mame - [meym] chapter 1

7/29/2019 Mame - [meym] Chapter 1

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Mame

[meym]

A Novel By

Tyler J. Simpson


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Chapter 1

Watching how the sun rose between the jagged ranges of Olympus Mons and Apex

Regis, Mame thought of time and scale. She was surveying the waning moon which was shying

away from its fullness. The orbs silver shine evaporated into the shimmering indigo of the

atmospheric dawn. A scarlet trumpet red began to grow and unfurl beneath the deep blue in

the alpine sky. Mame was trying to think about how much the world had fired, cooled, eroded

and resurfaced just to get to this moment where she could look up at these particular mountain

crags, fronted against the sunrise, and know that it was an early morning in late August. She

tried to think of time in primordial increments, but the magnitude escaped her. Instead of

continuing to try to figure out exactly what day it was, she turned her head and tried to

memorize the outlines ofthe mans face in the drivers seatjust in case she ever got the

chance to sketch her kidnappers features from scratch.

She stared at him and tried to differentiate his features.

His face was artificially chiseled. His skin was rich and oily, but he lacked any naturally

occurring acme or blemishes. His eyes were too glossy and deeply inset under an over-

broadened forehead. His jaw was so over-sized that it seemed to have been made bulbous for

the sake of mass amounts of mastication. His top-of-the-line braincase must have housed an

implanted neural cortex and reproduced brain stem that must have included a completely

revamped medulla oblongata. At least eighty percent of his higher and lower order brain

functions must have been remotely controlled by ultra-plastic, self-replicating, nano-bots

working in tandem with whatever gray and white meat in his head that the designers couldnt

replace. His persona was somehow classically handsome, and newly altered, all at once. His

heads functionality was probably the mash up work of some artisan surgeon deep

underground in Cedar and the Machinae. That meant he most likely had a self-attaching suit of

Gods Armor waiting to equip the moment that something went wrong.

What did he want with her?

She was a former occupational therapist. A teacher for former preemie head-babies at a

Bordertown pre-school. She lived without struggle off the insurance check that some low rate

Neophyte start-up cut her every week. Mame hadnt officially worked in two years, since she

had lost her husband and son in an anti-Neophyte terrorist attack. Her family had been day

tripping at a local ski resort in the surrounding Phallus Frigidus range towards the east. They

had been honored guests at a Neophyte symposium. She hadnt gone with them and they had

died there. Mame hadnt worked a day since then.


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An enhanced patrol hound could have taken her where ever she was going, but here she

was being escorted by someone landscaped with more technology than the broken Coalition

states would see for another fifteen years.

She laughed.

The man turned away from staring out the mobile unit to look at her. They watched

each other, confused in their shared silence, for approximately ten seconds. His pupils dilated in

one to two millisecond intervals, focusing on all the parts of her body. His eyes were zooming in

and out with constant fluctuations that probed her like tiny pin pricks. She saw herself framed

and reflected within the brown disks of his artificial irises.

Her face was slim, slightly haggard and held every second of her thirty-six years. She

hadnt had any cosmetic surgery since the time she was four, although she could still be called

relatively beautiful. There were things around that darkened her natural beauty; overly soft,

altered-pieces of flesh which constantly surrounded her. Her aesthetic was relative to the

hyper-beautiful bodies of Cedar. She had always been naturallyattractive, but that was no

competition for the fully crafted ladies of the Neophyte capital. Cedar had an uncanny amount

of hyper-beautiful people of all sexes. They flocked there these days and then wrestled each

other for their spot in Neophyte society. Once they had dug their latex nails into the upper crust

of the Cedar elite, they kept cutting away at the improved characteristics in their faces and

curves before their investments could be contorted by time. The hyper-beautiful all became

addicted to the same drug. They were constantly updating themselves, continually chopping

away at their corporal demarcations with a grandfathers axe, until one day they couldnt

recognize themselves anymore. That was the way that they wanted it, Mame supposed,

although it was unnerving for the unaugmented immigrants like her, coming from around the

globe, to take their first step into Cedar and be surrounded by that amount of standardized

perfection about the human body.

Mame had a bristlecone, brown skin tone. Her hair was black, bouncy and thick, except

where it looked like a thousand tightly coiled sprigs of rosemary that had been dyed, woven

together and wetted, around the crown of her head. She had slim ankles and her legs thickened

around her thighs like two waffle cones, while her hips and ass fit into her legs like two scoops

of caramel ice cream. Her waist trimmed into her ribs and her broad shoulders carried her fullbreasts without strain.

She laughed again.

Whats so funny? He asked.


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Youre what is so funnyyou shiny asshole. Which High Hat in the Church Office sent

you to come grab me? You arent exactlythe type of hardware that the local vicar can afford.

She chuckled again.

He shrugged and turned back to face the windshield display.

Exactly, thats what is so fucking funny. Youre elite, Im uncut meat. Unaugmented;

you understand me you piece of shit tin-can? Sending you to kidnap me is like burning a witch

on a bonfire just to get the attention of a nearby moth. Mame said as she struggled to fit her

situation into an image.

Is that how it is? You sure that you arent more witch than moth in that scenario? The

man asked as he tried to construe meaning from her jumbled metaphor.

I am whatever the fuck I am, but a threat by my own merits, Im not. So that means

that Im a threat on somebody elsesaccount. She said clearing her throat and then spitting onthe floor mat of the mobile unit.

Is that so? He said looking at the soiled area of the passenger side floor.

You got something to tell me, irrumator? Then say it. What does all your tech tell you is

up with me?

He glanced over her in a quick scan.

It says that youre highly prone to dramatic flares and outbursts of cursing, and that

makes you come off as kinda of bitch. He said turning back to the road.

Thats pretty precise software you got operating there, asshole. Mame said turning

away from him so that he couldnt see her smile.

It also is telling me that you are probably hungry. Youve been out for three days, but

you were only tube fed up until twelve hours ago. I had you on Sleeping Beauty duty. He said

laughing to himself.

You had me knock out for three days. She shook her head in disbelief but her stomach

growled in acceptance.

Needed to; couldnt keep you on the move, couldnt put a constant watch on you, and I

certainly couldnt risk someone else finding you. Besides it made for a great first impression.

Ive really enjoyed our time together. Up until now that is. He said widening his eyes at her

exaggerated, facial reactions.


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Well if youve had me for three days then you know that Im a blank slate. So, why do

you still have me? She asked while trying to furrow her thin brow at him.

You really got no ideas? He asked with a straight face.

No, my husband and son died strange up in the mountains a couple years backI madea fuss about it to the Neophyte authoritiesI even tried to get some answers from the U.T.

brass, but of course they didnt respond. Ive been sending threating letters to some High Hats

for the last year, but I never heard back from them. I never got any Cease and Desist letters or

visits from the Spiritual Security, so I figured people were just ignoring me. She admitted.

Im not here about any fan mail you sent to the Quorum. He said as he let out a deep

breath.

What are you here about then? She asked while itching the back of her neck.

Immutator Mirabilis. He stated and watched her as the mobile unit drove itself while

the semi-translucent glass in the window display played a news bite about the upcoming

Neophyte conference.

Is that a thing? She queried and twisted her face in disbelief.

Probably. He postulated in a philosophical stare out of the monitor enabled glass.

What do you mean probably? Is it a thing or not? She asked.

Its got a name, but nobody can tell me if its really a thing or not. That is, nobody coulduntil last month, when I got an invite to the Hedonist Festival: Bacchanalia. Max informed her.

Bacchanalia, hun? Mame asked in a whisper.

Yep. He answered her newly reserved tone.

Well, CongradsI guess. I hear those festivals are quite the good timeand that one

has quite a reputation all on its own: orgia, software blitz and rave all rolled into one, right?

Pretty exclusive guest list tobut what does getting your tiny, titanium prick played with have

to do with me? She tried to steer away from the topic of the festivals.

Thank you for the goodwill, but it wasnt my first invitation to one of those grope

festsalthough it was my first time at this one after a couple of years hiatus. Do you know that

it is held at Northern Rim of the Minefield? He asked with a sly eye cast towards her.

The Minefield? Why did they build it so close to the threat of an impending explosion?

She asked genuinely interested.


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They always have these festivals at one Rim of the Minefield or the other. Its a

conundrum: the High Hats cant do that kind of thing in Cedar, but they need to be close the

protection of Spiritual Security. Up north is where the Neophytes have one of their main bases.

Playwise, it really doesnt matter where they set up shop for those things. Nobody cares where

the festivals are held, they are all just happy to be there. I doubt anyone thinks of death untilwell after their last orgy is over. He chuckled at the idea.

Did you? She asked.

I never got a chance to find out. The day after I got to Bacchanalia, it was closed down

by U.T. authorities. He ceased talking to see if she understood what he had just said.

U.T. authorities inside the Minefield? That doesnt make any sense, they never operate

west of the mountainsand even if they did they wouldnt risk upsetting the Neophytes by

shutting down what is basically a Spiritual Security run operation. She stumbled over her

thoughts while trying to say them out loud as fast as she was connecting them in her head.

Thats right, it was strange. What was even stranger was that there were no actually

Marshalls there from the United Territories. The place was overrun with Spiritual Security

personnel who were basically shutting down their own little fiesta on behalf of the secular

state. He informed her.

Why? She continued to press him for an answer.

Youre asking questions like a closer, but Im afraid I cant tell you. What I can tell you is

that I had company waiting for me when I got into my train car going back to Cedar. He

acquiesced.

Who? She asked while realizing that she was leaning closer to him.

A perfect question, it was the Seer of Evil: Bethany Jorgenson. Of course she was also

escorted by a few of the dandy lads from Spiritual Security. He said leaning closer to her.

What was one of the Seers doing in your suite? She asked inching away towards her

door.

A much less perfect question, one that Im afraid I dont have much of an answer to at

the moment. He shuffled his jaw around as he thought.

You must have some idea;what did she want? Mame asked perturbed by his lack of a

decisive answer.


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Im kicking around a few theories, but the one Im clinging to now is that what she

wanted was you. Max said tapping on his knee.

Whatis that what she said...that she wanted me? Mame squirmed in her seat a little

at the idea.

No. Max answered.

What did she say? Mame pressed him.

In truth, she didnt say much of anything. I got the feeling that she wasnt in a position

to tell me what she really wanted, not yet anyways.

Why not, what does one of the three Seers have to be afraid of in this world? Mame

asked fiddling with her wedding ring, which she still wore faithfully.

Everyone has something to fear on this earth. No one has absolute power or safety

guaranteed to them. Even a Seer has some places they fear to tread. Max said shifting his chin

up while speaking abstractly.

Mames stomach curled into itself a little bit. For some reason she didnt like hearing

that. Maybe she was afraid of you? She offered.

Maybe, she has every right to be in theory. He paused for a moment, visibly thinking,

and then continued. But Im pretty sure she was more concerned with those swell boys she

brought with her. She seemed like she had something she wanted to tell me, but she just kept

talking in circles; mostly in allegories. You know much about Neophyte backstory? He tested

her.

Only that they are a new religion, much younger than the heretics of the Royal Crown,

Hedons or even the Tribes. They were organized after the Augustine Holocaust just over about

a hundred years ago, after the restructuring of the world into the Big Three. They sealed

themselves underground with the Machinae for a number of years until the end of the Great

War. I know that when they resurfaced the Machinae had gone through an exponential

evolution and the Neophytes had somehow gone through it with them, and that things being

what they were, the Neophytes became the benefactors on the transglobal stage. Mamespouted and then took a deep breath of enjoyment from being able to exhibit so much

Neophyte related information to her kidnapper.

Thats right, take it from the source, their technology is still parsecs farther ahead than

the rest of the world. He said tapping on his right temple. But do you know much about

Neophyte mythology?


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Nothing except that it seems to be woven out of a pretty schizophrenic tapestry. There

seems to be no chronological timeline of events. Its a mythology that just tells stories about

the past without any coherency. Mame said as she turned away from him to stare out the

window.

Their past iswell to put it straight: they have no fucking past; no real origin story.

Max tripped over his own utterance.

How does a religion make that work? Shouldnt they be the Chosen people or

something? She asked confused.

Yeah, I always thought that there should be some sort of conscious instant of creation.

Some sort of moment where God consciously creates the world with His people at the helm. On

the other hand the Churchs official stance decrees that while they are creatio ex Deus, their

origin story is creatio ex nihilo. He expounded.

What the fuck are you babbling about? Who gives a shit? What does this churchspeak

have to do with me? She screamed while startling herself with her sudden outburst.

He lifted up his right arm and the Gods Armor wrapped around his skin. The armor was

made out of a billion threads of an alloy that seemed both implausibly light and strong. They

crisscrossed around his arm, snaking until they covered his biceps, forearm and hand with a

form-fitting exoskeleton. Once the arm was securely covered, it became both more flexible and

more durable, by inflating itselfwith a pressurized hydraulic liquid. The Gods Armor was

almost its own creature, alive and moving with the man in a symbiotic dance. The man clenched

and unclenched fist to show off his dual flexibility and volition. He moved his biomechanical

hand over to her bare hand, gently touching her fingers. His hand felt almost lighter than air

with the suit armed around it.

This suit uses the energy created from my own body to move me. It is synchronized

with the frequency in my bio-waves; or as some might say when they get cutesy: its

harmonized with my life force. Even if someone managed to rip out of the rod in my back

where I house it most of the time, it would be scrap-metal to anyone else but me. He said

looking past her.

The suit then began to unravel the tiny threads around his fingers and then those

threads began to gently wrap around her knuckles. She felt the suit tightening around her skin,

but she didnt feel panic. The suit tightened and loosened, massaging her in a relaxing pulse

that was in rhythm with her heart. She felt the force of his energy tingling while making its way

up her arm. Suddenly all the energy shot straight to her head and in a blinding flash she saw a

blurry image of her husband and her son. The suit instantly retracted back from her, spiraling its


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I know. He replied.

Yeah, I know you know, asshole, but most people just callme Mamewhats your

name? She said snarling.

Max. Max Lach. He introduced himself.

Well, its a real fucking pleasure meeting you Max Lach. Please dont drug me again or

kill me if you can help it. She requested in a deep cracking voice.

Ill do my best. He said shrugging.

Letshope that your best isnt shit. She said pursing her lips.

They both sat in silence for the next thirty seconds. The car hummed as it pushed off

against the lane under it with the force of its horizontal boosters.

Where we going? She asked turning her head without lifting it up.

Now that youre awake, were going to take you to get a checkup, I have a feeling you

havent gotten one in a while. Maybe we even can fit in a shower while we are there. He said

crinkling his nose.

She raised her middle finger until it was an inch away from his face and held it there for

a couple of seconds before retracting it.

That may be the nicest thing youve said all day. Max said.

She chuckled and then stared out the window as the metallic blue of the sky finished

swallowing up the sunset. They were surrounded by the heart of Cedars inner city. The

buildings soared over head in a lumbering forest of metal, concrete and glass. To the east was

the Conference Center of the Neophyte elite, by law the tallest building in Cedar. To the west

were Cedars tech center and the medical district of Siwa. The mobile unit connected to an on

ramp heading west, while Max and Mame sat in shared silence.

mame - [meym] chapter 1

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