wrong to lie to her parents, but they will severely disapprove of her job of being an elite mercenary. Drops of water pelted at the sidewalks and the crisp aroma of evening rain filled the air. She slid the neat envelope into the drop-off box.
Iris turned to the wandering rain. A timorous moon peeks from a gap in the dense smoke-like clouds, as if it were weeping rain.
She stared at the night's eye, seeking comfort in its moonlight stare. "I wonder if 'he' is looking at the same moon..."
Iris strolled back to her quarters alone; the hallways were empty and void of sound.
Quietly, the doors closed. Iris leaned against it, trying to forget what had happened today. The pilots in the MTs she destroyed had lives too. Families, friends, and memories. But, the MTs themselves made her oblivious to that fact. ACs and MTs are really just masks that turns an innocent person into a murderer without them knowing it. At that moment, she considered quitting her job.
"But if I do that, than I'll have no where else to go, no one else to turn to. My parents expect a lot from me and if I go home now... I'll lose everything if I quit. Even Qastor..."
The moon wept, waiting for the sun's comfort.
_____________________________
*Gaidoz: He was found unconscious in a building that the dying pilot pointed to. After being rescued by Qastor and Iris, he was taken to Global Cortex Infirmary GCIF-N/03. During that whole time, he was unconscious. The examiner claims that Gaidoz suffered from major bruises and a few fractures. He was 42 years old.
"Drifting"
Global Cortex Surface Base, Branch GC-05
5:31 p.m., 03/06
(Brook Rustic Bowling Alley)
"SCHEE----RIKE!!! Malirant scored another whole-in-one.
Qastor gazed blankly at the polished cement walls, leaning forward on his seat, his right fist on his right cheek. Malirant looked back at Qastor and saw his blank expression. He shook his sturdy head and sighed. He strolled toward his friend and warmly patted him on the back.
"You gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine..."
"What happened to *Gaidoz?"
"Don't ask me right now. I don't feel like talking... Please..."
Malirant opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it instead. He signed out at the registrar and gave a slight jiggle on his keys. That meant he'd wait in the car. How long he'll wait? Right now, as long as Qastor wants...
He walked past Qastor, patted him on the shoulder, headed into the parking lot, and got into the truck. Quiet instrumental music gave him space to think while he tapped to the rhythm.
Qastor signed out.
_____________________________
(Meanwhile, in Global Cortex Postal Area GCPA-365/B1)
Dear Mother and Father,
"First off, let me tell that I'm perfectly happy where I am. Living on the surface is completely different from Layered. I'm working as a sales representative for Mirage. I receive a good salary. It's good to be independent in such a time as this. I feel empowered by how far I've gone. Anyway, I just want to let you know that I'm fine and am thriving on the surface."
Your Daughter, Iris
Iris held the envelope hesitantly, standing dreamily in the postal area. It was wrong to lie to her parents, but they will severely disapprove of her job of being an elite mercenary. Drops of water pelted at the sidewalks and the crisp aroma of evening rain filled the air. She slid the neat envelope into the drop-off box.
Iris turned to the wandering rain. A timorous moon peeks from a gap in the dense smoke-like clouds, as if it were weeping rain.
She stared at the night's eye, seeking comfort in its moonlight stare. "I wonder if 'he' is looking at the same moon..."
Iris strolled back to her quarters alone; the hallways were empty and void of sound.
Quietly, the doors closed. Iris leaned against it, trying to forget what had happened today. The pilots in the MTs she destroyed had lives too. Families, friends, and memories. But, the MTs themselves made her oblivious to that fact. ACs and MTs are really just masks that turns an innocent person into a murderer without them knowing it. At that moment, she considered quitting her job.
"But if I do that, than I'll have no where else to go, no one else to turn to. My parents expect a lot from me and if I go home now... I'll lose everything if I quit. Even Qastor..."
The moon wept, waiting for the sun's comfort.
_____________________________
*Gaidoz: He was found unconscious in a building that the dying pilot pointed to. After being rescued by Qastor and Iris, he was taken to Global Cortex Infirmary GCIF-N/03. During that whole time, he was unconscious. The examiner claims that Gaidoz suffered from major bruises and a few fractures. He was 42 years old.