October 14th, 2363

06:58 JST
Sapporo, Japan
District 43

_____

Escape from mind-disruption is an only child of the night— the pocket of soft
hours from 22:00 to 07:00 is the nightly cocoon of a dream’s refreshment. Amiya
Len’s only solace, there at the top of every spinning cycle of the Earth, a cut from
the endless churning of bumps and chirps and the tick bites of machine
notifications. Life in the augmented world.
Her soft, straight black hair laid down across either shoulder, reaching down
to her elbows as hung in the deepest recesses of sleep. The interiors lights in the
lid of her sleeping pod initiated their startup, slowly feeding a soft orange glow
into the space surrounding her as the clock approached seven.
Then it hit. Her head lurched as a conflict alarm ripped a dagger of wretched
sound into her sleeping quarters. She smashed her head against the soft polymer
lining of her sleeping pod.
CODE 12 IN PROGRESS. DURATION: THIRTEEN SECONDS SINCE
TRIGGER INITIATED
“What the hell?” she thought.
Scrambling out of her sleep, she smashed the lid of her bedpod open and
jumped over to the communications terminal at the side of her office’s door.
Jamming her finger on the TALK button, she yelled into an empty, black screen.
“Unigen, give me a report!”
The digitized image of a round, metal face materialized on the screen. Its face
was marked with a rectangular, blue stripe beneath each eye, running
horizontally from the side of its artificial nose to the outer edges of its cheeks.
The head was oval in a perfect, calculated way, with a shining shear atop its
slippery, aluminum scalp.
“There is a theft of sensitive property in progress. Facial recognition scans
identify a preliminary match: Naruhito Fujiwara. Age, 24 years.”
“Another Code 12? Inside the district??”
“Yes, have a look for yourself.”
Unigen’s face dissolved into a live drone-video feed. She watched from the
elevated view as a ragged and disheveled man walked discreetly amongst the
small groups of elderly walkers now filling the park. An large, brown jacket
hung over the sides of his small and slender frame. He wore no shirt underneath,
and a pair of oversized jeans hung around his hips with no belt. Across his waist
was fastened a small, burgundy red satchel with a pulsating green light atop the
latch holding it closed. As the warm light from the morning sun fell down
against him, the young man cast a tall man’s shadow across the dust-caked
concrete footpath behind him.
“Alright, get in here,” she lifted her finger from the TALK button.
Amiya ran to her wardrobe and pulled a fresh duty uniform out, before
slipping them on. She pulled the black, smart-fiber pants up over her hips and
fastened them before zipping the SAPPORO POLICE - DISTRICT 43 torso cover
up along the front of her chest. In front of the mirror, she quickly pulled her back
into a simple, efficient bun.
The door slid open and Unigen walked in with his signature stiff trot. He
stood upright at 185 centimeters, with a full, muscular profile. Though he was
designed a few, long years ago, Amiya had the foresight to piece him together
with an aesthetic taste for bulk that would shock the nerves of its targets into a
state of helplessness. She wanted him to wield a visceral and terminal fear.
“Pull his profile,” she commanded.
Unigen looked straight ahead and the pair of blue lights in its eyes turned
violet.
“Database match. Unspecified Thanta connections identified,” he responded.
“The Thantas? Again? Alright, we may need some extra support on this one.
Run it up the chain.”
“Affirmative,” Unigen’s eyes buzzed.
“Response received from central intelligence: we are requested to engage the
target with district eyes on us. They are prepared to provide contingency
support.”
“Shit,” she thought to herself. “This better go our way or I won’t be hearing
the end of it any time soon.”
Amiya bent down and picked up a helmet from beneath her desk and placed
it on her head. A bundle of a dozen, finger fat cables ran from the back of it down
along the floor to the other side of the room, like a slithering snake frozen in
place. She pulled the helmet up to her head and looked towards Unigen.
“You are free to intercept.”
The placid android took a moment to bow his head in acknowledgement. The
synthetic skin of his neck, which covered the durable, metallic endoskeleton
beneath, folded up along the series of microjoints where he bent his head down.
He walked over to a gun locker against the wall and pulled out pieces of armor,
retrieving torso coverings, sheaths for his limbs, and a tactical reserve helmet
made of a dense metallic alloy. The armor was old and worn, but trusted. Four
long years of street fighting the living dredge of Sapporo were burned into them.
It was the only levee of protection between Unigen and the enduring tides of
death which swelled in the depths of urban poverty and crime plaguing the
district.
Amiya reached behind her head and flipped a switch to activate her helmet.
Her view of the room quickly dimmed, and was replaced with a visual feed
taken directly from Unigen’s optical sensors, looking at herself sit at her desk.
“Time to go, Unigen! Take to the air, we need to get there right away.”
Orders received.
She heard Unigen’s words sprawled across the scroll of her own mind. She
was linked up directly and telepathically with his comms CPU, bypassing the
need for speakers and auditory signals.
As I am en route airborne. I am not equipped with heavy weaponry.
I got it, we’re going in barebones on this one.
Through Unigen’s eyes, the upward trajectory of the structures of
megalopolis seemed to stretch into infinity, up into the thick, dingy air above.
More pedestrians were filling the streets, and endless chains of transport craft
hung in lines stretching out as far as the thick clouds of orange dust would allow
him to see.
Engaging boot boosters.
Unigen jumped up, throwing his heavy body into the air. And with a jolting,
explosive sound, a thick piece of metal casing ejected its self from the bottom of
his feet, revealing the miniature plasma-pulse propulsion engines built into
them. He tilted his head back, looked upwards, and engaged the propulsion
drive, sending thimself soaring up into the dense throngs lanes of traffic above.
Amiya’s voice rang into the forefront of his artificial mind, sent as it was
through the invisible space between them, in a string of super sensible 1s and 0s.
I’m not getting any details on these guys. You’ll need to get in close and see if you
can intercept. ROE is set to ‘return fire’.
Unigen registered her words as he flew at a breakneck pace between the
tightly packed hi-rise structures packed densely and methodically throughout
the urban space. Transport pods, shop stalls, and floating platforms flew past his
head as he scanned the city’s traffic monitoring systems to monitor keep his eyes
on any potential chaos in the general proximity of his destination.
A large clearing in the buildings appeared in front of Unigen. He looked
down and saw the large square of Sakura park, with one, wide-berthed gravel
pathway running down the middle of it. He turned, squared his shoulders, and
flew straight towards it, leaning back as he got closer, before slowing down into
a holding position. He drifted slowly in the open space above the park.
As Unigen looked down upon the crowds walking around, the two circular
metal discs that were fastened onto his temples receded back into his titanium
skull and a pair of external lenses emerged from them. Tiny metal arms extended
outwards from the sides of its head and over his custom, mechanical eyes, which
Amiya fabricated with finely-tuned precision, like a watch-maker, out of parts
she reclaimed from older models.
I still don’t have a lock, Unigen. See what you can do out there.
Acknowledged.
The light emanating from Unigen’s eyes switched from a deep, rich blue to a
fiery red as he looked down upon the throbbing mass of pedestrians below. Its
retinas darted back and forth, like Newton’s Cradle in overspeed, as it searched
for the man.
Lock obtained!
Unigen magnified its view to 25x as it pulled him into view. He was walking
closely behind an old man in a faded, emerald-green sweater. Naruhito’s eyes
darted around, scanning the crowd for threats.
Subject is unaware of my presence. Getting into position to engage.
Don’t hurt him!
The hovering android hung high in the air, far enough above Naruhito that
nobody on the ground took notice of them. The most they could hear was a faint
buzz, indistinguishable from one of the dozens of air conditioning units mounted
around the city. Quickly, Unigen switched off his plasma propulsion system and
engaged the anti-gravity pod built into the small of his back. He then floated
softly down toward the ground, landing just behind Naruhito.
“What!?” A woman behind Unigen gasped.
Naruhito turned around and his eyes widened like a midnight owl when he
saw the android. Unigen dropped his mechanical jaws, allowing the piercing
white light of his holographic teeth materialize. They buzzed and pulsated as
Unigen spoke.
 “Naruhito Fujiwara, this is the Sapporo Police. Put both of your hands up in
the air!”
Naruhito froze still in fear as the cool morning breeze gently pushed a lock of
hair down across his forehead. The surrounding crowd slowly began to walk
away from him. He refused to comply.
“Both hands up in the air! Now!” Unigen repeated.
Naruhito looked around, gauging the situation.
In the blink of an eye, a chamber in Unigen’s chest opened up and a finger-
sized barrel emerged, pointing directly at Naruhito’s torso. With a muted thump,
a miniature quill flew out of the barrel and struck Naruhito in the shoulder.
“Argghh!” He screamed.
In a thrust of panic, Naruhito pushed the old man standing next to him out of
the way and ran straight for the outer edge of the park.
Subject is seeking to evade. Engaging further with incapacitation rounds.
Unigen looked down at his right wrist as the fingers on his hand collapsed in
on themselves to form the outer rim of a massive gun barrel. In the center of it,
slightly recessed, three streams of pink light connected together where a ball of
plasma started to build. The sounds of tennis ball-sized maglev engines revved
up as Unigen used the thrust in his feet to kick up into the air. He flew forwards
in a massive arc, pulled his arms into his chest and twisted as he executed a full
front flip. He moved fifty meters through the air and landed directly in front of
Naruhito.
“Huh!?” Naruhito was stunned, frozen in place.
Unigen lifted his charming cannon and pointed it at him.
“This is your final warning!” The sound of his charging pulse filled the area.
Naruhito’s eyebrows sank, sliding down to hug the outer edges of his eyes.
Slowly, he reached down and clutched the black satchel hanging on the side of
his waist. Unigen watched, saying nothing, as a thick silence enveloped them like
a warm quilt.
“Go easy, please,” the man’s feeble voice tore into the quiet surrounding
them, before he leapt towards Unigen.
A torrent of plasma charge ripped out of Unigen’s cannon, striking Naruhito
in the center of his chest. The surface of his skin lit up, contrasting against the
thick, dark vascular network just beneath. He shook in place for a moment, like a
cement mixer on overdrive, before collapsing to the ground. The satchel sprung
from his hands, landing on the hot concrete, baking in the morning sun. The
front latch was open, and a small batch of tiny, gun-metal microchips, no larger
than fingernails, spilled out in front of it. Unigen glanced at them and watched as
each of them glowed in sparkling, white lights. Under the morning sun, they still
burned like a sidereal constellation of miniature stars. Even he, through his
artificial mind, became momentarily transfixed by the sight of them.
The thick metal of Unigen’s feet clapped against the ground, left, right, left,
right, breaking the silence as he crept towards the man, knocked out and lying
on the concrete. He bent down, picking up one of the microchips, and battle-red
hues in his eyes melted into a rich, yellowish-white as he peered into its deep
and pacifying glow.
Unigen, come in. I need a sit rep!
His robotic mind ceased to take in new information as he knelt there, frozen
still and immersed in the light.
“Agh,” she thought as she reached down and opened an access panel on the
boxy computer unit lodged beneath her desk.
“I’ll need to run a tactical reboot.”
Hurriedly, she flipped open a utility cover, revealing a black toggle switch.
With one hand, she held down a wide, rectangular button next to, and with the
other, flipped the switch up and down three times. Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! As
the reboot alarm sounded, she rolled back in her chair and slipped her tactical
comms helmet back onto her head.
Come in! Unigen, come in!
With a sudden jolt, the android swung his torso back and stood upwards.
Confirmed. The subject has been incapacitated.
Okay, good. I’m sending a reclamation team in now. Hang tight.
Acknowledged.
Behind him, Unigen heard the shrill squealing sound of rubber tires
screeching to a sudden stop in the distance. He turned around and watched as a
black van with a short-profile jumped a curb and came to a stop at the edge of
the park. The side door opened and two men emerged, wearing black
polyethylene masks that clung tightly to the surface of their faces. Each eye was
covered with a circular glass window, rimmed with thick, black metal. Through
magnified lenses, Unigen saw burning balls of dim orange light behind each
piece of glass. Eyes of menace.
Thantas!
Amiya reeled bacon her chair in shock. She ripped her helmet off her head
and shoved her face into her hands.
 “Shit!” She thought. “It can’t be… Thanta operatives!? No, no, no… I can’t
lose Unigen. Not now, not like this.”
Gathering her resolve, she slowly pulled her head up and slipped the helmet
back on.
Alright, grab the subject as quick as you can and get out of there! I’m calling for
backup now.
Acknowledged.
Unigen reached down and started to pick up Naruhito’s limp body. He
looked over and watched as one of the men turned towards each other. It let out
a series of garbled syllabus, beyond Unigen’s capability to decipher, as the other
one reached behind his back and retrieved a pulse rifle, tarnished with grease
stains and burn marks. Without hesitation, he knelt forward and aimed the rifle
at Unigen.
There’s no time for retreat. Engaging the threat—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rounds smashed against Unigen’s armor.
Annihilator rounds! Unigen you need to get out of there!
Black, soot-caked holes ripped open Unigen’s chest. Quickly, he engaged his
vertical thrusters and soared upwards into the air. He flew towards the two men
and pulled a long, metal rod from his back-holster. With the flick of his wrist, he
activated it, unfolding a burning blue plasma blade from its tip, before coming
crashing down in front of the two Thanta operatives.
He swung the scythe down towards his rifle-armed enemy, aiming for the
neck. But the operative flicked his arm up, blocking the strike, while swiftly
pulling a small pistol from his hip and firing it with ferocious quickness against
Unigen’s stomach. The point-blank plasma shield he’d activated repelled the
rounds without causing him any damage. With a swift fist, he rocked the
operative in its chest, hurling him backwards where he fell limp against the
ground.
Before he could react, the second operative unwrapped a small pouch and
whipped a thick cloud of green powder from it into Unigen’s face. Small clumps
of the nasty substance fell into the holes torn into Unigen’s chest, sending him
into a frenzied panic.
Amiya, it’s acid… getting into the circuitry of my primary power system…
Abort mission! Get out of there!
Unigen stumbled backwards and shook violently as the acidic powder
reacted with the rubber coating of his internal wires and melted down into a
liquid. The gears in his face spun erratically, causing his cheeks and eyebrows to
twitch wildly. Pulled his hands up to his face to stop it, and then he lost control
of his legs, which sent him falling down to the ground.
Amiya typed furiously on her console, navigating through the dense stack of
windows in Unigen’s control interface.
POWER SYSTEMS CONFIGURATION PANEL
She pulled up the access window and pulled up Unigen’s auxiliary power
menu. She ran it, but Unigen continued in his fervent struggle. As he laid there,
twitching on the ground, his visual feed slowly dimmed until his power shut off
completely.
“Shit!” Amiya cried out.
As quick as possible, she switched back to the tracking drone’s visual feed
and took in the scene from up above. The able-bodied Thanta operative had
already left his fallen comrade and began to walk over towards Unigen, who also
laid back lifeless on the ground. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Naruhito
was moving slightly. He was looking back and taking in the scene behind him. It
wasn’t long before he realized who was there. Amiya magnified her view and
witness the shear terror in his face as he quickly scooped all of the dispersed
microchips into his satchel and stood up to escape.
Naruhito, ragged and disheveled, ran desperately for his life. His hair was in
disarray, and the the scruff on his face grew wildly in all directions. Two dark,
sunken eyes were stuffed in his face above pale and dirty cheekbones. They were
fixed straight ahead, burning for a desperate escape from death. The tattered tan
and brown rags of his clothes whipped through the air like the war-torn sails of
an ancient sea-faring ship.
The lone Thanta operative chased after him, firing at this panicked man with
a red-hot plasma pistol, missing wildly as he ran like a rabid chimpanzee.
Pockets of onlookers screamed in terror and ran the other way as each shot
ripped like thunder lava from the barrels of this feral weapon. This rolling
festival of frenzied violence moved like a small stampede towards the edge of the
park.
As Naruhito drew nearer to his escape, with searing hot jolts of plasma rounds
flying above his shoulders, he cut to the left, seeking to evade the frightening
projectiles. But it wasn’t enough. A searing hot, flying fist of plasma struck him
in his left thigh and he immediately fell down on his back.