Designation JUDAS
1.0
The Affair
You wandered off again, brother.
Location, DEAD ZONE- Shanghaixen Apartments; Room 12. Designation, BROTHER’S APARTMENT RECORDING VIDEO
“Why is it so hot.”
I pulled the sheets off of my naked body, the glistening black metals of my arms catching the light from my open window for a moment before I dragged myself to the floor. I was never a morning person- I would never be. In my mind’s eye- her face flashed to the forefront. Smiling, serene- frightening. The remote for my stereo was where it always was- laying on the table for sitting at. Grasping it and turning over onto my back, I pressed the power button. The synthesized drums and the soft lilting voice of another girl too pretty to work a real job began to pump through my ears. My head turned as I tossed the remote back unto the table, catching sight of myself in the mirror.
It was still my face. The black hair was new- long and full. I pushed it out of the way of my eyes and wondered if it was possible that she was looking into that same green.
I grab my glasses from the nightstand as I get up unto my feet. The stereo swaps from the idol music to heavy bass and synthesizer. The chill wind makes my flesh tingle and my extremities tighten. The old and the new- I cup my breast then my arms go for the cover of my discarded shirt, which I button and leave alone. My knife on the table catches my eyes, and it takes me a moment to let the memories go away before my feet take me to my apartments little kitchen- really nothing more than ten feet dedicated to a portable stove and refrigerator.
My day begins like this- with a feeling of dread chewing gently on the back of my neck before giggling- as the flames spring to life. Time for breakfast. The radio changes it’s tune again- the music breaking into the sound of an older man’s voice. Even as I begin the preparations for my meal, my attention wanders.
Today’s top track is all the rage, folks. With the recent rise in Succubus attacks, the city government has requested additional support in the form of-
I turn the pan- the egg inside gently tilts before I flip it with a spatula. The yolk breaks.
-Commissioner Drake Mormont has agreed to a public address- today at one in the afternoon on the steps of the judicial building. Alongside discussions of protective services for augs-
The word makes the hair on my nape stand on end. Augs- as if someone with cybernetic parts was different from a regular person. Then again, we are. The hot water boiling on my stove now is poured into a cup of instant coffee, and I take a pill- bright yellow and with YD-8 carefully detailed upon it- from my dispenser and down it with a wash of water from the tap.
The skyline greets me when I turn my eyes out of my window. In the background, I still hear the talk host talking about the day’s weather- but it’s unimportant to me. The Dead Zone has a clear view of the sky- unlike the city proper. Lots of bad project developments meant most of this place was abandoned- or at the very least looked that way on paper. I still had to pay someone rent after all- a studio apartment worth six-thousand a month. A lot of money-
My eyes drifted back unto my knife. A lot of money for privacy. For no nosy neighbor to ask why I came home so late some nights, why I was fine with the landlord never being around. Why apartment twelve didn’t really exist- nor did anyone who lived in the other thirteen.
My hand was already holding the knife- the blade flipped out and glinting with red. Dripping, stinking, red. My eyes closed- it was clean again. The shake in my throat- the tightening of the muscles readying to scream- just another ghost in the machine. Just another reminder that someone- something- was watching me. Making me feel like at any moment something would go wrong.
Or maybe that is just my body telling me to go to the bathroom.
Location, Cafe O’Lay, Corner of Ingrid Ave and Marksman St; Time Approx. 1100 Hours; Audiovisual Record Provider: City Security Camera-3888
The Rise in Succubus Attacks, p.11A
Interview with City Commissioner Drake Mormont, p.13A
Those were the two headlines from this morning. A page and a half talking about Succubus- a popular slang term for a kind of murderer who goes after augs and tends to take their tech with them- coming from stories about the first murders- a pair of women who went psycho as a result of the stress of experimental cybernetics and the drug regimens attached. I flipped the page of the newspaper, turning my gaze out of the window onto the street for a moment. Adjusting my glasses, I let my mind wander as people passed by.
Couples, smiling and holding hands. Businessmen and women walking faster than the other pedestrians. Students mulling about, playing hooky. A mother and her child.
A brother and a sister holding hands, smiling, while she bites his throat out.
I can feel the cold sweat before I shake myself from those thoughts. I set the newspaper down and check the reader on my left arm. He will be here soon, I’m sure of it. “Johnson” is never late. No matter which one it is.
The cafe’s little bell rings, and I turn my gaze from my cybernetic arms to the man at the door. It seems business will start earlier than usual. “Miss Ingrid.” He greets me, and I accept the alias.
Location, CLASSIFIED. Audiovisual Record Provider: Kubota, KURENAI MONITORING VITALS
“She looks surprisingly cute for a multi-million dollar criminal.” I said, not prepared to admit such a thing except in the solitude of the meeting room.
“Big surprises can be small packages, you know.” The technician noted.
No matter how it was phrased, my reaction was the same. As an agent, I was supposed to defer to my professionalism and take every letter- every misspelling- as a clue. Even these computer screens were worthy of investigation. That is Kurenai Kubota’s very heartfelt wish.
It should be no surprise that the data reading on the screen in front of me is precise. I have worked this job for two years now, and only in few numbers have I seen our Intel Team fail to mark their target thoroughly.
“IT’S A BOY!?”
“Yes. Another JUDAS, case file 2322-AADD.” So said the glasses wearing tech- blonde, with brown eyes. She reminds me of the kind of person whom you would have seen being bullied in high school. Perhaps she had been- by someone like me, even. And now, here we are. Staring at the placid face of someone we had never met before on record.
“She doesn’t- he. He certainly has a blank expression.” I say to the blonde as she pushes a lock of blonde hair back behind her ears.
But maybe that was the kind of person it took to be a rogue element nowadays. That is all I can think to myself as I stare at the face of my next prey. Another illegally augmented crazy- codenamed JUDAS. Potential Succubus or otherwise.
Location, District 91 PD Special Forces Room, Audiovisual Record Provider: Kubota, KURENAI MONITORING VITALS
It is this one’s furthest wish- in this moment- to be anywhere but where I am now. Police precincts are much different from government work- especially work like my, Kurenai Kubota’s, own. On the lower levels, there are those who believe in protection of the people- of the way of life of others. There is also corruption. For HAND- the Harmful Android Neutralization Department- such a thing did not exist. A Purpose was singular, without form or function, only direction. Investing in those feelings- those fears- was without merit.
This JUDAS was my prey- nothing more. By the end of the day, he would be dead, and my hands would be bloodier. A stain for the shower after work.
“Miss?” I looked up, ignoring the flinch of the man who calls my attention. The unnatural glow of my eyes in the dim light often causes that effect. Because of this, my name has become symbolic. Unnatural red- crimson. “This is a standard file for any investigation target, but I don’t see-”
He pauses, and I understand. We have no data- none at all- that isn’t conjecture. The truth is, most of the time these man-hunts are much simpler. Psychopaths addicted to being cybernetically enhanced, needing the drug regimens to keep their bodies from rejecting them- they are not smart prey. Merely dangerous. This one…
“We can assume much, safely. That is why we are lucky to have an informant.”
Location, District 91 “Allez-Vous” Exotic Entertainment- Back Alley, Audiovisual Record Provider: City Surveillance
[“Ingrid” stands behind “Mr. Johnson”, the man threatens the bar owner for protection money while treating “Ingrid” as a mob enforcer- this scene highlights the things he has to do to make money while living on the fringe of society- it also expounds on the nature of illegal augs and makes a comment about the increase in Succubus attacks since a year ago. “Ingrid” laments his lot in life after the owner attempts to convince him to become an exotic dancer.]
Today’s job was simple- Enforcement. That is to say, I was supposed to stand there and look intimidating. You would think with my body, this would be a little more difficult. People were not often intimidated by pretty girls- cybernetic arms or not.
Location, District 91 DEAD ZONE- Back Alleys; PLACING CALL
[“Ingrid” receives a mysterious call from his sister- Esmerelda- who outs him as Jamie Cross (“Or should I call you Miss Ingrid(/little sister), now?”), teasing him about “getting hit with puberty” (his surgeries) and warning him about the incoming HAND squad and threatening that “He’s not allowed to die.”
Jamie gets ambushed at the far end of the alley he was in, causing him to retreat into an abandoned apartment complex and escaping through a window into an adjacent business office. An action sequence filled with him using his knife to disable or maim pursuers before coming face to face with KURENAI.
KURENAI unwittingly explains to the audience, disguised as “Sherlock-style monologuing”, why HAND is after him- he’s been framed for crimes committed by his sister- whom his new likeness is rather unfortunately based off of.
Jamie “flashbacks” to a few years ago, his sister vanishing in the middle of the night after forcing him to be fitted with his arms and surgically modified to resemble how she looked then. This flashback also introduces the illegal cybernetics dealer/doctor “ANTON”, whom Jamie suspects still to this day is backing his sister due to his consistent willingness to treat him (for no visible reward.)
KURENAI tries to apprehend Jamie, him having to use one of the special augments in his arms (Pistons/generators in his shoulders which enhance his punches enough to destroy concrete walls) to escape after darting from cover to cover in order to avoid getting filled with holes- this establishes that due to her eyes, KURENAI is an extremely excellent marksman. Jamie barely manages to get to his bike and flee.]
Location, DEAD ZONE- “End of the World” Cybernetics
[We’re introduced to DEAD ZONE- a place where society’s outcasts and criminals hide and propagate
We’re reintroduced to ANTON, Jamie threatens him in order to get the (now visibly older) man to tell him his sister’s whereabouts. ANTON- full of himself and obviously a few screws loose- explains his sister’s backstory as (one of) the Succubus (Succubi) who has been terrorizing the city for the past two years since she left him that night- with her having explicitly told ANTON that she would kill and “eat” him if he didn’t continue to provide the necessary drug regimen and surgeries to keep Jamie from rejecting his cybernetics and “growing naturally.” An unhealthy and unnatural lust for Jamie is conveyed in her words and actions- which visibly makes him uneasy- but doesn’t seem new to him.
ANTON tells Jamie “You don’t even resemble her anymore”- an indication that Esmerelda’s lust for cybernetics has changed her completely into a monster- admitting to having no idea “how a normal person could accept more robotic parts than humanly possible” which hints that Esmerelda’s status as a Succubus has surpassed simple motives. He then finally tells Jamie of Esmerelda’s location-
She’s locked away in a HAND research facility, as a result of her desire to take KURENAI’s eyes for herself. Jamie visibly sweats and begins to breakdown while ANTON continues, explaining that his sister is devious- having ingratiated herself as an ally and using him as bait to draw KURENAI out in order to “consume” her.
Driven to save KURENAI- and “illogically” his sister- Jamie prepares to go meet an “underworld provider” to break into HAND’s facility.]
“You have such pretty eyes.”
1.0
The Affair
You wandered off again, brother.
Location, DEAD ZONE- Shanghaixen Apartments; Room 12. Designation, BROTHER’S APARTMENT RECORDING VIDEO
“Why is it so hot.”
I pulled the sheets off of my naked body, the glistening black metals of my arms catching the light from my open window for a moment before I dragged myself to the floor. I was never a morning person- I would never be. In my mind’s eye- her face flashed to the forefront. Smiling, serene- frightening. The remote for my stereo was where it always was- laying on the table for sitting at. Grasping it and turning over onto my back, I pressed the power button. The synthesized drums and the soft lilting voice of another girl too pretty to work a real job began to pump through my ears. My head turned as I tossed the remote back unto the table, catching sight of myself in the mirror.
It was still my face. The black hair was new- long and full. I pushed it out of the way of my eyes and wondered if it was possible that she was looking into that same green.
I grab my glasses from the nightstand as I get up unto my feet. The stereo swaps from the idol music to heavy bass and synthesizer. The chill wind makes my flesh tingle and my extremities tighten. The old and the new- I cup my breast then my arms go for the cover of my discarded shirt, which I button and leave alone. My knife on the table catches my eyes, and it takes me a moment to let the memories go away before my feet take me to my apartments little kitchen- really nothing more than ten feet dedicated to a portable stove and refrigerator.
My day begins like this- with a feeling of dread chewing gently on the back of my neck before giggling- as the flames spring to life. Time for breakfast. The radio changes it’s tune again- the music breaking into the sound of an older man’s voice. Even as I begin the preparations for my meal, my attention wanders.
Today’s top track is all the rage, folks. With the recent rise in Succubus attacks, the city government has requested additional support in the form of-
I turn the pan- the egg inside gently tilts before I flip it with a spatula. The yolk breaks.
-Commissioner Drake Mormont has agreed to a public address- today at one in the afternoon on the steps of the judicial building. Alongside discussions of protective services for augs-
The word makes the hair on my nape stand on end. Augs- as if someone with cybernetic parts was different from a regular person. Then again, we are. The hot water boiling on my stove now is poured into a cup of instant coffee, and I take a pill- bright yellow and with YD-8 carefully detailed upon it- from my dispenser and down it with a wash of water from the tap.
The skyline greets me when I turn my eyes out of my window. In the background, I still hear the talk host talking about the day’s weather- but it’s unimportant to me. The Dead Zone has a clear view of the sky- unlike the city proper. Lots of bad project developments meant most of this place was abandoned- or at the very least looked that way on paper. I still had to pay someone rent after all- a studio apartment worth six-thousand a month. A lot of money-
My eyes drifted back unto my knife. A lot of money for privacy. For no nosy neighbor to ask why I came home so late some nights, why I was fine with the landlord never being around. Why apartment twelve didn’t really exist- nor did anyone who lived in the other thirteen.
My hand was already holding the knife- the blade flipped out and glinting with red. Dripping, stinking, red. My eyes closed- it was clean again. The shake in my throat- the tightening of the muscles readying to scream- just another ghost in the machine. Just another reminder that someone- something- was watching me. Making me feel like at any moment something would go wrong.
Or maybe that is just my body telling me to go to the bathroom.
Location, Cafe O’Lay, Corner of Ingrid Ave and Marksman St; Time Approx. 1100 Hours; Audiovisual Record Provider: City Security Camera-3888
The Rise in Succubus Attacks, p.11A
Interview with City Commissioner Drake Mormont, p.13A
Those were the two headlines from this morning. A page and a half talking about Succubus- a popular slang term for a kind of murderer who goes after augs and tends to take their tech with them- coming from stories about the first murders- a pair of women who went psycho as a result of the stress of experimental cybernetics and the drug regimens attached. I flipped the page of the newspaper, turning my gaze out of the window onto the street for a moment. Adjusting my glasses, I let my mind wander as people passed by.
Couples, smiling and holding hands. Businessmen and women walking faster than the other pedestrians. Students mulling about, playing hooky. A mother and her child.
A brother and a sister holding hands, smiling, while she bites his throat out.
I can feel the cold sweat before I shake myself from those thoughts. I set the newspaper down and check the reader on my left arm. He will be here soon, I’m sure of it. “Johnson” is never late. No matter which one it is.
The cafe’s little bell rings, and I turn my gaze from my cybernetic arms to the man at the door. It seems business will start earlier than usual. “Miss Ingrid.” He greets me, and I accept the alias.
Location, CLASSIFIED. Audiovisual Record Provider: Kubota, KURENAI MONITORING VITALS
“She looks surprisingly cute for a multi-million dollar criminal.” I said, not prepared to admit such a thing except in the solitude of the meeting room.
“Big surprises can be small packages, you know.” The technician noted.
No matter how it was phrased, my reaction was the same. As an agent, I was supposed to defer to my professionalism and take every letter- every misspelling- as a clue. Even these computer screens were worthy of investigation. That is Kurenai Kubota’s very heartfelt wish.
It should be no surprise that the data reading on the screen in front of me is precise. I have worked this job for two years now, and only in few numbers have I seen our Intel Team fail to mark their target thoroughly.
“IT’S A BOY!?”
“Yes. Another JUDAS, case file 2322-AADD.” So said the glasses wearing tech- blonde, with brown eyes. She reminds me of the kind of person whom you would have seen being bullied in high school. Perhaps she had been- by someone like me, even. And now, here we are. Staring at the placid face of someone we had never met before on record.
“She doesn’t- he. He certainly has a blank expression.” I say to the blonde as she pushes a lock of blonde hair back behind her ears.
But maybe that was the kind of person it took to be a rogue element nowadays. That is all I can think to myself as I stare at the face of my next prey. Another illegally augmented crazy- codenamed JUDAS. Potential Succubus or otherwise.
Location, District 91 PD Special Forces Room, Audiovisual Record Provider: Kubota, KURENAI MONITORING VITALS
It is this one’s furthest wish- in this moment- to be anywhere but where I am now. Police precincts are much different from government work- especially work like my, Kurenai Kubota’s, own. On the lower levels, there are those who believe in protection of the people- of the way of life of others. There is also corruption. For HAND- the Harmful Android Neutralization Department- such a thing did not exist. A Purpose was singular, without form or function, only direction. Investing in those feelings- those fears- was without merit.
This JUDAS was my prey- nothing more. By the end of the day, he would be dead, and my hands would be bloodier. A stain for the shower after work.
“Miss?” I looked up, ignoring the flinch of the man who calls my attention. The unnatural glow of my eyes in the dim light often causes that effect. Because of this, my name has become symbolic. Unnatural red- crimson. “This is a standard file for any investigation target, but I don’t see-”
He pauses, and I understand. We have no data- none at all- that isn’t conjecture. The truth is, most of the time these man-hunts are much simpler. Psychopaths addicted to being cybernetically enhanced, needing the drug regimens to keep their bodies from rejecting them- they are not smart prey. Merely dangerous. This one…
“We can assume much, safely. That is why we are lucky to have an informant.”
Location, District 91 “Allez-Vous” Exotic Entertainment- Back Alley, Audiovisual Record Provider: City Surveillance
[“Ingrid” stands behind “Mr. Johnson”, the man threatens the bar owner for protection money while treating “Ingrid” as a mob enforcer- this scene highlights the things he has to do to make money while living on the fringe of society- it also expounds on the nature of illegal augs and makes a comment about the increase in Succubus attacks since a year ago. “Ingrid” laments his lot in life after the owner attempts to convince him to become an exotic dancer.]
Today’s job was simple- Enforcement. That is to say, I was supposed to stand there and look intimidating. You would think with my body, this would be a little more difficult. People were not often intimidated by pretty girls- cybernetic arms or not.
Location, District 91 DEAD ZONE- Back Alleys; PLACING CALL
[“Ingrid” receives a mysterious call from his sister- Esmerelda- who outs him as Jamie Cross (“Or should I call you Miss Ingrid(/little sister), now?”), teasing him about “getting hit with puberty” (his surgeries) and warning him about the incoming HAND squad and threatening that “He’s not allowed to die.”
Jamie gets ambushed at the far end of the alley he was in, causing him to retreat into an abandoned apartment complex and escaping through a window into an adjacent business office. An action sequence filled with him using his knife to disable or maim pursuers before coming face to face with KURENAI.
KURENAI unwittingly explains to the audience, disguised as “Sherlock-style monologuing”, why HAND is after him- he’s been framed for crimes committed by his sister- whom his new likeness is rather unfortunately based off of.
Jamie “flashbacks” to a few years ago, his sister vanishing in the middle of the night after forcing him to be fitted with his arms and surgically modified to resemble how she looked then. This flashback also introduces the illegal cybernetics dealer/doctor “ANTON”, whom Jamie suspects still to this day is backing his sister due to his consistent willingness to treat him (for no visible reward.)
KURENAI tries to apprehend Jamie, him having to use one of the special augments in his arms (Pistons/generators in his shoulders which enhance his punches enough to destroy concrete walls) to escape after darting from cover to cover in order to avoid getting filled with holes- this establishes that due to her eyes, KURENAI is an extremely excellent marksman. Jamie barely manages to get to his bike and flee.]
Location, DEAD ZONE- “End of the World” Cybernetics
[We’re introduced to DEAD ZONE- a place where society’s outcasts and criminals hide and propagate
We’re reintroduced to ANTON, Jamie threatens him in order to get the (now visibly older) man to tell him his sister’s whereabouts. ANTON- full of himself and obviously a few screws loose- explains his sister’s backstory as (one of) the Succubus (Succubi) who has been terrorizing the city for the past two years since she left him that night- with her having explicitly told ANTON that she would kill and “eat” him if he didn’t continue to provide the necessary drug regimen and surgeries to keep Jamie from rejecting his cybernetics and “growing naturally.” An unhealthy and unnatural lust for Jamie is conveyed in her words and actions- which visibly makes him uneasy- but doesn’t seem new to him.
ANTON tells Jamie “You don’t even resemble her anymore”- an indication that Esmerelda’s lust for cybernetics has changed her completely into a monster- admitting to having no idea “how a normal person could accept more robotic parts than humanly possible” which hints that Esmerelda’s status as a Succubus has surpassed simple motives. He then finally tells Jamie of Esmerelda’s location-
She’s locked away in a HAND research facility, as a result of her desire to take KURENAI’s eyes for herself. Jamie visibly sweats and begins to breakdown while ANTON continues, explaining that his sister is devious- having ingratiated herself as an ally and using him as bait to draw KURENAI out in order to “consume” her.
Driven to save KURENAI- and “illogically” his sister- Jamie prepares to go meet an “underworld provider” to break into HAND’s facility.]
“You have such pretty eyes.”