Page 25 of Neon Flux

I leaned forward in my chair, scanning the memo.

Tex continued, “What’s most interesting is it’s rumored to be from one of the outland labs. Message said there was a deal going down in the Magenta District.”

Magenta, huh? Home sweet home.

Shit always rolled downhill, and it had all landed in Magenta. Neo Stellaris was riddled with megabuildings—apartments, stores, schools, entertainment—they held more people and places than some small towns. Magenta was megabuildings built on megabuildings, some toppled over and still used. They built it right over the old city’s roughest area, and the new buildings never changed that. After years of fighting for control, thepoliticians basically ignored it, preferring to pretend it didn’t exist. No government, no oversight. It grew and festered like a cancer into its own living organism, where anything went. Businesses built on top of citizens; citizens built on top of businesses. No maps existed of Magenta. It changed too fast and was too vast. I knew that place better than the back of my hand.

I leaned back, not wanting to seem too eager.

“Half those messages are fake. Who’s saying I won’t spend the entire night sitting in some nasty-ass bar for no payout?”

Tex shrugged and slid the memo to my display. “Up to you. But I’d hate for it to be true, and something like this gets out on the streets.”

Yeah, out on the streets before we could take our cut. Almost every synthetic drug on the market had started out in some corps lab, and most had been released to help boost the quarterly profits. Bonus for keeping the populous subdued. POM was never a company to tolerate competition.

“It’s either this or be on call for DDoS threats.”

“So sit and waste time in the office all night, or sit and waste time in some bar?” I asked.

“Your choice, Cyanos.”

“Do I get to charge overtime?”

“No.”

CHAPTER 7

EON

Afew hours passed in silence. No one came into the clinic, luckily. At one point, NSPD passed by, but they apparently weren’t bored enough to bother us today.

I felt my body relax when the Smiths came out of the back room. Tommy leaned against his mom, drowsy and a bit disoriented, a bandage on the back of his neck. My hand reflexively went to the scar on the back of mine. The procedure wasn’t easy, but I could see the relief on his face. His mother had a real bandage on her neck now and was cleaned up. She was shaking Dev’s hand.

Dev had her sign a few things, and as he did, I moved closer to Tommy. His face was still sullen, riddled with guilt as his eyes lingered on his mom’s bandage.

I lowered my voice. “You know, before I got my chip, I hurt my mom too. I felt so guilty about it, but once I got my chip, I could contain it.”

He looked at me with big, round eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. You were very brave today. I’m proud of you.” I pulled a thumb drive out of my pocket and handed it to him.“Some shows for your recovery. Tell your mom it’s doctor’s orders—as many vids as you want for the next two days.”

His eyes lit up. “Thanks!” He smiled his first genuine smile, and my heart ached.Big softie.

“Thank you so much, Doctor. I promise I’ll get you the next payment as soon as I can,” Ms. Smith said behind me.

“I know you will. I’m just happy I could help.” Dev shot me an apologetic look.Bigger softie.This is why we were always behind on bills. I shook my head but wasn’t mad. This was why Dev kept this rundown clinic—to actually help people, even if it meant he ate way more instant noodles than was healthy.

He walked them out the door, then turned back to me. “Got a few things to clean up. You’ll lock up for me?”

“Of course, Dev.” I patted his shoulder as he walked by, and he hit me with a sad smile. “What is it?”

“He was too young. Barely ten years old. That Flux chip is going to stunt his growth.”

I gave Dev’s arm a squeeze. “You did the right thing. You saw how much he was already manifesting. He might’ve hurt someone again, or worse—”

Dev’s eyes went hard, and I didn’t have to say it. Kids with Flux who didn’t get chipped died. No one had ever made it past sixteen. There had been a panic when it had first started happening around 2055, as more and more of the already dwindling population burned out. The entire world had come together to find a solution, often lauded as humanity’s greatest moment of cooperation—behind integrating Stellarium power worldwide. It was rumored the first-gen implants had come from some secret military tech designed to regulate human hormones in battle. Luckily, a few years later, microfluidic hormone control had been developed, and the Flux chip became standard.

“Better stunted than dead, I suppose.” He flattened his lips, not comforted.