Chapter 4: Area 58

Mankind began to use tools for hunting from an ancient era. Even cavemen realized their soft fists were not enough to fully damage the enormous beasts of yore. Fisticuffs had developed into a man versus man type of combat.

Tools evolved along with man, from sticks to spears, from swords to knives, from bows to guns, every new form it took on became more and more lethal to both man and beast.

Even a nuclear reset of civilization could not deny man of their tools.

Gin woke up with a stomachache. It came from both hunger and overexertion from vomiting too much. He felt feeble, but ironically his head was clear.

“You’re up.” Zin said sardonically, “The transport vehicle to the lower areas is about to arrive. Get ready.”

Gin glowered at the wall terminal covered in glowing lights. But there wasn’t anything he could do to retaliate. He needed food, and badly.

Looking down at his floor, the vomit had already been cleaned up by the Roomba. The disgusting scent was also purified. But the lingering scent of vomit still existed on his breath. He needed to freshen up and gear up.

“How much time do I have?”

“15 minutes.”

“Open the sink.”

A sink appeared from the wall terminal. Water started to pour out. Gin touched the cold water and splashed some on his face. It washed away some of his grogginess and fatigue.

“Activate dental hygiene mode.”

Gin opened his mouth wide as a pair of thin metallic tools popped out of the wall. It reached into his mouth and thoroughly cleaned his teeth and gums. Even the residue on his tongue was properly cleansed. After 5 minutes, the smell of vomit was gone, and his mouth was squeaky clean. He rubbed his teeth with his tongue and felt the smooth texture.

“Clothes, now.”

The orange overalls once again dropped from the ceiling. The gloves and shoes also were quickly brought up.

Gin wore everything like clockwork. At this point, putting on his work uniform or rather, his only set of clothes for going outside, was muscle memory for him now. Once he finished, he took the chip out of the wall and slapped it into the goggles with a little bit of force.

“We will talk later.”

He angrily snarled at Zin as he quickly left for the terminal station. A personal pod delivered Gin from his room pod to the terminal station. It was a large orbiting station that housed several docks for pods and transport vehicles. Gin’s pod slotted into one of the many docks. The door opened up and Gin quickly sprinted towards the main transport terminal. The line for entering the vehicle was growling longer by the second.

Soon, the transport vehicle arrived.

Today, it was traveling to Area 50 and Area 59. Everything between 50 and 59 was connected into one long spiral. The other employees called the area Screw Town. Crude name, but it fit the bill. From a distance, Screw Town looked like a spiraling stack of pancakes.

The town was smack-dad in the middle of the entire City. It was also connected to the ground level. The areas acted as a gateway for the Corporate City to connect with the rest of the world. Everything above Area 59 was up in the sky, and everything below Area 50 was down in the valley or below the earth.

Gin got into the sleek metallic white transport vehicle. He sat down in one of the numerous cushioned seats and locked in the four-point safety belt. He also tied his head back to the chair’s headrest. These transports were fast, but not very comfortable for their passengers.

One Gin was well-fastened into the chair, several other passengers arrived, sat down, and got situated as well. Soon, the transport was filled to the brim, every seat was taken by an employee of the company.

“Capacity reached; transport ready to leave.”

The AI aboard the vehicle announced.

The hatch closed and all the employees who wanted to enter could only leave dejectedly. Another transport will arrive in an hour, so all they could do was stand around and wait.

The vehicle ejected out of the station and began to shift slowly into a downwards falling trajectory out of regular orbit. Its main thrusters were turned on as soon as it was a safe distance away from the station. If the vehicle was left to fall on its own, it would take two years just to reach the surface of the earth. With better control, it would only take two hours.

The engineers must have studied orbital mechanics intensely in order to time the vehicle to arrive at the city every time. In the past, there were some instances of transport vehicles going awry and landing in some god-forsaken places on the planet. They were quickly killed off by the local fauna or radiation sickness.

Gin always marveled at the wonders of technology. Even cautionary tales were exciting.

Two hours later, the flaming hot transport vehicle arrived in Area 59’s docking zone. It was allowed to slowly cool off to avoid any stress to its outer shell due to extreme temperature changes. Once it was cool enough, drones spread coolant to quickly chill the vehicle down to regular temperatures. Soon, the hatch opened up and the employees who had already removed all the belts and safety off of themselves started to walk out into the town.

Gin walked along with the crowd with his stomach growling fiercely. Screw Town had many canteens where employees enjoyed a free meal provided by the company. Area 23 was considered upper class in comparison and thus lacked these large bulking areas for social services. Gin walked towards the elevator leading up an Area. Area 59 was mainly the docking area for Screw Town. The canteens were located on area up on Area 58.

As he walked along with the rabble, a large row of escalators leading upwards appeared on the edge of the zone. Countless cargo and people stood on the escalators as they rose to Area 58.

A huge building complex covering two-thirds of the entire Area 58. Steam drifted from the roofs of the complex. The moisture hit the bottom of Area 57 and condensed into water which rained down. The canteen of Area 58 was always raining as long as food was being served.

Water droplets landed on Gin’s orange overalls and slid off his waterproof clothes. The goggles turned into the bubble helmet leaving him fully dry on the inside.

“What to eat tonight?”

There was a large selection of food in the canteen. Various employees who wished to eat something new and different browsed dishes the cooking staff made. Some employees even switched departments to join the cooking branch to satisfy their urges. They were constantly bringing strange foodstuffs that had mutated out in the wild through the gates of area 59, up a floor into the dining hall of the city. Here was a city of delicious and experimental food.

______

The rain felt artificial as there was no wind. None of the signature thunder or lightning as well. There was only water, constantly dripping down from the sky. Gin stepped in several puddles as he browsed the restaurants along the complex. The outer regions of the complex were the places where employees were served free food while the inner regions consisted of larger kitchen and storage spaces along with the food you had to pay for. There was an enormous pathway leading directly into the inner areas for cargo to get in. This made the complex look slightly like a horseshoe from above. The streets of the inner area were lined with high-class restaurants. Sadly, Gin could only really afford to eat on the outer rim.

Soon, the fragrant aroma of spices drew Gin’s attention. It tickled his sensed just the way he liked it. As he approached, he soon saw a small stall selling stuffed flatbread. Minced mystery meat, full of aromatic spices, filled into a lightly toasted flatbread covered in a glistening glaze of garlic oil.

Gin approached the shop and had his work ID swiped. Once a day, it will waive the fee of meals from the outer canteen. If one wanted to eat more exotic food, they would have to spend credit. Of course, the R&D department was always looking for willing participants to eat whatever concoction they have created and were even willing to pay people to do so.

With a plastic tarp hanging from the side of the stall blocking the rain for Gin, he accepted several delicious looking stuffed flatbreads wrapped in a cloth. Gin ripped a small piece off as it burned his hand a little. He blew on it a few times and shoved it into his mouth. The rich flavors exploded as soon as it hit his tongue. A powerful blend of spices elevated the taste of the minced meat to a whole new level. Satisfaction washed over him as he chewed and swallowed.

“Delicious.” Gin couldn’t help but say.

“Thanks.”

The shop owner replied.

Gin took a look and realized the owner was young, very young. In fact, she looked like she was in her teens.

“You are the owner of this stall?”

“Yep, just transferred to the cooking department last month.”

“Oh, I see.”

It seemed like the owner didn’t mind Gin asking questions. But considering that Gin looked even younger than she did, her guard must have been down.

“What’s your name?” Gin asked.

“Rakia’s my name. What’s yours?”

“Gin.”

The two became silent as there wasn’t much conversational energy lingering around. Gin was curious and so was Rakia but the two were both socially awkward.

“So, where did you learn to cook?”

Gin finally took the courage the ask.

“I learned from my job instructor.”

“I thought you recently transferred to the cooking department?”

“Look kid, why are you bugging me?”

Her personality turned all of a sudden.

“K-kid?”

“Yea move along kid, I got other customers.”

Gin looked around. It was completely empty all around him.

“What customer?”

The girl froze. Her expression slowly changed back to what it was before.

“S-sorry about that. I have a condition.”

Gin could only nod. Perhaps he knew deep down that he shouldn’t pry into personal matters. It might offend her and then HR would be on his ass in seconds. Honestly, Gin now wanted to leave to avoid any further awkward confrontation.

But Rakia stopped him.

“H-hey, can you add me on your communicator? I’ll let you know when we have new dishes.”

“Sure.”

Zin sent out a confirmation for the girl’s AI to accept. After a few moments, her name appeared on Gin’s contact list. Now he had two people on his list, his boss, and the girl.

“See you later then Rakia.”

“S-see you later!”

Gin walked away slowly back into the rain. He couldn’t help but feel awkward.

“The girl is still staring at you, you know?” Zin chuckled.

“Shut up.”

Gin grumbled. But he couldn’t help but praise her cooking. The meal was delicious, and he was satisfied. He was now free to wander around the area until the transport vehicle arrived to deliver employees back up to the room pods.

“It feels so strange to finally have so much free time.”

“Indeed, it is. Think about how I feel as an AI, constantly working without rest!”

“Aren’t you technically still working now?”

“Passive processes for me are just like breathing. I got the processing power to do it with my eyes closed and my limbs bound.”

“But you don’t have limbs.”

“….”

Gin ignored his AI’s endless rambling and went back to exploring the Area. He used to come all the time back when he was job training. But his boss always took him to the same shop. Countless times, they just passed by interesting looking restaurants. Now that Gin was on his own, he explored to his heart’s desire. He even wanted to walk into the inner areas.

All sorts of flashy eateries lined the building complex. Some advertising their menu with enormous flashing signs and displays. Some relied on the aroma of their food to entice the roaming employees. It was stiff competition, everyone wanted to earn credits. Even if employees eat for free, the company still pays the eateries based on the amount of customers they serve.

Soon, Gin reached the area with higher quality food. These restaurants charged credit for their food. There was even an employee handbook that reviewed these high-end places.

There was a place called Carnal Meats. They cooked only meat and was a carnivore’s paradise. Every day they would have something called the “Catch of the day” where a new edible beast was brought in. It could be from the R&D department or from the radiated outside. Then it would be treated and served to the customers in mere hours. If one was lucky, they could enjoy in some of the most exotic meals around. Of course, not every dish was a success. Sometimes you had to sign a waiver just to eat.

Across the street from Carnal Meats, was Tropicalio, a place for everything fruits. Alcohol made from fruits, salads made from fruits, pudding made from fruits, it served an enormous variety of dishes, but their theme was that they used mainly fruit.

The common watermelon on earth had been bathed in radiation and mutated beyond what it originally was. An unimaginable large green fruit was rolled into the side of the restaurant by several staff members. Gin could smell the fruity aroma waiting to burst out of the fruit ball the size of three men.

“Looks like Tropicalio is making something new today.”

Gin wanted to try some, but it was too rich for his blood.

“Tough is the life of the poor,” He sighed and walked away before the fruity aroma enticed him even more. Not even the rain could stop the delicious scents from meandering around.

Around the corner of the two famous restaurants, laid a quaint little bakery. But don’t let its simple appearances fool you. It was one of the star earners of the finance department.

“The Golden Loaf…,” Gin stared at the small bakery with yearning. “I must leave before I become too captivated.”

Gin recalled stories from his co-workers about how some poor sap got too enticed by the smell that came from The Golden Loaf and lost his entire life savings to bread and pastries. Poor guy was satisfied for a few days by food but afterward, the poverty struck him hard. The finance department sure knew how to milk employees for their financial worth.

Gin ran from the bakery with his mouth still salivating. His stomach was full, but his appetite was stimulated. The puddles made plenty of splashes as he ran.

Soon, he ended up at the edge of the high-end area. The canteen looped back around as Gin left the inner streets of the horseshoe shaped complex. Gin felt tired from resisting his urge to eat. Eventually, he walked back to the shop from before. Rakia was still standing there, waiting for customers. She looked bored as she listened to the sound of rain.

“Hey again.”

“Back so soon kid?”

“W-what?”

“Look kid, you seen this before. Just ignore it and move along.”

Rakia glared at Gin. Her eyes looked sharp and were full of experience, completely different from how they were before.

“W-who are you?”

“Leave kid, this isn’t a good time.”

Rakia reminded him one last time.

Suddenly, Zin appeared on Gin’s view and screamed.

“Warning, Combat system has been automatically engaged. Prepare to fight.”

“W-what?!”

Gin looked around and saw the world slowly faded out as his bubble helmet turned on the heads-up display. The augmented reality had set in as zeros and ones altered reality into something new. Rakia looked around as her eyes started to glow.

“It’s here.”

She said quietly as she jumped out from behind the counter. Cracking her knuckles, Rakia got into a combat stance. A spear digitized in her hand.

Gin stared in wonder.

“Capitalist Conquest!” He suddenly thought.

“Yo kid, better gear up. You’re a player too right?”

Gin froze. He hadn’t even finished the combat tutorial yet.

“I…don’t have a weapon.”

Rakia stared at Gin in shock then slowly sighed.

“A noob huh.”

Two long lizards crawled out from behind the roof. The rain dripped off their leathery skin.

Rakia turned her head to look at the creatures and frowned.

“Scavengers.”

The lizards waited patiently. They knew they were too weak to win in a fight, but they stayed around to eat the leftovers.

A more dangerous creature must be approaching.

Gin stood helplessly as panic washed over him.

“Zin, is there anything I can do?”

He turned to his reliable AI partner.

“Leave a pretty corpse for the coroner?”

Reliable is a very…loose term.

“I’ll think of something,” Zin said as he quickly browsed the contents of the Combat 101 tutorial.

“Take this.”

Rakia reluctantly handed Gin a bow when she saw he was doing nothing.

“I don’t know how to use it.” Gin complained.

“Idiot.”

Rakia and Zin both said at the same time.

Gin grabbed the bow anyways and an arrow digitized in his other hand.

“Learn to use it. Now!” Rakia commanded. Fighting with a noob by her side was nothing but trouble. But then again, having bait to attract attention was better than nothing.

Gin took the bow and looked at the arrow.

“Where does this thing go?”

He had never used a bow before. Most company weaponry were firearms like the Bolter. There were signs and labeled slots for everything and was extremely user friendly. They made it so even an idiot could operate it. An idiot like Gin.

“Looks like I have to help.”

Zin finally sighed as he finished browsing the tutorial notes.

“Gin, there is another part of the combat system you need to learn now.”

“What is it?”

“Merging.”

Zin said as he looked directly at Gin with a slight look of disgust.

“I need to enter you.”

“…You just want my limbs, don’t you?” Gin sighed.