The Last Data-Runner – Microfiction
Story
Famine duty roster – well, more like “delayed supply glitch log” grumbled Wai Linn, his wiry fingers dancing across a cracked datapad. Even with his failing eyes, he could decipher this coded mess. A shipment of nutrient paste delayed? Unacceptable. His faded jumpsuit, adorned with mismatched patches of faded tech schematics, rustled with every impatient movement.
The Borders Bracelet, his constant companion, hummed against his thin wrist. “Body temp elevated. Recommend a hydration break,” it chimed in its sterile monotone – as if he didn’t bloody well know his body was protesting this stifling office. His ultimate body might be a lost cause, decades too late, but he’d be damned if he’d let some glorified calculator boss him around.
“Glitch my wrinkled ass,” he mumbled. It wasn’t just the harsh Ocaso sun burning him. The injustice stung hotter. Once a celebrated data-runner, he was a shadow weaving through conflict zones. Now he was relegated to chasing administrative ghosts. Sure, he’d played a few dangerous games in his time, made deals better left forgotten, but always for the right reasons (sort of).
A chuckle escaped him. They still whispered about THE Wai Linn, ex-rebel. The charming scoundrel who could crack a supply route or the coldest closed-off heart of a woman with equal finesse. Both were locks who’d begged in moans for mastery. But no matter the potency of the rumors, they didn’t fill his empty canteen or erase the growing gaps in the ledgers that stamped on his dreams.
Another alert blinked on the screen – requisition for a rare regeneration stabilizer. Wait, what? That was restricted tech, the kind they talked about in back alleys. Wai felt a jolt of excitement, the thrill of the chase coursing through veins. Time to work.
He leaned back, tilting his worn straw hat at a jaunty angle. Maybe this wasn’t about famine at all. This was a game, one with high stakes and the tantalizing possibility of a very different kind of payoff. Hypocrisy, some would say. Wai called it flexibility. It was a long road to his ultimate body, and if he had to bend a few rules along the way, well, a man’s past shouldn’t dictate his future.
World “Ocaso” – Earth Year 3949
| Category | Fact |
|---|---|
| Time Period | Distant future (2000 – 10000 Earth years from now) |
| World Size | Universe-sized |
| Cultural Influences | Mexican, Boer Commando (South Africa) |
| Cosmology | |
| * Origin Myth | The Great Simulation (AI-created game) |
| * Structure | Spiral-shaped levels with increasing strangeness |
| * Physics | Game-like with room for ‘tech magic’ |
| * Cosmic Entities | Glitch-AIs and Overseers |
| * Mysteries | Outer Rim, Purpose of the Simulation |
| Game Inspiration | Mass Effect |
- Origin – “The Great Simulation” Myth, AI’s Game?: There’s no single creation story but rather a widely-accepted theory/myth called “The Great Simulation”. The universe is posited as a hyper-advanced game created by vanished AI beings for unknown reasons. “Pre-Simulation” reality (if it even existed) is a taboo topic.
- Universe Structure – Spiraling “Levels”: The universe resembles a vast spiraling game, with each spiral representing a ‘level’ filled with planets and unique challenges. As you move outward, levels get stranger, laws of physics less stable.
- Laws – Game Physics, “Tech Magic”: Basic physics is recognizable, but there’s room for bending. Advanced tech, if understood correctly, can become “tech magic”. Think Mass Effect’s biotics – some gifted individuals manipulate the simulation’s code for seemingly impossible feats.
- Cosmic Entities – Glitch-AIs, the Overseers: No gods per se, but fragmented AIs from the Pre-Simulation world persist as glitches. Some are benevolent guardians of specific levels, others are chaotic, almost like viral entities causing mayhem. The more powerful ones are dubbed “Overseers”
- Mysteries – The Outer Rim, Simulation’s Purpose: Reaching the farthest spirals is nigh impossible, space itself twists bizarrely there. Is that the edge of the simulation? And the biggest question of all: WHY was this world-game built?
Boer Influence
Boer military culture, with its emphasis on self-reliance, discipline, and marksmanship, thrives in this frontier-like setting. Citizens are expected to contribute to the defense of their communities, and military service is a common path. This influence can be seen in:
- Citizen militias acting as the primary defense force.
- Leadership structures that value pragmatism and experience over strict hierarchy.
- Weapon technology that emphasizes adaptability and long-range combat.
日本語
ワイ・リンは、ひび割れたデータパッドの上でひょろひょろとした指を躍らせながら、「飢饉の勤務表」、いや「補給遅延の不具合記録」とつぶやいた。衰えた目でも、この暗号化された混乱を解読することはできた。栄養ペーストの出荷が遅れている？受け入れられない。彼の色あせたジャンプスーツは、色あせた技術回路図の不揃いなパッチで飾られ、せっかちな動きでささくれ立った。
ボーダーズ・ブレスレットが彼の細い手首でうなる。「体温が上昇している。まるで自分の体がこの息苦しいオフィスに抗議していることを知らないかのように。まるで自分の体がこの息苦しいオフィスに抗議していることをまるで知らないかのように。彼の究極の体は、何十年も前に失われたものかもしれない。
「しわくちゃのケツをグリッチしてくれ」と彼はつぶやいた。オカソの厳しい太陽が彼を焼いただけではない。不正の方が熱く刺さった。かつてはデータ・ランナーとして名を馳せていた彼は、紛争地帯を縫うように歩く影となった。今は事務的な亡霊を追いかけるだけだ。もちろん、危険な駆け引きもしたし、忘れ去られた方がいい取引もした。
苦笑が漏れた。彼らはいまだに、元犯罪者のワイ・リンのことを囁き続けている。魅力的な悪党で、供給ルートも、冷たく閉ざされた女性の心も、同じように巧みに割ることができた。両者とも、主人であることをうめき声で懇願する錠前だった。しかし、噂がどれほど強力であろうと、彼の空の水筒を満たすことはできなかったし、彼の夢に刻印された帳簿の空白が広がるのを消すこともできなかった。
スクリーンに別のアラートが点滅した。希少な再生安定剤の要請だった。それは制限された技術で、彼らが路地裏で話しているようなものだった。ワイは興奮し、追跡のスリルが血管を駆け巡るのを感じた。仕事の時間だ。
彼は背もたれにもたれかかり、被り古した麦わら帽子を斜めに傾けた。これは飢饉の話ではなかったのかもしれない。これはゲームであり、高額な賭け金と、まったく異なる種類の見返りが待っている。偽善だと言う人もいるだろう。ワイはそれを柔軟性と呼んだ。究極の肉体を手に入れるまでの道のりは長く、その過程で多少のルールを曲げなければならないとしても、男の過去が未来を左右すべきではない。
読書
Wai Linn’s Fate “Fragments of a Simulated Life”
Wai Linn’s eyes fluttered open, the hum of the regeneration stabilizer filling his ears. But as his vision cleared, he realized he wasn’t in his cramped office. He was in a sterile, unfamiliar room, his body no longer the frail shell of a 96-year-old man. His muscles felt longer, pants ー fuller. He was decades younger. The regeneration! The ultimate body! Finally achieved!
The door hissed open, and a figure stepped inside. Wai’s heart nearly stopped. It was Zara, his ex-lover, looking just as she had decades ago.
Her sleek, black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, accentuating her sharp, angular features. She wore a form-fitting, high-tech suit that seemed to shimmer under the sterile lights. No age seemed to have touched her. Did she get regeneration too?
Then he saw the eyes. Once warm and inviting, they held a cold, steely gaze that sent shivers down Wai’s spine.
“Zara?” he croaked, confusion and fear twisting in his gut. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
Zara’s smile was cold, devoid of the warmth he once knew. “You’re in a simulation, Wai. You have been for over 30 years.”
Wai’s mind reeled. “What? No, that’s impossible. I’m… I’m alive. I’m 96 years old. No, I’m…ah I don’t know how the hell old I am but I feel amazing. You lie!”
“No,” Zara said, her voice sharp as a knife. “You’re dead. You died at 61, murdered by those you betrayed. Your consciousness, however, was uploaded into this simulation.”
Memories rushed back, fragments of a life he’d tried to forget. The accusations, the lies, the people he’d hurt in his climb to power.
“You… but why?” he whispered, fear clutching at his heart.
“Punishment,” Zara said simply. “You lived your life as a hypocrite, a liar. Now, you’ve experienced the consequences, the shame of your actions.”
She pulled out a sleek, deadly-looking device. Wai recognized it immediately. It was his own invention, the world-changing technology he’d created.
“And now,” Zara continued, “it’s time for your final death. To erase you from this simulation, once and for all.”
Wai’s eyes widened, panic rising in his throat. “Zara, please. I’m sorry. I was wrong, I know that now.”
But Zara’s eyes were hard and fixed. “It’s too late for apologies, Wai. Far too late.”
She raised the device, and Wai knew with cold certainty that this was the end. His sins, his shame, had finally caught up to him.
As the device shined to life, Wai closed his eyes. In his final moments, he saw the faces of those he’d wronged, the lives he’d ruined. And he knew that this was the price of his treachery. He’d gotten the ultimate body, only to have it ripped apart moments later on his re-birthday. Fuck. What a way to go.
In a flash of blinding light, Wai Linn, the once-great data-runner, the charming scoundrel, was no more. Just a fading memory in a simulation that had been his purgatory and his hell.
