LotS/The Story/Aphrodisian Anabasis/Cyberia
Cyberia
You leave the blood-soaked, corpse-strewn battlefield behind you, and continue through Anguish -- heading towards Thalatta Spaceport with the unyielding determination of an ancient hero seeking his homeland after years spent wandering the world.
The streets are all but deserted, and the few people you encounter either ignore you or flee into the nearest building. It seems that no one in Agony and Ecstasy's faction is willing to start a fight with the people who took their bosses apart. But empty as Anguish appears, there's no eerie quietness here. Clashing, crashing music emerges from some of the buildings -- interspersed with cries of pleasure and pain. At first the volume of those screams surprises you, until you realize that they're coming from a sound system -- cast across this part of the city to provide an ambiance that would be bizarre on any other planet.
And in truth, the more you gaze around at your strange surroundings, the more those noises of suffering and rapture seem the perfect accompaniment to your journey.
Spike-covered buildings and pillars pierce the night sky above, their barbs throbbing with a soft, brutal red light that threatens to wound the moon and stars. Twisted sculptures stand on the streets around you, and are carved into the walls like gargoyles. Some show people impaled on spikes, their mouths open in noiseless screams of torment. Many depict men and women locked together amid tangles of barbed wire and other unpleasant accessories -- the expressions on their faces displaying either passionate pleasure or unendurable agony. Perhaps both.
"These are pretty lifelike," Talia remarks.
She indicates a nearby statue -- a life-sized representation of a man and woman performing acts of love or murder on one another.
"That's because they're real people," Claudia replies. "They've been encased in a cryonic alloy."
At that pronouncement you all stop in your tracks, and gaze at the statue with renewed interest and redoubled horror.
"Can we free them?" the Princess asks.
She leans towards the woman of the pair, and gazes into pain stricken eyes in which the iris and pupil are rendered with perfect clarity. The metal which holds them within its grasp is thin, able to bind them without concealing even the tiniest detail.
"Not without the right equipment," Claudia says. "And they wouldn't thank you for it. Most of them are volunteers."
The canopy of Telemachus' mech pops open.
"Who'd choose to be turned into statues?" the boy asks.
He clambers out of the cockpit, drops to the ground, and moves closer to the macabre ornament. His fingers grasp at his goggles, and begin to pull them off his eyes. He glances towards you, as if expecting protest. But you merely nod, and let him get on with it. If naked statues could corrupt the youth, art galleries would be scenes of post-apocalyptic devastation.
"This is Anguish," Claudia replies. "People like to suffer."
"If these people are in a cryonic state, they shouldn't feel pain," Lu Bu says.
Claudia shrugs.
"I only know what I've heard. People who've come out of this state say they felt everything that was done to them."
"Or maybe being stuck like this for so long just messed with their heads," Talia says.
"Maybe. But people around here take it seriously. If they're feeling generous, they whip or scratch the statues when they pass by."
"It's depraved," the Princess says.
"It's Cythera." Claudia shrugs once more, as if those two words excuse -- or at least explain -- a multitude of sins.
"If you want, I could smash them," Ragnar says. He hefts his axe, and draws it back in preparation for a swing.
"No!" the Princess moves between the Niflung and the statue. "Thank you, but... no."
It doesn't take long to reach the edge of Anguish, where it gives way to other territories in the patchwork quilt that makes up the city of Hedon.
To your left are buildings covered in brightly colored fur, an atrocious riot of reds and blues and pinks and purples. It's as if someone decided to mount thick carpets on every available surface. And... Yes, some of them even have a pair of enormous furry ears on top.
"That's Fur Town," Claudia says. "It's where the furries hang out."
"Thanks," Talia replies. "But I'd worked that out for myself."
"They must have spent all their creativity on their costumes," you say. "Didn't have any left to name their turf."
"That place looks like it comes from a storybook," says Telemachus. There's wonder in his voice.
"Goggles back on, Tel," you reply. "And start reading better books."
Your meet the Princess' gaze, and sense the thoughts passing through both your minds. Telemachus probably isn't the kind of kid who played with stuffed animals. But even so, seeing people dressed as furry cartoon characters performing lewd acts and then being gunned down in combat is the kind of thing that might disturb a child.
"I believe we can reach Thalatta this way," Lu Bu says.
"No," Claudia says. "We're better off going through Cyberia instead."
She points in the opposite direction from the furry buildings, to the comparatively drab concrete, steel, and neon buildings that stretch away across the length and breadth of the local cyberpunk gang's territory.
"From there we can get to Xeno-Xanadu. That's right next to Thalatta, and we get to avoid some of the really nasty places."
"Worse than the ones we've already been through?" you ask.
"This is Hedon. There's always something worse, if you know where to look."
It's as you're turning to Cyberia, heeding her advice, that you hear the shout come from behind you.
"Hey! Hey, you! Get back here!"
You look round, and see a menagerie of absurd beasts gathered in front of Fur Town. Many of them are holding beer or wine bottles in their hands, and staggering as though held fast in the grip of inebriation.
"Yeah!" yells a woman dressed like a furry pink hippo. She makes an angry gesture, causing the bottle to fly out of her hand and smash in the street a few paces away. "Think you can kill Nessa, and just walk on by?"
"No one messes with the Furverts!" a man wails. He looks like a mutilated blue horse, until you realize that he's probably a zebra with red stripes. "We're gonna rain on you!"
He raises a thick, black-furred glove -- which you assume must be intended to represent a hoof. There's a metallic click, as a long claw extends from each of his fingers.
"His costume is lacking in zoological verisimilitude," Lu Bu murmurs.
More of the furries follow suit -- either revealing hidden claws and fangs, or else drawing weapons from the inner recesses of their padded costumes.
"We're sorry about your... friend," the Princess says. "But her death wasn't our fault. We just want to get to Thalatta. There's no need for violence."
The Furverts look at each other, as though uncertain. You get the impression that many of them aren't especially keen on a fight -- at least not with people who've already smashed their way through Lupanar and Anguish.
"Why are you dressed like that, anyway?" Telemachus asks.
"Tel!" you say. "This is the last time I'm going to warn you about those goggles!"
"I wanted to see if they were humans or aliens. I couldn't tell when they were just wireframes."
"Let's go," the Princess says.
She turns, and starts walking towards Cyberia. You follow her lead. The furries seem to be more bark than bite, so you might as well avoid another conflict.
The others fall in line alongside you, though Ragnar gives a low, rumbling growl.
"Should have just torn them apart." He grunts. "When I was a kid, a furry killed my best friend."
"You're kidding?" Talia says.
"Well, they said it was a werewolf. But close enough. They're-"
He breaks off as something hits the back of his head with a crash of breaking glass, followed by an echoing tinkle as the shards fall into the street. The next sound that fills the night air is the furious roar of a murderous Niflung.
You spin round, and see the zebra-garbed Furvert standing a short distance in front of his brethren. There's a look of triumph on his furry equine head, though it begins to evaporate as he sees the expression on Ragnar's face.
"Keep going!" Ragnar says. "I'll catch up!"
Before you can speak, he's charging off -- his axe in his hand. The zebra starts to run. Behind him his friends look on with comical expressions of worry on their cartoonish masks. Poor Furverts...
"You heard the man," you say. And you keep walking.
The others hesitate for a second, before joining you.
A few minutes later you're walking past the steel-colored buildings of Cyberia's outskirts, along streets that seem as deserted as those of Anguish, when pounding footfalls herald Ragnar's return.
You glance over your shoulder, and stop in your tracks.
Piles of bright furs are draped across both of the Niflung's broad shoulders -- their psychedelic colors both enhanced and marred by splashes of crimson.
"Took their pelts as souvenirs."
"Ragnar..." Princess Illaria stares at him in disapproval.
He sighs, and shrugs his shoulders -- sending the furs tumbling into the street behind him.
He falls in line, and the six of you keep walking.
Nowhere to Run to
You arrive at a crossroads, where a narrow, dimly lit road cuts across your path -- disappearing into darkness to the left and right.
As you reach the middle of the intersection, Claudia points ahead.
"We keep straight on. This road should-"
She breaks off, as a grinding noise rumbles though the street -- shaking the ground beneath your feet. Then she leaps back in shock.
A few feet in front of you the ground collapses, a rectangular section the full breadth of the street, from building to building, falling away like a huge trapdoor. An immense slab of metal appears in the chasm -- scraping and shuddering against the concrete walls on either side as it rises.
In moments you're facing a barrier that blocks off the road ahead, perfectly in line with the faces of the buildings on its left and right -- forming a level, unbroken wall.
"That's not-" Talia begins.
There's a second grinding rumble.
The Princess looks down with startled eyes, as though expecting the ground to open up beneath her -- and uncertain which way to leap. You grab her hand to steady her. You're used to moving around on turbulent spaceships, to reading and interpreting the vibrations around you. The ground under you is solid. It's coming from...
A second barrier rises like a monster from a primordial swamp, its grey bulk severing the road behind you with the finality of a guillotine's blade.
A long second elapses, as you wait for similar barriers to block off the right and left as well, leaving you trapped in a metal box -- ready to be slaughtered by weapons fire from above. But nothing happens. The barriers have done their work, and yet the narrower road that stretches on either side is still open to you.
Then the lights appear, far down the black passage to your left. Two glowing orbs, like the eyes of a beast. The monster growls, its voice the roar of a powerful, archaic engine.
"Run!" you shout. "Run!"
You turn to your right, and break into a sprint -- dragging the Princess along after you. The others are only a moment behind.
You hazard a glance over your shoulder, and see the vehicle as it thunders from the shadows. A big, bulky, armored contraption. There are men and women leaning from its windows, from hatches on its roof, pointing, yelling, and screaming -- their voices grinded into indecipherability by the roaring of its engine.
Your gaze flashes to either side. But there are no alleyways, no passages. And ahead of you, in the dim distance, is the grim, grey wall of a big box of a building. It's a dead end...
And yet you keep on running, your hand grasping hers, waiting to feel the metal as it smashes your bodies.
Nowhere to Hide
"Come on!" Telemachus screams.
The blazing rush of his thruster jets cuts through the screaming of the vehicle and its passengers. His mech flies past you, hurtling at the wall ahead.
There's a boom as grey concrete gives way, and chunks of masonry fly from the impact.
The screaming from behind intensifies, frustration replacing anger and merriment now that they see you have a chance. The engine roars even louder as the vehicle accelerates, accompanied by the hissing of laser fire and the rattling of automatic weapons.
Bullets whistle past your head. Lasers dance across the road.
But you're close to the gap now...
A final burst of speed takes you through the hole Telemachus smashed in the side of the building, and you find yourself in a long, lofty room -- running among piles of metal drums and stacks of plastic crates, heading for the big open doorway at its far end.
Claudia begins to slow, gasping for breath.
"Keep going!" you yell.
If the mech could break through the wall...
Sure enough, there's the catastrophic sound of a horrendous collision behind you, as the cyberpunks' bus smashes through the wall and roars its way into the warehouse. The chase isn't over yet...
Monkey Tricks
A cacophony of grinding, clanging, and crunching fills the warehouse as the bus sends dented barrels flying aside, splinters wooden crates beneath its wheels, and ploughs through everything in its path.
The exit looms up ahead of you, and the breeze brushes your face like a yearned for kiss. You take a quick glance to either side, making sure the others are still with you, before plunging out into the night beyond.
"Damn it!" the Princess gasps.
A narrow road stretches before you, like a valley between two towering walls of riveted steel. For the briefest second your mind wonders whether this is yet another trap, or else the shoddiest urban planning you've ever seen. Then you run, Illaria's warm hand still clasped in yours.
Far in front the road opens out onto a broader street, a wide expanse that seems like a welcoming plain compared with your current confines. You sprint for it, like a shipwrecked sailor making for the shore.
"No! No!" Talia yells.
A familiar rumbling, grinding comes from up ahead. A metal barrier rises, filling the gap -- snatching survival from your grasp. And only the feel of the Princess' hand in your own, her presence at your side, prevents you from giving voice to your despair with a groan.
"Left!" yells Telemachus. "To the left!"
You look to the left as you run, but see nothing except cold, callous metal in the gloom.
A blast of energy flies from the arm of Telemachus' mech, and sparks against the grim steel. In its illumination you see a narrow opening -- one that was concealed by distance and darkness. It must have been easier to see it with his wireframe vision...
There's a wordless cry, perhaps from all your throats, rendered anonymous in the desperation of the moment.
There's a tremendous crash from behind, as the bus smashes into concrete once more -- widening the exit to match its dimensions.
But once again, it's too late. You and your companions pile into the alleyway, panting for breath, yet somehow laughing at the same time.
"Let's see them get that piece of trash in here!" Ragnar grunts.
You nod, and gasp. For the moment you're safe. But...
"How're we getting out of here?" Talia asks.
Tall, windowless walls of riveted metal rise up on either side of you -- extending far above your heads. And another blocks off the opposite end of the little alley. It's a dead end.
"Princess!" a woman's voice shrieks from the passageway behind you, with an almost imperceptible distortion that tells you it's coming over a speaker. "Can't hide in there forever! Come out and play!"
There's a loud cackle, followed by a louder screech as the bus revs its engine. It sounds like it stopped a short distance back from the mouth of the alleyway.
"What's the matter?" the shrieking woman continues. "I thought the people who killed Perplexi would be tough!"
"I'll shut her up!" Telemachus says.
"Wait!" the Princess yells.
But he stomps over to the end of the alley, steps partway out from behind cover, and fires.
There's a sizzling, rattling, clattering din as a volley of gunshots and laser blasts rains on his mech's armor. He staggers backwards, out of the line of fire. The bullets and lasers rake against the ground and walls for several seconds before ceasing.
"The front of that thing's armored!" he says.
"If a few of us go out there," Ragnar says, "we might be able to pick off their shooters before they can take us down. I can stand a lot of punishment. So can the kid's mech..."
"It's risky," you reply, gazing at the thin strip of star-studded sky above.
"Got a better idea?"
"Yes. Lend me your axe."
The Niflung looks surprised, but he hands you the weapon. You heft it, feeling its weight, before swinging it at the wall. There's a sharp thud, as the blade bites into it.
"That's way too thick to chop through," Talia says.
"I reckon I could make handholds though," you reply.
You pull the axe free, and place your fingers in the wound it carved in the metal.
The gunslinger whistles, as she gazes at the top of the wall.
"If you fall from up there, you'll break your neck."
"So make sure you catch me."
You turn to the others.
"Can't let them know I'm coming. Take shots at them when you can. Distract them, but don't get yourselves killed."
"Got it, captain." Talia twirls her laser pistols, and moves closer to the mouth of the alleyway.
"I can conceal the sound of your axe blows," Lu Bu says.
The robot gives a small cough, as though clearing his nonexistent throat. Then he sings -- the words soaring from his speakers and booming from wall to wall in the enclosed space until they become an avalanche of sound.
"The dragons dance and the blossoms fall-"
You turn back to the wall, and set to work.
Death from Above
Long forgotten muscles in your shoulders, back, forearms, and calves remind you of their existence with forceful bursts of protest. You're out of practice when it comes to climbing, and your body feels the strain of the unfamiliar exertion with each swing of the axe and each few feet of gained height.
But the sound of weapons discharging, the thought that your companions are risking their lives in the firefight, spurs you on. As does Lu Bu's song, the robot's remarkable rendition of a Sian battle hymn filling your breast with the martial pride it was created to instill.
A final heave brings your aching body onto the roof of the building, and every inch of flesh screams for you to take a short rest -- to recover your energy. Instead you crouch, and approach the edge that looks into the passageway below.
The bus is beneath you, and you gaze down on the spiked and mohawked hairstyles of the cyberpunks as they lean out of its windows or from its hatches and exchange fire with your companions. As you look on, one of their heads explodes -- ripped apart by a stream of fire from Ragnar's machinegun. His decapitated body slumps over, tumbles out of the window like a lethargic acrobat, and falls to the ground below.
Now's as good a time as any...
You get to your feet, tighten your grip in Ragnar's axe, and get ready to jump.
Mercury
Your legs buckle beneath you as you hit the armored roof, and you fall into a roll -- allowing the impact to dissipate instead of breaking your bones. Your hand clenches around the axe's shaft, making sure it doesn't slip from your grasp.
There's a cry of surprise, and a man whose torso is sticking up through one of the hatches turns to face you -- bringing his laser rifle to bear. But he isn't fast enough.
You rise into a crouch, and cleave the axe downwards in a sweeping, diagonal blow. The blade catches him on his left temple, shears through his skull as if it were butter, and cuts its way free at the right side of his mouth. The top half of his head slides off along with the blade, hits the roof of the bus, and bounces over the side.
No wonder Ragnar loves this thing so much.
The half-headed corpse falls into the vehicle, and you jump in after it.
A woman appears before you, and her knife flashes at your face. But you're ready. You slip aside, and chop at her ribcage. Blood splashes into your face as the axe makes a mockery of nature's defenses, and splits her heart.
Another cyberpunk is leaning halfway out of a window to shoot, and starts pulling himself back inside when he becomes aware of you. But a sweep of the axe severs his spinal cord, and he collapses there instead.
"You're good, for plain meat."
You look up, as you recognize the female voice that taunted you over the speakers earlier.
Facing you along the bus' narrow aisle is a woman wearing more cybernetic augmentations than clothing. An eyepiece of some kind stares at you from the right side of her head, its blue lights twinkling. Metal is embedded in her shoulders, and her thighs -- grafted on without any of the subtlety or concealment most cybernetic aficionados prefer. Instead they emerge from her body as bold statements of purpose.
"Not a trace of cyber-stuff round you," she says, her eyepiece rotating and whirring. "Or inside you."
"All natural," you reply.
"Then you don't stand a chance."
The woman sprawls at your feet, her flesh battered, her mechanics sparking and fizzing.
"Time for an upgrade, perhaps?" you ask.
"Screw you..." she groans.
You raise your boot, and stomp down on her face.
"Nice work, captain."
You look up and see Talia's face through a hatch, outlined against the night sky.
"Get off there," you say, "and tell everyone to go into the alleyway."
The gunslinger nods, and disappears.
You head to the back of the bus, where there's a haphazard pile of assorted munitions heaped on the seat. You begin to fiddle...
Then you move down the aisle to the front of the vehicle, stepping over the corpses and discarded weapons. The driver's body lies slumped across the wheel. There's a small hole in the armored glass in front of her seat, where persistent accuracy must have worked its way through to score the killing shot. Talia's work, most likely.
You fiddle once more, before unfastening and opening the bus' door. Then you hit the controls, and the vehicle rumbles into life.
A well-timed leap sends you flying into the alleyway as you pass, leaving the bus hurtling along the narrow passage.
There's a horrific screech, like nails across hardened cement, as it grinds against one of the metal walls. But the vehicle continues on its way, and a moment later you hear the crash.
"Wait for it," you say, gesturing at the others to stay where they are.
A second later an explosion tears through the night.
"There we go."