Chapter 3 A Question

        FA Chapter 3 A Question

A new day started as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. Bosingwa woke up bursting with energy, a rare occurance that had stopped happening over ten years ago. Why? Because work had taken its toll. The brain eventually dulls when it has to perform a repetitive task day after day.

It is said, monsters aren't born but created. 

It was a line that resonated with Bosingwa deeply on this day. He was going to ascend from the state of a normal human, to a being capable of things far surpassing normalcy.

With a yawn to purge the last dregs of sleep from himself, he abandoned his bed and got ready for the day. How long had it been? When had it last been that he had had a free day? He couldn't remember many such days, except maybe for the holidays. And those holidays had mostly been occupied with visiting his sister and her family, who were in another city. A day all to himself! That had practically become a myth!

Breakfast was a heavy meal since he went out to treat himself at restaurant, enjoying the staple Matooke and groundnut soup he hadn't had in a while. It wasn't the most nutritious meal, but it had been both delicious and filling.

-----

At around 2:00pm, he found himself in a small subsection of Kampala called Kansanga. He had even ordered himself a taxi from his apartment to this place. He had taken the time on the journey to reacquaint himself with the comfortableness afforded by the car. The content purr that had leaked out of his lips while lying back in the seat had made the AI bot look at him weirdly, but he hadn't cared at the time.

A skyscraper surrounded by dancing petals of purple greeted him the moment he arrived at his destination. It was so tall that it vanished within the sparse cloud cover. The vibrancy of the purple petals was mesmerising, especially with their freely drifting nature. It was a hologram, that much he could tell as there were plenty of such around, and yet, for some reason this one had managed to capture his attention. The flower petals were simply too life-like, with the light from the sun above even reflecting off of them, giving the illusion of realism.

His gaze lingered for about a minute before he once again resumed movement. This time, he was heading towards the building itself. The entrance alone was grand, flanked by large spinning purple flowers, and these appeared to be real. Bosingwa couldn't work out how a flower could be genetically modified to reach such epic proportions, but he had faith that those biologists could find ways...just like the Forgers. 

"I was invited here by miss Purple...?" Bosingwa asked the receptionist hesitantly. It was the phrase that was supposed to lead him to his true destination. The hesitancy originated from the fact that he was somewhat intimidated by the atmosphere within this place. Everyone, from the human-like robots to the humans themselves, were dressed to the nines, yet he was simply clad in a hoodie and a pair of casual pants. Various colored business outfits tantalised his eyes, giving the illusion that everyone had their own personal designer...something which was true since the advent of AI. Though, because of the expenses incurred because of owning one, he lacked one.

Though, the fact that the receptionist almost resembled a true human was fascinating to him. If he hadn't looked closely, he had almost mistaken her for a human!

"Conference room A12." The synthetic simply spoke those words, after which, directions appeared within Bosingwa's vision through his neural link. He bed her farewell before following the markers within his vision which were leading him towards an elevator.

Working for bigwigs never turned out good for those below them, most of the time. That's what Bosingwa had gleaned through his constant years of toiling away for a company that allowed its heir to steal a bonus meant for the workers. And now, he didn't know what to expect as he boarded the elevator. He had thought that he was going to participate in a shady auction of sorts, or even an exchange, but here he was, in a building owned by one of the greatest business groups in the world, the Borasaek Group.

His hands were trembling with nervousness and seeing that there were others with him within the elevator, he chose to bury them within the pockets of his hoodie.

He stepped off the elevator at the designated floor, having managed to calm his somewhat restless nerves, though he had a feeling that a relapse wasn't so far away.

On reaching the sealed entrance to the Conference room A12, the grey doors slid to the side on their own after a temporary resonance and verification with his neural link. 

But what he saw inside almost caused a verbal curse to escape his lips, one directed towards the contact who had sent him here. That woman hadn't been truthful at all!

Many people were already gathered within the conference hall, and judging by the gazes thrown his way, they were all the same as him! They had come for the awakening serum!

Gazes fell upon him the moment he trudged inside, from the enraged to the hostile. They were all on edge, with each eyeing the other with a threat within, as if wanting them to withdraw voluntarily.

"Another one!"

"That bitch lied to me!"

"My chances have just gone down."

"Could you please go back?"

That last question was posed by a chubby man. Everything about him was...full...? Bosingwa gaped for a moment as people of such stature had become a rare breed in the world...why? Because of genetic editing. Even Bosingwa's parents had had some part of their genes altered to prevent those weight gain defects.

There was pleading within his tone. Bosingwa outright ignored the man, instead choosing one of the empty chairs to occupy. Everyone had their circumstances, and wanting them to give up because of your own satisfaction was a big NO in his books.

Bosingwa estimated at least a 100 people with his eyesight alone, upon which his heart sunk. That woman had severely exhorted him about how the serum was limited and that should any opportunity arise, he should cling to it with his very life! At the time, he hadn't understood those words, but upon seeing this crowd, he understood right away. His mood sunk even further upon seeing looks of desperation in some people. Though, there were some people who were threats. Those with great physical structures. That was one of the things he couldn't beat. Athleticism was one of the most important criteria for being one of those few chosen. And seeing this much of a crowd, his money was going to be pointless here. Being one of the chosen few was going to hinge on the whims of whoever had gathered them. Trying to stand out? That wouldn't work in the least!

After a few minutes of waiting and about ten other arrivals, someone walked out of the door at the end of this gigantic room, with their steps alone causing everyone to quiet down subconsciously. Though, Bosingwa could see subtle expressions of nervousness. Beads of sweat, shaking legs, clenched hands...with him being part of the latter expression, though, since his hands were safely within his pockets, those with keen eyes wouldn't be able to tell that he was massively nervous and fearful...no, terrified! Chances where people like him got the chance to gain a serum were very rare! Two whole years had passed before he had gotten this chance! If he had attended an auction instead, his chances would have been very Very VERY slim!

Bosingwa had read Musana's book about forgers thoroughly enough to know that this was one of the applications of spiritual force. It was capable of influencing the unawakened. Every single step magnified the excitement within him. He was about to lay his eyes on a Forger...and not just on screen in his cramped apartment, but in the flesh!

A woman, dressed in black long pants, ones that didn't adhere tightly to her form, dark peeptoe heels, a dark blazer that appeared to be a set with the pants, draped over a white shirt entered the room, her gaze calm and arrogant. She was like a phoenix among chicken, and Bosingwa had no doubt that all of them would die if she so decided. Her black long hair was being held up in a band, forming a ponytail at the back, swishing with her every step.

A gun, probably with a plasma battery or laser configuration, was strapped to her waist. It was a visible threat to any that had any thoughts of disobedience.

But, Bosingwa's gaze simply skimmed over her, even though she practically embodied his dream... to fall onto the figure behind the woman. The reason for that was simply because of one word, beautiful. As a virgin nerd who had spent most of their adolescent life focused on studying, and his youth on working, this woman caused his body to heat up and lust to be birthed, which he suppressed with vehemence the moment it reared its head. She had the figure of a goddess, those virtual women he had used as material to satisfy his urges. Her attire would have matched with the other woman except that the pants had been replaced with a skirt whose hem touched her knees. The urge to have it rise to her thighs almost caused a tent in his pants. That bosom of hers was clearly struggling to be let free from such a tiny garment called a blouse!

The woman who had appeared wasn't someone in his league, probably having multiple suitors of comparable backgrounds waiting in line. And besides, his goal here was simple, to gain an awakening serum, not contemplating the possibility of romance.

That purple natural hair of hers matched her to a tee. The unfolding purple petals composed of her pupils served to draw his gaze within, like a bee enchanted. Tattooing had become a thing of the past, being replaced by genetic alterations like her eyes, with many even being hereditary. Though, the people who mostly took it to the extreme were those from the state of Korea who heavily dabbled in the art.

Involuntarily, the words, 'miss Purple', rose unbidden within his mind upon laying eyes on the woman, who appeared younger than him, probably around 20 years of age. But looks could be decieving. There was no one more concerned with making themselves younger than the rich.

Unlike the first woman, this Miss Purple's gaze didn't contain disdain or any other emotion for that matter. Her eyes were calm, exuding absolutely zero emotional ripples. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail which was swaying with the slightest movement of her head. Bosingwa caught the moment that calmness changed into calculation as her gaze roamed the gathered crowd.

He really wanted to ask her what manner of calculations she was carrying out in that beautiful head of hers.

'The need to find a mate is a terrifying instinct.' That thought sprang up as he once again tried to suppress his curiosity towards the woman.

"The serum is going to be given out for free." The first woman to have appeared, the Forger, announced. Her voice was laced with a disdain for all of those gathered here. Bosingwa felt that if it wasn't for some circumstances he didn't know about, then this woman would have never entertained the idea of speaking to them.

Bosingwa and a few others frowned at the woman's words. Having been exploited extensively before, he knew that there was absolutely no free lunch in this world. There had to be a catch somewhere.

"But first, a question." The woman's lips widened and a few of her white teeth became visible. Her gaze roamed the idiots who had started celebrating on the spot, having failed to deeply contemplate the situation.

"Are you prepared to lay down your lives for the serum?"