Nanowrimo 2020

 [01 - intro + meet main (1257)]

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind 

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20201102-01-0254/+4

Marcus sat in his warm chair and held the thick, closed portfolio.

Hearing the breeze ease through the trees made him turn. Barely visible in the moonlight, the sounds of swaying branches reminded him of beaches of crushed shells with only the tide to keep him company. The smell of leather drew him back.

* I've checked this a dozen times. He has the spark. He just doesn't see it. *

Opening the portfolio, Marcus reviewed the dossier.

Upon the desk a holographic man stood, rotating slowly. Dressed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, the figure repeated the same set of brisk motions: a burpee, a pull-up, a round-house kick, and a box-jump. Swiping in mid-air, the holographic man became a baker; the figure began making an endless collection of pancakes. Continuing to swipe, different outfits followed suit: the wool suit of a European college professor, a sports enthusiast ready to go skiing (and slaloming in place), a bartender doing drink acrobatics, a surgeon dressed in scrubs walking into an operating theatre.

Looking down at the controls, Marcus slid his finger along the bottom edge of the control pane.

The holographic man was replaced with words floating in mid-air. Various scholastic accolades, awards (with concordant floating trophies), and faces filled the space above the portfolio. As the holographic text and images reached the bottom, it continued scrolling down, slowly filling up the pane.

Sliding his finger along the edge again in the other direction, Marcus watched as the portfolio flowered to a close.

20201103-01-0267/+17 // already feel stuck - hard to pants today

Taking two fists, placing them atop one another, and rotating the top fist gently in a small circle, Marcus watched the Mondrian on the wall slide up and two drones appear. The first, coated in panels of polished brass and gold placed cup and saucer on the small table to the right of Marcus. The grace of the drone was such that the placement of neither saucer nor cup was audible. At the same time the second, coated in panels of oiled and polished mahogany hovered immediately above the location of the cup and, in perfect unison, began pouring freshly brewed coffee in perfect silence. The moment the second drone stopped pouring, it rotated back upright, and the two drones quietly returned to their hole in the wall. The painting slid back to its original location, squeaking quietly.

* I really must remember to oil that one of these days. *

Sipping the coffee, Marcus stared out the window and thought on the holographic man.

* He gave it all up and lives under a bridge. Why? *

Marcus' mental map opened up and he saw, in his mind's eye, his little corner of the city. A figure was hunched over; the cold autumn breeze whipped leaves and loose branches and lightly indented the figure's face but just as quickly died down. The figure rubbed uncovered hands together and put a tattered coat on a second figure. A third, shorter figure burst from the nearby shadow and grabbed the legs of the second figure; and the second figure placed a hand on the figure.

The three huddled together in Marcus' mind's eye.

20201103-02-0273/+23 // forcing myself to write - doing hard things presumably helps in the long run

Forming his right hand into a two-fingered claw, Marcus touched his left forearm and drew a bridge in mid-air. The Mondrian slid over and two sleek, black drones appeared; each glided behind Marcus' back and generated a purple light - scanning his spine. Upon completion, Marcus opened his mental map.

'scanning,' reported the first drone as the second generated a holographic display of Marcus' mental imagery. With the augmentation of the drone's holographic presentation, Marcus could see particulars he had missed before.

"Of course!" said Marcus. "He's by the bridge his car drove off ten years ago!"

'initial scan complete. triangulating position' said the first drone.

"Yes, yes," said Marcus. "I already told you where he was. It's the Anatar Bridge. Go!"

'executing." said the first drone as it flew out the window.

The three-dimensional holographic presentation of the second drone remained; in the top-right corner, a small window displayed the perspective of the first drone.

* I hope it doesn't hit anything. Last time was a nightmare. *

Travelling at a nearly invisible height, the first drone flew quickly above the bridge and froze.

With the first drone's position anchored, the second drone's holographic context developed life. Small birds appeared in the nearby tree. The three figures developed outfits, shoes, and faces.

A small ten-year-old girl hugged what appeared to be her mother. 

The man, taller than the woman by nearly two feet, opened up a napkin. Steam seeped from the contents and the woman offered the warm food to the girl - who shoved the whole thing into her mouth. The woman put her hand on the girl's shoulder and her frame relaxed.

20201104-01-0303/+58

Flying slowly lower, the first drone hung quietly in mid-air.

Marcus looked over to the second drone's holographic pane and triple-tapped his left palm. A small window appeared in the bottom-right corner of the display - the border of the window matched the color of the small purple back-lit rectangle that appeared on Marcus' left hand.

* I hate having to use my fingers - but it's faster this way. *

Several dials reported the remaining battery life for the two drones, the air-quality and atmospheric pressure near the bridge, and dozens of other metrics. Marcus swiped his palm left several times until several figures appeared as roughly amorphous red blobs on a dark-blue pane.

Marcus double-clicked the tallest blob.

The second drone emitted a small ping and the holographic scene zoomed in on the man.

'calibrating,' reported the second drone.

"No, I wasn't ready for that yet!" said Marcus, as he pinched his left palm. The holographic display froze slightly and then slowly began to zoom onto the man. The edges of the display fuzzed slightly and the man came into sharp focus - the sounds being fed from the first drone gave the impression that it was slowly flying closer to the man.

"Why aren't you responding?!" cried Marcus.

'error. uncertain.' said the second drone.

"What?" said Marcus.

The man in the holographic scene stood and turned his head. His eyes moved slowly - and seemed to center on the first drone. He then whispered quietly to the woman. She called to the girl and they covered their ears. The man made sure their ears were covered and walked towards the drone.

The second drone's holographic display continued to spit out temperature and air density reports, atmospheric pressure, and battery life of both drones for several seconds.

'connection lost.' said the second drone.

20201104-02-0160/-90

Walking back to the two females, the man carried the drone to the fire barrel near the bridge. Placing the drone into the fire released a HISS and the flames changed colors from red to blue to purple and back to red.

"Y'sldr," said the woman. "I wish you would not manit things in the wild - someone will see you."

"Assora," said Y'sldr. "I do take precautions, my lady. I observed the fourth normal form and ensured it was done flame-side. No onlooker here would notice the manit being used. They can barely use three-space here."

"Precaution is not the same as caution," said Assora. "You know better than to act as if you cannot be caught. We must remain incognito."

"You are right, of course, as per usual," said Y'sldr. "I will ensure the appropriate safe-guards are in placing going forward. No sense tempting fate."

"Excellent," said Assora. "I look forward to the experiences you gather on your next engagement."

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