Chapter Thirty-Four - The Next Move


    Chapter Thirty-Four - The Next Move


    As cities grow, so do their energy requirements.


    If you were to use coal fire as a source of energy, for example, then a single mega-city the size of N-Three York, or the Texan Mega Slum would burn more coal in one month than the industrial revolution did in a decade.


    Thats why we are so dependent on more reliable and consistent sources of power, and why nuclear, both fusion and fission based, is the main source of power that many cities depend on.


    --Excerpt from The Nuclear Future, 2038


    ***


    It was approaching late afternoon and I was sitting atop the newly built wall around part of New Montreal, legs dangling over the edge, helmet placed on the ground next to me, and wind whipping my hair around so hard I was considering what Lucy would think if I went short.


    I had a plastic container in my mechanical hand, filled with some sort of meaty paste that looked absolutely vile but tasted like how an orgasm felt, and a cheap plastic spoon in the other hand.


    All said and done, it was a nice spot for a break.


    Grasshopper pushed herself up, standing on the very edge without any concern at all. Im off, she said.


    Hmm? I asked. I looked up to her, then back down. The convoy wed escorted was parked down below. The trucks were being looked over and hosed down before being allowed inside the walls. No one wanted any antithesis meat to be brought into the city. You needed a critical mass of the stuff to start growing a hive, at least, thats what I understood, but still. Better safe than sorry. Where are you heading off to? I asked.


    I have evening lessons, Grasshopper said. I dont want to miss them. What will you be doing?


    Skulking about and stuff, I said. Maybe find another samurai that needs help, or check up on Lucy and the kittens.


    Kittens? Grasshopper asked.


    The orphans I look after. You should see them, theyd like you. I smiled up at her.


    So, youre a mommy cat. She chuckled. I might visit. That sounds very cute. But not tonight, I dont think. Goodbye, Stray Cat.


    See ya, Grasshopper, I said.


    I waved her off with my spoon hand, then scooped up another bite.


    She left the area a bit later, and I stayed perched up on the wall, looking over the outskirts of the city. Smoke rose in the distance. I hoped that was a good sign.


    No massive armies of skittering plants were visible, not yet.


    I almost jumped when Myalis spoke up.


    You have an incoming message from Laserjack.


    Yeah? Whats it about? I asked.


    I suppose. Every minute they spend arguing is another where things arent moving forwards though. Its frustrating.


    It took all of two minutes of flying along the length of the wall, avoiding heavy lifting vehicles and the cranes pulling up the massive slabs that became the foundations for the wall. Gomorrah was next to the Fury, arms crossed and a wafting aura of frustration coming off of her to ward off anyone who would dare test her.


    Hey, I said as I jumped off my bike. You ready to go? We can take my bike. Ride together.


    Were taking my car, she said. No negotiating there.


    I shrugged and went around to the other side while my bike parked itself. Gomorrah wasnt lying when she said there were plenty of people arguing with each other, though it mostly seemed to centre around one group.


    Laserjacks on his way to smooth things over, Gomorrah said.


    Huh, alright. So, the current mission, I asked as I sat down.


    Gomorrah started the Fury up, and we took off into the skies, heading northward, if I wasnt mistaken.


    A hive was spotted thanks to some seismographs next to a micro-nuclear unit fabrication plant.


    I raised my hand. Question. Whats a micro-nuclear plant?


    Gomorrah took a moment to reply. You know what a nuclear power plant is, right?


    Yeah. Are you going to say that its that, but small?


    That would be a little reductivist, but not entirely inaccurate, she said. I think someone just sat down and figured out the exact minimum amount of machinery you need to boil water with radioactive products, then build a reactor out of that. Theyre meant to be more efficient than the older, bigger reactors. You can fit a few hundred in the footprint of an old facility.


    Thats neat, I said. And now theres a bunch of aliens next to one of these plants?


    The plant makes those reactors. Its not a power plant. Though I imagine they produce their own power. The hive should be relatively small. Its taken over an old factory complex. I think it was a brick-making place, actually.


    How old are we talking here? I asked.


    Gomorrah shrugged. I didnt bother checking. The hives fully active though. I dont think well be able to land right on top of it.


    Just to be clear. No big bombs, but little ones are fine, right?


    I suppose.


    And no one has any problems with us using B.E.E.S. right?


    I have no idea what youre talking about, Gomorrah said.


    I grinned. Well then, youre going to love these.


    I wondered if Myalis would give me some B.E.E.S. that lit on fire if I paid her a little extra. Just as something to show Gomorrah how much I appreciated her.


    ***