I
woke up in apparently good shape and with little, but seemingly good positively selected memory.
Whatever... I still knew what mattered most: I didnt care. Or almost...
If it wasnt for that foul taste in my mouth combined with a feeling of dizziness worst than the worst hangover - yeah, getting drunk was apparently part of the memories I wanted to retain...
So here I am.
Crawling out of that cryogenic capsule, spitting my guts and holding my head. Swearing the most insane my mind allows me to recall, whilst trying to make sure I am who I was...
A moment of silence passes... I wrestle with the fear of being shredded alive and impotent by some creatures I remember too well... Then I finally can get a hold on myself to get on my knees... To have a weary look around.
I do a slow 180 scan of a round Spartan room filled only by cryogenic-capsules standing upright with their monitoring apparatus and myriads of meandering cables going from them, disappearing into the curved round wall.
Four poor bastards are still kissing their Cryogenic pillows in bliss oblivion. I push aside my disgust and anger for feeling sorry for them... Damn that surgeon for allowing 'pity' to resurface from my memory conditioning.
How long have I been sleeping... I know a great deal already, even half awake, but why this long sleep?!
I pull myself up deciding to investigate my own capsule when its glass door throws back a distorted image of myself that makes me recoil.
I have shoulder-long jet black hair that might indicate I slept well over 2 years... And very dark eyes. I cannot say for certain but my iris looks almost black they are so dark. My face is angular with protruding cheekbones and jaw structure very emaciated. No doubt the result of this long sleep.
Its when I look down at my feet, dejected, that I spot a note laying there... Written in large poor hand writing, it says:
You are Kayn Devour. Go to Manhattan Chase Bank. If you value what little you now are, don't talk to anyone.
Now Im really hating this.
Thankfully, I can oddly remember and almost with passion how it feels to want to hurt people, and it makes me feel better.
I can also remember that this memory engram-selective surgery cost me my balls even though I cant recall exactly how much... Well, at least I know I paid someone else to override not knowing who did that to me. But I still can't tell why...
So now I have an added purpose.
I pause a moment, something doesnt feel quite right... Indeed, only now do I realise I am as naked as a worm. Before I can voice a chosen swear-word I see the package behind my capsule left here on clear display for my benefit that I rip open and riffle through..
A minute later, it's with resolute delightful rage that I dress up in an impeccably cut dark grey alpaca suit I was certain was made to measure in my sleep; and rapidly pack up some fat Sirius credits, an ID showing a younger fresher smiling me (I assume fake of course) and several miniature apparatus that I decide to examine later - stuffing them all in an overpriced looking cloth bag.
Then I make for the only visible door - out of here.
.............
I leave a strangely empty building.
Not even a security guard or sentry-bot as is customary where people pay vast amounts of cash to sleep over decades. I decide not to ponder this too much for now - leaving behind me the eye-level giant Kishiro neon light pulsing with a soft hum as I walk by.
I know where I am, right in New Tokyo wealthy high Tech Business centre - the Shinagawa-Ku. A conglomerate of corporate and leisure as only Japanese of old knew how to mix.
Day time it's a place of polite negotiations and multi millions Sirius credits deals; but at night, bars upon bars suddenly come to life lining the streets, each competing for attention using orgies of neon lights and blasting insane amounts of music decibels, with armies of scantily clad models wiggling out of rhythm to street megabass speakers.
I soon manage to hail a taxi-bot. As it stops, it spews two out-of-worldly tall Japanese fake blondes - one of whom mutters a sly smiling deep throated guttural appraisal of me as her friend giggles grabbing her arm as if dragging her away from me.
I refrain from the gallant impulse to reward them with some attention; the world I remember treats sexual attraction as usually motivated by greater needs than purely a good night out. And rarely comes for free. As I force slam the sliding taxi door shut consoling myself with the view of two pairs of swinging buttocks walking away, I think to myself "probably in theirs too..."
It's a dry hot night and the air is rare; one that makes you seek anything to fan yourself with.
"Manhattan Chase Bank" I say
The car takes off gliding a few inches over the ground and I let the window down a bit to enjoy the wind on my face, and peek through the gap at multitudes of young people hanging out - who's obvious only concern is wearing designer label, showing off their flash motors, swig liquor out of brown paper bags, hoping to copulate.
That brings a wry smile on, just as the cloth bag I set near me on the seat vibrates with a shrill beep... A call.
It can't be good news.
...........
"Darling, all is okay don't worry. But don't forget to pay our monthly bills as you go to the bank! And oh, please get us some take away; I didn't have time to do any shopping picking up the kids tonight!" a genial female voice says.
"Okay, no problems" I hear myself retort absently... A short silence then..
"Love you honey, see you at home". Her voice sounded happy like a Christmas present on its way. That's when I got my first clear memory of what a state of present and real danger feels. Strangely I didn't feel overly alarmed; I felt healthily distant as if philosophical about matters of death. I knew with dead certainty I could only do what I could do best, with what means was at my disposal... The rest was a pure waste of analytical energy.
We soon leave vibrant New Tokyo and now drive through quieter residential areas. A few minutes later we reach the area of a sea front; Japanese people with their legendary precision had even relocated this area where it used to be back on old earth. I knew not how I could know such thing... I just knew it. Again, that strange mix of detachment mingled with the lose focus that this might be important but not crucial...
I was still alive. That mattered... a lot! And I knew not in immediate threat. Granted, all was a little more sour than sweet, but still, I felt reasonably good on the road to recovering my old own self.
Yes, I felt a burning need to know a great deal more about why I programmed myself to forget...
"DNA confirmed Sir, 2 Sirius credits payment finalised" says the taxi computer voice with a genuine Old Tokyo accent, as the door silently hinges open.
I step a foot down on the pavement twisting my head left and right checking my surroundings. Not a soul again, but this time it felt right. Things haven't changed much; unlike Cryo banks, Credit Banks prefer more secluded areas.
I climb up three steps to a humble front with little rococo but a massive bronze plate saying Manhattan Chase Bank New Tokyo. There, I face an eye scanner dutifully placing my hand palm flat on a receptacle as I say "Kayn Devour".
"Confirmed, please sit and relax" says the machine. The outer wall suddenly surrounds and encloses me in a small soundless cocoon bar the whiz a chair raising from the ground. Then the computer voice again
"Yours is a very secure account, we shall descend deep; shallow breathing is recommended. Your health is being monitored".
The moment I sit I get strapped by safety belts and feel my blood going up my head by G force going upwards.
I am going down, very deep and fast. As this begins, for a brief moment I can glimpse flashes of memories from atmosphere flight air combat - and I soon regain some composure controlling my breathing trying to make myself comfortable, awaiting arrival. So I am also a pilot...
Before I can truly feel peaceful about what seems a descent to hell, a long hiss typical of a lengthy amount of breaking is heralding my soon-to-be underground destination.
"Please proceed forward".
Safety belts unbuckle and I stand up, slowly engaging myself, then walking into a corridor which lights come on as I step ahead. Then a door opens to my right to what seems like a black maw. Lights come on as a voice with an unmistakable Queens' British accent says
"Pray, do come in Mr Devour, what a pleasure to see you again"
.......
No point acting coy. I then knew that whoever they were, they clearly had the means to eliminate me at any stage of my trip here. They certainly didn't need a dark underground bank private account vault to do so. I refrain from the impulse to resort to sarcasm telling him that he can't be my lovely wife, whom I don't know and just spoke to... But the matter of paying bills resurfaces with alacrity.
"First things first" I hear myself say "how much?"
The lighting in this room is elaborately arranged to conceal features, including those of people. Though part of this man's body is still shrouded in darkness, I can see him shift slightly on his chair and reveal half a jovial round face with blonde hair and deep blue eyes as he tilts his head amusedly.
"Now now, Mr Devour, he says smiling, allowing for a calculated pause.
"Let us be acquainted first... Please. Will you join me". It wasn't a question as he emphasised the word please, and points to the empty chair opposite him. "Though I appreciate your presence of mind, this place is after all a fitting location for money topics" he continues, now looking dead serious.
Clearly, money was of no importance to him, he was having fun and made a discreet show of making this clear. But I knew I had been right to get straight to business. I regain some measure of control over this set up as I sit facing him across a table where a large thick velvet looking pouch lay between us.
The room is more chilled than cold, and the lights are arranged in such way that peripheries are dimmed; only the centre is truly focused.
"I cannot answer the questions you burn to ask Mr Devour" he says raising a placating finger. "But I can point you in the right direction".
He observes me intently, seemingly expecting an answer but as I remain silent he sighs through his nose smiling, as a way to say he'll graciously deal with a man unwilling to cooperate by giving anything away. He knew I wouldn't betray myself by interjecting with impulsive comments. It felt like I had scored a token point - but a point nonetheless.
To further establish this rapport de force, without breaking eye contact I reach out towards the velvet pouch on the table and drag it towards me in a frank deliberate move, just a mere few inches. A way to say I take what I want, I justify nothing.
A black silken ribbon knot keeps the pouch closed in an inviting way, the latter neatly folded in several layers.
With my index finger and thumb I casually seize an end of the ribbon and with a gentle twist of my wrist I pull, unravelling the knot effortlessly. I mark a short pause pushing the ribbon aside with a negligent finger... Then I begin to roll the pouch open, fold by fold, my eyes still clamped in his. When it is completely open flat it nearly covers the whole table.
He knows I haven't looked at the contents and nods appreciatively smiling again. "These are yours; of course. They mark the next stage of your journey Mr Devour."
As he says so he reaches for his inside breast pocket; my eyes follow his hand carefully. He raises his other hand palm facing me in a gesture of non aggressive intent as he pulls an envelop out, that he gently puts on the table, pushing it towards me an inch.
"Here we are" I say to myself.
.......
Silence engulfs the room shrouding the atmosphere with sick tension; one so thick you could cut it with a knife. I decide to ignore the envelop for a moment.
My eyes now carefully scrutinise the contents of the open pouch on the table; I briefly look up to signal I know. Now my eyes move to the envelop and pause several agonising seconds.
I firmly stand up and in the same movement, delicately take the envelop placing it on the open velvet pouch that I hastily roll closed.
"Anything else"
I say in a flat tone to indicate he is to speak or leave it.
He smiles shaking his head. Then waves me bye-bye in an out of character way that contrasts brutally with this meeting so far. I pick up the pouch, turn my back on him, look around in the darkness, then slowly walk to the door where I pause a couple of seconds. Then leave the room with him seated there in half darkness.
As soon as I am in the corridor the same bank computerised voice begins
"You now have three options Sir; say One to have access to a private booth for further transactions, say Two to leave the building, say Three to book a suite located in this facility."
"One" I say.
"Please follow the green light"
I do so for about 6 steps before a brightly lit half circle opens in the wall to my right, I enter and it closes around me in a small space containing a table jutting off of the wall at waist level.
"I am awaiting your instructions Sir"
"Create a private retrieval box, this is the object to keep" I say placing the pouch on the table. A beam scans it back and forth once, then a square alcove the size of the pouch materialises ahead of me. I push it inside. Then the computerized voice again:
"Please, place those electrodes on your forehead and think your secret code for retrieval". I execute myself then the voice...
"Code complete. Is there anything else for your service Sir"
"No thank you. Take me out now".
The opening in the wall containing the pouch closes with no noise, leaving a flat wall, the table having folded into the wall at the same time.
"Very well Sir it is done, please do seat down".
Safety belts again and G force pushing now downward, as I climb fast to the surface and before too soon, the door opens on the same deserted street.
......
Several cabs are waiting outside. I go for the third one.
"Edo Shi-Tamachi district" I say
"Any address in particular Sir?" the cab computerised voice asks in its perfect old Tokyo accent
"No, I'll tell you where to stop".
"Very well Sir".
As we depart I am not the least surprised my interlocutor never told me his name, nor asked for any money after all.
A few blocks farther...
"Would you like some music Sir, conversation maybe?" says the computerised voice almost with emotion it was so articulate.
"Stop here" I find myself retorting brusquely. Without questions the cab indicates an immediate stop with flashing lights I can see reflected on nearby shop windows, and unhurriedly glides another few yards before parking perfectly legally in a cab bay.
I disembark as payment is automatically made accessing the Global DNA bank. As I trudge forward then into the first dark alley I see, I cringe at the thought the whole world has an ID of me I know almost nothing about, but the name Mr Devour. It's high time I deal with that. That's when I sense them, way before my mind truly computes what is going on.
I slip into darker shadows than the alley already was, and to my surprise, move with eerie speed from one point to the next in an erratic pattern - one that would leave followers more lost than I was, I thought with a wry smile. Then I stand still, barely breathing.
It doesn't take long before I hear a voice calling in a whisper - so they are more than one... I use my advantage by remaining still another few seconds then a thought suddenly occurs; what if they use heat sensors! Before I could lose the element of surprise I dash out of the dark, right in front of a young man looking no more than 20 years old, smiling at him.
That sudden jovial apparition disables his defence mechanism as he freezes a fateful second, enough for me to do my deed. Amateur I think to myself as I dig my knuckles into his solar plexus in one swift punch, before swivelling around him in a split second, covering his mouth and nose smothering him, whilst my other arm chokes his trachea. He cannot breathe, nor scream. He knows his end is near and suddenly stops jerking seeking air. Instead, he uses his last bit of life to scream from his throat making just enough noise to alert his companions - which is exactly what I wanted.
Two silhouettes bearing the unmistakable gait of people carrying projectile weapons appear on either sides of the alley.
Please Sir, we are not your enemies one says as he puts his weapon down and raises both hands. His companion doing the same.
We must hurry you out of here fast, please Sir. Take our weapons and kill us now otherwise.
I advance using the young man still as a shield, crouch with him grabbing the hand particle gun. I wrap my hostages hand around the hilt as I say squeezing his throat tighter as a warning.
Shoot the ground ahead of you then drop it
He executes himself and the ground hisses in heat and light, then throws the gun away. I know the gun wasnt loaded to overload in my hand. I release him.
What on the Five Holy Ships is going on!!? I say. A short moment elapses, then the hair raise all over me as I hear a familiar voice saying from the shadows
And what do five ships have to do with what is not human, my dear student.
At that point I am so shocked, I am utterly vulnerable. Yet the three men kneel then surround me as a protective barrier, as one. Two behind me, one ahead. The two behind place their hands on both my shoulders in what I know with great clarity being bodyguards initiating motion. I was safe.
But given this last meeting, for how long?
And now Sire Devour says the voice in the shadows...
Let us conclude what we began, you and I.
As he says so, the scream of a very heavy fighter fills the air as it lands right ahead of us, in an impossible angle in that narrow alley. A door slides open and we move in, leaving the 'voice' behind.
As we take off I ask what about him?!
They all look at me kindly smiling, as if I was a mad man who knew not better than ask.
We
huddle into the pilot’s cockpit, strap ourselves on the passengers back sit and not a moment too soon, as we clear the layer of clouds pierced by countless bright antennas topping the city’s skyscrapers, we surge forward in a supersonic boom, headed straight for deep space.
We are now leaving the atmosphere and entering the stratosphere; four decoys are launched ahead of us then change course, each going their own way in an arc trajectory away from us, and we match this aerial ballet in perfect synchronisation. Their signature identical to ours, each of us five flying objects leaving the same ion trail behind us.
That should buy us just enough time to coast a larger ship surely awaiting us nearby, I think to myself.
Kusari police didn’t waste any time. Pursuit is already underway as I see one of our decoy’s bleep on the scope vanish, then shortly afterward another. Then another... Just as we enter space only two of us are left... And just as we pass Roppongi station in a wide berth under a deluge of canon and missile fire, three gunboats have appeared on our sensors converging on us. Suddenly our odds seem slim. I tap the pilot’s shoulder speaking through the ship comm.
“Say we surrender, halt the ship away from the station’s range” I say. He turns around looking at me astounded and I insist “Do it”.
“Unidentified vessel, stop your engines and prepare to be boarded. Comply or we’ll open fire” says the voice on our comm.
"Please, do not fire. I repeat do not fire I surrender. I will cooperate and deliver you those men. They are hiding inside a locked torpedo tube launcher." says our pilot.
“Now" I say "vent plasma and be ready to punch cruise on my signal”. The pilot now understanding what I have in mind merely nods, focusing on his controls. The three ships are now in weapon range gliding towards us to a halt 10 clicks away.
Just as I had hoped for, they scan our vessel but not the space around us – sensors calibration for detecting ethereal matter in space such as plasma being all together totally different from those needed to see inside of a vessel. They now approach to a few hundred metres of us, to tractor beam range and I give my order.
“Punch it!”.
Our ship lunges forward evading the net closing on us, it’s engine roaring to a scream “Now mines!”. We are already 20 clicks away when they begin to manoeuvre, just as the mines ignite the plasma in a silent giant ball of green light visible even from the front window inside our ship cruising away. We’ve gained another few precious minutes. Maybe just enough.
About a quarter of an hour later we can see planet Fuji and its smaller sister planet Izu looming away. Our ship engages itself between the two. That’s when coming out of the largest planet orbit a phalanx of Kusari fighters bearing Honshu IDs appear and open fire on us. To my surprise not only are we not hit, but our pilot raises a thumb up and speaks calmly into the ship’s comm.
“Escape pods now” he says, turning the engines off. We un-strap ourselves as one, including the pilot and hurry to the tail of the ship where the pods are. Shortly after we exit the vessel our very heavy fighter explodes. Our pods inertia get us trapped into planet Fuji’s gravitational orbit and we get whisked in exponential velocity around its round mass. As we reach its dark side away from the sun, I feel my capsule being jerked by what can only be a tractor beam. Genius!
A mere ten seconds or so later and a brutal stop I look through my small window over a large cargo bay containing a contingent of about one hundred men and women clad in black and red uniforms standing at attention.
I open my hatch and step out seeing my escapee companions doing the same when a man steps forward, on his sleeve insignias I cannot recognise. He bows his head to me as he says:
“Welcome back to your ship Lord Devour, the Novus Ordo Seclorum.”
