The slums
Industrial District
West side New Hong Kong
24:50 hrs
It had been a trap and the detective had barely escaped; his enemies were now chasing him through the sewers. If they were equipped with night vision he would be at a disadvantage, which was the reason why he chose the sewers in the first place. The sound of their feet splashing on the black waters was an excellent warning; unfortunately the slums’ sewers were a horrible irregular maze and the risk of arriving to a dead-end was quite high. With no place to take cover from their submachine guns he would be toast in no time.
No. He had survived the ambush and lost direct contact with the enemy; the sewers had served their purpose already. Now the best route to take was up. He climbed the first ladder that he saw and opened the manhole cover, hoping there wouldn’t be another ambush up there.
The detective heard the splashes below closing in, but he didn’t get his head up until he made sure there was nobody above. The bad news was the two full moons in the zenith; they’d make him a perfect target for a sniper on one of the roofs. But the splashes below him were getting closer and there was no time for a second check. He got out and...
”...but the woman took off the great lid of the jar with her hands and scattered, all these and her thought caused sorrow and mischief to men. Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door; for ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Aegis-holding Zeus who gathers the clouds. But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men.”
- Hesiod, Pandora and the Jar
Babylon Tower
New Hong Kong
A few days ago
Morning
The Babylon Tower. Over 1.5 kilometers tall, the Babylon Tower used to host all of Prometheus Enterprises’ Virtual and Neuromorphic infrastructure. Its physics processors enabled molecular resolution of virtual realities for those that required it (for example, biotech and nanotechnology firms), while providing much affordable alternatives for people who just needed sensorial-level VR simulations.
Around the 300m-tall mark, a fleet of heavily-armored sky cars was approaching the landing pad. The one located in the center of the three-dimensional formation began transmitting.
(Part 1 of 2)
WARNING: This chapter contains suggestive scenes featuring sexual acts and nudity. Not appropriate for readers under 18.
Casino Moreira
North skirts of Hong Kong
A few weeks ago
The top floors of the politician's casino were surrounded by military androids while the penthouse security was taken care of by augmented bodyguards. Its unbreakable glass canopy covered a system of pools and waterfalls, where dozens of naked women wearing mood-controlling collars were having fun.
The bottom floor of the penthouse had a fine elvish woman bursting in tears after having lost a bet. She kept shaking her head, but everyone around her kept shouting encouraging words at her.
(part 2 of 2)
WARNING: This chapter contains suggestive scenes featuring sexual acts and nudity. Not appropriate for readers under 18.
...there was no permanent solution in sight until Connectomics pioneer Edgar Voight proposed an alternative: Instead of relying on faulty, proprietary black-box control systems to regulate an android's psyche, he proposed a modified limbic system tightly coupled to a specialized directive firmware; the resulting android brain had a much greater degree of control...
... the inclusion of an emulated limbic system in the android brain sparked several discussions on android ethics, ranging from animal rights and the necessity of ethics committees, to thought-provoking questions regarding androids' legal status, to philosophical issues, whether androids could love, or if they had a soul now. Note that the discussion of these matters is beyond the scope of this book.
(From Introduction to Android Management, chapter 1: History and basic principles)
Santa Cruz district, New Angeles
Morning
Convenience store
16th Street, San Fernando sector, New Angeles
“NOBODY F*-ING MOVE!” shouted the half-Chinese leader, who was holding a home-printed machine pistol with his myoelectric arm. On his left temple there was some metal contraption screwed to his skull. Another thug began looking for hostages, but the establishment was empty.
“Look, man”, said the clerk, who had a smaller implant attached to the back of his neck. “Here's the money, take all you want.”
The thug shot the ceiling. “SHUT UP!!” he shouted, The other was peering outside.
“Listen, you piece of shit, we know you found that stash the other day. We want it all, and you're gonna tell us where it is. Understand?”