In a Land Far Away: An Anthology

Son of the System

by tpmwrites

Prologue

On their twelfth birthday, children are assimilated into the Civil Network: they're fitted for their cerebral augmentations and given their System Authority Identification Codes. However, the most important module is the Progeny Port. This component is strictly controlled by the government so as to prevent overpopulation from overloading the network. The number of Progeny Ports freely offered to families is three, though more expensive plans could be purchased up to a hard cap of twelve.

This left a young Leben Täuschen, born the thirteenth child of the family, in a tight spot. Without another Progeny Port, the boy's father worried for his son's future. He wouldn't last long in this world without access to the Civil Network so Mr. Täuschen sought out a sponsor, someone to be his son's point of access.

He searched high and low and he found many viable candidates, from men who built the system to men who abuse the system. He didn't want to leave his son to the men who instituted the very limitations that drove him to this. Nor did he want his child left to men who flagrantly violate the law. He needed a sponsor who was part of the system, not above nor below it.

Then he found him.

It took longer than he anticipated, but just before Leben's thirteenth birthday, Mr. Täuschen met Sensenmann. Sensenmann was an Internal Assessment Officer within the Hardlines and also a renowned and respected Professor at the university which boasts the greatest coding program in the country. A fair man with a strict code of conduct. Just what Leben's father was looking for. Sensenmann, having no children of his own, not only agreed to become the boy's sponsor, but he also promised to bring him fame and fortune. But all contracts have conditions.

Birth

Leben had been staring at the same line of code for six hours now. It was times like this that made him wonder how the hell the original writers even built the system in the first place; it was so damn complex. With a huff, he got up from the interface and walked out of his apartment. He needed some fresh air.

He watched the city skyline blink awake as the glass elevator dropped the thirty-two floors to the ground. Looks like he accidentally pulled another all-nighter. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the tips, a habit born of stress. The doors slid open and dumped him into the main lobby. After waving a good morning to the groggy front desk attendant, Leben made his way out to the street. Thanks to a macro he developed himself, his eyes automatically adjusted themselves to the new level of light, even adding a few shaders to make everything more crisp. It was a simple and straightforward code, but tedious. He'd actually sold it to a few acquaintances who couldn't be bothered to make one for themselves.

He was walking on autopilot at this point, rolling that difficult code around in his head. His feet led him to his favorite coffee shop out of habit. He wasn't really one for coffee, but he loved the smell. There was something about it that helped him think. He walked past the counter toward the tables, the cute girl behind the register gave him a smile. He smiled back; nice to be a regular.

"Hey Leben! Over here," said a gruff and familiar voice.

Leben turned to see a man sitting at the table nearest the window, a simple black coffee in front of him.

"Oh, hey dad."

"I was starting to wonder if maybe you forgot again," his father said.

He definitely forgot again.

"Don't worry, I said I'd remember this time!" Leben sat down across from his father, "Sorry, I've just been so busy."

"That STREAM program Sensenmann got you in is really putting you through the ringer, huh? You're still enjoying it though, right?"