“Firstlight is using Exos Sapiens?” Deleon paced back and forth across the white tile, though it looked blue under the light of the city through the window behind him, taking up the whole wall. The only other lights were a strip of indigo along the floor where it met the wall. A useless waste of light to flaunt a wealth that only existed in his mind.


    “What is that?” Ali whispered to Ralia. “What was the point of that assignment, anyway?” They sat to my right with Tevon on my left.


    Deleon raised an eyebrow at Ali. He turned to me as he tucked his sleek, neck-length black hair behind his ears.


    “None of us know what we’re ever doing.” I whispered. “Deleon’s lack of clarity is one of the shining features.”


    “Care to say something, Petya?” Deleon asked.


    “I was just telling Ali that ‘Exos Sapien’ is the scientific term for what we call jelly fiends on the streets,” I explained.


    “‘On the streets.’” Deleon shook his head. “You should be above that, Petya. You have a nice home here at Osteolyte. For the light’s sake, you even live in the blue district. Don’t pretend to be one of the orange lowlings.”


    I would rather be in the orange district if it meant freedom. His home came at a cost, one that took a toll on us more mentally than physically. Zeg, I wanted a fix. A socitab would feel really nice right now. The false reassurance that all was well. I bit the inside of my cheek. Come on, Petya, teeth aren’t enough so you have to rely upon another addiction?


    “I am afraid I do not understand,” Ali said. His Eastern Arabasian accent became more prominent under pressure. At least we had immigration as common ground, though I knew our stories would differ.


    “You saw what was in there, right? Those boneless skin sacks?” Tevon asked.


    Ali nodded.


    “And?” Tevon said.


    “I–I–”


    “Give him a rest, Tevon.” Deleon stopped pacing in front of Ali. He tapped the back of his own neck to pull some blue light that sat on the tip of his finger like a small sphere until he tossed it into the air. The light expanded into an interface from his neurospace with an image of a pile of human flesh without bones. It extended a hand forward to crawl slowly in place.


    “That!” Tevon pointed at the projection.


    Deleon nodded. “I think he could gather that much, Tevon. Do not fret, Ali. Exos Sapiens, or ‘jelly fiends’ as they are sometimes called, are uncommon outside of the Red District. If seen, they are deported there.”


    “I’m still lost as to why you don’t know what these are?” Tevon blurted.


    Ralia smacked Tevon’s shoulder, though he made no reaction. She rested her hand on Ali’s back. “Don’t forget that he came from an institution that sheltered him from the outside world even more than Deleon does.”


    Deleon glared at her.


    She looked afraid for a moment but winked to cut the tension.


    Deleon smiled. “You’ll see more of the Exos Sapiens soon enough.”


    My nerves ran cold at the thought of the Red District. The lowest light in the spectrum and the lowest point of civilization made up that hellish wasteland.


    “I sure like it here,” Tevon said.


    I turned to Ali and whispered, “Techbone kills you.”


    Ali nodded. “Yeah, I know.”


    “Bones disintegrate, but some people survive. Their bodies live on without their bones, but they lose most of their brains as well.”


    He furrowed his brow. “What causes that to happen?”


    “An excellent question, Ali!” Deleon said as he stepped towards us. “Pay attention now, all of you.”


    I heard the guards in the back of the room take a step forward. Deleon rarely had to use them on us. Since we lost Keiro, we were more compliant.


    “What causes the Exos Sapiens to survive while the others who suffer from techbone perish? The fact that I do not have the answer makes me even more glad that you–we–took out Firstlight’s headquarters. While their research may not be as fruitful as my research into the cure, it warrants our attention.”


    He stood straight with an expressionless face and straightened his buttoned black shirt with a circular collar, eyes still flashing with lights in a dead stare, one that told us all that he was using his neurospace.


    The doors opened behind us, but we kept our attention forward. Deleon had sent a message to call someone in.


    Cut entered the room and stepped between our seats and strode towards Deleon, stopping a few feet away from him, and stared out the window.


    I did not need to ask the others to know that they, too, felt goosebumps in the presence of Doctor Cuttrin, Osteolyte’s chief medical executive, whom we referred to simply as “Cut.”.


    A moment of silence held them all still until Deleon spoke. “I just relayed the information from your successful raid on the Firstlight headquarters to Doctor Cuttrin for him to become aware of our circumstances.”


    Even Cut did not insist on his full title being used. Deleon tried too hard to make his business sound official, when we all knew it was just a front to deeper desires, though what they were remained a mystery. We were the street folk, contrary to his previous statement. Rats implanted with technology to execute his will.


    “Received.” said Cut. He did not move from his position, wearing a blue lab coat that stopped at his waist. His parted brown hair looked even greasier under the blue light of the city.


    “Any insights, Doctor?” Deleon turned to him.


    “Is this it?”


    “Ralia?” Deleon stepped towards her. “Surely you have something besides a few mindshots.”


    “Of course!” Her eyes flashed with a variety of colors. “Sending the pictures over now. Sorry, I couldn’t dig up too much. I pulled what I could from the lab. They didn’t keep much in their net. Most of what I could find beyond the firewall couldn’t be downloaded.”


    Cut and Deleon nodded.


    “Anything?” Deleon asked.


    Cut held up a finger and sighed, letting a minute pass until he spoke. “Too little to draw any conclusions about their intentions with the Exos Sapiens. This is the middle of their research, with no clear end or beginning. They—wait… here we go.”


    “Yes?”


    “Who told you this was the base of their operations?”


    “Why?”


    “You were mistaken. This was a mere outpost. Rather, let me begin again. Yes, you succeeded in eliminating Firstlight, but they are an appendage of a greater parent company.”


    “Zeg, does the President’s company own them?”


    “No, Haven Health does not, as far as I can tell. Still, the President has her hands in every pharma power in the Republic of Capital, especially here in Zingang. What is more interesting is that Firstlight has ties to many of the other ruling parties that make up the Republic’s government.”


    “Which ones?”


    “Entertainment? Pharma? The SocStan laborers? Perhaps all of them, though I cannot draw any conclusions.”


    “Zeg. Well, what now?”


    “This is your company, Deleon. That is your decision.” Cut started towards the door. The blue light on his glasses hid his eyes. “Let me know if you learn anything else that applies to me.”


    The doors opened and closed, our gazes remained forward.


    “Well,” Deleon held his hands behind his back and resumed his pacing. “I suppose you should head out for another investigation.”


    “Uuuuh, I can’t be the only one that doesn’t get what we are investigating?” Tevon said.


    My pride made me reluctant to agree, knowing that Deleon would clarify anyway, but I needed to be a better teammate for Tevon. Ali and I nodded. Ralia shrugged, then nodded.


    “We need you all to work your way into the other governing parties to see where this company stems from. If we here at Osteolyte are to ascend the pharma ladder to the top of the market, we cannot allow the research conducted by Firstlight and their parent company to continue.”


    Tevon offered up another challenge. “But I still don’t see why this company is so important. What is it about their research with the jelly fiends that has you so concerned?”


    Deleon stared at him for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know why they are interested in the Exos Sapiens, but it must not be permitted to continue.”


    I furrowed my brow and was quick to relax my glare. Deleon knew something about the jelly fiends that he was not sharing. Who was I kidding? Most of Deleon’s missions were blind quests for absurd purposes. Deleon wanted Osteolyte to rise. When his company rose, so would his power. Outcompeting Haven Health for the presidency seemed too simple an answer for Deleons desires. I had learned when he first took me in to be compliant and not ask questions. That delayed curiosity was wearing on me.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    “Sir,” Ali raised his hand. “Might we have some time to recuperate before we begin this next assignment? I think my comrades would agree that we are all exhausted.”


    Deleon looked at Ralia, who nodded.


    “We need it,” she said.


    “Very well, but if you go out to see the city, do not exhaust yourselves with leisure.”


    “Thank you, sir.” Ali stood and bowed.


    Deleon offered an awkward smile and dismissed us.


    I trudged after the others from Deleon’s office. Despite my time under his service, I could never figure out how much freedom we had in the city between assignments. I had never seen any sign of Deleon’s observation but was not na?ve enough to think that we were left unsupervised. Even Ralia kept cautious, only going out to eat something other than teeth and the factory produced guk that Deleon fed us, or to take a walk. Even if I wanted to exhaust myself with the city’s debauchery, Deleon gave us too little pay for any sex houses. Sticking to neurolove was hardly close to the real thing, but it was cheap and the exhaustion was not physical. I would be a little zegged up after the night, but Deleon could go zeg himself if he wanted to keep me from living my night with any fix I wanted. He knew about my addiction and wouldn’t give me enough money to pay for the kinds that didn’t harbor as many risks. I would risk the consequences of the cheap stuff because of Deleon’s persistent ignorance. Still, what else could I expect from someone who gave us an addiction to eating teeth?


    Zeg, I craved some molars.


    “Ralia.”


    She turned around as we walked down the hallway. “Yeah, babe?”


    I grinned but lost it as I spoke. “Wanna feed before we get some actual food?”


    “You’re speakin’ my mind, brother!” Tevon said.


    I took a bite of the imitation meat from my wrap and thought about what real meat would taste like. Everything I ate was artificial or grown in a lab. It would always be the same unless I ascended to live in the indigo or violet districts. I couldn’t imagine such a life, let alone one outside of Deleon’s grasp. The hot sauce tasted so mild next to the memory of eating teeth a few minutes before. The sweetest dessert. Sushi from Arabasia’s finest chef. A glass of water after a week of thirst. Sex for the tastebuds. Compared to teeth, all other food lost its glory.


    “Mmh!” Ralia hopped up and down on the bench across from me. She wiped the green sauce from around her mouth and licked it from her hand. I couldn’t tell if she was sincere. Her spirit, regardless of the circumstances, was always elevated. I would have tried to bring her down to my realistic melancholy if she hadn’t been so effective at elevating us. We could all learn something from her.


    Ali looked around at our surroundings, having only taken two bites from his wrap. The taste of teeth was probably the only thing on his mind.


    I followed his gaze. The skyscrapers rose all around us with shades of blue lighting them up with advertisements. Drones flew in every direction, delivering every convenience. The stars looked beautiful, as they always did, since they put more constellations in the night sky. One could no longer tell which ones were real, or even if the sky itself was. The area was filled with people dressed in the indigo of affluence and even some poor wanderers dressed in yellow with their heads hung low. Not everyone wore the colors of their home district, but it was definitely the style, even if it was a guise. None of us wore any colors, per Deleon’s request, but I feared it attracted more attention than it deterred. All black was not the fashion in any district. I held that hope, telling myself that it caused the attention and not our identities.


    “Zeg me,” Ralia said. “Al, is this your first time in the city? Like actually out and about?”


    He nodded.


    “We’re a bunch of shacs. Three months without leaving the hub? Sorry, my guy.”


    Ali shrugged, eyes stuck on the man dressed in a tight green jumpsuit who approached us.


    “Hihow!” He greeted us with a wave and put his hands on the edge of our blue-rimmed table.


    We all turned to look at him. Not even Ralia responded.


    “Nice weather tonight, right?” he said.


    We continued to eat.


    He scratched his throat. “A lot better than it has been. Any of you been outside of Zingang recently?”


    We had, but he didn’t need to know.


    “Why?” Ali asked.


    “Oh, you better be careful pal, what''s your name?”


    “Ali.”


    Ralia smacked his wrist. Tevon and I ignored it.


    “Well, Ali, you need to check the air quality. Some industrial winds are blowing from the west. Say, have you had a cough recently?”


    “A month or so ago.” Ali said.


    The man inhaled through clenched teeth, hissing. “All too soon. Let me tell you, my friend.” He waved for us to make some space for us on the bench, but no one moved. He nodded. “If you don’t protect yourself, your lungs will suffer from those fumes. Tell me, have you ever thought about respiratory smart filters? They are an implant that you will never notice–”


    “Ah, get away!”


    “Zeg off!”


    We all shouted and waved him away. Ralia even tried to kick him.


    The man lifted his hands and hunched as he walked away, stopping at another table with the same pitch.


    “Zegging shac!” Ralia groaned, quickly returning to her cheery mood as she continued to eat her wrap.


    “Wh–what was that?” Ali asked.


    “A drawback to the city,” said Tevon, “that''s what it is. Not all lights and fun.”


    Ali turned to Ralia with a furrowed brow.


    “That’s an actual shac,” I said. “Ever wonder why we call people shacs? Now you know. Synthetic Human Advertisement Citizen–SHAC. Walking advertisement bots that are ten times more annoying than the ads all over every screen.”


    Ali took a reluctant bite from his wrap. I still couldn''t tell if he hated it.


    Ralia wiped her mouth. “Now that you’ve seen the guk of the city, is there anything good that you would want to see?”


    Ali shrugged, a confused glare lingering on his wrap. “I don’t know what there is to see.”


    Ralia lowered her fingers as she listed. “Shops with guk we can’t afford, neurolove hubs, the entertainment district if you want their propaganda—”


    Tevon held out his hand towards Ralia, his eyebrows furrowed towards Ali. With his ocular implant, it was difficult to follow his focus. I doubted that was the sole drawback. “Before we take you out, just how much can you take?”


    “He’s not a child,” Ralia swatted his hand away.


    “But he didn’t know what jelly fiends were,” I said.


    “You see what I mean?” Tevon said. “Ali, we’ve known each other long enough. Come on, tell us how you got here.”


    “Only if he is ready,” Ralia said. She looked at him.


    He pushed the wrap out of the way and looked at us.


    Ralia leaned in. “Do you want us to tell you how we got here? Will that make it better?”


    Ali nodded.


    My breath shook as I inhaled. I suddenly found the city a lot more interesting than their conversation, though my ears and mind remained attentive.


    “I have no problem sharing my shame. Don’t care who hears it.” Ralia looked around, contradicting her confidence. “I ran with some of the high rollers in the entertainment party. Musicians, actors, influencers that do nothing more than broadcast, I knew plenty of them. Want me to name drop?”


    Ali shrugged. “I do not think I would know their names even if you did. But forgive me, I do not understand. If you were so affluent, how did you end up… working with us?”


    “Funny thing, hun. I wasn’t affluent. I lived in the green district, a humble enough apartment on the fortieth floor of some skyscraper. Make friends in the right places and they’ll take you with them. Made some stupid decisions and along the line, I spent my nights crashing in violent penthouses. The problem is, if you leech long enough, your victims start to pick up on your behavior. Some of those entertainers are so shallow that you suck all they have out of them too soon. They tossed me out. By that time, I had stopped paying for my apartment. They took all my belongings in the eviction. I was living fast and didn’t care about what I had at home until everything before me disappeared. No more fancy food, no more food at all. I was prideful and left all past relationships behind when I hung with the entertainers. After them, the people in my life were gone, and I needed quick credit before I would die. Take too many fixes and you forget to eat. Just ask Petya.”


    She giggled, and I made no note of it. I didn’t offend me. It was the truth. Ralia was not for the faint of heart, but I figured that was a given with our job position.


    “The world wants you to produce, Al. It''s always taking. If you have nothing to give, it will toss you away for the next best thing.”


    “So that’s why you joined Deleon?” Ali asked. “Because you could ‘produce’ with him?”


    “Baby, what are you sayin’? I joined Deleon because I couldn’t produce. I sold myself to his experiments and ended up with a zeggin’ appetite for teeth just like you.” She scowled at his confusion. “Al, you didn’t sell yourself to him like us, did you?”


    He shook his head. “I thought you were all handed to him like me.”


    Tevon laughed. “Zeg no! It was my stupid choice to give myself to his medical trials for some quick credit. Worst decision of my life!”


    “You would have been dead in the yellow district without it,” I remarked.


    Tevon laughed as he clapped. “Like I said, worst decision ever! Let’s get back to you, Ali. If you weren’t as desperate as the rest of us, how did you end up with Deleon.”


    “A change of ownership.”


    “Al, babe, what is that supposed to mean?”


    “I–I was owned by another company that did things similar to Deleon, except there was no–um… hunger associated with the implants.”


    “I get it,” Tevon patted the table. “You went to them first in need of some credit?”


    “No,” Ali said. “I was… my home was destroyed in the Arabasian and Medislavia war. Merchants shipped me here to some company to become a tech test subject. I developed techbone after a while and someone in Osteolyte took me from them, I guess to test me like they are testing you. Every other company refused to take me, so they were ready to trash me into what they called the ‘Red.’”


    “Zeg me, I’m so sorry, hun.”


    Tevon grumbled. “No wonder you love Osteolyte. But you actually had techbone? Zeg, so Deleon’s implants actually worked! Guess I don’t need to worry about getting it with future implants.”


    “Don’t be so sure, Tev. At least you’re here with us, Al. We might not have the best life, but it''s still something!”


    “Still don’t know if it''s better than the Red,” I said, turning back to the group. “We have to kill people here daily, but in the Red, most of what you kill to survive can hardly be called human.”


    “What is that?” Ali said. “This ‘Red’ that they threatened me with?”


    “The Red district.” I replied. “Pray you never see it.”


    “You know what, Ali, Pet also came over from that same war, but he just called it the Arabasian war, said the Medislavs were tyrants and don’t deserve glory.”


    “But you two don’t look the same,” said Tevon. “No offense, but Petya is an eerie pale, while you have some color to your skin.”


    “You zegging idiot,” Ralia slapped his shoulder. “That''s because they are from different sides. Ali is Arabasian, his country was destroyed. Petya is–”


    “Medislavian,” I cut in. “That’s why I know they are zegging tyrants.”


    “That''s right,” Tevon said. “You are a refugee, just like him.”


    I shook my head. “No. He’s a victim. I just had enough sense to leave my corrupt government, but that didn’t make it any easier for me.”


    Ralia smiled with one corner of her mouth. “Why don’t you tell Ali how you–”


    “No. I don’t want to talk about it.” I stood. “You all go see the city. I think I need some time to just… let my mind go.”


    I looked at Ali, wanting to apologize for the atrocities committed by my people against his, but the guilt was not mine.


    I had already made a scene and didn’t want to deal with the awkward repercussions. “See you all in the morning.” Stepping away, I waved them farewell. I would make things better with Ali later. I was too dumb to make the connections in our pasts before he explained it. Zingang was a big enough city to attract all races, but I should have known what brought him here.


    “What about you, Tevon?” I heard Ali ask as I walked away. Ali seemed to be as eager as I to avoid the tension by ignoring its presence.


    Tevon’s characteristic deep chuckle almost pulled me back. “I sold fixes. Helped make them a bit, modded ‘em.”


    “What’s wrong with that?”


    “Just like any pleasure, pushing it too far pushes beyond what is legal. Got busted. Lost my empire, lost a few years of my life in prison, then wound up crawlin’ to Deleon like the others.”


    Tapping into my neurospace, I selected the Punk Runner playlist and turned up the volume. I needed some melancholia to turn off the trauma of that eternal war.