Cyberpunk Radio - #106 - Into the Belly of the Beast and Cyborg Guitar

TIMESTAMP: 2013

A State of Fear in the Homeland

In the early evening he ventured from his secure sleeper and set out onto the cold grey thorough fare. He posted the same self adhesive infrared LED flasher on each security observation pole he passed. These little flashers pissed off the cctv monitors big time; like little roman candles burning into the monitors' otherwise shadowed and noir images.

Within a few blocks Tenco was confronted by a lone black clad sec-cop. He had the corporate logo of a common homeland security code enforcement officer. Tenco tried to veer around the man, but found his feet inextricably stuck to the walkway as if by epoxy. If he had not been wearing his tightly cinched boots he may well have pulled his feet right out of them. 'Stay put', the sec-cop growled rhetorically; Tenco was going nowhere- being literally glued to the spot. He looked down and noticed the stasis pool on the pavement- well fuck, he thought, walked right into that without noticing. Momentarily a convoy of flat black carriers rumbled up. A handful of bio enhanced mil-cops detached from the center carrier and grabbed Tenco by either arm. The sec- cop deactivated the stasis pool with a point and a button click of his multi weapon. The Mil-cops unceremoniously shoved him in the back of the bloated black carrier, and the little convoy unceremoniously trundled off. He had time to ponder his fate during the ride; bandying the meaning of 'rendition' and 'enhanced bio interrogation' about in his imagination like two dead corpses that his brain pleaded with him to avoid staring at, but that he could'nt look away from- the morbid attraction of the words was too strong; 'rendition', 'enhanced bio interrogation'.

Tenco was shaken from his private introspection with a jolt as the little caravan came to an abrupt stop. Tenco, flanked by muted mil-cops, was ushered from the back of the carrier to an awaiting unmarked DHS special ops helicopter.

As soon as they had him strapped in, the helicopter lurched up from the tarmc, leaving Tenco's stomach simultaneously falling to his groin and upwelling biliously up his throat. As the helicopter rapidly banked up and over town, Tenco leaned slightly to look out the door.

"Watch it," said one of his otherwise reticent guards absently over the pers-com, gripping Tenco's arm painfully.

Tenco saw the post office, the logo flag on the steel pole in front. The Main Street was lined with ‘shopping’ flags, each brightly colored and sporting a variety of seemingly benign corporate logos. Tenco allowed himself a sliver of self satisfaction- so far so good, next step- into the belly of the beast.

As they continued, darkside came into view: railroad tracks, car-littered yards, shacks. Plumes of sooty smoke rose from smoldering tenements. The ever present security drones circling lazilly overhead, UMV’s lurked on practically every intersection, even from this distance the barrels of their chem cannons, and the flat plates of pain radiators, were clearly and ominously visible.

Like water fleas, he could make out people shuffled about under UV blocking hats and flowing antirad ponchos. They all had a common demoninator- credit zero. They were the brown and the yellow and the white demonized on the nightly monitors. Parasites on society- takers, not givers. Credit less moochers. Tenco wondered to himself- are they really so dangerous? From his vantage they all seemed so helpless and pathetic. What propaganda could he, no should he, believe?

Tenco also made out the familiar rendering trucks making runs through the streets of Darkside, picking up corpses. Cadaverously turgid flesh flailed like grotesque sea anenomies from the open trailer tops as blood and gore oozed down the camouflaged sides, running over the grey words stenciled on the sides in military font: For God. For Security. For Homeland. Tenco's head suddenly filled with darkness like matt black cotton. He passed out. As Tenco slumped forward in his seat, the guards gave each other a knowing look- the sedatives had overcome the prisoner. Next stop- interrogation and, if Tenco was lucky, a thorough deprogramming; If he was unlucky- if anti government, or even worse, anticorporate information was extracted from him, then he would be terminated and recycled, like so many before him� and after.

Size: 14487446
Duration: 14:55
Audio File