Nano Blu(From the book "1st Tales of
Shattered Earth")Rainbow Jack pulled
the stinger from his chest pouch. His head was changing
shape again and he felt terminal time must be upon him
soon. "Can't take another time slot in green" Rainbow
Jack mumbled to himself, as he flattened himself against
the graffitied Roughtown wall. "Gotta end the
part-time tick-tockers." He finally spoke at
person-volume level."Today,"Today had suddenly become the
important driving force and motivator, "and that'll end my
head re-shaping." The throngs thronged and the
digi-dirigibles glided overhead, but not really overhead,
mere cyber vehicles they, for strong techno about mass
meaningfuls. Rainbow Jack became aware of the Roughtown
wall through his Armasace, his one-time social signal
turned element armour. "Now," and he stalked, through a
momentary break in his personal fog, making it safe to
cross without fear of collision.The brown and criss-cross
loomed into view and the familiar fog descended again."Nyeach".A tear. But no; false alarm.
"No, can't do the wet cheek thing." His stomach hit throat
and his head ballooned again, threatening to expose the
inner pink softness to the airborne Toughtown filth as
one-time Jack the Joyman headed up the cracked gum-spotted
ochre. He touched the cool slime, vertical, greasy in his
palm, disgusting reminder of all that was Toughtown
experience and the brown opened. Stained, purple-yellow
under his runners and he was at the queue for lesser grey
experience. Flat brown ahead, upright plasti-boxes with
bright flat fronts, screaming techno light at the seated
Lesser Greys at their terminals. Terminal? Benign
incarceration threatened. Others. Ignore. More Toughtowner
types. Some newbies, some long-termers, real Toughtowners.
He jumped the queue. Red complaints threatened, but warm
brown smothering irritations sufficed. Hand slipped into
Armasace, stinger in hand, familiar, much rehearsed
scenario beckoned.Stinger semi-pulled, cocked.
Primed.Time."Green?The strained Lesser-Grey looked
at him indifferently, with an air of looking at filth.
"Green?" It said again. "I'll sting your soft pink"
Rainbow Jack griefed. "Green?" said the Lesser-Grey
yet again. "There's a queue. You Green or not?" Rainbow
Jack fingered the stinger, paused, but instead took the
Green from the other inner pouch of his Armasace. The
Lesser-Grey illuminated it under technolight and sleepily
brief-checked the screen for conflicting input. Slamph.
Old techno hit the Green. "Next." Rainbow wept internally
and quickly turned on his heel as a voice said "Hear tell
there's some Yellow coming soon." "What?" "Hear tell
there's some Yellow coming in from the void soon."
Repeated the voice.RAINBOW glared and fled the
greybox, heading for known personal Yellow. "Yellow?"
Suddenly he was back in personal Yellow, he wondered quite
how he'd got there so quick. Stripping off his Armasace he
slumped into his expressor couch, once a widely owned
artifact amongst the throngs but now outlawed as an item
of individual statement. He put the gloves on, slipped
them up his arms, donned the helmet and sang. He sang the
songs of beginning, the Solstart, origin of all, saviour
of Greens, saviour of even the Lesser-Greys. But not of
the Top Greys. The Top Greys would have to be eliminated.
Some day. It was to be his planned big creative, his one
act before re-start day. Sol would forgive him, it'd
forgiven millions over the aeons, so he could allow
himself this one base act. "Slay a Greymind." Hey, he
liked that. It had a nice ring. "Slay a Greymind', "Slay a
Greymind', "Slay a Greymind', "Slay a Greymind.' He spent
a good half timeslot singing it over and over to himself,
a mantra of loved intention.That night as visual puss
descended on Toughtown a new graffiti appeared on the
rough, Toughtown wall."Slay a Greymind, free us all."That made him feel good. But
he'd only partially spent his angst. He knew he'd never
really slay a Greymind. He hadn't the base in him to do
it.New colour splashed the wall.Red.Peter
Andrew Jones(From the book "1st
Tales of Shattered Earth")
