Chapter 3: Going around an electric tree

 Shortly after we reached the landing zone, a designated H on the ground close to a five minutes walk from the Einzberg Cryo Sleep Facility. It was not yet dawn, none of the rich elites were around or noticed us. I also disabled all cameras and sensors in the area when we passed, using the previous day's footage instead.

It was like we were never there, to begin with.

When we arrived I and Jennifer both get off the wheelchair, and she was able to stretch a bit, probably for the first time in more than a century.

- I kinda expected skyscrapers everywhere, and streets full even in the middle of the night in the future- she seemed more than a bit disappointed

- You'll have those things in the residential areas of Neo-Tokyo, we are currently in one of the richest parts of the city- I once again had to explain, just as the unmanned drone arrived to carry us- The last thing they want is to be reminded of how poor people live. So it's forbidden to even build for more than three-story, or you are going to be kicked out even if you own the land. That's why people that need that space, like hospitals and corporations, just have huge undergrounds. It's also necessary for earthquakes-

We both got inside the drone. Lucky for me, Jennifer forgot the shotgun inside the wheelchair.

- Two adults, bring us… let's see AkibaUeno should be fine for now- I asked the drone, while also projecting a different image of our bodies inside its sensor, simulating everything but our weight. Not like a machine was going to check our identities anyway, and we would risk the whole drone off balance if I didn't allow at least that.

- So we are in Japan, mister cat?- Jennifer kept asking, now full of questions and even a bit excited to learn about what for her was a brand new world- Weird, I’m pretty sure I was frozen in New York

- How many times do I have to tell you, that I’m not a damn cat!- I complained once again. It was starting to become annoying- New York, or the island of Manhattan, is now underwater thanks to the rise of ocean levels. But I’m not sure what this ‘’Japan’’ you talk about is: I already told you this place is called Neo-Tokyo-

- What?- she seemed taken aback by my observation- Japan is the country Tokyo is the capital of, one of the most important and richest cities of this planet-

- Sorry, I'm not sure what a ''country'' is, let me check the NET for a second- and after finding the definition I understood what she meant- Ah, it's kinda like the Earth sphere government, a political entity occupying a part of a territory. No, those things don't exist anymore, at least on this planet-

- Does that mean we finally reached world peace? That sound too good to be true- she was doubting my answer for some reason - That would be impossible for mankind to achieve-

- As far as I know, no war has occurred on Earth in the last two centuries - but that was only part of what she meant - But ‘’peace’’ is another matter entirely. People don’t fight for political reasons, but corporations still try to upstage and destroy each other every day of the week, and people have to fight if they want to keep living. So I’m that sure if ‘’world peace’’ is really what’s going on. Also the least we talk about space, the better….-

- Why would they kill and die for a corporation? It makes even less sense that doing it for your country!- she objected vehemently.- At least there is a bond between you and the place where you were born, traditions, and people you love. Doing it for a corporation It’s just so sad-

- I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. You are probably starting this whole thing on the wrong premise that people want to fight for them. It's not like that: they have to fight, that is necessary if they don't want to die- my explanation was pretty clear, but she was still confused so I kept going- First of all, I and most people alive today have no idea where we were born, or even who our parents are . Maybe they were some Purists that ended up in debt, maybe some rich people that didn't believe in abortion. I still have no idea and honestly, I don't care. What matters is that we are ''sold'' to corporations right after we are born, and after a couple of years, when you are finally able to stand up and speak, you are deprived of your original body and transferred to a shell. One that it's not even yours, you are paying it back by working in centuries-long contracts with that company. So you have no choice but to work for them. The only other choice is to just die.-

Jennifer suddenly had a very distressed expression on her face, full of empathy for me and I guess the rest of the world. Maybe it was a bit too much for a child to hear. No idea, nobody ever made special concessions or considerations for me when I was her age. But I guessed it was better to console her a bit, to prevent her from actually starting crying . I had the feeling it was something I never wanted to witness somehow.

- But our shells are not that bad, especially compared to some meatbags like- I insulted her a bit, trying to be playful- We have a constant NET connection, superior strength, and speed, and we have a longer life span than any normal human could ever dream of…. Ask me how old am I-

-What...- she didn't even consider this- How old are you? I kinda expected you to be a teenager, not much older than me-

- Uhm uhm- I smiled under my actual whiskers, proudly ready to declare my age and my youthfulness – I stopped counting after I reached one hundred and seven, so in actuality, I’m not sure myself.-

- Wow, are you counting all your nine lives in that, mister cat?- Jennifer sarcastically asked, back on her former snarky self-

- I’m not a cat!- and we both laughed together…

After a small silence, I heard a weird noise coming somewhere inside the drone.

- What was that?- I said loudly while doing a full scan of the drone- Is this machine having some malfunctions?-

- No, that would be me- Jennifer responded, a bit embarrassed by my remarks- It’s my tummy. I think I’m starting to get a bit hungry-

This time, I was the one taken back for a second. - What you?- and then I realized- Right, you guys, need fuel to work, and that fuel comes from consuming food. It slipped my mind. It may be a problem- and that was also a major and sudden crisis.

- Why? Can’t we just go buying some ?- she said like it was the most natural thing in the world. And it probably was for her.

- Did you forget what we discussed before? Only rich people still need food, most people use shells and those just require their battery to be recharged sometime every year. - and that was another major reason why the corporations required their employees to have Shells since they cost way less to maintain than a real body- Food, if you are not living in a Purist community or some space colony, it’s rare and expensive everywhere in this world.-

- Can't we just find a shop and rob them again if you don't have enough money?- she sure was a very pro-crime kid, even too much for my liking, a wanted and famous criminal.

- I would rather leave that as a last resort, and please don't think I can go around stealing everything like I'm some sort of magician- I opposed. It was also better to not be noticed again in Neo-Tokyo, after all, GX was probably already searching for me, and I didn't want to risk getting another assassin on my tail. Back... I meant back…

So I just had to think again: I could possess some random guy and steal his money, but I would feel a bit bad for him, even if it was to feed Jennifer. Also, I wasn't sure if a Shell could even enter those shops without some permit from a big corporation or rich family. And those would require some long-ass coding to do. Rejected, or to be used in case of emergency.

I could try on the black market in Harakujo market and steal something there for Jennifer to eat, risking poor quality of goods and alerting GX of my movements. Even if I did that while possessing someone else, there was still a risk of getting noticed and reported. Rejected, I would rather go for plan one compared to this.

- Wait, I may actually just know the right person and the perfect place. After all, his all business relies on confidentiality- I said out loud- And I'm pretty sure he has some food around. No, I'm confident he does – and then I changed my order to the taxi drone- Change of itinerary, we are going to Kabukicho as soon as possible.-

- Roger- the onboard voice responded

- What's in Kabukicho- Jennifer asked me, a bit confused about our destination

- A Brothel- I immediately responded

- A what? What is a brothel?- she kept going

- Ah...- at that moment I realized what I just said to a little girl. I searched the net for what to say next ''how to explain to a child what an adult entertainment structure is''. The answer came in less than a quarter of a millisecond in my mind. - Let's say it's an adult amusement park-

- I see- she wasn’t really convinced, but that was more than enough for me

Once again saved by the NET.

Kabukicho was a unique case in the whole Ultra-city of Neo-Tokyo: it was rebuilt around fifty years ago after a terrorist attack demolished it, and the local administration, with no objection coming from the big corporations, decided to rebuilt it using a really ancient style, something they called ''Cool Japan''. Honestly, when I heard the name I didn't think anything about it like it was just some random ancient words put together, but after discovering what Japan meant thanks to Jennifer, I was able to put together that it tried to use some old-looking native style, the same you could find in the few abandoned temples around the island.

Anyway, that meant that the whole area was rebuilt with small buildings, none taller than three-story with large windows on the front, where people were put as a show for attract patrons in. Once a client enters the shop he/ she/ they desire, they can pick one of them and do as they please in one of the rooms upstairs.

While those buildings were made to look like they were made of wood, I once checked out of curiosity, and they were actually made with normal concrete, just painted over to look like wood.

Since sex is one of the few luxuries left anyone still wants in this world, everybody is ready to spend as much as they can to satisfy their most perverse desires, even using years or decades of debt to pay for it. Naturally, all big corporations have one or more establishments in the area, luring in their own employee with the pretense of discounts, when actually getting them to return them back the little time and money they have left. I heard somebody even went more than two millennia in debt doing so….

The drone taxi left us pretty close to our destination. It was a very popular area after all, therefore a lot of drone-ports were positioned in. I paid using one of my old proxies accounts to avoid getting detected, making also sure it wasn’t getting tracked. Always be cautious when you can.

We arrived at Kabukicho around 08,00 AM, which was a good thing for Jennifer since it avoided her both being seen by a lot of people, being pretty soon in the day the streets were not crowded, and to not see those left behind going out of the brothels, leading to some questions I didn't want to give a child. I led her straight into the alleys behind, to avoid seeing the people still outside to lure clients in.

- Wow, now that's very Japanese- Jennifer commented while seeing the various shops around here

- Really? Did the rest of the city look like that too in your time?- I was genuinely curious. - I lived in Neo Tokyo quite a bit, but it was almost always in big and anonymous twenty-story buildings.-

- No, it didn’t look like this then . This was the style used before Japan was westernized, nobody is sure when it ended but it was still used until the middle of the XX century- Jennifer gave a history lesson just like that, without checking the NET or reading it somewhere else.

- You know a lot to be a kid- I complimented her

- This is normal education for the heir of the Yeoh family...- she boldly proclaimed, but I couldn't help but notice a small hint of sadness in those words. She then tried to change the subject- Are we there yet?-

- Yes, we are- I said as we happened to reach the Akakuro establishment right at that moment, or at least this was what the locator program told me, all those alleys so similar to each other were a nightmare to navigate even during the day.- This is the place.

On the outside, the Akakuro looked like any other brothel in Kabukicho because it honestly was like any other. It was just a normal two-story building, with the front on the road showing someone ready to make love with you. The difference was on the inside and in how it all went down.

We didn't go for the main entrance, but right behind it, I knew where to find the real entrance for special clients. A small red door.

- Please knock on that door- I said to Jennifer, who complied right away

A computer voice responded- Please enter vocally both password and user code-

- Let's see, let me check my mental archive… ok, there it is. Password '' Open Sesame'', user code ''Aceisthebest'' – and the door responded

- Identification confirmed, welcome back user ‘’Aceisthebest’’- opening right away

- Are you a regular here?- Jennifer asked, maybe starting to catch up on what Kabukicho really was-

- Kinda, this shop is a bit different and you can say I am a member here-

I tried staying vague.

We walked inside the door, right in what was once again a boring corridor, not even using the dominant style of the area , when a voice was reaching us, with a person running toward us at full speed.

- You son of a bitch, why the hell are you here?- a man soon approached us, with his right fist in the air, ready to punch someone- I’ll fucking kill you!-

But when he realized he was against a cat and child, he stopped. He was still using a towering male shell, over two meters tall, with green hair and tattoos in every visible part of his body, while wearing a kimono’s bottom and a black and red shirt without sleeves – What? Since when did you like using little girl shells, Ace?- instantly calming down, about to start laughing...

- I don’t, Dex, and to be precise I don’t like using a cat shell either, circumstances...- but I was interrupted by his soaring laugh, enveloping the whole place.

- AHAHAHAHAHA. So it really happened, I can’t believe the rumors were true- he couldn’t stop laughing, even when I tried to stop him several times.

Wait, rumors? I have been in this Shell for less than three days since I was forced to adopt it. Gx wasn't, almost surely, going around spreading rumors about me, and his gang was pretty much on their wave frequency. That left only...

- Right, Cid- I guess he was still pissed I left him in GX's office- Is he here?

- Not anymore, but he came yesterday to brag how he tricked you, the self-declared ''best breaker ever'', to turn you into a fur ball. I didn't believe it at first, but if you can't trust your own eyes...- That was actually a bad thing to do in this world, but I decided to not point it out to him.

In all of this, Jennifer was starting to lose her patience.

- Sorry mister, I don’t know who you are and what relations you have with mister cat, and I don’t care- She boldly declared to his face- But this guy said you have some food, and I would like to eat now-

- Oh- Dex's attention went back to Jennifer, going back to a more serious output, a certain merchant-like attitude- Of course, miss. I'll bring you there right away. ''The customer is always correct '', people used to say, I think. I'll bring you to a room, as soon as you have decided on a price and some ''entertainment'' -

Before Jennifer could respond or understand what he was saying, I barged in.

- The cheapest and you are coming with us. You are our entertainment - I had several questions to ask and things to request.

- Oh, you are cheapskate as ever- and after a couple of seconds, Dex added- What about the family simulation room? Would that be fine with you?-

- Whatever- both Jennifer and I responded.

So, we were brought to one of the outsides of same looking doors in that same corridor.

The inside was something I have never seen before.

- This is based on historic records of early XX century family dinners: it has a small kitchen, a table, and even a radio.- Since both me and Jennifer had no idea what the last thing was, a huge box, making classical music going out of it, he clarified – basically before people were able to invent visual media, they could use this to just listen to stuff. It is a called a radio box. You have no idea how expensive it was to find and rebuild, so please don’t touch it.

- I don’t care, where is the food?- Jennifer was getting frustrated and even more hungry-

Dex pointed out to a low shelf, right in the kitchen, and Jennifer went right to it, just to complain

- Ehi, you only have canned tuna and beans! And those are expired by at least a century!- then asked directly- Don’t you have anything fresh? Like Eggs or some bacon?-

- Kid, you surely jest. Those are some of the few things you can still find around, if you want something fresh, I'll advise you to become a billionaire. This is the best my usual clients can afford- leaving aside that he deliberately took us to his most expensive room, I wasn't so sure anymore if it was the right idea let her it- Don't worry, those are actually pretty recent, I just reused the box to fool my clients and make them pay five times the correct price. Not like they have a stomach to upset, to begin with- truly an outstanding citizen. And he also knew much more than what he was leading us to believe…

- Ok, then - and she opened the cans to confirm what Dex was claiming- The smell is correct, doesn't seem like it's rotten. Still, mind if use the kitchen equipment? I don't like to eat stuff like this raw and cold..-

- No problem from me, actually I'm kinda curious to see how you do it- he responded, while Jennifer took out a couple of pots, and just took the contents of the cans in it. After that, she just started a small fire under it, while also turning them from time to time. Soon after she took out a plate and put those is when she thought it they were ready, finding a spoon next to it-

-Fascinating- this time it was both mine's and Dex's turn to be amazed. It was my first time actually seeing ‘’cooking’’ in person.

- Do you have some water?- Jennifer also asked before starting eating

- I have some- Dex said and went to the kitchen to get some canned water too- Is this fine?

- It will do, I guess- and then she started eating while listening to music that ''radio'' was spreading around. Meanwhile, I could finally speak to Dex but decided to do it on a private connection using the NET. I wasn't sure if someone, other than Jennifer, was listening to us.

- So, how much do you actually know?- I asked him directly

- Just what my eyes and hears can see and hear, Ace- but that wasn’t really an answer, so he notice my expression and kept going- I know that you took this girl out of cryo, as requested by GX, but I have no idea why you didn’t give her to them-

- Gx tried to kill me, other than stealing my old Shell and, probably, putting me in that prison.- The last one I was not so sure, but it would have made so much sense if that was the case. The perfect way to make me work for them without too much resistance . But it was necessary to point it out, to have more chance for any cooperation from Dex - So, I will try having a little fun and see where it will bring me. Are you going to help me?-

That was the key question in that situation: I was sure there wasn't any problem with supplying us with some food, but behind that point, I had no clue what Dex could do. He was a professional, just like me, but I knew I couldn't ask for anything that would require putting him in any danger, especially if I was against one of the most dangerous people on the whole planet.

- Are you insane? I’m not going to help you in any shape or form. I’m calling Gx right now since you came here- Dex responded with the expected answer-

- And I’m blocking those calls as we speak, but you already know that and even sent your slowest employee to speak with one of their goons. That’s your official statement and your defense when Gx comes to know that I was here- I smiled at him and he smiled back. This was something both of us already knew, and accepted .- Still, I’m encrypting this conversation, the content of which will be decoded when both of us are dead, also known as the death of the universe. So, do I have to remind you you owe me a lot of favors, mister information broker? Or do I have to send those files to the corporations you requested info over?- I didn’t want to threaten him, but that was the best negotiation I had to try-

- First of all, what the girl is spending right now eating is already a huge part of my debt that goes away. And don't try to say it doesn't count, I already know you don't have the money to afford it. That said, if I wanted to fuck you over, I would have already done it. You are too arrogant for your own good. And look how that worked up for you, ten years in Jail and now you are in a damn cat Shell- he admonished me

- but it’s more fun this way, also you didn’t answer my question- I kept insisting

- Sure, if you really want for me to say it out loud, I will: I'll help you, so I'll never have to see your face again- what a sad thing to say! But I appreciated it anyway- What can I do for you? Do keep in mind I have no place to hide you, nor any free Shell lying around for you to use-

- Too bad for the last part, I'm starting to get sick of being in this cat form- I lied, I started liking that Shell and decided to keep it as a reserve for when I got my custom one back from GX – No I need a couple of things: first of all a change of clothes for Jennifer, including at least a slave robe, normal clothes, and an SMG bracelet, after all, she can't go around dressed like that forever, or she is going to be spotted instantly. Secondly, I need a doctor, a rich people meat bag doctor, to be precise. And a good one to boot. I have to check how healthy she actually is. Any further plan will have to happen after that- after all, I had a lot of files, but no way to decode them, and even after some search on the Net while we were on the drone, I still had no precise clue on the current state of her illness, since those were referring on the time she was frozen.

- No problem for both of those: I have a ton of clothes for my clients to play with, even the bracelet. The Doctor is going to be a bit tricky. I have a really nasty one that would hate her secrets to be exposed to her wife, but I’m not sure if she is even on Earth anymore, it’s been a while since I last saw her...- did he want me to check?

- Name?- I asked coldly. He wanted that info as much as I did, probably to blackmail her. Well, not my business. After all, I was going to do the same and I’m no hypocrite.

- Linda Firouja Jay-

- wow, a real meat-bag doctor. You are a scary person, my friend- having people like this going around Akakuro meant it was quite infamous in his official business too. I quickly located the doctor using her office information and opening hours on the NET- She is still in her office, book me an appointment in the next hour- time was, of the essence.

- I'll try it, but don't expect any more favors from me.- Dex was somehow pissed by my request.

- Ok, I won’t- I responded and ended the private conversation.

It all lasted not even a minute in real life, so Jennifer was still eating when Dex said

- You can find the clothes inside that closet, including the slave robe- he pointed to it and then added- In the meantime, I’ll go get you the other things you asked.- And he exited the door.

- When did you ask for other things?- Jennifer asked, while not stopping eating-

- We had a conversation using the NET: doing it that way you can compress time a bit and not waste it in real life- I explained to her- When you are done eating you can choose whatever clothes you want from there… within reason of course. After that, we are going to a human doctor to check how to fix your illness-

- I see. Good- and then kept eating until she finished, concluding with drinking all the water she got- You still didn’t say who was that guy and what is this place-

Damn, she still wanted to know those stuff!

I had to be really careful with my choice of words.

- Well, people come to this establishment to have some fun and to relax when they have some time off work- Perfect, I couldn’t put it better. Good job myself

- And they need a place like this because? I mean can’t they do it at home? This place just looks like any house from my time- Jennifer couldn’t understand that, so that was something more important to make clear

- No, most people in the world live their lives all alone. They woke up every day at the same time, go to work and come back. Rinse and repeat every day until they pay off their debt.- That was the sad reality for most people living today, something far from the luxuries of the 21st century. A fortune they didn't even know they had- So they come here to have a glimpse of what they could have, especially on the physical part of it. Not everyone who can use the Net at its full potential-

- Wait, are you telling me that all of you people live alone? No families at all? That’s just so sad- a logical point of view from someone that didn’t yet know the world

- I said most people, a minority still managed to get some kind of relationship going. And for the others It's not so bad, really: our relationships are mostly parasocial and we interact on the NET. And there are even people that live their entire lives without ever meeting a single other person directly, depending on their job. Also, since they didn't ever meet their parents, they don't even know what they lost. But I guess some sense still remains in their SOUL, so they come to places like this- I tried to reassure her, but instead I pointed out another problem in our society. Well, nothing I could do about it.

- I see….- was the only thing she could say, losing herself in her thoughts for a bit. Maybe remembered about her own family in the process.

After that, she finally got up and went to the closet to search for something to wear. Meanwhile, I kept monitoring the activities of the doctor we were going to, making sure she still was in her office and double-checking her background information and habits. It all appeared to be legit.

Jennifer came with a black skirt and a multi-colored t-shirt: they were a bit too large for her, but I guess beggars can't be choosers and it was already quite something for this place to even have stuff like that. I decided for once to NOT question Dex about it.

- How do I look?- She asked me

- Seems good by me- not that my opinion had any weight when I never cared for what my shells were wearing-

- Ah, ok- she seemed disappointed somehow, but before I could investigate further, Dex came back inside with the slave robe and bracelet, which he left on the table Jennifer used until now to eat.

- Here is your order, dear customer. The doctor will receive you as soon as you get to her office- He sardonically commented, and then complimented Jennifer- You look amazing, girl!-

And she smiled, now full of confidence. I guess I should have done that too. People are weird.

- Wait, a doctor? Are you sick mister cat?- but she suddenly realized- For me? But I’m doing fine!-

-First, I’m not a cat- it was starting to be my catchphrase and then I explained- Jennifer, we have to make sure we can fix your problem, after that we will think, together, on what to do. But I can’t help you if I don’t know exactly what is going on with you.-

She was visibly annoyed, but in the end, nodded and accepted my plan. Then her attention was drawn by the bracelet

- What is this?- she asked

- It is an SMG bracelet, try putting it on your wrist and press the only button- I urged her to and she did. A small screen appeared – Now you can use a part of the NET. It is designed for young rich people before they have a mental implant and get them used to the NET in full security. Just think about what you want, and it will display it.-

She immediately displayed a cake on screen and then was amazed by the result- Amazing- and went on in trying other combinations.

- You can play with it later, now we should go- after all, more time we spent in there, the bigger the risk was to get caught by GX and their goons. - Please put the robe on, this way people will think of just someone on a commission, and won’t notice you are not using a Shell.-

Once again she nodded and we were finally ready to leave that place.

- Good faith and profits- Dex wished us upon going out of there, probably very relieved we were leaving him and his business once and for all.

- Whatever- I responded. I never liked those words. They felt like they came straight out of some corporation’s Motto. But Dex still helped us quite a bit – Thanks, I’ll try to not bother you again-

Dex was really surprised by what I said and stood there for a moment like he was about to say something, but in the end, just nodded and waved as we left his shop.

We were back on the road again, trying to reach the drone area once again. We followed the smaller streets, avoiding the main road not because of the risk of being recognized, but to not show her the copious amount of prostitution going on there. Since it was now the afternoon, the temperature started raising and the people going around raised even in those alleys.

- Is it always so hot?- Jennifer asked when that started to trouble her- is it summer already? Now that I think about it, you haven’t even told me what date it is right now...-

- The robe should have a cooling mechanism to not get over 30 degrees Celsius inside it. Since more would give electronics some problems- I said but didn't understand why she was complaining about it, it was pretty cold after all - It's January, so it's actually pretty chill compared to the usual temperature this island gets all year around. It even goes under 10 during the night and early morning, quite remarkable and one of the reasons a lot of rich people still live here. -

- What? It’s winter and we are over 30 celsius, or 86 Fahrenheit? Are you guys for real?- she was shocked more that I have seen her so far

- It's been like this for the last century, mostly because of people from your time and because they did nothing to prevent it. But it was one of the reasons the Shell tech was devised, so in the end, it all worked out- Still that was very human, doing something only when it’s too late .

Jennifer was silenced by those words, feeling a bit of guilt from them, even if she personally had nothing to do with pollution and global warming. Is this what the ancients called ‘’original sin’’?

The drone arrived soon after at our station. Once again I used some tricks to avoid getting tracked and to pay a bit less.

- look at those- I pointed my left paw to the residential and poorest part of the city, trying to cheer Jennifer a bit, and trying to make her forget that whole climate situation from before- Are those what you meant before?-

The buildings were more than a hundred, all huge and close to each other, with at least fifty floors. It was an entire block of sturdy concrete and dark steel, inside the sun was almost impossible to see and during the night it was so full of lights that the dark was canceled from existence.

- Wow- she pushed herself right at the glass, while also briefly removing her robe to see better- Yes, that’s more like it!-

- Well, maybe we will go there when we are done with the doctor- and then I used an old line I think I heard at least once in my lifetime- But only if you behave well-

I had no idea where that came from, and was even taken aback by myself. Jennifer didn’t notice, too distracted by the slum area to register my words, while I was left checking on the NET where they originated. But the results were too random, with no clear link.

‘’Whatever. I’ll remember eventually’’ I had no time to go chasing something some random memory, for now at least.

Soon after we reached another area of the city, Torihiki ward, the business part of town, full of the main offices of most corporations and real skyscrapers, a total of seventy buildings over 200 meters tall, The main difference from the slums, other than being taller, was that those buildings were way more spaced out and left almost empty. They were, after all, just there as representative of every corporation's power, not to be actually used. Still, some people had to be inside them and every one of them had to keep at least one meatbag in person. And this is where our doctor comes in, since those people and their families had to live in the area, all basic necessities had to be accommodated, especially for the most vulnerable people on the planet. So, there were not less than fifteen doctors stationed in the area, and one of those was our scheduled meeting.

She had a drone port on the top of the building, so we were able to drop it off right on her office's rooftop.

It was a small building compared to the rest, only four-story tall.

Right after we dropped off from the drone, a woman in a white coat was there to greet us.

She had yellow hair and her left arm was fully mechanical and robotic, made of visible steel, not even using a silicone copy to make it look like it was normal.

- You must be the person blackmailing me- she passive-aggressively remarked- I guess the little girl is my patient -

- She is, I already sent her medical records to your NET implant- and then I promised - But this is the last time you are getting blackmailed, if you do your job and don’t try to cross us over, I’ll delete everything in less than a second after we are done. I’ll do the same even from Dex’s record.-

- Uhm… we'll see...- she wasn't convinced that much from my words, but in the meantime, she checked what I sent her- A MacGregor syndrome? It's been a while since I last heard about it-

- Can you do something about it, doctor?- Jennifer was the one that asked this time

- Maybe, but first, we have to check it with my MRI. It’s on the third floor, follow me- she said while inviting us to follow her in with the mechanical hand. - Also, miss Jennifer Yeoh, please call me Linda. I’m your doctor now, a bit of familiarity is necessary -

- ok, doctor Linda- once again, Jennifer had to be like that…

The doctor rolled her eyes a bit and sighed, but didn't respond. Maybe that happened quite a lot.

We reached the MRI room soon after. A full white space with only one chair at the center and a control panel in the next room to monitor.

- You sit there, while I and mister cat go in the next.- doctor Linda explained to her- Don't worry, it will be over in a couple of minutes. Try to not move to the best of your ability, but keep in mind if you do it too much we will have to do it again.-

Jennifer obeyed in silence and after removing the robe she asked

- Do I need to be naked?- probably a bit embarrassed to have to undress in front of another person yet again.

- No, taking off the robe is more than enough, this machine is quite good if I do say so myself- the doctor reassured her, while Jennifer nodded and gave it the robe away.

- Now then, we will be in the next room, just relax and everything will be over before you can even notice it.- She said and we left Jennifer on her own.

The control room was the very next to the one the MRI was in, full of various monitors and screens already checking on Jennifer even before the exam started. I located a desk and jump right on it, to be at least a bit closer to doctor Firouja Jay’s face and to ask her some questions.

- You already saw her records, what do you think? - I was mostly ignorant of medical science and its achievements, but I knew already that those tests were regularly taken already while Jennifer was in cryo sleep, there was no real reason to have another. I specifically went to her just to see how to fix Jennifer.

- I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you, there is no hope to cure her condition- there was no doubt in her words, only some regret- I'm repeating the test out of scruple and because I'm a professional, even if I'm blackmailed in this. But her disease is still incurable, no matter how much time has passed from her time. Getting her out of cold sleep is basically a death sentence. Her brain's degradation is about to start-

I was expecting those words, but I still didn't want to hear them. I was responsible for her death. No, there was still time. There was still something I could do, I was sure of that.

- Can I put her back in cryo sleep? Would that help?- I asked, starting to panic

- No, even if you could somehow put her back inside, I doubt the procedure could be done in time to stop her brain from deteriorating - and anticipating my further questions- It usually takes over three months and she only has left six to live, in her current state-

‘’FUCK FUCK FUCK'' was the only thing I could think about. ''There must be something to do''.I tighten my claws inside my paws so much that I started feeling some real pain. I'm sure if that body had blood, that would have come out of me. But it was then when I had an idea, a basic revelation.

- Wait, doc. You said ''in her current state'', right? Can't she go through the same procedure as any other one of us, people using Shell, do?- Sure, leaving behind your body was awful and all, but she could have survived that way!

- That is possible, but to complete the full SOUL procedure, and the digitization of it, would require machines only some big corporation would have at hand. Not only that, and I'm sure you already know this, the cost of it is impossible to pay without one of those corporations backing you- and just to be clear in her remarks- And, no matter how much you can blackmail me, I don't have any way to help you in this. I'm sorry- she felt honest in that remark, so much that I was convinced of her good faith.

- It doesn't matter. Now I have some hope to work with- and as thanks, I did what I promised- I already deleted the files, and you are free. But please finish the visit with Jennifer first, and try to reassure her if you...-

BOOM

But before I could end my phrase, a large explosion occurred, right outside.

- What was that?- I screamed, watching doctor Jay's face, but she was surprised as I was

- Someone outside the building- she checked her security systems and camera from outside- A large number of people, armed too, My god!- she was panicking too, and seemed to have no idea what was going on.

No, it wasn't her that betrayed us, otherwise, she wouldn't even be there and instead of the MRI room, we would have found nothing more than people with guns ready to arrest or kill us.

I connected immediately to those images and there was no doubt: they were a group of armed grunts entering our building after destroying the main entrance. I recognized two of them, they were the guards that I was outside GX's secret office some days ago. It was probably DEX that sold us out. I was going to make him pay for that, much more than he ever had others do...

- Take the emergency stairs, they are right outside the other side of the MRI room- she suggested, and I nodded. I had no time to think too much about anything, at that moment. But there was no way to escape into the streets, and taking the main door was going to result in running right into GX’s grunts. I called a drone and, lucky for us, one was already really close to the clinic.

I run inside to get Jennifer.

- We have to run, NOW and go back to the roof- I had no time to explain, and she noticed my urgency and not complained for once. Probably the previous explosion also helped a lot.

In a few moments not only we were outside, but the drone taxi was almost there to save us.

But almost is never good enough.

Seconds before we got to it, the drone was already destroyed. A small laser started from the rooftop door, reached it, and ignited in a few seconds. It exploded soon after and since I was the one closer to it, I took the blast of the explosion and I was pushed away from Jennifer, right to a four-story fall to my death.

Then all that was left in all of that... was darkness.