First Breath: A Cyberpunk Novelette by Laszlo Myles

Author:Laszlo Myles [Myles, Laszlo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: memory hack science fiction, Science Fiction, clone, hacker science fiction clone, cyberpunk, thriller, technology, tech, science fiction heist love, science fiction punk clone love, Hacker, tech science fiction love
Publisher: Laszlo Myles
Published: 2021-05-18T22:00:00+00:00

6

“PERFECT,” Z BEAMED when he brought her the metal card. She had given up choosing a color for her hair, and the fibers alternated throughout the spectrum.

“I don’t know what you can do with it,” he said. “It’s a two-part lock.”

“Yeah.” She lost her chipper glow. “I’ve got it covered.”

“I don’t see—”

“Hardy,” Mara said, “leave her be. She’s got work to do.”

When Hardy turned back to Z, she was facing away, back at her worktable. “Right.”

Mara was sitting by the wall, and he joined her. He didn’t trust her in the slightest, but she at least was warm toward him; he’d get nothing from Les or Simek. “You’ve got an odd crew,” he said.

She nodded. “I guess. I haven’t been with them long. They were just drawn together, you know?”

He was only half paying attention. His head ached again, but he ignored it. He’d gotten over his fear of asking, but there was more to it than that. He’d seen what Mara tried to hide the last time. She was afraid of him.

It didn’t make any sense—she had him in a vice. Every decision he had made to help, he realized, had been right after getting a dose of that breath. The guard in front of Jack’s, tracking down Tony for the key. He couldn’t even trust his own mind now, for fear the breath was making him do things he otherwise wouldn’t.

He did hate Jack, though.

Z pulled something from her pocket and gave it a funny look. It was just a disc, the size of a penny, with a couple of wires, but he could tell it weighed heavily on her.

“Drawn together,” he said. “By their hatred of Jack?”

“Sort of. They’ve all lost someone.”

Hardy looked down at his hands, hovering over the gap between his knees. He had wondered. People hated Jack on principle, but to actually try to bring him down was different.

“Les lost his mom,” she said. “Money trouble. She didn’t know what she was getting into. Simek’s brother works there, but he says it’s not him anymore.”

“Z?” he asked.

“See what she’s got there?” Z still held the disc, but he could tell she didn’t want to look at it. “That implant? Got it out of her sister.”

Hardy stared at his fingernails. He had worked for Jack. He couldn’t remember much of that—just the few memories he had managed to reconnect. But he knew the kinds of things he had done, even if they weren’t specific memories.

“Your sister,” he said, “Lynn. You know what they’re doing to her?”

Mara looked away as she spoke, and he tried to imagine what it would be like to have family in there. “Aspect-selective stuff,” she said. “Isolating parts of her personality. Sticking them in new bodies.”

“Clones?” That was a new one.

“Just an aspect.” She shrugged. “Barely even a person.”

Silence fell between them, and he went back to watching Z at her worktable. The lights in her hair were out. Paying respect to her sister, maybe.

“Look,” Mara said, “I’m sorry. About bringing you into this.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.