Purple Monster

The dream was a pit, a large deep pit with steep sides, she was down the bottom of it. There were names for such places, places they put you to forget you existed. Darkness pressed in on her, vague shapes and the feel of old spongue bone rotting benieth her leathered shoes. Ooglyette. She was in an ooglyette but she was floating in a dream. It was a dark deep dream and faces flew through the murk, ghosts of the chilldren burned, she felt the cold seep into her, deep in her bones, but she could not shudder.

Children, they had taken them, they had taken villages, everyone but she was here in a pit. She screamed.

Bright blue light from an over bright LED gluster scorched her like the sun, she was on a hard, narrow bed, It was obviously one that changed shape – she could feel the slight wrinkling around the fold joints. A thin poly sheet lay on top of her. It was white with a blue waffle blanket over the top of, the blanket was also light weight, they were warm enough but some how it was insubstantial she prefered to feel the weight of a blanket over her.

The world did seem a bit shimmery even when she had gotten used to the harsh light, she wanted to close them again and curl into a ball but movement showed her that she was injuried and curling up was not even to be entertianed as pain induced nuasea hit her.

An involuntary gasp left her, movement in the room instantly responded to it. A white shinning angle with blonde hair stood over her, the hair was white streaked and cut to a perfect bob. Flint eyes looked at her, the nurse smiled, ‘Ah so you are awake!’ he said checking her pulse and frowning again. Damn how different was she? It had cuased problems with medical stuff before – what had they noticed?

‘You’re recovering from your injuries remarkably fast, even with the coagulent we were suprised that your blood pressure stayed quiet high.’ That smile again and white square teeth, Artificial and lovely.

She nodded, and tried to think fast, ‘Mods,’ she said finially. ‘Peristalisis’ the nurse nodded, inside she breathed a sigh of relief – the first time modern meds had spotted this phenomina there was nothing in the way of cybernetics, no heart transplants even and even one hundred years ago she would have been disected or killed as a suspected war weapon.

But now things had moved on, many things were not quiet there but having body mods that kept your blood pressure stable with blood lose was definatly within the bounds of the current technology.

They were however expensive and not something a two bit singer in a cruise island would be expected to have. She may have just exchanged one problem for another. She would have to think on that one.

He took some other measurements and then tucked her in he was about to leave when she grabbed his arm memories hissed into her mind, ‘Snake Bodge?’ His eyes dimmed with sympathy.

‘I will find out about your friends,’ he said soothingly she could tell he was laying, he knew how they were, she refused to let him go.

‘Please tell me?’ It was almost a sob but she felt too dead inside it was like she no longer cared but there was a driving force – she had too know had to find out, had to know if she had saved him or weather they had perished becuase she was being hunted down by them again.

‘I will need to check’ he said gently removing her fingers from around his arm.

She lay back and drifted in apathy. Snakes moan echoed in her head.

Food arrived and she could have sat up herself though was releived to have the help of nurse. He propped her up and she looked forlornly at the ceral hoops floating in milk-synth. ‘No pilchards on toast?’ she asked.

He smiled, ‘I think thats the first time they’ve ever been requested – I don’t think the kitchen stocks them I’m afriad though I personally love them.’ he winked and she blushed, feeling a betrayal somewhere deep within herself.

She spooned the ceral resentfully into her mouth and chewed mechanically – it tasted like soggy cold cardboard. She then pushed the serving arm away from her and stared remosly at the scene generator on the wall. Little white clouds scudded across a pale blue sky, it was very out of sync with the dark blue broiling sky that was the reality on the cruise islands.

The images always rang false too her – the same had happened to TV it was like someone had put a green filter on the world. The reds were muted or just plan wronge.

Time seemed to drag and the white of the room pressed in on her – why they thought white was a good colour for the sick she never did quiet understand.

She could almost feel the wound healing itself – the tissue knitting itself back together again. By the time lunch arrived – meat synth pate on more cardboard – at least they had given her a side garnish of dark green salad, she was feeling decidedly twitchy with cabin fever.

The Nurse came back with the Dr who insisted on examining her wound even though she was mantaining it was fine. He looked at the wound and then at her.

‘This has healed too fast?’ She nodded.

‘Mods,’ she shrugged hoping he’d drop it.

‘What type?’ he asked quickly.

She shrugged again. His eyes darted over her body, she started to feel the familiar unsease – this was going to turn nasty if she wasn’t careful.

‘I worked as a body guard for on of the cyber tech companies, it was part of my contractional rates,’ she shrugged, she been working on a cover story during her lethagy and guarding a nano-tech or cyber-surgion seemed the best way to end up with maraculous healing powers. the fact that her ability to heal well predated the technology that was steadily appearing wasn’t something this dr was going to find out.

Besides she didn’t actually knew why she healed up and stuff – she’d studied some of it as a side line whilst in academia but as she hadn’t involved many other people her knowledge about her own functionality was limited.

‘I’d like to examine you furthur’ he said with that greedy gleam she hated so much.

‘I don’t think so,’ she said flipping herself off the bed – there were still sharp pains puncturing her but she could walk and she really didn’t want him proding her around. ‘I’m under contract,’ she said shrugging and she noticed with some saticfaction that his shoulders sagged with resignation.

‘You know it hurts when I have people in who could be saved by the sort of tech you have inside you and they die,’ it was a guilt tactic – she saw it for what it was but it didn’t make her feel any better.

‘You just hope to reverse engineer it and get a patent of your own Doc, I can see it in your eyes, you don’t care – your nurse there he cares – you dont.’ it was cutting and snide but from his blustery protests she knew she was right.

‘Now where are my friends and what the hell happened last night?’ she was growling with worry and anger. The security on the cruise islands was supposed to be beyound reproach. Any resort was under strict rules otherwise people just would not come to them, not after the Disgney Land Blitz incident 50 yrs previously. A tragidy that big doesn’t fad easily from the collective memory especially when relatives and even some of the survivors where still alive.

‘Ah, yes the Security patrols will be wanting a word with you as soon as your fit, your friends however, both are in a bad way. Without private investiment at least one of them will die. We’ve done all we can within our budgets.’ She wanted to hit him, it was all so calculating she wanted to scream.

‘Have you told the Corp about them yet?’ she asked she was pretty sure the Corp would pay for Snake Bodge she wasn’t so sure about. But they had already invested heavily in Snake and the cost of the medi treatment would be small compared to what he was doing for them – at least she hoped that was the case.

He shock his head, ‘they generally don’t pay for menuals though I was going to give it ago as you are obviously part of the entertainment core and sometimes your worth stupid amounts for no apparent reason.’ He looked like he was eating something sour as he said this.

She smiled wanely, ‘I would check if I was you – if they wont cough up please tell me. How bad is it please?’ she hated the desperation she heard in her voice and hoped it wasn’t obvious to the dr. He was a shelfish git and she wanted to remove his vitals – slowely and with a blunt spoon. She started grinding her teeth with annoyance realised what she was doing and stopped.

‘Well Petre Gandine suffered massive internal bleeding and a collapsed lung from the pressure bullet, he has had to be transfused and we have given him a mega platelette infusion so that he can cope with the lack of oxygen. The lung is pretty mangaled and we have had to reconstruct the rub cage with synths he was lucky his heart was only bruised. He needs a new lung but we are out of budget for that unless the Corp pay up or he lives for another two weeks under the Geneva Medi-Tech Incentive.’ She nodded the Medi-Tech Incetive was there to save people with no pool of cash waiting to randomly bail them out. Insurence was something most poeple had but was limited as to what sort of incidents it was cover – a terrorist act would not be covered by Snakes basic insurence she was sure.

‘And his head wound?’ she asked fearing the answer.

‘Superfisial damage – if he survives there should be no lasting brain impairment,’ the dr said. She gritted her teeth again – why did people like him think that it was a good idea to scare awkard patients/customers with techno-babble. She understood it all but she also knew that someone in her possition shouldn’t be able to understand it all.

On the plus side she know knew that Snake wasn’t Snakes legal name.

‘And Bodge?’ she asked.

He sneared slightly at her use of the nicknames, the nurse was looking sad and slightly sick behind him. ‘Mr Immanuel Jung is in a bad way. He is on life support and needs major organ reconstruction, pretty much everything I’m afraid and even if he was a top executive I could not invision the Corp paying for him.’ She felt cold.

‘He’s brain function if he survives may well be impaired we have not bothered with scans yet as it would be a waste of medical resources.’ She shivered.

His cold eyes glinted at her malcously. ‘Ok thankyou’ she said.

She did have resources she could tap for cash but it wouldn’t be easy and it could cuase her problems – she owed the Corp a lot of money for the sky bike and if she suddenly turned up with a disposable income they might start asking questions as to why she was paying them off with her pathetic wages. The other issue was she’d have to leave the curse island to sort or else trust somebody. She wasn’t due any holiday – not proper leave time – not why she owed so much money.

The Corp controlled the islands, they contolled her rotor and her wages, her housing adn her clothing alloance. It was sort of slavery, sort of bondage but it was heavily governed by the big bods at geneva. Therefore she got food alloance, she got clothing she got days off and recreation money. The fact that all these were given to her in Corp credits that were only redeemable on the Islands was a moot point.

Posted: Thursday, November 19th, 2009 @ 9:38 am
Categories: Uncategorized.
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