At this point, the Nanopak's ability to manufacture gems has reached
its limit and the Fixer needs additional revenue to setup a
development environment and furnish it with additional gear. Since
there are planetary systems in the Trade Worlds that are relative
newcomers to technology, the Fixer and Loptr have scouted out one
that is rich enough, but easily accessible via robbery. In addition
is the introduction to other remarkable technology available in the
galaxy, namely micro-robotics and braintaping. Micro robotics are
tiny mite-sized robots built and programmed to do various functions
like exploration and digging, all virtually invisibly. They can also
be used to subvert lesser electronic and computer systems.
Braintaping is the process of recording a sentient's brain on
computer and taking a DNA sample. A sophisticated cyberdoc can then
force-grow a clone, accelerate its growth and restore an individual
to the point of the original tape -- a form of tech-resurrection.
However, it's dangerous and not perfect.
TWO WEEKS LATER, SHYME SYSTEM (TRADE WORLDS), 14:19 HRS, YEAR 683
"Try these," Emerson handed Marvin Felum a small plastic bottle of
pills.
"What are they?"
"Psi booster. You, uh, weren't functioning to capacity last trip.
That's why you died," explained Emerson.
"I died?"
Emerson related for the fourth time that, yes Marvin Felum had been
killed and the person he was addressing at the moment, was a clone,
his mind reinstated via a braintape, an electro-recorded print of a
living being.
"Yes, horribly," continued Emerson, relishing the moment. "Take one
three minutes before you enter the bank," he looked up to the front
of the groundcar where Garm and Loptr were, "You two ready?"
"Yeah, we'll wait for you to come out." Garm backed his partner's
words up with a growl. The car moved down the street, past the Grove
National Bank before pausing to let Felum out near a fast-food
restaurant.
The car went around the block again, this time stopping in front of
the bank.
"I hope those microbots did the trick," Loptr said to the Fixer,
"For your sake."
Norbert Emerson looked down at his hand computer and punched the
SEND button, waited a short while, then stepped out of the car.
Covered in his armored suit, he drew looks and stares of the
passers-by in front of the bank. He strode up to the sliding door
which sprang open. Normally the building's sensors would have
detected the particle-beam pistol the man held and blocked his way,
but the microbots were indeed working.
Emerson went inside.
* * * * *
"You got the time?" Marvin Felum asked the bank security guard.
There were a half-dozen armed security men in the bank. Only one was
on the floor currently, the others were inside the security office,
just off the foyer, which was accessed by a steel security door.
There was an observation chamber, covered up by two-way glass which
allowed a pair of guards to watch bank business. This went on every
day, waiting and watching for something to happen.
A flush feeling came over the floorguard as he looked at his watch.
His knees buckled and the man dropped to the floor in pain.
"Heh!" Felum snickered and smiled at the ease in which his
Bio-Manipulation power worked. The woman standing opposite him gave
him a strange look. He immediately changed to a serious expression.
Felum bent over the writhing guard, before informing the woman, "I
think he's having a heart attack."
* * * * *
Inside the security chamber, two guards sat staring out. Grove
National was a decent-sized bank, it's lobby was a good sixty feet
across and some seventy feet deep, supporting six teller windows, a
trio of offices, a small employee room and of course the vault.
Nearby was a security elevator.
There was a commotion on the floor as several of the customers had
gathered around someone laying on the ground.
"It's Sid. He's down!" called the guard. He jumped up and grabbed
the door handle, but it held fast. He pulled on it again. "Damn,
unlock it!"
The other guard hustled over to the computer terminal, but the
readout for the door showed green, which meant unlocked.
"It's open," he yelled. The guard at the door tried again but still
the door wouldn't yield. The guard punched the lock button, toggling
it on and off, but the door refused to open.
"Get out of the way!" called the guard, running over. The pair
repeated the process until one of the other guards came out of the
back room.
* * * * *
Norbert Emerson's helmeted, armored frame got the same reaction
inside the bank as it had outside. After pausing briefly to drop a
smoke grenade at the front door, he'd entered the lobby. By this
time Marvin Felum had donned a ski mask, disarmed the unconscious
guard and raced over to join him.
"Ladies and Gentleman!" shouted Emerson, waving his weapon. "Please
remain calm. I'm afraid I will require your indulgence for a bit."
There were screams and cries. Behind the bullet-proof plastic wall
that protected the bank employees, managers and tellers scrambled to
hit the alarms and close the vault. Of course there was nothing to
worry about as the microbots would prevent that.
"Those tablets worked great, boss," said Felum, pulling the laser
torch from Emerson's belt. He walked over to the security door,
donned his goggles and calmly welded the door shut. It was only a
matter of time before the security guards used the manual override
hatch on the door and escaped. Now it wouldn't matter.
"Please move aside!" yelled Emerson, herding the customers towards
the building front. He aimed his particle-beam pistol. The tellers
behind the counter scrambled for cover. There were more screams as
the robber blasted the hardened-plastic barrier into slag. He tossed
a pair of large bags through the gaping hole in the barrier and over
the counter. "Fill those please, large denomination bills only!"
Felum moved over to him, extracted two more smoke grenades and
heaved them into the foyer. The smoke near the front door was
already creeping into the bank's main lobby. This was done to
prevent outsiders from looking in. The police would inevitably
arrive, as the security team had a radio system that was separate
from the computer-controlled phone and alarm systems. No matter, the
microbots had locked the front door and it was constructed of the
same unbreakable plastic as the teller's barrier. The police had no
particle weapons, though they undoubtedly had demolitions. But they
couldn't use them without endangering the customers.
Felum had removed the gas masks from his boss' backpack and the pair
donned them. As the lobby filled with smoke, a pair of coughing
tellers slung the bulging bags over the counter and each man grabbed
one.
Emerson hit the REQUEST key on his hand computer and the microbots
obediently responded, sending the security elevator down to meet
them. The pair moved over to the elevator door.
By now the thick smoke made it impossible to see more than a few
feet away. The elevator chimed when it arrived and those inside the
bank could hear the door open, the elevator rise, then the doors
close.
to be continued...
its limit and the Fixer needs additional revenue to setup a
development environment and furnish it with additional gear. Since
there are planetary systems in the Trade Worlds that are relative
newcomers to technology, the Fixer and Loptr have scouted out one
that is rich enough, but easily accessible via robbery. In addition
is the introduction to other remarkable technology available in the
galaxy, namely micro-robotics and braintaping. Micro robotics are
tiny mite-sized robots built and programmed to do various functions
like exploration and digging, all virtually invisibly. They can also
be used to subvert lesser electronic and computer systems.
Braintaping is the process of recording a sentient's brain on
computer and taking a DNA sample. A sophisticated cyberdoc can then
force-grow a clone, accelerate its growth and restore an individual
to the point of the original tape -- a form of tech-resurrection.
However, it's dangerous and not perfect.
TWO WEEKS LATER, SHYME SYSTEM (TRADE WORLDS), 14:19 HRS, YEAR 683
"Try these," Emerson handed Marvin Felum a small plastic bottle of
pills.
"What are they?"
"Psi booster. You, uh, weren't functioning to capacity last trip.
That's why you died," explained Emerson.
"I died?"
Emerson related for the fourth time that, yes Marvin Felum had been
killed and the person he was addressing at the moment, was a clone,
his mind reinstated via a braintape, an electro-recorded print of a
living being.
"Yes, horribly," continued Emerson, relishing the moment. "Take one
three minutes before you enter the bank," he looked up to the front
of the groundcar where Garm and Loptr were, "You two ready?"
"Yeah, we'll wait for you to come out." Garm backed his partner's
words up with a growl. The car moved down the street, past the Grove
National Bank before pausing to let Felum out near a fast-food
restaurant.
The car went around the block again, this time stopping in front of
the bank.
"I hope those microbots did the trick," Loptr said to the Fixer,
"For your sake."
Norbert Emerson looked down at his hand computer and punched the
SEND button, waited a short while, then stepped out of the car.
Covered in his armored suit, he drew looks and stares of the
passers-by in front of the bank. He strode up to the sliding door
which sprang open. Normally the building's sensors would have
detected the particle-beam pistol the man held and blocked his way,
but the microbots were indeed working.
Emerson went inside.
* * * * *
"You got the time?" Marvin Felum asked the bank security guard.
There were a half-dozen armed security men in the bank. Only one was
on the floor currently, the others were inside the security office,
just off the foyer, which was accessed by a steel security door.
There was an observation chamber, covered up by two-way glass which
allowed a pair of guards to watch bank business. This went on every
day, waiting and watching for something to happen.
A flush feeling came over the floorguard as he looked at his watch.
His knees buckled and the man dropped to the floor in pain.
"Heh!" Felum snickered and smiled at the ease in which his
Bio-Manipulation power worked. The woman standing opposite him gave
him a strange look. He immediately changed to a serious expression.
Felum bent over the writhing guard, before informing the woman, "I
think he's having a heart attack."
* * * * *
Inside the security chamber, two guards sat staring out. Grove
National was a decent-sized bank, it's lobby was a good sixty feet
across and some seventy feet deep, supporting six teller windows, a
trio of offices, a small employee room and of course the vault.
Nearby was a security elevator.
There was a commotion on the floor as several of the customers had
gathered around someone laying on the ground.
"It's Sid. He's down!" called the guard. He jumped up and grabbed
the door handle, but it held fast. He pulled on it again. "Damn,
unlock it!"
The other guard hustled over to the computer terminal, but the
readout for the door showed green, which meant unlocked.
"It's open," he yelled. The guard at the door tried again but still
the door wouldn't yield. The guard punched the lock button, toggling
it on and off, but the door refused to open.
"Get out of the way!" called the guard, running over. The pair
repeated the process until one of the other guards came out of the
back room.
* * * * *
Norbert Emerson's helmeted, armored frame got the same reaction
inside the bank as it had outside. After pausing briefly to drop a
smoke grenade at the front door, he'd entered the lobby. By this
time Marvin Felum had donned a ski mask, disarmed the unconscious
guard and raced over to join him.
"Ladies and Gentleman!" shouted Emerson, waving his weapon. "Please
remain calm. I'm afraid I will require your indulgence for a bit."
There were screams and cries. Behind the bullet-proof plastic wall
that protected the bank employees, managers and tellers scrambled to
hit the alarms and close the vault. Of course there was nothing to
worry about as the microbots would prevent that.
"Those tablets worked great, boss," said Felum, pulling the laser
torch from Emerson's belt. He walked over to the security door,
donned his goggles and calmly welded the door shut. It was only a
matter of time before the security guards used the manual override
hatch on the door and escaped. Now it wouldn't matter.
"Please move aside!" yelled Emerson, herding the customers towards
the building front. He aimed his particle-beam pistol. The tellers
behind the counter scrambled for cover. There were more screams as
the robber blasted the hardened-plastic barrier into slag. He tossed
a pair of large bags through the gaping hole in the barrier and over
the counter. "Fill those please, large denomination bills only!"
Felum moved over to him, extracted two more smoke grenades and
heaved them into the foyer. The smoke near the front door was
already creeping into the bank's main lobby. This was done to
prevent outsiders from looking in. The police would inevitably
arrive, as the security team had a radio system that was separate
from the computer-controlled phone and alarm systems. No matter, the
microbots had locked the front door and it was constructed of the
same unbreakable plastic as the teller's barrier. The police had no
particle weapons, though they undoubtedly had demolitions. But they
couldn't use them without endangering the customers.
Felum had removed the gas masks from his boss' backpack and the pair
donned them. As the lobby filled with smoke, a pair of coughing
tellers slung the bulging bags over the counter and each man grabbed
one.
Emerson hit the REQUEST key on his hand computer and the microbots
obediently responded, sending the security elevator down to meet
them. The pair moved over to the elevator door.
By now the thick smoke made it impossible to see more than a few
feet away. The elevator chimed when it arrived and those inside the
bank could hear the door open, the elevator rise, then the doors
close.
to be continued...
