The Ultimate Shadow
Collin Knox
As the clock struck midnight, a blinding swarm of bullets continued to tear holes through K’s door. Despite all the noise, he could hear the nearby holotrans pipe up.
“.... Billions on and off-world reign in the new year. 2058 is expected to be one of the highest-grossing years for the economy of the UAF!” He dove for the ground. His hands frantically reached for the nightstand where he hid his pistol. When he found it, the corporate death squad spraying hate into his apartment was the least of his worries, he used the targeting computer integrated into his ocular implants and zeroed in on the holotrans. One shot and it was out. He would have rather died than sit and listen to more corporate propaganda.
He shifted his attention back to the current situation. He again used his ocular implants, this time to access the CCTV outside the motel he had been hiding in. Within nanoseconds, his brand-new pair of FeraTech implants were able to ping his location to the CCTV camera, establish a connection, and become remotely operable through the camera. They used the camera to create a scan of his assailants and overlay it onto K’s vision in real-time. Now, effectively seeing through the foot-thick motel walls, K took aim. 6 shots, 6 hits, 6 seconds. As quickly as the gunfight began, it was over.
K took a deep breath as he stepped outside, finally allowed a moment to rest. He sat down on the cool pavement and looked out. The motel sat just outside River City and had a beautiful view of the sprawling megacity. The city’s skyline was miles upon miles of towers that seemed to stretch into the sky forever and were adorned by breathtaking holo-lighting systems. Although they were mostly bought out for advertising, the city’s holo-light systems could display breathtaking holographic scenes right above the cityscape, depending on the time of year. For New Year’s it was fireworks, but nothing like any real fireworks could create. Giant sparks and explosions danced and swirled above the city, some looked like prancing foxes or soaring hawks. It was unlike anything K had ever experienced before. He watched in awe for a moment but the full, sagging clouds above him began to let loose.
The slanting rain unleashed upon him was not unwelcomed, it provided much-needed relief to his now overheating implant rig.
“I gotta get to the buyer soon. One more scuffle like that and my brain is cooked.”
This was K’s first foray into the world of cybernetics. He vowed to never so much as look at an implant, but this gig was too good to turn down. Break into FeraTech’s R&D lab in River City, slot in the implants, return to the buyer. Foolproof, but the job had turned out more difficult than he had expected, perhaps because he was not used to the strain of cybernetics usage, or even more so because the prototype implants he klepped were not yet optimized for the human brain. He knew if he had to fend off FeraTech again then his chance at redemption was over before it started. If his buyer from the Songyee Corporation got ahold of those implants it would be the end of FaraTech. More than money, this job offered K the opportunity to put FaraTech in the dirt for good, to finally banish the ghost that haunted his every movement.
K took one more look at the city, he hoped it would be the last look. He waded through the mess of blood and shell casing and walked out to his car, a beat-up old 2020 Porsche 911, its flowing, deep blue body adorned with rain droplets seemed to almost sparkle under the moonlight. Under the beautiful façade the frame was almost completely rusted out, and the engine was on its last legs, only able to use 6 of its 8 cylinders. Despite its flaws, it was K’s prized possession, a memory of a better time.
He fired the engine up and drove through the pitch-black desert roads. There wasn’t a whole lot outside River City. There wasn’t a lot outside of any city. The corporations made sure of that. There was no money to be made outside the safety of the megacities. Everything that wasn’t financially feasible was razed. The deserts were depressing places, devoid of sound and life. Not even the most insignificant creatures could survive in them.
K eventually made his way over to the site of the hand-off. Gathered around the Songyee helicopter were 5 mercenaries. The best money could buy. Augmented heavily with cybernetics. Though they were once human, one would not be mistaken in thinking there was not an ounce of humanity left within them. The human body was too weak for their work. It couldn’t run fast enough so legs were replaced with masses of twisted synthetic muscle fibers that could hit the ground with enough force to shatter concrete. It wasn’t strong enough. So, arms and chests were replaced with giant hydraulic muscles. It couldn’t think fast enough, so brains were downloaded onto processors and enhanced to make decisions as fast as a supercomputer. Human eyes could be deceived, so cameras were shoved into their eye sockets. The only original thing that remained was the heart, but it was repurposed to pump coolant throughout the machine’s various passageways. They still thought and acted like humans, but barely. First-rate mercs like these were ruthless. They would do anything for a paycheck and Songyee made sure they kept them happy.
K knew this meant he wouldn’t be able to run from this. If things went south, it meant the end, but if Songyee got a hold of the implants, at least it meant something. K approached the group, slotted out the implant chip, and handed it to the mountain of a machine standing before him. The mercenary put the chip in his own optics slot to make sure it was legit. Then to K’s surprise, a briefcase was then thrown in the sand at his feet. No words were exchanged, the mercs left K with a nod, mounted the helicopter, and left.
K’s stomach dropped to the floor. He had stared a demon in the face and walked away. He collected himself and dropped to his knees. He frantically fumbled with the briefcase until it opened. Encased in charcoal gray foam padding, there was a single credit chip. He uploaded it into his phone and collapsed when he saw the amount. Knowing the risk of the operation, Songyee had promised one million dollars for the acquisition of the implant. K read over his phone screen 60 times before reality set in. The amount read one hundred million. K broke down and sobbed uncontrollably, writhing around the desert floor, every emotion flooding his brain. Except for the corpos, most people would never even see this amount of money. K probably wouldn’t even live long enough to spend all of it.
It was all just a joke to Songyee. They could have used that money for anything, but they decided to drop it in the lap of a street rat that couldn’t even comprehend what to do with that much money. Every struggle, every hardship, every horrible thing K had done to keep himself alive ran through his mind. Every problem he ever had was solved in that instant. Two extra zeroes were all it took. FeraTech would be off his back, and he would never have to work a day for the rest of his life.
The life he had led for 27 years up until this point was gone. The weight of the world sluffed off of his shoulders and dripped down his back and ran through every grain of sand below him. K lay still on the damp desert sand and stared at the stars and broke down. Maybe he had led too hard a life for too long a time, or maybe the implants did more damage to his brain than he thought, but he was destroyed.
The man he used to be was extinguished. What should have been a fresh start felt like an oppressive end. K lived his entire life for this moment, but upon its arrival, he only felt empty. He never thought about what he’d do after, he had never even imagined he would have lived to complete his mission in the first place. It was nothing more than a pipe dream that materialized due to uncanny luck, and now he was left to pick up the pieces. His only purpose was stripped away.
K stood up, brushed himself off, and stared back at the city he vowed never to look at again. As he watched the fireworks swell and explode once more, he reached into his waistband and pulled out his pistol. He pressed the cold steel bore into his temple, slid his finger on the trigger, and closed his eyes. Just as he pulled back on the trigger, he felt something brush past his foot. He quickly opened his eyes and watched as a black snake slithered over his boot. The tension in his hand was released and his pistol slapped the sand with a dull thud. Once more he dropped and wept ferociously at the thought life still prevailed through the barren wastes he found himself in. The implant had done its damage. He had sold his soul and the devil would collect soon.
“.... Billions on and off-world reign in the new year. 2058 is expected to be one of the highest-grossing years for the economy of the UAF!” He dove for the ground. His hands frantically reached for the nightstand where he hid his pistol. When he found it, the corporate death squad spraying hate into his apartment was the least of his worries, he used the targeting computer integrated into his ocular implants and zeroed in on the holotrans. One shot and it was out. He would have rather died than sit and listen to more corporate propaganda.
He shifted his attention back to the current situation. He again used his ocular implants, this time to access the CCTV outside the motel he had been hiding in. Within nanoseconds, his brand-new pair of FeraTech implants were able to ping his location to the CCTV camera, establish a connection, and become remotely operable through the camera. They used the camera to create a scan of his assailants and overlay it onto K’s vision in real-time. Now, effectively seeing through the foot-thick motel walls, K took aim. 6 shots, 6 hits, 6 seconds. As quickly as the gunfight began, it was over.
K took a deep breath as he stepped outside, finally allowed a moment to rest. He sat down on the cool pavement and looked out. The motel sat just outside River City and had a beautiful view of the sprawling megacity. The city’s skyline was miles upon miles of towers that seemed to stretch into the sky forever and were adorned by breathtaking holo-lighting systems. Although they were mostly bought out for advertising, the city’s holo-light systems could display breathtaking holographic scenes right above the cityscape, depending on the time of year. For New Year’s it was fireworks, but nothing like any real fireworks could create. Giant sparks and explosions danced and swirled above the city, some looked like prancing foxes or soaring hawks. It was unlike anything K had ever experienced before. He watched in awe for a moment but the full, sagging clouds above him began to let loose.
The slanting rain unleashed upon him was not unwelcomed, it provided much-needed relief to his now overheating implant rig.
“I gotta get to the buyer soon. One more scuffle like that and my brain is cooked.”
This was K’s first foray into the world of cybernetics. He vowed to never so much as look at an implant, but this gig was too good to turn down. Break into FeraTech’s R&D lab in River City, slot in the implants, return to the buyer. Foolproof, but the job had turned out more difficult than he had expected, perhaps because he was not used to the strain of cybernetics usage, or even more so because the prototype implants he klepped were not yet optimized for the human brain. He knew if he had to fend off FeraTech again then his chance at redemption was over before it started. If his buyer from the Songyee Corporation got ahold of those implants it would be the end of FaraTech. More than money, this job offered K the opportunity to put FaraTech in the dirt for good, to finally banish the ghost that haunted his every movement.
K took one more look at the city, he hoped it would be the last look. He waded through the mess of blood and shell casing and walked out to his car, a beat-up old 2020 Porsche 911, its flowing, deep blue body adorned with rain droplets seemed to almost sparkle under the moonlight. Under the beautiful façade the frame was almost completely rusted out, and the engine was on its last legs, only able to use 6 of its 8 cylinders. Despite its flaws, it was K’s prized possession, a memory of a better time.
He fired the engine up and drove through the pitch-black desert roads. There wasn’t a whole lot outside River City. There wasn’t a lot outside of any city. The corporations made sure of that. There was no money to be made outside the safety of the megacities. Everything that wasn’t financially feasible was razed. The deserts were depressing places, devoid of sound and life. Not even the most insignificant creatures could survive in them.
K eventually made his way over to the site of the hand-off. Gathered around the Songyee helicopter were 5 mercenaries. The best money could buy. Augmented heavily with cybernetics. Though they were once human, one would not be mistaken in thinking there was not an ounce of humanity left within them. The human body was too weak for their work. It couldn’t run fast enough so legs were replaced with masses of twisted synthetic muscle fibers that could hit the ground with enough force to shatter concrete. It wasn’t strong enough. So, arms and chests were replaced with giant hydraulic muscles. It couldn’t think fast enough, so brains were downloaded onto processors and enhanced to make decisions as fast as a supercomputer. Human eyes could be deceived, so cameras were shoved into their eye sockets. The only original thing that remained was the heart, but it was repurposed to pump coolant throughout the machine’s various passageways. They still thought and acted like humans, but barely. First-rate mercs like these were ruthless. They would do anything for a paycheck and Songyee made sure they kept them happy.
K knew this meant he wouldn’t be able to run from this. If things went south, it meant the end, but if Songyee got a hold of the implants, at least it meant something. K approached the group, slotted out the implant chip, and handed it to the mountain of a machine standing before him. The mercenary put the chip in his own optics slot to make sure it was legit. Then to K’s surprise, a briefcase was then thrown in the sand at his feet. No words were exchanged, the mercs left K with a nod, mounted the helicopter, and left.
K’s stomach dropped to the floor. He had stared a demon in the face and walked away. He collected himself and dropped to his knees. He frantically fumbled with the briefcase until it opened. Encased in charcoal gray foam padding, there was a single credit chip. He uploaded it into his phone and collapsed when he saw the amount. Knowing the risk of the operation, Songyee had promised one million dollars for the acquisition of the implant. K read over his phone screen 60 times before reality set in. The amount read one hundred million. K broke down and sobbed uncontrollably, writhing around the desert floor, every emotion flooding his brain. Except for the corpos, most people would never even see this amount of money. K probably wouldn’t even live long enough to spend all of it.
It was all just a joke to Songyee. They could have used that money for anything, but they decided to drop it in the lap of a street rat that couldn’t even comprehend what to do with that much money. Every struggle, every hardship, every horrible thing K had done to keep himself alive ran through his mind. Every problem he ever had was solved in that instant. Two extra zeroes were all it took. FeraTech would be off his back, and he would never have to work a day for the rest of his life.
The life he had led for 27 years up until this point was gone. The weight of the world sluffed off of his shoulders and dripped down his back and ran through every grain of sand below him. K lay still on the damp desert sand and stared at the stars and broke down. Maybe he had led too hard a life for too long a time, or maybe the implants did more damage to his brain than he thought, but he was destroyed.
The man he used to be was extinguished. What should have been a fresh start felt like an oppressive end. K lived his entire life for this moment, but upon its arrival, he only felt empty. He never thought about what he’d do after, he had never even imagined he would have lived to complete his mission in the first place. It was nothing more than a pipe dream that materialized due to uncanny luck, and now he was left to pick up the pieces. His only purpose was stripped away.
K stood up, brushed himself off, and stared back at the city he vowed never to look at again. As he watched the fireworks swell and explode once more, he reached into his waistband and pulled out his pistol. He pressed the cold steel bore into his temple, slid his finger on the trigger, and closed his eyes. Just as he pulled back on the trigger, he felt something brush past his foot. He quickly opened his eyes and watched as a black snake slithered over his boot. The tension in his hand was released and his pistol slapped the sand with a dull thud. Once more he dropped and wept ferociously at the thought life still prevailed through the barren wastes he found himself in. The implant had done its damage. He had sold his soul and the devil would collect soon.
Knox is a cadet at NMMI.