D1: Track 5: "Welcome to the Machine" [PlanetFall]

[Sarodinian]

"Therefore a wise prince will seek means by which his subjects


will always and in every possible condition of things have need


of his government, and then they will always be faithful to him."


-- Niccolo Machiavelli,


"The Prince", Datalinks




Factory Maze, April 34, MY 2180.


Life in the Hive was simple. Get up when shift was called. Perform your assigned duties. Eat your rations when time was called. Participate in your designated activities at the precise time. Compose yourself and rest at the prescribed time. Sleep at your prescribed time. Precise. Disciplined. Ordered. Controlled. It was not for the faint of heart, but the faint of mind took to it rather well too.


This morning at Factory Maze, first shift is called.


-----------------------------------------------------------------


"Joseph Li. Awaken. You have 10 minutes to compose yourself and report to the Feeding Bay for morning meal. Compliance is mandatory." The speaker in your room drones as the lights turn on.


Another fine morning in The Hive.


What dost thou do?

 

[d1ng0d0g]

Joe was relaxing on the hard bunkbed that was his during this cycle of shifts, glad that not many of his fellow drones had the means to acquire the minor upgrade he had to waste less time sleeping when the speakers started to bleat their propaganda.


"Why didn't you warn me that it was that time again, Mary ?" Joe groaned inside his head, as he addressed his Muse. "Again, Joe, darling, because you didn't ask me." her sultry voice rang through his head, "And to counter your next questions. Yes. No. And No."


"I didn't ask her ?" he thought privately and then he shook his head, "Of course I didn't." And then he wondered for a moment what his next two questions would be to warrant a double negative.


"Tell me the showers work again." he told Mary, smiling slightly as he pulled his sheets from the bunk and threw them in the hamper. Personal hygiene was important, and even drones, from a purely practical point of few, received time for showers and a clean bed every shift.


Two minutes after the call, Joe, walked out of his shared bunkroom and toward the Feeding Bay. "Porridge ?" he asked Mary, almost hopeful, for the drought that affected the water supplies also affected the grain supplies. While porridge was perhaps a disgusting meal to many, to a Hive Drone it was not the lowest of the low, because what they had been eating lately came from a place not even the Drones were willing to discuss.


He collected a bowl and went to the line where the breakfast, dubbed Wormdung, was being served.

 

[Sarodinian]

The feeding bay was a very large cafeteria-like structure, lit by artificial light. The room is filled with row after row of bench-tables where several Drones are eating their meals. Several more are in line with their bowls. As you wait, the heavily armored, masked figure of a Hive Security Guard appears next to you.


"You there. Come with me." he taps you on the shoulder and says through a voice filter.

 

[d1ng0d0g]

"Okay, this is new." Joe thought as he looked at the guard for a moment and nodded, putting his bowl the the side and turning to look at the him.


"What's this about ?" he asked, his tone friendly and curious as mentally he was running through the lists of every possibility of what it could be about. His own overseer wasn't completely aware of Joe's activities, but one just slightly higher up the chain above her most definitely was, enjoying the luxuries only a man like Joe could get into the Hive. So that wasn't it. Possession of the expressions of individuality, the luxuries was just as illegal as Joe's profession, so the chances of being ratted out where very small as well and that left only one thing. Something new.

 

[Sarodinian]

"Overseer Kiyoshi wishes to see you for questioning." the guard says, turning and motioning for you to follow.


Kiyoshi Rei is the Second-Tier Overseer you've been procuring luxuries for. She knows you've more than enough dirt on her that she wouldn't betray you, on the contrary, she seems to fancy you quite a bit.


You recently helped her acquire something -big- from the Morgans. A new morph, to be exact. Though you didn't handle it yourself, you hear it's quite the advanced model. Custom design originally used for some famous hacker back from the old world. Designer decided to make a few modifications and release a few more models to the general public. Took awhile to get this particular model for her too. The importing of it was the hard part. Coming up with a good reason for her to resleeve was the easy part.


She's a nice girl and all, a bit on the plain side though. Perhaps that's changed.

 

[d1ng0d0g]

Not one to make much of a fuss, Joe followed the guard obediently through the corridors of the Hive. Occasionally nodding at people he was acquainted with. Occasionally greeting someone he knew a little bit better. And occasionally receiving polite courtesies in return. After all, Joseph Li was a helpful little drone. Very friendly and productive. Pulling an occasional shift here and there, never asking much in return.


"Kiyoshi." he pondered and then he smiled a little, "A little vain, but all together a nice girl." Ever since being introduced to the whole resleeving concept first hand Joe never bothered much with appearances. After all, when appearance could be changed as simple, though a lot more expensive as getting oneself outfitted in new clothes, what does it truly matter. Of course, like any human he was affected by the genetic predisposition to attach the quality of goodness to beauty, but that was genes, he just couldn't help that.

 

[Sarodinian]

The guard leads you to an elevator, and selects a floor near the surface. After an uneventful ride up, you are led to an unmarked room. The guard opens the door and shows you inside, then shuts the door behind you.


The room is a very nice one, even by not-hive standards. There is a small table with a rather delicious looking spread on it. Real meat, freshly baked breads, and what looks like imported sauces and other goods.


The room also features a very large window, giving you an excellent view of the Monsoon Jungle in the fresh morning sunlight. Very picturesque. A small couch sits here


Most striking, however, is the young woman who stands before you. Clad in some very fine, obviously imported, silks, and looking -very- attractive, she smiles as you enter the room.


She looks kind of like this:

"Hello there Joe! You probably don't recognize me, but I've brought you here as a bit of a post-resleeving party!" she says. The voice is different, but the mannerisms are definitely those of Kiyoshi Rei.


"I hope the fare is delicious!" she says, stepping towards you.


The two of you are alone here. What dost thou do?

 

[d1ng0d0g]

As he saw the food, his stomach reminded Joe that he had been eating 'Wormdung' for the past week and had skipped breakfast, quite clearly as his mouth started to water a little and his thoughts wandered for a moment.


Kiyoshi's new appearance was a pleasant surprise as very rarely he actually saw the fruits of his labors. On the other hand, unless he was extremely mistaken, Kiyoshi was now presenting those, and Joe had to admit, quite delectable fruits to him for sampling. And that would be a grave mistake.


Long before his departure for Planet, when he was still working on the scumbarge, a very crude gweilo had put it quite poetically. And while he meant something else, it did apply quite well to the current situation. "Don't fuck with your boss. Don't fuck with your clients." the gweilo had said, and right now Kiyoshi was both his boss and his client.


Joe smiled at her as she greeted him. "Miss Rei." he said politely, straightening his spine and moving his eyes up to look at hers, "You wanted to see me ?"


OOC:


Composure roll (Will x 3 = 45)


2d10 → [3,3]

 

[Sarodinian]

"Of course!" She says, "I'm throwing a celebration, and this's in thanks for your help in getting me this!" She gestures at her body in a rather seductive motion.


She sidles up next to you and motions for you to sit.


"Lets enjoy ourselves! The universe has spared us this moment!" she says with a smile, a bit too close to you.

 

[d1ng0d0g]

"Celebration." he thought and then he smiled broadly at her, "That might just be the way to get out of this situation!"


He moved to the table with the food, avoiding her, but really just keeping in motion so it wouldn't seem he was. The new shell was nice on the eyes though, he had to admit that, but something about her was just not too right.


"Consider you're in the mood for a celebration, Miss Rei." Joe said with a warm smile as he moved toward her, "Is there perhaps a reason for a double celebration ? You do know that I applied for that free position as overseer in sublevel D, don't you ?"


Nothing would cool down an intended romance than someone who talked business. And the best was, it wouldn't be considered too insulting. He reached for some of the meat as he couldn't remember the last time he had any and put it in his mouth, watching her.

 

[Sarodinian]

"Yes, I have seen that...so lets make this celebration double, in celebration of your new position as well." She says with a mischievous smile, moving to embrace you....


Suddenly, the entire room shakes as outside of the window, the both of you witness what looks like a missile rising out of the jungle. It's rising fast...damn fast...almost too fast for the local gravity. Its geometry seems...off... as well.


Most importantly, Kiyoshi Rei mentions this:


"That's impossible...we have no ability to launch that sort of rocket...and we're the only settlement in this area...something like that, looking like it'll reach orbit...from within the deep jungle?"


Suddenly, she gets a message, and curses.


"Damn. A council meeting's been called. I gotta go. Stay here for now. We may need your XP data." she says, businesslike, before her expression melts for a moment and she plants a kiss on your cheek. "Pity we couldn't celebrate." she says, turning and walking quickly out of the room.

 

[d1ng0d0g]

Not someone to pass up a free meal and always willing to sacrifice himself for the good of a fellow drone, Joe started to stuff his face with the foods on the table as he thought about what he had just witnessed. After all, he wouldn't want his client to get into trouble over something so trivial as luxury foods.


"Another war." he sighed deeply, a bit disappointed, as he was hoping for a little period of peace, even though war was good for business. His XP recordings were a whole other matter.


"Mary, mix that which just happened with that one time I was pissed drunk." he instructed his Muse, having kept that recording because it was an excellent way of getting out of situations where you had to have seen something, but you couldn't show them all the details. And of course, there were the recordings of routine boring days, but he couldn't use those right now.


When those instructions were given and Mary was working on the recordings, Joe went to quickly do the dishes, cleaning up after him and then waiting for Kiyoshi's return. And strangely, for some reason he was a bit upset that this had happened and he was pondering about that for a moment.

 

[Sarodinian]

"Right away darling." Mary says, getting to work on the mixing and falsifying work.


You wind up waiting there for quite some time. You can't exit the room, as the doors are all locked, but at least the food's plentiful.


Eventually, the door opens, but it's not Kiyoshi who has returned...rather, it is a few more guards.


"Joseph Li. The Chairman requires your presence. Follow us immediately." the lead guard says.


Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang. Here. If that wasn't bad enough, the big kahuna himself has taken an interest in you...And he's not exactly known for being the most kindhearted of men. He -is- pragmatic though...perhaps you may get out of this with your morph intact yet...

 

[d1ng0d0g]

"Yang ? Here ? Me ?" Joseph thought as he looked at the guards, several other thoughts flashing through his head, none of them entirely pleasant. Not a situation he had planned for either. If he knew that The Overseer had his eye on him, he'd have split. "Crap." he thought.


He followed the guards calmly, as his mind was racing through the options. Perhaps it was merely because he had been witness to that thing going up in the air. Perhaps it wasn't at all related to his side business. A useful side business even to the hive. Joe could name several arguments. And as he followed the guards his mood changed, although he showed very little on the outside.


A wise man once said, assumption is the mother of all fuckups. And if Joe was already assuming the worst, he wouldn't be prepared for the best. So he decided to go what he knew, which wasn't that much, at least not related to things here.


"Perhaps Yang wants some Morganite whores for a birthday party." Joe thought and then he chuckled amused.

 

[Sarodinian]

You are led to yet another elevator, where the guard inputs a keycode and you wait for several tense minutes. Finally the elevator starts moving, and you reach a place that you assume is at the very apex of the dome. The door opens, and you are pushed out into a darkened room with a single elderly man, a large videoscreen, and no other lighting or furniture.


"You will leave me alone with this man." Sheng-Ji Yang says to the guards, who dutifully bow and exit using the same elevator. "Drone #2931842, also known as Joseph Li. You have been summoned here for two reasons. Firstly is your presence in a restricted area. Drones of your class are not allowed in that antechamber for several reasons. You have been absent from your assigned duties for quite some time as a result. However, your presence there and subsequent tardiness will be excused, as you were the only one in that antechamber, and reportedly, the only transhuman that witnessed an interfactional incident that occurred not more than a few moments ago. You will tell me what you saw, and show me your EXP data. Your disobedience may have prevented another war." he says softly, yet forcefully. This guy merely has to gesture wrongly at you, and you'd be deleted, not a trace left of your existence....

 

[d1ng0d0g]

Joe stood straight and at attention, looking at Yang with little fear or nervousness. After all, if the Chairman wanted him dead, then he would have been already.


"At waking time I was called by a guard to report to overseer Rei, Sir." he started with the details of his day so far, using as much of the truth as possible, "Escorted to her quarters and awaiting her further instructions, when from the window I saw something come out of the jungle and fly up into the sky. It looked metallic, but otherwise the details are a bit fuzzy, my thoughts were elsewhere, Sir."


"Mary, upload the unmodified version to the Chairman's device." he thought, as he looked at the Chairman, "But leave out the events after the launch."


By providing the unmodified version, Joe would cover his own ass, perhaps cause a little trouble for Kiyoshi, but nothing too bad. And it actually made him look fairly good, as he was quite certain he had his emotions under control there, and the Chairman liked that. Or so it was said.