Fiction Post 2/24/09
Someone said cyberpunk, so I gave it a try. Results below.
As far as buildings went, it wasn't that tall. Maybe a few dozen stories. If she looked, she could still make out the pinpoints that were the streets below. Up here, the wind was still strong - only broken by the wind turbines. She felt the breeze in her hair and whispered to the wind.
“Link.”
Information flickered into existence before her eyes as the heads-up-display powered on. She blinked twice, more out of reflex than anything. It was tough to ignore the mental cry that something was in your eye, so it was better to play along until your mind remembered that those symbols were supposed to be there.
The HUD displayed everything she'd need to know for her mission - from a simple list of objectives to obscure information that would never be practically useful. Who needed to know their own blood pressure anyway?
Hrm, little higher than usual. That's interesting.
Her eyes flicked over to the objectives for one last check. Secure entry to forty-third floor through window egress. Acquire keycard without attracting notice. Escape building through window egress and avoid pursuit. Simple job, textbook really.
“Kryp, what're we looking at for average guard response time?”
A male voice responded through the chip deep within her ear - audible only to her. It was the voice of her operator. Home base, for all effects and purposes. The only member of the resistance that she'd ever met. He was her lifeline, and her eyes. “Don't worry about the guards. You shouldn't be seeing any of them. If we have to worry about response time, then I'll make sure you know exactly how screwed you are. Now lets go. We need access to one of those key cards.”
Nodding, she knelt down and picked a small metallic handle from the side of her form-fitting suit. Thumbing the switch on, she felt it emit a dull humming noise. She gave it a test, placing it against the ground and feeling it attach as the magnetic charge built up.
“Remember, squeeze harder to slow down, and release your grip to weaken the bond. It uses your lambent electric field as a moderator. You'll be getting off thirty-two stories down. Please don't miss it.”
She missed the old days - when the offices that you broke into were right at the top of the building. Unfortunately, as assaults by the resistance increased, some wise guy realized that they were more or less focused on the top five floors - where all the executive offices (and passwords) were kept. That same wise guy managed to get himself a whole mess of promotions making the buildings a whole mess harder to break into. He eventually founded Co prorate Solutions, the world's most important securities firm, and preceded to be a general pain in our asses. Not that it couldn't still be done, it just took more tools.
[Writer's Afternote: So, apparantly, I switched to first-person here arbitrarily. Don't know why, but I'm not changing it now. Deal.]
I took two steps backwards, then five forward, and leapt out into space. Twisting my body around midair and clutching with all my might, I held the handle out towards the side of the building and felt them pull towards each other. A heartbeat later, I was practically glued to the top edge of the skyscraper.
I weakened by grip and began to slide down the side, hanging by the single contact point. There wasn't anywhere for me to use as a foothold - just the sheer face of the side of the building. Another wonderful innovation from Corporate Solutions. No windowsills made it tougher to rappel, and nearly impossible to climb. A few seconds per floor, and I counted them in my head - even though I knew I didn't have to. The HUD before my eyes did so for me, and I expected a prompt from Kryp as soon as I was approaching.
“Alright, so, window entry's gonna be interesting tonight. We've got another one of their new systems to deal with, so the normal glass-fuse won't cut it. In fact, nothing will. They're starting to plate the windows with a treatment that turns the whole thing liquid if you apply any significant heat to it. You'd drop off the side like a rock. Wouldn't be too pleasant.”
“Doesn't sound like it. So, how do I do it?”
“Subcutaneous injection I gave you last night. Should be in your system already. It's a prototype, but I've got confidence in it. HUD activated too. Three blinks, then a pause, then three more. Make sure you're looking in the direction you want to go.”
I slowed to a stop, checking the HUD quickly. Floor thirty-four, exactly. I peered in the opaque windows and triggered the blink command. My form blurred, as did my vision, fading first and then disappearing completely. It returned a moment later, and I was standing in a room that I was familiar with only through my briefings.
“Nifty, huh?” asked Kryp, sounding vaguely amused. I figured he'd been having fun testing that thing for a few weeks now. Probably the first actual field test. He really was the reason most of this stuff worked. I peered around the room, quickly spotting a small white plastic card on the desk.
“You've gotta be kidding me.” Kryp's voice echoed my thoughts. For all their capital expenditure, companies always forgot that the weakest link in any security system is the person who's manning it. All the safes in the world won't protect their contents if you leave them open. I walked over, grabbed the card, and pocketed it. Smirking to myself, I walked back towards the windows, triggered the blink command again, and phased through the wall.
Once back on the other side, I waited for the phase to wear off and let gravity reassert itself. I fell, face down, as fast as the world would allow me. My hair flew out in a hail around me, and I impacted the ground.
I woke up, pulling the helmet free from my head. Looking over at Kryp, sitting before a computer, he nodded. “Looks good. You should be about ready for the real thing. Time to see how well prepared you actually are.”
I smirked back. Of course I was ready. We'd only been doing this since before we could remember. They were going to pay, and we were going to make it happen. That's what the Resistance was about.
As far as buildings went, it wasn't that tall. Maybe a few dozen stories. If she looked, she could still make out the pinpoints that were the streets below. Up here, the wind was still strong - only broken by the wind turbines. She felt the breeze in her hair and whispered to the wind.
“Link.”
Information flickered into existence before her eyes as the heads-up-display powered on. She blinked twice, more out of reflex than anything. It was tough to ignore the mental cry that something was in your eye, so it was better to play along until your mind remembered that those symbols were supposed to be there.
The HUD displayed everything she'd need to know for her mission - from a simple list of objectives to obscure information that would never be practically useful. Who needed to know their own blood pressure anyway?
Hrm, little higher than usual. That's interesting.
Her eyes flicked over to the objectives for one last check. Secure entry to forty-third floor through window egress. Acquire keycard without attracting notice. Escape building through window egress and avoid pursuit. Simple job, textbook really.
“Kryp, what're we looking at for average guard response time?”
A male voice responded through the chip deep within her ear - audible only to her. It was the voice of her operator. Home base, for all effects and purposes. The only member of the resistance that she'd ever met. He was her lifeline, and her eyes. “Don't worry about the guards. You shouldn't be seeing any of them. If we have to worry about response time, then I'll make sure you know exactly how screwed you are. Now lets go. We need access to one of those key cards.”
Nodding, she knelt down and picked a small metallic handle from the side of her form-fitting suit. Thumbing the switch on, she felt it emit a dull humming noise. She gave it a test, placing it against the ground and feeling it attach as the magnetic charge built up.
“Remember, squeeze harder to slow down, and release your grip to weaken the bond. It uses your lambent electric field as a moderator. You'll be getting off thirty-two stories down. Please don't miss it.”
She missed the old days - when the offices that you broke into were right at the top of the building. Unfortunately, as assaults by the resistance increased, some wise guy realized that they were more or less focused on the top five floors - where all the executive offices (and passwords) were kept. That same wise guy managed to get himself a whole mess of promotions making the buildings a whole mess harder to break into. He eventually founded Co prorate Solutions, the world's most important securities firm, and preceded to be a general pain in our asses. Not that it couldn't still be done, it just took more tools.
[Writer's Afternote: So, apparantly, I switched to first-person here arbitrarily. Don't know why, but I'm not changing it now. Deal.]
I took two steps backwards, then five forward, and leapt out into space. Twisting my body around midair and clutching with all my might, I held the handle out towards the side of the building and felt them pull towards each other. A heartbeat later, I was practically glued to the top edge of the skyscraper.
I weakened by grip and began to slide down the side, hanging by the single contact point. There wasn't anywhere for me to use as a foothold - just the sheer face of the side of the building. Another wonderful innovation from Corporate Solutions. No windowsills made it tougher to rappel, and nearly impossible to climb. A few seconds per floor, and I counted them in my head - even though I knew I didn't have to. The HUD before my eyes did so for me, and I expected a prompt from Kryp as soon as I was approaching.
“Alright, so, window entry's gonna be interesting tonight. We've got another one of their new systems to deal with, so the normal glass-fuse won't cut it. In fact, nothing will. They're starting to plate the windows with a treatment that turns the whole thing liquid if you apply any significant heat to it. You'd drop off the side like a rock. Wouldn't be too pleasant.”
“Doesn't sound like it. So, how do I do it?”
“Subcutaneous injection I gave you last night. Should be in your system already. It's a prototype, but I've got confidence in it. HUD activated too. Three blinks, then a pause, then three more. Make sure you're looking in the direction you want to go.”
I slowed to a stop, checking the HUD quickly. Floor thirty-four, exactly. I peered in the opaque windows and triggered the blink command. My form blurred, as did my vision, fading first and then disappearing completely. It returned a moment later, and I was standing in a room that I was familiar with only through my briefings.
“Nifty, huh?” asked Kryp, sounding vaguely amused. I figured he'd been having fun testing that thing for a few weeks now. Probably the first actual field test. He really was the reason most of this stuff worked. I peered around the room, quickly spotting a small white plastic card on the desk.
“You've gotta be kidding me.” Kryp's voice echoed my thoughts. For all their capital expenditure, companies always forgot that the weakest link in any security system is the person who's manning it. All the safes in the world won't protect their contents if you leave them open. I walked over, grabbed the card, and pocketed it. Smirking to myself, I walked back towards the windows, triggered the blink command again, and phased through the wall.
Once back on the other side, I waited for the phase to wear off and let gravity reassert itself. I fell, face down, as fast as the world would allow me. My hair flew out in a hail around me, and I impacted the ground.
I woke up, pulling the helmet free from my head. Looking over at Kryp, sitting before a computer, he nodded. “Looks good. You should be about ready for the real thing. Time to see how well prepared you actually are.”
I smirked back. Of course I was ready. We'd only been doing this since before we could remember. They were going to pay, and we were going to make it happen. That's what the Resistance was about.