"Better then human and beyond human" was the slogan so clearly hovering over the extra long table in the boardroom of Omashi Bioworks Enterprises. The faint blue holographic projection flickered lightly as the red and green lettering scrolled over the projected banner. The whole room had an almost hospital type feel about it, white walls with wooden panels running along horizontally the surface with a flawless oak finish. The room was wide and spacious at the entrance point and narrowed down to a point as the walls begin to mesh into window that wraps around to the end.
Brilliant and full of sunlight, the sun's rays that come streaming in like heaven's light illuminate the entire room. At the apex of the window-wall stands the head of the company, Takari Omashi, a middle aged Japanese man wearing his hand tailored silk suit. It was light gray in color with a gold engraved lapels and cuffs. A typical white collared shirt could be seen underneath and instead of wearing a tie; he bore a jet-black ascot that had a pattern of Japanese characters in a deep red. His short crop of black hair was growing dim with grey on the sides, giving him a distinguished and clean-cut look.
Yet his face was not wrinkled or showed signs of being aged, if somewhere to look at him they would swear he was still in his early thirties. Takari liked to keep fit and active, as did all those in his family before, staying young was his obsession and he instilled that on all his relatives. He was a man that felt the only way to stay in the game of business is to remain fit and mentally sharp. And for nearly twenty years, that way of life made him a success.
A soft musical ping sounded in the room, a female voice now followed in a soft manner that seemed almost cold and robotic.
"Mr. Omashi, there is a Blade Runner officer named Derek Mason here to see you. Registered code BRU two, one-six-six-two-four dash five"
Takari remained in his stance near the window as he continued to look of it like a god surveying his kingdom.
"Send him in Alice." The man replied.
The sound of the doors clicking at the other end could be heard as Derek now stepped inside the hospital like boardroom. The doors themselves were made of the same wood as the paneling and looked more like a traditional Japanese designed door that might have existed in ancient times. However these did not slide off to one side, but swung out ward as Mason came in. Omashi turned around with a friendly grin at him and walked towards the large oak finished boardroom table. His hand gestured for the Blade Runner to come forward and meet with him at his end.
"Ah mister Mason. How good of you to come, please come in and make yourself comfortable."
"Mr. Omashi I presume." Derek said as he walked over to shake the Japanese man's hand. "You seem much younger for someone that started so long ago."
"I get that all the time." Takari smiled. "Many have envied my healthy lifestyle and keep insisting that I'm getting cosmetic surgery done to remain youthful. But none of those rumors are true. I stay fit and eat right. After all, the human body needs to keep active if it is to stay alive. Is that not so Mr. Mason?"
"I wouldn't know." He replied back after letting go of his hand and gazing around the room with interest. "The last time I did anything healthy was when I ordered a salad with my hamburger."
The Japanese owner laughed at his absurd answer and watched the officer continue too look about his boardroom.
"You need to exercise my friend. Trust me. The more you stay in shape, the better you will feel and the better you will age."
Mason turned back to look at the smiling company owner and gave a sheepish smirk at his quirky behavior. He then proceeded to walk over to the table and took out ah book-sized device from his pocket. He tapped the center button highlighted in green and the device slowly unfolded as it expanded out of it's compact size.
"If you don't mind sir. I'd very much like to get started on the tests." Mason stated as he cleared his throat. "That is why you wanted me here wasn't it? Not to discuss healthy living, but to do a Voight-Komff test on your new models...yes?"
The Japanese man rubbed his hands slightly and gave a light nod in response.
"I did bring you here for that, yes."
"Well then Mr. Omashi, if you would be so kind as to bring in the subjects for testing..."
The middle-aged owner watched the device unfurl the eye scanner arm as it completed its transformation. This was a totally new Voight-Komff, redesigned and made much more compact for Blade Runners and others that needed to do Nexus model testing. Now they were equipped better to get a full scan of the eye of the subject as it calculated the response better and sent out a signal to trigger the nano-tag embedded on the back of the iris. This is the new standard that all Nexus models had to be fitted with after the government made it law for any company manufacturing the bio-android models.
"Before we start..." Takari interrupted him. "I need to ask you something."
Mason pulled up one of the dark leather chairs that surrounded the table, they were rather plush and comfortable to sit into as he soon discovered. A slight look of surprised pleasure washed over his face as he leaned back and looked up at Omashi standing in front of him. Derek just gestured his hand for the man to speak as he watched him with inquisitive eyes.
"You were investigating a murder last night I believe. At the Rendezvous Noir boutique?" Takari asked in a coy manner.
"Yes." The Blade Runner admitted. "How did you know about that?"
"Lets just say I'm well aware of all functions of Blade Runner activity in New York."
This made Derek suspicious. But rather then dispute the man's claim, he allowed him to continue to speak.
"May I ask you what model it was? More specifically...what generation of Nexus was it?"
"It wasn't Nexus model. She was human."
"Human?" The man's voice twinged as he glared at him. "Are you sure it was human?"
"Yes." Mason said tilting his head back with curious eyes. "A human woman. A rather wealthy old broad that felt the need to be in the company of a Nexus Delta Model male."
"So there was one involved was there?"
"Look, Mr. Omashi..." Derek said getting out of his chair. "This is obviously had nothing to do with you. I mean, if it's a series ten or twelve, she's had it for a good while now. The warranty-contract is more then expired and now all owned on her."
"Perhaps." The middle aged owner replied as he tapped his upper lip.
Warranty-contracts were the new method of handing over full ownership of the Nexus model to those that bought them. It basically and legally states that once the payment transaction is complete, the buyer is now responsible for the action of it's bio-humanoid. Since many didn't argue with this and the fact that it was in such small print on the contract, Omashi was safe from any reprisals from either the police or being sued by the buyer for damages. Takari wasn't interested about all that at the moment, for even Mason could see it in his eyes that he was more interested on the murdered woman. The Asian gentleman let out a sigh as he stared out the windows again and folded his arms together lost in thought.
"We've had some problems with our newer models lately." Omashi admitted. "But until I heard of this new murder, we were led to believe the other accident was just a fluke."
"What other accident?" Mason questioned.
"Understand Mr. Mason, that what goes on in this company is our own business and that we are a self contained corporation with our own security. If you so much as try to have the NYPD sticking their noses into our affairs..."
"There's no need to for you to spill all that on me. What accident are you talking about?"
Omashi gestures to Mason to sit back down in his chair as the Japanese man sits across from him leaning against the table. Derek sits back down and gets comfortable as the owner clasps his hands together and stares at him.
"Two months ago, we had a murder of our own to deal with. A member of my staff was thrown off the top of this tower late one night, our security found his remains quite literally all over the lower lab quarter. The force of the impact shattered him to bits."
"Ouch." Derek reacted.
"He was a brilliant man, one of the few that helped to design the Delta generation of Replicants. Security was suspicious of the death and investigated our staff immediately, we managed to keep it quiet from the city police in order to save face, but the inquiry into the matter came to a dead end."
"Why was that?"
"It was soon discovered that an Nexus Delta Replicant murdered him."
This fact made Derek sit up and raised his eyebrow.
"Why didn't you inform the Blade Runner Unit? A murder of that nature is a clear violation of standard government protocol with your company, is it not?"
"As I said, we needed to keep a low profile on this." Omashi stated as he leaned back in his chair. "Last thing we need is the government shutting us down and taking over the investigation. Anyway, by the time our own inquiry began, the one in question had already been sold and given to its owner. It was quite literally out of our hands, rather then recall the Replicant we simply kept an observant eye on the owner and made sure the model wasn't malfunctioning again."
"And?" Mason asked.
"And nothing." The Japanese man said proudfully. "As far as we know the customer is fine, the Replciant is working without a hitch and nothing further has developed."
Mason's eye flutter about with confusion and soon he leans in onto the table as he looks directly at the smiling CEO.
"I must have missed something in this...what exactly are you trying to ask me Mr. Omashi? Am I here for a real reason or are you just wasting my time with these confessions? I'm not a priest you know...and I'm not obligated to report this to the government standard practices. You've sold the Replicant, it's off the grounds of your factory, and so you have nothing further to worry about."
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Yes, yes..." The man grumbled back at him. "I'm merely asking that you keep an eye out for us. We've managed to stay in business this long because we've corrected the flaws that Tyrell Corporation had in their Replicant models. To have such a lapse in our production line is virtually unthinkable, we need to weed out the weaker Nexus Generations and keep our record spotless. You understand don't you?"
"Mr. Omashi, I understand that you called me here to do a test on your Reps, now if that's not the case then I'm leaving. I don't have time to sit here and tell you that whatever happens isn't your fault. You make the Reps; I just retire them, that's the way it goes. Personally I couldn't care if your company needs to maintain a polished look to the shareholders and the government. I just want to know one thing...am I here to test a subject or not?"
As the two share a moment of silence across the table, Takari looks over at the Voight-Komff machine as it beeps and hums with the sound of power flowing through it. The man smiles again at Mason and nods as he respectfully acknowledges the Blade Runner's need to continue with his job.
"But of course. I do tend to get side tracked Mr. Mason, I apologize." The silk suited man said as he rose up out of his chair. "You are very direct man and I admire that. Yes I have brought you here to test our newest generation of model."
"Why didn't you just test it yourself?" Mason questions. "What do you need me for any way? You guys have the latest in VK as well...so why ask for me personally?"
"We do." The man bowed slightly. "But we need to see what the results are from a test done by a Blade Runner such as yourself. After all, you are more qualified to notice a Replicant when you see one and who other then you Mr. Mason has had more experience in the matter. I chose you because you have an open mind and you have a knack, or a institution shall we say, to know a real human from a Replicant."
Mason was never thrilled to hear such flattery. He hated people being impressed with his talent, if they only saw the carnage and brutality of his daily life, they'd all think twice before saying such things. Instead of answering the businessman, he simply winced and turned back to looking at his machine waiting for a test subject.
"I'll go fetch them now." Takari bowed to him. "I'm very interested in seeing the results myself."
As the Japanese man leaves the room, Derek spins his black leather type chair around to face the large windows over looking the city. His gaze is that of a man lost in thought, the memory of ocean waves crashing on the shores sounds away in his brain as he tires to relax before administrating the long test process on the Replicants. He could here the sounds of the water so clearly, the distant cry of the gulls, the calming feel of being in that place in his mind. As he closed his eyes, he could see the images now joining with the sounds. The sandy beach looked warm as the sun shone down on it, the bright blue sky that seemed to merge with the vast stretch of ocean beyond. This was his rest, his perfect utopia, the only escape he'll ever know.
"Mr. Mason?"
Omashi's voice broke his vision quickly as he snapped out of his deep concentration and looked up to see the man standing in front of him.
"Are you alright?" He inquired.
"Fine." Derek smirked. "Shall we begin?"
Mason turned around and saw three Caucasian brunettes standing near the opposite side of the long boardroom table. They were triplets. Everything about them was identical, their hair, their lipstick, their white business attire...everything. While it looked very pleasing to see these women to him, his mind couldn't help but ask the one question to the CEO.
"Which one am I testing here?"
"All of them." The Japanese man chuckled. "These are the ones I want you to test...but...I need to know if you can spot which one of them is the original. The human template as it were."
Derek turned to look over at the giddy businessman. His eyes full of confusion as he glared at the man.
"The original? You mean one of them is actually human?"
"One? Both? Or all? You tell me Mr. Mason...you tell me."
"This isn't a guessing game Mr. Omashi." Derek states in a firm tone. "Just what are you trying to do here?"
"Please Mr. Mason." He said raising his hand to calm him. "Show me your skill."
Mason slowly spinned back to face the women who were all now taking their seats. Each one smiled at him in a similar fashion, a delightful flirt they all seemed to give to him as he gave a queer smile and breathed out nervously.
"Ok...it's your money Omashi."
Derek Mason tapped the console of his Voight Kampff machine and gave a long sigh. The three brunette women where gaze at him from across the table and looking rather bored. It had been hours since he started the test, a series of long questions for each of them, perhaps too long by the look of Mason's weary eyes. The machine folded back up into the briefcase looking shell and powered down. Derek leaned back in his seat and rubbed the side of his forehead with his two left hand fingers. Omiashi was seated at the other end of the long black table, a curious gaze on his face as his eyes shifted back and forth to him and the women opposite.
"Thank you ladies. I think you can be excused now." Derek stated.
The women looked over at Omiashi as if to get his permission as well.
"Yes...yes thank you. You may go." The Asian man smiled as he rose up out of his seat and bowed to them slightly.
The women stood up in unison and walked out the room. The doors opened automatically as they left and closed. Derek found that rather annoying seeing how he had to open the doors manually when entered. But rather then dwell on that, he continued to sit there with a troubled look upon his face. Takari came beside him and sat on the table, he gazed down at the perplexed Blade Runner and gave a slight snicker in his question.
"Not at what you expected I take it, eh Mr. Mason?"
"Fine work Mr. Omiashi." Derek smirked back at him. "I see that your company is trying to push the boundaries a little too far."
"Tell me then." He grinned. "Which one is the Replicant?"
Derek gave a long sigh and played abit with his chair, turning it back and forth slightly as he tapped his hands together.
"Two." He stated as he continued to act coy. "The first one was easy...she's an older model for sure. Probably one of the original templates for the others."
"Go on." Takari nodded in agreement.
"The other is this year's model." Mason continued. "It took more questions then normal to spot her, she was rather good at answering them and had more control in her emotions."
Omiashi smiled and gave a giggle at his admitting that. The old man was proud of his creations, they were more advanced then Tyrell's kind and smarter then those others for sure. As Takari got up and walked over to the windows in a proud manner. Derek rolled his eyes and turned his chair about towards the man as he enjoyed the view.
"But..." Derek added.
Omiashi turned to face him and glared down at him.
"But what Mr. Mason?"
"But the third one. I dunno." Derek stated as he rose out of his chair and stood in place. "She's not real either I think. She's a replicant...isn't she?"
The Asian man laughed out loud that seemed to echo in the hospital like room setting. He was amazed the Blade Runner caught on to that. He bowed in Japanese fashion to him and clasped his hands together as he continued to giggle and approach him.
"Incredible Mr. Mason. Incredible. What question made you figure that out?"
"None of them."
"Eh?" Takari paused as he gave a puzzled look. "What do you mean none? How did you manage to know she wasn't real?"
"It wasn't any of the questions that gave her away." Mason breathed out in frustration. "It was a hunch."
"A hunch?" The old Asian man questioned.
"Yes." Derek nodded. "By all accounts...that test proves her to be human. But there was something about her that just didn't seem right to me. While any other Blade Runner might have passed her off as a non-replicant...I dunno...I just seemed to have this gut feeling that she was one as well. It wasn't until you acknowledged my suspicions when I knew I was right."
Omiashi's smile creeped back into his face and folded his arms together with confidence.
"So she would have been human to any other but you." He smirked. "Excellent...you are truly the one man I need for this job."
"I beg your pardon?" Derek blinked.
"I needed to test you to see if you were someone I could count on Mr. Mason." The old Asian man said as he started to pace the room. "You were correct in your hunch, that means that you have a keen eye and much more common sense then any other Blade Runner. The one you spotted is one of a handful of proto-type Replicants we've been working on. Nexus Delta's are becoming obsolete...so now we've gone on to the next phase and made a new generation. Nex-gens as we call them."
Derek seemed to be disgusted upon hearing that. He kept his eyes focused on the Asian man as he continued to walk about the room.
"They're more real then anything would could hope to dream of." Takari said with a proud smile and raising his fists up. "Nex-gens will be the greatest achievement in Replicant technology and bring about a new workforce that's leaps and bounds to anything Tyrell could ever create. They'd be as close to being human then ever thought possible! But..."
Omiashi paused and sat down at the head of the table where he was earlier. He gave a long sigh and looked up at Mason still giving him a repulsed face.
"We've had some minor...problems."
"Minor problems?" Mason scoffed. "Wait...wait...let me guess...the Delta model you were talking about before, the one that murdered one of your staff, it wasn't a Delta...it was Nex-gen."
"Please Mr. Mason." Takari stood up suddenly. "I need your help on this."
"Oh I'd say it's well beyond a matter of me helping you." Derek coldly stated. "You've got two models running around out there killing humans. Sounds to me like the government will be on you for violation of the Replicant Manufacturing Code. This becomes their matter, does it not? "
"Give me your answer." Omashi demanded.
"You didn't answer my question." Mason snickered as he leaned back in his chair. "Which makes me think you're in so much shit you don't know how to swim your way out of it. So now you want to use me as your personal replicant problem solver...just so you don't get your own hands dirty."
Takari didn't like the smug answer he gave back. His posture soon became tense and began to scowl at Derek with a demonic nature.
"Do your duty Blade Runner!" Omasihi screamed as he pounded his fist on the table. "I have control over your contracts and of the entire Blade Runner force! One call to the police department and I can make you life a living nightmare. It is your job to hunt these rogues down and retire them. I've asked you to help me...but if you refuse, I shall make certain that you will be retired yourself! "
Derek shook his head and watched his options dwindle. This very polite and harmless individual suddenly became a threatening overlord that had his life by the throat. There was nothing he could do. If Omiashi had his contract and the entire force in his pocket, then Mason was powerless to even turn down the offer. It dawned on him that this was all just a ruse to bring him here and be given an assignment, no matter what.
"Don't threaten me Mr. Omiashi." Derek scowled. "If you want help, fine, I'll do it. My life is already a living nightmare as it is. I don't need your threat of death to make it any more pleasant."
"Then I will expect results." Takari grunted as he calmed down. "Whatever you report to your superior, you report to me as well."
"Great." Derek groaned with sarcasm. "Two bosses to harp on my ass."
Omiashi pulled away from the table and turned to look out the window. The glare of the light made his eyes dim and lifted his chin as he calmed down from his burst of anger. Derek folded up his Voight Kampff machine and gave one last look at the old gentleman. Neither one said a word to each other. The room was now dead quiet; there was nothing left to say as Mason gave a brief sigh and exited the room quickly. As the doors shut behind him, Omiashi walked over to the boardroom table and touched the smooth surface with a worried glare. Derek was right in his assumption. The government will no doubt be aware of the police files that are scanned daily for Replicant infractions. Ever since the Tyrell Nexus 6 uprising, the government has kept a strict eye on manufactured beings and those that create them. It almost harkened back to the days of Environmental watch dogging, one slip up or accident by a company and they'd be in there to shut them down for good. Omiashi had come too far to be stopped by any one government; if this reached the U.N. it could mean the end of everything for him. Derek had now become his only hope to put an end to this 'minor' infraction.
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Out of the grand spire of OBE tower flew a taxi similar to that Derek had taken before. Slightly different in design and with other advertisement decals smattered all over the vehicle. Inside the cab, Mason sat with his head laid back with the Voight Kampff machine beside him on the seat. His head was pounding from the long meeting with Omashi, it seemed he was only recruited to do this evil tycoon's bidding as well as having to answer to the police chief as well. His life truly was hell. If this were any other sort of job, he'd quit in a heartbeat. It was no wonder many BR's were drunks or drug addicts, the stress and crap they have to endure on a daily basis would drive any human to the brink of cracking for sure. Closing his eyes and hearing the sounds of the ocean crashing on a beach shore was for him calming. While it had been faint before, it grew louder now in his head and nearly took him into a state of sleep. The cab jerked suddenly from a cross wind as it lowered back down to the city line of traffic, rousing Mason from nodding off and opening his eyes to see the towers of the city block out the light all round them.
He brought his head back up from the rested position and looked at the scrolling monitor before him. The various ads for 'Offworld Adventures' flashed in a very annoying manner, so much so that he tapped the screen to change the image and put on something less colorful. Up popped the new commercials for OBE Nexus Delta models, it was professional, overly erotic and rather shameless in exploiting these beings as something to be used and discarded. If he thought the last ad was annoying, this was just as equally frustrating to watch. Rather then watch any of it, he sat back and thought about the 'assignment' he was given by Omashi. Next generation replicants on the loose in New York City. It almost filled him with dread as to wonder what he could expect from chasing down these crazed beings.
"How much further?" Derek asked the cab driver while rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Ten minutes buddy." The heavyset Afro-American cab driver answered over his shoulder. "Traffic in the inner core is at a crawl."
Mason sighed and slumped all the way back into his seat. He closed his eyes and drifted off again.
"Wake me when you pull up to the building."