Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 12:44:35 -0500 From: alexzander Subject: New World Apprentice - Chapter 2 Disclaimer: This story is complete fiction. None of the characters or scenarios are real. This story involves intergenerational sexual relations. If this is not your thing or it is illegal for you to read such things then don't read it. If you enjoy reading all the stories on this site, please consider making a donation to Nifty: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html Feel free to email me at alexzandermurot@hushmail.com ............................................................................. Chapter 2: 2148 - Apprentice Day Sunlight crested over the horizon and washed into the port city. Solar Barges were docked and unloaded their cargo from neighboring FreeCities. From his industrial white flat, Darwin 4ster slowly opened his eyes and took in the expansive view. He uncurled from the warmth of his bed and brewed a strong blend of coffee from the plains of Ethiopia. Sipping and savoring the drink, Darwin gave a grin as much for the coffee as for the city he loved and his position at ICR. As Deputy of Port Copenhagen in Greater Denmark, Darwin took great pride in his position and his ability to help his FreeCity and its people. Having been in his position for nearly ten years, Darwin was about to be assigned a new apprentice today. At 38, it was hard to distinguish age with the common use of Med Nano-Tech. Cellular Repair Bots and numerous other advancements gave greater longevity and fewer ailments as were more common in the Dark Years and earlier. Darwin finished his coffee, dressed and signaled a car for pick up. Reviewing the days agenda on his ReD (Retinal Display) he descended to the street level as the GPS vehicle silently pulled to the curb and opened the door. After thumbprinting the glass sensor and choosing his destination Darwin sat back as the car glided off to ICR Headquarters. -- Eleven year old Max 2ven was nervous as he sat quietly in bed. The dark sky began to soften into hues of purple then warmer orange glows as daylight broke and streamed into his room. Sunlight bathed the soft curves of his face and he closed his eyes letting the warmth envelop him. Max was still as he contemplated his first day as an apprentice with the ICR. He remembered the day he was called to meet with his regional educational commissioner who told Max that he was chosen to be a part of the apprenticeship program and would soon be placed. That day has now arrived and Max knew what a huge honor it is to have been chosen. The sun rose and so did Max. Out of bed, washed and dressed in his new gray uniform Max headed to the kitchen. His mother Emily had breakfast waiting for him and she was beaming with pride as he came to the table. She placed a large cloth over Max as he sat down. "Mom! What are you doing?" Max asked, bewildered at what was going on. "There is no way you're going to get a crumb on that uniform. Certainly not on this day." Emily replied with a smile. Max seemed to agree with a little nod of his head and ate up his breakfast keeping an eye on the time since a car would be around soon to get him. Shortly after breakfast was done, a two-toned chime sounded indicating the arrival of the car. Email looked down at her son and hugged him longer than an eleven year old might want but today Max didn't mind so much. He felt a sense of pride and confidence in that hug and he was glad to get it. Holding her son at arms length Emily spoke, "Well my son, this is your big first day and I'm proud of all that you've accomplished. I'm sure you'll do great today and impress all those fancy ICR folks". "I hope you're right mom." said Max, "I'm a little nervous but I know I'll do good at this". He straightened himself up and smiled. "I'm sure you will" his mother replied. The car for Max sat outside the large complex of flats comprised of upcycled shipping containers. There was limited need for large scale inter-continental shipping these days and ports around the world had an excess of these steel framed boxes. A wall of these containers were stacked on each other at varying depths creating a unique block featured building that provided a modern industrial feel. Each flat was built using multiple containers with the interior walls cut away to give larger living spaces to its inhabitants. Along with new advancements in the field of Architectural Biomimicry, interior systems included the latest in mushroom based wall insulation and orga-lectric power distribution from the rooftop PhotoSynth Panels. Max bounded down the steps to the car and thumbprinted the exterior glass panel. The car door hissed open and Max hopped in. As the car sped off toward the ICR Headquarters, Max was very much looking forward to this new opportunity. He liked the maturity he felt heading off to a job. Of course he knew this was as much a learning experience as it was work. Everyone grew up with stories about the important work being done in the ICR and many students had the chance to meet with older apprentices who would come to speak with groups of students who were being considered candidates for that path. -- Darwin exited at ICR Headquarters and the car sped off toward its next scheduled pick up. The vast staircase that abutted the street and lead to the entrance of the building was built in seven distinct sections, each with a different stone material and each with a slightly different angle. The stones were quarried from the seven major FreeCities in the region that made up Greater Denmark. A creature of habit, Darwin headed up the same dark stoned flight of stairs he always used and entered the wide four story building. Like with much of the new architecture in this part of the world, a creative use of old and new tech are often used in unison to create a unique element within buildings. Here at ICR Headquarters, a magnificent glass elevator sat at the center of the structure in a large open atrium. The elevator operated with an ingenious old style water wheel that ran a series of exposed gears and was situated behind a curtain wall of glass. A computer system calculated the activation of the wheel and an intricate weight and pulley system raised the elevator to the appropriate floor as a myriad of gears spun for all to see. Though it might seem like an overly redundant structure for a four-story building, the statement was a celebration of old and new technologies joined together for a useful task. Following the Dark Years, this culture chose to embrace what had come before them and what they developed today. This mutual respect of past, present and future gave the people a wide range of artisans and craftspeople of unparalleled skill. At the end of a long hallway on the second floor Darwin reached his office. Behind the door was a large open space with exposed steel columns and a polished cement floor. Various regions were separated by ionic particle glass that could frost up for privacy when needed but otherwise remained clear. The ceilings were twelve feet tall and these glass partition walls ran the full height creating an impressive visual statement. Darwin gave several morning greetings to his colleagues and moved to his work space. He sat behind his desk, a curved cut of steel that was once part of a naval vessel long decommissioned. The steel was purposely left patinated with aged rust and sealed under a clear, scratch proof coating. Sensing his arrival, the quantum computer database winked to life on the wafer thin glass screen and began to populate visuals and reports from the various inter-FreeCity tasks that awaited his attention. Darwin gestured to the file that contained the data on his new apprentice, Max 2ven. The information was thorough, providing personal details about Max's life and his education history. Max 2ven was the only son of Edith and Lars 2ven. Lars had been recruited as part of a mining operation for rare minerals from near Earth asteroids. This was important work since so much of Earth's rare minerals were mined out of existence long ago and their properties were so vital in technology. Though crucial, the work kept Lars away from the home for a few years at a time due to the travel and the refinement process that he was responsible for. Edith was an Educational Leader who worked with a group of students in their ongoing learning. The review of Max indicated an intelligent individual who possessed all of the common skills expected of an apprentice under the ICR. He showed great aptitude for problem solving and was said to "...turn on strong leadership skills when given the opportunity to take charge of a situation". Interesting, thought Darwin. Physically Max was slightly short for his age group, had a perfect weight/height ratio, black hair, a pale skin tone and striking blue eyes. For a moment Darwin was somewhat captivated by the photograph of Max. There was something about the facial features that drew Darwin to the image. He couldn't quite pinpoint the reason for his allure and shook it off as he tried to focus back on his work. -- Max arrived at the main entrance to ICR, exited the car and took in the view of the building. Though he'd passed by the structure several times, this would not only be his first time inside, but his new daily destination for years to come. He admired the master stonework that was done on the stairs that lead up to the entrance. With the varied levels and color palettes he paused to examine the paths before heading up. After a moment of thought he chose a brilliant white stone staircase that narrowed midway up and crossed through a dark stone path before continuing to the top. Upon reaching the entrance he faced a bank of twenty wooden doors each of which were intricately carved with a history of how Greater Denmark rebuilt itself from the ruins of the past. Equidistant stanchions stood near the doors with glass thumbprint pads to allow access and notify those inside who had appointments with guests. Max stepped up to one of them and thumbed the glass. A quick green glow pulsed on the surface and a set of doors hissed open. Max stepped inside and stood awestruck at the vastness of the lobby. The grand glass atrium allowed a flood of light into the space and the clockwork looking elevator bank was a marvel to behold. Max's ReD activated, indicated a path to follow up to his appointment destination and he began to walk toward a steel staircase. At the second floor the directions lead to the right down a long hallway with various doors lining the left side and a bank of glass overlooking the main lobby to the right. Sensing his arrival, the door slid open along a track system. The room was bustling with activity and chatter as workers busied themselves with whatever kept them busy. A young man approached, "Max 2ven?" he asked. "Yes, that's me!" Max replied in a chipper voice. The dapper office worker lead Max into the main office and toward a glass partitioned room, "This way please". The two entered the space and a man with short cropped blond hair stood up to greet the two while the escort presented the guest, "Director 4ster, this is Max 2ven, you're newly appointed apprentice". Darwin eyed his new ward and felt momentarily speechless, which was quite unlike him. Max extended his hand "Hello Deputy 4ster, I'm Max and I'm very honored to be here working with you...sir...I mean learning with you...from you...sir". Max suddenly felt ridiculous. He had an IQ higher than many adults and he sounded like he couldn't even speak the language. The office worker grinned and stepped out as Darwin came out from behind his desk to shake hands, "Yes, of course Max. No need to be nervous". Max shook hands with Darwin and then stood at attention with his eyes forward as if he were in a military training camp. Darwin stood quietly for a moment. The awkward silence seemed to go on too long and Max darted his eyes over to the deputy who had his arms folded with a grin on his face. Max grinned back. Darwin broke the tension, "You know this isn't the army right?". Max let out a breath of air and let his posture relax a bit. Chuckling slightly Darwin offered a chair for Max to sit in and then returned to his own seat behind the desk. "Well Max, it's good to have you hear with us at Inter-City Relations. I'm sure you have a lot of questions but let me start by getting you familiar with some of what you should expect. Like I said, we're not the military but we do have some strict protocols and expect you to adhere to the rules and regulations we set forth as you begin your apprenticeship." Max seemed to straightened up in his seat slightly after that line. "We will be uploading some data to your ReD for you to review over the next few days so that you can begin to familiarize yourself with current projects we are working on and how you will begin to get involved and learn from them. One of your most important tasks will be helping coordinate some of my appointments and coming with me to various meetings and events. As an apprentice you should know that you are always on call. My schedule is incredibly busy and therefore your schedule will become incredibly busy. Immediate needs may also require me to activate a port-jump." Max's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at hearing about a port-jump. He knew that teleportation systems were used frequently enough by limited government groups but he never imagined he might have to do it himself. The idea was part cool and part freaky. From what he learned about the tech, people who have been authorized to use it have a small device implanted under their skin near their spine. The device essentially "catalogs" the host at the molecular level and is in constant contact with a quantum computing mainframe. When the jump occurs, there is a receiving platform that calls in the specific person by having all their molecules jump through time and space and instantly reassembled at the host station. Max was pretty sure there was a lot of math and science in that process that he probably missed when he and his fellow student group spent a day with a scientist who was one of the pioneers in developing the technology. In any case his facial expression said what he was thinking and Darwin noticed as much, "Don't worry Max, teleporting is used all the time in the upper levels of government and we've never had an incident of failure. It allows us to get to visit the other FreeCities for important gatherings and move urgent supplies when needed. I've used it many times myself. One of the most important things I need you to remember is to always notify me anytime you are unavailable. And I do mean any-time. Though this may seem awkward at first, you'll get used to it and it really only requires a sensor tap to send a notification. If we need to do a port-jump your implant will signal you with a ten second warning and then you'll be jumped. One of the most awkward jumps was an apprentice who was...shall we say...in disposed on a toilet seat right when we signaled a jump." Max guffawed loudly and quickly put his hands over his mouth to stifle the outburst. Darwin grinned, "Yes, well needless to say it took him a while to clean the receiving pad afterwards". Max scrunched up his face, "eww, that's pretty gross". "So you see the importance of a notification" Darwin smirked. "Yes Sir!", snapped Max. "Deputy or Deputy 4ster will be fine Max". The Deputy spent the next hour reviewing a variety of details like always wearing one of his gray uniforms so that he can easily be identified by staff, where he would be set up when he needed to access the data system and a few upcoming events that he should prepare for. To some people all that talk may seem boring but Max was excited to learn about all the things he would be doing. Being here in ICR was a big deal and he wanted to make sure he did a good job. After the conversation ended, Darwin brought Max back to the man who he first met who turned out to be the Deputy's personal assistant, Janus. Janus would be taking Max to get his implant put in. "Oh. Right now?" Max asked. "Yes, not to worry it's a quick and painless procedure but it's best to get it taken care of now" Darwin smiled as he spoke and it gave Max a sense of assuredness. The Deputy set them off and Janus and Max headed to the far end of the fourth floor. The walk took longer than expected and Max started to realize how large this building really was. The two arrived at a glass door that greeted them with a low h-u-s-h noise as it opened. A tall woman approached with a smile and spoke with a curious accent that Max placed as somewhere in the Central African Kingdom, "Ah, so this must be Max, the new apprentice for our Deputy. I am Misa." Max's hand barely made contact with Misa before she whisked him off down on corridor and Janus had to half shout a "see you later!" as Max craned his neck back and waved. Misa brought Max into a stark white room with a white bed-like table. "Remove your shirt and lie face down here" Misa said as she gestured to the table and moved over to a panel system that came to life as she faced it. Max had a slight hesitation but then removed the top part of his uniform and approached the bed-table. He hopped up and saw an open are near the front where he assumed his face would rest in. Max kept his breathing steady and relaxed as he faced the floor and closed his eyes listening the subtle movements of Misa who was making preparations in a laissez-faire manner like she'd done this a thousand times (and maybe she did?). In his silence Max saw the friendly face of Darwin who bolstered him into knowing that everything would be fine. Misa's voice caused Max to open his eyes and see two shoes at the floor, "The procedure will not take long Max, we are simply going to make an incision here near C1 and C2" he felt a warm hand touch his back near his neck, "and place the PortJump BioTracker. This will work to constantly identify your precise spatial location as well as to nanotag your body at a molecular level. Once we activate it you will feel a slight tingle along your back. Almost like a sudden shiver. This will be the device latching into a nerve bundle and merging with your system. Simple right?". She chuckled before Max could respond and he felt a sharp pain on his back for just a moment, "Ow! What was that?!" Max yelped. "Sorry, I like to distract the patient for that part. We have to briefly deaden the area to begin the incision". Max grumbled a bit but felt no other discomfort. After about twenty minutes he felt the telltale shiver down his spine that Misa spoke about and the procedure was at an end. After his skin was spray-grafted closed, one would never know any procedure had been done. Max was allowed to stand up and put his uniform shirt back on. "Very good. Now are you ready for a test run?" Misa gave a slight smirk as she spoke. Max was a bit taken aback, "Wait. What? You're going to port-jump me right now?" "Of course. You'll need to experience it and we have to do a standard first run anyway" Misa spoke without looking at Max and her hands flew over a variety of symbols on a Sense-Glass tablet. Max shifted his head to the left and right as if trying to find someone else to say something to when he suddenly stopped. A low beeping noise was coming from somewhere behind him and as he turned to identify the source, it seemed to follow behind him. He soon realized it was the implant making the noise and as he started to say "Hey that's the impl..." the beeping hit it's tenth beep and Max felt a shock of cold around his whole body like he was dunked in a tub of ice water for a split second. In that same instance there was a sharp light that seemed to curve in from the corner of his eyes and the ambient sound of the room suddenly pitched down like someone starting to talk in slow motion. He heard a loud crack or clap sound and his eyes suddenly saw a totally different room. It was not as bright as the other room he was in and before he could look around, the entire room went sideways. Feet hurried toward him walking on the wall. No, wait. I'm lying on the floor, Max thought. Someone helped him up and then Max started to realize that he was being spoken to, "...feeling ok? Hello? It's Max right?". "What? Oh, yes, I'm Max and I'm the new apprentice for Deputy 4ster" Max started to regain his focus and saw a person who may have been in his late adolescence (though with all of the medical nano-tech who cold be certain) smiling and speaking to him, "Hi, I'm Travis Br8ward. Welcome to the Port Copenhagen ICR Jump Station!" Travis beamed a smile like he was greeting tourists to a tropical resort. Looking around Max saw an array of incredible technology, a humming quantum computer station and an array of light pulsing, honeycombed shaped objects that formed an arched canopy above his head. Max turned to Travis, "Um, but I live in Port Copenhagen". "Yes I know. You're in the basement of the ICR building. We just jumped you down from the fourth floor". Travis helped Max off the low platform and gave him some water to drink. After a few minutes Max seemed more stable and hoped that he wouldn't be going through that again anytime soon. He thanked Travis for the water and made his way through a tunnel of cables and cooling tanks to a staircase that brought him back up to the second floor. Upon arriving it took him a few minutes to realize that he was on the opposite side of the building and he started walking at a quick pace back around to where the Deputy's office was. He entered the office, greeted Janus and told him the story of everything that he just went through. Janus nodded and shared with Max that he went through the same procedure a few years back and remembers it all too well. The rest of the day was focused on more introductions and procedures and Max headed back home just as the sun began to sink into the western horizon. It was quite an experience and Max was excited to share the events with his mother when he got home.