Vaporize (cryptopunk)
A flash piece I'm trying to turn into a series. We'll see what kind of feedback it gets to decide whether it lives or dies. Thanks to @GMuxx and the fiction workshop for freshening it up for the grinder. Enjoy.
It’s late. The electric motor kicks off. The little boat sways in what was once water a long time ago. The air is brown. A heavy black boot lights up in different spots as it steps onto the wooden dock. The rim of a hoodie lights up white around a face. The eyes shift from hot pink to neon green.
There's a larger fellow in dark sailor clothes up ahead. Nothing lights up on him. "Welcome to Grackle. I'm going to read your physicals."
"Hold up." The younger man in the hood, denim, and leather reaches for a nodule on his arm. Hot-colored LEDs lining his limbs and core brighten. The colors run through the spectrum. "A'ight."
The larger fellow rolls his eyes. He pulls out a hand-held device. It has a spout. He brings it to his lips. Dark metal around his throat beeps and little lights blink. There’s a whirring noise. He inhales the wind. He stops and it's quiet for a beat. The larger one exhales a real cloud of smoke right onto the younger guy. It blankets the flashy boots and hood. The cloud sits there on him. He waves a hand, trying to clear it.
"Don't do that."
"Sorry--it's--I can't see."
The larger man checks his inhaler piece. "Alright, sweet-heart, you're no bot. Going to check your work history."
"You didn't get it? I sent--"
"Your physiological work history. Whatever emotions you've got stored, whatever guilt or shame you've built up, I'm going to check whatever signatures it left on you. Step out of that cloud for me."
The hood advances up the dock a few paces. Another cloud hits him. This one has little bits of visible electricity in it.
"Didn't know Grackle required all this."
"You trying to avoid it?"
"Is there any point in lying to you?"
"Not really."
"Just tryin' to find tasks where I can. Blow away."
The larger fellow eyes him. "OK, step up some more. Normally I'd hit you with all the administrative alternate personalities, accounts, and profiles programs, but I'm going to save that for later."
"Training?"
"Cool your jets, you’re not quite there yet, kid. Think of this last cloud as the final stage in the interview to start your trial period. Get ready."
"Should I hold my breathe?"
"If it'll make you less snarky, then, yeah."
The hand-held device crackles extra hot. The younger man sees the color flash. He's happy he mined Perceptocoin. The faint flash is hot pink in the vapor coming out of the larger man's lungs. The previous cloud must have found vice history on me. The cloud hits. Bits of electricity fire all around and the cloud thickens. Everything is white and sparking. The young man's body turns weightless. The fumes are in his lungs; in his brains. He feels himself float through the thick mist and there's a dirty and colorful street. There's lot of neon lights, the kind that most people see when they're out late looking to get into trouble. He moves toward a street corner. There's a silvery devil. The silver devil has a tiny waist and nice feminine parts. The area around the eyes looks human. Could be a bot trying to appear human, could be a human turning cyborg. Figuring it out was part of the intended fun.
He gets up to her. "’Sup."
She doesn’t look at him.
"Do I buy you a drink or put a quarter in you?"
Her accent sounds like it's from the Pacific Islands. "You have 120 second to confess your most shameful secret. If it bores me, I'm done with you." She looks at him, the whites of her eyes have the yellow tinge of a bad liver. “Go.”
Best line: "Do I buy you a drink or put a quarter in you?" Decent window into a dark world. Spending time on this could be a worthy project. Cheers @cosimo!
I want more of this world. I find its darkness intriguing. I didn't register you wrote in present tense until the end. That is impressive. Usually it bugs me right away.
your words about the first person make me feel gooey inside. Kinda like biscuits and gravy.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Cosimo from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews/crimsonclad, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.