Abner was still in awe of the Station even though he had been living on it for over a month now. The domed city on top of the reality-ship was truly something to behold, especially when it popped in and out of realities. There was such a beauty in transferring from normal space to the place in-between and back. Granted that Abner’s human mind couldn’t fully understand what happens when out of reality, it was still cool to him.
But he figured that he had spent long enough staring out into space. He had been fearing this day since he learned about it a week ago. While he was grateful for being allowed to live on the Station, he knew that it wasn’t free. He had been made an agent of Ad Infinitum and as such was at their whim. He didn’t see it that much different than his time working at Monolink, before the whole sun exploding thing happened. No, today he was to meet his new partner.
That was a touchy subject for Abner has he had only just lost his former partner about two months ago. He had been one of Abner’s only true friends, someone that didn’t make Abner feel emasculated. And then he died, killed by the one murderer that Abner could never catch. Of course by now he was roasted by the exploding sun of their reality.
Abner was anxious to see who he would be paired with. There was a chance that his partner wouldn’t even be human, as Abner had spotted many aliens and other types of creatures walking about the Station. Abner couldn’t help but wonder how he would compare to this other agent.
But he tried pushing those thoughts away as he got onto the bullet train that went around the Station. Like on his own reality, public transport was free for all, though everyone living on the Station was an employee of Ad Infinitum. While the train moved at extremely fast speeds, inertial dampeners built in meant that the riders never felt anything. The train would seemingly stop every minute, letting people and other beings off to a particular district. It would only be four minutes for Abner to reach the Agency Headquarters in the center of the Station.
Departing the train, Abner walked across the street to HQ. Once inside the massive building, Abner approached an ever rotating set of assistance desks. When he got close enough his body floated so that he was facing one of the desks. Sitting there was a man who looked human, save his bright green hair.
“How may I help you?” the man asked in an unknown language.
It only took a millisecond for Abner’s language implant to translate it into the common English of his reality.
“I’m here for my first day as an agent,” stated Abner.
“Oh, a newbie,” chuckled the receptionist, “Just walk to the transport bubbles. The computer will then confirm who you are using your bio-data.”
Abner thanked the receptionist before heading over to the transport bubbles. While he had seen them used in the Station before, Abner had never actually tried one himself. Walking open to a vacant bubble, Abner took a deep breath before pushing himself inside. He felt the slightest tinge of a scan, before hearing a beep.
“Agent Abner Prince, identity confirmed. Heading to new arrivals,” stated the mechanical voice of the bubble.
Before Abner knew it, he was floating off the ground as the transport bubble zipped across the massive building. Like with the train, Abner felt nothing as the bubble ascended to the higher levels. Then it stopped, right in front a floating cubicle. Assuming this was his destination, Abner stepped out of the bubble.
“Agent Prince right? I’m Mr. Grifford, just Mr. Grifford. I guess your partner should be here anytime now,” said a man sitting at the cubicle.
Abner gave him a quick once over. He too appeared human, with a thick red mustache and beard. What was out of the norm was that both of his arms had been replaced with metal ones. Abner did his best not to stare, as he had been told a lot of beings here on the Station are sensitive about their irregularities.
But he figured that he had spent long enough staring out into space. He had been fearing this day since he learned about it a week ago. While he was grateful for being allowed to live on the Station, he knew that it wasn’t free. He had been made an agent of Ad Infinitum and as such was at their whim. He didn’t see it that much different than his time working at Monolink, before the whole sun exploding thing happened. No, today he was to meet his new partner.
That was a touchy subject for Abner has he had only just lost his former partner about two months ago. He had been one of Abner’s only true friends, someone that didn’t make Abner feel emasculated. And then he died, killed by the one murderer that Abner could never catch. Of course by now he was roasted by the exploding sun of their reality.
Abner was anxious to see who he would be paired with. There was a chance that his partner wouldn’t even be human, as Abner had spotted many aliens and other types of creatures walking about the Station. Abner couldn’t help but wonder how he would compare to this other agent.
But he tried pushing those thoughts away as he got onto the bullet train that went around the Station. Like on his own reality, public transport was free for all, though everyone living on the Station was an employee of Ad Infinitum. While the train moved at extremely fast speeds, inertial dampeners built in meant that the riders never felt anything. The train would seemingly stop every minute, letting people and other beings off to a particular district. It would only be four minutes for Abner to reach the Agency Headquarters in the center of the Station.
Departing the train, Abner walked across the street to HQ. Once inside the massive building, Abner approached an ever rotating set of assistance desks. When he got close enough his body floated so that he was facing one of the desks. Sitting there was a man who looked human, save his bright green hair.
“How may I help you?” the man asked in an unknown language.
It only took a millisecond for Abner’s language implant to translate it into the common English of his reality.
“I’m here for my first day as an agent,” stated Abner.
“Oh, a newbie,” chuckled the receptionist, “Just walk to the transport bubbles. The computer will then confirm who you are using your bio-data.”
Abner thanked the receptionist before heading over to the transport bubbles. While he had seen them used in the Station before, Abner had never actually tried one himself. Walking open to a vacant bubble, Abner took a deep breath before pushing himself inside. He felt the slightest tinge of a scan, before hearing a beep.
“Agent Abner Prince, identity confirmed. Heading to new arrivals,” stated the mechanical voice of the bubble.
Before Abner knew it, he was floating off the ground as the transport bubble zipped across the massive building. Like with the train, Abner felt nothing as the bubble ascended to the higher levels. Then it stopped, right in front a floating cubicle. Assuming this was his destination, Abner stepped out of the bubble.
“Agent Prince right? I’m Mr. Grifford, just Mr. Grifford. I guess your partner should be here anytime now,” said a man sitting at the cubicle.
Abner gave him a quick once over. He too appeared human, with a thick red mustache and beard. What was out of the norm was that both of his arms had been replaced with metal ones. Abner did his best not to stare, as he had been told a lot of beings here on the Station are sensitive about their irregularities.