A Case of Time-Travelling Shorts

Passing Time -III

III

Bastian pulled his hood up around his face, covering his blonde hair. Surface side was sickeningly bright, even when the sun took a leave of absence. A cloud of ash would be welcome, nuclear fallout would help to thin the population out too. On the building ahead of him, a ridiculously bright billboard blared a holographic message about bio-chip implants. "Safe, and harmless," the woman mouthed, the words bobbing above her head. He scoffed. Surely his prey wouldn't stoop so low as to inject themselves with government sponsored chips. They were the equivalent of tagging a cow's ear, but with GPS and health sensors. They'd make feeding a real pain.

After leaving his zombie spawn in an appropriate spot, he caught the sound of protesters on the wind, and headed towards the chanting voices. The city had some of the worst surveillance he'd ever seen. He followed the blind-spot lines that riddled the streets, passing by his favorite section, a ten meter stretch bordering a river. He'd only found the blind spots by tracing Big Brother's movements. Peculiarly, the hero didn't had a traceable scent, so he'd had to rely on old fashioned sleuthing. He'd found most of the back alleys, and even a few of the main roads had convenient gaps in surveillance. It had seemed suspicious initially, but Bastian had long accepted it as a tragic flaw of the city. It wasn't easy remaining undetected in human society; he'd take whatever advantage he could wrench back from them.

The chanting led him to a protest at Rowling square. It had cameras  that angled perfectly away from the square's southern side, so that was where he loitered. He imagined his spawn would rise soon, and felt a warm surge in the decaying space his heart had occupied. The square was growing crowded. Of course it was, tonight was the night they would give a robot a soul. Bastian scoffed. The public conference was going to be held in the Imperial Museum, a white hexagon-shaped building, that had been erected in the naturalism era. Protesters occupied the left side of the square, while supporters and conference attendees stood their ground on the right

"AI Not Okay!" The protesters shouted, brandishing signs at the building and opposing crowd. It was the lamest battle he'd ever seen. As if that was going to change their minds. If you wanted to make change, you had to do it with blood or bullets. The protesters wore Halloween costumes, so he slipped into their crowd, his black cloak blending with them. The warmth of the bodies, the thrumming of heartbeats around him; it was intoxicating. He imagined their terror if they discovered what he was.

The wind changed direction, he caught a distracting scent. The scent of salted, flooded subway tunnel and mammal-amphibian. It was strong. He craned his neck upwards. Atop the museum he saw their small forms, camouflaged against the dark rooftop. Bastian's mouth gaped open as the frog forced a small window open, and the pair slipped inside. He questioned his sanity.

"Nice costume, man," a dark skinned youth spoke in his ear.

Bastian resisted the urge to crush the cartilage in the boy's throat. He nodded curtly, as his fangs erupted from his jaw. He grimaced to hide the protrusiong, and coaxed them back into his gums

What sort of losers would mill outside a museum on Halloween? Bastian realized he was among those losers, and hissed in annoyance. The animals had gone inside, and so would he. Big Brother was probably in that building. The chance to spread the superhero's intestines over historical exhibits was too good to pass by. As well as getting even with the animals; he took staking very personally. He'd have to leave the city for another few centuries, but that would be worth it. 

But how would he sneak in? Bastian hadn't carried money for centuries. He would have to steal a ticket from one of the supporters. He began moving to the left side of the square, picking out a target. At that moment, an animal control van blared its horn, parting the opposing crowds. It moved slowly around to the back of the building. Bastian smirked. He was willing to bet an animal controller wouldn't need a ticket to the event.