Threat Sensitivity
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:53 pm
The outskirts of Caelin Hill were lacquered in sprawling fences of steel and orange plastic, cement blockades, and on the ground, unfinished roads and concrete detritus. It was the perennial flow of urban sprawl, a phenomenon that could not exist to the same degree up in Space: a lot of the projects- there seemed to be multiple ongoing- had not been present the last time Levi was in Africa. His flatbed truck made meagre progress through the traffic, which seemed to be its own kind of defense mechanism for keeping people away. "We can't go into the city," some might say, "it's not the right time: too much traffic." Levi didn't really mind, there was nothing else to be doing. He managed to get into the continent without much trouble, thanks to Alivius, and once inside, keeping a low profile was no trouble at all. He was used to not making a scene, for the most part. The core fighter, though, hidden underneath layers of tarps, was a liability that he could have done without; he thought about disguising it somehow, minimizing its clear military design, such that it could still be used.
Levi's friend, Dan, had directed him to a private parking garage where the truck would go mostly unbothered. The bed was wrapped in so many tarps, though, that it would be a real pain to see what was underneath anyway. The garage was small, and Levi was entirely unsure about what its intended use was, but many of the cars were nothing unusual- it likely had some tie to a private company, or something- Dan's dad worked for... A law firm, was it? He was from a wealthy family, in any case, as were most of the circle of friend Levi had made at the African university. You don't go to a place like that unless you're already living a life of leisure, given the state of Earth. Levi would be staying with Dan for the duration of his trip: the apartment was loaded with guests, and at least half of the crowd there was boarding there. Mattresses all over the floor of every room; too hot for blankets, though. After the initial welcomings, Dan informed Levi that there was someone he was meant to meet.
The group from the apartment, the same group from the university Levi had spent some time visiting, was embroiled in a project to re-articulate the present philosophical interpretation of the Earth's contemporary condition. Simply put, they were trying to give the definitive account of what was going on in the world, and the kind of phenomena that governed it. They two of the traveled a little bit behind the rest of those that opted to leave the apartment, catching up and cracking jokes. Levi pressed to find out more about the person he was being led to meet, but was only given vague a 'you'll see' at every attempt. The streets of the city were as busy as the construction projects, but much easier on the eyes. Levi watched the people, the storefronts, the passing vehicles. By now, he was relatively use to the chaotic terran urbanity, but the distance between that and the controlled clockwork of a colony was still palpable.
They arrived at a second apartment, this one a little bit less trendy, and much less spacious. For the paucity of space, though, there seemed to be even more people backed into the unit. They were all crowded in a semi-circle, though Levi could not yet make out the object of the crowd, from the entrance. His own group eventually diffused amongst the others, leaving him and Dan standing near the door. There was a presence, unmistakable, and in an instant, Levi knew who it was he was about to meet- rather, what he was about to meet.
"People call her Aporia Index. She's pretty famous at the university, and something of a local legend," Dan said, though her visage or person had not yet been revealed through the opaque crowd.
"That's an unusual name. Why is she famous?"
"An aporia is an argument that ends in confusion; an index is a sign that stands for a concept or object, but looks like something else- think skull and bones. As for why she's famous... Well... She's a Newtype, she knows when wars are going to happen, it's uncanny. Her predictions come true, too. They study her at the lab, she's not really like a normal Newtype, I guess. I don't really know the full story though."
The two of them went off to the side of the semi-circle, to where she might be visible: a white gold laurel crown adorned her head, with several necklaces positioned on the outside of a flowing cloak, which went down to the floor and was frayed at its edges, she raised her arm at one point and revealed a mass of bracelets.
People were asking her questions, one after the other. She merely responded with a shake or a nod.
"Is she mute?" Levi asked, wondering why she would address complex questions with little more than a motion of the head.
"She doesn't like to speak. Something about having the mind of a fascist and not wanting to verbalize that disposition."
It sounded silly, Levi thought. If that was really the case, she should work on her language, not avoid using it. Was ever she afraid of a fascist head nod? It appeared there was a protest: the group asked her questions on how to proceed. "Should we get violent?" No. "Should we run if we're in trouble?" Yes. They all seemed ready to die for her, which troubled but also mystified Levi. Maybe he was jealous, he worried. Eventually, her line of sight fell upon his, and she looked away, already aware of what the situation between them was.
"Dan, let's go to the protest," Levi said, though he was unsure what it was about, he didn't want to come off as uninformed.
"Like that was even up for debate."
Some of the group headed for the protest, although Aporia and her closest followers seemed to stay behind, for the time being. They were definitely going, though, Dan assured Levi. As they exited the building, Levi felt a second presence, this one more distant... It was coupled with a vague threat- maybe not the object of the sensation, but something around it.
They arrived at the site of the protest twenty minutes before Aporia's group. What had happened was that she was waiting for still more people to arrive at the apartment, so that they could ask their questions. When the pool of queries had been exhausted, she finally left. The group chanted in the streets as they marched. the protest was at the primary CEU consulate, but there were no signs: only chanting, "recognize! recognize!" Aporia took to the front of the crowd, right outside the doors to the consulate, and raised her fist into the air. Then, she walked into the building, with a much smaller portion of the total crowd following her inside.
"Let's follow," said Dan, taking the lead into the building.
Both of them were observers, so they felt a safer than the others must have, but still...
Inside, there was an expansive lobby, with two sets of elevators. One of them was guarded with a metal detector. Aporia ran up to the guards, looking frantic, and began pointing with fervor at the small group.
"Are you okay?" The guard was trying to parse the situation, after seeing the group walk into the building.
Aporia merely began clutching her body, her facial expression looking even more distraught with each passing second.
"Can you speak? What's wrong?"
She continued pointing at the group. Eventually, the guard, one of two, made his way over to the group, while the second one tended to her. In a flash of noise and rapturous action, the first guard had been disarmed, and the second one rushed, and disarmed after a brief struggle. The desk attendent rang a silent alarm, but it was too late: Aporia managed to get into the elevator. Were it not for her jewelry, the metal detector would not have gone off, however. She was no threat of violence, only indignation.
"Come on, I want to see where this goes," Dan said, running after her.
Levi followed, and the two managed to catch up to Aporia before the elevator door opened. The three piled in.
"Aporia, do you know what floor we're going to?" Dan was particularly invested, but Levi didn't really peg him as one of her followers. Then again, it had been some time since they'd seen each other. Aporia pressed the button for one of the upper floors.
"Schwarzer Ritter." She said nothing else; Levi and Dan looked at each other with excitement.
Not a minute later, the door opened, and they bolted down the hall- Levi could not help but to think that Aporia might trip over her cloak. Levi began to grow nauseous.
Levi's friend, Dan, had directed him to a private parking garage where the truck would go mostly unbothered. The bed was wrapped in so many tarps, though, that it would be a real pain to see what was underneath anyway. The garage was small, and Levi was entirely unsure about what its intended use was, but many of the cars were nothing unusual- it likely had some tie to a private company, or something- Dan's dad worked for... A law firm, was it? He was from a wealthy family, in any case, as were most of the circle of friend Levi had made at the African university. You don't go to a place like that unless you're already living a life of leisure, given the state of Earth. Levi would be staying with Dan for the duration of his trip: the apartment was loaded with guests, and at least half of the crowd there was boarding there. Mattresses all over the floor of every room; too hot for blankets, though. After the initial welcomings, Dan informed Levi that there was someone he was meant to meet.
The group from the apartment, the same group from the university Levi had spent some time visiting, was embroiled in a project to re-articulate the present philosophical interpretation of the Earth's contemporary condition. Simply put, they were trying to give the definitive account of what was going on in the world, and the kind of phenomena that governed it. They two of the traveled a little bit behind the rest of those that opted to leave the apartment, catching up and cracking jokes. Levi pressed to find out more about the person he was being led to meet, but was only given vague a 'you'll see' at every attempt. The streets of the city were as busy as the construction projects, but much easier on the eyes. Levi watched the people, the storefronts, the passing vehicles. By now, he was relatively use to the chaotic terran urbanity, but the distance between that and the controlled clockwork of a colony was still palpable.
They arrived at a second apartment, this one a little bit less trendy, and much less spacious. For the paucity of space, though, there seemed to be even more people backed into the unit. They were all crowded in a semi-circle, though Levi could not yet make out the object of the crowd, from the entrance. His own group eventually diffused amongst the others, leaving him and Dan standing near the door. There was a presence, unmistakable, and in an instant, Levi knew who it was he was about to meet- rather, what he was about to meet.
"People call her Aporia Index. She's pretty famous at the university, and something of a local legend," Dan said, though her visage or person had not yet been revealed through the opaque crowd.
"That's an unusual name. Why is she famous?"
"An aporia is an argument that ends in confusion; an index is a sign that stands for a concept or object, but looks like something else- think skull and bones. As for why she's famous... Well... She's a Newtype, she knows when wars are going to happen, it's uncanny. Her predictions come true, too. They study her at the lab, she's not really like a normal Newtype, I guess. I don't really know the full story though."
The two of them went off to the side of the semi-circle, to where she might be visible: a white gold laurel crown adorned her head, with several necklaces positioned on the outside of a flowing cloak, which went down to the floor and was frayed at its edges, she raised her arm at one point and revealed a mass of bracelets.
People were asking her questions, one after the other. She merely responded with a shake or a nod.
"Is she mute?" Levi asked, wondering why she would address complex questions with little more than a motion of the head.
"She doesn't like to speak. Something about having the mind of a fascist and not wanting to verbalize that disposition."
It sounded silly, Levi thought. If that was really the case, she should work on her language, not avoid using it. Was ever she afraid of a fascist head nod? It appeared there was a protest: the group asked her questions on how to proceed. "Should we get violent?" No. "Should we run if we're in trouble?" Yes. They all seemed ready to die for her, which troubled but also mystified Levi. Maybe he was jealous, he worried. Eventually, her line of sight fell upon his, and she looked away, already aware of what the situation between them was.
"Dan, let's go to the protest," Levi said, though he was unsure what it was about, he didn't want to come off as uninformed.
"Like that was even up for debate."
Some of the group headed for the protest, although Aporia and her closest followers seemed to stay behind, for the time being. They were definitely going, though, Dan assured Levi. As they exited the building, Levi felt a second presence, this one more distant... It was coupled with a vague threat- maybe not the object of the sensation, but something around it.
They arrived at the site of the protest twenty minutes before Aporia's group. What had happened was that she was waiting for still more people to arrive at the apartment, so that they could ask their questions. When the pool of queries had been exhausted, she finally left. The group chanted in the streets as they marched. the protest was at the primary CEU consulate, but there were no signs: only chanting, "recognize! recognize!" Aporia took to the front of the crowd, right outside the doors to the consulate, and raised her fist into the air. Then, she walked into the building, with a much smaller portion of the total crowd following her inside.
"Let's follow," said Dan, taking the lead into the building.
Both of them were observers, so they felt a safer than the others must have, but still...
Inside, there was an expansive lobby, with two sets of elevators. One of them was guarded with a metal detector. Aporia ran up to the guards, looking frantic, and began pointing with fervor at the small group.
"Are you okay?" The guard was trying to parse the situation, after seeing the group walk into the building.
Aporia merely began clutching her body, her facial expression looking even more distraught with each passing second.
"Can you speak? What's wrong?"
She continued pointing at the group. Eventually, the guard, one of two, made his way over to the group, while the second one tended to her. In a flash of noise and rapturous action, the first guard had been disarmed, and the second one rushed, and disarmed after a brief struggle. The desk attendent rang a silent alarm, but it was too late: Aporia managed to get into the elevator. Were it not for her jewelry, the metal detector would not have gone off, however. She was no threat of violence, only indignation.
"Come on, I want to see where this goes," Dan said, running after her.
Levi followed, and the two managed to catch up to Aporia before the elevator door opened. The three piled in.
"Aporia, do you know what floor we're going to?" Dan was particularly invested, but Levi didn't really peg him as one of her followers. Then again, it had been some time since they'd seen each other. Aporia pressed the button for one of the upper floors.
"Schwarzer Ritter." She said nothing else; Levi and Dan looked at each other with excitement.
Not a minute later, the door opened, and they bolted down the hall- Levi could not help but to think that Aporia might trip over her cloak. Levi began to grow nauseous.