IC : In the Shadows Options

[IanW]

1 August 2050, Touristville, Redmond, Seattle Metroplex, UCAS

"Its been another fine, warm summer day here in the Metroplex, with temperatures as high as 70 degrees, no rain and a low of 52 - and for you people from the C is in the UCAS, thats eleven to twenty one degrees, and the same amount of rain at nothing. It's 9pm, and todays Bodycount Lottery is up to twenty three ... bbbzzzzttt ...'

And the screen pops and dies as the intermittent power to the block holding the grey clinic crackles out. Emergency lights glow red, bathing the clinic's white-painted waiting room in seeming blood, and then the backup generator whines to life, resetting the tri-d to a looping series of advertisments for MCT, Mitsuhama Motors and Espirit Electronics.

The nurse looks up, and the ganger on security duty nods to her as she changes the bandage on the night's third bullet case - a series of nine millimeter wounds across the pectoral muscles, slowed but not stopped by a battered Ares Technology armour jacket.

He growls at the nineteen year old with the bad choice in body armour, black-chromed palm-spur clinking out of it's hiding place - 'You got a pistol in ya pants, chummer. Give it to the nice lady, and we'se square on the bill. Otherwise, we'se goanna need some ... parts ... to cover costs here'.

Coming on duty, the nights first cup of syncaf in his hand, is a hard eyed human Egill. Blessed by whispered secrets, he can breathe life back into a dying man.