In the lobby of Midas Corporate Tower, the tide was turning in the Police’s favor. Sgt. Georgia Ramirez remarked that it was a very strange sort of assault, as neither side could physically harm the other, and the primary weapons of each side, the boot gun, was useless. The cops has their cuffs, which immobilized a target, but were difficult to use. Midas Security had stunners, which were easier to use, but wore off quickly. In the end, it came down to numbers. Moving in tight circles, Georgia and the other officers circled around the guards, tackled, and cuffed them.
The City: 061: Georgia
December 22, 2014
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The City: 060: Douglas
December 19, 2014
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“Let’s bring in our Tech Corespondent on this point. Douglas, could a train in The City kill a person?” Douglas pushed the glasses up on his nose.
“Well, it isn’t a real train, but ‘deaths’ in The City are often traumatic. Video of the accident has been streaming all over Youtube, and the lines were completely shut down. As for how it happened, some users are reporting suspicious malware disguised as a firmware update causing glitches. She may have downloaded a virus.”
“We’ll take a closer look at the causes of Boot Syndrome after a pause for local news updates.”
The City: 059: Starla
December 18, 2014
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“If I may,” said the American woman live on feed from Virginia.
“Yes, Ms. Roberts, Go ahead.”
“I’m at the home of Sandra Davis, a City user who was discovered dead early this morning. Investigations are still ongoing, and the CPD and Midas Corp have not commented, but reports indicate she was struck by a commuter train in The City itself. Ms. Davis was already in frail health after a car accident last year, and the trauma gave her a heart attack.”
Jonathan cut her off. “The only way for that to happen is if she illegally modded her system.”
The City: 058: Jonathan
December 17, 2014
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Jonathan scoffed. “A few cases, Doctor? The City has a user base of over a billion people! It has been running for over five years, and since the beginning, proper use of Logout Housing has effectively proven that the technology running The City is safe and reliable. There are even safeguards for interrupted connections and power outages with the latest updates. The City is perfectly safe!” He slammed his fist on the table for emphasis. He was a paltry stockholder in Midas Corp, but even his few shares had made him a rich man. He planned on staying that way.
The City: 057: Ophira
December 16, 2014
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Ophira sat back in her chair and tried not to look contemptuous as the host, an idiot, she decided at the first, worked his way to a halfway intelligent question. He didn’t quite get there. “Virtual Reality Displacement Syndrome,” or what we are referring to Boot Syndrome, is a new phenomenon, only prevalent in higher level simulations such as The City. Because of the realistic nature of the environment, the human mind has trouble parsing a sudden shift between the two, with a wide range of heath effects, including headaches, blackouts, neurological trauma, and in a few cases, even death.”
The City: 056: Nigel
December 15, 2014
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“Welcome back to News Focus, I’m your host Nigel Smythe. Today’s topic is “The City: virtual paradise, or secret health risk?” With me today is Dr. Ophira Notingham, an expert in what is called ‘Boot Syndrome,’ futurist Jonathan Isaacs, from America Starla Roberts, and BBC Tech Corespondent Douglas Pine. Thank you all for being here.” Nigel turned to the table of panelists. He had been against the topic. He could barely use his laptop, and now he had to sit as four nerds sat debated the health effects of eye strain. He smiled warmly. “Doctor, let me start with you…”
The City: 055: Mina
December 12, 2014
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Frank whistled, but the others just stared at them, as though Warren had released a deadly snake in the two room apartment. Mina eyed him suspiciously. “How did you get so many clean guns?” She asked.
“CPD headquarters has been going nuts all day. It was easy to sneak down to the supply terminal, fake my boss’s access, and grab them. We’ll hit the bank and be gone before he knows they were fabricated.”
“But how will we bond with them?” Ingmar, the youngest of the group, asked. “We don’t have clearance for that.”
“Leave that to me,” Renee said.
The City: 054: Warren
December 11, 2014
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In a quieter part of The City, Warren knocked on the door of a shoebox apartment. The others were already inside. Renee peered out from behind the chained door, then let him in. There were seven of them in total. Not a big crew, but large enough that there could be complications. He didn’t know most of them.
“Do you have them?” Norm asked from his seat at the head of the card table. Warren recalled his inventory and pulled out a bag. He upended it onto the table.
“Seven boot guns,” he said. “stripped and ready for avatar bonding.”
The City: 053: Tina
December 10, 2014
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Tina shot Lorraine a smug look as Mario knocked on the towering mahogany obelisk. She’d been after Loraine’s spot on the Executive Security Team, and now it was practically her’s! Unless the cops downstairs did something stupid like try and occupy the building or invoke Emergency Powers. A Coup would ruin everything.
Mario opened the door and went in.
“I’m Sorry to disturb you, ladies and gentlemen, but there is a security situation, and we may have to ask you to evacuate.” Twelve smiling faces turned at once to look at them.
“We’re just about done here anyway,” Babbage said.
The City: 052: Mario
December 9, 2014
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Mario glared at Lorraine. There was a goddam riot going on downstairs, with City Police no less, and here she was raving about magic and disappearing doors. He did not have time to deal with her stupidity.
“You can’t change the physical reality of The City. It’s one of The Rules,” he said.
“Rules set by Sizemore. What if this guy got past Sizemore to get to the board?”
“A billionaire assassin? Well, I have to report the riot anyway. Let’s go. Lopez, you come with us.” The door was perfectly visible when the three of them got there. “See?”
Hugh J. O'Donnell 