neosapienooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

JANUARY TEST DRIVE

1: SPRAWLING WASTELAND, GLOWING IN THE DARK

No sunlight reaches the Underground, but there is rain: grey, oily droplets that slowly trickle down from the city above, seeping through layers of concrete until they drip from broken light fixtures onto the aptly named black markets below. The glow of neon signs keeps the shadows at bay, just barely. What was once a system of utility tunnels and basement bunkers is now a warren of tiny shops offering reprogrammed ID chips and back-alley cybernetic upgrades, where hitmen and slave traders operate with lawless impunity. But someone is always watching... the eyes of Yakashbah, graffitied in bioluminescent paint, stare unblinking from the walls.

People come to this place for only two reasons: they're either looking for something, or they're trying not to be found. Whatever your reason, the Underground welcomes you.

2: A MIND OF DARKNESS, A HEART OF LIGHT

Outside of manicured parks and glass-enclosed vertical farms, green space is rare in New Gate City, so the elites flaunt their wealth in private rooftop gardens. Fragrant, exotic flowers bloom amidst strings of lanterns, and real grass - an extravagant luxury - carpets the ground beneath partygoers' feet as they sip champagne and admire the dark cityscape below. Tonight, one of the Douman Zaibatsu's myriad charity organizations hosts its annual fundraising gala... but this year, the special guests attract even more attention than the celebrities and fashionistas in attendance. Representatives from the Neo Sapien Organization have been invited to speak on the topic of Human/Meta-human relations, and to raise money on behalf of job placement programs for impoverished Metas in the Last Ward. Of course, most within the Douman Zaibatsu would prefer that these "job placement programs" send Metas to the farms far outside New Gate City (or better yet, to the lunar strip mines), but at least for tonight, members of both factions hide behind false smiles and false words.

3: AS FEAR'S REPLICATING, YOUR WORDS RESONATING

Someone gasps, and everyone looks up. Arcadia's central shopping district goes silent, save for the distant sound of pop tunes played over tinny speakers, as a massive black banner unfurls down the side of a building. A crudely drawn eye fills the banner, bisected by a line of white paint... the unofficial symbol of the Meta rights movement. People start to whisper, and somewhere, there's a cheer. Police drones buzz through the air above.

Meta rights protests aren't uncommon in this part of New Gate City, even though they're soon dispersed by local security forces. This banner, too, will be quickly taken down and destroyed, but the photos and videos of the event will be harder to suppress. Already, the bystanders are murmuring to each other, some in support and some in fear. Others keep their heads down, wary of expressing their true feelings about the rising numbers of Meta-humans. And as security forces move to block off the area, others are frantically trying to disappear.

4: A NEW HOPE GLISTENS OFF THE STREETS

The blocks surrounding the Neo Sapien Organization's headquarters in the Middle Ward are like an oasis at the center of an otherwise inhospitable city. Old buildings have been renovated into bright and cheerful apartments that accommodate a variety of Meta-human physiologies, Meta schools and Meta-owned businesses are flourishing, and Meta-friendly shops and cafes line the streets.

The best coffee in the Middle Ward can be found at The Mean Bean, just across from the NSO building, where the shop's fire-breathing Meta owner personally roasts every batch. NSO employees and and other patrons of the popular cafe congregate to discuss local news and gossip: a proposed Meta registration and identification law, rumors of vigilante gangs near the border with the Last Ward, and rivalries between NSO university sports teams. Arguments occasionally grow heated (especially when it comes to sports), but overall the atmosphere is friendly and congenial.

5: WITHIN THE CHAOS, I KNOW I'M NOT ALONE

The Last Ward's electrical grid is reliably unreliable, but blackouts on this scale are rare. Half the ward has been dark for the past three days, save for a few emergency generators and dwindling battery backups. As winter winds batter old, drafty concrete apartment blocks, the residents grow restless and frustrated. Police have already put down several riots, but there's no stopping the spike in looting and other petty crimes.

In the Parish, many people have opted to barricade themselves inside their homes until the blackout ends, but others are taking advantage of the chaos. Most, though, have chosen to band together to protect each other throughout the long nights. The people of the Parish may not have much, but at least they have a sense of community.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Her first comment is enough to split his mouth into a wide, amused smile — definitely one of the most genuine ones he's worn tonight. There's an obvious joke to be made, but he restrains himself. Instead, he leans his elbow against the drink station, again lowering himself as much as he can for her. ]

Have you seen something to make you say so, or is that just your gut feeling?

[ The way he means the question is anything but dismissive. Perhaps it's just the effect of being raised by a man with precognitive abilities, but Magnus puts more stock in gut feelings than many people would consider wise. ]

[ Jotako looked around before motioning for Magnus to follow her, away from the drink station. His powers might be able to silence their voices to ears they didn't want hearing, but they couldn't stop their lips from being read. Once they were sufficiently away from eyes, and cameras... ]

I don't think that former experiment we got at HQ is the only one, or that they stopped when that one failed. Cyberneticizing the human nervous system, integrating human and artificial intelligence, is definitely something they'd still be trying to perfect. [ And be used to weaponize Metas... ]

No, I wouldn't assume so, either. [ But he understands what she's getting at, and it isn't just to state the obvious. A faint frown touches his expression, distant and worried, and he turns his eye downward as if his wine might hold more optimistic news. ] But I wonder if they are on track to have a working model within the year, and if they would declare it so publicly.

[ One's public image is nearly as bad as the other's, nowadays. It would take quite an information campaign...

Well, maybe that's something to watch out for as well. ]

It depends on if they can find a use for them besides being weapons. [ Jotako took a pull from her beer, a long one. Of course they had more uses for them besides that. But that kind of means of control over Metas for the use of war was terrifying enough on its own. To think of what else they could do, even for the supposed "benefit" of mankind... ]

Anyone could, and they wouldn't need to cyberneticize our minds to find them.

[ It takes no effort to keep the words quiet. His voice is already low with his anger, even as his expression remains deceptively restrained. What might be stranger is the pride lurking behind those words in implication, a declaration that they can already do so much more hovering a breath away.

Then again, it is Magnus. Must be something about the name. ]

And a more benign [ air quotes fully implied ] application will make for an easier sell, in the beginning.

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

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