M077
New
lost star
Connoisseur.
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- Feb 19, 2013
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Citizen tiers were worthless and worth something at the same time. Someone with a 10th level of citizenship was acknowledged by the MTA as worthwhile and worth protection. That was the value. They wouldn't do anything if someone shanked him in a back alleyway though. That was the lack of value. Bolt didn't have to worry about someone coming over and trying to steal or abduct him. He did have to worry about someone trying to kill him. It was an odd line in most respects.
He'd gone over the tiers with Bubbles before this. His conversation with the other senior had just reminded him of his conclusions. As someone that grown up with absolutely no protections he had a very low opinion of the citizenship tiers. Without a nation to call his own he wasn't even really considered a person by the powers that be. People could have enslaved and massacred his family for fun and the MTA wouldn't even have marked it down. Being a 10th class citizen just meant that someone would call it a crime if something bad was done to him.
Apparently the system had meant something at one point. People had wanted to advance in the tiers. They had been prestigious. Now it was a rotting husk held together by inertia and nepotism. 10th was where you had human rights, and it had not been designed that way.
Honestly Bolt felt like his thoughts applied to the MTA as a whole. Oh it was still a shining beacon from the outside. There wasn't even a hint of decay. He could feel it based on how he was moved through the system. The attitudes. The officials had this sort of self-occupied importance that felt off-putting. There was a hint of decadent rot here and there. Nothing obvious, yet at the same time far too much. Age and the inertia from old systems was causing flaws to appear.
The expertly crafted and absolutely masterful robot guiding him almost emphasized that. Sure it made an impression, but it was like showing up in a gold plated suit. It was just a display of power and wealth. The MTA could easily crush him. It could crush his entire sector. Bolt still felt no fondness or respect for the organization. Each presentation made him almost taste the dust and rust from home.
After some walking he was led into a central area and given a few oaths to make. They were old words. Oaths and words from a brighter time, when the MTA had been founded. They were enforced harshly. Yet somehow they also felt like nothing but air. This was emphasized by the briefings he had to go through. All of them were lies about psionics and how it was human exclusive, and other things. Lies upon lies.
About the only truths there was how to advance as Journeyman and how far his 'psionics' reached. The first happened by exploring the limits of his specialty and learning of new mechs. The latter worked across the sector. If he advanced to senior the range would increase more. It brought up more questions than answers really and made the briefings almost worthless.
Why he was thinking these thoughts?! Bolt should have been ecstatic! He was getting enough money that he could theoretically move to a First Rate State! All his dreams were coming true. He was getting money and power at such a young age that it boggled the mind. Yet all he could think of was the corruption and flaws!
"Ug." The young man rubbed at his forehead. What had those oaths been again? Nothing he wouldn't do anyway. Something about this situation was making him horribly cynical and he needed to stop it now before he did something that got him in trouble.
"If you require a break, we have designated break areas with full amenities!" The robot cheerfully informed him and then paused. "One moment please. Switching to delivery mode. A care package has been sent to you and will be arriving shortly. Would you like to visit a break room to receive it?"
Bolt stared at the thing and then nodded. "Yes." Taking a break was actually the right call here.
He was guided to a small room with a chair and a table. Bolt relaxed on the chair and rubbed at his forehead again. That robot's AI was absolutely horrible, which wasn't actually surprising. The MTA apparently had a serious hatred for AIs and certain types of automation. He'd heard a bit about it, but actually interacting with it was surprisingly frustrating. They had a robot worth more than some star systems being piloted by a chat-bot equivalent he could program in an hour. It felt like half his irritation had come from just having to deal with that thing. There was nothing worse than seeing something beautiful marred by intentional flaws.
A few seconds after sitting down the package arrived on his table through a small flying drone. It looked very innocent. Just a secured box. Bolt took a deep breath to press down his emotions and pressed a finger to the lock. It opened with a chime and he decided right then and there he was probably over his head again.
Inside were several items. A round disk object, three smaller and shiny disks, and a comm. Bolt picked up the comm first. It started up on his touch with a pleasant chime.
Bolt couldn't help but stare at the screen. It looked identical one of the comms his family made. Looks were deceiving. This was a first rate comm. It had FTL communications, a range of light years, didn't need recharging for centuries, and was nearly indestructible. The specifications it was rattling off had implications. It was more advanced and had more processing power than all the computers back at home put together! Hell, it could even fly a bit if he needed it to. (Admittedly having it return if he lost it in the room was very nice.)
'Further communications between us shall be on this comm from this number. The inbuilt security will styme most attempts at interception.' The text was waiting and as coldly clinical as always. 'You will be informed if this device is compromised, but assume it is secured from anything short of an MTA or CFA specialist. Inside the box are customary rewards for a journeyman. The batteries will be replaced if they are all used in the course of preserving your life.'
That was actually surprisingly reasonable as a message. Bolt played with the phone a bit and found the guide as to the other items in the container. They were really simple. They were shield generator and batteries. If he had the generator in his pockets or somewhere on his body it would project a shield around him if something tried to kill him. The shield could tank mech-grade fire and would last a few minutes. Bolt had four charges for this shield in total, counting the one already in it.
It felt excessive as a gift. At the same time he couldn't say that he disliked the added security either. They were practical gifts. Even the box was practical. It was a First Rate security box. Nothing short of a First Rate mech could damage it, and getting into required him or people he designated. Hacking or breaching it would require something very special. It was a combination of surprisingly considerate and yet impersonal at the same time.
Ultimately Bolt couldn't actually reject this generousity, so he just began to browse through his messages in an attempt to cool himself down. There were a few. Now that he was confirmed as a Journeyman he was on several automated lists and had access to several services the MTA offered. The catalogs were both expansive and expensive. They had everything he could think of. He also had no desire for most of it. He did have some credits due to being forwarded the first year's salary from his new company. He just didn't want much. Eventually he decided to plan for the future. He made an appointment to do the life extension process early and continued to browse through the messages he'd gotten.
Eventually he found something interesting. The Rim Guardians. A society dedicated to helping the people on the Rim, as in him and his family. They seemed like a natural fit, and they were having a small event shortly.
A few messages to Bubbles and then to the organizers got something arranged. They were holding that event right on the station, which meant at least some influence with the MTA. Bubbles had confirmed they were legitimate too, so Bolt felt a bit optimistic as he made his way there. (After having the box delivered back to Bubble's ship.)
"Journeyman Bolt?" He was met at the entrance of the meeting area by a rather pretty woman dressed in muted colors and possessing a rather unassuming air. "It's a pleasure to have you here. I assume you are here to look into the Rim Guardians?"
"Yes." Bolt answered as he looked around the small office. It looked rather like every other office.
"Thank you for accepting our invitation then! Now, as you probably heard, we're hosting a small and quick event for recruitment purposes. We're calling this a challenge event. You will he partnered up with two other journeymen with semi-compatible design ethos. The goal will be to design a mech for an environment that is as deliberately oppositional as possible. For instance, if you designed artillery mechs, we'd try to place you in a close range combat scenario." The woman explained. "Once the mech is designed we'll assign a pilot and have the mech run through the scenario. You get a small reward of Rim Guardian credits for participating and a larger reward if you succeed."
"Mechs are created using the instant fabrication technology I assume?" Bolt had heard about that particular technology.
"Correct!" The woman responded with a small grin. "Any other questions?"
"None in particular." Bolt shook his head. "Mind showing me where to go?"
"Of course not." The secretary took the box and directed the young man through a door.
To his mild surprise going through the door led him to a completely different area. It was like he'd walked into a park rather than a hallway. Some sort of technology was changing the viewpoints, and he found his steps taking himself through actual grass until he reached a modest looking pavilion with a pair of people already waiting.
"And there's our third! Quite prompt!" One of the men said with bemusement.
"Were you waiting long?" Bolt asked as he walked up to the two.
"No, not at all. Despite how it looks, there's probably a good thousand people here and we were just getting settled in. We're sectioned off through a few perspective tricks." The man said and leaned back a bit. "My you're a tall one. I love the muscles. Very brutalist. You look like you could rip someone's head off and scream at the sky in victory."
"He's not a first rater. That's all natural." The other person pointed out calmly.
Bolt looked the two over. The first man looked, well feminine was the best way to describe it. Flowery, with lacy looking clothing and a hint of makeup. He was still very obviously male, but the look was gentle. The other man, well it was hard to tell. They had a furred hood up and only the chin was really visible. Their clothing was so obviously cold weather that Bolt felt hot looking at him.
"Oh dear, did I commit another offense? If so I'm sorry. I'm quite enamored by the people at the Rim. Living life in that area seems so much more real." The feminine man offered a hand. "Delicee, Journeyman, specialty is the stars and how they move with us all!"
"That sounds intriguing." Bolt answered as he took the hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Bolt, Journeyman and I call my specialty Recycling, Conversion, and Unification."
"And you're actually sincere about your interest." Delicee shoot the hand and turned to the other man. "This one at least gave me a funny look, not that that's easy to tell with his outfit!"
"Gary. Specialty endothermic reactions." Gary offered a glove hand that Bolt shook. "And based on your expression you're wondering about the clothing. It's temperature controlled, I grew up in an ice planet, I'm uncomfortable in anything less than this."
"Pleasure. Did ya expect me to flinch at your specialty Delicee?" Bolt asked the other man.
"Something like that. It's fun mystifying people. Astrology is a funny old religious thing and everyone dismisses it when I bring it up. Then I get to squish them like tiny bugs." The man said with a sigh. "More clearly put, my specialty uses gravitational forces in space conditions to produce interesting effects. Which means I'm going to struggle a lot here."
"Why might I ask?" The young designer inquired while looking around the park he was in. Very scenic.
"We're designing a second rate mech for a ground scenario." Gary informed him. "The goal is going to be killing a few giant animals for trophies. My disadvantage is that we're using limited parts, and none of the exotics I'm used to."
"And that's probably necessary for your specialty to really shine." Bolt reasoned out quickly. "I'm guessing they set it against giant animals to try to hinder me. This is an interesting test." Also a bit silly. He was barely hindered by the animals.
"That's the point! It's a sort of expression of what the Rim Guardians have to do, and a way of making connections between possible members!" Delicee said with a grin. "It is actually quite enthralling. I've not been challenged this way before. A ground battle with such primitive parts? How novel!"
"If you haven't guessed, Delicee is slumming it from a First Rate area. I'm from a Second Rate nation in another sector. Had to move here and don't have much to my name." Gary added on. "I'm guessing you're Third Rate?"
"That easy to tell?" Bolt looked down at himself while wondering what gave it away.
"The clothing is a good sign. It's fabricated and lacks any second rate tells. The hands are the biggest one sign. You obviously make things by hand. You don't do that at Second and above." The hood covered man said with a shrug.
Bolt gave a snort at the deduction. "They're missing out in many ways. Figured out more than a few things that way."
Delicee gave a small laugh. "I don't doubt it. How old are you?"
"Umm." Bolt frowned slightly as he tried to recall his age. "I think twenty two or three? Relativity and FTL make it hard to tell."
"So, not the youngest, but fairly young, and from a third rate. They must have put the people with potential in the same group. I advanced at twenty, and I'd guess that our snowman probably hit it early too." The gravity specialist noted with a contemplative look on his face. "That simplistic statement of your ethos. I'd guess that it understates everything. You don't show a trace of hesitation for making a second rate either. I do believe I'm going to enjoy this." He grinned.
Bolt realized at that moment that the first rate designer had been putting on an act almost the entire time. That was a grin that was more real than anything else he'd done the entire interaction. Gary also suddenly looked a bit focused too.
He'd gone over the tiers with Bubbles before this. His conversation with the other senior had just reminded him of his conclusions. As someone that grown up with absolutely no protections he had a very low opinion of the citizenship tiers. Without a nation to call his own he wasn't even really considered a person by the powers that be. People could have enslaved and massacred his family for fun and the MTA wouldn't even have marked it down. Being a 10th class citizen just meant that someone would call it a crime if something bad was done to him.
Apparently the system had meant something at one point. People had wanted to advance in the tiers. They had been prestigious. Now it was a rotting husk held together by inertia and nepotism. 10th was where you had human rights, and it had not been designed that way.
Honestly Bolt felt like his thoughts applied to the MTA as a whole. Oh it was still a shining beacon from the outside. There wasn't even a hint of decay. He could feel it based on how he was moved through the system. The attitudes. The officials had this sort of self-occupied importance that felt off-putting. There was a hint of decadent rot here and there. Nothing obvious, yet at the same time far too much. Age and the inertia from old systems was causing flaws to appear.
The expertly crafted and absolutely masterful robot guiding him almost emphasized that. Sure it made an impression, but it was like showing up in a gold plated suit. It was just a display of power and wealth. The MTA could easily crush him. It could crush his entire sector. Bolt still felt no fondness or respect for the organization. Each presentation made him almost taste the dust and rust from home.
After some walking he was led into a central area and given a few oaths to make. They were old words. Oaths and words from a brighter time, when the MTA had been founded. They were enforced harshly. Yet somehow they also felt like nothing but air. This was emphasized by the briefings he had to go through. All of them were lies about psionics and how it was human exclusive, and other things. Lies upon lies.
About the only truths there was how to advance as Journeyman and how far his 'psionics' reached. The first happened by exploring the limits of his specialty and learning of new mechs. The latter worked across the sector. If he advanced to senior the range would increase more. It brought up more questions than answers really and made the briefings almost worthless.
Why he was thinking these thoughts?! Bolt should have been ecstatic! He was getting enough money that he could theoretically move to a First Rate State! All his dreams were coming true. He was getting money and power at such a young age that it boggled the mind. Yet all he could think of was the corruption and flaws!
"Ug." The young man rubbed at his forehead. What had those oaths been again? Nothing he wouldn't do anyway. Something about this situation was making him horribly cynical and he needed to stop it now before he did something that got him in trouble.
"If you require a break, we have designated break areas with full amenities!" The robot cheerfully informed him and then paused. "One moment please. Switching to delivery mode. A care package has been sent to you and will be arriving shortly. Would you like to visit a break room to receive it?"
Bolt stared at the thing and then nodded. "Yes." Taking a break was actually the right call here.
He was guided to a small room with a chair and a table. Bolt relaxed on the chair and rubbed at his forehead again. That robot's AI was absolutely horrible, which wasn't actually surprising. The MTA apparently had a serious hatred for AIs and certain types of automation. He'd heard a bit about it, but actually interacting with it was surprisingly frustrating. They had a robot worth more than some star systems being piloted by a chat-bot equivalent he could program in an hour. It felt like half his irritation had come from just having to deal with that thing. There was nothing worse than seeing something beautiful marred by intentional flaws.
A few seconds after sitting down the package arrived on his table through a small flying drone. It looked very innocent. Just a secured box. Bolt took a deep breath to press down his emotions and pressed a finger to the lock. It opened with a chime and he decided right then and there he was probably over his head again.
Inside were several items. A round disk object, three smaller and shiny disks, and a comm. Bolt picked up the comm first. It started up on his touch with a pleasant chime.
Bolt couldn't help but stare at the screen. It looked identical one of the comms his family made. Looks were deceiving. This was a first rate comm. It had FTL communications, a range of light years, didn't need recharging for centuries, and was nearly indestructible. The specifications it was rattling off had implications. It was more advanced and had more processing power than all the computers back at home put together! Hell, it could even fly a bit if he needed it to. (Admittedly having it return if he lost it in the room was very nice.)
'Further communications between us shall be on this comm from this number. The inbuilt security will styme most attempts at interception.' The text was waiting and as coldly clinical as always. 'You will be informed if this device is compromised, but assume it is secured from anything short of an MTA or CFA specialist. Inside the box are customary rewards for a journeyman. The batteries will be replaced if they are all used in the course of preserving your life.'
That was actually surprisingly reasonable as a message. Bolt played with the phone a bit and found the guide as to the other items in the container. They were really simple. They were shield generator and batteries. If he had the generator in his pockets or somewhere on his body it would project a shield around him if something tried to kill him. The shield could tank mech-grade fire and would last a few minutes. Bolt had four charges for this shield in total, counting the one already in it.
It felt excessive as a gift. At the same time he couldn't say that he disliked the added security either. They were practical gifts. Even the box was practical. It was a First Rate security box. Nothing short of a First Rate mech could damage it, and getting into required him or people he designated. Hacking or breaching it would require something very special. It was a combination of surprisingly considerate and yet impersonal at the same time.
Ultimately Bolt couldn't actually reject this generousity, so he just began to browse through his messages in an attempt to cool himself down. There were a few. Now that he was confirmed as a Journeyman he was on several automated lists and had access to several services the MTA offered. The catalogs were both expansive and expensive. They had everything he could think of. He also had no desire for most of it. He did have some credits due to being forwarded the first year's salary from his new company. He just didn't want much. Eventually he decided to plan for the future. He made an appointment to do the life extension process early and continued to browse through the messages he'd gotten.
Eventually he found something interesting. The Rim Guardians. A society dedicated to helping the people on the Rim, as in him and his family. They seemed like a natural fit, and they were having a small event shortly.
A few messages to Bubbles and then to the organizers got something arranged. They were holding that event right on the station, which meant at least some influence with the MTA. Bubbles had confirmed they were legitimate too, so Bolt felt a bit optimistic as he made his way there. (After having the box delivered back to Bubble's ship.)
"Journeyman Bolt?" He was met at the entrance of the meeting area by a rather pretty woman dressed in muted colors and possessing a rather unassuming air. "It's a pleasure to have you here. I assume you are here to look into the Rim Guardians?"
"Yes." Bolt answered as he looked around the small office. It looked rather like every other office.
"Thank you for accepting our invitation then! Now, as you probably heard, we're hosting a small and quick event for recruitment purposes. We're calling this a challenge event. You will he partnered up with two other journeymen with semi-compatible design ethos. The goal will be to design a mech for an environment that is as deliberately oppositional as possible. For instance, if you designed artillery mechs, we'd try to place you in a close range combat scenario." The woman explained. "Once the mech is designed we'll assign a pilot and have the mech run through the scenario. You get a small reward of Rim Guardian credits for participating and a larger reward if you succeed."
"Mechs are created using the instant fabrication technology I assume?" Bolt had heard about that particular technology.
"Correct!" The woman responded with a small grin. "Any other questions?"
"None in particular." Bolt shook his head. "Mind showing me where to go?"
"Of course not." The secretary took the box and directed the young man through a door.
To his mild surprise going through the door led him to a completely different area. It was like he'd walked into a park rather than a hallway. Some sort of technology was changing the viewpoints, and he found his steps taking himself through actual grass until he reached a modest looking pavilion with a pair of people already waiting.
"And there's our third! Quite prompt!" One of the men said with bemusement.
"Were you waiting long?" Bolt asked as he walked up to the two.
"No, not at all. Despite how it looks, there's probably a good thousand people here and we were just getting settled in. We're sectioned off through a few perspective tricks." The man said and leaned back a bit. "My you're a tall one. I love the muscles. Very brutalist. You look like you could rip someone's head off and scream at the sky in victory."
"He's not a first rater. That's all natural." The other person pointed out calmly.
Bolt looked the two over. The first man looked, well feminine was the best way to describe it. Flowery, with lacy looking clothing and a hint of makeup. He was still very obviously male, but the look was gentle. The other man, well it was hard to tell. They had a furred hood up and only the chin was really visible. Their clothing was so obviously cold weather that Bolt felt hot looking at him.
"Oh dear, did I commit another offense? If so I'm sorry. I'm quite enamored by the people at the Rim. Living life in that area seems so much more real." The feminine man offered a hand. "Delicee, Journeyman, specialty is the stars and how they move with us all!"
"That sounds intriguing." Bolt answered as he took the hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Bolt, Journeyman and I call my specialty Recycling, Conversion, and Unification."
"And you're actually sincere about your interest." Delicee shoot the hand and turned to the other man. "This one at least gave me a funny look, not that that's easy to tell with his outfit!"
"Gary. Specialty endothermic reactions." Gary offered a glove hand that Bolt shook. "And based on your expression you're wondering about the clothing. It's temperature controlled, I grew up in an ice planet, I'm uncomfortable in anything less than this."
"Pleasure. Did ya expect me to flinch at your specialty Delicee?" Bolt asked the other man.
"Something like that. It's fun mystifying people. Astrology is a funny old religious thing and everyone dismisses it when I bring it up. Then I get to squish them like tiny bugs." The man said with a sigh. "More clearly put, my specialty uses gravitational forces in space conditions to produce interesting effects. Which means I'm going to struggle a lot here."
"Why might I ask?" The young designer inquired while looking around the park he was in. Very scenic.
"We're designing a second rate mech for a ground scenario." Gary informed him. "The goal is going to be killing a few giant animals for trophies. My disadvantage is that we're using limited parts, and none of the exotics I'm used to."
"And that's probably necessary for your specialty to really shine." Bolt reasoned out quickly. "I'm guessing they set it against giant animals to try to hinder me. This is an interesting test." Also a bit silly. He was barely hindered by the animals.
"That's the point! It's a sort of expression of what the Rim Guardians have to do, and a way of making connections between possible members!" Delicee said with a grin. "It is actually quite enthralling. I've not been challenged this way before. A ground battle with such primitive parts? How novel!"
"If you haven't guessed, Delicee is slumming it from a First Rate area. I'm from a Second Rate nation in another sector. Had to move here and don't have much to my name." Gary added on. "I'm guessing you're Third Rate?"
"That easy to tell?" Bolt looked down at himself while wondering what gave it away.
"The clothing is a good sign. It's fabricated and lacks any second rate tells. The hands are the biggest one sign. You obviously make things by hand. You don't do that at Second and above." The hood covered man said with a shrug.
Bolt gave a snort at the deduction. "They're missing out in many ways. Figured out more than a few things that way."
Delicee gave a small laugh. "I don't doubt it. How old are you?"
"Umm." Bolt frowned slightly as he tried to recall his age. "I think twenty two or three? Relativity and FTL make it hard to tell."
"So, not the youngest, but fairly young, and from a third rate. They must have put the people with potential in the same group. I advanced at twenty, and I'd guess that our snowman probably hit it early too." The gravity specialist noted with a contemplative look on his face. "That simplistic statement of your ethos. I'd guess that it understates everything. You don't show a trace of hesitation for making a second rate either. I do believe I'm going to enjoy this." He grinned.
Bolt realized at that moment that the first rate designer had been putting on an act almost the entire time. That was a grin that was more real than anything else he'd done the entire interaction. Gary also suddenly looked a bit focused too.
