Verusha Barinova had never liked the sound of a mechanic’s laser. It never meant anything less than something gone wrong, followed by an inconvenience at the very best. Over the next few weeks, she had the horrible feeling she’d hear it far too often. She shifted in her tiny seat, pulling her patched jacket tighter around her chest.
“Aren’t you done yet?”
“A-almost, milady.”
“Professor, Ivan. Just…”
The grizzly sighed, crossing her arms as she leaned against their pod’s curved wall. The possum’s laser continued to buzz in the extended silence. She knew he wouldn’t say anything; Ivan had always been a silent worker, ever since he graduated and joined her class as a technical assistant. Verusha had no illusions that he would change now, even with her recent decisions.
Turning her head to look out of the slit that was their only window, she watched the glitter of the city flow by. Their pod was reflected in the sides of the buildings like a young girl in front of a mirror. Arguably better looking, the bear was forced to admit. At the very least, it wasn’t overly made up, like her students.
She watched as the buildings rushed by, dozens in less than a second. The further the pod went, the taller the buildings grew, until they were skyscrapers too tall to see the tops of. The bear shook her head, and looked away.
“They’ve added more skyscrapers.”
“Real ones, mi-…Professor?”
“Probably not. Solid holograms; I don’t see the Governor buying any more metal out-city.”
“…He should.”
She chuckled at his annoyance. Ivan’s utter passion for the physical and material things, how they fit together, was a rarity in this day and age. With so many metals used up planet-wide, she didn’t see the point. Yes, they were necessary, but that would have bled the joy of it for her. For him, though…well, if his work wasn’t on something solid, he looked like he was sucking lemons, she found.
The laser finally stopped humming, and she smiled. Ivan was putting away his equipment, and in his lap, her console was finally back in one piece. Verusha held out her hand.
“I’ll take that.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
“Ivan, will you ever stop being so nervous?”
Shrugging, the possum handed over her bracelet. She took it, but shook her head as she wrapped it around her wrist.
Competent as the best of them, she thought, but he’ll never get anywhere like this. Still, she smiled as she turned the bracelet around on her wrist. The titanium band fused with itself, tightening until the seven inches of metal were tight against her fur. The built-in screen flickered on, and a holographic display of her body loaded up, scanning her vitals bit by bit.
“No break-up with the light display. Scans seem faster.” The bear waved her hand. “And it feels lighter. Why?”
“Shaved a bit of metal…more space for processors.”
She chuckled. Doubtlessly the metal shavings had gone into Ivan’s pockets somewhere, but she didn’t ask. It was none of her business. As long as her equipment was in working order, she wouldn’t begrudge him some metal.
Her wrist console beeped softly, and she looked back to the readouts. Her age – 43 – and her health – good – faded away, replaced with a simple run-command bar. She tapped it a few times, a few textual shortcuts bringing up a simple music command. As she lowered her hand back to her side, the small pod began to echo, but not with the classics that she’d selected. She narrowed her eyes as old strings (guitar, she thought) began to twang.
“What did you do?”
“…Wanted different stuff.”
“Ivan.”
“It’ll come back.”
“Ivan.”
“Alright, alright.”
As the possum reached across the small pod, the laser starting up again, Verusha felt the pod strain. Ivan had no issues, but she had to press her hand against the wall to keep herself up. The possum didn’t even look up, his attention completely focused on her console. Or so she thought, until he spoke up.
“Almost there?”
“Hmm?”
“Slow. How far?”
“Not far, I guess.” She leaned back, peeking through the slit again. “Yeah, past the ‘scrapers. We’ll be at the Pod House in a few –”
She was interrupted by a sudden thrum that felt like the whole world groaning. A line of red light passed over the pod with a hum, and she knew that the same line was spreading out like a shockwave over Circuit City. The bear shook her head.
“And here comes Kliment.”
With a burst of green and blue light, the ceiling of their pod was covered in the image of a well-groomed skunk, outlined in blue light and a green bordered suit. He grinned from ear to ear as he appeared, and Verusha sighed, leaning back to watch the presentation. His too-happy voice filled the pod, and - she knew - the entire city.
“Gooooood evening, Circuit City, and welcome to Kliment’s Caustic Caucus. Otherwise known as the Skunk’s Hour of Power, when the Governor’s Speaker says his piece. Not saying who puts the words in my mouth, but let’s just say it tastes better than the alternative, huh? Hahaha!”
She rolled her eyes as the skunk laughed, but Ivan paid attention. Truthfully, she did as well. It might be her last time before her seclusion.
“But enough of that. Tonight, you know what we have for you. Thaaaat’s right, it’s that time of year again, when feuds and fights aplenty come out, and everyone fights with the desperation we feel every day. Bodies will be scarred, minds will be lost, and one by one, all of our contestants will fall except for one.”
“Get on –”
“Shh.”
The professor blinked, looking at Ivan. The possum had never shushed her before. But then, they’d never been part of –
“Everyone, join me in a cheer for the opening ceremonies of the Hacker Battles!”
This is the last of the introduction chapters, or prologues, for my patreon series. This is Hacker Battles, the story of a female professor's struggle against a tyrannical regime and their yearly gladiatorial cyberpunk tournament. Enjoy, and stick around for more.
If you like this, or want to see other longer stories in the making, check out the following two:
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