FutureBlog for January 20, 2106

January 20, 2106 posted by Pete III

Daisuke Ken is a techop for the Body Corporate. His home, or perhaps I should say "lab," overlooks Lake New Angels. LNA is a rather expansive antigrav hologramatic entertainment facility. According to the adverts it combines state-of-the-tech antigravitational repulsors (which seem to be a contradiction in terms) and hologramatic projection to bring you a lifelike aquatic experience.

Like anyone in New Angels would know what that even felt like. We take baths and showers, but that is as close as we can get to any sort of aquatic submersion. That is one of the things I am jealous about you, faithful reader. Back in the earlier twenty-first you can still enjoy a swim in the ocean without getting sick. You are so lucky in that sense.

Regardless, LNA is not something that just anyone can enjoy--it is a luxury that people just short of the Ease can afford but few others. Certainly not myself, but Ken is simply that valuable to the Body Corporate. They treat him as though he were a member of the Ease.

I don't believe I've explained who the Ease are yet.

They are probably the most important people alive today. They are the heart of innovation and creation, itself, in the Eighteen Cities. I'm not sure how many people are Ease, but the number is not that high. I can't remember the exact figure I read in the news.

A fraction of the overall population of the Ease live in each of the Eighteen. Not that you'd ever really know, of course because they keep themselves sequestered in the exDome, away from the impurifying properties of the average person. The exDome is a smaller dome that resides atop our Plecksi-domes. They are incredibly secure there.

I should tell you more about the Ease and their effects on humanity in another entry. For now, I should get to my story about Ken.

"You're keeping something from me," Ken said, speaking in his native tongue, Japanese. Incidentally, any dev is capable of translating the four major languages with a 95% accuracy while it can translate the other languages of the Eighteen with an 85% accuracy.

"Ken. Wakarimas, onegai," I said, trying to speak Japanese on my own.

"Please understand, what?" My dev recreated a nearly accurate copy of Ken's voice from it's tiny emitter.

"Please, Ken, I can't tell you everything I would like to. Just trust me that it's about catching the people who committed 110."

"I can sense it, Pete. This isn't just about some Nogoodnicks who are hiding beyond the 33rd."

While Ken was brilliant regarding all things electronic he also had an odd sixth sense for reading people. It was a trait I wish I had learned from him.

"Hai," I said, shrugging.

"What is it?"

"She saved my life."

"This 110 suspect?"

"Indeed."

"Incredible. If she is a terrorist, why should she save your life?"

"I don't know."

"There's still something more, Pito."

"Pito" was what he called me. It's a Japanese thing, I suppose. I think I'd mind it if anyone else called me that, but Ken has earned the right.

I told him about the flat I had found that Ryca claimed belonged to a transmog droid.

"Also incredible."

"You can't tell anyone about this, Ken."

"A robot with a personalized living space? No, I can't tell anyone about it until I see it for myself."

"So you'll come?"

"You had only but to ask, Pito."

"How will you handle being missing?" I asked.

"I have some vacation time coming. Do you still have friends in New Edin?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'll forge myself some traveldocs but in case BCA get really nosey, I shall need someone to verbally vouch for me."

By "BCA" he meant "Body Corporate Authorities." Our era enjoys its acronyms.

My team was now complete. The hardest thing was waiting for those five days to pass before Dr. Hu and Ken and I could meet with Ryca and go after that mysterious woman.

I'm going to take some time tonight to write an extra blog entry that will post tomorrow. I don't expect having the time to blog after tomorrow's little adventure in the M's.