Нова Проспект / Nova Prospect: Against the Tide (Адам)

Against the Tide (Adam)

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 12:57

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Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 12:57

"I haven't slept in three days, Jensen," Pritchard's voice cut through the noise. "Tell me you have good news."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:09

Leaning against a wall in a narrow alleyway between the skyscrapers of the China International Bank and a standard five-star hotel, Adam gazed at the blazing Tai Yun Medical building in the distance; billows of thick, sticky-looking orange smoke rising upward.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:09

//"Civilians. A damn bunch of civilians sandwiched between monsters, Tyrants, and elves. It remains to be seen which one is worse."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:10

You can't save everyone. He had tried too many times not to know for sure.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:14

Ciri splashed rusty water in every direction, vigorously washing her face over a small fountain. Her sharp shoulder blades went back and forth beneath the tight-fitting suit, and the plum-sized bruise on her neck seemed almost black in the semi-darkness.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:14

"I knew it was too much to ask," Pritchard didn't wait for an answer. "What happened this time? Come on, I'm ready for anything. Godzilla? Aliens? Tentacle monsters?"

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:15

The last suggestion almost made Adam choke on his cigarette.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:15

"Ciri is with me," he replied, not letting the girl out of his sight for a second. "At Tai Yun Medical, she was attacked by a creature. It looked like a mutated underwater life form. It was also capable of becoming invisible... Or disappearing... One or the other."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:16

In his head, that sentence sounded not so schizophrenic.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:16

When she finished washing her face, Ciri tried to fix her hair, but it was hopelessly messy, and the ashy strands were now tangled around her shoulders. After several unsuccessful attempts at makeup, she stared at Adam with the most exhausted look she could muster. He fumbled for the last chocolate and roasted peanut-flavored energy bar in his pocket and put it in her hand, still talking:

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:18

"I'm assuming this is not an incident or an instance of an isolated individual. We have a problem, Pritchard. And by "we," I don't just mean Sarif Industries."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:17

Either a strange fog covered Hensha or the color map of the visual module began to fail: everything was seen in blurred yellowish-gray tones.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:20

"One more time: an invisible mutated underwater life form?" Pritchard asked in a deliberately patient voice, like a special needs kindergarten teacher. "Listen, Houston, does our problem have anything to do with alcohol?"

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:21

Pritchard's banter has long been seen as white noise.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:21

"Go to hell," Adam said mournfully. "I made a video just for you, Pritchard."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:22

It lasted about two minutes, and even at maximum resolution, it looked like an amateur horror movie. Nothing could be seen, and what could be seen was blurred just enough to let the imagination run wild. The wet sheen of black biomass and the pulsing of purple polyps, the reddish lights of what served as the creature's eyes, flickered in the frames.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:26

"Lousy CGI," Pritchard's voice dropped to a whisper, losing his sarcastic tone in the process. "And no tentacles."

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:42

Adam remembered exactly how the creature had tried to imitate human language. He could even hear individual phrases in the animal's gurgling - but all he could pick up on the video were beleaguered shotgun blasts.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:43

"Could it be Tai Yun's failed experiment?" Pritchard suggested uncertainly. "I read in Midnight that she and Versalife have a joint project to develop deep-sea biological augmentations."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:27

It said Elise Kassan was just a brand name for an army of clones. In response to the shaky theory, Adam grinned and strode back and forth along the narrow trench between the skyscrapers, putting out his cigarette on the concrete slab of the wall.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:44

"All right, Jensen, get out of there. Belltower's gonna do a napalm sweep."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:27

Getting off the island was harder than getting on it. The concentration of Belltower mercenaries at the outposts had multiplied in the last hour. Air and sea traffic was closed, with drones stationed on the border to kill any object that didn't have its ID number loaded into its memory.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:45

Whatever happened to Hensha, the outside world must not know anything about it.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:28

"Do you have any idea how?"

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:46

"I'm out of energy and ideas," Pritchard sighed. "But the bills won't pay for themselves. Give me half an hour and I'll see what Lee's got."

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:47

Adam pressed disconnect and leaned against the wall, replaying the events of the last few days in his head. That there were life forms and worlds other than Earth had been expected. Nothing was surprising about intelligent sea creatures: the ocean was one of the most favorable habitats, the cradle of evolution, especially since...

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:47

"Adam, take off your glasses."

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 06:48

"Why?"

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:28

Ciri looked at him with the frightening determination in her eyes that women usually have when an obsession has taken hold. His system told him it was a bad thing, and it had excellent predictive abilities.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:03

As soon as he obeyed, Ciri reduced the distance to a dangerous minimum, stood on tiptoe, and pressed her weathered lips against his own.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:04

Adam felt like he'd been electrocuted. Before he realized what had happened, his brain produced a weighty list of arguments against it: the age difference, his ward's aggrieved position, the conflict of interest, and the unethical nature of what was happening. The "pro" arguments had nothing to do with reason.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:05

Unable to find any logical way out of the situation, Adam let it go. Ciri pulled away, noticing his confusion.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:05

" Ciri..." he began, ready to give at least a dozen convincing arguments as to why what had happened was a damn bad idea.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:21

Before he could finish, a storm of resentment with confusion ran across her face. She looked a couple of years younger with that look on her face.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:21

"Ciri," Adam said more firmly, trying to stop the coming storm.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:21

The familiar green sparks ran through her fingers that never meant anything good. No, the last thing he could afford was a woman's resentment. If she ran away, or worse, teleported away, if... How would he explain that to Sarif?

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:22

"Forget it, I'm not stupid," Ciri snorted like an angry cat and fixed her hair, trying to cover the scar with a nervous gesture. Damn it, he didn't mean it. "I won't bother you again."

Camrad_RIP 30.03.24 в 13:39

Adam did what he had to do. A little more eagerness than the conflict required - and a few moments later, when Ciri pressed her body against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, a lot more eagerness.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.24 в 13:46

The last time he'd made out like this was in the back room behind the bar at a college pub in Phoenix, back when kissing wasn't a guarantee of sex. True, his female classmates smelled mostly of Budweiser and marijuana, not roasted peanuts and chocolate. Adam ran his palm down Ciri's narrow back; the sensors on his fingertips conveyed the feel of the molded body beneath the jumpsuit with intoxicating multidimensionality.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.24 в 13:47

It was only when he heard the distinctive buzzing of the scout drone that he realized he'd gotten too caught up in crisis management, and pulled Ciri deeper into a deserted courtyard between skyscrapers covered in artificial ivy.

Camrad_RIP 30.03.24 в 13:47

She was flushed, a wet film on her lips, and her dilated pupils made her eyes seem almost black in the semi-darkness. Ciri licked her lips before she said something, but instead of her voice, Adam heard a far less pleasant one:

Camrad_RIP 30.03.24 в 13:48

"Jensen," Adam jerked as if he'd been caught doing something embarrassing, and he scowled, promising himself to turn off the Infolink at times like this. "Why are you so edgy?"

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:23

He took a couple of steps back and put a finger to his temple.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:23

"Just a second, Ciri," Adam raised his hand. "Pritchard, didn't you say half an hour?"

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:29

"Is this a bad time for me?" Pritchard resented. "All right, I'll call your remains back under the collapsed Hensha."

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:24

"Pritchard."

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:30

Anyway, Jensen, I've been going through the garbage that Lee had collected, and I'll tell you that even in a dump like this, you can find something useful. In this case, the access codes to the adorable seventy-foot baby, Zhao Yun Zhu's yacht. She will take you to the artificial islands of Sumimoto, which is already Japanese territory. And there - Farida, Detroit, and a bright future.

Camrad_RIP 29.03.24 в 07:25

Pritchard accompanied his proposal with photographs documenting the location of CCTV cameras and guard posts around the pier and on the ship's lower deck.

Camrad_RIP 26.03.24 в 21:31