To Walk the Rainbow: Chapter 4
#4 of To Walk the Rainbow
We continue the story. More players appear.
To Walk the Rainbow: Chapter 4
50 A.C.(2077), the new modern times. Where 3D holographics are not only common everyday things, but considered almost out of date. With nanotechnologies, it wasn't just medical and military applications that were put to use, but entertainment as well.
When technology like wearable cameras, printable products, and autonomous vehicles becomes the norm, where do you go? Flying cars? No. Turns out with a majority of the population being able to fly at will, most with wings, and very few without, you control airspace a little better and make sure you don't make accidents that can happen worse by adding in tons of falling debris.
Create new sports that adapt to the time? Yes, as well as just update classics. With so many species, some sports had to divide players into their own special groups. Football with a 15-point buck running down a soft bodied tabby, just didn't work out as well as any would like, so there were new restrictions. Others invented whole new sports that limited actual contact, making them more universal. Zapball is one of the latter, with the ball penalizing players for contact. The Zapball consisted of a football-like ball, bigger by half, and filled with a motion activated power charger. Points built as the ball was held, with target zones as multipliers. As the ball was moved, it built up a charge, with a percentage released at random intervals. If held onto during this Zap, that player would earn a set amount of points based on the percentage. When passed, the caught ball released a percentage of built up charge. Touching the player holding the ball resulted in the whole charge going not to the holder, but the one who made contact, deducting points, and possibly knocking a player on his ass. Standing still caused the ball to release the charge into the one that held it. Play would start with two teams of six scattered about a field 50 yards by 50 yards. The ball would be launched roughly to the center, fully charged, whereby the one to catch it first would cause the ball to arm. Contact from an opposing player at this time, called the opening challenge, would cause it to release this charge, clearly showing who had caught the ball. If no opposing player made contact within the first second of arming, then the charge would reset to zero and give the catching team a starting five points. Schools played with no higher than 15%, while the professional league went as high as 60%. Point build-up did not reset if the ball was intercepted, meaning that one team could control the ball long enough for it to reach increments of five or ten points per second while adding on multipliers as high as twenty times, with it able to be that amount for the opposing side. If they could hold on during the catch. Five points were added to anyone who successfully caught the ball, while multipliers could only be activated from the ball travelling from one activation zone to another without any players contact it. Points were deducted from both teams when no one had the ball. A game was played in four quarters with three sets to a quarter and a set amount to a set. Times and points varied from area to area, with an average of ten minutes to a quarter and 2500 points to a set.
Sidewinder was another sport that came about, though this one less risky. A special particle shield was put up as a cube, with two outside projectors that also made the boundary line through the center, with no more than three to a team, though commonly played one on one. This shield stopped the ball, but anything else would break through and null the round. Special gloves are worn to catch the Sidewinder, a light ball that randomly opened and closed little vents so as to cause it to turn randomly through the air. The shield was used as the targeting and scoring zones. Played best out of five rounds, the different sides of the cube would change randomly, leaving targets anywhere. The gloves told the ball who was holding it for scoring, and acted as the only other surface that the ball could touch without effecting the points. When thrown, the ball would mark a point for every target hit, and deduct a point for every non-target hit. The built up points were finally scored if a player could get the Sidewinder to hit their scoring zone protected by the opposing player, with the last one to hold it getting the points. Rounds are sixty seconds, and only points scored counted. Rounds were usually played in sets of three.
What else did entertainment turn to? Make movies and games you can interact with? Yes. 4D as it's called. The new fad. Not only giving the viewer the sense they can reach out and touch the picture, but to interact with it as if it were real, to an extent. With direct neural connections, one can now live the show. Some had the viewer as a camera angle that could move about the scene freely, while some had the viewer as the star or co-star, following the pace set by the director, or making the pace as they went. Like Compact Disks and Cassettes, a new medium takes time to grow. The place best for growth, as history has always shown, the adult market.
Two weeks into the start of the school year and the twins were already falling behind. For Amber it was expected and even excused to a point, as her mythic species now had her busy with special appearances and an up and coming modeling career from the look at all the pictures she was scheduled for. Aleena however, just seemed to be having trouble. Even now during study hall, instead of working on her homework, she was absentmindedly scanning through a listing of hair augments on her tablet. Amber noticed this and stopped writing an answer to a math problem so she could give her sister a little nudge.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Amber asked after a couple more nudges finally seemed to bring Aleena around.
"Wha-, I...," Aleena trailed off trying to think, "I'm just all fuzzy."
Turning more towards her sister, Amber said, "I've noticed. You've been like this for a week. You always seem worst after Mr. Thunder's class. Don't tell me you really have the hots for him?"
"No of course not!" Aleena exclaimed. She did her best to look a little ashamed when the teacher in charge of the study hall looked up sternly as a warning. When everyone went back to their own devices, she finally added, "I don't have the hots for Mr. Thunder..." Aleena seemed to trail off at the mention of the Palomino. She closed her eyes as flashes of the very male science teacher seemed to pop up in her vision as if seeing it right before her. There he was, pants dropped about his ankles with his massive erection disappearing down Janet Pinno's throat, while she looked on as if from the door of the classroom. The young horse blinked and now Mr. Thunder was standing before her, his hand around her throat as he kissed her, leaving everything to burn white.
"What is wrong with you?" Amber asked worried. "You just spaced out again, this time mumbling something about Janet Pinno."
Looking at her sister for a moment to figure out what was going on, Aleena finally responded with, "What?"
"You spaced out again after mentioning Mr. Thunder, turned a bit red and said something about the JV swim captain, that otter on the cheerleading team, Janet Pinno. Are you fantasizing about them right in front of me, because that's rude and offensive? I mean if you want to look at other girls, that fine but right while I'm talking to you, now that is just-"
"No, it's not like that." Aleena said cutting off her sister. "It's all going blank. I thought I remembered something, but then it all seemed to burn away. Trust me, I would never purposely think about anyone else." She looked down to the teacher to see they were not being directly watched, and quickly kissed her sister on the lips, which got a couple laughs and small claps from other students that weren't really doing anything and had noticed.
Amber blushed, which made Aleena blush at how much prettier it made her, and finally said, "Alright, I believe you, but we should tell Mom when she gets home." She noticed Aleena make the face she did the moment before arguing, and cut in, "It might be a side effect of The Change." This kept Aleena from saying anything and finally nodded her head.
With the last twenty minutes of the study hall, Amber helped her sister with the math problems she had been working on so the two could both try to get at least one assignment in on time. Time passed quickly leaving the twins to head off to gym.
Gym was a welcome relief, as it was a free class today, leaving the students to divide into small groups to do their own activities. Most of the boys formed up teams and started playing Zapball and Basketball, while the girls that didn't stand around and stare at the boys took to using a corner of the court area for some Sidewinder. A couple girls from the Sidewinder group were even calling to the twins to come over, but Amber just looked at her sister while tying up her hair and noticed Aleena, other than standing with her arms crossed reluctantly over her belly, staring at the open East wall. Stepping up next to her, Amber looked at the open area where the pavillion of the gym opened out into the school grounds.
"Come on." Amber said giving Aleena a slight push before taking off at a leisurely run.
Rubbing her arm nervously, Aleena finally just gave her head a shake and took off after her sister. Running didn't need thought. She ran, letting her mind wander. Not noticing her unicorn sister finally match stride next to her, Aleena just kept going as her thoughts tried to form something other than a burning whiteness.
It was dark in the office, with only a soft glowing monitor showing a half drunk ferret. "She can't know. They can't know." he said taking a deep gulp from a half-full glass. He promptly filled it again from an open bottle. His finger hovered over the Delete key for a full minute before hew quickly switched direction and clicked a key that made a little drive light up before the main computer snuffed out with an evil noise followed by the smell of o-zoned computer parts. He finished the drink from the glass, then from the bottle, then grabbing the drive, hurried out of his office.
"So, where's Sam?" Aleena questioned as she walked home next to her sister, with Tim following a step behind. Amber shrugged.
"She's going to be busy." The little rabbit answered. "Didn't you two hear? Some government guys showed up at school and took her."
The twins stopped and turned on Tim, "AND YOU JUST NOW THOUGHT TO TELL US!" they yelled.
"No, that's not, no no no no!" he let out backtracking as the girls turned on him, finally tripping and falling on his back. "I meant a job! The government guys gave her a job because of her power!" The rabbit covered himself as Aleena made a move towards him, and after a moment, realized it was not a hit but an outstretched hand to help him up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. She got noticed doing something with the computers and within fifteen minutes a team showed up. Made her a Class G on the spot."
"That's a joke, right?" Aleena said pulling Tim along to get the little group moving again.
He shook his head, "I'm dead serious. They graduated her on the spot, introduced her to an agent guy as her personal escort, and had her coded to a travel pass for Ring 7. I heard the guy say she registered as the third most powerful technopath they've seen."
Amber stopped and looked up, causing the other two to follow suit. The three of them stared at the almost invisible lines that cut across the sky. "Ring 7 isn't the military one is it?"
"Well," Aleena started before Tim could, "they're all technically military, but it's basically The Center for Space Travel and Interplanetary Exploration Research and Development."
"Yeah, but they can all drop The Hammer." Tim added.
"Thanks Tim." the twins said.
"Five tons of pure tungsten...,"
"We know."
"...able to take out six square blocks with the precision of a laser...,"
"We know!"
"... reaching speeds of Mach 10-,"
"Timmy, WE KNOW!" the twins finally had to yell to get the rabbit to shut up and giving him a stern look.
"Oh come on! They're just AMPed up superfreaks that only care about raping and eating! Just animals and trash!" Tim said defensively.
Amber raised her hand as if to slap the rabbit, but stopped noticing that a few others were watching, some having cameras and probably ready for the press coverage her slightest mistake would make. She lowered her hand and turned around to storm off home, leaving Aleena to have to hurry to catch up. Before she did though, she put a hand on the rabbit's shoulder, "Tim dude, poor and homeless live in the walled sectors. We saw the news coverage of Sector 5 okay. Just because some are almost animals, doesn't mean they deserve something like that, and that trash, was over two-thousand innocent people just trying to hide. They dropped it late because that guy already killed three S.P. squads and breached the west wall. What's worse is he was heading INTO the sector. They tried to stop him before the wall."
Tim stood there in a bit of shock and embarrassment, but finally called out to the departing twins, "I DIDN'T KNOW! I'M SORRY!" to which he got a bit of a wave from them.
"Watch your step Miss. Not every area has gravity, so pay attention to the markings and always step out onto the footprints as you go." said a member of the shuttle crew as he saw Sam off before going back to his job. The little fox just nodded.
Floating past a window on her way to the receiving area, Sam could see a whole lot more of the ring and parts of it's sister rings a whole lot better than from down on the planet. It was hard to see how these massive structures barely showed in the sky. A gruff cough brought her back out of her thoughts, and she pulled her self farther along, following three others from her transport who were following someone in a green jumpsuit. They all finally got to a moderate sized red door marked with a bunch of warnings and information. There was a loud hiss as the pressure equalized and the door opened revealing it made out of six different layers of doors. The group moved through the opening, all dropping to a standing position as they passed a certain point and gravity seemed to kick in. It was a jarring experience, making Sam's stomach roll like an all day fair ride. A wolf next to her couldn't hold it in and quickly pulled out a sick bag and promptly filled it. She looked away before she followed suit, but still checked to make sure her sick bags were still in her leg pouch, then quickly caught up with her group and the guy in green.
It took only a few minutes of walking before arriving at the travel hub. Sam looked around impressed. The hub itself looked remarkably like a normal airplane terminal, with destination boards and travel times posted, groups gathered around waiting for their transports, and even a little shop like area. She looked back at the way they had come, and saw large markings denoting PLANETSIDE. Everything else seemed labeled in colors, letters, and numbers.
"Welcome to Ring 7." came a rumbling voice.
Sam turned towards the sound and jumped back, "You, you're a dragon!"
"That I am." he rumbled. "I'm also your new boss. Major Drysen, and you are Sam Kampton, our new addition to our FTL program. Follow me to the Orange Line, and we'll get you settled into your new home on Pacific Section. I've got reports on your power, so you should be up to speed in three days. We'll get you settled in with the other members of the team, fill out your protocols, and get you started on your regiment." The Major guided Sam to an actual orange line on the floor that took them to the Orange Line transport pod. "Sorry if everything seems rushed Miss Kampton, but we discovered you at a trying time. We had an attack at our ground facility last week, and we lost our other technopath. Technopathy past a certain point is rare, leaving most as nothing more than professional technicians, but those like you are so far advanced, that we need you desperately. Your services are a valued commodity. We feel you might have been targeted for acquisition from our enemies." The pod took off the moment the doors sealed behind them, at speeds that had there been air outside would have made everything glow a bright red. "Don't worry about your family, they are being taken to Ring 6, and you will be able to visit them a bit later."
"What about my friends? Or, my things? I agreed to go at the time, but I thought it was just to the local U.H.F. building." Sam said worried.
"You can contact them later, and your possessions are going to be sent up soon. Like I said, we needed to move now." The pod slowed dramatically, finally opening the doors. "Welcome to the private sector, and your new home."
Chewing half-heartedly, Aleena looked at her dinner of veggie sticks and an alfalfa sprout sandwich loaded with other vegetables, and sighed.
Amber tilted her head to the side for a moment and then swallowed her own mouthful before asking, "What's wrong?"
"I'm getting so tired of just greens. I'm ready to switch to pure soylent just for a change." Aleena said without even bothering to swallow.
"Maybe you are still adjusting from The Change." Amber said softly.
"I don't know." Aleena said taking another bite, "I've been reading that unofficially, about twenty percent of people in the last five years have Changed with a completely Pure Species Diet. However, I can't seem to find a single mention of it on anything officially public. Like it's being hidden."
"Don't start. Especially around Timmy. He already thinks the companies are plotting to control us and are getting rid of competition by adding them to the 'Original Recipe Meat Products'." Amber said and finished with finger quotes. "Tell you what. How about I cancel out of that photoshoot I have for tomorrow, and I take you out to the fun center? Mom made me put nearly all of what I've been making into a savings account, but I still get to pull out a little, and I've got access to enough to make it a nice little date."
"You mean like a real date?" Aleena said putting her sandwich down.
Amber got a mischievous grin, "Oh yeah a real date. If we run into anyone from school, they'll know we're an item, kind of date. It's not my fault no one has really asked if we're sisters. I believe the closest anyone has said to the truth was, 'You two seem so close you could be sisters', and I just followed up with us being close our whole lives. It probably helps that no one knows you were a...," she saw Aleena flatten her ears and look away uncomfortably, "Sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Yeah, well." Aleena said and got up from her seat and leaving the rest of her meal, headed for the backdoor.
The door softly opened and closed, but the little unicorn jumped as if they were gunshots. Amber sat back in her seat and pushed her unfinished meal away and felt like a different type of equine. She stayed like this for probably a half an hour, until the sound of the front door brought her about and made her sit up straight.
"I'm home!" came a call from the front. Amber didn't respond at first, leaving her mother to enter the eating area. "What's wrong sweetie?" Lisa asked kissing her little unicorn on the head. "Where's your sister?"
"The roof." came a shameful reply.
The giraffe gave another kiss and added a hug, "Don't blame yourself. It's going to take time to move past everything and settle into how things are permanently. Just try harder to keep from bringing up the whole brother thing, and I'm sure in a few months both of you will have started to get to the point where that is no longer thought about at all."
"How do you do that?" Amber asked turning towards her mother.
"What, know what to say at the right time? Mother's gift I guess. I mean, I have known you two longer than even you two have known each other." Lisa said breaking the hug and moving into the kitchen proper.
"So," Amber started, "I thought they had you down for a double shift and we wouldn't see you until morning? Otherwise, I would have had dinner ready."
At first Lisa just shrugged and made up a sandwich of her own from the makings that were still out. "Funny thing happened. The doctor in charge of shift decided to head out halfway through the day, so his replacement came on and thought I could use the break. Even gave me tomorrow off. I figured I would take your sister out to a movie, since it's been so long since-" she stopped at a strangled objection and turned around, "What's wrong?"
"Well...," Amber trailed off as she rose and approached her mother, then kind of stopped and fiddled her hoof into the tile, "I kind of canceled my shoot so I could take Aleena to the fun center."
The giraffe thought on this a moment, then spoke up, "How about I take you out, we all get an early lunch and then see a movie, then I let you two go off and do your own thing while I run a couple errands? Maybe you two go and have dinner, then we all meet up for dessert before going home?"
Amber bit her lip as she thought it over, finally nodding her head, "Okay, but I'm paying. It's not fair for you to work and work and we're always so close to being broke. I turned into something everyone wants to see, so I'm going to use that to help the ones I love. Which means spoiling them sometimes."
Amber's mother had a stern look, then finally relaxed, "Fine, but don't make it a habit. I want you to keep your savings safe, just in case."
"Okay." Amber said giving her mother a hug and headed for the backdoor. Quietly she made her way outside, and climbed up the ladder that was placed there. She soon spotted Aleena at one corner of the roof, and silently moved over and sat down.
"Shh." the young horse said as her sister sat down. Then whispered, "The Nelson's are playing Fox in the Henhouse." and motioned with her head toward the neighbor's backyard where a fox was chasing a chicken around.
"So what are they doi-, oh!" Amber whispered before getting the answer for herself as the fox finally caught the chicken and then promptly mounted her. The unicorn's jaw dropped as she watched the couple couple. She had never thought about those who could Morph, actually mating like that. Most who could Morph, used it for the advantages of being the animal they turned into. Being still so young though, she never really thought about how others spent their lives, but now knew that this new world she had entered would have many new things to learn. After a few minutes, the hen 'escaped', and then they were off around the yard again. This carried on for a half an hour, with Amber's nether bits getting wetter and wetter, until she finally moved a hand down to massage her lower lips.
Before Amber could really get started though, Aleena moved her own hand down and locked fingers with her sister, then whispered in her ear, "Wait until tomorrow night, okay?" Amber just nodded, knowing if she tried to say anything, it would come out as a moan. So the twins sat there and watched the neighbors have there fun until they finally just fell asleep in the grass still joined near the hips. Then the two decided it was time to call it a night, and with much restraint, went to sleep in their own beds willing themselves to wait until tomorrow.