<They’re after me again.> <Seekers?> <Yeah.> <You should be able to get rid of them.> Mech was sick to death of seekers and Mother knew it too. After all they had been after her ever since she had first met the astute persona and fountain of immense knowledge and wisdom she only knew by her net-name, Mother. That was alright though. They had met five years ago right here in the vast depth of the latticework of green and black grids and numbers which to the unfamiliar eye reassembled a confusing and incoherent maze but to those familiar with its structure was a real world away from the real world. Mech trusted Mother even – or perhaps because – she had never seen her face, never spoken to her outside of FedNet, didn’t even know her name or her age. She was not close to her age, that seemed obvious, she simply knew too much, had seen too much and most importantly was too skilled in the cyber realm as not to have a long lifetime’s worth of experience. Mech’s avatar, a purple haired and shapely young woman of undetermined age and race dove through FedNet weightlessly and with apparent skill. She could maneuver through cyber-space with even more ease and grace as when she moved through the physical world. And given Mech’s talents that was saying quite a bit. She couldn’t see Mother but she knew she was close. At the moment Mech’s focus was concentrated on the three black cylinder shaped machines which were trying to close in on her. The featureless devices looked harmless enough and in fact they were not designed to hurt FedNet users. Clad in a long flowing white dress Mech dove through a distinctly dense part of FedNet, symbolized by the many bright green flashes of light shooting back and forth across the grid. <The Alpha Centauri junction> Mech said. <They won’t be able to follow me through there> she added just before she somersaulted right towards the epicenter of the pulsing mass of activity. Two of the seekers stayed with her. <These ones are tough.> Mech moved faster. Speed had always been one of her strength in the virtual world. But she could only go that fast. Something kept her from going any faster. The FedNet interface was bound by the restrictions of the physical network it was based on. There were rumors that there were ways to completely free oneself from those restrictions. <Mother, are you close?> <Yes,> she replied in a maternal sounding voice and not for the first time did Mech realize that her net-name had been well chosen. <I can see you. You have almost reached the center of the AC junction.> <The seekers are still on me.> <I know.> <Getting more desperate to catch me?> Mech asked with a smile on her lips. <Perhaps. They’ve been playing this game for a long time.> Mech shot through the Alpha Centauri junction, diving amongst billions of other users most of them completely unaware of the race taking place right amongst them. <Any thoughts who they might belong to?> <I have my theories.> Mech thought better of it than to ask Mother if she wanted to share those. She never did. The seekers stayed with Mech this time, even when the density of the net increased so much that it left scarcely any room to maneuver. <You might have to try something a bit more aggressive this time.> Mech’s smile widened. <I’ve been wanting to try,> she said and flipped around almost instantly, putting herself on collision course with the seekers. <Careful,> Mother advised, <impatience is every hero’s downfall.> <I try to remember that,> Mech mumbled and began spinning towards the seekers which were now beginning to glow red as they sensed their target’s proximity. Seconds before the seemingly inevitable impact Mech put on the breaks. She came to a dead stop and held out her palms toward the incoming projectiles. Blue energy shot out of her hands and towards the seekers. One fried instantly, the other evaded just in time to avoid the full brunt of the attack. <Impressive,> commented Mother. The remaining seeker changed course and Mech watched it carefully as it zigzagged across the grid, apparently unable to reacquire its target. Satisfied that it seemed out of commission she turned her back to it. <That should take care of that.> <Or perhaps not.> Mech looked over her shoulder. The seeker had found her again and was racing toward her, faster than ever. <Crap.> <Another attack?> Mech held out her palms but this time the energy beams refused to emerge. <I might have a problem here,> she said as her eyes grew wider. The seeker would impact with her any second. It was too late to try and make a run for it. Once the device hit her whoever had been looking for her over all these years would have finally found her. It was not a prospect she was looking forward to. Mech appreciated her privacy. <I’d say.> <A little help?> No sooner had she spoken the request as a blinding green light emerged right between her and the incoming seeker. The seeker vanished as if swallowed up by the light. A figure emerged out of the light. It was unmistakably female but it lacked any features that would have hinted towards an actual appearance. Sure, it consisted out of two arms and legs, a torso and a head but there was no skin or face to speak off. Instead Mother was constructed out of the same green grid that made up the structure of FedNet. Mech had long since stopped wondering about her unusual choice of avatar. The seeker was nowhere in sight. <Someday you’ve got to teach me how you do that.> A few lines where Mother’s face was supposed to be gently moved. Mech understood this to be a smile. Mother took off again and Mech had little trouble staying at her side as they made their way deeper into FedNet. <You didn’t come here to watch me play hide and seek, did you?> Mother didn’t answer and Mech didn’t press the issue. Instead she continued to follow her, leaving behind the busy AC junction. But soon enough Mech knew exactly where they were headed. If Alpha Centauri had been full of activity than their next destination was practically exploding. <What’s happening here?> Mother came to a halt and Mech followed suit, watching the pulsing lights in front of them with rising curiosity. It wasn’t quite the way she remembered it. <You are seeing what most cannot see.> <I don’t understand.> And then it hit her. She was no longer inside her own avatar. In fact Mech, the purple haired girl, was floating right beside her. She was inside Mother. <You linked with me,> Mech realized. That was a first for her. And it felt strange, discomforting. It wasn’t as if she was in somebody else’s skin, not really. But she was seeing things out of somebody else’s eyes. The grid had taken a yellowish color and the activity in front of her was not just pulsing like it ought to but rather swarming with a billion little dots moving purposefully back and forth like ants. <Why are you showing me this?> <Let’s just say I’m concerned.> Mech didn’t understand. In fact she wasn’t even sure what exactly she was looking at. No, she knew what she was looking at. <Earth,> she said. But she didn’t understand what it meant. <Actually this is just the Western seaboard of North America.> <Northern California,> Mech said slowly. <You are familiar with the area? > Mech nodded. But when she did it was her avatar that moved her head. <What does this mean?> And just like that she was back inside the purple-haired woman. Mother was still at her side but her surroundings had taken on a more normal, a more familiar look. The green grid had returned and the object of their focus looked once again like any other busy FedNet junction. Mother turned and moved away. <That is an excellent question.> BARELY HUMAN Coming Soon
I've never been a huge fan of the Matrix, not even the first one, so this kind of cyberpunk normally leaves me kinda cold. I dunno though, this intrigues me for some reason, maybe it's just the fact that this isn't something we've seen a whole lot of in Trek. Nice poster too
Thanks guys. And Starkers, I'm suprised to find somebody who doesn't like the Matrix. You don't encounter somebody like that everyday Not to worry though, The Matrix is not the only inspiration for this. I do know that this will be a risky experiment for a Star Trek fic (no focus on starships or Starfleet officers) that's why I wanted to post a small teaser to see what people think. I'm very excited about the project though and we'll see if people like it when it's ready to be posted.
I like risk taking--nothing ventured, nothing gained--and, for Trekfic, this is something of a risk. It's a different look into the Trekverse, but a highly plausible one. VR would probably be as rich and as potentially addictive and dangerous, an environment as any holosuite. Definitely looking forward to more here.