------- Chapter 5 : Flight To Freedom -------
"Keep ya pants on!" Shouted Malice as he opened the front door.
"Look Mr. Malice, we have been nothing but patient with you and now I demand that you return her to me now." Said Doctor Sierra.
"Wait, wait. I have an idea. Perhaps I could buy her from you. You can always make more right?" Said Malice.
"She is a prototype!" Said Sierra, almost screaming. "We need her back to analyse the nerve degeneration patterns she's developing."
"Nerve what now?"
While the two of them argued, Mr. Benz noticed the RAcaseal inside cast a furtive glance towards a closed door. He did some quick mental arithmetic.
"She's getting away!" He bellowed and sprinted for the elevators.
Doctor Sierra watched as the two security guards headed rapidly down the corridor before giving chase.
As he ran he turned and shouted to Malice. "If she's damaged in any way you're gonna be in deep shit!"
-------
Sarunakai walked dejectedly in the direction of the hoverbus terminal. The piazza was quite crowded as this time of evening, the shoppers were making their way home and the night-life crowd were just setting out. With each plodding step he took felt like his legs were made of lead and his heart felt so heavy that he thought it might burst. He stared at the ground as he walked, the crowd flowing around him like a stream around a rock.
He had just come from his girlfriend's appartment, Mylina was breaking up with him! Breaking up with him! The words echoed around his head and he felt empty inside. She had told him that it was not working out, he was too needy, obsessive almost. Obsessive? He was passionate! She was just afraid of commitment because he vowed to love her with all his heart, with all his soul! She wanted time apart. For how long he had asked. She said that she needed time to clear her head, but her eyes told him everything that her mouth did not. She no longer loved him, he could see that now and no amount of begging or pleading could change that.
He fought back the tears. What they had was... Special. Now... Now he was alone. Where would he find another girl that was quite as special as her...
The world jolted violently as someone or something collided with him. He just about kept his balance and spun around to see what was responsible. On the ground before him was a young woman looking slightly disorientated. Without a moment's hesitation he crouched beside her and with an arm around her waist carefully lifted her back to her feet. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of dark green-blue and he could not help staring into them. Once sure that she was able to stand on her own he reluctantly let her go.
"Are you alright miss? I am so sorry, it was totally my fault." He said as sincerely as he could.
Her expression seemed to be one of extreme consternation and she looked over his shoulder, before turning and running through the throng of people away in the direction of the hoverbus terminal.
"Is something the matter? Miss? Miss!" He called after her.
The world jolted once again as he was shoved to the ground by two burly men. Before he could do or say anything they vanished in the same direction as the girl.
Alone again.
-------
Matilda found herself running once more. She was not overly familiar with the area but the sign posting was adequate enough for her to make her way to the bus terminal. Unfortunately, she still lacked footware and every passing Beat spelt more pain, all she could do was grit her teeth and try to ignore it. What she could not ignore was the two humans pursuing her, she was unable to lose them in the crowds nor as she entered the terminal building itself. Once inside the building, exits were limited, the only way was up to the upper landing platforms.
-------
Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, combined with the fact that she had not eaten since the morning, meant that she was feeling light-headed and found it hard to stay focused. The lifts had taken her to the uppermost floor but after staggering out onto the landing platforms she was dismayed to find that none of the buses were taking off in the next five Beats. Now desperate, she ascended an access ladder, her jogging-bottoms impeding her progress as they slipped down. She could not afford to waste any more time, discarding them to drift off down the side of the building.
The roof was a flat expanse apart from vents and lift maintainence access huts, there was nowhere to hide and the wind caused by convection currents chilled her exposed legs, making her shiver. She moved over to the far side to see if there was a way back down, but could see none. Above the howl of the wind she could hear booted feet climbing the ladder, Mr. Benz's head emerging into view. He pulled himself up, he was also breathing hard. Putting up his forearm-mounted Comms panel up to his mouth he spoke something into it but she could not make out the words over the sound of the wind.
"It's alright!" He shouted out. "The doctor will be here in half a Beat."
It was not long before they heard the whine of a hovervehicle's engines as Doctor Sierra flew his car in and landed on the largest available clear area. He emerged and approached Mr. Benz. After whispering something in his ear, Mr. Benz nodded and then got into the car.
"There! He's gone. It's just us two. You can trust me." He said in a raised voice.
He began to approach her and she in turn started to take steps backwards towards the edge.
"Wait! Stop! You'll fall!" Sierra said as he stopped his advance.
Matilda shivered and hugged herself for warmth, the dying sun's rays not enough to battle the chill of the wind. Peering behind her, she could see how dangerously close the edge was, the wall surrounding it low enough to cause her to trip if she was not careful. She took a deliberate step backwards.
"WAIT! Please! You must come back with me. You need my help." She did not reply so he continued. "The pain... The spasms... They've been getting more frequent and stronger right?"
She nodded. He took a cautious step forward.
"It's the process we used to create your body. The right AI was important but we're still experimenting with the ratios. Mixing human and D cells on a mechanical framework isn't an exact science. The neural network shows signs of instability." He took another step forward. "If you come back to the lab with me, We... I could come up with a cure. You wouldn't have to die."
"Die?" She said fearfully.
"We can avoid that... Please." He took another step forward and reached into his trouser pocket.
She retreated another step, banging her heel into the low wall. She stepped up onto the wall and tried to look as defiant as possible even as her hands trembled violently from the cold. As he removed his hand she saw it was the remote control, the one that could communicate with the small metal bolt hidden amongst the hair on her right temple. She knew he would mean to put her into sleep mode so he could return her back to the lab, what choice did she have available to her? Looking down she could see the city street spread out below. Sierra hesitated. If he activated the sleep mode she could fall.
However, it turned out that neither of them would be required to make a decision. Matilda flexed backwards as her spine lit-up in agony, pain coursing through her very being. She dropped her knees out in an attempt to maintain her balance but it was not enough. Doctor Sierra shouted something and raced to grab her arm as Matilda's left leg gave way and she toppled backwards over the wall.
The world spun end over end as time itself seemed to slow down.
Internal chronometer is faulty.
With seemingly endless time available to her and despite the pain her thoughts returned to the master.
Will I see Malice again?
She shut her eyes and a stream of tears fell from her eyes like tiny diamonds. With the ground now rapidly rushing up to greet her, she knew that it would be over soon and so waited for that final embrace of darkness.
"Keep ya pants on!" Shouted Malice as he opened the front door.
"Look Mr. Malice, we have been nothing but patient with you and now I demand that you return her to me now." Said Doctor Sierra.
"Wait, wait. I have an idea. Perhaps I could buy her from you. You can always make more right?" Said Malice.
"She is a prototype!" Said Sierra, almost screaming. "We need her back to analyse the nerve degeneration patterns she's developing."
"Nerve what now?"
While the two of them argued, Mr. Benz noticed the RAcaseal inside cast a furtive glance towards a closed door. He did some quick mental arithmetic.
"She's getting away!" He bellowed and sprinted for the elevators.
Doctor Sierra watched as the two security guards headed rapidly down the corridor before giving chase.
As he ran he turned and shouted to Malice. "If she's damaged in any way you're gonna be in deep shit!"
-------
Sarunakai walked dejectedly in the direction of the hoverbus terminal. The piazza was quite crowded as this time of evening, the shoppers were making their way home and the night-life crowd were just setting out. With each plodding step he took felt like his legs were made of lead and his heart felt so heavy that he thought it might burst. He stared at the ground as he walked, the crowd flowing around him like a stream around a rock.
He had just come from his girlfriend's appartment, Mylina was breaking up with him! Breaking up with him! The words echoed around his head and he felt empty inside. She had told him that it was not working out, he was too needy, obsessive almost. Obsessive? He was passionate! She was just afraid of commitment because he vowed to love her with all his heart, with all his soul! She wanted time apart. For how long he had asked. She said that she needed time to clear her head, but her eyes told him everything that her mouth did not. She no longer loved him, he could see that now and no amount of begging or pleading could change that.
He fought back the tears. What they had was... Special. Now... Now he was alone. Where would he find another girl that was quite as special as her...
The world jolted violently as someone or something collided with him. He just about kept his balance and spun around to see what was responsible. On the ground before him was a young woman looking slightly disorientated. Without a moment's hesitation he crouched beside her and with an arm around her waist carefully lifted her back to her feet. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of dark green-blue and he could not help staring into them. Once sure that she was able to stand on her own he reluctantly let her go.
"Are you alright miss? I am so sorry, it was totally my fault." He said as sincerely as he could.
Her expression seemed to be one of extreme consternation and she looked over his shoulder, before turning and running through the throng of people away in the direction of the hoverbus terminal.
"Is something the matter? Miss? Miss!" He called after her.
The world jolted once again as he was shoved to the ground by two burly men. Before he could do or say anything they vanished in the same direction as the girl.
Alone again.
-------
Matilda found herself running once more. She was not overly familiar with the area but the sign posting was adequate enough for her to make her way to the bus terminal. Unfortunately, she still lacked footware and every passing Beat spelt more pain, all she could do was grit her teeth and try to ignore it. What she could not ignore was the two humans pursuing her, she was unable to lose them in the crowds nor as she entered the terminal building itself. Once inside the building, exits were limited, the only way was up to the upper landing platforms.
-------
Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, combined with the fact that she had not eaten since the morning, meant that she was feeling light-headed and found it hard to stay focused. The lifts had taken her to the uppermost floor but after staggering out onto the landing platforms she was dismayed to find that none of the buses were taking off in the next five Beats. Now desperate, she ascended an access ladder, her jogging-bottoms impeding her progress as they slipped down. She could not afford to waste any more time, discarding them to drift off down the side of the building.
The roof was a flat expanse apart from vents and lift maintainence access huts, there was nowhere to hide and the wind caused by convection currents chilled her exposed legs, making her shiver. She moved over to the far side to see if there was a way back down, but could see none. Above the howl of the wind she could hear booted feet climbing the ladder, Mr. Benz's head emerging into view. He pulled himself up, he was also breathing hard. Putting up his forearm-mounted Comms panel up to his mouth he spoke something into it but she could not make out the words over the sound of the wind.
"It's alright!" He shouted out. "The doctor will be here in half a Beat."
It was not long before they heard the whine of a hovervehicle's engines as Doctor Sierra flew his car in and landed on the largest available clear area. He emerged and approached Mr. Benz. After whispering something in his ear, Mr. Benz nodded and then got into the car.
"There! He's gone. It's just us two. You can trust me." He said in a raised voice.
He began to approach her and she in turn started to take steps backwards towards the edge.
"Wait! Stop! You'll fall!" Sierra said as he stopped his advance.
Matilda shivered and hugged herself for warmth, the dying sun's rays not enough to battle the chill of the wind. Peering behind her, she could see how dangerously close the edge was, the wall surrounding it low enough to cause her to trip if she was not careful. She took a deliberate step backwards.
"WAIT! Please! You must come back with me. You need my help." She did not reply so he continued. "The pain... The spasms... They've been getting more frequent and stronger right?"
She nodded. He took a cautious step forward.
"It's the process we used to create your body. The right AI was important but we're still experimenting with the ratios. Mixing human and D cells on a mechanical framework isn't an exact science. The neural network shows signs of instability." He took another step forward. "If you come back to the lab with me, We... I could come up with a cure. You wouldn't have to die."
"Die?" She said fearfully.
"We can avoid that... Please." He took another step forward and reached into his trouser pocket.
She retreated another step, banging her heel into the low wall. She stepped up onto the wall and tried to look as defiant as possible even as her hands trembled violently from the cold. As he removed his hand she saw it was the remote control, the one that could communicate with the small metal bolt hidden amongst the hair on her right temple. She knew he would mean to put her into sleep mode so he could return her back to the lab, what choice did she have available to her? Looking down she could see the city street spread out below. Sierra hesitated. If he activated the sleep mode she could fall.
However, it turned out that neither of them would be required to make a decision. Matilda flexed backwards as her spine lit-up in agony, pain coursing through her very being. She dropped her knees out in an attempt to maintain her balance but it was not enough. Doctor Sierra shouted something and raced to grab her arm as Matilda's left leg gave way and she toppled backwards over the wall.
The world spun end over end as time itself seemed to slow down.
Internal chronometer is faulty.
With seemingly endless time available to her and despite the pain her thoughts returned to the master.
Will I see Malice again?
She shut her eyes and a stream of tears fell from her eyes like tiny diamonds. With the ground now rapidly rushing up to greet her, she knew that it would be over soon and so waited for that final embrace of darkness.