Chapter 40: So much shit to do…

  “Infrastructure is a very different beast within megabuildings in comparison to a town or city. Within them, air, water and even basic light are controlled by whoever owns the building. Such a level of power is terrifying on countless fronts.

  This should allow us to keep control over our workers much better! Strikes don’t last long without breathable air, you know?”

  –Clara Thompson, PlastaCorp head of human resources, internal memo on the wisdom of mega-building company towns, 2035

  ***

  “Everyone’s here?” I asked, a bit dejectedly. We only found eight council members. That made eleven out of eighteen originals if you included me, Robin and Lila. Oh, and we had twenty-fucking-one extra floors to manage! Joy…

  Everyone sat around a round conference room on floor twenty-seven. We bought some decent pastries and coffee for the occasion. Not as good as point-bought, but still good. I mean, it’s not like the pastries mattered that much! I’m not some bougie prick!

  The point bought pastries had been really good though…

  Argh! Maybe, just maybe, I might have been trying to distract myself from the corpo crap. I love Robin but the official bullshit he needed to spout for regulation’s sake grated on my fucking nerves!

  Many floors ended up having an enforcer or some decent denizen we found yesterday act as representative. We’d hold elections soon. The council session currently involved thirty peopl, including the highest ranking militia commander. It’d only been, what, two days since the incursion?

  People were rapidly running out of clean water, HVAC already failed on the lowest levels, and the repairs needed were extensive. With the sewers destroyed by the antithesis and the samurais who cleaned it up, no one could shower or use a normal toilet. We had to get moving, and fast, so no time for elections! This would be a flash session! Without the nudity.

  The top-most floors were severely under-populated, so they only got a single representative. Grumbling and threats followed that little tidbit, but I didn’t give a single fuck. Since I bought the damn building, I didn’t have to give a shit about who’s kid someone was or how powerful they were. I created the damn council afterall! Having a council at all was my own damn choice!

  Yeah, tiny power trip right there, gotta watch that…

  Altany ran background checks for every candidate, but so far, there were no surprises. No current representative got deposed or anything at least, which made things easier.

  Couldn’t say the same about the newbies. “I think so, but since we have time, can I ask what the whole… thing is here?” Roadie asked, a rather scrawny, intimidated twenty-something representing the remaining Cobra Kais. Their floors got non-members as representatives and this kid happened to be the least objectionable asshole we could find.

  “I have to agree with… Roadie, I do not believe you intend to run this foundation typically.” Dr Portia Nykas, representing the top floors, interjected. I could hear the apprehension in her voice along with her southern bell accent. It mixed oddly with her upper-class perfect grammar and diction.

  There were few residents in the very upper floors. Some had penthouses that spanned half a quadrant! Dr Portia Nykas worked as a researcher in the biotechnology fields and was, overall, a nice woman. A miracle for her type, really, which made her an amazing find for the council.

  “That’s a very good question. Essentially, I set up a non-profit to manage the building and its resources since I sure as fuck don’t want to do it. I’m the CEO and the council makes the decisions. Lila is in charge of the red light districts.” I said while gesturing at the woman who gave a little bow.

  “Johnny and I represent both sides of law enforcement. I protect the citizens of this building from external threats, he focuses on internal threats and law enforcement. Our roles overlap, of course, but that’s the gist.” Johnny added a little howdy and we moved on.

  “I represent and lead the enforcers and he is the sheriff, independent from my chain of command. He may soon choose deputies, we’re still working that out. Think of it like the army versus the police. Robin is our diplomat, dealing with corps, neighbors, other buildings, foundations and gangs.”

  Portia seemed to understand but Roadie still looked confused. “That’s great and all, and it honestly sounds good if it’s true, but who’s the boss?” All heads turned to me… Fuck.

  “In times of emergency, I, and the enforcers, take complete situational command. Essentially, when aliens are invading, just listen to the badasses with samurai grade equipment. It’s always a smart move.” That got a round of chuckles! Back on the right track!

  “Many are present from floors who lack a representative. I’ve chosen enforcers, trainees and arbitrary residents to act as representatives until one is chosen via election. This is mostly because I can trust them to act in the best interest of this building above their own.” The doctor nodded at me in understanding.

  “The council will decide on what course of action we undertake outside of emergencies in most cases. Any objections for the current emergency meeting?” None came forward, probably a good sign.

  “Alright, first on the docket. We received an offer…” It took me a few seconds to put my jumbled thoughts into words. I’d prepared a little speech but… Fuck it. I shredded those words and decided to play to my strengths! “The leader of the Cobra Kais visited us and made us an offer.” That got a wide range of reactions.

  Some appeared terrified, like we’d give the freed slaves back. A couple of them were on the council afterall. Pissed off and ready to go on a murder spree was the majority vote, though.

  “Calm down! Nothing was accepted, I’m leaving it to the council. The details are simple. He delivered the heads of all responsible in reparation. In large part, it was to avoid Johnny and I causing massive collateral damage to his operation as we rampaged through.” Ok, I was getting their attention, time to score.

  “We also agreed with each other on compensation for what we suffered. Is it enough? Fuck no, nothing could be, but it’s something.” I couldn’t let my nerves show, I had to be the big bad samurai…

  “In exchange for not going on a rampage through their ranks, they’ll free all their sex slaves and give them to us. That is, along with stopping the entire practice. I send a message and we’ll receive a delivery of two-hundred and seventy-three no-longer slaves in a day or two.” That got a few moments of silence.

  Lila, looking very unhappy, decided to chime in. “Couldn’t we just, you know, go get them ourselves? No forgiveness required?” That was a good point, one that I needed to address.

  I slumped back into my chair before answering. “Look, there’s no need to forgive them, at all. This is just to avoid a quick and brutal death from me and Johnny. Could we go on the offensive? Sure, but we might lose people, and it just isn’t worth it if we can free them another way. I mean, vengeance for this one is taken care of. I still have the heads if you want to kick them a bunch.”

  Poor Portia looked a bit terrified. “I’m sorry, but I feel like I’m missing some context, did you say heads?”

  I nodded. “Sorry Portia. The Cobra Kais were participants in the plan to murder everyone under floor twenty-five with that hive…” Seeing her growing horror, I realized no one told her. Oops…

  Robin bailed me out. “Hey, Altany, why don’t you give poor Portia a little brief? I think she has mental mods for quick reading and stuff like that, right?” The woman nodded absent mindedly, and everyone moved on for a bit. Robin had already socialized with her? Wait, what was I thinking, of course he had!

  The discussion focused mostly in the right direction. I didn’t want to lose anybody for a grudge match. Did the fuckers deserve it? Sure, but that didn’t mean it was worth our people dying. After some time, Portia came back to us. She looked a bit shaken. “Alright, folks, let me get this straight…” I nodded and she kept going.

  “A few companies tried to kill everyone deemed ‘not worth media attention’. They did that by unleashing a hive in the building and posting murder squads at all exits. The problem came when you refused to die and took them all on when you became a samurai? Then you beat them all and made enough spare change in the process to buy the building, and now we’re here to handle it. Is this accurate, mister Larose?” She sounded impressed. Her accent had gotten thicker through that little speech. I felt a bit awkward in all honesty.

  “Hum… Yeah, roughly.” She nodded at that.

  “What are you guys called again? Same name as the foundation, I imagine?” I nodded. “I thought I was here to represent my part of the building, everyone just thought this was a homeowner’s association or something…” The poor older woman was rubbing her temples. That last comment got a few chuckles around the large conference table.

  Most people present dressed more for a punk underground party than a homeowner’s association. “Why’d you pick me?” Smart woman!

  “You’re a good person from what Altany could tell, or at least as good a person as anybody can be at your societal level.” Portia really did do a lot of charity work for reasons other than tax evasion. Her empathy could use a bit of work and she was a bit clueless, but her heart seemed to be in the right place. Her husband wasn’t as amazing, but still pretty good.

  She apparently didn’t feel any slight from the description. A nod later, the doctor surprised the fuck out of me! “Are you recruiting?”

  ***

  The discussion was going the… wrong way. I’d… probably accept the council’s decision. Mostly… The war idea kept gaining ground as people got riled up however…

  Fine, fuck it, I lost my cat fisting fucking god damn patience! “Lila!” I asked loudly to get everyone’s attention. She’d kept very, very silent after that first question. Most of that came from our similar trains of thought on many things. The woman didn’t even jump, probably expecting the question.

  “Do you remember the feeling of finding out you killed a thirteen year old kid that had been shooting at you?” That shut everyone up. To the woman’s credit, she didn’t flinch or shy away. She knew what she’d done, what we’d done…

  “Yeah, boss…” The enforcer said, reflecting my jumbled feelings on the matter. Such a death tore at your soul, but your actions were always well justified in the moment. That shit was hard to deal with on so, so many levels.

  “So do I.” That got a few seconds of silence from everybody. “My job, beyond all others, is to protect this building. I take that job very fucking seriously. I’ve done some… horrific shit for it. I’ll do horrific shit again, as many times as I need to. However…” I said while staring into everybody’s eyes one by one,

  “Enforcers are voluntary, I made that clear from the start. Some of them fought in the purge and they remember that feeling. They might not feel like doing that shit again. That’s the cost of mass murder. It’s a cost I paid, but I doubt you guys want to pay it.” Most avoided my gaze, but not the purge generation. They knew how horrible things could get.

  “Bullets go through walls, fires spread, bombs throw shrapnel everywhere. I’d never hurt an innocent person if I can help it, which is exactly why some of the Kais tried to exploit that last time. They made sure I couldn’t help it…” I glared at Roadie for a second, wanting him to feel a minuscule amount of the pain and suffering his people caused. He flinched back, at least…

  “I’m not keen on starting a war for multiple reasons. Not wanting blood on my hands is one. Not wanting to lose any more friends is another…” I took a deep breath and tried to ignore my slightly blurring vision. I turned to Roadie and fixed him with a less aggressive stare. “Roadie, why’d you join?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  People seemed a bit taken aback by the non-sequeter but I didn’t waiver. After a few seconds of surprise, he answered. “Hum… I got stuck in NM, then almost starved to death… I had a gun, knew how to fight, used to be a nomad, so the Kais took me in, alright?” He sounded a bit defensive, but I nodded.

  “Exactly. Look, are a lot of them worthless disgusting unworthy of breathing sacks of shit? Yes. Remember though, I used to be a Kai.” That got the few who didn’t know that info to startle.

  “It was that or let my mother die of cancer without the proper meds. Didn’t turn out to be enough in the end… Francis used to be a Kai too. Many enforcers used to be their enforcers. Not many of us left after that incursion, but still. People often join gangs like that out of desperation or because they have no other option. Hunger will make you do things… You can’t imagine yourself doing…” That resonated with a lot of people in the room.

  “However, in this case, I can solve what I hate most about the Kais without innocent casualties or my own people dying. So many innocents, teenagers or even children suffer horribly in those brothels! I know they won’t all make it if we go to war. Their brand new members who just joined because they were starving to death? They don’t deserve death yet either. None of this is necessary. We can free all of those slaves, we can make sure it never happens to another child. We have a peaceful solution for a beyond horrific issue for once!” My tone rose a bit, but I wouldn’t apologize. I felt tired and exasperated.

  I sighed. “If the council chooses war, I’ll protect this building with my life no matter what but… I can’t shed first blood, not again. I’m sorry but… I just can’t…” At some point during that speech I’d apparently risen from my seat, but now I sat back down, tired and dejected.

  Portia gave me an assessing look. I could tell she reconsidered a lot of things she knew. People like her were rare, and often pretty clueless. I’d already accepted her application, but I could tell the woman felt more inclined towards us than before. Maybe she’d become a real ally or hell, even one of us.

  Robin put his hand on my own, gave me a soft smile and mouthed ‘it’s okay’. It helped.

  The decision was made. We’d get a slave delivery. Yeah?

  ***

  “So, how much should we buy with money and…” Portia asked in this leading tone that meant she tried some polite stuff that went over my head. Bluntness for the win!

  “Yeah, points are a limited resource, going to have to be frugal. Some stuff I’m spending points on no matter what, which makes the decision making a bit easier.” Everyone in the room turned to me. I’d be the one spending –along with Johnny– which meant I’d be the one actually choosing in the end. Arguments would have to go towards me beyond all else.

  “The first and most important purchase is going to be our HVAC and water filtration systems. Air and water are the most basic needs after all. Portia, any idea on the state of HVAC in the upper ten floors?” I asked the woman representing the upper class.

  “Pretty good. Air quality in the fifth section does not rival that of more affluent towers but can still be considered safe for long term use. Improvements were made a decade ago to counteract the worsening air condition in New-Montreal, especially this close to the chemical heart of the city. The fourth section is more polluted however, and I believe the system is not coping well with the influx of people. From my understanding, the Kais kept their floors to a low population due to their… activities. The lower load is partially why it kept going for so long, but with all the refugees…” Portia finished leadingly.

  I nodded. This all made sense and didn’t surprise me. “Alright. We’ll leave the last seven floors untouched. The lower sections have the opposite problem. The system’s been overloaded, and the pitiful excuses for a patch the last owners left to remedy the increasing population already didn’t do enough in the first section. On top of that, a lot of equipment was damaged in the fighting, so we need to move fast. Altany, solutions?” I asked while staring at nothing. Her avatar appeared in the center of the table, the size of a raccoon, before speaking out loud for everyone to hear.

  While the equipment itself should not be overly expensive as air filtration is not truly difficult, the installation will be an issue. Much work needs to be accomplished, and in a short amount of time.

  Robin nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been employing anyone willing to work in order to clean up and repair, which is a lot of people, but they’re not skilled labor. The few that used to have those jobs aren’t accredited anymore, not that that stops us but it can cause issues.”

  In this case, it becomes even more problematic. Some air ducts, heating vents and such can be cleaned by them, but many are too small for unskilled labor to handle. However, this can be accomplished using drones, but not necessarily expensive ones. The truly problematic issue is water. Jackal left large amounts of clean drinking water, but that will run out sooner rather than later.

  The sewers were severely damaged in the fighting. The Family has deployed help and the corporations depending on this line have done so as well. Their reconstruction efforts should finish fairly soon since toxic waste disposal has been halted for several factories at the moment. This incentivises many of them to act, thankfully.

  The Family has also invested more resources than usual in this effort, probably as a form of apology for their part in the incident.

  Portia startled but didn’t interrupt. Man we had a lot to fill her in on!

  However, the water filtration system was inadequate even before this incident, and has deteriorated drastically. It is unlikely that the issue will be addressed by outside parties. In this case, a two pronged approach should be utilized in my opinion.

  Everyone perked up, me included, at the thought of a solution.

  First, drones are inevitable, and to cover such a massive area, they will need to be many and simple. I recommend Motherload drones, which will contain and manage many smaller drones, allowing for much more area to be covered and more work to be done for less points. To cover this large of an area, many will be needed, but they enhance each other’s effectiveness. The water filtration system will require vanguard grade equipment to provide properly for the resident of this building.

  There is a temporary solution that can be used until this is finished, however. I suggest rain collection, filtration and storage to provide not only for right now, but also in case of water shortages, which have happened in the past. Most of that system can be teleported in and utilize previous infrastructure for the moment. More renovations will be needed to truly deploy it to its full potential.

  I nodded to myself. It made sense, a lot of sense even! We’d stolen bottled water and liquids in general in the past, just in case of another shortage. They were rare because of how close we were to sewer lines that provided for important corpos, but they happened. “Think we could pay nearby buildings to run rain collection lines under skybridges? I mean, we just need to connect the gutters to those right? I’m sure the owners won’t mind making a little extra.”

  That got me a respectful nod from a few of the new council members.

  Yes, and those should be relatively easy to install. Convincing them to let the drones do the work might be more difficult.

  “I’m on it, already know who to call.” Robin added with a smile. Altany’s avatar gave a little bow of thanks to him.

  For this project, the point cost should be relatively minimal if you consider only the elements specific to it. The drones will be useful for countless tasks after accomplishing this one. The filtration systems, depending on how good you wish for them to be, will carry a higher cost simply due to their size.

  Rishika, the representative for floor nine, made a damn good point. “Do we have to replace them wholesale? I’ve seen those machines, they’re fucking massive. Couldn’t we just replace, like, the filters in them? The work could be done a lot faster then, right?”

  Yes and no. Parts for existing systems will be more expensive for their size due to the lacking surrounding infrastructure. This still means a reduction in cost, but in order to get this type of equipment, a tier two catalogue would be needed. This level of technology would lead to better results overall, but this would cost not only points, but also a token.

  I thought on it for a bit. I’d need all the tokens I could get, but this… Yeah, no, I wasn’t willing to settle for second best. “Alright, I think I heard you mention a ‘mega-building infrastructure’ catalogue or something like that, right? Would that contain water and air filtration systems?”

  It would, but I’d suggest augmenting it with a few cheaper catalogues. In this case, the simple Filtration systems catalogue should be plenty.

  “How much for tier two mega-building infrastructure?”

  The original catalogue is 200 points, the second tier is 2000 and would cost a single token. If it helps, this is a wide ranging catalogue with a lot of utility. It includes all types of infrastructure, such as three dimensional elevators, pre-made rooms for schools or infirmaries, hydroponics, passive and active defenses, electronics, material upgrades and more. Many things fall under the definition of infrastructure, and you need most of them augmented or replaced. I believe it should serve your community well in the future.

  I nodded. “Yeah, sounds expensive but worth it. Thoughts?” Everyone turned to me but no one said anything. Everyone felt out of their depths. Shit, so did I! “Alrighty then, how much for the drones? We’d need quite a few I imagine.”

  With your tier two catalogue, you should have the means to retrofit the previous systems without issues, making the task less daunting. To repair the ground floor and help in renovations, I recommend an upgraded version of the basic Motherload drones. Each of them will be modified to handle using many more sub-drones, communicate together for maximum efficiency and communicate with organics to distribute unskilled labor and work around humans.

  I recommend twelve drones, working in tandem from bottom to top, starting with water and air filtration systems before moving on to other tasks. Much will be required of them, but the basics of survival should be accomplished quickly. Each will cost 475 points in addition to the cost of their catalogues. Overall, this will mean an expenditure of 5800 points. This totals to 8000 points before the air and water systems are bought.

  Everyone’s eyebrows rose at that massive number! Did I even spend that much total yet? Probably not, right? “Okay… The filtration systems?” I asked with apprehension.

  That depends. Quick to install retrofitting equipment may be slightly more expensive, to be clear.

  A small discussion finally ensued since people had opinions on that. Everyone agreed, thank the fucking mesh! With the smoke-stacks so close, air filtration needed to be the best it could be, and the system couldn’t be down for long if we didn’t want to poison our kids. Water wasn’t as pressing a need at least and we could take a bit more time, but still, no skimping on that. We’d do the rain collection thing for sure.

  In this case, the filtration equipment for four sections will amount to 6550 points.

  “Fucking hell…” I muttered, disappointed but not that surprised. Each floor of a megabuilding could count as a small town! In some ways, it cost less than I thought it would given how much ground we had to cover and how many people would use it.

  Speed played a factor in the price, but I could tell Altany had worked hard to keep the price down. Also, hey, those drones would serve other purposes! Part of the work would also be done by humans. The clean water basin would be built by well paid residents, using materials bought with credits.

  In the end, I’d spend 16500 points for the entire system, drones and materials included. It hurt like a bitch and a half, but that didn’t mean I hated it. Every kid living in the building would end up with clean air and water! Worth every fucking point.

  Still…

  ***

  “Alright, next order of business, meds.” Robin announced, getting everyone back on track. “Injuries were mostly dealt with from that incursion, but plenty of people have diseases and issues that got worse with all the panic and stuff. Also, love, I think you mentioned wanting mental health services?”

  That I did. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I think that buying a therapy AI’s the best way to go, or maybe a few? I was thinking of maybe having a VR lounge where people can interface with them? I’m not sure there are enough therapists in the city for the amount of fucked up we have to deal with.”

  That got a few snorts from most people. Portia, surprisingly, nodded. “Yes, mister Larose. There aren’t enough organic therapists to handle this many properly. I have some instruction in the field, and I can guarantee that it is not feasible with credits.” I nodded at that before turning to Carol, our medical ‘expert’.

  “Carol, how are we on meds? Did you finish making an inventory of current health conditions? Physical, to be clear.” I asked with interest. The woman sighed.

  “There is no way in hell you can solve everything with points, boss. We have cancers, countless autoimmune conditions, a lot of missing vaccines, heavy metal poisonings and… Well, I could keep listing shit for a while. Missing limbs is the one I’m more concerned about in the short term since that means those people can’t fend for themselves.” At that, Johnny raised his hand.

  “I’ll pay for those. Panda’s already spendin’ somethin’ fierce for air and water. This is somethin’ where my catalogues’ll do better. On top of that, it’ll get us heaps more able bodied workers. As for the rest, I reckon lots of diseases can be solved with credits.” I smiled at the big softy.

  “Thanks Johnny. For some I have these ‘second chance’ nanite treatments, good for environmental health damage, but I’ll need more points before buying those…” Fuck, I’d have to wait to afford as many as needed, at least for the younger generations…

  “Also, I believe I have a more… efficient solution for the rest. I know a biohacker with a lot of talent that could use much better equipment and a cure for his condition. Pretty certain I could trade that for a lot of cancer cures!” Portia perked up at that.

  “Mister Larose, could I accompany you to meet this biohacker? I find the subject fascinating, and I believe I could be of help in his efforts to help the residents.”

  My eyebrows rose. I wouldn’t have thought she’d be willing to slum it, but maybe it was something like an experienced programmer being interested in a computer hacker’s work? “Sure, but it’s not the nicest environment and I’ll need your word that you’ll keep anything you learn about him, his location and his activities a complete secret. Can you promise that?” The woman gave me a complicated look for a few long seconds before nodding. I’d make her sign an NDA and more later.

  Lila added an important reminder. “Panda, you have to remember to keep enough points for the slaves to get that Cleanse stuff. It deals not only with addiction, but also withdrawal. It’s some amazing stuff! The moment we send them a message saying they’ll lose their toys, you just know the fuckers will stop giving them the drugs they forced on them right away. We’ll need to move fast.”

  Fuck! Lila was right. Withdrawal not only hurt, it could kill if done improperly. The Kais sure as shit wouldn’t do it properly! Cleanse cost five points each, and I should definitely earmark more for all the other stuff they probably suffered from… I’d keep at least 3000 points for that. This would be a mess and a half, but retrieving them on the same day could keep them all alive…

  Fuck’s sake, I hoped we were at least halfway through the meeting…