God in his Heaven - Prt 01

OCON Arcology

Director of Internal Security

1000L

From the his office as the Director of Internal Security one was afforded what was without question one of the finest views of the city.

For many he was told often the city was seen as a glowing jewel cut from barren red martian rock. He however had never shared this vision of city ... for beyond the glass he saw only the march of time ever forward into the waiting arms of decay and ruin.

From a distance the towers and mega-structures shown brightly enough but upon closer inspection it was not but human waste and liken to the bones of a decaying corpse laid bare by human teeth. The countless floaters and aircars hovering above it akin to flies in his eyes and beneath that the mind shuttered to think at how deep into the Martian soil the sickness had spread... ever crack and crevice filled to overflowing with maggots and disease. The peoples that called this hell home little better than a cancer themselves. consuming the very foundations of the city.... A cancer that in time would even feed upon itself given circumstance and opportunity.

This of course was not a popular view among the masses and thus one that for the most part he kept to himself.

...

With a smooth motion of his hand the glass changed from clear to dull black the view of the city replaced shortly by an assortment images and documenting and cataloging the events of the night before.

Last night had seen the single largest mobilization of OSEC security forces in nearly a century all thanks to the head of the Shi'Ying Corperation.

A long time advasary the very fact that the man had contacted him directly demanding something be done in response to the rape and murder of his great great grand daughter had suprised even him.

The fact that the initiative was pushed through by a unanimous vote by whole of corporate representative body was even more surprising.

Honestly if Oda had even suspected that the death of one drug addicted corporate whore would have sparked this kind of response he'd of had the girl or one like her raped and murdered years ago.

Scanning through the documents Oda could only Marvel at how quickly things had escalated once the Initiative was ratified. Last night had seen a mobilization of some 5,000 OSEC personnel. Tonight there would be 15,000 with addition support and logistics provided by the Cooperations themselves. By weeks end the Individual Cooperations would be commiting security forces of there own.

his eyes moving from one document and image to the next until it chanced to fix upon an oddly familier and yet alien face and he found himself stopped in mid motion.

Oda found himself lost briefly in the memory's of a happier time in life. The realization coming to him after a long moment that it was not in fact an image of his long dead first wife but rather his youngest daughter.

He found himself smiling if perhaps only briefly. She was much older now ... closer to her mothers age when they had first gotten engaged and dressed in surgical attire standing beside an unfamiliar OSEC Major attached to the Zone 21 units based on the colors.

Anders ... The name appeared summoned via facial recognition programs and entire career history appearing with it.

"Video playback" he spoke softly taking a moment to review the file.

...

"The swamp, really... Thats rich they've been promising that going back five years now."

"It was that dead hooker they pulled out of the pipes last week."

"I remember, Pretty girl with a lot of Corporate regulars as I recall. That said last I checked dead call girls don't merit a full mobilization of the Sector Security?"

" They do if it turns out thier the great grand daughter of one of the Corporate council moonlighting for fun...."

...

"Stop... " Oda ordered softly.

And there it was ... That hint of a smile that just barely touched her lips. That smile he had fallen in love with so many years ago and that had always been the problem hadn't it ... the fact that the girl had looked so much... too much like his former love but than how could she not given that she was herself a genetic duplicate of the woman right down to the base pairs. A choice he himself had made at the moment of her conception and a choice that haunted him still it seemed.

Even now he could see her in the girls eyes. In the upward turn of her nose. The very line of her face. The same in almost every detail and yet different because while her appearance was that of her mothers the mind at work behind those dark eyes was his.

"Director, Your 10:30 is here."

The image disappeared with an absent minded wave of his hand.

" Of course, do send them in Ms Carter. "