“No contaminants detected” announces the pilot. The turrets respectfully lower and the internal doors begin to open.
Peta and her crew knew that the worst was yet to come. They had entered the aircraft undetected with their high altitude intrusion into QF-204, successfully bypassing any contamination. She fumbled with her horned helmet that felt extremely out of place against her usual style and hoped now that she could blend in to this strange culture.
Peta was a new recruit and this was her first operation. Indeed her processing through the Secret Services Bureau seemed to have been streamlined somehow from above – even to the point of being hasty at points. Although it was true that she had a high aptitude in her field, she didn't quite grasp the ramifications of the previous week's efforts.
The group of five officers casually made their way through the airport, making note of any potential trouble. There was a small assembly of police officers or military men talking with a receptionist – apparent only by virtue of the fact that they carried firearms.
They pass by without any interference.
Without notice an unidentified man starts to walk towards them, waving an arm and smiling.
“Peta?” asks a man running toward her.
“Yes,” she answers.
“I'm you're driver, I've been assigned to take you to your hotel.”
“Driver?” she asks. She had been trained to expect robot drivers since it was well known that decedent Civlarians were loath to perform any manual task.
“You didn't know? Your company has paid for deluxe service. That means no robot driver – I'll show you around personally,” the man grins, “My name is Plymothe.”
“Awesome!” replies Peta. “Thank Aesuth!” she thought. The driver would indeed be of assistance to get their bearings.
Soon they are on the road. The business district was not what the group had expected, but they all knew not to attract attention by asking foolish questions. Yet, the disgusting opulence and excesses of Civlarian society is still quite apparent although seemingly exaggerated.
“You don't talk much,” laughs the driver, trailing off from some long winded anecdote about the various places of historical significance they were passing by. He was mainly on about historical courthouses, legal precedents and the evolution of the legal system.
“What about business?”
“Not much business here, it's mainly run by the government. I'm afraid if you're after shopping we can't provide you with much!” Plymothe apologizes.
Something was not right.
As they approach a large building, they saw the sign at the entrance.
Prison six.
It was immediately followed by prisons five and four. For a commercial capital of Civlar it appeared that there were indeed a lot of prisons. Had they been detected?
“Do you have the heroin?” Michel whispers to Peta. Michael was a veteran agent and knew when a situation seemed too strange to deal with. Indeed it was only Michael that outranked Peta on this particular mission – despite most of the others having 10 years of experience additional to hers.
“No,” Peta said in a hushed voice, “I had to use it on a passenger. She asked me something I didn't know how to answer.”
Momentarily however, they pull up at their hotel. The sign at the front proclaimed “Actual Hotel”.
Noting that the driver had an interest in the history of buildings, one of the group asks - “Why is it called 'Actual Hotel'?”
“Well, it's a play on words obviously!” the driver gleams.
He presumes that his customers were quite tired after their flight.
“Ah, I get it!” Michael booms as the group breaks out into labored laughter. So far, this mission had become far stranger than any of them had anticipated.
The group now sits in uneasy silence inside their hotel suite. They now feel that something did not add up about the situation but were not keen to speculate with each other at this point.
Michael turns on the television. They knew that the Civlarian government monitored the viewing habits of all the citizens. Or at least they had been told. Despite the risk, they are keen to glean more information about their new location – provided there was any channel in Civlar that was not dedicated solely to hardcore pornography.
Michael flips through the channels: 1, 2, 3...
“Stop!” cries Peta, “It will seem indecisive!”
“No, Civlarians are fickle – they only have a very short attention span,” Michael reminds.
They proceed through the channels, initially committing to memory the supposed content of each channel - but soon found this as a futile activity since there are too many channels to process in this manner. Soon they are switching changing channels 10 at a time...
As they hit channel 120 and they are stunned indeed by what they see: It is a Sermon from the Grand High Priest of the Realm.
“...you may wonder, and rightfully so, why it is that the Civlarians do not acquire the AIDS affliction as readily as the people here in the Holy Realm. They are indeed imbued with the very essence of Sin. Premarital sex is not only allowed in Civlar, but often forced, on the children especially. While their population does indeed dwindle with a range of diseases, the answer to this vexing question is clear in the scriptures:”
“A child can only be punished so much until he is thrown out of his home!”
“Yes, dear faithful, it is indeed true that Aesuth has turned his back on Civlar. So much disdain does He have for this Blaspemoth that he renders them neither punishment nor grace – they are left alone to their own devices like a wayward child that falls into the hands of a pimp....”
“Consider another question. Why is it that a dog does not get AIDS? Any 5 year old child will know that answer – because they are animals.”
Suddenly, the television screen changes, prompting a jolted reaction for the team. The computerized prompt advises them that their company has sent them an urgent communiqué. Also that their program has been automatically time-shifted and will not be missed.
“Store or play now?”
“Play now!” snaps Michael.
“Heeeeeeeeey! How’s it going! I am the CEO of Mainframes Unlimited – NO SHIT! - And I've got an urgent message for you. Check out that freaky religious channel, 120 at 5:30pm. You have gotta see the quote man, you'll piss yourself!!! See-ya!”
It's was almost 5:30pm now. The message has been clear and although they did not know how to turn off the time-shifting on the television they should be safe considering the brevity of the message from their “CEO”.
Peta takes out from her bag a small camera and fixed it at the television. Then she uses the earphones socket and applied the headphones so that it will not make any noise. As expected a new program came on. It was another sermon, on the importance of Chastity.
As expected, here was that line – a single glitch in the high definition transmissions across the bottom section of the screen. It was so thin that they needed to squint their eyes to see it – but it was there. The camera started decoding the encoded message that it was now viewing.
The group continues to laugh randomly at the program, unsure about which parts were actually funny and still yet suspicious that they are being watched.
“What do you make of it? Funny right?” asks Michael of Peta in fabricated amusement.
“Relax, we're not being watched. I just heard our real mission. Aesuth has truly blessed us, for tonight we shall be performing an act of mercy. This is a prison colony not the business district. We have been sent to rescue a prisoner. Not just any prisoner either – she is the Chosen One. Through her Enlightenment, she has become a weapon of unimaginable power....”
She lays out the instructions to her crew members:
1.Enter prison 1 in the guise of mainframe technicians.
2.Scan the prison manifest and liberate Eva.
3.Smuggle her out of the prison and back to the airport.
4.Bo
ard QF-205 to the Holiday Zone. Once in the air, there will be three holy fighters waiting in ambush. QF-205 will be forced to comply and will make its way back to the Realm.
“How will we smuggle Eva back?” Michael inquires.
“I am her doppelganger,” replies Peta proudly, “We are almost exactly identical in appearance. I will stay behind as a POW.”
“I am sorry...” Michael begins.
“Not really. Previously to rescuing Eva you will have access to the prison computers. Just make sure you get me the override code for the prison doors – I will make use of them at the most opportunistic time,” Peta grins.
This is a small deviation from the plan but one which she was sure would not hurt the objectives of the mission.