Нова Проспект / Nova Prospect: Deus Ex Machinae (Адам)

Deus Ex Machinae (Adam)

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:00

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Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:02

Adam had no physical need for coffee. Sharif had made sure that his best man had been implanted with a cutting-edge implant that stimulated his nervous system by injecting adrenaline as soon as Adam wiped his eyes from sleep. The blissful sipping was a thing of the past, replaced by a rapid heartbeat and dilated pupils. In the chief's opinion, the head of security at Sharif Industries could not afford such a lowly biological luxury as sleepiness.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:03

But that didn't stop Adam from sticking to his morning ritual: a mug of black coffee, strong enough to make even the dead rise from the grave, and a Royal Hellhounds cigarette (though as soon as Adam took his first puff, the filters in his lungs destroyed the tobacco, rightly recognizing it as an external threat). These actions helped him feel like a man of capricious flesh demanding its momentary pleasures again, not an all-metal shell.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:04

The final part of the ritual was a lazy glance at the screaming headlines of The Midnight Sun. Adam leaned back in his leather chair, the cigarette smoke preventing him from seeing what was written on the screen. The vision module obeyed the command to filter out the interference without question. Despite the decades of technological progress that had made technology invisible and inaudible, the computer fan still hummed pleasantly.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:05

++"Sharif Industries shares - unprecedented record first quarter results! Will the rally continue?"

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:06

Blah, blah, blah. Only Sharif and his cronies will make a real profit from any stock spike. Everyone else would have to make do with leftovers from the king's table. Adam blinked - switch. The next news item obediently appeared on the screen.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:06

++"Senator Harry Jasers is concerned about black helicopters. What is the government really hiding?"

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:07

Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to. If black helicopters are all that bothers Senator Jasers, it's been a long time since the august man took to the streets of Detroit. The city has become a giant breeding ground for contagion, teeming with vermin, bacilli, and gossip.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:08

++"Mysterious TV host Elise Kassan - everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask!"

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:09

Enough. Adam didn't know what revelation he was expecting from the yellowed Midnight Sun and took a large sip. The coffee didn't taste bitter enough, but Adam was wary of altering his taste buds to simulate what he wanted. He was unconsciously drawn to the real, unaltered tastes and smells.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:11

They embodied something elusively human for Adam, something that Sharif had so unceremoniously taken from him under the guise of "his own good." One of those people who were happy to try on the guise of a savior without bothering to find out whether the rescued person wanted to be rescued. The anesthesia-blurred memories of mechanical needles made Adam shiver.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 08:12

The number of activities that can be used to postpone the start of the working day without remorse is very limited. The cigarette was almost to the filter and had been scrapped. It would be recycled and returned to Adam just like it - perfectly waste-free.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 10:35

The shiny black surface of the table was covered in a web of tiny scratches. Adam imagined the infinite number of random touches it had taken to create such a pattern of life.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 10:35

The monitor screen went out abruptly. At the same second, the fan stopped whirring and the red icon on the coffee maker stopped blinking. Adam stared thoughtfully at the black square, assessing the new interpretation of modern art.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 10:57

It was suspiciously quiet in the Sharif Industries headquarters, where a cacophony of electronic and human sounds reigned around the clock. Until the first annoyed exclamation in the Open Space, heard through the ajar office door: "What the hell? Is there a short circuit or something?!".

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 10:58

The assumption was logical but highly unlikely. The headquarters housed the company's holy of holies, the research center, and a laboratory. Sharif had invested a lot of money to keep the servers running as smoothly and accurately as a Swiss watch.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 10:59

A system failure would cost the company much more if even a fraction of the information in the data sets were lost. Adam mentally wished Pritchard would take advantage of the confusion to flee toward Latin America and hide in the Amazon jungle.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:01

If such a force majeure were to happen, it should never last more than five seconds. After that, the backup generators should have kicked in and everything would be back to normal.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:02

Five, four, three, two, one. A piercing electric silence. Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:02

The handle of the Zenith itself eased into his mechanical hand. Adam tried to connect to the security department's corporate chat room, which was normally on mute so as not to annoy his ears with constant tasteless jokes. A critical communication error message popped up in front of his eyes. An attempt to contact Pritchard directly ended the same way.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:03

Jensen scrapped the short-circuit theory - the corporate chat room had nothing to do with the main power supplies. If the attempt to contact Frank had failed, the mechanical override of possible scenarios left only one possibility: an electromagnetic bomb. An attempt at sabotage, corporate espionage - in other words, Adam Jensen's daily bread.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:04

Ten rounds - the fully loaded Zenith was tight in his hand, perfectly synchronized with the guidance system. The cameras showed only white noise. It was a rare moment in the modern world to use brains rather than technology.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:07

If Adam decided to sabotage a competitor and detonate an electromagnetic bomb as efficiently as possible, he would enter the building through the ventilation system, planting the bomb in the server room. The electrical pulse would burn the servers' data to the ground, causing the entire tech department to once again believe in any of the forgotten gods and pray that the backups were done in full.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:08

The building came alive again with flashing lights and vibrating noise. The air seemed stale and overheated, like yesterday's soup. A mechanical voice hit Adam's eardrums, confirming his guess about the bomber:

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:08

++" Attempted unauthorized entry into the building has been detected. Repeat: an attempt to..."

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:09

The sentence was interrupted by a nasty, worse than the sound of a fingernail on glass, scraping. The systems were damaged - the company would need time and money to repair the damage. The uninvited guest acted alone. A scan of the premises found only one person without an ID card.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:24

++"The connection to corporate chat has been established. We apologize for any inconvenience".

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:25

Voices distorted by heavy interference rang out in Adam's head:

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:25

"Boss, up here on the roof ...

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:25

... hostage on the roof!"

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:25

The terrorist must have tried to hijack the helicopter from the roof deck, taking the hostage with him. Adam quickly sent a message to Farida - by his calculations, she should have been just about to fly up to the headquarters. She would provide air support if Adam didn't get there in time to treat him with iron first.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:26

First flight of stairs. The chat was bursting with simultaneous messages.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:26

"...the instruments went to hell. Looks like an electromagnetic bomb, but..."

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:27

Second stairwell.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:27

"...interference on the cameras - I see the girl, I don't see the girl.....

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:27

...must be holding her at gunpoint..."

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:27

The roof. A sharp kick. The guidance system searched for a moving target - but found only one. A gale-force wind slammed into his face. This morning, Elise Kassan had reported a seven on the Beaufort scale with an unchanging plastic smile.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:29

On the roof stood a frail girl in unthinkable clothing. Adam's infrared vision detected no other intruders. A terrorist had taken a hostage, but abandoned her halfway up without even using her as a payoff for his pursuit? It's too illogical behavior. Adam signaled the Detroit Police Department's assault team to intercept the aircraft.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:30

"...The flash is not electromagnetic....

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:33

. some kind of paradox..."

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:33

Adam really disliked paradoxes.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:29

The girl was in a state of shock, staring at Adam with a glazed look in her wide-open, almond-shaped eyes. The terrorist had kidnapped his victim, either from a drama club or from a movie set, and the girl was dressed in medieval style. Women in those times did not wear shirts with a bodice visible in the neckline - but the movie makers would put a miniskirt on Mother Teresa for the sake of a sexy show and make her send an air kiss to the audience.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:34

The swordswoman with the cutout on her shirt and the ornate medallion in the shape of a cat's head looked like she'd stepped off the cover of a fantasy game. Adam wasn't a fan of such entertainment, but he'd turned a blind eye (in vain, as it turned out) to the console in the guard room.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:35

The first rule for helping civilians in the middle of a firestorm is to activate the communication module and assess the degree of mental damage. General facial expression analysis in progress... Personality type: alpha. What a generous compliment to the trembling creature, he should have ignored the notification of the last update. Emotions: fear, shock, excitement. Analysis complete.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:36

The motto of the new world, Descartes' nightmare: "I analyze, therefore I exist."

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 12:36

"Miss, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Adam stepped toward her with his hand out in warning. "Adam Jensen, head of security for Sharif Industries. You're safe."

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:28

The girl had hair dyed a fashionable ash color, like the members of the newfangled Atomic Kittens that the receptionist listened to on repeat. The scar on her cheek looked like makeup to him at first, but upon closer inspection, Adam didn't see any makeup particles. Just once metal-torn flesh. She must have come from a poor family if she hadn't had the cosmetic blemish removed - cosmetic surgery prices were dumping.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:12

However, when beauty is available to everyone at an affordable price, its absence is perceived as a kind of valor. A new way to express your individuality.

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:11

"Nie podchodź," the girl drew her sword with a deft movement and pointed it at Adam. "Nie podchodź, mówię! *"

Camrad_RIP 08.03.24 в 11:10