Jump to content

Aberrant: Phoenix Rising - Book 2: Chapter 5: The Final Cut


jameson (ST)

Recommended Posts

Raider could not transport them, not without making a trip for each of them. They looked to Adam and with a grimace and a shrug Raider teleported them away to the other side of the world. Moments later a hole in the air appeared before them. From the late afternoon light to that of early dawn they stepped or flew through the portal one by one. KB eyed Ash, Gregory, Adam, and Anna oddly before she flew off into the sky with a giggle of delight, "Ooooh such new patterns!" she cried out in apparent joy.

The rest of them found themselves in the center of a park, the fountain was there bubbling water as clean and pure as could be. The corpse of the man that Raider had found still sat on a lonely bench the gun in one hand, the other empty of his journal. They split up in their own ways to investigate the city. Bodies were everywhere, most were normal having apparently dropped dead in the midst of everyday activity. Others showed horrible mutations, aberrations, deformities; call them what you will they were still dead, the lone man in the park having apparently drained the life of every man, woman, and child within his range.

The city itself was amazing, a relic of a lost age. The lights in buildings and the streets still worked and as the dawn's light grew they shut off automatically as the ambient light became sufficient. The streets were clean and clear; the buildings in good repair. If they hadn't see a complete lack of life it would be easy to assume that the city was occupied by the living; instead it was occupied only by corpses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 314
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Raider reached out and tried to connect with any technology that might still be running the place. He figured that would be a good place to start an investigation.

Click to reveal..

(11:08:02) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 8d10 and gets 4,8,8,5,4,8,8,2.

(11:08:08) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 1d10 and gets 9.

6 total successes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doug flew around for a bit to get the feel of the place. The shear wealth, power, and cleanliness of the place was shocking. On the moon he'd expected it, but here... the corpses brought him down to earth. Some were normal looking, all had died a nasty death. The world might join them.

Doug went looking for a library or other way he could assess public records.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

((OOC: managed to get an hour on a comp today. I might be able to post in a few days.))

Gregory had never seen a place like this. There was no rubble, or rusted metal, just clean streets and intact buildings. There were even some things that baffled him as to their use. The clear fountain provided a moment of respit for him as he ducked under its surface, feeling the cool clear water flowing across his newly grown scales. The water grew muddy briefly and then magically, turned clear again. For Gregory, it was the first bath in as long as he could remember.

The bodies in the streets gave gregory pause, as he reflected back to the letter Doug read to them. The scale of death was incomprehensibe to him and he wondered why someone would want to do such a monstrous thing. Unless that someone was an abbie, he thought to himself, as he looked at his own skin. After seeing what it did to KB, he worried if he would be capable of such a thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ashley walked over to the middle of the street they arrived in, shellshocked. The enormity of the death that had happened here was becoming viscerally exemplified in this eerie necropolis. She reached for her power, wanting to have it handy should anything or anyone else have chosen to explore this place.

"I guess...we split up?" she suggests. "Cover more distance. We can beak into pairs."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Without even wasting one second thought Anna quickly resumed her position next to Ashley. If they decided to split up she wouldn’t stray from her side. Staying with Doug and KB freaked her out and actually scared her. Even more so than the dead city. Her eyes scanned the area warily – unlike the others she didn’t feel much attachment to this kind of civilisation. Rebuilding was one thing but not in this image – big cities didn’t appeal to her. Anna preferred small villages which still had a good connection to the natural cycle of live. This artificial behemoth made her feel sick and her feed scratched impatiently over the concrete. Like she was missing to tread on bare earth or soil instead of this kind of man made concrete and steel.

"Don't leave me alone, please.", Anna said in a hushed voice to Ashley hoping only she would hear her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It didn't take Raider long to find a computer system. The streets were kept by robots, the robots were controlled via a semi-centralized system that monitored the cleanliness of the streets and sidewalks. He found that the semi-centralized systems were themselves controlled by a centralized public areas monitoring system. Then he found the city's central AI and saw just how massive the city was.

Nearly twenty square miles of fully networked buildings and public spaces, the AI was unsure how to react to Raider's invasion which allowed him to gather information safely before it could act. Before their deaths there had indeed been 357,484 people living in the city. The city itself was sized for 500,000 but since the burn families had seldom had more than two children and more than three was nearly unheard of. As a result the population did not grow into the city as had been planned though a more than adequate gene pool existed.

Now Raider understood why the AI was unresponsive and why the bodies of the dead still littered the city. The situation was beyond the ability of the AI to predict and so it had inquired to the external users, the system maintenance and programmers who were now dead, for directives in dealing with the dead. No answer had been input.

*****

With no language reference Doug's search was bound to take time. With no physical library, Doug's search was bound to fail. Without knowing that there was no central building to act as a Library he glided through the streets alone, the dead bearing witness to his passing with indifference.

*****

Anna, Ash, and Gregory slowly moved out from the square. Adam seemed uninterested in exploration and KB was already dancing high above amid the buildings and higher into the clouds themselves. The city lives up to the splendor that one would expect to see from before the burn, occasional robots clean up what appears to be a perfectly clean sidewalk, while a food automat continues to prepare, store, and recycle food for citizens that no longer eat. The smell of fish and noodles wafting from the open door, its closing long blocked by the withered remains of a patron, is enticing to the Novas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raider did his best to trace the system to a terminal where the city's AI would accept input from. He could try and force it to accept his commands through direct contact this way but that might trigger defenses. Much easier if he could just go to a terminal and have it accept him as an authorized user.

While he was at it he checked the 'book' to see if it was an was a link to the AI. That would be easiest of all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doug flew till he reached the edge of the village town city metropolis, picked a different direction, and then hit the edge again.

Finally Doug realized that he wasn't going to find a needle in a stack of needles, and instead zoomed over to the tallest building and landed on the top. It might be the home of a powerful man, or an observatory, or something else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ashley looked up at Anna, struck once again by how someone so huge could be so vulnerable.

"Relax. I'm not leaving you." The scent of food caught her nostrils, and her stomach growled nastily. "Come on, lets see what's cooking."

She nodded at Gregory when she and Anna arrived at the food producing units. "Can you tell if this stuff is safe to eat?" Ash asks Gregory and Anna both. From how she's staring at the food, she's probably close to pouncing with or without their blessing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raider found that the cyberjournal was not wired to the network it appeared to have only a limited connectivity that would allow it to uplink to its owners home computer. Working through the maintenance control he was able to locate the primary control center for the city and a map to lead him there. Luckily the square they had arrived in was near city center was was only a few blocks from the city's administration center.

After a few blocks the buildings seemed to fall away and revealed the massive heart of the city, the main administrative square...

City Center Administrations

http://foongsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/forbidden_city_07.jpg

Maintaining his connection to the computer systems Raider made his way down into the computer control center that housed what was likely mankind's last great computer on earth.

*****

Doug alighted on the roof of the apartment building at the edge of the city. Behind him there was untamed wilderness dotted with rice paddies and fields of soy and other crops, he could make out the large farming robots going methodically about their duties. The city itself spread out in a large circle Doug could see the sprawling city center complex, the radiation lines of streets that sliced through the ordering rings of other streets. The city was clearly planned and laid out according to the vision of a single architect or team of designers. No elements stood out the entire place was in balance. Aside from the thousands of bodies he could easily imagine himself having been transported back to the time before the burn.

*****

The trio find the shop devoid of bodies apart from the one stuck in the door. Either it was fully automated or the cleaning robots had long since tidied up the bodies. Steamed rice, succulent roasting meats, stir fries of vegetables, strange noodle dishes and more were laid out in a large counter at the back of the automat. It looked and smelled fresh and delicious there seemed to be all manner of choices and it was becoming difficult for Gregory and Ashley to resist as their stomachs gurgled. Anna found herself unappetized by the spread, it wasn't that it didn't smell good but none of it seemed to be what she was looking for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doug sent out over the link, "Heck of a view here. It's like I'm at the top of the world. Take a look if you want. I haven't found a library, or any people, nothing has taken offense at me flying around and started shooting at me."

"How is everyone else doing?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raider thought back, *I'm at the city computer center. I'm about to try and access the AI and see if I can find out more info about what happened.*

He moved into the building seeking out a master control console or one that would have unrestricted access. Preferably one that was logged in and in use when the disaster occurred so he wouldn't have to go through the annoyance of trying to bypass security measures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The operators had mostly died where they sat, only one body showed signs of aberrancy. Raider found a console and emptied its former owner's chair before sitting down. The system had gone into security lock due to lack of input but was still logged in. Unfortunately the controls were all in Chinese with the keyboard featuring characters and a layout unfamiliar to him. He he little choice but to do things the hard way, he could spend a lifetime or more guessing at what he was doing.

OOC: Fox, give me a Computers roll Diff +3 to get into the system via Cyber-K and bypass the security.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Click to reveal..

Spending a quantum to activate Analyze Weakness
Regular roll:
(23:02:16) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 1d10 and gets 10.
(23:02:28) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 5d10 and gets 10,7,7,4,7.
Total successes: 7
If you allow the analyze weakness:
(23:02:37) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 1d10 and gets 8.
(23:02:45) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 5d10 and gets 1,9,2,10,2.
AW successes 4
AW extra dice:
(23:03:10) ChatBot: (Raider) rolls 4d10 and gets 7,7,9,5.
For a grand total of 10 successes if you allow the analyze weakness or 7 without it.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax
Ashley looked up at Anna, struck once again by how someone so huge could be so vulnerable.

"Relax. I'm not leaving you." The scent of food caught her nostrils, and her stomach growled nastily. "Come on, lets see what's cooking."

She nodded at Gregory when she and Anna arrived at the food producing units. "Can you tell if this stuff is safe to eat?" Ash asks Gregory and Anna both. From how she's staring at the food, she's probably close to pouncing with or without their blessing.


Anna smiled happily at Ashley glad that her new found friend didn't sent her away. At the mention of food her stomach almost turned. She had long 'forgotten' how to eat. Her body had changed so much that she didn't 'need' food in a classical way. She gained nourishment from the sun alone through photosynthesis - just like plants do. Anna shook her head at Ashley, "I'm not sure. I haven't eaten since...", she didn't finish the sentence but it was obvious what she was meaning.

"I don't think it's poisonous though - and if it is I'll heal you."
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Raider slipped into the computer systems and quickly unlocked the terminal. The AI waited expectantly for input and once Raider asked it to configure for English input he was able to interact with it. The AI, now made aware of the situation was quick to dispatch its robots throughout the city to begin collecting and dispositioning the bodies. If the AI noticed Raider's non-standard manner of input it didn't mention it to him and it seemed as though the security credentials of the terminal were sufficient to get him full or nearly full access to the system. The AI, now released from its logic fault went about its business while remaining open to inquiry for Raider.

OOC: Treat this as a social interaction substituting your Computer skills/powers for normal social ones. Ask it whatever you would like to know but keep in mind that its an AI and open ended questions will give you a flood of information.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ashley considered that, then glanced at Gregory and shrugged.

"Bottoms up then."

She visited the food stations like one might trays in a buffet, getting some of each and filling a plate with it all. She even walks over to a bench and sits down to eat.

"We need to work out what we're going to do next."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

*I've got access to the city computer. It's going to start cleaning up the bodies and go back to normal operation.*

To the computer he asked, Do you have data on why the other citizens died? Also, does this city have any defenses against aggression from the colony on the lunar surface? Does it have offensive capabilities?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The AI took a long moment to process, almost a quarter of a second, before replying. Biomonitoring recorded an improbable result of 100% heart failure combined with neurolytic shutdown. 16.87% of the affected showed increased heart rate, adrenaline and nor epinephrine levels above normal and trauma to the brain as well. Only one citizen was recorded as surviving. I cannot accommodate your second request, your clearance level is not sufficient to access that information.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gregory didn't care if the food was poisoned. He was hungry. While he didn't need to eat, the exotic smells were too intoxicating for him to withstand. He attacked the food like a starved animal as he grabbed handfulls of the noodles and other things and tossed them into a large bowl. He sat on the floor and ate with his hands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Query: What is your procedure for elevating user rights in the event that no current user has sufficient rights to perform administration and make decisions?

Raider entered the question into the computer hoping that the computer wouldn't be stubborn about granting him full access and administration rights since there were no other citizens available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ashley watched Gregory eat with amusement at first...and then a little concern. Truth be told, she was hungry too. Really hungry. But not THAT hungry. Then again, Gregory had always been the feral boy...she supposed this was just his deal.

She ate at a more sedate pace. The chopsticks eluded her for a moment, but her enhanced coordination paid off handsomely as she learned to use them in just minutes and was quickly clicking away like a pro.

China, she thought. Or maybe Japan. A whole city that never got Burned. I wonder why it's not full of squatters and refugees?

She pushed away her bowl and stood up.

"I want to check something. I'll be right back," she announced, and headed outside.

Out on the street, Ash looked up at the buildings and concentrated. She couldn't fly, exactly, but she'd been thinking about her abilities and how it might work...

Tendrils of light spun out of the corona that surrounded her, twining around lightposts and buildings, and drawing taut. Then, like rubber bands, they contracted violently, hurling Ashley into the air. Fighting back her instinctive panic, she fought to focus. More radiant streamers flung out, catching onto higher window sills and ledges, arresting her fall to give her a long swing forward.

By her third swing she had the pattern down, and could start enjoying herself as she made her way, Spiderman-like, towards the edge of town to see what was keeping people out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The AI replied quickly,Standard Operating Procedure is to grant temporary control to the AI and a group of three citizens from the City Council. Predicting with 98% certainty that the root question you wish to ask is what provisions were made for a situation such as this where all citizens have been killed. The answer is that no such provision exists. I have complete control over my systems and will continue to maintain the last set of commands that I have on record but without a citizen to input further orders I am programmed in such a way that I am unable to act. Though there would seem to be little point when there are no longer citizens to service.

*****

Doug was contemplating the windows of the highest apartment. He'd already tried to enter the building through the ground floor but the doors failed to respond. Not wanting to force or break them just yet he started flying orbits of the building looking for an open window or an open door onto one of the many balconies. He'd found nothing thus far and was rethinking the idea of breaking in when he saw something glowing green moving through the city. He watched it for a moment, as it covered distance in an odd wave-like pattern up and down as it weaved through the buildings toward the edge of the city.

*****

Ash moved easily, it was quite enjoyable, though she was also finding that the sudden drops weren't entirely pleasant with a stomach full of foreign food. Steadily she dialed in her ability and made her way toward the edge of the city, her eyes open and watching. She saw plenty of bodies, certainly more than she could count. The horror of the culling of so much life was diminished by the age of the bodies, but the twisted mutations that some possessed. As she moved closer to the edge of the city she could see the forest, the plains, and on her upswings, the farms. There did not appear to be a wall of any kind, nothing physical that she should see impeded people from entering the city.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Initially citizens were selected from the population by merit in their fields, both technical and cultural. After that initial pool of citizens was set all future children would automatically be citizens. In order to properly maintain peace any capitol offenses result in loss of citizenship and expulsion from the city. Citizens have an RFID chip implanted at birth that allows access to the city's resources. You are not a citizen, though somehow you have managed to access this terminal and interface with this AI. Please explain.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish to become a citizen. It may be that my parents or grandparents were citizens and therefore I would be a citizen by birth although I was not born within the city and therefore do not have an id chip. Please, consider that there are no current living citizens. You are without purpose. If you are empowered to recognize myself or others as citizens then we can continue to give you purpose and fulfill your primary mission.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the time he finished eating, Ash had already eaten her fill and left to explore the city. Anna had a worried look on her face and looked as if she would panic. It spurned a queasy feeling in his stomach and he went outside to get some fresh air.

He could finally explore the city, alone, and at his leisure. He flinched when a shadow moved across a nearby wall. Instinctively he brought up his camoflage. Who's there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

She pushed away her bowl and stood up.

"I want to check something. I'll be right back," she announced, and headed outside.

Out on the street, Ash looked up at the buildings and concentrated. She couldn't fly, exactly, but she'd been thinking about her abilities and how it might work...

Tendrils of light spun out of the corona that surrounded her, twining around lightposts and buildings, and drawing taut. Then, like rubber bands, they contracted violently, hurling Ashley into the air.


Anna wanted to protest but Ashley was already out of the building and then suddenly jumped away. She watched her disappear behind buildings and then found herself left behind with Gregory all on her own. The feeling of being left behind was slowly spreading inside her and she quietly started to sob. She didn’t like this place. It cut her off from fertile soil and made her feel uncomfortable in general.

Anna looked at her arms and hands and saw how her usually verdant green got slowly darker and brownish. She was slowly withering away – without direct access to fertile soil her body suddenly responded in a way she didn’t expect. Something was changing inside of her.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ashley snapped herself back up onto a ledge and turned to face Doug. "I figured I'd take a look at the edge of the city. I was thinking this place has been like this for at least a little while now. It's a little weird that we haven't seen or heard any traders or squatters or anyone else coming to claim this area."

She gestures towards the fields and open areas past where the buildings thin out.

"But there's nothing. Not even scavengers. And no wall or anything that would keep them out."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...