In the outskirts of the shining city of Mechanica stood the husks of abandoned industry. This area was one of the few remaining shadows of the obsolete manufacturing technology of the 21st century; long unused and fallen into a state of drab, grey disrepair. At the same time, this place was one of few outside the shadow of the towering skyscraper of the SiliCan company in the center of the city, and it served as home to a certain group who loathed the company’s ubiquitous presence: the Naturalists.
“SiliCan cars, SiliCan houses, and even SiliCan people!” shouted a voice from one of the many abandoned warehouses. “The SiliCan company has spread its dark tendrils of influence through every facet of our society. For hundreds of years, its products have sprouted up like weeds in every sector, and they even dare to mock nature and God by creating artificial people! This is intolerable! For too long, SiliCan has been grasping more and more control of our world. They crossed the line one hundred and fifty years ago when they released artificial children to replace the very citizens of our society with their own abominable creations! Unacceptable!”
“Unacceptable!” chorused the audience of fifty, raising their fists into the air as they faced the man who stood, his stern and chiseled face twisted with rage, behind a podium.
“But this ends tonight!” said the man as he swept his eyes, a pale and piercing blue, over the audience. “Tonight is the night we raid the SiliCan headquarters, steal the production logs of their artificial abominations, and blow the place sky high. Once we achieve that, we can hunt down every last one.”
“Yes, Captain!” the audience responded.
“The time to move is upon us. You all know the plan, now commence the operation!”
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“Yes, Captain!” shouted the impassioned crowd as they hastily moved to a convoy of armored vehicles lined up in the back of the warehouse. As they moved, they grabbed the semi-automatic rifles stacked in the racks along the walls, strapping on cargo belts with pouches filled tightly with cartridges and grenades. The men jumping into the vehicles, four each, was soon followed by the harsh revving of combustion engines before the warehouse doors ground open with a screech. Then they were off, all twelve vehicles growling into the darkness, their headlights glaring and cold in the unlit, abandoned streets as they headed towards the sparkling city whose lights glowed several blocks away.
Back in the warehouse, the captain and two others remained.
“Combustion engines sure are loud enough, not to mention that terrible exhaust. No wonder the technology was abandoned.” said a young, slender man with brown hair gelled into an immaculate hairstyle above his slim face and brown eyes. As he watched the headlights fade into the darkness, his glasses glinted under the illumination of the fluorescent bulbs in the warehouse, and his expression remained cold and mildly annoyed.
“We send forty-eight people to die acting as a distraction and that’s all you have to say, Maxwell? What a bastard.” replied the gruff voice of a bald man bulging with muscle as his black eyes glanced at the one who just spoke with disgust.
“I see no reason to dwell on a necessary sacrifice, Jack.” Maxwell responded in an imperious voice. “In fact, your irrational sentimentality is--”
“Enough,” interrupted the captain, Crain, his cropped black hair complementing his cold expression to stop Maxwell mid sentence. “Change into your disguises. Maxwell, check that your computer is operational. Jack, perform final checks on the explosives. Keep in mind that a lot is resting on this infiltration.”
In short order, the three men undressed before putting on matching suits with fake SiliCan ID badges pinned over their suits. They slid into the soft seats of a sleek and black electric sedan before it silently sped into the night, its lithe form sliding through roads parallel to the convoy of armored vehicles as it overtook them like a silent predator moving in for the kill.