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Azi Demonica

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Aisa

At least Jenkins was his usual self.

The appearance of the odd message--indeed only to her--would usually be ignored by most, but this one was peculiar. She asked dispatch about it. Several consecutive beeps sounded from her communicator.

“Message source discovered: 8th floor of 35 East Wacker. Connecting to subject’s communicator...” The computerized voice was quite blank and rather annoying.

Aisa would overhear the following message: “Attention, Lee Harvey Oswald, prepare for sentencing: you have been charged and found guilty with: civil privacy interference; espionage; high treason; sociocidal collaboration, and terminal violations: 605, 415, 95, 243, 245. Final verdict: termination or permanent dissociation from public upon apprehension. Unit Alpha Thirty and Skyshield: Code 3 10-32F and administer terminal verdict immediately. All other units: avoid 35 East Wacker, Code 13.” The warning to avoid the building sounded in the three other officers’ communicators.

Aisa asked what could be going on.

“Hm, heard there was some sort of big demonstration planned,” Gomez remarked with a yawn.

“There’s always something going on, it happens all the time.” Jenkins passed a slow vehicle.

Aisa pointed at the suspect after she spoke. Jenkins shoulder checked while Steiner nearly planted his face against his window. Jenkins abruptly braked and parked, someone honking behind. The van’s systems formed a holographic image of the subject and the officers observed the bum Aisa pointed out. Another holograph appeared, that of the bum, the images compared side by side.

“They have the exact same face,” Steiner commented.

“But systems aren’t telling us to go after him... Disp, investigating 10-107 on-screen,” Jenskins said as he stepped out.

25-Jan-2020 06:14:12

Azi Demonica

Posts: 5,600 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The officers left the van. The bum was nearby, shouting and making rude gestures. Most passersby went on without concern, though people near him kept their distance. A mother held her two children close, a nervous fellow stepped off the sidewalk and went through parked cars.

“Disp, suspect is also 10-103m,” Steiner commented.

As Aisa approached the subject, she noticed one surprise: 35 East Wacker was just two blocks down. Although she did not see any flying drones or bots, they would undoubtedly arrive soon.

Aisa walked with her buddies. Off in the distance, incoming with the flow of traffic, was a semi truck. The wheels slightly turned momentarily, the truck shifted slightly towards the road shoulder.

The bum saw Aisa and he grimaced, disgusting teeth and visage exposed. He gave her the middle finger and shouted incoherent insults.

Aisa’s eyes moved and she saw the truck’s wheels turned momentarily again. The truck shifted closer to the shoulder. The voices acutely returned, hurting her ears.

“Sir, I am going to ask you to stop shouting and to calm down! Please put your hands in your pockets so we can know if there’s anything in them!” Jenskins began de-escalation with words.

Gomez somewhat woke up but remained passive. Steiner had his hand near his holster, eyes locked on the bum.

“Sir, please calm down, we’re not here to hurt you,” Gomez said.

The voices intensified.

Aisa took her eyes off the situation again when the voices briefly returned. She looked back at the truck. Yet again, the wheels turned briefly, and the truck shifted in its drive, now perhaps a foot from the parked cars. A few people about to jaywalk stopped, one of them shouted as the truck passed her.

The voices stopped.

The truck’s wheels turned again, and once again, the vehicle slightly shifted closer towards the shoulder. The trailer wobbled a bit, narrowly missing every parked vehicle is passed, occasionally breaking off a side mirror. The incoming truck was not slowing down...

25-Jan-2020 06:14:30 - Last edited on 25-Jan-2020 06:17:42 by Azi Demonica

Riniya

Posts: 662 Steel Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Willow smelled the smoke before she saw it. It was putrid, like Gasoline and anything flammable. She watched as people ran both towards and from the tower. People who were afraid and who in this new world order knew to hide and pray nothing came their way, and then those who couldn't control their curiosity. Those who would die or risk their lives just to see something interesting.

Willow heard a shout from her dilapidated android, he had noticed something she herself had failed to as her attention had been on those running past her. She looked up to see a garbage truck hurling its way towards her. Something felt off about the vehicle. Willow was unable to tap into it for control. It seemed that someone else was in control of the unmanned automobile. She tried to feel around in the pulses of electronics for the target. It seemed that no one was the target. The goal, at least as far as she could tell, was simply to cause as much death and destruction as possible.

This entire process took longer than Willow accounted for, as the moment that she came to, the truck was mere feet away. Right when Willow was about to let herself be hit, as she knew there was no hope in trying to flee, her android slammed into her side. The impact threw her into the window of a shop 20 feet away. She fell, unconscious, onto a pile of merchandise and broken glass.

The truck rammed into the android, who was standing in the spot Willow had just vacated. His left arm and right leg came off with the force of the impact. He was stuck on the front of the truck due to the momentum. The left side of his face was caved in. Error messages covered his HUD.

*** Loss of (L) Arm. Loss of (R) Leg. Fluid Loss at dangerous levels. Full Shut-Down in 120 seconds. ***

The android sent out a final message. To who and what was said is a mystery. It was not delivered at the moment of being sent. It had a timer delay. The truck carried on for a few more feet before crashing

There isn't one.

27-Jan-2020 19:04:19 - Last edited on 27-Jan-2020 19:05:10 by Riniya

Riniya

Posts: 662 Steel Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

into the brick building at the T-Intersection.

Willow remained unconscious and slumped over as people crowded around the window. A man in the crowd decided to stop gawking and step into the display to check on her. He was carrying a little black bag and set it down next to her. Out of the bag he pulled an electronic stethoscope. He placed it against Willow's chest and after a few seconds, a heartbeat could be heard ringing out in the eerie silence surrounding the window.

There isn't one.

27-Jan-2020 19:05:22 - Last edited on 27-Jan-2020 19:12:24 by Riniya

Inferi

Posts: 35,939 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Good, she wasn’t seeing things. Until Steiner confirmed that the bum had exactly the same face as the man they were after, part of her had wondered if she was just looking for something that wasn’t actually there. Those minor thoughts of doubt were always there - as she felt they should be, since they made her make sure she was doing the right thing - but they had been escalated a bit with what had happened recently.

Still, this particular individual didn’t seem dangerous, at least not yet. All of his actions were something a simple drunk and disgruntled person might get up to, and it was only the facial similarity - coincidental or otherwise - that had made them stop in the first place.

It was strange how close they seemed to be to the source of whatever message that was, though. It was entirely possible that it was just a proximity issue, as many things that sent out messages such as that would only do so in a certain radius, but the increasing weirdness of today was making Aisa uncomfortable. She knew her incident had a lot to do with making her feel this way as well, but there had to be something happening for it to be amplified.

Perhaps it was the paranoia that made her constantly glance around while the others were speaking to the suspect, but whatever it was the oddness of the approaching semi wasn’t something that could be ignored. At first it just pulled her attention, but the coinciding with an influx of noise that shouldn’t be there made it take a much greater priority than it otherwise might have. Something was wrong here, but she had absolutely no idea what or why such a coincidence would be sweeping them into its clutches.

Nevertheless, it was something to be aware of.

“

Everyone, we have an approaching semi. It’s been acting strange ever since we arrived.

” was her announcement. She was not overly loud, but made sure that there was enough concern in her voice to convey her serious concern. Done in by the dubious doings of destiny.

05-Feb-2020 14:36:21

Quick5ilvr

Posts: 1,265 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Analysis: Semi truck terrorist activity targeting Phoenix Tower. Sheer impact powerful, but not enough to bring the tower down. One of a series of targets across the city. Targeting parameters likely focused on symbols of industry and wealth.

More thoughts flew through Jonathan's head as he continued to process the situation.

Conclusion: Assault not finished. More to the semi, either loaded with hazardous or explosive material. Hazardous unlikely, high quantity of android employees. Need to evacuate. Need to avoid impact site.

Jonathan immediately switched over to communications to alarm the building. "Semi impacted from North side of the building. Evacuate through south facing emergency exits. Leave all work, your safety and right to life are more important."

And with those words, Jonathan felt a crippling chill across his body. The anomaly remained undetected by his on-board diagnostics. A simple glitch, a minor error. Still, Jonathan could not rid himself of the images he had seen, androids destroyed carelessly and without remorse or second thought in seconds. That could have been him had he not been the one in the tower, rather than performing day to day tasks for Phoenix Power.

He briskly made his way to the exit, retaining inhuman poise and grace as he commenced with his evacuation. He constructed an augmented reality as he proceeded down the steps of the tower, creating a small floating digital timer with an estimate of when he would be required to complete his escape.

It was abysmally small. Cower, worship, or beg. All are valid choices.

08-Feb-2020 22:33:36 - Last edited on 08-Feb-2020 22:35:01 by Quick5ilvr

Azi Demonica

Posts: 5,600 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Willow

Amidst a crowd of mixed reactions and reasoning, JJ sprang sprang to action in a race against a lumbering vehicle and loss of hope. But, in that yielding moment, a soul both mechanical and artificial yet real and selfless hurled Willow afar... She crashed through glass, toppled merchandise all around.

Dismembered and beyond repair, JJ would shutdown in two minutes. He sent a message, but to who? A request for his friend he saved? Or something more?

The garbage truck smashed into a building--debris and more garbage cascaded about.

Meanwhile, one of the bystanders happened--or at least appeared--to be a doctor. His stethoscope revealed Willow’s heartbeat.

“Someone call the ambulance!”

The man who checked Willow rolled her on her side, one of her arms outstretched, other bent and under the side of her chin. He withdrew a respiration device and put it on Willow.

“Is she alright?”

“I think so.”

Perhaps Willow drifted into dreams? If so, what lost memories did she see? The android who erased her mind? What happened to her for the year she remained comatose? What about her parents? Or, perhaps something else entirely...

08-Feb-2020 22:44:02 - Last edited on 08-Feb-2020 23:18:49 by Azi Demonica

Azi Demonica

Posts: 5,600 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Aisa

Confirmations and coincidences made this day quite unusual. Not only were there unusual individuals, but certain buildings within a certain vicinity suggested an intelligence behind it all. Although coincidences are meaningless, too many are too suspicious.

Although her comrades were kept busy by the drunken bum, Aisa noticed impending danger, noises both natural and unnatural all around.

Wild-eyed, Steiner spun on his heels while Gomez yawned. Jenkins scurried off with his short legs, Gomez finally woke up and dove, but Steiner held his ground. He withdrew his pistol and opened fire. Blood spattered inside the truck’s cab window. The driver leaned over the steering wheel and the truck sharply turned. Wheels screamed as the trailer tipped over and avalanched across the road.

Steiner sidestepped away as he fired at the truck’s front wheels...

People screamed and scattered as the tractor-trailer ploughed through whatever in the way: parked cars, sign posts, people. The trailer smashed into the front of a building, anyone unlucky enough to be in-between...

But what happened to Aisa? Where was she?

08-Feb-2020 23:16:58 - Last edited on 14-Feb-2020 02:35:41 by Azi Demonica

Azi Demonica

Posts: 5,600 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Jonathan

Something bad was happening. Really, really bad. Nevertheless, it would take more than one semi truck with a trailer full of flammable or explosive material to bring down the tower. Jonathan alerted the tower and evacuation via the southern exit began thusly.

The imagery was horrid. No flesh, but gel. No bone, but metal. No organs, but ceramics. No brain, but plastic. No life, but datachips. No thoughts, but processing. All of that, within an eyeblink, permanently over.

He began his leave. The time estimated how long he had to leave. He had to be quick.

Although the truck’s impact did not break the tower’s foundation, the flames grew...

* * *

Phoenix Tower was evacuated efficiently, testament to Jonathan's protocol. All employees reached the safety zone, outside, far from the flaming building, whilst Phoenix Power’s search and rescue personnel arrived promptly and began their task for both androids and humans.

Ambulance sirens echoed afar. Already, large drones flew overhead and dumped dousing chemicals. Firefighting VTOLs would arrive soon.

“Well, didn’t see that coming,” the EVP of The Blackstone Group remarked nonchalantly.

The COO of AT&T looked around warily but said nothing. He was probably glad his offer was not accepted, as that would have prolonged the meeting and risked valuable seconds.

The CFO of Huron was quite startled, one hand on his chest. The notetaking assistants who came with him spoke to him and one gave him medication.

Over yonder, crowds gathered. People were afraid, many stared down upon their iPhones and messages about terrorism ran like wildfire.

Off in the distance, many blocks away, plumes of smoke rose. Occasional crashing echoed heavily. Jonathan’s scans would detect emergency response on full alert, with ambulance, firefighters, police and rescue teams on their way.

Jonathan's communications beeped. A request for direct communication?

08-Feb-2020 23:17:12 - Last edited on 08-Feb-2020 23:19:19 by Azi Demonica

Riniya

Posts: 662 Steel Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

While Willow was laying in the window and being examined, her mind was elsewhere. Instead of dreams or visions her mind was working. It was connected to everything electronic. She could see all that was happening around her and around the tower.

Connected to one of the security bots patrolling, she watched the exchange happen just a few streets over. Watched as police officers reacted to an oncoming truck. Two simple gun shots caused the truck to veer off course, but it was still a threat. Sliding on its side and scraping across the asphalt before slamming into a building. There was a woman standing there before, but she was no longer in Willow's sight. Willow moved on.

She tapped into the security camera's at the base of the Phoenix Tower. She watched as the evacuations went by smoothly. The tower was completely empty, but Willow knew this not to be true. She could feel him still inside.

Willow transferred herself once again, this time activating the camera's in Jonathans Path. She watched as he walked through the corridors and hallways of the upper levels. Willow did not try to reach out to him in anyway. She Simply remained connected to the security feed and followed him.

______________________________________________________________________

The Doctor kept examining her and determined her to be in stable condition.

"Okay, Lets move her!."

Two Men stepped forward through the window and attempted to lift Willow. Nothing happened when they touched her but the moment she began to lift, an electric shock came from the few electronics in the window and went into the men holding her. They let go and stepped back, before both turning and leaving the display window. The doctor stared down at Willow's body before sighing.

"She's fine. Something doesn't want her to move. Nothing else we can do. Everyone Disperse."

He climbed out of the window and shooed the crowd away. He glanced back at her one more time before leaving himself.

There isn't one.

11-Feb-2020 13:41:43

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