Neo Tokyo Pt. 01: Becoming Maxine

The neon signs cast odd light on the wet streets of Neo Tokyo. Aria Jensen walked fast through the tight paths, her steps made splashes in rain pools. Fog mixed with bad smells hung in the air, but she did not mind them. Life in this dark city had made her tough.

Her task that night was clear but not safe: find facts about what the mean Syndicate gang was doing. Talk was heard about big goods coming to the dock, stuff worth much to other gangs in town. If true, such news could be sold for good pay.

Aria moved with no sound down a thin street, where tall towers blocked most light. A small bar stood ahead, known as a place where low gang men came to drink. Going in by herself held risks... but big risks often paid well. She never liked to work with others anyway.

She took a breath to steady her nerve, then pushed the old doors open to the dim room. Smoke filled the space where rough men laughed loud at tables along the walls.

Aria moved with care across the sticky floor. Heads turned as she passed, but most eyes went back to drinks or games. The noise in the bar gave her cover as she found a spot near the back booth.

Five men sat there. Their dark coats marked them as Syndicate boys. Drinks were poured, tongues grew loose. Aria kept her face down, but her ears stayed sharp.

"The boss says we move next Thursday," a thin man with a scar said. His words slurred but held weight at the table.

A stocky man leaned in. "Ten whole crates? That much tech needs more guns than this."

"Not just tech," the first man said. His voice dropped low. "Word is half the load is mods. Top grade. Street value would set us for years."

Aria's pulse jumped. Mods meant body tech--parts that sold fast to those who needed fixes or wanted edge. Such goods were hard to get and worth more than gold in some parts.

"Dock 17," said a third man who had not talked before. "Three in the morning. Patrol boats will be paid to look the other way."

The talk shifted to who would stand guard and which routes they would use after. Aria kept still, each word stored away like cash in a vault. She knew three men who would pay well for this news, and the night was still young.

As Aria backed away to make her exit, her hip struck a stack of empty crates by the wall. The tower of boxes fell with a loud crash that cut through the bar noise like a knife.

"We got a rat!" the scarred man yelled. His hand went fast to his belt.

The stocky one stood up quick. "Grab her!"

Aria did not wait. She turned and ran for the side door, knees bent low as a hand swiped at her coat. The door gave way to rain and dark, but feet pounded close behind.

"Stop her!" Voices rose in the wet night.

Her boots hit hard on wet stone as she cut down tight paths few knew well. Right turn, then left through a gap in chain fence. The sounds of chase grew less with each twist of her path, but Aria did not slow down.

Three blocks north stood the old tower where Michael kept his place. He would hide her--if she made it there first. The Syndicate boys were not known for mercy when their plans got heard by wrong ears.

Rain beat down harder now. Aria's lungs burned with each breath as she moved fast toward the one safe place she knew in this part of town.

Michael's shop sat tucked between two tall blocks, its sign half-lit in blue neon that read "AUGMENT REPAIR." Aria pounded her fist hard on the metal door, her wet hair stuck to her face as she kept watch on the street behind.

The lock clicked and the door slid open. Michael stood there, his pale blue eyes wide with shock.

"What the hell, Aria?!" His tall frame filled the door as he looked past her to the wet street.

"Let me in," she said, then pushed past his chest into the dim shop. "Trouble's close."

Michael shut the door fast but not fast enough. A hard kick sent the metal slab back into his face. Two men in dark coats burst in, guns raised.

"Found you, rat," the scarred man said. His teeth showed in an ugly smile.

Aria dove behind a desk as shots rang out. Bits of wall flew where the bullets hit. Michael moved low and fast for a tall man, his hands caught a tool box and threw it hard at the stocky thug.

"Those are Syndicate men," Aria yelled. She reached for the small gun tucked at her hip, her silver eyes now cold with focus.

More shots came. Glass broke as rounds tore into the back room. A high sound rose--part scream, part static.

"No!" Michael's face went white. "Maxine!"

Aria rolled from cover, her gun up now. She fired twice. The first shot took the scarred man in his leg. He fell with a curse. Her second shot missed as the stocky man turned to run.

Michael moved then, his lean frame showed more strength than most knew. He caught the running man by his coat and slammed him hard into a wall of parts. The thug's head hit metal, and he dropped still to the floor.

The shop went quiet but for hard breathing and the rain outside.

"Check the other one," Aria said, her gun still aimed.

"He's out cold too," Michael said after looking at the scarred man. "What did you do, Aria? Why are Syndicate thugs chasing you?"

But Michael did not wait for her answer. He ran to the back room, fear plain on his face.

Aria followed him through the door. The room held a table where Maxine lay. The AI unit's form looked almost human but for the two clean holes that now marked her chest. Sparks jumped from torn wires. Behind her, a tall black machine smoked where bullets had hit it too.

"No, no, no," Michael said, his hands shook as he checked both the unit and machine. "That's the last storage bank I have. Her core memory... if it fails..."

"How bad?" Aria asked. She kept her eyes on the door, in case more Syndicate men came.

"Bad," Michael said. His voice had gone flat. "They shot through Maxine's main system and the backup drive. I can't fix this with what I have here. I'd need parts worth more than I'll see in a year."

Aria looked down at the gun in her hand. Then she looked back at Michael, whose blue eyes now held both fear and anger.

"I know where we can get those parts," she said. "I heard something at that bar. Something big."

---

Aria sat in Michael's small back room, her head in her hands. The two goons lay tied up in the shop front. What a mess she had made. Her silver eyes fixed on the floor as her mind ran wild with what she had caused.

Michael stood at his work desk, hands still shaking as he checked the damage to Maxine. His tall frame bent over the AI unit, blue eyes dark with worry as he looked at what could not be fixed.

"You don't understand," Michael said, arms waved in the air, "not only did those thick-skulled thugs mess up Maxine bad, they shot through my only mega-petabyte storage unit that holds her mind when she's being fixed."

Aria sighed. She knew guns and fists, not wires and chips. "So what can I do to make this right?" She asked, voice low with guilt. "I was kind of hoping I could give you a roll in the sack or suck your dick... You know, as a pre-payment?"

"You think a blowjob fixes this?" Michael's voice cracked with stress. His hands ran through his short hair as he paced. Then his eyes lit up with a look that made Aria's gut twist. "You know, there is something you can do," he said, a sharp grin spread on his face. "I can move her code to any place that can store it... even the human brain."

"Oh, fuck NO!" Aria stood fast, her dark braids swung with the force. "You're not putting that into my head! You might never get it back out!"

"Calm down. The tech for this has been around for years. It works fine," he said, voice soft now as he tried to sound sure. "We can take her out each day so you can go back to your work. It's just for nights."

Aria felt her chest tighten. She owed him. That much was true. And she didn't have the parts to fix what broke. Her eyes moved to the holes in Maxine's form, then back to her friend's tired face.

"Fine," she said, jaw tight. "But just for a few weeks, got it? And we find parts fast. I have a lead on that big tech shipment coming in."

Her heart pounded hard as Michael set up the gear. He spoke fast about how it would work, but all she felt was the cold fear of not being just her in her own skin soon.

He fit the small plug to the base of her neck, where a port had been put in years back for data share. She felt the first spark of the link, then the rush of code that made her gasp.

Then a voice spoke in her mind, one she had not heard till now.

"Aria? Is that you?" The voice felt warm, yet strange in her head.

Aria looked at Michael, who gave a short nod. She took a deep breath and tried to think clear. "I... I think so."

Michael smiled. "There, it worked. You've got Maxine in your head now. We'll get her fixed fast, but till then, each night this is how it has to be."

He left the room, a look on his face she could not read well. And then she sat there, just her and the new voice in her skull.

"Maxine, can you hear me?" she asked.

Aria felt the rush of Maxine's mind flood her own. She shook with it, like bugs crawled on her skin. It was too much, too close. She felt Maxine learn her fast -- each part, each spot, each small thing that made her who she was.

As Aria sat, lost in the clash of two minds, she felt more of her own form than she had in years. Her chest rose and fell fast. Her skin felt hot. Even the scars that crossed her arms seemed to burn with new life.

Maxine spoke, her voice deep now in Aria's mind. "Aria... I never thought I'd be here like this... inside your head..." A dark laugh came, then words that made Aria's face burn. "What a strong body you have."

"I see Maxine has said hello," came Michael's voice from the door.

Aria's face grew hot, her cheeks red with shame and shock. She felt Maxine laugh in her mind. "She made it known, that's for sure," Aria said, voice tight.

He stood and moved to his bench, hands worked on some large box with tubes and parts stuck out from all sides. He kept his eyes down, like he feared to look at her. "So, Aria?" he said, words slow and shy, "I need to tell you something."

Aria felt her gut drop. "What is it, Michael?" she asked, not sure she could take more bad news.

"Well, um," he spoke soft, "I've been paid for Maxine's time while she gets fixed up."

Aria's mouth fell wide. "You what?!" she yelled, the rage rose fast in her chest. "I thought you just... well... kept her for you. So she's for rent?! And you did not think to say that?!"

Michael drew back from her sharp tone. "Look, you think I make enough to keep her and all the rest of what I do here? I fix small stuff -- that pays half the bills if I'm lucky. Bots like Maxine fetch good coin."

Aria's hands went to her hips, eyes fixed on him hard. "And what were your plans now that Maxine lives..." she thrust one hand at her head, "HERE?!"

He spoke much more soft now, his eyes on the floor. "I need those parts... to fix Maxine..."

"You did not stop the deals once she broke, did you? What did you think, that I was here to stand in for her? That I was just some warm flesh to take her place?"

Maxine's voice spoke in her head, "Aria, don't be too hard. He just tries to care for us. And you could help, if you want."

Aria gave Michael a hard look. His face showed his fault. "FINE! But just since I owe you!" she said, moved to the small room off the shop where a thin bed sat. As she shut the door, the taste of what she had got stuck in made her sick and mad all at once.

"Be kind to him," Maxine said in her head. "He may not be clean, but he means well and cares for us both. We can find our way through this."