Corroded Cells, page 8
part #2 of Cyberpunk Saga Series
“You are, as always, too kind,” Vihaan said, turning his head and shouting, “Issy, call for you! Nice to see you, Moss.”
“You too. I hope to visit soon,” Moss told him.
“That would please me,” Vihaan said and stood, exiting the frame. Moss stared at the blank yellow wall at which the camera pointed, his heart racing. He had spoken to Issy as often as he could, but it never felt safe, and it was still awkward. They had both been through so much. Issy appeared in the frame, her hair fluttering as she sat.
She smiled. “You look rough.”
“A lot has happened,” Moss said.
“With you, that’s never a good thing,” she replied.
“It isn’t,” Moss said gravely. “I’m going to be leaving for a while and just wanted to say bye in case,” he said, dropping his head.
“Oh,” was all she said, and the silence held. Moss didn’t know what he could say, what he even wanted to say, and he sensed she felt the same. “I suppose I don’t want to know?” she asked eventually.
“Better if you don’t,” he said.
“Well, I guess, good luck,” she said, looking into the camera.
“Thanks,” he said and added, “I’d like to come see you when I get back.”
She looked away. “I’m not sure I’m ready. You know I want to see you, but I’m just,” she trailed off.
“When you’re ready then,” he said. He had said that line so many times. He understood her feelings logically, but his heart called out for her. He missed seeing her. Just being around her made him feel happy. He had told her so. She had said she had felt the same, but things had also changed. He knew it, much as he didn’t want it to be true.
“You’ll call again when it’s all over?” she asked, indicating an end to the conversation.
“I will,” he promised.
“Good, I really like hearing from you,” she said, having used those words many times before, as well. He felt as though they were in this repeating loop from which they didn’t know how to break free.
“I like it, too,” he said. “Bye, Issy.”
“Goodbye, Moss,” she replied, and the screen blanked. He felt empty. He wasn’t sure what he had expected from that call, but he knew that wasn’t what he wanted. He ran his fingers through his damp hair and sighed.
“I’m ready,” he announced to the room sullenly, and no one asked how the call went.
“Good,” Powers replied, standing. Gibbs handed Moss a metal cup of coffee.
“For the road,” his friend told him.
“Thank you for everything,” Moss said to Powers, who smiled his gold smile.
“New friends are a rare treat. I’m glad to have met you, even if it’s under unusual circumstances,” he said, adjusting a thin, squared tie. With vest and suit jacket, he looked even larger than he had the night before.
“Unusual is one word for it,” Ynna joked.
“Whatever the word, I’m happy to know you all,” he said, shaking their hands one by one. “I’ll still want those suits back,” he reminded them with a wink, guiding them from the apartment. They descended the stairs, leaving through the same convenience store through which they had entered, the same tired old woman glancing up at them for a brief moment before returning to a blaring screen.
Stepping out onto the street, Moss realized it was later than he had expected, close to midday. The street had returned to its bustle, people milling about and many more hanging out the windows of the wall-side apartments. Food sizzled in carts, projected models shifted and posed while children darted about, playing and asking for handouts.
They approached a nondescript apartment door, and Powers gave a specific knock upon the door, and a chain clattered on the other side. The sheet metal door opened slowly.
“Here for Martha,” Powers said.
“I know it, send them in,” a voice said. It sounded to Moss like a child.
Powers turned to them, handing Moss a bag. “I hope to see you again.”
“Us, too,” Moss replied, “for many reasons.”
Powers nodded and strode away, people shifting respectfully from his path.
“In, in,” the voice from inside whispered again, cracking the door a little further. They squeezed into the dark room, unable to see anything when the kid closed the door, having to give it a little kick to secure it.
“I take you to mother,” the kid said, and kid he was. As Moss’s eyes became able to see, he realized it was a boy of about ten. He was energetic, moving with the excitement of youth and was dressed in shabby, tattered clothes, his shirt an obvious free giveaway from a cosmetics company. He had olive skin and big, brown eyes which caught the slight light streaming through breaks in the metal.
He guided them rapidly down some pressed earth stairs to a nearly empty room with a dirt floor and artistic posters of various cities peeling from the walls.
“Sit, sit,” the boy said, gesturing hurriedly to a bench which consisted of little more than two-by-fours on cinderblocks. They sat.
Glancing around the dingy, spartan room, Gibbs observed, “This is ominous.”
“You expected something fancy?” Ynna chided.
“After last night, I’ve become accustomed to a certain lifestyle,” he joked with a nervous smile.
“Pretty sure that’s the last of that lifestyle we are likely to see,” Moss said.
“It’s about to get a lot grimmer from here,” Ynna added.
The room rumbled, the entire back wall grinding slowly open. A woman entered, calculating eyes under a low brow line. Her jet-black hair was graying at the base and pulled into a tight bun.
“Hello,” she said with a slight accent.
Moss was struck once again by how different the Burbs were from the city. Where he had grown up, everyone spoke with the same general accent, like the people on television. Vihaan was one of the only people he had known who had an accent. But out in the city, people seemed to be from everywhere.
“Good morning,” Moss said.
“Not quite.” She smiled. “I’m Martha.”
They introduced themselves, continuing to use their false names just to be on the safe side. She appraised them quickly. “Have any of you been outside the city?”
“No,” they all answered.
“Okay,” she said, “follow me. You brought water? This is to be a long walk.”
“We did,” Ynna said, turning to Moss. “Powers packed it with some other things for us.”
“Good,” Moss said, looking at the mug of coffee in his hands.
They followed down the dug tunnel, the smell of sweat and dirt filling their nostrils. Rotting wood beams kept the tunnel from collapsing in, and lights were strung down its length. It twisted and stretched, and Moss had no idea how long it could go. Perspiration began to build on all of them, their breathing becoming labored as the tight space stretched on.
Gibbs huffed. “I didn’t realize we were getting right into it.”
“Me neither,” Ynna agreed.
“This is just the first leg. We are in this tunnel a long time. Sometimes it helps to play games, have any of you tried eye-spy?” Martha asked with a smile over her shoulder.
“No,” Moss said.
“It was a joke,” Ynna chuckled.
“It was an attempt at humor,” Martha affirmed.
They trudged forward for another hour in silence. The air turned thick and unbreathable.
“How much further,” Gibbs panted, red and exhausted, running hands along the walls.
“A bit,” Martha told him, handing back a bottle of water she kept in a leather tool belt. He gulped at it before Martha grabbed it back in a sputtering spray. “Not too much,” she warned.
“Right,” Gibbs said, drenched. He rubbed his face, dirt from the wall wiping onto his skin.
“What awaits us?” Moss inquired.
“Change into protective gear, get into our transport,” she told them clearly. A thin line of perspiration dotted her hairline, but she didn’t seem tired.
“Where will we go?” Ynna asked.
“A town very different from where you come,” Martha informed them. “From there, I will introduce you around, and you can buy a ride further along. Where is your destination?”
“Carcer City,” Ynna said, turning back to add, “no reason to hide it now.”
Martha’s face grew grim. “There are some who will take you, but that is, how you say, risky? High risk.”
“We know,” Ynna said.
“I will introduce you to a reputable man,” Martha offered.
“Thank you,” Ynna said.
“You,” Martha said, gesturing to Ynna, “will be unpopular.”
Ynna looked concerned, asking, “Why?”
“Obvious biotech augments. Not popular among the scubas,” Martha informed them. “People outside are simpler. It’s a hard life, makes hard folk.”
Moss’s jaw dropped. He should have known. It was obvious, but he hadn’t thought of it. “Scubas?” he hissed derisively.
“Yes,” Martha put plainly. Moss snorted, and Gibbs joined in.
Ynna looked at them with confusion. “What?”
“They were the bane of my existence in my old job. Running raids on our facilities, stealing tech, destroying, pilfering supplies, anything you could think of, they did it,” Moss complained.
“That’s a good thing,” Ynna reminded him.
“Sure, yeah, I know. I mean, I see that now, but you have to understand... It’s just, they were so annoying and every morning Two would tell me about some damage and I know it’s a good thing, and ThutoCo is evil, but it was still annoying,” Moss sputtered, thinking about the Scubas.
“Well, get over it, they’re the good guys now,” Ynna said.
“Even still,” Moss said, annoyed even though he knew she was right.
“Good guys may be a bit of an overstating,” Martha said.
“You seem to have no love for the people you work with,” Gibbs observed.
“The outsiders live a very different life, as I’ve said. They look on us with… scorn,” she stated.
“I’m getting nervous,” Gibbs said.
“Correct,” Martha affirmed as they finally reached a wooden door which she opened with a key. “Hopefully, we won’t need,” she told them, pointing to oxygen tanks. “Please,” she gestured, and they all began to strap the tanks to their backs. “Purifiers are in the car, but if we break down, we use this.”
“You break down a lot?” Gibbs worried.
“No, but good to be safe,” she said. The lights were strung around many wooden beams to provide a soft light. A garage door lay on the other side of the room, built into the earth. Martha pushed the base of the door down with her foot before sliding it up and open.
A bunker was set into the earth on the other side. Three walls of concrete and an automated door surrounded a van hovering over a charging pad. Satellites and cloaking devices adorned the top of the vehicle. The tanks were heavy and shifted awkwardly on their tired bodies as she slid open a side door, and they clambered in. The seats had been modified, cut away in large pieces to allow for the tanks.
“The bacteria is airborne?” Gibbs clarified as Martha pulled herself into the front seat and turned on the computers.
“The disease seems to be. Outsider researchers study it but is high risk. From what they have said, a spore kills the host and uses the brain to carry it,” she explained.
Gibbs seemed excited. “Wait, you’re saying it kills the person and uses their body to infect others? Is a headshot all that kills them?”
“You have a strange attitude about this,” Martha pointed out. “Do you know little of the disease?”
“We know almost nothing,” Moss told her, cutting Gibbs off. “We know it killed a huge amount of the world’s population but little else.”
“We know not much more: spore, fungi, bacteria, all these words are used, but actual information is uncommon,” she said, opening the garage door and driving forward into another where the vehicle was washed. Aids rolled down the windows as a final door opened to let in the afternoon light. “We steal the liquid from the misters to coat our cars. Dangerous work. Part of why this endeavor costs so much.”
“Everything about your work sounds dangerous,” Moss said, settling into his seat.
“Accurate observation,” Martha agreed, pulling on well-worn driving gloves and carefully pulling the van out into the wide world.
Gibbs and Ynna had their faces nearly pressed against the windows and Moss glanced out of the rear. From the outside, the massive doors were covered in brown concrete to give it the appearance of dirt, and the entire structure was covered over with earth.
As they pulled away, Moss could see the fields of massive spires spraying the mist which kept the city safe from infection. The city loomed behind, tall buildings glinting in the sun. The van picked up speed, moving quickly over the desolate land. Soon enough, the fields of prophet root began, stretching on interminably in every direction. In some odd way, it felt like home.
Before long, the subtle bouncing and endless sameness got the better of him, and he fell asleep.
Chapter 9
Moss opened his eyes as the van slowed to a halt. Ynna and Gibbs were both asleep, mouths open. A little drool leaked from Gibbs’ mouth. It was dark but did not seem to be night, and Moss looked beyond his friend to see dense forest all around them, tall trees reaching into the sky to blot out the sun. He looked ahead to see why they stopped and his heard began to race.
In the road, he saw a massive brown creature with a long snout and thick fur coat. Two smaller versions bound around, tussling and tumbling with one another. “Grizzly bears,” Martha whispered.
“There are still animals out here?” Moss asked, astonished. He had sometimes seen tracks and droppings from animals as he sped around on MOSS II’s bike, but he had never seen any.
“In the forests, yes,” she told him with a broad smile. “Many forests were planted with genetically altered trees that grow much faster than normal, but some ancient spots were left alone.”
“Why?” Moss asked.
“When the companies were clear-cutting the world, many protested. They set aside some wild places as appeasement. They could, no doubt, get away with tearing these places down now as there is nobody left who remembers, but they do not. Or have not yet, rather.”
Moss snorted. “Probably just so the managers can tell themselves they haven’t taken over the whole planet.”
“Probably,” Martha agreed. They sat in silence as the animals played in the road a little while longer before disappearing into the brush.
“Incredible,” Moss said, his eyes wide and heart full.
Ynna grunted and looked around. “We here?”
“No, a little while longer,” Martha said.
“Ynna, you just missed a bear,” Moss told her enthusiastically.
“I’ve been to a zoo,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand before closing her eyes again.
“You see things like this a lot?” Moss asked, trying to lean forward to talk but restricted by the heavy tank.
“Sometimes,” Martha said. “Many animals we thought lost reappeared when man fled to the city.”
“Good,” Moss said. He was heartened to know that some life had persisted. “The bacteria doesn’t affect them?”
“No, the disease impacts humans only,” she informed him.
“Good, these animals deserve this place more than we do,” Moss found himself saying. Martha snickered.
“You will get on well with the outsiders, I think,” she said.
“We’ll see,” Moss said as the van accelerated forward.
They drove a while longer, Moss watching out the window for more signs of life but seeing none. Eventually, as they crested a hill, he saw it—a large glass dome surrounded by forests.
“What?” he exclaimed, and the other two woke up. Gibbs rubbed his eyes and wiped his face. Ynna simply stared.
“Not what you expected?” Martha grinned.
“How?” Moss asked. “Isn’t this all company land?”
“Ah, yes,” Martha nodded.
“So how can a place like this exist? Doesn’t ThutoCo look for them?” Moss said, nonplussed.
“They do, and yet many places like this exist,” she said. Moss wanted more than cagy answers.
“How?” he pressed, and she laughed.
“Breakers work ’round the clock to keep this place hidden from all scans and aerial images. Also, ThutoCo doesn’t actually work that hard to find them,” she said. Moss fumed. He had always been told the company was doing everything they could to find and eradicate the scubas. Intellectually, he knew they were an evil corporation who had planned on killing their employees, but it still needled him that they had lied about their efforts.
“Cost of doing business,” Gibbs chuckled, shaking his head.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Martha replied as they descended into the little valley. The dome grew larger, reflecting the sunset magnificently. The road led to another anteroom for vehicles and Martha gave a little wave through the windshield to a guard in a tower. The tower connected to the dome at the base and was surrounded by windows, so the guard up top didn’t have to wear a respirator. As they pulled closer, Moss could see the seams in the dome. He was amazed that not only did it exist undetected, but even that it had been built.
“Where did they get the supplies to build something like this?” Gibbs asked, seeming to read Moss’s mind.
“Nobody now alive remembers,” Martha said.
“She’s not a fucking tour guide,” Ynna chided.
“I am happy to try and answer questions. I just don’t know many things,” Martha said as the car pulled through the open doors which closed behind them. The van was once again soaked with foam, but this time it was rinsed off with streams of water. “You may leave your tanks,” she told them, and they hurried to pull the straps from their bodies.
“Happy we didn’t need them,” Gibbs said.
“Yes, very lucky,” Martha agreed. “I will make introductions, but you will then be on your own.”
