Chrome Symphony - Chapter 1

Duncan looked over to his right in the dimly lit hallway past the large double doors. The acoustics of the hallway were unnervingly deadening; it wasn't quite an anechoic chamber but it was close. Duncan wasn't quite sure why he noticed such things, let alone at times when he should concentrate on the task at hand.

He tapped the panel and spoke. "Hello? This is Duncan Sorenson, the software technician here to perform some security auditing and patches on the system here."

The automated door opened with a quiet "whoosh". Duncan walked into the dark room, where there was a large conference table and some very plush looking couches along the wall. On the walls were large display panels and three men were at the conference table, all with tablet terminals in front of them.

One of the men stood up. "Good you could see us at this hour. Please, have a seat. We're waiting on the hardware tech from EMA to arrive and then we'll start briefing you both on what needs to be done."

The man gestured toward a snack table at the end of the room. On it were all manner of delicious treats - cake, pie, donuts, flavored coffees, and fruit juices. "Please, help yourself," he told Duncan.

"Thank you," Duncan said as he put a couple of glazed donuts on a plate, filled a very expensive-looking mug with the Crest logo full of hot coffee, and sat down. "I'm at your service, gentlemen."

Elise handed Shell a towel and she quickly gave her hair a once over with it. "Thanks," she said, "I'm to meet another technician here to do some security and maintenance work."

Elise directed Shell to the large double doors in the back of the bar. "They're expecting you. It's room 2, on your right." she replied.

Shell buzzed the panel for room 2 in the dark, quiet hallway and announced herself. The doors opened immediately and she walked in.

Inside, a group of people sat around a conference table. One of them was a particularly old-looking cyborg, outfitted with lots of dated parts. "I apologize for being late. I'm the hardware technician from EMA and I'm pleased to be of service to you. The rain complicated my trip here but it's my fault for not bringing an umbrella." She then turned to greet the older-looking cyborg. "Oh, you must be Mr. Sorenson. We'll be working together," Shell told him.

"Please help yourself to refreshments," one of the men in suits told her. She poured herself a cup of fruit punch and sat down. "Thanks," she told them. "I understand some of your networking equipment has been having some issues."

One man, who appeared to be in charge of the project, replied to Shell. "Yes. We have a few problems that need to be addressed."

One of the display screens switched on, showing some diagrams. The man continued, "Something is interfering with our wireless systems. On top of this apparent jamming, we've noticed suspicious activity on the same parts of the network affected by this anomaly. We want you and Mr. Sorenson to investigate this and develop a solution."

Shell nodded. "This shouldn't be a problem. I will begin analysis immediately... All I'll need is..."

The man interrupted her. "Before we get started, we must inform you that this is a highly sensitive network. We need to take a few...precautions...just to make sure no confidential data is leaked during the audit or patching process."

"Oh?" Shell replied. She wondered where they were going with this. "I've signed the confidentiality agreements and I'm sure Mr. Sorenson has also reviewed them and signed, correct?"

The man shook his head. "Of course the standard arrangements have been made with EMA and our freelancer. What we will need is one additional safeguard."

Shell was beginning to become suspicious of where this was going. "Okay... what can I do for you?"

Another display screen switched on, displaying some diagrams that immediately aroused Shell's suspicions. Silhouettes of Shell and Duncan were displayed, along with some schematics of devices with which Shell had some vague familiarity. They were cybernetic remote control devices.

Shell stifled a gasp. "You mean..."

The man nodded to confirm. "Yes. Please understand that this is absolutely necessary. We need to have a direct override and monitoring system installed in both of you as a last measure."

Duncan abruptly stood up, accidentally sending his chair flying backward.

"Hey, look, thanks for the donuts but I can't agree to this. This wasn't part of the original deal."

He looked at Shell, who was obviously uncomfortable with the idea, too. She wasn't hiding her shock very well.

"With all due respect, gentlemen, what you are asking is outlawed under the Human Augmentation Rights Preservation Act. I must decline!"

He then turned around to leave. As he was heading toward the door, it opened and a large security guard walked in, blocking his path. A few seconds of silence passed as Duncan tried to assess the situation.

"Excuse me, please," said Duncan. The guard moved to block Duncan's path as Duncan tried to get around him.

The leader of the group stood up from the conference table. "Mr. Sorenson, you have seen some of the topology of our network and have signed the confidentiality agreements. You aren't planning on filing any legal complaints, are you?"

Duncan stepped back from the guard. "What to you mean to imply? What is the meaning of this? I'm afraid I must decline this agreement and wish to leave!"

The leader shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not quite that simple."

Duncan looked at Shell. He tried to open a direct communications link to her. After a few seconds, the link was established.

"We need to do something," he said to her, through the 'net. "They aren't going to take 'no' for an answer."

Atlas stood behind his new partner in the conference room. He had just been hired to work security detail for Crest as a contractor. Unsure of the nature of the work he would be doing, Atlas needed money so if he could do the job, he would take it.

His partner's large build blocked most of his view but, from what he could see, the man was trying to prevent a couple of cyborgs from leaving.

Atlas reflected on what he had been briefed in his meeting with the bosses back in the front of the bar. He was to assist the other guard in "securing" the private rooms in the back of the building. He wasn't quite sure what that involved but it sounded reasonable to him at the time.

He walked up beside his partner, Georg. "Ok, you two," he said to the cyborgs. "I understand you're trying to breach your contract and flee with some information. We can't allow that."

The small female cyborg looked at him. "That's not what's going on!" she yelled.

Atlas walked over to her and took her arm. "Let's just calm down and we'll find out what you're up to," he said to her.

Just then, a struggle broke out between the old male cyborg and Georg. Georg quickly threw the old man to the ground. "Hey!" yelled Atlas. He was surprised that Georg thought it necessary to be so rough with the old guy. "Don't you think that's a little much?"

Georg sneered at Atlas. "Listen, rookie. Either you do what's asked or you hit the road."

Atlas hesitated for a moment. Shell pulled her arm out of his grasp and leaped backward. He knew that if he wasn't willing to get rough with the cyborgs, he wouldn't get paid and that meant he couldn't even afford to eat tonight. "Listen..." he said. Atlas couldn't find the words. "What exactly IS this all about?"

Duncan was on the ground when Atlas distracted Georg with his question. He considered what might be the best course of action in this harrowing situation.

Duncan was not a combat cyborg by any means. His physical strength was slightly above average but straining his outdated cybernetic parts was risky since he had gone years without any maintenance due to his lack of funds. In this state, however, he knew he would have to fight to escape. He could also tell that the other cyborg was beginning to panic as she jumped away from Atlas.

The other men around the conference table didn't look too surprised at what was happening. Duncan knew what he had to do. Frantically trying to remember the technique, he focused electrical energy from his main power source into his hands. He could detect a buildup of electrical charge and a slight heat as well. Knowing he only had one shot at this before the guard would resort to using a weapon, Duncan let out a sudden discharge of electromagnetic pulse in the direction of Georg.

Georg flew back into the wall, knocking over a pot of hot coffee. Screaming in pain, Georg was distracted as Duncan lept to his feet and kicked Georg in the face with his large, heavy metal boot. While Atlas turned to see what had happened to Georg, Shell performed a high kick to the back of Atlas' head, knocking him to the ground as well.

Duncan and Shell darted out of the conference room and out of the large double doors, back into the main part of the bar.

"We need to get the hell out of here, ma'am," he said to Shell. "They are going to want to kill us."

Duncan then noticed Elise, behind the bar, with an annoyed look on her face. He could tell she may have expected this turn of events - as if she'd witnessed the same thing dozens of times.