Meet up

The permit to stay trading within the recreational parking lot was at its end. All useless money funds has been spent on resale items or for luxurious replacements. New parts for some the modules within any given remote active body, including the puppet body.

There was a few gifted shell sections of personal machines that has been recrafted into a second pair of hands for emergencies use only - dubbed as puppet2. The problem with puppet2 is the battery life and recharging capacity. It isn't compatible with our current electricity supply which according to the system is the old solar power method and kinetic drive shaft of the van.

The spider drone had been successfully altered for systems use and power intake. It has become the systems extra limbs. The remodeling of components has thinned it considerably compare to the military model or the consumer model. That is the magic of nanotechnology being able to miniaturized the hardware circuitry.

Currently everything is packed and everything is accountable within stock. Air filters, pumps and other similar products have sold out for public sale. All there is left was items needed as emergency module construction. The pump can be reconfigured into a internal heart replacement or in other words a pace maker. There is was plenty of potential uses for all the scrap gained. Hardly much was for resale around here but helpful further away.

"Kate Nick's trade van, this is last call." She waved to the peace keepers and closed the side door. The system started the engine, smoothly into driving in following the orders. Passing back out the fencing of what is regulated city traders parameter. Just getting through the gate was being forced into heavy walking pedestrians and even slower vehicles. Bricked parking for trade stands here.

Its thankfully nice to have friends whom save parking space on this fence side for you. Frank and his tag group of survivors had a whole caravan set of four different vehicles. This is two were motor homes, one busted Volvo explorer and a American flat bed truck, Ford model. With a little shuffle there is space for this van to park comfortably between the two motor homes. There were a set of whom were suspicious despite Frank's orders 'to be welcoming'.

The side door is opened once more and Kate springs out, kit on that suited an armed solo merchant. Still sealed in a new fancy kit that was both a hazmat suit and armor. She said it feels like something out of Stars wars when looking at images of herself.

"Franky, we still got some trade to do. I could never leave a client like you under traded." She was patting all over with taking echo measurements of his condition and with stopping to poke his nose, "I am proud of you. What made you quit?"

"If you mean that I stopped drinking alcohol like a fish, you should thank our medic of the team. Removed a section of liver."

"And a few other cancer areas, I can tell. Its no wonder your still alive with someone talented." Kate not being at all private about health, "Anyways, talking shop for now. Whose getting kitted?" She clapped hand and leaned to the side of looking behind him to three others. She gives a tilt and back to Frank, "I take it you half told them or they misunderstood."

"They think your a pure hybrid machine that thinks its human."

"Well in someway what body you are talking to could be described that way but I am remote controlled to my actual brain. So... complicated doesn't cut it. Besides... its a mircale that I am still me." She twirl him out of the way and with offering a hand, "I don't care what you think of me and my other half. My name is Kate Nick. I trade in scavenge scrap, replacement limbs for robots and tinned foods. I also sell luxurious products I find in my travel - like beers and soda. On the side, I sell all sorts of weapons and modifications for those weapons. If you want it, don't blame me." None take her hand, "I get it, paranoid of being infected. If anything, I would contract it from you then give it to you." Hand away, "Just from staring at your stances and looking at your hands... Well... I have plenty of the things your looking for. New or predated from before the fallout." She studies heart rates and attitudes, "Tough love here. Whatever." She backs off with sorting out the van storage, "Take your time folks to come see me. You have 449 in credits to trade. Plenty for a sniper, three hand guns and shot gun."

"Mrs Nick, could I trade?" the little boy is quite the lad now. Not her interest of him but a reminder of her step children is there.

"I don't mind, you want to anything luxurious like a new book or are you talking safety? I have plenty of nice knives or craft one to your style." She wasn't holding back or protective acting of him.

"No!" Someone objecting about knives, attempting to pull him away but he doesn't budge at all. Letting the lass fall at the floor behind him.

"I was hoping for some necklances... I have been looking for a particular one." He took out a phone with a phone. Quick scan.

"She is alive and out there..." Taking about the personal the photo and the shock he has, "But it was a while... let me check something." Taking out a few notebooks of records of encountered trade, "A week ago, she was fine. She bought ammo and was on her merry way."

The shock of the news unsettled others where the lass and the lad were in relief to hear. The folks were more reluctant to come forward for weapons now that it was said. The kid still trades some small stuff for new ammo. He had also got a basic hunters knife too. He told Kate to keep the change as tip for informing him about the lady in the picture. The lass whom was against him having weapons was more scared of him nearing Kate then actually being given a knife.

His gesture to be in close touch to Kate for the picture show was convince enough for the others to at least trade at arms length. There must be a anti-machine racism among this lot, whatever the history is. This made more apparent the longer Kate was parked between the two motor homes, the sudden jolts of fear of Kate was witnessed away from her van for any reason. No trade with machines came this way either. Maybe it was for the better for now.

The later darker evening with dim lit survival devices or the occasional light source from other things. The whole road here was peppered in neon lighting. The walk way was still trampled of folks trading back and forth. Late evening was the gun hour, all whom traded late was for illegal things. Be it drugs, a fun hour or weapons - the things the city had strict laws against the most. The sky was to polluted in light to show stars, something Kate enjoys in the evening like this.

"Are you hungry?" Frank stopping by in slow service, "Need a drink at all?"

"I have my own rations but I might take the offer. I just hope nothing to exciting gets relied up with me here. Our first time had that debarckle with the city and some faluse enhancement wonder injection." Kate got out the slouch she was in from sitting on driver side 'seat', "What you got to offer anyway?"

"Zip juice as we call it. A sort of fermented combination of beer and cider. The brewery recipe is secret." He showed a clear bottle of golden brown liquid, in the other hand was two shot glasses, "Care to join me?" Kate shrugs and gets out the van. Does a knock as two limbs formed a table and a seat for them. He sits frist and pours the shot glasses. Kate sits at the edge, taking one closet to her. They click shots and down it in one. Glass put down.

"Mmm.... Well I know the complete recipe and found a little disappointing." She let's the burn and flavours kick in, "I understood the whole zip thing. Its like putting a low volt tazer to the throat for a milosecond. A swallowed button battery maybe." She is offered a second shot, the takes it. She sips at this one, rolling the odd flavor around the tongue, "How are things since I last seen you lot? Its been a while." Frank sighed with glances at the motor homes.

"Its been hard for them... They cured me for now. Yet I am no immortal. I don't intend on it. I have not much to leave behind that considered unfinished business. I taught the lad what I could... but he hasn't understood the morals behind it. Swindled a little by the lass that clings to him for protection. Gets in trouble for it."

Kate nods in listening, taking pause as a stranger walks up from the road. Straight to the van side door, knocking. Kate gives twirl to look right to the stranger, leaned back with the shot glass rim held in her finger tips. She give nod to the strange whom then turned to look, sees the shot glass and back to the knocking.

"He heard you the frist time. What are you here to trade for?" Kate downs the shot glass and sees the person focus to her properly, "My brother isn't exactly a show face type... nor am I." which is true, her face was mostly still hidden with the helmet, the lower jaw of the helmet was lowered to her neck for pleasure to drink from the shot glass.

"Trading for replacing parts." The gun in question was showed, not at all pointed to anyone with safety lock. The large gun was weighted, inhuman carry strengths.

"Not a problem... what will you pay for fee? what can you afford?" The hooded strange made stranger made strange cloaked movements. A if someone else was on their back or something.

"10 cases." It was peanuts but there is more going on as they muttered to themselves and then corrected to say, "50 bullet cases." That second price is reasonable, but something continues to be a little off about this guy.

"Well then, 50 is fine. I don't swindle folks for anything more then that." She takes the gun from them, made it look easy partly opened the door and passed it in.

Her brother takes over the gun work and she stays guarding her door. With some signal sharing conversation, her brother warned of high concentration of Ddc198 and cscc in a dormant state is within that cloak. There was something very off about the strangers way of standing and use of arms.

"The mod work is going to take sometime, you can relax with us. Your non-infection for a plague victim. Have a seat if you wish." Being kind... the stranger was unsure... maybe even nervous, "Sorry, My name is Kate Nick, I wear my suit because I scare people too. They could infect me and make me worse. I have a internal system and had a few bones replaced with metal. They refuse to call me human anymore... in spite being born as one."

The fella did a strange flex and then a little girl was uncovered from within the hood... she was being held by the one under the cloak. Kate lowers to the kids height and offered to shake hand, although she did clean them first.

"I was two people... confusingly I was my mother and my daughter. This here... Well... if I spoke from my daughter view, that is daddy and our dog." Kate pouts with understanding.

This girl seem to be one the sane cases, folks whom merged into one thing but still have sane thoughts. She's the one holding the gun, going by the hand marks. She was a teens height with mix young and old parts. Kate brought put a notebook and makes notes. She asked medical history and traded medication for them. Feed them a meal. Frank listened to, in mild shock but understands as much as Kate could.

"My dog-dad can't be in a colony or a caravan company. I could alone if I convince them." The dog fella sat on the floor by the van door. Lowers to sniff the floor occasionally.

"Well your in luck... Not that your going to beleive it but I was requested to a zoo. The scouts whom been back told me its a high concentrated area of the transformation disease. Given its a zoo... it means the folks there are half or full creatures types with human sense. They need someone with medical care to help sort them. Not of the infection but of other illnesses. In meeting you, I finally get it." Kate knocked the surface of the limb of the van, "We aren't charging them. They gave us value in information."

Her brother has a hover drone do a full body scan of both and then agrees. She smiles wondered by the hover model, holding at one point for closer detail. She then frowns as she studies it more seriously.

"The parts were from military model but its been scrapped and repuposed for our use." Brother stealing Kate's voice a moment, "Your gun model is done. You should consider hanging out with us... me and Kate." A rather cold and distance way speaking at the girl. The girl was a little taken back from the voice change.

"What he means to say without freaking you out is that we could have your companion come with us to the colony of halves like himself. You could always contact him through us, since we plan on spending a lot of time there." Kate adjusted her tone back, "I am like you, I was transformed by the disease... I am only alive because of the machine work that I am connected to. He and I have several active bodies... at our own choose as long as its in our network. I can be the hover drone or this puppet body or even the van. We are stick together... so. This was compromise." Kate has convinced the girl at least, "Sadly, my time alone has made me eat unsavory things... and well..." She shows the claws and puts them away, "This body is several DNA of .any things. No longer human enough to be in a colony. So I get it. I get the reasons why too... but its still a death sentence to us whom can't infect others."

"Your not wrong. I go by Lillian Jasmine Stephen. My husband was Jack Stephen and our dog is Murphy. My husband isn't around anymore then just being a pair of legs. Murphy does all the thinking... shares both memories. Its almost Franky at times. But I find it with myself too."

"Yes... I do the same thing. My brother is machine ai... yet. I can understand the ai language and the code. If I wanted to pry into his past I could... I choose to not. His the nosy one that read me like a book."

Kate sees friends in the strange family of two bodies. That talking to another plague victim this way has made sense of somethings. The girl smirks in that strange way, like a older person noticing something younger people over look.

"Why not join me and my tag team, Lillian? We good friends of Kate here, we don't care about infected. Some are ai racist but they help folks out wherever they can regardless of what flesh it is. We need someone with some wisdom to knock some young heads into moral shape. I can do it all forever." offers a shot of the zip stuff and the little lass drink it just fine.

"You would be able to get my dog to that zoo?"

"From what we know, they would take him in without a second thought. Its me and Kate that will struggle. We are to humanoid to be trusted as face value. Our manners are perfect for role of healer but the 19 before us might make it harder." He was better at toning this time, all one level yet at least sounding normal then a growl.

"Kate, just how much of you is you?" Frank asking.

"I am just a few organs in a box, literally." She posed in sighing as the disbelief painted the others, "I don't like showing my brain to people. I shouldn't be alive even he keeps saying that." The van door is slide open on its own, the finished gun put to the side of the dog man, "The metal crate that replaces the driver seat is me."

"No way!" dog man sniffing in there, "Smells like food."

"We have dog food, want some?" brother shouting across. The dog man sits straight and panting. Front paws tap the floor. Cloak was moving about so, he has a tail somehow. The van uses chopstick limbs and pours a bowl out of some dog kibble, dog man thanked then tucked in like a dog. Lillian giggles happy to see him happy, the daughter aspect.

"I haven't seen Murphy so happy in a long time. He a awesome dog." She almost went into a toddler rant of dog stories but stops herself. She covers her mouth and gets all blushed and shy.

"Its confusing to talk about your husband as your dog." Frank nods with pouring more drink, "I am sure it has weird things of clashing memories. He will be a good fella if he hangs out with Kate. Feed as both dog and human, she can medical scan him in just a stare." Frank made Lillian have some relief. Lillian even look to Kate with plead.

"His got some interesting internal organ placement but nothing about his condition is anything to worry about. His heart works just fine for the body. Two stomach. one large connected colon system. The other brain is safe. Yeah, nothing for you to worry about. His mix blood is find, somehow."

"Wow... you must have machine eyes." She muttered. Kate sighs more and with removing the helmet. Frank and Lillian backed off at first. But she is brave in moving closer again. Goes poking the face area, "There isn't anything human about this head. Is your real head in the box?"

"Yes... Well... just the brains. I lost a lot of my skin, bones and organs in my change. I nearly lost my brother if I hadn't... its..." the helmet back on, "I eat everything now. Even metal parts. I do so to prevent him from being ate by the changes."

"That must be hard... when in a melted state. Its a moment of utter hysteria and then... bleakness and cut away emotions."

"It is." Kate putting everything on straight, no longer drinking, "Once I have the last few things obtained. We be escorted towards place that needs medical help. We be crossing the electric fence onto the M1."

"The death trap, thats a death sentence." Frank snarls.

"They will be escorted by us..." Purple99.8 moved bravely up, "The half human is free to join, he would be welcomed as their own. This is mission not permitted by humans... you could say. Its of joint interests of the city networks and the few of us ai whom care about the rest of the world. Humans have mostly chosen to save themselves and damned the lower human society into death sentence. We feel obligated to help world."

"Its machine thinkers like you my caravan buddy are afraid of. In my opinion, I am glad you care like me. I can't save everyone alone." Frank shook hand with Purple99.8, "You met Kate before, I can tell. You machines carry that stiff unsure motion if you didn't know her well."

"I am older in code, I learned more then the average. It was my request to ask them to help the zoo. It took a while to reach this point. I wanted to be sure they would survive and maybe even make things smoother. My boss has a thing about being protective of innocent people. The people can fluffy or feathered or just human. Almost a obsession of looking after them all." That could mean the boss is also an ai with a strange personality. There was a lot to unpack with the express Purple99.8 gave. The tilt away as if disappointed or something. The boss has to be weird.

"As Kate would say, I understand where you're coming from. The network is a odd thing that loves treating flesh types as pets. Further to try and make humans understand this point by using cases like dog man as a example. And still be gush over all things with the same motherly love."

Kate finds this perplexing that her brother has this opinion. Yet she didnt pry in his business anyways. It is likely that all machines have a connection to this network mother and all had a conversation with it at somepoint. It is a wonder why Kate has not spoken to this mother yet. The topic aside a moment as Purple99.8 came here to talk about plan.

"The issue about getting to the area of the colony is not just the drive up the M1. I understand that the M1 is full of traps, car blocks and other military presence that it ordered to kill. There is a on going clash between the plague lost minded ones and a human formed army. This conflict means there is no discrimination of freind or foe. Machines whom are network reliant are unable to pass the geographical network fencing. This isn't a problem for Kate and her Brother, something we had to be sure of. There is also a kill code broadcasted as even myself becomes a threat some point, strangely also not a issue for these two. We have put together a lorry but it has to be human driven, it is full of the requests they made, some things your brother asked us to obtain and four pet shops worth of foods and other animal care good. Complete with veterinary treatments, notes and computers. One of the vets we cleane out was at the ruin of a miniature zoo, which meant the vet notes will be useful to you." Kate nods lightly in listening to Purple99.8, "Its down to you once your there. Yet before we can leave... there is someone whom need your attention." Shows a image of a melty bird, "Our informant as I talked about before. It got shot on its way here."

Of no control to Kate or the system, the puppet body snatched the image and stares deeply into it. A hand petting the image a little.

"Injured? I can fix that." Very certain and soft toned.

"Excuse the puppet drone, this one is self aware too. Which makes sense of consider the material its made of." Hover drone 1 lifted to be part of the talk.

"My brain may have been separated from the rest of my body... but puppet is actually the majority of the rest of me. Its still myself, in sense." hover drone 2 dancing to land at the front, " Hand back the device." Puppet was reluctant but complied with her demand, "You will help the bird soon." The sigh puppet gives.

"Wait... so this body is also you?"

"Yes... lacking the brain shape... but has ability to have one in a not so visible to find way. We did many scans to make sense of it all."

"Maybe its why you aren't affected by codes and maybe why your a abnormal exepction of the Ddc198 strain. It of your brothers request that I looked into similar cases like you."

"Wow, we are really alike in a strange way. Its exactly what I would do." Kate showing her past as a researcher before. Some habits go unchanged... in fact, puppet when left to own control will do similar things with found corpses or make mental notes of things. All the sort of things that would give experience with the changes of the transformation disease.