1. fixer
2052 AD.
87% of the planet is polluted and 39% of the population is killed due to human stupid choices. Nature has lost its ability to self-purify, and humans migrate underground, into the deep sea, and into space to survive.
2065 AD.
The former Human Union Government announces the Ground Reclamation Plan to solve the problem of insufficient resources and population. A modified human-implanted cyborg capable of surviving on the polluted ground is sent out as a pioneer. In effect, it is forced deportation.
2093 AD.
The Declaration of Earthly Independence is announced in the pioneering city A-007. The new human federation government wins against the military suppression of the old human federation government. The exchange of technology and resources leads to mutually uncomfortable peace agreements.
2099 AD.
A veteran settles down in the pioneering city A-044 ‘Sodom’.
@
Chi Ik-
The cigarette light glowed red and then disappeared. Of course, it was not a real cigarette made from real tobacco leaves. At the end of the 21st century, when natural food is traded by the gram, ‘real’ was a luxury that scavengers couldn’t imagine. It was the same with people.
“Why isn’t the fixer coming?”
Prosthetic hands of different lengths and prosthetic feet of different thicknesses spoke. It wasn’t that strange in a surface city with a 98.9 percent implant cyborg rate.
“Wait a minute. It’s only been three minutes.”
A woman with a prosthetic eye was beaten. She was small and looked like a teenage girl, but like most cyborgs, her ‘real’ age was unknown.
“My mom told me not to work with someone who doesn’t keep time commitments…”
“You are a funny mother. Is it okay to work?”
“Well, you have to eat and live.”
Cigarettes made of flammable synthetic materials burned cleanly after two inhalations. It is a product that an old-time doctor would never recommend, but it did not cause much harm because it was an implant lung. If it became a problem, it was enough to replace the organ. Some credits, but…
“Ah, here you are. You’ve been looking for it for a while.”
After about three smokes in a row, a fixer my mother hates arrives. It was my first time seeing the real thing, but he was a unique man. His height made him look even thinner, his face without machine marks, whether it was bionic skin or rubber skin, and his distinctive features, so he was handsome enough to be memorable even if he passed by on the street. The giant asked in a ferocious voice.
“Is that the Fixer? The former Hexagon?”
“The correct name is the National Security Cyber Response Force, but I like it because it’s short for hexagon.”
The fixer brushed his bangs and grinned. The giant and the girl made suspicious faces.
“What is that expression?”
“No, it’s not the Hexagon image I thought of…”
The Cyber Response Unit, also known as Hexagon, was a special unit created by the Old Human Alliance Government to deal with cyborg soldiers. To the ground dwellers who remember the war seven years ago, it was like a boogeyman.
“Shall I show you?”
Instead of taking out the certificate of retirement, the fixer tried to interfere with radio waves. The solver’s pupils changed to hexagons.
There’s nothing magical about the implanted eyes, but those hexagons were magical. The body of the giant body stiffened, and the girl’s prosthetic eyes became inoperable.
“What are you doing!”
“My eyes! my eyes!”
The fixer made a gesture to be quiet and advised.
“It’s a cheap implant I picked up from Junk Town, so the security is messed up. Since user rights are not set, there is no such thing as hacking, right?”
“Ji, what are you doing now! Release it now!”
The fixer paused for a while until the client calmed down. If I was scared and pulled out a pipe gun, it would be a headache.
“Can you trust Hexagon’s skills now?”
“yes! believe! I believe!”
The fixer’s eyes returned to normal. The giant and the girl were greatly relieved by the recovered machine body. It wasn’t a fuss. Being deprived of free will was the worst fear implant cyborgs had.
“Then shall we talk about work? As I said beforehand, I’m on the expensive side. If you called it with the level of a few canned food, you better apologize now.”
The giant and the girl looked at each other. I don’t feel very good, but that’s why I thought I sang it right. It was an indispensable solution to the god-forsaken city of sin.