Greetings and Goodbyes from Fresa

Bug-like drones whizzed about, steady despite the stormy wind, their spotlights blotting out both the stars above and putrid orange and turquoise neons of Neo-Athens below. Nitya yawned and opened her HUD as her ears twitched in the wind. The holoscreen’s edges flickered, fading to pure black as an H with a spiked halo briefly flashed on screen. She rolled her eyes, dragging another, smaller screen up and rolling her fingers across the data crammed on it. The symbol faded and the edges smoothed out. That might have been Hemera’s worst attempt yet.

Closing the second screen, Nitya opened a folder and flicked through the oddly named files. So many choices, and not enough time to make Data Cubes of more than one…She pulled one file onto another screen. This one would work for now.

Its code was easy to modify despite its volatile nature. For some files, the signs of corrosion weren’t so obvious, but for this one, someone had obviously tried to shred it. Nitya took a peek. Routing numbers and a pseudo-diary of an affair? Why would anyone store this on company servers and then do a piss-poor job of deleting it? Ah, she’d believed Hemera employees would be better than most about half-assed file erasure.

Nitya saved the information. Terrible for them, lucky for her.

The holoscreens shook and flickered as she began extracting the file, strings of information coalescing into her waiting palms and into small cubes, piling on top of each other until there was about thirty-five. She reinforced the small lines connecting them and threw them into the sky. The strings disappeared as she activated them and closed her HUD, returning it to around her neck.

Nitya put her earbuds in and stretched. “That should keep them busy for a while.”

She activated one of her mini-HUDs embedded in her wrist, fiddling with an equalizer to keep her hands busy as she stepped into an elevator. A minimap blinked in the corner before being closed. She already knew where she was going.

Down here, the putrid neons were only stronger. Advertisements for everything from cybernetic parts to cheap, processed meal kits hovered on every building or followed the city’s denizens around on buzzing drones. A flashy ad about cybernetic accident compensation playing on the district’s largest holoscreen faded into that familiar H and its spiked crown. Nitya sniffed out a laugh.

“We at Hemera LLC are proud to announce the newest generation of plug-in chips designed to temporarily enhance personal HUD systems with certain features. Our new chips are faster and more powerful than ever, and can even seamlessly integrate with any Hemera-based HUDs seventh generation or later. Please visit one of our locations for information…” The woman on screen prattled on, flashing a faux and pearly white smile, and opened her palm beneath the crowned H. “Brought to you by Hemera LLC. As always, bringing you tomorrow, today.”

Nitya cranked up the volume of her earbuds, the bass rattling her brain as she weaved herself further into the eastward crowd, and tried not to form a mini data cube to fiddle with. Despite the blinding lights, odd smells, and observing the weirdest of Fresa District's people, the city could really be a boring place. She took a sharp right into a narrow street that led to the somehow shadier part of the district, a lovely, fading paper fish swinging from a small pole marking the beginning of a different road-the remnants of Naranja District.

A few shops stood here, clustered together and bordering Fresa, but they couldn’t disguise charred heaps of metal, still-crackling signs, and piles of rubble. Parts of the district had already been flattened. Buildings had been replaced with an assortment of parts. The only undefiled thing was a flag bearing Hemera’s symbol, an eyesore of white and gold in the middle of the displaced bricks that once made up Naranja’s pavilion. The breeze jostled the paper fish. Nitya’s tail drooped.

She didn’t want to be here any longer.

Ducking under a crosshatch of canopies and ignoring how her stomach growled at the many aromas of the street’s food stalls and trucks, Nitya stopped in front of a squat, two-story building outfitted with a few potted plants and a few bright, neon signs. Its windows were decorated with poorly done drawings. Though its interior was dark, only the slightest outline of a cybernetic workstation visible from the street market, a person worked inside. Their music blared and Nitya pushed open the door.

Oddly shaped floor lamps and fairy lights illuminated the studio, the speakers lining the wall dimming to a low hum as a tall, somewhat muscular woman pushed her equipment out of the way and motioned Nitya over. “Hey, someone new! What can I do for you?”

Nitya held a small chip up. “Evenin’. I need a HUD upgrade.”

“Just an upgrade? Pssh, that’ll take no time at all! Hop in the seat and I’ll get you started. I'm Kanami, by the way.”

“Nitya.”

She sat in the plush seat, shrugging off her hoodie, taking her HUD from around her neck, and extending it from headphones to a helmet. Its screen flickered to life and made a small chime as she powered it off. Kanami spun over on her chair, her red and orange streaked hair spinning with her, and a small table sliding behind her before easing into a stop next to Nitya. She stood. Equipment began to hum around them, settling above them as she swiped around on her holoscreen and walked to the side. “Whoa! So cute!”

“What?”

“Your ears! A tail, too? Were they expensive? Can I touch them?”

Kanami beamed at her. Her ears popped up and her tail wagged. Nitya tried to ignore Kanami’s smile and will her ears and hair down. It did not work. “Only the ears.”

“They move, too? And they’re so realistic? You must have paid a lot of money for these, huh?”

“Yes.” A convenient lie.

“I never expected someone as serious as you to have a cute side.” Kanami grinned. “Good for me girls like that are exactly my type, huh?”

Nitya remained still as Kanami retracted her nailed fingers and hooked her HUD to a display on a workbench. She reached behind her with an open palm and held the chip up to a light. “A prototype Hemera chip?”

“Yes.”

“How’d you get your hands on one of these?”

“I have friends in high places.” Another convenient lie.

“You know, Nitya, most people who have the know-how to add extensive modifications to a prototype chip like this also have the know-how to upgrade an HUD themselves,” Kanami turned around, bracing herself on her workbench and met Nitya’s gaze. “So, why’d you come here, really?”

Her eyes crinkled when she gave her a small smile. Did it look fake to Kanami? “I heard you were the best in Fresa.”

“I won't lower the price no matter how much you flatter me. Speaking of-”

“-I'll pay whatever you charge. No need to tell me now.”

Kanami laughed and faced her workbench. “Oh, a wealthy beauty, huh?”

“My job pays far more than I know what to do with.”

A half-truth. To some extent, embezzlement and extortion counted as an independent business.

Laughing, Kanami began disassembling the HUD, placing each piece in a neat row until she got to its center, opening the clasps holding down a small strip of plastic. She disconnected some wires and pulled the older chip out before snapping the new one into place. Reconnecting the wires, Kanami pressed the HUD’s power button. Its holoscreen attempted to flicker on and when it failed, a fuzzy, yet familiar voice followed. “Hello, Reconnaissance. Please replace at least one pair of dual-lens projectors and verify identity to begin initiation.”

Kanami powered off the HUD. She returned everything to its place within, cursing softly as she fitted a pair of projectors on each side back in and reconnected them. Each piece was secured back into place and she pat its side. “Seems like it’s working just fine, though I do have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Build it yourself?”

Nitya preened. “Yes.”

“Thought so! It’s lacking major reinforcements you see in market HUDs.” She wilted and Kanami laughed, laying out a myriad of tools and tying up her ponytail. “Never fear, though! I’ll fix ‘er up for no charge.”

“That’s not-”

“Shhh~ It’s nothing to me. Fifteen minutes worth of work, max~”

“No wonder you’re the best around.”

Kanami rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to those geezers. They just want me to charge ‘em less.”

“They weren’t lying, you know.”

“You’re just as bad!”

Nitya let out a soft snort. She looked around the shop as Kanami turned away.

Clean, but a little grimey. A checkerboard floor pattern. Fading fluorescents and a wall covered in music posters. Despite it being a cybernetic parlor, there was a lack of parts anywhere. It made sense. Neo-Athens wasn’t known for a low crime rate. She sighed and tossed a data cube in the air.

It was just your average, local shop. At least it was cleaner than Ciruela’s underground garages…

…Though that didn’t really mean much.

“Here ya go, one upgraded-in-every-way HUD!” Kanami held the HUD up, twisted it a bit, and placed it in Nitya’s lap. She picked it up, placing it on her head. It was heftier now, and as its screen turned on, the corners didn’t flicker.

Nitya returned it to her neck and stood. “How much do you need?”

“Considering I changed your processor chip, it was a pretty easy job. Since making it sturdier was on the house…474 dollars. And hey, before you complain-”

“-Consider it done.” She bent down, feeling for her wallet, and cursed when her earbuds tumbled to the ground. Scooping them into her palm, she fished out a few hundred dollar bills, handing them to Kanami before shoving her earbuds back in her pocket.

Kanami stared at her. “This is 2,000 dollars.”

“Keep the change.”

“This isn’t change?”

“It is now. Consider it ‘on the house.’” Laughed Nitya.

“When I guessed you were a wealthy beauty, I didn’t imagine this kind of wealthy,” The other woman leaned on her workbench and let out a confused laugh before straightening up with a grin. “You like ramen, Nitya?”

“I like it enough.”

Kanami grabbed her hand. She flashed a devious yet lovely smile, as lovely as neon or maybe jade. “Then, Nitya, some ramen we shall get~”

She turned that smile on Nitya every time she tried to protest, grabbing a coat and her own HUD before locking up her shop, twirling the keys around as they walked through Fresa.

It smelled of fried dough and barbecue, adults smoking cigarettes and crowding around food stalls as children chased each other around with sparklers, dogs yapping behind them. People waved at Kanami. A few held out a beer or cards for her, bumping her shoulder with playful scowls when she declined. Holoscreens of all sorts of colors fought for space, money passed through shifty hands, and a single weed stuck out from between the pavement. There was a pervasive sort of sadness permeating from even those who laughed. She swallowed, staring at the starless sky. This place didn't belong to her.

Nitya knew she should leave, she wanted to leave, to put as much distance between herself and these people, but she let Kanami drag her through Fresa and push her onto a stool.

She sat with her hands in her lap and Kanami placed her elbow against a counter, her cheek squished into her palm. She prodded Nitya, winking at the chef drying a dish behind the counter. “So, what do you think? Best place around, huh?”

Cool air blew from within the truck and pushed around a string of past orders. The menu board was written with chalk-people still used that? The chef, chalk or flour smeared across her apron, brushed her uneven green bob out of her face as she sat down a bowl and rolled her eyes. You’re an idiot as always, Kanami.”

“Hey! It's not my fault it’s true!”

“So what’s it tonight? Same as always?”

“Bingo!”

“You’re lucky I stay open so late,” Rolling up her sleeves, the chef turned away. “And you, newbie?”

“Whatever the chef suggests? I’ve only ever had the instant kind.” Laughed Nitya. She shivered as her ears were caught in the breeze, a soft lilt in her voice despite the lie.

Kanami stared at her. “WHAT? You hear that, Nia? It’s a good thing I brought her along!”

“Stop shouting, or I’ll come over and clean that wretched apartment you call home.”

“Hey,” Her voice trembled as she whispered, as fragile as fluorescent neon lights. Kanami suddenly seemed so small. “I keep it clean, ever since…”

People like her, who wore their hearts on their sleeves and didn't belong in Neo-Athens, were always the easiest to hurt. Nitya had seen countless lives like theirs destroyed. She'd even contributed somewhat. Yet, the selfish part of her hoped that maybe they were able to get out, start a better life for themselves somewhere else.

What a load of shit.

The only people who got out of this place alive were wealthy, and why would anyone with money leave? For them, Neo-Athens was synonymous with heaven. Maybe even better.

Nitya sighed under her breath. Who was she to judge?

“Helloooooooooo, Nitya? Earth to Nitya?” Called Kanami, waving “Hellooooo?”

The chef, Nia, leaned over the counter and flicked Kanami. She slid over two steaming bowls and two pairs of cheap plastic chopsticks with a cartoon character printed on each one. The printing was peeling at the ends. Nitya picked a pair up and clicked them together. Nia looked at her with a flat expression. “These are the kind I buy for me and my kid. I just repurpose them for the business.”

“Thank you.” Nitya looked at her bowl, scooping some of the steaming noodles, and her tail wagged as she bit into a chunk of fried tofu.

“So, what do you think? Best place around, huh?” Leaning in close, Kanami grinned. She looked between Nia and Nitya. “For more reasons than one~”

Nitya refused to follow the taller woman’s gaze, rolled her eyes, and shoveled the tofu ramen into her mouth. Ah, fried tofu…something as simple as this really did make Neo-Athens tolerable.

She finished her bowl and gleefully resumed as more noodles and, more importantly, tofu were poured in. Profusely thanking Nia, she sipped on green tea. The savory broth warmed her inside as she chased it with chilly sweetened tea. Maybe she should let herself get dragged along into things more.

Nitya bit into another chunk of tofu. Her ears stood straight up and a low electricity rumbled above her. She looked up to see drones the same color as the sky stride over and dip into Fresa District, their nearly invisible lasers crossing each other as they searched the horizon. Nia, slinging a trash bag over her shoulder, blinked. “Hemera? What are they doing here? Someone escaped jail again?”

“No,” Motors whirled loud and louder. A sharp and stinging odor tinged the atmosphere. Hundreds of red dots centered between Nitya’s brows. “DUCK!”