Entering FlexTech Sector

  Without the notification, I wouldn’t have noticed we’d entered a different sector. It looked basically the same as Nova Sector. Sure, all big cities kind of look the same, especially the super urban, high-density business and shopping centers in the middle of a city. This was somehow different, though. Have you ever played a game that was procedurally generated? The building blocks of the terrain are all nearly identical, even if they’re in a different order. It all ends up with a feeling of sameness. Anera, at least the parts I’d seen, felt like that.

  “That’s different,” Aria said.

  She slowed the Bentley as we passed a scene that could have come right out of a movie. Three black, unmarked SUVs were parked in front of an apartment building, and people wearing SWAT type clothing, complete with balaclavas, were hup-hup-huping toward the building. At first, I thought the letters on their bullet-proof vests said COPS, which would have been strange, but instead it said COMP. They hustled inside, some kind of submachine gun at the ready, clearing corners and checking for blind spots. In a minute, they’d entered the building and were out of sight.

  “MP5s,” Aria said. “Those are nice. Way better than the ?korpions. I hope we can get some.”

  “Not unless they’re for sale,” Marko said. “Less killing, remember. Keep driving.”

  Aria sighed and sped up, possibly more than necessary. She ran a red light and I could almost feel Marko rolling his eyes. We passed a few signs advertising FlexWeave and other FlexTech products, but about half of them were defaced with spraypainted letters that spelled out ZOO.

  “Zoo?” I said.

  “It’s where they keep the animals,” Aria said.

  “No shit. You know I can stab you through the seat, right?”

  Aria waved her right hand, which suddenly held a Glock.

  “Bring it.”

  We rolled on for another few minutes before we came to an enormous skyscraper. It wasn’t that much taller than the other skyscrapers, but ground level took up two blocks. It was a steel and glass monstrosity that looked a bit like the Shard in London. Massive letters across the middle of the building spelled out FlexTech. On the map, the building was, quite unnecessarily, labeled as a control point.

  “Big, isn’t it?” Marko said. “I’m not sure we could have stormed that place.”

  I spotted a small crowd of protesters in front of the building behind temporary barriers. They held up signs that said things like “ZOO life!” or “You can’t cage the ZOO!” and “We want a ZOOtopia!”

  “Interesting,” Marko said. “We’ll have to find out what ZOO stands for, in both the literal and organizational sense.”

  “I see a parking garage,” Aria said. “We going in?”

  “Unless you want to go to a different sector,” Marko said.

  “Nah. We’re already here.”

  “Put your weapons in your inventory,” Marko said. “We don’t need to set off alarms.”

  She parked and we made our way toward the FlexTech building. I saw lightly armed security outside keeping an eye on the protesters, and they also wore bullet-proof vests with COMP stenciled on them. I pointed it out to the others.

  “Hmm,” Marko said. “I’d guess they represent the defense resource. Not sure what COMP stands for, though.”

  We passed the protestors and headed toward the row of doors leading into the building. I paused as we walked by a security guard. She was a gobbek with a crew cut.

  “Hey,” I said to her. “Can I ask you what their deal is?” I nodded toward the protesters.

  The guard shrugged.

  “It isn’t a secret,” she said. “They’re ZOO supporters. They want a change in corporate strategy.”

  “They’re protesting for a different corporate strategy?” Marko said. “Seriously?”

  “Oh yeah,” the guard said. “Zeitgeist Ontological Organization. They’re minority shareholders that want to take FlexTech ‘into the future’.” She made air quotes around the last, and spit on the ground. “Bunch of troublemakers.”

  “Thanks for the info,” I said, and she shrugged again.

  We continued forward with Marko shaking his head.

  “Their name doesn’t even make sense,” he said. “It’s like someone really wanted to spell out zoo.”

  The three of us paused simultaneously at the doors to the building.

  “We ready?” I said.

  Marko nodded and Aria cracked her neck. We walked through the doors and entered the largest lobby I’ve ever seen. It had a coffee shop, an information booth, and a security station. A half dozen receptionists stood at a long, standing desk, which looked similar to a bank teller’s counter. A few rows of comfortable-looking chairs were placed to the left and right of the reception area, about half of which were filled by visitors.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  There was signage everywhere, for everything from the elevators and restrooms to a long list of departments and executives. I supposed a building this large would require navigational aid. A message appeared.

  You have entered FlexTech Control Point.

  Orchestrate controlling interest of FlexTech to claim this control point.

  Marko whistled.

  “I think I’d rather try to kill them all,” Aria said.

  “Where do we even start with that?” I said.

  “We start by going shopping,” Aria said.

  She pointed to a sign that read Showroom. It had an arrow on it that pointed to our right, which would take us past the coffee shop and security station.

  “Are you serious?” I said.

  “No, that’s not a bad idea,” Marko said. “We might not buy anything, but I bet salespeople will be happy to talk to us about the company and its products. Very smart, Aria.”

  “I just want some new clothes,” she said, shrugging. “I get that our clothes don’t need washed, but I’m super tired of wearing the same thing every day.”

  Marko laughed.

  “That works, too,” he said.

  We followed the showroom arrow, squeezing our way past the line at the coffee shop and ignoring the on-duty stares of security. Another arrow pointed us to a hallway, and we passed a few offices and a glassed-in meeting room. Eventually, we came to a set of glass doors with Showroom painted above them in large letters. The room beyond the doors had a dollar symbol over it in on the mini-map.

  “It’s a merchant!” Aria said. “Nice.”

  A very polite chime sounded when we entered and an older, human woman in a conservative black outfit appeared in front of us. She had short, gray hair and smile lines, and I had no idea where she’d come from. The woman smiled at us in greeting, putting those lines to work.

  “Welcome to FlexTech,” she said. “I’m Brenda and I’m happy to assist you in any way I can. Feel free to examine our floor displays at your leisure.”

  Brenda looked the three of us over and handed a small device to Marko.

  “If you require additional assistance, do not hesitate to buzz me,” Brenda said, motioning to the device. “Do you have any questions?”

  “No, thank you, Brenda,” Marko said, beaming.

  Aria (Party): Now you’re just doing it to piss me off.

  I smothered a laugh with a cough as we wandered off to browse. FlexTech’s primary line seemed to be damage resistant business and formal attire, though it did have a small area dedicated to military clothing. The first display featured suits which looked nearly identical to those Marko and I were already wearing. I examined them and found they matched. Moving on, we passed a mannikin wearing an elegant, gray pantsuit, and Marko pointed it out to Aria.

  “You’d look great in that.”

  “Nope.”

  “How about one with a skirt?”

  “You first,” she said.

  We found another display with suits of a higher quality than what I was wearing. I examined one.

  FlexWeave Gold Executive Jacket and Trousers

  Woven from a proprietary blend of materials and reinforced by technomantic stitching,

  this outfit offers the discerning gentleman both protection and style.

  Jacket +10% Physical Resistance +1 Presence Trousers +10 Physical Resistance +1 Vitality.

  “That’s a nice suit,” Marko said.

  Aria pointed to the next display featuring a different suit, this one on a mannikin.

  “That one’s nicer.”

  I walked toward it, noting this suit looked bespoke. Hell, maybe it was. The mannikin wore the only one in sight. I examined it.

  FlexWeave Diamond Executive Jacket and Trousers

  Woven from a proprietary blend of materials and reinforced by technomantic stitching,

  this outfit offers the sophisticated gentleman both protection and style.

  Jacket +15% Physical Resistance +2 Presence Trousers +15 Physical Resistance +2 Vitality.

  “You should buzz Brenda,” I said.

  “You don’t want to look at the military clothes?” Marko said.

  “No, they aren’t exactly low-profile.”

  “True enough,” Marko said, and activated the pager.

  It took Brenda less than a second to reach us, teleporting beside the mannikin.

  “Gah!” Aria said.

  “Oh, I do apologize,” Brenda said. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I sometimes forget not everyone is used to that.” She smiled. “How may I assist you?”

  “We’re interested in your amazing suits,” Mark said. “I note the lack of price tags, so, with hesitation I must ask.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “How much?”

  “That’s no trouble at all,” Brenda said. “The FlexWeave Diamond Executive suit is 5000 credits.

  Ouch. I checked my inventory and saw I had a little over 7000 credits. I could afford the suit, but only barely. Marko looked physically ill.

  “And the other suit?” I said, gesturing toward the Gold Executive model.

  “The Gold Executive suit is 3000 credits.”

  I looked from one suit to the other, considering, and saw Marko doing the same.

  Aria (Party): Never spend too much in an item shop. You almost always get upgrades as quest rewards or drops.

  Marko raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded.

  “How long will it take for alterations?” Marko said.

  Brenda looked confused.

  “Alterations?”

  “Yes,” Marko said. “You do alterations, right? To ensure a proper fit?”

  Brenda tittered. It was an endearing, old woman kind of sound.

  “Every FlexWeave suit utilizes technomancy to automatically adjust to the wearer,” she said. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.”

  “That’s helpful,” I said.

  “We’d like two sets of the Gold Executive suit,” Marko said. “One for myself, and one for my friend.”

  “Lovely,” Brenda said. “What color would you prefer?”

  “Black,” I said.

  “Gray,” Marko replied.

  She pulled a thumbpad out of her pocket and presented it. Marko pressed his thumb to it and shuddered. I did the same a moment later.

  You lost 3000 credits.

  That seemed like a lot, but I still had over 4000 credits, and I’d only been here a short while. Brenda smiled at us and motioned toward the rear of the showroom.

  “If you’ll follow me,” she said.

  She led us to a discreet row of numbered changing rooms tucked behind the military clothing. Brenda pulled out a type of magifone I didn’t recognize, checked it, and put it away.

  “You’re in booth four,” she said to Marko. “And you’re in booth seven. Inside, you’ll find the requested item. Please try it on and wait for the fit to settle. When you’re done, you may return to your current attire or continue wearing your new suit.”

  “Thanks, Brenda,” Marko said.

  Aria flipped him a lowkey bird.

  Marko (Party): Aria. Ask her about the company.

  Aria started chatting with Brenda like the two were old friends. It seemed so out of character for her it was all I could do not to stare. Instead, I opened the door of the changing room and, sure enough, found a black suit waiting for me. Closing the door behind me, I slipped out of my old suit and into my new one. Initially, both the jacket and the trousers were too long. I felt like a kid wearing his father’s suit. Then, the clothing started to shift, which felt weird, tailoring itself to my body. When it was done, I checked myself out in the mirror and gave my reflection a thumbs up.

  I almost dropped my old suit into my inventory but thought better of it. Brenda might think it was odd if the suit disappeared. I’d just finished retying my shoes when I heard a raised voice outside the booth. It was Aria.

  “Touch me again, I dare you.”