Withmore City Blues - Foreward

Didnt know what else to call it. Foreward seems like the right thing. The two previous entries, read from the bottom up, are stories from the first person view of my Sindome character, Michah.

Sindome is a dark and gritty cyberpunk world based upon the writings of sci-fi authors like William Gibson, Phillip K. Dick, and Neal Stephenson. In 2092 the California desert is uninhabitable for the general population. To house the masses, domes were built to be self sufficient cities safe from the elements. Withmore City is one such dome. The stories that take place within its walls are in the central districts, and are separated into four levels. From the bottom up, Red, Gold, Green, and Blue. Red is the mix. The ghetto. Filled with pimps and whores, gangs and criminals, and the poor masses unfortunate enough to not have the education or contacts to elevate them, red district tears itself apart while the more prestigious corporate denizens live oblivious above.

in March of 2091, a new immigrant from Las Vegas wandered through the gates to begin a new life. Michah is his name, and his stories are those that follow.

Read more...

Withmore City Blues, Ep2: Jakes

So, I's doin runs fer Larri, cuz it pays hella lots bett dan SHI, an i's in de Fallout, when dis mass chummer walks in, wearin full jake getup. i c'n see he ain' no jake, tho, cuz he's all dirt'd up, mismatch'd, an wearin dis big freakin cutter on 'is back. I's pretty new in dome, an' di'n no betta, so i starts chattin dis chummer up.

"How you breathe in dat t'ing?" i sez, reff'in ta 'is helmet.

"It has an internal cooling system. fully environmental."

so we starts jabbin, an clickin on work, an' i ask 'im iffin he req's some muscle. "I got a whole gang, chummer. i dont need no muscle."

wow. a ganger, an a top ganger at dat. "Wa's yer name, chummer?"

"Jes call me King," he sez.

dat clicks. top ganger, what else ya gonna call 'im.

He sez he do need som'm. wamme ta clean off de Arts tags on Fuller an' upstreetshe gimme a solver, a tagger, an' after a li'l direct, lemme go.

So's i's cleanin an' taggin, an dis Agent comes outta de Drome, see's me havin a go at de tags an sez, "Snakes don' much like it if you're taggin on their turf."

"nah," i sez, "i ain' taggin. i's cleanin up. i gotsta live here, ya kno."

well, dat click'd som'm wit dis Agent, an he buys me a beer, an we starts chummin an' chattin. he tell me i might make a good Agent. well, i's clickin dat would be pos, gits me offa runnin some frikkin crate, an gimme som'm tops ta do. he tell me ta write up a res, an use 'im as a ref: Agent Kiyoshima

so i'm ofta find a e-note. after a cuppla runs, i trip over dis e-note an' printer, an write up my res, aber i canna fin' dis Agent chummer anyspek, an he no answerin 'is prog.

time goes on...

i'm still runnin crates. still scrapin by. aber i gots me a clone, my knucks, an' a bitta savins. upped my skins, neXus. nice.

comin back from a run, goin inta de rose, an up de stairs. right behin' me is dis Jake. least i's spekkin issa jake. wearin jake skins, an dat big frikkin enforcer strapp'd to 'is back.

i dij de code, pop de hatch, an climb inna my cube. Jake climb in behind.

Frikk. Der's a frikkin Jake stannin in my cube.

"C'n i help ya, Judge?"

i don' mem'm'r what he sed. i's jes a bit ... freak'd? yea. freak'd.

Base he wamme ta be a good cit, sez he wanna check onna mixers, make sure we stayin innour place.

i sez i don wanna be a mixer, i's lookin at bein a Agent, even gots me a ref.

he wanna see my res.

well, i bouts panic, cuz i gots files he shuddna see. i pull out my e-note, quick-like hit de delete onna files of prog digits of some chummers i clickin wit.., an pass i'm de note.

after readin fer a bit, he says som'm about it bein awful, an' he hopes Marie don' ever see drekk like dat. i don' much care for de crit, i knows i ain' smart as some. da's why de holy's blessed me wit muscles. no brain, needs ta comp.

so he spens about 10 ticks or so, an hans me back da note, an i pays 'im a G-chy fer his trubbs, an he walks outta my cube.

yeah. pos def bad, turns pos def good.

time goes on...

so i's standin in de hall, outta my cube, jes hangin, an dis big freakin chummer crawl inna window. he drops some howdy-do as he pads down de hall, an i flip, "jes pickin an' grinnin" back attim.

he stops."What in de blue frikk issat s'posta mean?"

so i tells 'im i's jes gettin by.

"You needs some work?"

"yeah, anyt'ing fer a snake," i sez, spottin da big cobra patch onnis vest. so he take me ta dis shop, buys some paper, an scratches some ad. tells me he canna go ta place ads, cuzza who he is, an wamme ta load em inna sic fer'im. i shrug. sounds like no prob. quick run. he gimme 'nuff chy ta drop de ads, gimme some fer my trubbs, an sez callim when dey's done. he gimme 'is dij's.

so off ta da mag-lev, Soma exit, inna jake central, an dis jake is gettin on da lift. i follows 'im in.

i figger he already punch'd 'is floor, an' i dunno dis place so well, bein a mixer an' all, so i hits '2'.

de lift starts liftin.

dis Jake starts glarin.

de hatch open, an' i givim a smile an step out.

Jake follows.

i still gots no frikkin idea where i's goin, aber i jes start walkin. an der it is. de access term. i take a quick look, it sez on line two, SIC som'm. da's gonna be it.

Jake come up behind. Close.

"Citizen, next time you get on an elevator with a Judge, you let the Judge go first."

"Ok, Judge, pologize. Wasn't clickin. Nev hap 'gin."

"You have a strange accent, citizen. Where are you from?"
Ok, so here i am again. face ta face wit a Jake. Dis one i jes piss off, an he wan' dat on me.

"Vegas, Judge. Walk'd in 'bouts a month ago." Click faster, chummer, save yer ass... "I's crashin inna mix now, aber not gonna stay der. Gots me a res fer Terra. Even gots me a ref."

"Who's your reference?"

"Agent Kiyo."

De Jake stand a bit taller, seems ta lax a bit, "Judge Kiyo, now, citizen."

"Judge? He gets a promo? no wonner i ain' seein 'im aroun."

"Well," Jake sez, "Any friend of Kiyo's is a friend of mine. You play your cards right, I just may be able to put a good word in for you myself."

"Sure, Judge. Whatcha wamme do?"

"I'll think about it. I kinda need someone in Red to do some things for me now and then."

"Sure, Judge." i givim my prog diji's.

"What's wrong with the sic net?"
Prollem wit de sic is i don' 'ave one. *chuckles* kinna skipped dat part at indoc.
"Oh, frikkin blackout zones," he sez.

"yeah, Judge," i sez, "sic inna mix is drekk."

"Ok, citizen. Be more aware of your superiors, and I'll call you when i need you."

"Sure, Judge, an' tell Kiyo congrats fer me, iffin ya don' mind."

Jake nods and leaves.

I drop de 2 ads fer de Dark Shop an jet.

chummer what gimme da run don' answer 'is prog.

time goes on...

i's jes finishin a cuppla runs from Larri, an i spot dat chummer what gimme de run. I clicks i still gotsta report, he slips off, so i calls 'im onna prog.

-yeah?

-hey, chummer. yer ads are placed.

-what ads? i just crawled outta the vats. fill me in.

-just outta de vats, huh? well, de name's Michah, an' yer donor gimme ads ta place fer da Dark Shop.

-Well, Michah, this is Judge Carlito.

Judge Carlito. he's de same jake what fixed de res fer me.

-*laughs* Ok, Judge. ya gots me.

-Were you callin fer *some chickie name* or Snake, cuz *chickie*'s in lockup, and Snake will be soon. Looks like so will you.

-I dunno, judge. dinna git a name, jes paid ta drop some ads.

-Sure. that's what they all say. Michah, give me one good reason why i shouldnt put you next on my drekk list.

-Look, Judge. I's jes tryin ta pay de rent, ya scan? i don' want no trubbs witchu.

-How about you be a good citizen from now on, and SIC me when you see the Snake, ok?We both know that's impossible, but what else am i gonna say?

-Aight, Judge. I's doin dat iffin i sees 'im.

-*disconnected*
Dag. i needsa beer.
Down to da Drome, an' who's in front, but Kiyo.

"Kiyo!" i exclaim, "Long time, ace. Lemme buya a beer."

He looks thru me, hardly even seein me, "You seen Snake?"

"Nah, not fer a cuppla weeks now. C'mon, lets go in an' have a beer."

"I don't want a beer, Michah. I need to find Snake."

He's hardly wearin nuttin but some jeans, no shoes, no shirt. i 'as clickin Jakes slept in der armor.

"SEVEN!!" he starts screamin, "HERE I AM, YOU BASTARD! COME GET ME, I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO DIE WITH HONOR!"

"c'mon, Kiyo. take it easy. Le's jes go have dat beer, calm down. talk abouts it."

"No, Michah!" he shoves me back, "I gotta do this."

"Kiyo, ace, you ain' wearin nuttin but skins. no plates. Seven gonna kill ya."

Kiyo look at me wit' dese big dark eyes, circles unner 'em. He grabs me by my jacket an pulls me close, "He killed my wife!" he says hoarsley.

I notice a shadowy figure trying to break into a car.

When i focus back on Kiyo, i sees King. He's wearin jake armor what sez 'Volkyre' onnit. stannin behin' Kiyo, lookin menacing. well, kinna menacing. tuff ta tell wit dat helmet on.

dat chickie from de ambulance walks up.S

he stand nexta King, glarin at Kiyo.

King takes off 'is helmet. How bout dat. Is same chummer what gimme de Dark Shop ad job. I dinna know dat.

King gives Kiyo some pic. I catch a flash. is some jap chickie bleedin or dyin or som'm.

Kiyo cruples it up an tosses it off. he's onnis knees.

King pulls dat big frikkin cutter an in jes a cuppla whacks, him an dat li'l inn'cent chickie do po' Kiyo.

"huh.." i sez, "shudda had dat beer."

Read more...

Withmore City Blues, Ep1: Danny

So, I's on my way up ta my crash in de rose, an' i hear dis, "Help me, help me". i starts lookin aroun', an dis chickie come runnin down de hall an she run smack inna me. she total freak'd out. she cryin, 'er paint all runny an drekk. i askin wassa matts, an she say some chummer chasin 'er. wanna eat er brain or som'm. da's jes not clickin good wit me, so's i open de door an' shove 'er inna my cube.
i tries ta settle 'er, aber she jes keeps cryin an' screamin, an i hear 'im outside yellin ab't brains. she keep cryin an' bubblin on, an' he pos def gotta slip o' dat.
i jes start scannin on what ta do, so's i yell out dat i'm nappin, an' 'e's wakin me. well, he no fall fer dat, an 'e starts bangin on de hatch. well, dat jes ain' gonna hap on my crash. dis place, it ain' much, aber i's mine.
"Aight, grinner. ya dun pissed me off. yer done," i yell as i key in de unlock code. "No," she pleads, "He'll kill me."

"Don'cha worry none. I's got dis grinner."

"You have a weapon?" she asks.

I grin, raise my fists as i slip on my brass, "Chickie, I is da weapon."

"ok," she says with a reassured smile, "Kill him for me."
I click de last button on de unlock an' de door flies open, dis scrawny chummer wit blood on 'is mouth rushin in, an' heads right for 'er. din' eve look at me. Well, dat was 'is first mistake. An' last. I clock 'im across de jaw wit dos brass knucks, an i hear de bones snap. Tears well in 'is eyes, an he looks to me fer de firstime.
he lunges, jes in time ta take one inna gut. he doubles over, an i move in fer de kill, aber he slides to de side an' places a kick in my back. Damn, dat freakin hurt.
I shake off de pain an' punch at 'im again, hittin 'im inna shoulder. he's bruised, an' his mouth bleedin more dan it was when he strolled in, an he kick's me inna belly. well, i'm tireda bein kicked, so i grab 'im. he's strugglin, aber he canna git away, an i jes keep squeezin like i'm a bear an' e's a snack. i whisper in 'is ear, "Yer dun, grinner. yer gonna die."
well, he musta freak'd er som'm, cuz he reaches down deep an' grows a pair, an manages ta slip free. he kicks at me, an i move to da side, an' step in, d'liverin a clean brass ta 'is nose. 'is face base 'splodes at dis point, blood flyin, nose busted open. He crumps to da floor, an i's all breathy an' sweaty, an she is chantin in my head, "Kill 'im. Kill im."
I step up to da ugly bastard an' place my meaty hands on 'is turf, give a quick yank, click da crack, an all she wrote fer po' grinner.
"That'll teach him to extort money from me," she says, an i gots no frikkin click what she be babblin about. she places a kick to 'is belly as she heads out de still open door, sayin, "Dump the body an keep yer mouth shut." She drops a pile of chy on de floor an' walks out.
well, i'm jes kinna stunned, cuz she don' sound like no chickie in trubbs, an' as i run de whole trick thru my scanner, i 'mem'rs 'er sayin 'is name. Danny.

She knew 'im. not jes some clowner from de mix, she knew 'im.

well, i don much wanna have a corpse inna crash, so i's grabbin 'im up an draggin 'im outta der, scan dat my hatch red's a'hin me, an i takes 'im down an' out de lobby.

Yeah. tru de lobby. din' say i was dat smart.
I walk out de front, right into a passin Agent. I c'n see 'is eyes bugger as he scans big ol' me, draggin dis dead body outta de rose, an i knows i's in fer it.
"What in the hell are you doin?"

"Uh... oh, hey Agent. Namuch. Dis grinner what push'd inna my crash an 'tak'd me. i hadta do 'im."

"You had to kill him? why didn't you just call us??!!"

i could tell dis Agent was kinna shocked an' pissed, an i jes kept talkin.

"Well, my prog got gank'd by some grinner day or so ago."

"You could have called us on SIC."

"Dinna click wit dat one, Agent."

Jes about dat time, dis mixer chickie wanners in an sees me, sees de agent, an sees de grinner lyin at my feet. she seems ta scan fer a min, den runs off.

"Didn't cli... Ok, you're commin with me," Agent says.

Chickie pulls up inna ambulance.

"Where we goin, Agent?"

"You're goin to lockup, mixer, now pick up that corpse"

"You wamme ta put it inna 'bulance?"

"Why in the hell would i want you to do that?"

"I dunno, Agent, i jes tryin ta figger out whachu wan"

"I want you to go to Terra, you're goin to jail!"

He's gettin perty flabber'd now, an da's jes what i want.

"Aight, Terra it is. I's goin quiet-like, Agent." So off to the west i go. I get down de street, fronta de doc chop shop, an i click's 'im yellin from down der, "YOU FORGOT THE CORPSE!!"

i chuckle an' head back. he meets me half, an' i c'n see he's havin trubbs clickin what ta do. we walk back ta in fronta de rose.
No body.
not nobody, but no body. no corpse.

"I don' see no corpse, Agent."

"What corpse?" de li'l mixer chickie asks, all inn'cent like.

De Agent, he what looks real mad now, ready ta do us both, i clicks, an he not scannin right, an he crawls inna back o de 'bulance, prolly ta check fer da grinner.

Dat was my queue.I bolt down de street, dodgin traffic an' oder mixers, tuck myself in some bounty place enda Sin, wait it out fer a bit, den head back to my cube.
Crazy.
Danny... huh.

Read more...

Family

My son has been staying with me the last couple weekends. He used to live with his mother in Arizona, but they recently moved up here, so i get to see him a whole lot more often. He's a really great kid. Creative, intelligent, inquisitive, all the things that give kids a lot of potential, except activity, but we're working on that. He'd rather sit in the basement and play video games than go outside and play. I can't completely blame him, there isnt much to do outside at my house. He doesnt have friends close enough to walk or bike to, and my yard isnt very big. His step-dad has talked about moving to my small town when he sells his big expensive house in Arizona and moves, and i really hope they do decide to move here, because then he could go to the same school no matter who he was staying with for the night.

Sammy (my wife) and I have been trying to have another baby. It'll be her first. Actually, she wants more than one. I asked her how many, and she said, "Two with an option on the third." Well, that sounded pretty logical to me. We've picked out names. We picked out one boy name and three girl names. I think she wants a girl :p.

The names we picked are:

• Hunter Laurel (girl)
• Reaghan Rose (girl)
• Briarly Rose (girl)
• Garrison Cole (boy)

We thought about rules and plans for how to raise our children. Here's the list on that.

• No home school. - the kids need the social aspect of education as well.
• Preschool is optional
• Charter schools for high school.
• Tell them you love them every day
• Open line of communication
• Don't forbid things, but share your view on them
• Pro birth control
• No groundings or time outs. Natural consequenses.
• Encouragement without pressure - don't want them to feel they -have- to be the captain of the team, or go to Harvard, or something.
• Don't label them with stigmas like ADHD, etc.
• Make use of the needs of the condition, instead of treating it like a hinderance.
• Don't designate one parent as the executioner. Handle the punnishment yourself.

I think that's a good start. I don't yell at Demon (remember, he named himself that, and i'm not using real names here, only handles). Haven't had a reason to. He's such a good kid. If he does something he's not supposed to, then we just talk to him about it. He gets sensitive sometimes, but that's just who he is. i was pretty sensitive at his age. He doesnt like homework. heh.. who does? but we work on it. The math is the most difficult for him right now. He's more artistic than he is analytical, but that's not a bad thing. Just means he has to work harder on the math stuff.

Read more...

Creativity

i sat down with my son, Demon Soul (his idea. Demon Soul, son of Soul Existence. heh.. i like it), to work on a project for school. Design and create a machine using at least 2 of the six simple machines. stuff like pulleys, axle and wheels, wedge, etc.. he was telling me what some of the other kids came up with, an elevator, a catapult, etc. all well and good, but i thought it would be better to come up with something new that no one in the class was doing.

the assignment is to create a machine that will make work easier. so we began by talking about what the adults he knew did for work, and what would make our jobs easier. he thought about it for awhile, but then came up with his own idea. what if an old person dropped their keys and had a bad back.. couldnt pick them up? they'd need something to help them.

wow.. nice idea. so basically, he designs this fishing pole. well, its pretty much a fishing pole. not exactly, but yeah. but its his design. but instead of a hook at the end, opt for the magnet, because an old person with shaky hands, like my grampa, isnt going to be able to aim for a key ring with a hook.

he showed his mother the blueprint before taking it to school today, and when i was talking to her later in the day, she said it was prolly my idea. nope. he's 8. he has a very creative mind.

for example, a couple weeks ago, he decides he wants to make his own video game. well, i'm game for helping him do whatever he desires, so sure. i'll help him make a game. he designs, i'll help with the technical stuff. i'm not much of a game designer, but i have picked up some skills.. basic 3d modeling and such. so i found a free game engine, i'm using Blender3D for the models, and basing them completely on his designs. he gives me a folder full of photoshop and paint jpgs and i turn them into 3d models. he has hitpoints and special attacks assigned, designed a level with a D&D map maker, just really going to town on it. I'm pretty impressed.

and he's 8. that's the great thing. maybe i can keep him involved with creating. teach him the modeling, maybe some day i'll be beta testing for his new RPG or platformer. its pretty exciting.

I knew he was a smart kid, but i never even thought about how smart until he blows me away with this. kids can be surprising

Read more...

Politics

I dont think i've ever laid out my political views, and i think its about time that i did. more for my benefit so i can actually define them. hmm.. i need a questionaire.

(15 minutes later)

what the heck is a Libertarian??

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html

well, whatever.. let's see... umm.. pressing issues of the day:

Iraq and the war on terror.
Immigration
Cloning

yeah, that's a good start. ok.

Iraq and the War on Terror.

Hmm... a complicated conundrum.. because we're already there, so there is no reason to debate if we should have been there in the first place.
here's some of the problems i have with these Iraqi radical terrorist hate groups:

• They claim to hate the American Occupiers, yet set off bombs and kill their own people.
• ummm... well, yeah. that's the main reason.

So... my stand on it? I have kinda mixed feelings. i dont think it should be left unfinished, but i also understand the opinion to cut our losses. not cut and run, just call it a loss, drop some nukes and pave it, put up condos, and give it to Israel so they dont have to keep fighting over the sand on the west bank..

um.. actually, i have no serious opinion on the war. its a mess. it doesnt look like its getting any better, but i'm interested to see how the surge works. it works in Risk.

Immigration

Ok, so i was listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR this afternoon while at lunch, and they were talking about this. I do actually have an opinion on Immigration. The mexicans and other immies that want to come over and work, fine. they do the jobs we dont want to, they keep the cost of fruits and vegetables and other things low, great. So here's my idea.

Let them come. Let them stay. But, they have some limits.

1. Their existing children who are not citizens do not go to public tax-payer paid for school.
2. They have no access to gov't programs such as welfare.
3. They are not considered citizens. Human rights apply, Citizen rights do not.

I think this will do two things. By letting them come, we solve the problem with smugglers and horrible travel conditions. No smuggling market, because its a relatively open boarder. They should still have to go thru checks, but not as a filter for citizens vs illegals. The checks are to ask their name, place of origin, assign them an immie ID, provide shots, etc. IDs could be bar codes tatoo'd into the backs of their hands, or subdermal chips implanted in the back of the neck or in the hand that contain this information. Chips could be used as a tracking device, if the technology is available.

Dont give me the crap about privacy. They want to leave their own country and come into ours. I'll post a great example i received via email on how the immigration process currently works.

Let's say I break into your house. Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave. But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors. I've done all the things you don't like to do. I'm hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).

According to the recent protesters:

• You are Required to let me stay in your house
• You are Required to add me to your family's insurance plan
• You are Required to Educate my kids
• You are Required to Provide other benefits to me and to my family
• (my husband will do all of your yard work because he is also hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part).
• If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call myfriends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my RIGHT tobe there.
• It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than Ido, and I'm just trying to better myself.
• I'm a hard-working and honest, person, except for well, you know, Idid break into your house.
• And what a deal it is for me!!!
• I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of mykeep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused ofcold, uncaring, selfish, prejudiced, and bigoted behavior.
• Oh yeah, I DEMAND that you to learn MY LANGUAGE!!! so you cancommunicate with me.

heh.. i love that. so true. so true.. so, anyway, we're fitting them with chips or barcodes. any found not to have chips or barcodes are not to waste taxpayer dollars sitting in jail awaiting deportation hearings and then be shipped over to just sneak back in.. this can easily be handled with a 45 cent bullet. Yes, i'm harsh, but its a helluva lot more efficient, its clear in the consequences, and perhaps more of these illegals will go thru proper channels before trying to sneak in.

Ok, finally:

CLONING

All knowledge comes of God. It is the choices man makes in how they use that knowledge that decides good or evil, not the knowledge itself. Cloning for the curing of disease, such as with stem cells; cloning to aleviate hunger, i.e. cloning chicken and beef; are pure reasons that will only do good in the world. Cloning a child because of loss from death in youth is vain and it is the person who ordered the cloning, not the clone itself, that is the cause of this particular evil in the world. The person needs grief counseling and to move on. The child will not be the same. It will have a unique soul. I do not believe that God would miss the opportunity to birth life into the world. A cloned child will have a real soul and be a real person. They will not be the same person, but they will have their unique individual lifepath as delivered by their parents.

Umm... hope thats clear. I tried to be clear.

that's enough for now.

Read more...