catch a
glimpse of the two murderers within a few hours. It was more likely that it
would be more than a day before Cass’s monitoring matched up with their current
location. In the meantime, he would wander the streets near where the fugitives
last struck while Cass saturated herself in the surveillance network around
them.
The weight of the aegis sent high
splashes of water as Burke trudged through the puddles littered in the streets.
In the more flooded areas, he took each step slowly, firmly slamming his foot
down before he took another step. He did not trust what might be hidden under
the water. Heavy as his armor was, he could still slip and fall if he moved too
quickly.
He saw two people early on in his
search and then no one else for several more hours. Although the city was vast,
most people stayed highly concentrated in certain areas: the better maintained
buildings, the rare stores of the lower levels, and the even rarer heat
exhausts that spilled out from the inner workings of the city. Most groups he
passed that were unfortunate enough to be outside were huddled together. He
hoped that he didn’t frighten them as he passed.
“This place is awful,” Cass
commented.
“I know.”
“Why is it so bad?”
Burke knew she could have found the
answers herself. She was still connected to the network of both the city and
their ship. He knew that she preferred the conversation with him rather than
clinically research things on her own. He appreciated that.
“Earth and Mars,” he began.
“They’re the root of a lot of problems, it seems. Most of the billions of
people were evacuated but it didn’t stop at the planets. The rest of the system
emptied as well. Liveria, at the time, seemed like a perfect place. The city is
built on top of older layers of itself. There are hundreds of thousands of
empty sections down here. Too much space to use or even sell. Now, there are
over a billion people stuck here.”
“And there’s no work for them.
After they lost everything.”
Burke nodded solemnly.
“It’s better than being dead,” he
said. “They might not see it that way, though.”
“There are too many people here,”
Cass said quietly. “They should limit how many can live here. It would solve a
lot of problems.”
“It would,” he agreed. “But who
gets to decide who gets in and who doesn’t? There’s no denying the vacant
buildings down here. There’s more water than anything else. It’s a problem
spawned from another problem, one that didn’t have a solution.”
“There are new worlds being
colonized every year,” Cass offered.
“With their slavers and hostile
aliens,” Burke shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. You’re right. There should be
more work put into transporting people there.”
“Take a left here, and then go
down.”
The stairways that connected the
levels were the most dangerous places in the lower streets. Most were slick
with rain and grime that didn’t fully wash down the steps. The few that were
dry were inhabited with criminals: petty thugs and gang members that infested
the neglected underside of the city. He saw them in other places too, typically
gathered around the paid elevator access points that connected to the higher
streets. They stood there waiting for anyone unfortunate enough to choose that
exit while carrying down supplies from above.
The criminals he passed mostly left
him alone. When he walked passed them—the thugs were unable to see whether or
not he was glaring at them through his helmet, which he was—they would shout
and jeer when they decided he was leaving them alone out of fear. It took a
great deal of willpower not to turn around and teach each group of them a
lesson. Cass usually soothed him, reminding him that causing too much trouble
might interfere with the fugitives coming out of hiding. Although Burke
despised the gangs, he also felt sympathy for them when he couldn’t think of
any alternative way for the men and women to
glimpse of the two murderers within a few hours. It was more likely that it
would be more than a day before Cass’s monitoring matched up with their current
location. In the meantime, he would wander the streets near where the fugitives
last struck while Cass saturated herself in the surveillance network around
them.
The weight of the aegis sent high
splashes of water as Burke trudged through the puddles littered in the streets.
In the more flooded areas, he took each step slowly, firmly slamming his foot
down before he took another step. He did not trust what might be hidden under
the water. Heavy as his armor was, he could still slip and fall if he moved too
quickly.
He saw two people early on in his
search and then no one else for several more hours. Although the city was vast,
most people stayed highly concentrated in certain areas: the better maintained
buildings, the rare stores of the lower levels, and the even rarer heat
exhausts that spilled out from the inner workings of the city. Most groups he
passed that were unfortunate enough to be outside were huddled together. He
hoped that he didn’t frighten them as he passed.
“This place is awful,” Cass
commented.
“I know.”
“Why is it so bad?”
Burke knew she could have found the
answers herself. She was still connected to the network of both the city and
their ship. He knew that she preferred the conversation with him rather than
clinically research things on her own. He appreciated that.
“Earth and Mars,” he began.
“They’re the root of a lot of problems, it seems. Most of the billions of
people were evacuated but it didn’t stop at the planets. The rest of the system
emptied as well. Liveria, at the time, seemed like a perfect place. The city is
built on top of older layers of itself. There are hundreds of thousands of
empty sections down here. Too much space to use or even sell. Now, there are
over a billion people stuck here.”
“And there’s no work for them.
After they lost everything.”
Burke nodded solemnly.
“It’s better than being dead,” he
said. “They might not see it that way, though.”
“There are too many people here,”
Cass said quietly. “They should limit how many can live here. It would solve a
lot of problems.”
“It would,” he agreed. “But who
gets to decide who gets in and who doesn’t? There’s no denying the vacant
buildings down here. There’s more water than anything else. It’s a problem
spawned from another problem, one that didn’t have a solution.”
“There are new worlds being
colonized every year,” Cass offered.
“With their slavers and hostile
aliens,” Burke shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. You’re right. There should be
more work put into transporting people there.”
“Take a left here, and then go
down.”
The stairways that connected the
levels were the most dangerous places in the lower streets. Most were slick
with rain and grime that didn’t fully wash down the steps. The few that were
dry were inhabited with criminals: petty thugs and gang members that infested
the neglected underside of the city. He saw them in other places too, typically
gathered around the paid elevator access points that connected to the higher
streets. They stood there waiting for anyone unfortunate enough to choose that
exit while carrying down supplies from above.
The criminals he passed mostly left
him alone. When he walked passed them—the thugs were unable to see whether or
not he was glaring at them through his helmet, which he was—they would shout
and jeer when they decided he was leaving them alone out of fear. It took a
great deal of willpower not to turn around and teach each group of them a
lesson. Cass usually soothed him, reminding him that causing too much trouble
might interfere with the fugitives coming out of hiding. Although Burke
despised the gangs, he also felt sympathy for them when he couldn’t think of
any alternative way for the men and women to
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