| El Independente
Independent Opinions from Our Editors Phyrric Victory. In a heated, thirty-six hour battle, Meridiana’s police, military garrison, and resident population of genetically engineered beings managed to defeat a superior force of green brutes, known in police circles as the ‘4G’s (Giant Green Goon Gangs), but at a severe cost to the city’s infrastructure, population, and the brave men and women who fought tooth and nail for the last day and a half. Many people have seen the destruction that smashed most of the central core of the city, but by far, the most insulting and devastating part of the damage is the abuse that has been heaped upon the statue of the city’s guardian, visible all over the city. One wing has been completely shattered, and will take at least six months to rebuild the basic framework, and the face, once a masterpiece of marble carving and skill, will require another ten months to repair the damage done. Many people have looked at the statue as a source of inspiration, and this editor even has a painting done of the statue silhouetted against the setting sun in his office. The damage done, until it is repaired, is nothing more than a scarred blight on the spirit of our fair city. The physical damage to the city is nothing compared to the personal cost. The lists of people killed or missing have exceeded thirty thousand, and more casualty lists are coming into the office by the hour. Several prominent people are still missing, but we are saddened to report that the mayor, his wife, and most of his staff were all killed in one of the first attacks. Also, the police chief, once thought dead, has been found, seriously wounded, but recovering from several bullet wounds to the chest and stomach. However, even with the horrendous damage done to our city and our people,
we will endure. Already programs have been implemented to help those wounded
in the attack, and many people have already volunteered to assist in restoring
the damaged sections of our homes.
Unanswered Questions Many people have asked the same questions in the last few days as our reporters were, but most of those questions are completely unanswerable. For example, why did these creatures attack in such force, last seen almost six years ago? Another question, almost as important, is why did a massive part of that force get shredded in a heated battle just outside of the city, where the police and military admitted that they had nothing to do with it? Finally, where were our most prominent defenders of the city, the beings known as CyberSix and Data 7? We have tried to answer these questions, and several answers were supplied by a prominent citizen of our city. The interview with that citizen is on page ten, and several insights are raised by this person’s responses to our questions. We had tried to secure an interview with a neutral representative of the attacking force, but the person was assassinated before we could arrive at the supplied location. After a through investigation, it was revealed that the supposedly neutral source had orders to capture one of our reporters, and torture him or her for information. It appears that our city still has its share of guardian angels, even with all the troubles we’ve gone through. Thankfully, even with the angels we seem to share, and with the hardships we’ve had to endure, much of our power and perseverance comes from the people we have come to know. People like our families, friends, neighbours, and even acquaintances. The unity we showed over the last two days allowed almost everyone in the city to produce personal examples of heroics, all of which combined to save many people who would have otherwise died, or prevented damage that would have killed or wounded many more people than were actually harmed. All in all, we have survived once again, and our opponents will at least leave us alone for a long time. Hopefully, they’ll realize that our city is on the top of the world’s ‘Don’t Screw With’ list, and decide to move for a place that might be more hospitable, such as Beirut. Maybe then we can all go back to the lives we once had, where we could loaf around without wondering if something was going to blow up in the next twenty minutes. With the actions of our friends, neighbours, and even our personal enemies, all united against our common foes, the dream of peace in our city will become a reality. Let’s all work towards it. |
–Meridiana Airport, 9:30 PM–
"So, you’re leaving. Care to tell me why before you get onto that Redeye to Singapore?" Dr. Zack looked at Sel as she carefully folded up the newspaper she had been reading and looked at him with her real eye. The patch covering the empty socket where her cybernetic eye had been was already covered in dust from the constant reconstruction going on in the airport and much of the rest of the city, but Sel didn’t mind, as she didn’t feel much irritation from the grit.
"There’s a conference in two days there about pathological osteo-degeneration. I’ll be checking that out to see if there’s any corporate secrets I missed last time I went to one of these things. Besides, I’m sick of looking out my window and staring at the ruin of that statue’s face. I need a change of scenery, and Lucas has already agreed to cover my Bio classes for the week I’ll be gone."
Dr. Zack frowned as Sel neatly put the paper away in her carry-on, deftly hiding the purple bracelet she always wore between the folded paper and her clothes. "Well, I don’t like it. It’s just too convenient, and you have a lot of enemies in Singapore."
Sel laughed. "Yeah, and I have a good half-dozen aces up each sleeve as well, and I’m not telling you where I put my ceramic pistol. Just have fun while I’m gone and try to keep the Bean from destroying something valuable. All you really have to do is give her a braille paperback she hasn’t read yet, so try sneaking in a copy of Pessoa’s works sometime. Stop making that face at me; I’m not your daughter, and, last I checked, you can’t pull a true glower to save your life." Sel smiled to take the sting out of her comment, then stood up and started walking towards the exit terminal.
"Well, considering that I would have had to have fathered you when I was nineteen, I can say with complete authority that you’re in no way related to me. " Dr. Zack fell into pace on Sel’s left, letting her eye track him as she continued to move.
"Well, I know you’re just waiting for the opportunity to spit something out, and you have ten minutes before I have to be on the other side of that gate and on the plane. Care to say it?"
"Not really, considering that you already know all the platitudes I could possibly say to you. Just be careful, and try to relax, alright? You’re as wound up as a clock spring, and you have no way to unwind."
Sel grinned. "That’s what you think. It’s just that my idea of unwinding took a massive swath out of the force that decided to knock on your front door during that fight. Now, that’s my flight there, so I’ll be heading off in a couple of minutes. I hope you stay on top of things, and try to say hi to Six and Lucas for me while I’m gone."
Dr. Zack nodded and shook hands with Sel, then watched as she walked into the terminal, heading towards her flight. "Godspeed and good luck. You’ll probably need it."
–Somewhere in South America, 12:40 AM–
The body in the tube was beginning to move without neural stimulation, and Dr. Von Reichter was slightly concerned about the neural scans that showed that X-2's synaptic connections were accelerating, revealing a greater situational awareness than once thought to have been attainable while in the tube.
However, the physical changes were much more fascinating. The merging of ancient reptilian DNA with augmented human DNA had allowed the formation of leathery wings, easily twenty feet long, as well as scythe-like claws sprouting from the right hand, which had retained only two fingers and a thumb, each claw being almost a foot long, and sharp enough to punch through two feet of titanium. Much of the rest of the body was unchanged, with the exception of several scaly plates covering X-2's upper torso, thighs, and calves, acting as heavy armour for the purposes of defence, but without the detriments of hindered movement due to weight or constriction of joints.
"A killing machine. She has become a fast, flight-capable killing machine. She is smart, fast, immensely strong, and totally independent of sustenance. The only thing that keeps her in check is the implant in the back of her neck." Von Reichter used several camera controls to zoom in on the implant, and he smiled at one of Jose’s inventions.
It had once been a mechanical spider, but, implanted into the neck and reprogrammed, it made a very effective fail-safe. The razor-tipped ‘legs’ of the spider were strategically positioned at the carotid and jugular arteries and veins, as well as at the juncture between the fourth and fifth vertebra, where a blade could slip into the spine and paralyse the body completely. A quick jolt of regenerative stem cells plus a nano-tech cocktail would put her right as rain if it was a minor infraction, but for serious violations, there would be a waiting period.
Inside the tank, the being that had once been Cyber X-1, now known as Nightmare X-2, twitched slowly, flexing the claws and letting her wings flap slowly in the confined space, sending up eddies of thicker sediments and clouded sustenance, obscuring the red eyes that stared out into the room beyond.