Street Guy

The street was ruled by unbearable heat, no dog or people could be seen walking on melting malaise made of asphalt.

It was a strange, obscure feeling, a town full of million souls now was looking haunted and deserted…fable came to life in a very unusual way on that hot and sunny day.

People were bedazzled with animalistic behavior, they were moved by some strange invisible force, a force that was slowly nesting in their hearts and minds.

It was like they were hacked, estranged from the sole part, of what makes a human whole as a human being.

At first glance, the less experienced eye would say they were soulless, but the human soul is a strange thing…it can not be harnessed or hacked just like that…

The human soul is like Jinni in the bottle, maybe you can trap her for a while but like water always does, so does the soul it always finds the way out of the trouble that is forced upon this eternal being.

This morning our hero woke up like any other morning, ready to do things that are not soul-moving, he was like many others materialized in this society, a society that was highly advanced, one would say evolved beyond known science into the realms of

magick and the cyberpunk universe.

With time and with the surge of implants, people became more machines than conscience beings. They stopped looking for ways to better avenues that the human soul walks, the thirst in them was more about how to get a more potent body with more perfected and refined parts that were the gift of the new holy grail, called simply nanotechnology. Nanotechnology reached amazing levels of applications it was beyond anything that could mortal man dreamed of at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

It was dirt cheap and it was everywhere…virtually everywhere, No place was left untouched by this monstrous hydra-like robotic fluid, dark golden selfassembly mesh.

Street Guy was the nickname of our hero, he literally grew up on this hot asphalt jungle under the preying neon lights, he was like many kids, left to deal with the troubles that life under the laws of the street will bring onto small human beings.

First, you will be lost, humiliated, then beaten and made to do things that are against real human nature…

The street will break you or make you. You will get up to live another day or fall further and further into the hands of sweet oblivion, and with time you will be part of the invisible broken army turned into human residue.

The glow in the eyes of these apparations is long gone, it does not exist anymore, They all become more zombie-like creatures, than something that was once man or woman, a life full of infinitive possibilities.

Somehow Street Guy was not broken and eaten by the sharks that were cruising up and down this dark road, in some way he felt deep inside he never belonged here. He knew instinctively there was more to life than this eternal struggle and misery combined with an animalistic, pretentious constant need to fight for more territory, more power, and better and newer implants that would give you an edge over your never-sleeping competition.

Imagine life with no parents, no real friends, no honest smile, no first kiss or love that carries sacred meaning forever branded in your conscience.

Imagine the loneliness the soul needs to endure and carry in this environment. Imagine a life where a true honest smile is your biggest weakness, your eternal enemy, and inevitably your doom in the end.

Imagine walking by the victim of the rape, begging you with crying eyes to help them, male or female but you cant…you need to survive, you need to stay calm, any sign of weakness is your impending death, your last breath.

This was the life in Concordia, life was a brutal game of hide and seek, and every move of your feet was observed by always watchful pair of bloodthirsty set of eyes.

Street Guy did his daily chores and ran on the scorching street feeling invincible…

Something was different, yeah he was a tough kid, but like everyone else, he was obligated to do a 4-hour job in the city factory. This was a fully automated factory, full of self-repairing robots built on a scale not visible to the naked human eye. Nobody was actually needed there, this was a way to keep this wild bunch of human animals in line or so was the guiding thought of the ruling class.

He passed by the Midnight Bar and entered in self moving automated vehicle that was silently waiting for the next customer.

Factory!..he said it nonchalantly

The car started to move…it took only a few minutes and our hero was standing before a giant metal translucent gate.

“Open sesame”

The gate opened before him like he just told the hidden password but no, his voice was recognized by the central network connected to a giant computer brain.

Entering the premises of the giant factory, the door behind him silently closed, with a message: Now is exactly 9 a.m. 4 hours left….follow the yellow line, have a good and productive day citizen.

Yeah F you too shit for brains…he smiled, wickedly

Before he knew he was in the giant hall where machines were making even more machines…

Standing by him was this beautiful creature…a young woman watching this perverted dance of machines.

Hey, hey…I need to know…

She said: What, what do you need to know?

Your name, beautiful…

She smiled, You are the original Cassanova?

Ela, Ela is my name…she smiled pointing at him

Street….hmmmmhm…he coughed clumsily, trying to sound more manly

Street?

Street Guy, this is what they call me in this part of the woods.

Street guy, huh, I think I can live with that…she smiled again with an irresistible smile

It is nice to meet you…

The pleasure is all mine, my beautiful lady

You are a real charmer,aint you?

Yes, I am, I admit it, this is probably my biggest fault, I am extremely nice to beautiful ladies…haha

Hey, Street Guy, do you want to go on an adventure? This here is a pretty dull and boring experience.

Agreed, but go where? we are watched here…

I have a plan dont worry.

You have, O.K I am all ears here…do your thing, please

Ela crossed two blue lines on the floor and did the unimaginable, She opened the red door, a door that led to the operation room…nobody ever went there, no mere mortals at least…

Come..hurry…

Street Guy took the chance, and carefully hooped across two parallel blue lines…..

How did you do it…who are you?

I am Ela, I told you…again she smiled…

Follow me, be quiet..shush

o.k..o.k…haha

He enjoyed this little adventure, it felt like he was a curious kid again, If they landed in the recovalensence center(jail), so what?, This here, would be worth it, he would have another story to brag about it.

Ela was in her early twenties, built like girls from Movies or TV shows….she had the woman’s curves in all the right places..and man, that long red fiery hair combined with deep blue-green eyes could stop a runaway train in a nanosecond causing a derailment of epic proportions.

Our hero was confused, how did not spot this girl before, standing right beside him? In His mind she just appeared out of thin air…she was beautiful, and he didnt see her…

I mean watching and standing looking at the robots having “sex” with another robot is not exactly the apex of fun, any distraction will do to kill these four hours. This “job” felt like a mandatory prison-like sentence filled with almost painful, unbearable boredom.

The operational Room was in complete darkness, here and there few confused lights would go on and off in a premeditated rhythmic matter, and dancing on the giant screen..

It looked like a dance of red and blue colors…there was no alarm there or any robotic guards…Nobody should ever wander there anyway so why appoint defenses or any other guarding measures?

Come…

Why are you speaking so quietly Ela there is nobody here…we can move freely here…

Trust me..she said with a serious face…

Maybe nobody is here but they are always listening…always with no exemption…

They are probably watching us right now….curious eyes want to see what we are planning.

We are planning something, Ela?

yes we do,dont you find it oddly strange I materialized beside you out of nothing?

You were standing there, watching production for half an hour….before I have “arrived”.

Wait, wait.. that makes actually sense I was thinking before how did you get here in the first place?

I got the feeling you my beautiful companion know exactly where to go and what to do in the building that is off the limits for many people of Concordia.

Who are you, really?

Can you handle the truth,” Street Boy”?

I think I can…

I am Ela, this is my real name but I am something else, not of this world…

Not of this world, yeah you dont look like any girls I have met in the City…you look like a TV star but with brains… which is nice for a change…

You have a heart, I mean you dont hide your smile like other girls, you dont try to be tough…yes you are definitely not from Concordia.

it looks like it all comes down to this quote..Can, You handle the truth? she said it slowly almost in a comical manner, pointing her finger at him…

Ela, I got nothing to lose…I can… give me your best shoot.

I am Valkyrie, your Valkyrie….

My what? Val..what does that even mean?

For the first time in his life, he was truly and honestly confused, even if Ela stood there armed with her irresistible smile…he scratched his head…you are not messing with me, right?

How did you say, again?

Valkyrie…

Val.ky.rie…o.k I guess I can live with that….what now,o Valkyrie of mine?

O.k. do you want a short version or a long version, we dont have exactly the time here for small talk…

Street Guy: Short of course… he was still trying to impress this beautiful thing that looked like something you will meet only in your wildest dreams.

I am here to protect you, save you…short enough? she smiled again…

In his head he said it…how can you be so perfect?

She answered: Because I am what you would call your Guardian Angel, you made me in the image of your perfect woman.

O.k, OK, now you can read minds….what is next….fire and flames in your hands?

Ela: I can do that for you if you wish.

Ask yourself, why would anyone, especially a guy born in an asphalt jungle come along with a girl that he had never seen before? You are not a trustworthy person, nobody here in this town is…but you followed my lead with almost no question asked…just a thrill of escape, a rush of dopamine..or something entirely else?

Listen, this here, this town is not real, this is not how people should live, exist…this here is all wrong….plus you have been farmed for centuries now.

Yes farmed…not organs or human flesh but the most precious thing that you all possess…SOUL.

Why do you think everything and everyone tries to hurt another livimg being in this place? You need to create the environment so a human has no more will for life left in him, and then so they think is possible to catch the Jiny in the bottle..your soul.

It is a long and very expensive process…worth a fortune. Plus you are all using wonders of nanotechnology like rabbit junkies…that doesn’t help either, it triggers the apathy in the human body, your avatar.

And all this, what you see is not real, all is a holographic mirage, stolen hyperborean technology…a holodeck.

Ela, I know it sounds crazy, but I believe you, I mean staying here, how long can I do this? With time my body will give up, eventually, I will get old and my destiny here will be sealed… It is not how, but when…

Anywhere is a better place than this nightmare here..anything even if this is just a dream and you my lady a beautiful ghost that I will never forget.

How can we escape?

Ela: We must open the set of doors in the right order, to break this spell…it is like a secret password built into this machine.

we opened the red door, We need, to find another red door and then a series of blue doors.

I can see where we are and pinpoint the right location, but we must do this fast, try to keep up…deal?

Deal…my fair lady..deal…he smiled and gave her a wink.

OK, my Percival let’s use the elevator, In the elevator is another door…come

doors of the elevator opened, Ela did a few hand gestures, four strange letters appeared in the air, and the red door opened, leading into another part of the factory….

At least so I thought, and we ended up in my apartment….this is crazy…

Ela you telling me here is another door, blue door, right somewhere in front of my face…

she gave him a confirming nod…here…

Where…she pointed at the refrigerator…

Trust me, there is nothing there, nothing edible….

Give me space…. Again she used this time a set of five levitating letters and a Blue door materialized, where the door of the refrigerator stood a moment before…

She quietly said, Come…by now they are onto us, Guardians know exactly what we are doing….we need to be fast on the last few doors.

Guardians?

I hope that is an oxymoron….

yes, it is….who knew…she smiled again…

You mean our dedicated farmers…and we are the prey….nice.

ela entered the blue door first, Street Guy followed her, and he was pulled to another place where another Blue door was “stationed”.

Stadium, Really, Concordia Astros?

Before Ella could answer the question, a beam-like red light flew by her head, It was a warning shot…

The intruder and Daniel, called “Street Guy”, Disengage or you will be terminated, use of deadly force has been authorized….this message will be not repeated again, and the next shoot will not be a warning….Disengage…

Ela quickly said something in a weird language, that sudden move transported them below the stands, near the location of the next Blue door…

Again these levitating letters have done the trick and Man’s restroom quickly has become a blue door, portal to the last Door…

Without any word, both jumped into an opening in space…

By that time the whole Concordia was put under martial law, and all citizens were violently moved off the streets…A Flotilla of flying drones was tirelessly looking for two strangers, who decided to be free of this cursed slaughterhouse…

They were a few spontaneous protests, but they were swiftly dealt with and with ease, many revolters were shot on the spot with no mercy …it was a reminder from those in charge of what would happen to you if you dont obey the laws of authority…this is how you would end.

The whole town was filled with deafening sounds of alarms and agitated flying drones looking for their prey.

Stay inside, this is not a drill…Those who will not comply will be shot on the spot….Stay inside! Eaary, menacing message sent from overlords was piercing the sky, scaring, the now not-so-tough populace of Concordia.

all these fleets of machos and wild woman heroins just caved in like they were nothing…

They simply disappeared, vanished into nothingness….the fear was stronger.

The next and final Blue Door was near the railroad station, between two poles…

Listen to me now, and try to remember, you are not Street Guy, remember who you are I will need you to defend me when I try to open this last door…

What does the DAN mean….?

Day…and El…she kissed him like this was the last kiss on earth he would ever receive…

Wait DAN i EL…ELA..?

DAN(DAY) The An is On

LEA…my wife?!.

She bursted into an avalanche of tears and hugged him, I knew, I knew you would remember….My love…

Darling, remember who you are, fast..they are comming….

El lighted the floor and the roof of the train station… squeezing his fists..let them come!

In the darkness, on the other side from our heroes, 10 sets of metallic death-red eyes were simultaneously activated….

Suddenly El became 7 feet tall and was levitating, In one move he grabbed the main attacking robot and drilled a hole in his metallic head with his right bluish hand. The robot on the right side was suspended in the air and pushed with inhuman force into the nearby wall… metallic victim fell apart immediately.

The robot on the left side was pulled closer to El, he took the robot’s head off like it was nothing, his glowing hands were like a knife going through hot butter.

She shouted Lea how we are doing!!!, How much more do you need…

One minute, maybe more, she shouted…

Suddenly robots retreated and lights went on…the station was illuminated like it was the middle of the day…..

STOP…stop, let us talk…

A shady disfigured figure with a strange hat came forward….levitating silently in the air.

Let’s talk…no harm will be done to you or your wife…Both, just calm down…

“Calm down” he pointed to his entourage, and let them know it was time to disappear.

My friends, I run this whole operation…We need what you have, we just do, it is the most precious commodity in the whole known universe.

What is life if you can’t feel the sun’s rays on your skin, What is life if we can not taste the red apple in our mouth…nothing…so can you blame us, for trying to feel?

Will your species not do the same, to be able to feel, it is intoxicating, nothing compares to this feeling…it is not just a silly chemical reaction, it is far more…

Love…love like between you to…this is the real goal of this operation….

Lea/Ela crossed the worlds to be able to be with the love of her life…amazing…

El and Ela, Two suns shining with the force of a thousand suns…how truly remarkable you are….

Go, go now, before I change my mind…with one move of his finger the last door opened..it was another world waiting behind this last door..it was green and full of life…El could hear children’s laughter and that was a certain omen that on the other side, awaits freedom and true life, not a fabricated, version of life.

El said with fire in his voice; I will be back…

We will see…Go!

El and Ela vanished behind the portal…the darkly dressed manager with a pointy hat said:

Start the simulation!

Yes, master…smaller silhouette hidden behind the concrete block, pressed a few keys, and the machine started slowly roaring till a pleasant woman’s voice made an announcement:

Simulation is running, all levels at optimal capacity…

Hyberborian inmates:300 incarcerated,299 left…One is missing
End of the transmission.

The End.

Probably my last post for a while, I have a feeling there will be more interesting topics than this one in the future.

Cheers!