Project Chimeria

June 23, 2070

Vision Dynamics Headquarters

Treasure Valley Metropolis

The words “The Future is only a day away!” floated above the pristine industrial facility in vibrant blue as the attendant positioned my wheelchair on the hydraulic lift. With a loud clump, the wheels to my chair locked into place.

“Seems like a cheery place,” I said, but I couldn’t keep the hint of cynicism out of my voice. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having little machines in my body, let alone controlling my nervous system. But I didn’t exactly have a lot of other prospects and the thought of getting my old life back was exciting.

I’d been pensive and moody on the ride over. The news stream, like normal, was announcing the breaking news of some new scavenger attacks on homeless districts that left nothing but shredded bodies no one would miss. But it made for great dramatic headlines.

Not that I believed them anymore.

Between each so called “Breaking story” the triumphant tones and hopeful music played with each cycle of advertisements for “Vision Dynamics: Reinvigorating the World and Reimagining our Future.”

It was just the wrong soundtrack for what I was about to do. The bright blue skies and grassy fields on the vid screen stood in stark contrast to the artificial lavender that scented the supplemental ‘blow-by oxygen’ feed that everyone wore. Not to mention and the busted concrete covered in gang graffiti on the streets. These days, if it wasn’t artificial, it was paved over.

“What a fucking shit-hole!” I muttered, and of course Marv took that as an opening.

“Lieutenant Emerson, do you think Vision Dynamics will make things better?” Marv’s deep baritones held a grain of actual interest, and despite my better judgement I responded.

“Not in our lifetime,” I stated.

“Elizabeth Blackwell was a pioneer, a genius who came up with one hell of a nanite system that will rebuild our economy and improve life for-”

“I heard the advertisements,” I raised my palm to interrupt him. “We’ve been listening to them at ten-minute intervals for the past hour.”

“So, you’re not a fan? That’s hard to believe,” he said with a sardonic tone and motioned to our destination. The massive Vision Dynamics building loomed ahead of us like a city.

“I’m sure it will be wonderful for our grandkids,” I said with a touch of frost in my voice, then added, “If it’s not all bullshit.”

We spent the rest of the ride in silence.

Once there, Marv stood behind me as I surveyed the area while gathering my stuff. “Here you go, Lieutenant Emerson,” Marv said and handed me my beat-up brown lather satchel.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait? You could still change your mind. I can’t believe you’d let them make you a machine just so you can become a security guard for a mining corporation.”

Marv was a nice enough guy, and back when I was whole, I might have offered to spar with him. Based on his build and the callous around his knuckles, he knew his way around the dojo. Hell, I might have done more than just spar with him, given the chance. But that wasn’t in the cards anymore.

“What? And go back to the veteran’s home? Spend my days watching daytime TV and trying to keep that hydroponic garden alive?” I scoffed and pushed the worn yellow button that started the platform, lowering toward the ground.

“This is my last chance to do something other than be a plant or take care of them. If the Yōkai-Tech can do everything they said it can do, I might outrun you home,” I laughed nervously.

“The Vet’s home is a reward, Lieutenant Emerson. Most of the citizens don’t have it so good. It’s hard living on Basic out in the real-world.” He said with a little distance growing in his eyes.

“You get stuck living on the scraps if you don’t have the guts to change the way you live. I have a sister and her family who live mostly on Basic, and I won’t live that way again, its corrosive.”

I agreed. There was plenty of evidence of that all around me. The streets stank, the infrastructure was crumbling around me even as once lush trees and vivid green grass were replaced with rubbish and waste. It was nothing like Martindale Barracks.

“But so is living at the center. It’s so far away from a military life that I don’t recognize it,” I complained.

Martindale Barracks was picture perfect. Perfectly groomed lawns, rock gardens off set by large hardy plants that I think they called a yucca, but I wasn’t sure. If a soldier even dreamed of walking past a piece of rubbish and not stopping to pick it up, some NCO would see them and chew their ass.

The thought of it made me smile a little, and the attendant took that as a response to his words. “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you smile.” He said as the lift came to a stop and he reached over to remove the security chain.

Sighing, I pushed my hair out of my eyes, then reached back to grab my wheels and drive myself forward. “Yōkai-Tech, does that make you an Oni?”

“A what?” I shot him a confused look.

“You know, Oni are a type of Yōkai, or demon in Japanese lore. They’re hulking brutes that look like ogres, with horns.”

“Marv, you watched too much anime as a kid,” I laughed.

I watched his dark brown eyes float up the street, then hardened as it fell upon a group of young people who lingered across from the bus stop. I’d seen the punks before we even pulled up. They were dressed in cast off military clothing, with a mixture of decorated Kevlar armor, and stylistic razor and pin piercings and tattoos.

They called themselves Street Samurai, but their kind has been around as long as there have been criminal organizations. Wise guys, Gangsters, call them what you want. It all meant the same thing. These thugs with weapons would take what you had if they could.

One of them spotted our attention and raised a pair of finger guns and grinned. Then he made a lude gesture with his tongue, licking his oxygen nozzle suggestively. Marv tensed immediately.

“Here, let me help you. The streets are rough enough without-” he didn’t need to mention my chair, we both knew I was a huge target out on the street.

“You can stay here, Marv. The facility guards are just down the street, and I doubt anyone wants to get in range of their surveillance system. After all, they wouldn’t want their new employee getting killed on the street,” I flashed a grin and pushed myself forward.

Marv said something, but I was already moving. My legs might have been useless, but the years of physical fitness training meant I still had powerful arms and a lean core. I was across the street in no time.

I almost introduced myself as Sergeant Katie Emerson, before catching myself. “It would be Lieutenant Emerson now,” I thought, “If I’d stayed in.”

“Kate Emerson, I’m here for orientation.” Unzipping my satchel, I withdrew my paperwork and handed it over.

The guard accepted them silently, his face obscured by the smoke tinted mask of his worn but well-maintained power armor.

“Project Chimera.”

The other one said unimpressed, “You’d better hurry, you’re going to be late for your first day.”