Well, I've been talking for a while about posting up some of my 2308 short stories here, and I've recently finished part one of my first story! Would appreciate critique, but this is mostly to flesh out my setting and entertain my SARP friends. Here goes!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There was a quiet click and a few moments of static as the rugged 22nd century video monitor slowly came to life. The shadowy face of a young man in his mid-twenties appeared, his head and shoulders visible. He had dark black hair in a crew cut, blue eyes, and a gaunt face with a grim expression.
“Greetings from the year 2308. My name is James Hansen. This video is to present a time capsule of our day for future generations, so they don’t repeat the same mistakes we did. The entire solar system is overcrowded. Mafias and corrupt corporations rule the streets, backed by a fascist government. There I-“ The man was cut off, suddenly, by a loud laugh from behind him.
“Are you serious? Just shut the fuck up, dude! I’m trying to watch ISMCC!”
“God dammit, Will!” James cried out, exasperated, as he hit a key to end the recording. James' brother, William Hansen, looked almost identical to him, but wore his wavy hair to his neck and dyed the ends blood red. He wore a sleeveless white undershirt, a pair of track shorts, and white socks.
“You’re such an asshole, man! Don’t you know this is important?!” William couldn’t help but laugh again, as he reached over to the arm of the green sofa he was sprawled out on and picked up the remote for the HoloTV, clicking a button to freeze the detailed voxel-based display of three custom-made mecha competing in a paintball match.
“Yeah, right, I’m sure you’re the first person to come up with the idea of a video time capsule, Jamie.”
“Go to hell, Will.” James replied with a pout, standing up and sauntering into the kitchen.
The two brothers lived together in a small apartment on the 77th level of Megacity Earth, in part of the New York Cultural Zone. The apartment had two bedrooms and one bathroom spaced out evenly from the entrance along a hallway, with a combined living area and kitchen at the furthest end. A window overlooked the street, which was flooded with artificial light from the underground sunlamps and crammed with traffic. Across the road, huge, multi-tiered buildings lined the block similar to the one the two brothers lived in, a complex which contained apartments, restaurants, entertainment, stores, everything needed for a small community. One could live their entire lives in such a complex.
James, who wore a black leather jacket, tight black jeans and black T-shirt, walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a can of instant coffee which opened and heated itself with the click of a button.
“So, Will, did you ever find out if that guy was legit?”
“Who’s ‘that guy?’” Will asked, raising an eyebrow. James took a sip of his coffee and rolled his eyes.
“You know, the short guy with the funny accent.”
“Oleg? You’re joking, right? You know that guy’s connected to Solid Oak? Taking a job from him is bad news. Just leave it alone.” The Solid Oak Society was a corporate group made up of many big businesses, and a large player in the entertainment industry. Rumors abound that the conglomerate was involved in organized crime, but the United Earth Federation government denied those allegations and assured the populous that federal investigations turned up no evidence.
“I hear what you’re saying, but still... It’s a lot of money, bro.” James said, walking over to the couch and plopping down next to his brother.
William sighed and scratched the back of his head.
“It just sounds a little too good to be true. One and a half mil to fly his ‘daughter’ and her ‘fiancé’ to Mars? That’s more than you’d make bringing someone round trip all the way to fucking Oberon and back.” He said, as James took another sip of his coffee, before solemnly replying.
“It’s enough to get us out of here, and it’s enough for you to help Char.” The room was dead silent for a moment, as both James and William weighed their options in their minds.
“Fine,” William started, standing up and heading for his room. “I’m gonna talk to Oleg and work shit out.”
“Okay. I think I'll head out for a while. I need to get some air.”
“See you later, then.”
“Later, bro.”
James picked up a pair of wide goggles rimmed with light grey metal and buttons from the kitchen counter and slipped them onto his head. His vision went dark for a moment while he held down the power button on the side, before the translucent heads-up display sprang to life. An extremely accurate GPS map was located in the bottom left-hand corner of his vision, a compass at the top, and an empty window on the left-hand side. He pulled the rectangular pocket computer he owned out of his pocket and connected it wirelessly to the goggles, filling in the window with his PC’s desktop. He pocketed the PC and pressed a button on the wall, causing the door to his apartment to slide up into the wall with a soft pneumatic hiss.
James exited into the hallway and walked for a while, before turning a corner and heading down a metal staircase. He passed a few other people on the way and eventually found himself walking into the Complex’s shopping district, a series of wide hallways lined with windowed stores on either side. Floating advertisements and information bombarded James’ vision, dark greens, blues and oranges hovering within cyberspace’s Tier 1, an augmented reality that covered most of the developed regions of Sol. James had become accustomed to Tier 1's visual overload and learned to filter what wasn’t important out of his mind.
James stuffed his hands into his pockets and waded through the crowds of shoppers, winding through the labyrinthine maze of stores, kiosks and food stands, eventually coming to a stop outside an asian-style restaurant with blue cloth flaps instead of a door and no virtual advertisements hovering about. He stepped inside and smiled while he took in the savory aroma of fresh-cooked oriental food. The room was deeper than it was wide, with a bar along the left side taking up most of the room and a few tables on the right filling in the gaps.
A familiar voice called out to James from behind the bar.
“Irashaimase!”
“Morning, Yusuke.”
“Ohayou gozaimasu, James-san,” Came his reply from a tall, middle-aged Asian man with a receding hairline, who wore a blue, kanji-emblazoned apron and matching white shirt and pants. James pushed his goggles up to rest on his forehead and sat down at the bar.
“I’ll have the usual.”
“Hai!”
Yusuke turned around and approached the rear of his kitchen, immediately beginning his preparation of James’ favorite Japanese dish. James sat quietly and leaned onto the countertop, resting his head on his hand. Suddenly, James had a thought
“Do you have any specials today?” He asked, an odd question considering he’d already ordered his food.
“Hai.” The Asian man said, before calling out to the back of the kitchen. “Yomiko, koki ni kuru!” A high-pitched feminine voice shouted back to him,
“Hai, otoo-san!” A beautiful young Japanese woman no older than James emerged from the back room, wearing her hair in a bun and an outfit identical to Yusuke’s. James perked up, his eyes widening at the sight of her. Yusuke grinned and put an arm around the girl.
“James-san, this is my daughter, Yomiko! She started working here last weekend.”
“Hajime mashite, James-san.” She said in a reserved, yet confident tone. Yusuke turned to his daughter and spoke quickly in Japanese.
“Bihin-shitsu ni James-san o toru.”
“Hai.” Yomiko replied, exiting out from behind the bar and motioning for James to follow her. She led him into the back of the restaurant, where a hallway led toward the restrooms, and into the women’s bathroom. She pushed down on one of the sink counter’s tiles and a fingerprint scanner emerged from the wall. She pressed her thumb to it and a portion of the floor swung open, revealing a ladder leading downward.
Yomiko and James descended, closing the hatch behind them as the dim illumination shuddered on. They eventually reached the bottom, which flared out into a room about the same size as James’ apartment. The walls and plumbing had been removed and the door leading out of the room was hidden the same way the hatch was. Instead of living quarters, the walls were lined with racks holding all sorts of weapons and equipment, the sale of which was illegal without a license, but much cheaper when untaxed. In addition, some illegal gear, including a bodysuit of non-newtonian fluid armor and a twenty milimeter anti-material rifle, was stocked behind a locked display case made of transparent alumina. Yomiko motioned toward the room and smiled warmly.
“How can the black sea help you today, James-san?”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There was a quiet click and a few moments of static as the rugged 22nd century video monitor slowly came to life. The shadowy face of a young man in his mid-twenties appeared, his head and shoulders visible. He had dark black hair in a crew cut, blue eyes, and a gaunt face with a grim expression.
“Greetings from the year 2308. My name is James Hansen. This video is to present a time capsule of our day for future generations, so they don’t repeat the same mistakes we did. The entire solar system is overcrowded. Mafias and corrupt corporations rule the streets, backed by a fascist government. There I-“ The man was cut off, suddenly, by a loud laugh from behind him.
“Are you serious? Just shut the fuck up, dude! I’m trying to watch ISMCC!”
“God dammit, Will!” James cried out, exasperated, as he hit a key to end the recording. James' brother, William Hansen, looked almost identical to him, but wore his wavy hair to his neck and dyed the ends blood red. He wore a sleeveless white undershirt, a pair of track shorts, and white socks.
“You’re such an asshole, man! Don’t you know this is important?!” William couldn’t help but laugh again, as he reached over to the arm of the green sofa he was sprawled out on and picked up the remote for the HoloTV, clicking a button to freeze the detailed voxel-based display of three custom-made mecha competing in a paintball match.
“Yeah, right, I’m sure you’re the first person to come up with the idea of a video time capsule, Jamie.”
“Go to hell, Will.” James replied with a pout, standing up and sauntering into the kitchen.
The two brothers lived together in a small apartment on the 77th level of Megacity Earth, in part of the New York Cultural Zone. The apartment had two bedrooms and one bathroom spaced out evenly from the entrance along a hallway, with a combined living area and kitchen at the furthest end. A window overlooked the street, which was flooded with artificial light from the underground sunlamps and crammed with traffic. Across the road, huge, multi-tiered buildings lined the block similar to the one the two brothers lived in, a complex which contained apartments, restaurants, entertainment, stores, everything needed for a small community. One could live their entire lives in such a complex.
James, who wore a black leather jacket, tight black jeans and black T-shirt, walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a can of instant coffee which opened and heated itself with the click of a button.
“So, Will, did you ever find out if that guy was legit?”
“Who’s ‘that guy?’” Will asked, raising an eyebrow. James took a sip of his coffee and rolled his eyes.
“You know, the short guy with the funny accent.”
“Oleg? You’re joking, right? You know that guy’s connected to Solid Oak? Taking a job from him is bad news. Just leave it alone.” The Solid Oak Society was a corporate group made up of many big businesses, and a large player in the entertainment industry. Rumors abound that the conglomerate was involved in organized crime, but the United Earth Federation government denied those allegations and assured the populous that federal investigations turned up no evidence.
“I hear what you’re saying, but still... It’s a lot of money, bro.” James said, walking over to the couch and plopping down next to his brother.
William sighed and scratched the back of his head.
“It just sounds a little too good to be true. One and a half mil to fly his ‘daughter’ and her ‘fiancé’ to Mars? That’s more than you’d make bringing someone round trip all the way to fucking Oberon and back.” He said, as James took another sip of his coffee, before solemnly replying.
“It’s enough to get us out of here, and it’s enough for you to help Char.” The room was dead silent for a moment, as both James and William weighed their options in their minds.
“Fine,” William started, standing up and heading for his room. “I’m gonna talk to Oleg and work shit out.”
“Okay. I think I'll head out for a while. I need to get some air.”
“See you later, then.”
“Later, bro.”
James picked up a pair of wide goggles rimmed with light grey metal and buttons from the kitchen counter and slipped them onto his head. His vision went dark for a moment while he held down the power button on the side, before the translucent heads-up display sprang to life. An extremely accurate GPS map was located in the bottom left-hand corner of his vision, a compass at the top, and an empty window on the left-hand side. He pulled the rectangular pocket computer he owned out of his pocket and connected it wirelessly to the goggles, filling in the window with his PC’s desktop. He pocketed the PC and pressed a button on the wall, causing the door to his apartment to slide up into the wall with a soft pneumatic hiss.
James exited into the hallway and walked for a while, before turning a corner and heading down a metal staircase. He passed a few other people on the way and eventually found himself walking into the Complex’s shopping district, a series of wide hallways lined with windowed stores on either side. Floating advertisements and information bombarded James’ vision, dark greens, blues and oranges hovering within cyberspace’s Tier 1, an augmented reality that covered most of the developed regions of Sol. James had become accustomed to Tier 1's visual overload and learned to filter what wasn’t important out of his mind.
James stuffed his hands into his pockets and waded through the crowds of shoppers, winding through the labyrinthine maze of stores, kiosks and food stands, eventually coming to a stop outside an asian-style restaurant with blue cloth flaps instead of a door and no virtual advertisements hovering about. He stepped inside and smiled while he took in the savory aroma of fresh-cooked oriental food. The room was deeper than it was wide, with a bar along the left side taking up most of the room and a few tables on the right filling in the gaps.
A familiar voice called out to James from behind the bar.
“Irashaimase!”
“Morning, Yusuke.”
“Ohayou gozaimasu, James-san,” Came his reply from a tall, middle-aged Asian man with a receding hairline, who wore a blue, kanji-emblazoned apron and matching white shirt and pants. James pushed his goggles up to rest on his forehead and sat down at the bar.
“I’ll have the usual.”
“Hai!”
Yusuke turned around and approached the rear of his kitchen, immediately beginning his preparation of James’ favorite Japanese dish. James sat quietly and leaned onto the countertop, resting his head on his hand. Suddenly, James had a thought
“Do you have any specials today?” He asked, an odd question considering he’d already ordered his food.
“Hai.” The Asian man said, before calling out to the back of the kitchen. “Yomiko, koki ni kuru!” A high-pitched feminine voice shouted back to him,
“Hai, otoo-san!” A beautiful young Japanese woman no older than James emerged from the back room, wearing her hair in a bun and an outfit identical to Yusuke’s. James perked up, his eyes widening at the sight of her. Yusuke grinned and put an arm around the girl.
“James-san, this is my daughter, Yomiko! She started working here last weekend.”
“Hajime mashite, James-san.” She said in a reserved, yet confident tone. Yusuke turned to his daughter and spoke quickly in Japanese.
“Bihin-shitsu ni James-san o toru.”
“Hai.” Yomiko replied, exiting out from behind the bar and motioning for James to follow her. She led him into the back of the restaurant, where a hallway led toward the restrooms, and into the women’s bathroom. She pushed down on one of the sink counter’s tiles and a fingerprint scanner emerged from the wall. She pressed her thumb to it and a portion of the floor swung open, revealing a ladder leading downward.
Yomiko and James descended, closing the hatch behind them as the dim illumination shuddered on. They eventually reached the bottom, which flared out into a room about the same size as James’ apartment. The walls and plumbing had been removed and the door leading out of the room was hidden the same way the hatch was. Instead of living quarters, the walls were lined with racks holding all sorts of weapons and equipment, the sale of which was illegal without a license, but much cheaper when untaxed. In addition, some illegal gear, including a bodysuit of non-newtonian fluid armor and a twenty milimeter anti-material rifle, was stocked behind a locked display case made of transparent alumina. Yomiko motioned toward the room and smiled warmly.
“How can the black sea help you today, James-san?”
