Discalimer: Not mine
The twenty second century came with no surprise at the innovative and revolutionary planetary system. Many new laws and decrees had been put into place, affecting the overall routine put about in the previous thirty decades.
The whole solar system was under the control of the Interplanetary Council which had representatives from every moon and planet in the solar system, there to voice their opinions. Movements towards this new system had been set into action centuries ago on the now distant and dusty planet of Earth, where a representative assembly known as the League of Nations had been tentatively set up after the First World War.
The new members of the Interplanetary Council took heart at the fact that though their ancestors had not kept the international assembly alive, the new interplanetary system would work wonders. These idealists were the ones that set the new era into place, letting the decrees and laws change the educational, political, medical, military and criminal systems forever.
However the medical and criminal systems is where this particular story focuses. The two were essentially allies now, helping each other out, individually. Now the medical field trained people to be nurses and doctors. Both were respected in their own right yet it seemed that nurses held more clout than did doctors. Nurses were still identified by their stereotype of matronly women with a calming touch created before the Au Courant movement on Earth.
Yet it seemed that this view of nurses gave them more of an opportunity to explore the world around them. Training regiments were virtually the same for both doctors and nurses so it only made sense that the lower-paid nurses would investigate other places for their skills to be used.
The nurses usually chose to work for the syndicates. Those that did choose to take on jobs from the syndicate were titled as 'Syndicate Nurses.' They worked in a hospital, yes, but they also chose to receive calls from syndicates in need of medical attention. All of this healing on the nurses' part was paid by money by the syndicate.
It was just another way to earn cash. Precious cash.
Faye Valentine was one of those Syndicate Nurses. Trained since the age of twelve to be a nurse, she was one now on the populous planet of Mars.
Training for a career from a young age was the norm, like driving cars or eating, in the educational system. The educational system had been changed by the EM, or Education for the Masses. Children now chose what classes they wanted to attend and what field they would go into. They would spend the first seven years of their education learning the basics. After reaching the age of twelve, they would pursue an education in their career, hopefully finishing by the age of twenty-one.
Faye had done just that. Spurred onwards by a history of death in her life, she wanted to make a difference in the lives of other people less fortunate than herself. Whether she was healing someone in the syndicate or an innocent child, she was saving the life of a human. Humans who did this all to themselves by killing.
Humans.
Just a bunch of killing machines, aren't they?
Faye made her way down the hall of the hospital at which she worked, the Downtown Tharsis Medicinal Clinic. It was a large hospital, filled with probably what was the most competent staff in the whole solar system. The charts in her hand had her muttering medical jargon as she flipped through the mass of pages. Without looking, Faye turned into a room that held around ten patients. Briskly, she made her way down to the end of the first row of five, stopping there to check the revolutionary equipment set up.
"You're doing very well today, Mr. Linkes." Faye pronounced, looking at the frail man that lay on the bed.
"I'm glad, Nurse Valentine. But it wouldn't be without you." He croaked out in his venerable and rustic voice. Faye smiled and finished checking the devices before moving on to check his pulse, the twentieth century way.
Faye continued the conversation, letting the old man become at ease with her. With a small warning, Faye inserted a needle filled with a yellow fluid into his arm. The man took it calmly and thanked her once she was done. Faye smiled, said her goodbyes and was off.
The day continued on like that, with Faye checking on various patients of hers. An old lady named Lorraine Snyder had recently been admitted after having experienced a mild stroke. Though Lorraine had been found to have had no complications from the stroke, depression was setting in. That was the worse fear of a doctor or nurse. The healing process would be slow with her and they'd all be lucky if no other complications arised.
Another patient of Faye's was Reeve Giangelli. His condition was a strange one which perplexed both Faye and Dr. Fields, the "main man", so to speak. Giangelli had been admitted around a month ago, after eating in a restaurant on Venus.
The strange thing about Giangelli is that there was nothing wrong with him except for the fact that he was dying. At first Dr. Fields thought that Giangelli was a victim of food poisoning but that wasn't true. A whole array of tests had been done; they'd even sent a purging liquid through his body yet nothing had come up! It seemed like depression in the end but that would produce a low level of endorphins, serotonin and all that other good stuff. His levels were normal.
Whenever it came to paperwork with Mr. Reeve Giangelli, Faye felt like puking. She was the nurse so she was the one that had to file all the paperwork. Faye sat down at her desk and pulled her chair inward. Giangelli's case gave her headaches. She would have to fill out the regular once-a-day paperwork for each patient and extra paperwork for Giangelli because they didn't know what was wrong with him. It was all politics. We had to know exactly why a person died and a file of reports would be released to the public once a person died.
Dreadful stuff, really. There was no privacy left in the world.
Faye was dead tired by the end of the day, and her frustration was beginning to kick in. As usual, Faye made it home late and shut the door to her apartment with a loud slam. She was not in the mood. Faye quickly threw off her shoes and sweaters, tying back her hair. It was cold outside. It was Mars, where it was swelteringly hot during the day and freezing cold during the night.
The stove was soon on and some quick instant meals were made. "Spag-a-box" was the new food of the century. Food in a box…literally. It was okay. Not great. But for Faye, the quickest food was the best food. All you had to do was add water and you had a steaming hot meal in five seconds.
The food was soon gone. Faye had been hungry. As she washed the dishes, she glanced at her holographic videophone. There were a few messages there for her.
"Run." She commanded. The videophone obliged.
One was from Jet, her best friend in the police system. He adopted her when she was eight. The next one was from Ed, one of her old patients. They had stayed good friends. Strange girl, that one. She'd been in a massive crash, or so they supposed, and had contracted amnesia. When given the chance to rename herself, she did. She named herself Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV. Faye had never liked her but the little brown girl with orange hair and cat-like eyes soon grew on her.
The last three calls were from syndicates. There was the Jade Rose, Yellow Monkey and Red Dragon Syndicates. She'd worked for all of them before. They were careless, shooting, killing and maiming.
Each one was asking for her to come and work for them. That meant she'd have to take a day off on Saturday. She only worked for Syndicates then. Faye called back the Syndicates, letting them know when she'd come.
Jade Rose wanted her early in the morning. They'd just had a run-in with the ISSP that didn't go to well. A few of their top leaders and personnel were taken in, causing a shortage of doctors. Jade Rose was one of the best-organized syndicates around. Their wars were tactically precise and their system one that worked.
Yellow Monkey had a mild scuffle between the Mars drug warlords. Not much but two or three of their people were injured.
Red Dragon was more secretive. Faye didn't get the message given to her by the man who answered the phone. "Three isn't a good number." That's what he told her when she asked what had happened. He sighed and then whispered the stupid phrase. All Faye could do is shake her head and hang up. Red Dragon would be last.
After calling up the hospital and informing them that she would take the day off on Saturday, Faye got ready for bed and made her way over to her mattress. She wanted rest, needed rest. Faye shut her eyes. After a few moments, she opened them back up. No luck. She couldn't go to sleep.
"Typical." She muttered. Fay turned over in her bed, her eyes falling on a picture frame that was turned away. Immediately, a mental depiction of that picture formed in her mind.
Her childhood was a touchy issue. A good part of it had been wonderful, thanks to a good friend. The last part of it had been…memorable, in the wrong sorts. But that good friend…
Faye sat up and picked up the frame. She took a deep breath and turned the frame over. There stood two figures, smiling at her. There was a little girl, with short purple hair and a childish smile. Next to the little girl was a little boy. He wore a cocky grin with a tuft of green hair on his head. Faye remembered him often. More often then she would have liked. But she couldn't help it. They'd grown up together and he'd been her first friend that was a boy. So, in effect, her first boyfriend.
"C'mon! Don't be scared!" The little boy, aged ten, waved to a little girl, aged eight. The girl looked at the boy skeptically. He wanted her to jump across the little broken bridge!
"The bridge is broken!" She yelled. The boy looked at her strangely. "So? It goes over a little stream! If you fall, you won't die! Plus, I'll catch you."
The girl nodded, slowly. She was still unsure. She closed her eyes, ran and jumped. She made it across.
"Good job!" The boy congratulated. The girl, being held by the boy, cracked open her eyes. "Is it safe?"
"Is it safe?" The boy repeated incredulously. "Is it safe? Of course it's safe! You're with me! Why not trust me now? You've always trusted me!"
The girl looked at him, shock written all over her face. "Except when you wanted me to smack George and stick a pencil up his nose. Except when Leila was walking past and you made me lift up her skirt so then I had detention. Except when you made me throw the rock at Mr. Frances. Except when you tripped me when I was coming down the stairs three days ago and so I have a bruise now. Except when you made me steal the five credits my mother had on her dresser. I got grounded for that! And then when you made-"
"Okay! I get the point…" The boy rolled his eyes at the girl as they both marched off towards the center of the field they had just walked into. There was a tree there, which they both began to race for. The girl reached there first, panting as she stopped.
"Not fair! You-You cheat-cheated…"The boy admonished.
"L-liar…" The boy grinned at the girl. She smiled back. They both sat down, and in a comfortable silence, began to munch on whatever snacks they pulled out of their pockets. The hours passed, with games, snacks and…well…games.
It was around noon and the two were getting ready to start a new game when the boy froze, staring off, past the tree, past the broken bridge, to where their homes lay. There was smoke. The girl tapped him, hesitantly at first. But when he continued to ignore her and shrug her off, she continued to prod with more and more enthusiasm. Finally he began to move, but not towards her.
He began off slowly, but then began to pick up speed, soon running at a breakneck speed. He slowed to a stop once he reached the other side of the bridge. He had noticed that his friend was not with him. He looked back to see her standing where he had left her. He contemplated for a moment, what to do. With one glance to the town, the boy took off running for the girl.
When he reached her, he wasted no time. He grabbed her hand and began to run back to the town, the girl trailing behind him, gripping his hand hard. They both fell into the stream, making their way across and making their way up the banks. Once they were on land, they took off again, still hand in hand.
The girl didn't know what was going on. She was entrenched in this mad dash for the town because of him. She was just following his lead. They tripped past the bakers shop, tumbled past the tailors shop and slid past the convenience store.
They turned into their housing section, where the girl stopped behind the stricken boy…and screamed.
She tried to tear past the boy but he grabbed her around the midsection and held her, even as she kicked, clawed and screamed. He was stunned. She was afraid.
Their homes were on fire. Echoing surreally from inside were the screams of agony from their families. They were dying, being burnt alive. Through one of the windows, you could see the faint outlines of burning carcasses, throwing themselves against the windows, in hopes of breaking them and being free.
Flesh curled away from the bone, hair crumbled to ash, marrow became a fuel. The eyes…they stared, burning a memory into the minds of the young and impressionable. Both the children stood there, tears streaming down their faces. What could they do? They were children…
A hand clasped the boy's shoulder. He looked to see the owner. The girl recognized the man vaguely as she looked back at him blankly. As of right now, she didn't know what to think. She understood death, yes understood it as much as possible for an eight year old child. Yet here she was, faced with it for the first time.
A few muffled words, maybe more were said to her friend. The girl didn't comprehend what was going on. All of it was drowned out; the only object of her senses was the rapidly increasing pile of ash and bone in front of her. Her family and house in a handful.
The boy sat down next to the girl and they wept silently together. The boy soon pulled away from the girl. He was leaving.
"Where?" She asked. It was natural for her not to feel any sadness then. She was drowned by the other grief. Her only friend leaving was nothing.
"I don't know." He muttered. "I'm going with these people. They promised me a better life. They say someone will come to get you. Someone will take care of you. B-but I'll b-be bac-ck to look after y-you. So no worries."
The girl didn't say anything. She was in shock. She knew nothing. She turned away and sat down. Nothing. Her family was gone. Now her happiness was leaving too.
Hours later, a man tapped her shoulder. She was still sitting in the same spot where her friend had left her. "Hey." The man whispered. "What happened?" She shrugged. Another man walked over to the young man who had tried to occupy her attention.
"Fire, obviously. A lot of people, in two houses. We don't know the cause yet but rumor is that a cell of a syndicate might have done it."
The young man chuckled wryly as he surveyed the horror in front of him. A skeletal hand cound be seen sticking out of a window. "Humans. Just a bunch of killing machines, aren't they?"
Faye awoke on Saturday. The last few days had been hectic and this day wouldn't be any better. She had to visit the syndicates. Lethargically, she moved out of bed and made her way over to her bathroom to the shower.
She was soon out, hair dry and body clothed. Scurrying around her room, Faye grabbed her medicinal bag, filled with all sorts of medical tools to help her heal those in need of healing. Grabbing one of the local trains, Faye made her way down to Ajax, a town southeast of Tharsis. There, she ran to the headquarters of the Jade Rose. They were housed in a rundown apartment complex. Not bad but not original.
The majority of Faye's morning was spent looking after those at the Jade Rose. Thankfully, no children had been harmed but the men injured were in need of help. One man needed to have his arm amputated. Faye had to do it. The arm had been too badly infected with a bacterial growth for her to just administer drugs. It looked like the beginning of gangrene to Faye, but she couldn't be sure, especially with the crude items available to her there.
Once that whole ordeal of fifteen men had been dealt with, Faye made her way over to Hector, where the Yellow Monkey resided. This one was simple. She forced a few pills down the throats of the men and performed stitching on three people. Not bad at all. As she exited the building, Faye took out a cigarette. Sure, she was a nurse…but she was human before that.
The old electric trains were taken back to Tharsis. Faye knew that she should have gone to Red Dragon first because it was so close, but they only had one injured person. Jade Rose and Yellow Monkey were much worse off.
Faye jumped off on the third stop and headed off for a small shop on the eastern part of town. Once she got there, she entered and found the shop empty. There was no one there. This was the entrance to the Red Dragon Syndicate. She knew it. Faye decided to sit down in a chair and just listen to whatever news was being broadcasted on the ancient radio set up.
"In other news, a new strain of the Venus Spore, the Platinum Venus Spore, has been found to be very dangerous when consumed, even in small amounts. Once it gels to a part of the body, the spores turn into fat. They are highly prized by syndicates and warlords…"
Faye tuned the radio out. Syndicates and warlords were disgusting, even if she did help them. At that moment, the other door at the back of the shop opened and out came an older, kinder seeming lady. She held a bottle of whiskey.
"Hi. How can I help you?"
"I'm the Syndicate Nurse, Faye Valentine."
"Ah. I'm Annie. Right this way." Faye was led out the back door, into a way of thought that would force itself into her mind.
Edit/July 10, 2005: I redid this whole chapter, just because it was so sparse and unfeeling at the beginning. Maybe I'll work my way through the next few ones because I definitely don't like my portrayal of Faye in the next chapter.