(EP) PRELUDES: Adam Bristow

[Craig ST]

Adam Bristow stood on the curb outside of his apartment block waiting for his partner to pick him up. For the third time he went to check his watch and for the third time his muse popped up the time in a tiny AR window in the corner of his eye. Even after 6 months there was still so much to get used to. Adam missed wearing a watch.

The streets of the Little Shanghai Dome were bustling at this time of day and Adam watched the free and the indentured both head off to work. It still surprised him how many people were forced to live in the robotic shells they called Synths or the half biological, half synthetic Pods. if it werent for the constant social networking feeds from the mesh his muse collected, tracked and sorted for him, hed be hard pressed to tell who was sapient and who was just a robot.

The familiar, sleek car his partner drove buzzed into view overhead and rapidly descended to street level. With a whispered hush the door opened before Adam hit the curb and after placing his gear bag into the trunk he slid into the passengers seat while Kotori passed him a steaming caffeinated beverage in a paper cup without looking at him. Morning partner, he said casually.

Gaijin, the word was crisply spoken.

Running behind this morning? He asked in the same casual tone as he regarded his partner. Ito Kotori was a focused, driven police detective who was determined to succeed in a police force notorious for its corruption as well as its sloth. He knew she was Japanese in origin but her morph was a mildly Slavic looking Ruster morph of average height and slightly below average appearance. They hadnt been partnered long but hed already seen her in action. Whatever her morph lacked in appearance Kotori made in cleverness and balls. Hed already seen she could be absolutely ruthless when she needed to be and Adam wasnt altogether sure she liked him.

I have already been to the station this morning and received our assignment. Homicide, The car took off with a hum as she rejoined the flowing traffic on the skyway. Adam took a sip of the coffee and thought about what shed just said. Homicide, true homicide was incredibly rare in this day and age. Even if a person was killed they could just get resleeved into a new body from their back up insurer. At most getting killed was a nuisance these days.

Any other details? he asked. Kotori was not one for dramatics and he wondered why she seemed to be making a big deal out of this.

It happened in New Shanghai; in the Weiming Prospect neighborhood, Shit he thought. A rich person getting killed was never a good thing, even if they didnt stay dead; especially if they didnt stay dead.