RYDER
Demi's bar was lavish, incredibly outfitted. It wasn't anything like the exterior of the building. The walls were lined with blue neon lighting which dimly lit up the dark interior. There were poles all set up in different sections of the club, which I assumed were for stripper's.
Demi sat me down on a barstool. I didn't know what to expect. Usually when I thought of crime bosses or big names in the cesspool that is the criminal underworld I thought of burly,masculine men who ruled with an iron fist.
What I got instead was a frail man, wearing a formal suit.
"This him?" He asked,his hands tucked loosely in his pockets.
"That's him."
Demi left the room, with the mysterious man taking his seat beside me.
"So, you're the "Future of human bionics and bioengineering huh?"
"I...I suppose I am."
Warning! Heart rate rising. Panic Attack imminent.
Calm down...I need to relax...
I took in deep breaths, clenching my fists until the white of my knuckles began to show.
"You don't look like much, but Demi says you hacked Raven's terminal no sweat."
"Yeah...I did."
"You know Raven's one of the best DJ's we've ever employed? If not the absolute best. You basically did the impossible."
"Nothing is impenetrable. No matter how good someone's defense is, if you know your stuff, getting through it is all about finding the chinks in their armour."
The man stood up, walking behind the bar. He took a bottle from the shelf,the contents within shone a sparkling purple.
"This, is augmented alcohol. Twice the kick but let's you drink yourself silly without ever having a hangover the next morning. Even if you pass out."
He took two glasses and poured the contents into each until they were close to overflowing.
The man then pushed the glass my way, which slid along the table into my hand. The whiplash caused a few drops of the alcohol to spill out onto my left hand.
"No short circuiting, not desperately wiping your hand to get the liquid off...you really are nothin like an android."
"I'm not-"
"Not an android. I know what you are, seen your specs. Got yourself a working brain inside that skull of yours...a human brain. Human heart too, even if it is augmented."
There was something about this guy. Maybe it was the way he moved, his actions precise, coordinated.
I started to wonder if he was an android himself.
"Ryder...I'll let you into our organization, but first."
The man reached behind a bar, and before I could react, he had a gun aimed at my skull.
Threat detected! Initiating self defense protoco-
Cancel!
Command override, subject's life is in danger, self defense protocol en-
Cancel!
I could feel my body beginning to perspire. I didn't want to kill this man...he could be the only chance I have to get what I needed. Why was he pointing a gun at me?
YOU ARE READING
Connected
Science FictionWhat does it mean to be human? Is it our Emotions? Our ability to think for ourselves? Is it our Thoughts? The potency of our minds? If we, as humans, know what it is that makes us, well human, does that make it right for us to decide what is Humane...
