The Toy Man

The scents of a thousand spices filled Astarte’s nose as she walked down the familiar market way of the under city. When the rising water levels began to threaten the old city engineers had elected to evacuate the city and demoed all the buildings whose structure would be threatened by the rising tides. After the dust had settled bulldozer’s and excavators had dug up as much rubble as they could before the sea engulfed the city’s ruins. After they drained the bay back down to what it was before, and a new city was plopped right on top of the ruins of the old one.

But Mombasa was a city that had been inhabited for over a thousand years, the old cities ruins were only the latest in along series of ruins. The people of New Mombasa began to slowly discover these old forgotten places, old sewers, forgotten maintenance tunnels, and buried basements, all were slowly excavated over the years and a network of tunnel systems began to form. Criminals, prostitutes, and everyone else who did business on the wrong side of the law carved out a small piece of the underground for themselves, some even broke into the raw earth itself to make a way for more business. Now over a century after the first black markets had popped up the system of subterranean tunnels had grown into a labyrinthian leviathan, growing, and spreading unseen under New Mombasa. People called it the ‘Dark City’.

In Astarte’s youth the Dark City had been a very dangerous place, but after decades of Maiden effort and expansion most of the Dark City had been pacified enough to allow for people the begin to flourish in the dark environment. Restaurants were now able to safely operate without fear of extortion or being run out of business, a cavernous old brick subway terminal had become a vibrant open ‘air’ marketplace that sold anything you could want. People of every shape and color went about their daily needs without much fear of being attacked in the open.

“How do they do that?” Alwen asked as she stared at the neon glowing shape of a dragon E-tat.

“Micro LED’s in the ink that can absorb nutrients from the blood stream and turn it into light, they use a strong magnet to shut them off when its needed. Essentially it’s an artificial form of bioluminescence, they eventually go dull after a few years, so you have to get it touched up every now and then.” Aster explained.

“There’s so many” Alwen said in amazement.

Aster took a moment to put herself in Alwen’s shoes and looked at the crowds of people with a new appreciation. Two centuries ago everyone would be wearing jeans and t-shirts, but after the Union took over earth and the Japanese began to bring back Edo era clothing every culture on earth began to bring back their own traditional clothing. And for a city like New Mombasa that could draw from some of the most vibrant cultures on earth, it meant that everywhere you looked was a burst of color and patterned clothes. And as the resurgence of old clothing eventually grew stale and to rigid people began to explore new ways to innovate old fashions. Designers blended two seemingly opposing fashion styles together and created something that took the best of either, Persian silks matched with beautiful Javanese embroidery. Chinese dresses with an English Victorian twist. Everywhere you looked you could see different fashion styles that popped and caught the eye, it seemed that the goal was not to blend in with what everyone else was wearing but instead to be as unique looking they could be. A thought that was supported by the variety of piercing’s, E-tats, and even some fashionable cybernetics.

The whole city burst with life and excitement, so much so that it made Aster and Alwen look incredibly drab in the funeral clothes

“Modern Terran fashion is about being as individualistic as possible, it means that everywhere you look you’ll find something exotic to see, especially down here where everything is lit up in neon.” Aster said as they passed a lion man with bright neon highlights in his mane flexing for a group of scantily dressed females, both Lioness and human.

“Makes me feel underdressed.” Alwen said distractedly.

Aster turned to her “Takoyaki?”

“What?”

“Want to get some Takoyaki on the way?” Astarte clarified.

Alwen still looked very confused.

“Fish Balls” Astarte explained.

Alwen made ‘oh’ face and nodded her head “Yes please, I haven’t had good fish in forever, most of the crew don’t seem to like them.”

“Americans” Aster said dismissively “They have the strangest tastes and pretend everyone else is the strange ones.” She said as she led Alwen to a stall selling them

They got their food and moved on, eating as they walked.

“So…” Alwen began after walking in silence for a while “not that I’m complaining, but why did you bring me here?”

Aster finished off the last of her food and licked her fingers. “I thought you’d ask a lot sooner, we’re here to meet up with a certain someone.” She said cryptically.

“Who”

“An errant engineer known only by his street handle, the Toy Man. He designed a majority of the marines weapons; he even pioneered the techniques in making our armor plating. He’s a modern day Davinci or Archimedes.” Aster explained.

“I don’t know who either of those people are.” Alwen said flatly.

Astarte cringed “Sorry, you’re so well versed in every other facet of Terran culture I just assumed you had it all down.”

“I’m assuming from context they were very smart inventors; my usual companions don’t talk about people like that. I know about Doctor Frankenstein and Bill Nye, are they like Davinci or Archimedes?”

Aster laughed “No, Frankenstein was a book character who brought life to a man shaped monster, and Bill Nye is the science guy, he had a TV show that taught kids science.”

Alwen scowled “That explains a few things” she grumbled angrily.

Astarte chuckled as she turned down a corner to a set of long dark stairs, any further explanation for their visit would have to wait. Because at the bottom of these stairs was the lair of the Toy Man.

~~~*~~~

Alwen followed Astarte into the long and dark passageway, the sounds of the vibrant city fading into the background. New Mombasa had been an interesting experience, unlike the run-down vibes of Noctis, it felt incredibly alive. The air literally pulsed with energy and emotion. And all the dazzling displays of fashion and art made her head spin. Unlike Noctis which was a functional display of utilitarian straight edges and efficient right angles, New-Mombasa was a city of flamboyant extravagance. All chaos and noise, people carving out a style wherever they found space. It was dazzling.

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But now they were descending below all the noise and light of the so called ‘Dark City’, each step led them further away from all the vibrant life above and deeper into something that could truly be call a Dark City. The stairs brought them to a decrepit and crumbling tunnel of mud brick and sandstone. There were some people milling about, but unlike the neon technicolor wonder above everyone here seemed like they were trying to go unnoticed.

Astarte didn’t even glance at the drab wretches loitering about the tunnel, she just set a heading for herself and marched forward. Alwen, aware of the Captains weak spot, stood on her left and screened the tunnel for hidden threats. She had some minor flash backs to her desperate run through the slums of Parox, but she refused to let fear stall her pace, or to dull her mind.

They walked in silence, turning down strange narrow tunnels at seemingly random intervals. Eventually the flickering lights that had lit their way faded away and they were walking in complete darkness. Alwen’s eyes were good at seeing filtered and distorted light, perfect for diving, but complete darkness was much harder for her to see in. Her night vision was much worse than the Terrans, and even they proclaimed that it wasn’t that good either. But somehow Astarte navigated the whole length of the tunnel without pause of hesitation, Alwen wondered if the Captain had actual night vision when she heard her counting under her breath. Counting the steps and turns and comparing it to some mental map she possessed.

They eventually reached a patch of wall that felt different, like the bricks here were smoother than the others. Astarte stopped and felt around the wall until something clicked and the wall slid back. Astarte stepped into the new hole in the wall and Alwen followed behind her, the door slid back into place without any prompting on their part. The room was still pitch black until the final locking mechanism on the door slid into place, with a final ‘click’ the hallway was filled with bright florescent light. Alwen covered her eyes until they were adjusted to the light, Astarte also grimaced at the stark change in lighting, but her eye adjusted to it a lot quicker than Alwen’s.

“Follow me, and whatever you do, don’t recoil in horror or disgust.” she said cryptically as she walked down the brightly lit hall.

Alwen wondered idly at what manner of horror or monstrosity could possibly evoke such reactions out of anyone. The walls in this hall were decorated with fascinating geometric patterns that drew the eye to its intricate knots. “What is this place?” she asked in wonder.

“A more modern mosque, built in 2035, but designed to emulate the architectural highlights of other mosques over the centuries. Those patterns on the wall are called ‘zagrafa’ or arabesques, during the golden age of Islam faith, math, and natural philosophy were all deeply intertwined, and their art reflects that. This place was built as a celebration of Islamic culture after a long period of religious turmoil and violence. Ultimately though it wasn’t deemed culturally significant enough to be carted of to Phobos like the rest of Earth’s heritage sites, it was partially demolished and buried like the rest of the city.” She explained coldly as they entered into the ‘mosque’s’ main chamber.

The room had a high arched ceiling and beautifully decorated walls, but along with the older parts of the building Alwen also saw the evidence that the place had been modified to better suit its new occupant. Monitors, workbenches, welding equipment, and a lot of other unknown work equipment had been blasphemously drilled into the walls. And the rooms center had been cut away to make room for a highly advanced surgery suite.

“Yeees” a mysterious voice said from above them. “A modern celebration of Islamic culture, and a desperate plea to the world to see their faith for its great accomplishments and aspirations, not the violence of a few extremists. Left behind and buried, and with it much of the Muslim faith has also fallen by the wayside. They saved Hagia Sofia and the Ka’aba, but much of the rest was left behind to make way for European cathedrals and churches. One can look upon the displays and museums of Phobos and see a very Eurocentric view of what is deemed heritage, and what is not.”

Alwen heard clicking a scraping above her head, she looked up and peered past the bright white lights, and into the darkness beyond. What she saw there made her truly understand why Astarte had cautioned her against recoiling in horror. Up in the dark corners of the mosque was a shirtless dark-skinned human, much of his body was scared with melted warped flesh, his whole left arm was missing as well as his lower torso. Where his limps and face had been burned away he had replaced it with monstrous cybernetic augmentations. Something beneath his torso began to writhe and Alwen realized that instead of replacing his legs with cybernetic ones he had opted to replace them with something ‘else’. Long dark tendrils unwound themselves and reached out across the room, instead of wrapping themselves around a rail or pillar little pincer like claws unfolded from the mechanical tentacle and gripped with skull breaking strength. He slowly emerged from his perch in the shadows and descended to the ground where Alwen could get a better look and the man’s mechanical malformities. Ten mechanical tentacles about as thick as her thigh were attached to where his hip should have been, they coiled beneath him like springs to support his weight

“Good morning Saint Aster, and guest” the Toy Man said coolly.

“I am no saint; Astarte will do just fine.” Captain Astarte growled.

His head tilted to side in a jerky manner, and Alwen noticed the metal plates running up his spine, with wires coming out of it and running down the length of his one remaining arm, likely to help supplement a dangerously damaged nervous system. “My apologies, but I have heard the Maidens who visit call you Saint Aster, I had assumed you had changed your name again.”

“I’ll have to have a chat with my mom about that” Astarte grumbled and shook her head. “Your message said ‘it’ was ready”

He smiled and Alwen saw that only half of his face muscles worked properly, making his warped smile look crooked and disturbing. “Yes, this way.” He said as he slithered across the floor.

Slither was the only word Alwen had in her arsenal that could possibly describe the complex motion his ten tentacles did to move him across the floor without reaching up and swinging across the rafters. They followed him to a small palm sized glossy black box laying on one of the work benches. He reached out with his mechanical arm, which promptly broke apart into five long jointed pincer like graspers, and picked it up by the tips of three individual pincers. The appendage rotated at the shoulder as he presented the box to Astarte, anther two pincers reached down and pinched the lid and opened it gingerly. Alwen was on the verge of vomiting from the graphic display of body horror, it was only her professional curiosity for how he had accomplished said body horror that prevented her from finding a corner to hurl her Takoyaki.

She had become very experienced with cybernetics over the last year, and she knew that you couldn’t just attach anything to the end of a lost appendage. It had to be similar to what had been there before, you couldn’t just add an extra finger of two since the person only had the muscle memory for those original five digits.

The Toy Man opened the black box, and Alwen’s nausea nearly teetered over the edge, because within that black box was a human eye.

“Impressive” Astarte said. “I can’t even tell that its cybernetic.”

“Yes, this 28.767-gram ball is the crowning achievement of my life as an engineer. Completely seamless, perfectly sealed, with nano filaments capable of attaching to a person’s natural optic nerves. No need for any pesky control chips drilled into the skull, all visual data is controlled through the brain, and is patched through your visual cortex just like any organic eyeball.” The Toy Man said, evidently pleased by himself.

“And my other requests?” Astarte asked.

“I was able to accomplish most of them as you requested, even added a few of my own touches. Unfortunately there is no where near enough space within the human skull to add a ‘laser eye’ function, not without removing parts from the brain at least.”

“And those extra features will all be accessible with just my mind?” she asked in wonder as she leaned in closer to the hyper advanced cybernetic eye.

“Yes, I can say with some experience that your brain will be able to access all of it. It will only take time for your brain to adjust to the new capabilities of this eye.”

“Hold on” Alwen said, interrupting the strange banter. “Are you telling me that you made a cybernetic eye? I thought those were too complex to manufacture?”

The Toy Man turn towards her, his body simply rotating at the base of torso in an unnerving manner. “They are, or were. I had to create a new nano factory just to build another even more precise nano factory. I had to create synthetic nerves that could both manipulate the eye while still being compatible with her organic nerves. I had to condense three centuries of optics and video imaging technology into a space only 25 mm wide. What you are looking at is the very cutting edge of cybernetic augmentation, we’re pushing the boundaries of what is even possible with machines as crude as ours.”

“And it wasn’t cheap” Astarte grumbled “Cost me half of my life savings, but it will all be worth it”

“Has any of this been tested?” Alwen asked, her incredulity climbing by the second.

“Only had enough money to afford the one” Astarte said frankly. “But I trust the Toy Man’s expertise, he is the man behind my reinforced bones and synthetic muscles. I put the lives and safety of all my marines in his hands, and I trust him with mine.”

Alwen took in a deep breath; she had seen the complexity of those other augmentations firsthand as she repeatedly broke Astarte’s bones to correct the healing process. She had marveled at the simple ingenuity of them a hundred times over the course of their return trip. “Alright, lets pack it up and return to the ship, Bachir and I will need a couple months to consider how best to ‘install’ it.” she said in defeat.

Astarte and the Toy Man exchanged a look with each other.

“What?” Alwen asked.

Astarte looked sheepish as she turned back to Alwen “Well, you see, it has to go in today, and we don’t have the right equipment on the ship to do it. That’s why I brought you here.”

“What do you mean it needs to go in today!” she shouted in shock.

“Much like organic nerves the synthetic ones won’t last for very long without the animating spark of life” the Toy Man answered. “They will die and shrivel up, and they are so intricately wired to the rest of the prosthesis that it would be impossible to save the eye. It must be now.” He said firmly.

“It will be fine Bones, you’ve spent the last three months working with equally complex modifications to my bones, this should be a breeze for you” Astarte said with a cocky grin.

“I don’t think you properly understand how difficult this is going to be, I am going to have to cut part of your skull off and expose part of your brain! I was not prepared to do any of this today!”

“Its going to be fine, the Toy Man will be here to help throughout the whole process.” She assured.

“You are far to cavalier about getting brain surgery in the buried ruins of an old temple!”

Astarte shrugged “Its not exactly the craziest thing either of us have done.”

Alwen wanted to say something in response to that, but despite her rapidly rising temper she didn’t have any actual comeback that felt appropriate.

“Fine” she said in defeat, there was no arguing with a mad pirate dead set on getting impromptu brain surgery in a basement “please go sit on the surgical table while I confer with the Toy Man.” She said a pointed finger, “And unstrap your armor for us.” She said as she turned to chalk board with a diagram of a human brain with some quickly scribbled notes. “Now, please explain who how we’re going to fuse an experimental eye to our patient’s atrophied and damaged ocular nerves.

The Toy man smiled his unnerving smile, and the two of them talked through the process for several hours before beginning the operation.