'Modern' fixer technology...?
Jamar lifted his sunglasses to his forehead and eyed the strange device su****iously.
“So this is like Grid Armour for these Sha-dow-lands?”
“No, dude! It’s a back piece, you wear other armour with it.”
“Other armour? You mean like helmets and stuff?” He raised his eyebrows and looked upwards. “You any idea how much this cut cost me? You imagine what a helmet would do to that?”
The other fixer sighed. “Look, Grid – things have moved on while you were away. We had to get with the program; ShadowLands is where it’s at, man! You gonna be some kind of Bronto your whole life?”
“Hey! No way am I Bron-to, slick. I just don’t see why we have to use this crud when we already have top nano at our disposal.”
“Because your ‘top nano’ don’t function in the big S.L., my man. You walk in there and the grid is no more.”
“Yeah right!” Jamar laughed. “No Grid? And I suppose the fai-ries come to tuck you in at night with a story, huh?” He leaned back in his chair, sipping from a glass of wine and playing with the froot-on-a-stik™ that came in it.
“Look – there is no Grid up there, dude. Something weird about that place. The Sci-en-tists opened it up man, now they don’t know what they wanna do with it. There’s moolah up there – plenty moolah.”
“There’s moo-lah here too, slick. What you think I buy the drinks with, eh?” He grinned. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
The other eyed Jamar’s indolent pose, watching as he brushed an imaginary speck of dust off his silken sleeve.
“Just try the damn thing out, Jamar, then let me know if you think the effort of keeping that antiquated smurf-suit around is worth it.” He tossed back his drink and stood, his trenchcoat knocking over the glass as he departed.
“Neanderthal!” Jamar called after him. “Watch out for the crockery…” He chuckled to himself and returned to examining the Shadow Web Spinner.
--
Two days – and several blitzes later – Jamar looked at the suit of Obtru he’d put together. He checked the craftsmanship and felt satisfied, then polished it again just to be sure.
The image in the full length mirror was of a lean, stylish guy in his prime. He examined the armour again with distaste before muttering. “Well – I told the dude I’d try the damn thing out, and I keep my word.”
Piece by piece he climbed into the unfamiliar armour, feeling more and more constricted as he did so.
“Sheesh!” He tried to stand and found it required more effort than normal. “Why does anyone go round wearing these tin-can outfits? They weigh more than my mother!”
He adjusted the final straps and gingerly took the Web Spinner out of his pack. “Time we find out what you can do, baby… Jacking you in, now…”
Moving experimentally he found his reflexes sharpened a little, but nothing like the effect of his beloved Grid Armour.
“Well, better than a kick in the pants from an OT En-fo, I suppose. Time for a trial run.”
--
Three hours later, he walked back into the bar and threw the ‘spinner onto the table.
“Here you go, slick – one jacked out piece of crap I won’t be needing!”
The other looked up and was stunned by what he saw. “Flux! What hit you, Jam?”
“Oh – around five bots, two nano and a fixer at last count… HIT ME!” He yelled, grabbing the other by the lapels of his leather trenchcoat.“Did you catch that last part? They HIT ME!” He released his grip letting the other slump into his chair. “And look at my HAIR! Ruined!”
“Yeah, okay – roger the ‘hit’, dude – why’s that a problem?”
Jamar laughed. “You ever been ‘blue’, slick? You ever ridden the grid, felt it flow over your naked flesh? Watched everything around you happen in slow motion? Watched everyone MISS you…? Have ya?” He glared. “No – thought not.” He pointed at the device on the table. “That is about as much use as a chocolate heatshield. I ever go to your S.L., duneberry, I’ll maybe use it – otherwise, thanks but no thanks.” He turned to leave.
“Hey – it’s the way of the future, man. We’re all doing it now. You’ll get wasted without it!”
Jamar stopped and smiled. “It’s the way of your future, slick. Not mine. And as for getting wasted?” He shook his head. “I’ll be too busy looking good…” He winked. “Watch out for that reclaim, bro… it’s a real doozy…”
Originally Posted by GridRiever
