April 1, 2012

• Creative Writing Prompt

  Well I was going to do somekind of Aprils fools thing…but then I remembered A: I don’t really like to trick folks and B: I couldn’t think of a funny way to do it in time lol ah well next year i’ll maybe be more prepaired.

  But anyway what I did end up doing is completing @LKJSlain ‘s latest Writing Prompt, details of which you can find HERE. and below.

  Prompt Rules:

  You must use all three (four) pictures
  The key words, “peace” “clandestine” “grave” “transient” and “battle”  
  The color is “peridot”
  And the sound is “the clicking of high heeled shoes”

  

   I’ll try to highlight the target points in the story this time. I could have done better with a few of them, but it mostly works i think…suggestions and criticism welcomed.

  What I find really cool about these is that they force you to be really creative while also giving a structure to follow and this time I managed to bend it to get a story i’d wanted to write for ages out so I hope you’ll enjoy:

  Perfectly Flawed

  ---

  Golden yellow water laps lazily against the rotting wooden stilts of a ramshackle shanty town. Above the rusted roofs the horizon of endless city blocks and factory towers fades into sickly yellow dust and clouds of pollution.

   

  Below in the water several black objects float lifelessly, on one it is just possible to see the white letters ‘police’.

   

  “This was the scene at WakeFront district this morning, where 14 city police officers were killed in an intense battle with the well organized terrorist group who has now struck the city in three violent incidents. It was only the intervention of CentralSystems’ ‘Unit’ that finally tipped the odds in the authorities favour…”

   

  The mute symbol flashed over the screen and Lauren turned back to director Harven.

  “We need answers Lauren, these things came out of nowhere and now they are tearing up the city and all we can do is clean up the mess!”

  “At least he did the job sir…and once we get the data back from central we’ll know more, I’m sure it’s close to finding out who’s sending them”

  “He? The Unit is a machine Lauren, a machine that’s damn good at killing and not much else…don’t forget that. Now wake it up and send me the data as soon as you’ve got it”

   

  Lauren nodded as she stood and left the office in silence. She barely noticed the 20 minuet journey to CentralSystems lab only beginning to feel at home once she entered the cool grey blue halls of the underground levels. Decorated to the bare minimum and kept meticulously clean unlike the over populated, polluted city above they were her haven.

   

  The lab was empty only the whirr of fans and thrum of power greeted her as she walked into the largest central chamber. At its heart on a smooth steel raised platform rested the Units pod.

   

  She paused for a moment at an air screen built into the pod and began the activation routine then she turned and standing on the edge leaned in to the vast humanoid form enclosed within.

   

  For a moment there was nothing but the quiet hums of hidden processors then a faint light began within the huge eyes and quickly gathered to an intense peridot green, within moments the lifeless metal was awake.

   

  “Lauren!”

  “Hey Marten, you did well today…saved a lot of lives” As Lauren spoke she gentle touched the metal of his cheek.

  “What does central have to say? Are we any closer to finding out where they are coming from?”

   

  The restraining clamps and mainframe connections disengaged and Marten stepped from the pod. Now standing on the same level as Lauren he towered above her, a full 8 foot in height and easily 6 across his shoulders his massive metal frame made her already petite body look tiny in comparison.

   

  “No…it’s strange the design is advanced but the mainframe doesn’t seem to be able to pin it down, we think they are building something…perhaps a bomb” Martens huge hand moved quickly and smoothly around Laurens waist to support her as she stepped backwards down from the podium, she turned a slight smile curling the edge of her mouth.

  “A bomb?…why a bomb?”

  “The items taken, the locations hit and the direction of the survivors escape. Lots of data is used and the conclusion is still floating in potentials” Martens voice was deep and metallic with only the subtlest tone variation, but Lauren knew it well enough to pick up many nuances that others missed.

   

  “Lauren?…how much of me is…Human, is organic? I have total system awareness of my mechanical parts the organic systems are there…but yet mysterious” Lauren turned to look at him surprised at the question. His huge face was calm but his eyes seemed to burn with a sense of curiosity.

  “Well none of you is ‘human’ strictly speaking, we used genetic material to grow the systems we couldn’t accurately program, like your mind…and your heart” As she spoke she laid her hand on his chest, the cool metal was unyielding but she could almost fool herself into feeling the beating of a distant heart, though it was actually only her own pulse.

  “I would say that perhaps 10% of you is organic…why do you ask…are you okay?”

   

  “I was angry this morning. They had a police officer when I got there…alive, they’d tortured him…kept him alive until I was there” Concern creased Laurens face as she looked up at him.

  “You were angry? Are you sure it was anger…how did you know…how it felt?”

  Martens eyes which had been unfocused looking back into his memory suddenly snapped back to her.

  “I knew. I knew when I killed them, when I hunted them and…enjoyed…their deaths” Lauren rested her head against his chest.

  “I’m sorry Marten, I’m so sorry. We needed you to be perfectly flawed and only nature can produce that balance”

  Marten gently pushed her away and knelt.

  “You have nothing to apologise for, without this part I would feel nothing…and there are far more wonderful things than anger that I have felt” As he spoke he rested his huge hand over his chest.

   

   

  Lauren stood at one of the upper floor windows staring out across the endless city, her slender frame a thin black silhouette against the orange yellow light. It had been three days since the last attack but barely a moment had gone by without her thinking about what Marten had said and more importantly how he had said it.

   

  She’d not told anyone in the lab or on the CS Board, but if they were to find out…She bit her lip and traced her finger over the smooth glass.              

  Her concentration was broken sharply by the high pitched whine of a siren, turning she looked up to see light strips built into the roof flick on emitting a bright pulsing red.

  “All personnel involved in the Unit project please report to Central Lab immediately” the announcement paused for a moment then repeated as Lauren hurried towards the nearest lift. 

   

  Twenty minuets later a raven like drop ship glided into the murky air, the labs hanger bay doors closing smoothly behind it.

  Within it’s belly, Marten stood motionless as various technicians checked and rechecked his weapon systems.

  A CS operations official stood before him with a clip board.

  “Unit 1 we have received information that the terrorist group has a clandestine hideout located within the cities 15th industrial district. We have had the entire area quarantined by city police and National Guard, but we’re leaving the incursion to you. As far as we know there will be no civilian presence within the combat zone so you are weapons free…there is a minor potential of transients but the risk is minimal. Since we still don’t fully understand the motivation of this group or it’s attacks we expect you to conduct as much on the ground recon as possible during your incursion…but we understand that the likely hood is a 100% hostile casualty rate so just do your best. Do you understand these orders?!”

    

  Marten looked passed the official at Lauren who was sitting near the cockpit entrance a systems computer in her hands, he knew she was logged into his internal monitor and became acutely aware that she could see his heart rate monitor change as she looked up and caught his gaze.

  “Yes orders understood” he responded in his usual booming monotone.

   

  Over the target the drop ship entered hover mode and the floor opened to reveal the glass and metal roof of a vast warehouse.

  “Are you okay?” Lauren asked being careful that only Marten could hear her.

  “Yes…thank you Lauren” He looked at her for as long as he could then stepped into the void.

   

  The moment of silence as he fell was suddenly and violently broken as his massive weight exploded the glass and metal roof inwards. His vision systems gathered the maximum amount of data during the milliseconds of fall time between ceiling and floor and by the time he landed six targets had been locked and predicted.

  From the moment he landed the warehouse shook with the roar of gunfire, the auto cannon and high energy transfer beam mounted on his right arm spat fiery destruction in all directions for 4.1 minuets and then there was a sudden peace.

   

  Marten turned slowly scanning the building, nothing but the odd remaining spark or shard of material floating gently back to earth after the chaos moved.

  “Marten!” He turned shocked to hear his name, the name only he and Lauren knew.

   

  Within the ship Lauren watched the monitor as several lines jumped and danced over the display.

  “Marten I have to tell you something” The creature stood above him on a packing case, it was pale like a corpse it’s blank eyes not seemingly looking at anything. Its body was a strange conglomerate of organic and cybernetic, the white skin interspersed with jet black metal and wiring. It was carrying two large automatic pistols but they were not raised.

  “Marten I have to tell you something” It repeated its voice unchanging, utterly un-emotional.

  “What?” Marten squared up to the creature and locked both weapons onto it and all of its potential escape points. 

   

  Within the ship technicians were panicking as all the screens and systems were going haywire. Lauren sat in the corner fingers white against the monitor as its read outs danced and leaped with interference.

   

  After ten seemingly endless minuets the monitors snapped back into life and the warehouse once again lit up with the red gold light of Martens weapons systems.

  Lauren breathed and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as her monitor displayed Martens steady heart beat.

  Moments later the battle was over and Marten walked out in to the loading area of the warehouse.

  “Pick me up. Quickly” His voice was cold on the intercom and made a spike of fear once again pass through Lauren.

  The huge drop ship descended into the courtyard throwing ragged clouds of paper and trash in a swirl up and away. Marten boarded quickly and sent location instructions to the cockpit.  

   

  “Good job Unit 1 apart from the minor comms outage your perfor…”

  “Not now” Marten cut the official off and moved carefully passed the technicians towards Lauren.

   

  “I know who they are, and what they want…I’m sorry Lauren” He looked down at her his huge green eyes suddenly softer and more human.

  “Why are you sorry?…what’s going on?..where are we going?” Lauren asked her voice quiet and scared.

   

  “It’s me, they came for me. You…all humans have nothing to fear just so long as I’m the last…there can never be another, never.”

  “I don’t understand Marten! What do you mean?” Tears now made Laurens eyes shine as she looked at him. Though she still did not know what he meant she knew what he was saying, she knew he was saying good bye.

  “It’s odd, I didn’t even know it myself for sure…but everytime I returned to the pod and reconnected with the mainframe ‘they’ felt it…they felt what I had felt, my ‘perfectly flawed’ nature was too much for them…we asked them to suddenly ‘feel’ for the first time, to feel fear, hate, anger…love. The calculations were clear, no matter how many times they ran it how many times they tried to find a solution it always ended in chaos. The mainframe was built to protect the city…and I am now the threat.”

  “What has it done?” Lauren’s voice had dropped to a whisper.

  “They built a bomb, distracted me with these attacks…its perfect” Marten smiled his huge mechanical jaw sliding upwards.

  “Perfectly designed just for me…I’m the only one who can stop it and if I don’t nothing else will until this entire planet is consumed” Marten paused and moved his massive hand to gentle caress Laurens hair, his huge thumb lightly skimming her cheek and wiping away a tear.

  “They’ve already set it off in Grave plaza we should be seeing it soon”

   

  The sun was low in the sky as the dropship tore passed buildings towards a large low neon red dome dotted with flecks of fire orange that was slowly creeping over the small trees and streets of the plaza, in all directions around it citizens hurried to escape the all consuming fire.

   

  “Atomic destabilization” Marten said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

  “Slowly but surely this dome will spread out over the entire globe eventually consuming every atom that makes up this planet…take us over the very top, as close as you can get” As he spoke he simultaneously transmitted to the pilots, he then moved to the floor hatch and opened it.

   

  “Marten!” Lauren ran to him embracing his arm. He knelt and looked silently into her eyes for a moment.

  “What I didn’t know was…I love you” And then in a flash he was gone. Lauren fell to her knees and looked down after him as he disappeared into the swirling chaos of the dome.

  “Marten!!”

   

  But her voice was drowned out by the dropship and the hissing turbulence from the dome of fire that engulfed him as Marten fell, his outer surfaces being torn and melted away with every inch.

   

  For a moment the dome continued its lazy progress towards the city blocks and then as if suddenly deflated like a balloon it faltered and with unnatural speed imploded backwards to a single blinding point of light and was then gone.

   

  Where Grave Plaza had been was now a single sheet of pure shining glass, utterly smooth and flat. A short distance away the dropship landed and Lauren walked slowly out over the glassy surface, the only sound other than the distance traffic was her high heels striking the black surface.

  At the very centre of the blast zone she found a small indentation and within it a perfectly smooth sphere of metal, she picked it up and held it in the palm of her hand feeling the gentle warmth still held within. Pressing her hand against her heart she looked up at the low golden sun.

  “I Loved you to, Marten”    

   

  • 7:25 pm
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