Erik Chevalier's Stories

Forced Improvements

2008-04-13T02:38:12Z

The last thing Commons saw before the concussion wave hit was code he’d been focussed on writing for the last several days. Then there was nothing but the high pitched ringing. The only sensation was horrific pain caused by the rebar which had entered the back of his neck, pierced his vertebrae & now protruded 3 feet from the front of his throat. His body tingled, like the pain from a sleeping limb waking but throughout every inch of his flesh.

Everything faded out.

Commons woke to florescents & digital beeping. A fuzzy figure floating over him rezzed in slowly, morphing into a very attractive pale woman’s face.

‘Hi there, I’m Dr. Slade. You’ve been out four days now. We had to rebuild your neck & amp up your torso to support the upgrades. It may feel weird at first but you can try standing now.’

He followed her directions, feeling an abnormal fluidity to his movements. He’d expected stiffness but his joints worked better than ever.

Then he saw his new neck in the mirror.

Just what he’d always wanted.

Pixel Clouds

2008-03-27T02:20:10Z

The clouds drifted calmly, converted by Alexi’s overlay into an array of blocky white pixels of varying opacity. Next to him the skyscraper windows flickered past, workers watching him fall in a snow angel config, calm as can be.

In his gut he felt the gyroscope spinning up. It rotated his primary axis while his body automatically braced for impact, his mind lingering on the near perfection of the aioli slathered panini bite he was still chewing.

Concrete shattered, windows fractalized & a row of car alarms wailed as he landed, the smart plastics in his legs reconfiguring to absorb the shock entirely, leaving what few internal organs he still owned completely unharmed.

On his internal HUD the calendar blinked an appointment alarm. He thought countdown & it began in the upper right of his POV . 5 Minutes to deliver the ‘package’ he’d just ‘liberated’.

Another calendar event reminded him of a date with a gorgeous redhead in 2 hours.

He leapt 20 feet, railed off a row of parked cars & rounded the corner.

Alexi's Lunch

2008-03-26T10:52:31Z

The roof top door crashed open & Alexi burst out, kinetically amped up & ready to fly. He dove through the a gap in the safety barrier, hit a ramp at full speed, the magnetic bumpers of his board detecting the surface, anchoring just enough to pull closer but not physically connect.

He skipped across rails, sparks flying when he caught them almost too late. The glow of his boards grav plates lit the skylights of the office below and caused a draft that kicked up dust and loose leaves from the grey water collecting gardens beneath him. He pushed off a final rail with gusto, triple flipped in the air and landed right in the middle of the office worker’s roof cafe, startling them all and causing several unbreakable dishes to plummet, then bounce off the ergonomic floor coating.

A hatch opened near the cafe’s entrance and a security bot popped out, spread its spidery legs and shouted a warning.

Alexi just grabbed a nearby panini & took a chomp.

Then he leapt off the building’s edge.

1500 feet.

Backlit - 4 - Processed Air

2008-03-26T08:35:03Z

A light tap on the shoulder stirred Anja from her shallow napping. The attendant was leaning through the cabin’s doorway, curtain aside, smiling at her.

“The next stop is yours Ms. Martin.” the attendant replied to Anja’s unspoken confusion.

“Oh, thanks.” she replied, still groggy. Sipping from the complimentary glacier water she rose up, found her courier bag in the unused top sleeper bunk, tossed her reading material into it and clipped closed the flap.

A few minutes later the train slid to a stop. Anja was the 3rd to step from the cab, cigar already at her lips. A voice came over the omni that crushed her will:

This is a no smoking facility.
Please refrain until you are in the parking lot.
Thank you.

The cigar went into her coat while she followed a ramp down a subterranean passage to the station proper.

A poster caught her eye, advertising a new sex club a block away. She paused to scan the specs.

An IM spoke to her:
Hi Anja, this is Karen, your ride. I’m in the Station bagel shop.

Backlit - 3 - Swaying Reflections

2008-03-23T01:00:32Z

Sitting alone at a table in the softly swaying lounge car, nursing a Dalwhinnie, Anja watched passing panoramics through the streaked window.

Memories bubbled up. Her father had traveled for work constantly & would bring Anja along regularly. He claimed trains to be a more tranquil, healing experience while flying was for getting places in a rush.

The nature of travel had changed since then but the concept held up. Planes skip supersonically to their destinations, the human cargo keeping down zero G sickness with pills.

The very route she was on took a full 2 days when her father would take it. Companies went bankrupt, tech industry billionaires stepped in and brought over foreign technology. Now the train trip from Portland to Los Angeles took around 6 or 7 hours.

With a flick of her eyes Anja brought up a google calendar. A few appointments and readings had been moved by her business manager. She clicked through confirmations mindlessly, paying more attention still to the passing nature scenes.

Backlit - 2 - Crepes & Lattes

2008-03-22T14:12:17Z

Pale blue cigar smoke & railway grease vapor co-mingled around Anja. The train wasn’t due for another 10 minutes so she’d left the waiting room full of rhuematics to light up a Blondie. Always smooth, even in the most industrial settings. Would be better with scotch.

Dane had woken her up with a breakfast invite to her favorite little cafe. She finished packing, showered & caught a cab to meet him. Strawberry crepes & soy lattes then they shot back to his place. The ensuing copulation took on a sweeter, gentler tone than the session 11 hours prior, most likely because they were both still recuperating. After a short nap together he drove her to Union Station, helped with her luggage, then pulled close to give the most dramatic movie kiss he could muster.

She giggled thinking back to it.

No guy had ever treated her like that.

As the train arrived Anja stubbed out the cigar & lifted her courier bag.

“PDX to SAC & LAX Now Boarding”

A voice in her ear whispers:
Tweet from Dane White: Be Seeing You Love.

Backlit - 1 - Barely Conscious

2008-03-22T11:14:14Z

Anja’s muscles ached, limbs felt rubbery & the taste of vanilla flavored lubricant lingered on her swollen lips. An hour ago the cab had dropped her off at the apartment building’s guarded entrance. She’d slouched her way into the elevator, then her apartment, slipped off her dress and slid right into the cool bed, naked & pleased.

Each time she fell asleep certain muscles would twitch and wake her. Drifting in & out of consciousness she swore she could hear voices but soon realized that it was her brain beginning its nocturnal processing of memories from the day. Conversations about work intermingled with seductive whispers. It had been a good day and she hoped to remember it in detail.

A soft chime came from the bedside table. Without opening her eyes she grunted in the direction of the sound.

“You have a tweet from Dane White.” said her house in a deep, gentle man’s voice.

“Read it.”

“Had fun, again tomorrow?”

“Respond: Yes, please.”

“Message sent.”

Anja grinned, rolled over & fell asleep finally.