For some bizarre reason - probably one or two million misfiring neurons - 
I sat down for an hour after writing my English final and wrote this 
thing. Whether or not to continue it, I dunno. If I do, it won't be for a 
while because something else will come first :)

This was inspired by *Deep breath*... BGC #5, AD Police Files 1 and 3. 
Also, to a lesser extent, the Sega arcade and Genesis game ESWAT, 
Accolade PC and 3DO game Star Control II, the Robocop TV series, the 
first episode of GunBuster, umm... Virtua Fighter 2 ( not really, but I 
had to work that in ^_- ), and that's just the concious influences. The 
list of subconcious influences is probably longer than the fic. I'll shut 
up now, 'cause this isn't what you tuned in for. Oh, any title  
suggestions would be nice.

----
				   Jack Frost

[ A BGC 'fic. I think. You figure it out, I'm tired and I'm going to bed 
				after I write this. ]

		------------------------------------------------
Half the stuff in here is copyright someone else. They can figure out
which half. The rest is mine.
		------------------------------------------------

	It began a simple buzzing in the boomer's left ear. The boomer's
self-diagnostics told it nothing was wrong, so it tried to ignore the
intrusive sound. But it was still there.
	Three hours later, and the buzzing had not ceased. It had not
lessened or strengthed, changed pitch or tone, or anything. It was just
_there_, and nothing the boomer could do could so much as lessen it it.The
boomer dropped its welding tool and stood per fectly still, devoting all
its attention to stopping the noise that was interfering with its work.
After all, the job of repairing the the fractured support strut was of
utmost importance, and that job could not be completed with this incessant
interferen ce.
	Then the boomer spotted a supervisor walking down the hallway.
Excellent. He should be able to stop the noise so the boomer could get
back to work. It walked up to him and stopped, not possesing the ability
to speak.
	The supervisor stopped, shrugged, and walked right by the
motionless boomer. He did not see the boomers eyes suddenly glow red. Why
did he do that? Why hadn't the man helped it? Perhaps he simply needed to
be informed of the seriousness of the situation. 

	With that thought, the boomer picked the supervisor up by the neck
and spun him around. Well, he was making some interesting noises, but
doing nothing to help halt the buzzing. Perhaps more force was required.
The boomer squeezed harder. And harder. The man's eyes began to bulge out
and he started making gurgling noises. Finally, there was the dull snap of
bone and the man fell lifeless.
	The boomer tossed his body aside and went looking for someone
else. Unfourtunately, the three technicians it happened upon were equally
incapable or unwilling to help. The boomer stepped over their bodies and
went out onto the street, where it saw severa l dozen humans fitted in
some sort of body armor holding an assortment of rifles, pistols, and
other guns. There was a prolonged moment when the sound of gunfire filled
the area, and muzzle flashes lit the otherwise dark street.
	Then, finally, silence.

----

	Sable Island. A tiny sandbar in the sea, it had once been referred
to as the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic'. In the 21st century, however, it
had become the site of one of the most unique cities on the planet.
	Hibernia Oil Development Project, ltd., had purchased the island
in the year 2021, and began building a gigantic oil platform on top of the
island. When it was discovered that the oil reserves beneath the
crescent-shaped island were far far greater than anyone could have
imagined, the platform was enlarged into a 80 square kilometer oil-tapping
behometh, capable of sucking millions of barrels worth of oil from the
ocean floor every day... it was on this platform that Sable City was
built.
	Despite incredible profits, Hibernia went bankrupt in 2028 just as
Sable City was nearing completion. It almost looked like the project would
be abandoned, until a rising star in the robotics industry, NovaRobotics,
bought the city and the island. The fu ture looked bright for Sable City,
but humans have a funny way of undermining any form of utopia... 

----

	"What do you mean they refused to meet with me?!" shouted the man
in the business suit.
	"Just that, Jon. " replied his nervous chief scientist. "Same
reason as before."
	"Cost." Jonathan Meyer grumbled. "Stupid backward fools. I'm
offering them the most advanced powered armor on the face of the earth at
rock-bottom prices... and they're bitching about maintenance costs...." He
sighed.
	"If it's any consolation, Genom raised their offer to $1.4
billion."
	Jon snorted. "No way in hell I'm giving them the Ice Suit." He set
his briefcase down next to his large wooden desk. "Anything else, Sarah?"
	The scientist checked her clipboard. "The AD Police of Mega-Tokyo
is expressing extreme interest in the suit, as are several SWAT and ERT
teams across the planet."
	Jon sat down heavily into his plush chair. At 29, he was one of
the youngest CEO's on the planet. NovaRobotics, the company he had founded
just over 4 years ago, was the fifth largest robotics company on the
planet. It could have easily become a front ru nner in the robotics
industry, if it weren't for Jon's strict policy against boomer research.
Which had lead to quite a falling out between him and the shareholders....
	After a long pause, Jon spoke. "Under different circumstances, I'd
have no reservations about giving it to the AD Police... their powered
armor just isn't up to the increased boomer threat... but it seems that
whatever they get in the way of technology, Genom will acquire sooner or
later. At least with the government I would've had some measure of control
over how it was used." He turned and looked out the window, regarding the
mid-day activity far below. "I guess we have no choice. Lock down the
project . Shunt all the related files to the encrypted core.... have all
the prototypes dismantled and reassign the staff involved. And have all
paper records disappear."
	Sarah sighed. "I can't pretend I'm not disappointed... but... very
well. But what about 'Jack Frost'?"
	Jon lapsed into silence once more. He watched traffic move up and
down the expressway far below, wondering if any of them were ready for the
tide sweeping over the planet. Mega-Toyko had been overrun with artificial
AIs, 'Boomers'. Even if they wouldn't admit it. The boomers had spread
around the globe, and were even beginning to infiltrate his part of the
world. At last report, there were almost 400 boomers performing all types
of jobs throughout Sable City. And with the continued risk of boomer
insanit y, he wondered how long the streets would remain safe. Not every
city could afford an AD Police...
	"We'll keep Jack Frost running." He replied. "For now. Who knows
which way this situation will unfold... We could need it..." 

----

	Jon leaned on the north rail of the South Park pedway, letting it
carry him to the other side of the city, and home. He, of course, had a
chauffeured car, but rarely used it. He prefered to take the pedway
through the park and watch the sun set over the ocean. It was one of the
few constants in his life. Sable City was built on top of a tiny island in
the North Atlantic. Despite the fact that the land was 90% artificial, the
city looked like any other, with grass parks and trees. A 140km road and
bullet train tunnel connected it with the mainland. Sable City was an
experimental one, pumping oil to the shore in exchange for power and
materials. As a result, there was very little in the way of heavy industry
or pollution on the island itself.
	When Jon was two years old, Hibernia bought the island and began
building what eventually became Sable City. NovaRobotics had bought the
city just over a year ago, and so Jon was technically the mayor, with the
board of NovaRobotics the city council. Of course, the federal government
played a role, but a far smaller on than anywhere else in the country.
Police, health care, and other municipal tasks were handled by the
government, but the real power was with the corporation.
	Jon sighed as he watched the sun sink lower. He envied the two
seagulls he saw perched on a buoy far far below. Fly, eat, procreate. That
was it. No worries about shareholders, tax rates, weaponary, Genom,...
boomers. No bickering with board members over funding for this or that  
project. No worries about the future, no concern over the past. Just 
living in the moment. 

----

	" ... and in this exclusive footage, Sable News 11 has the only known
pictures of the boomer rampage this morning at the East Waterfront Market,
in which over forty-five civilians and twelve SCPD officers lost their
lives. We warn you, the following pictures are extremely graphic... " 

----

	Jon's briefcase hurtled through the air, slamming into the
plexiglass window of his office with a loud bang. Sarah looked up,
startled, as Jon stormed into the office and slammed the door shut behind
him, cutting off the nervous inquiry of his secretary. 
	"J... Jon?" she asked tentatively. "What's..."
	"Goddamned bastard vultures...." He seethed. "The board has asked for my resignation!"
	Sarah, who had stooped to pick up the briefcase, snapped her head
up. "What?! Why?!"
	"I made a request... well.. okay, a _demand_, that we fund the
formation of an AD Police-style detatchment for dealing with boomer
incidents. The fools accused me of 'not acting in the best interests of
profitability'. I told them what I thought of profi tibility, and they
stabbed me in the back. The vote was almost unanimous. I KNEW I never
should've taken this damned company public." Jon felt like punching the
wall, but somehow restrained himself. "They stole it right out from under
me... They don't eve n have the guts to fire me, they want to keep me on
as a 'figurehead'. Cushy salary, no control... damn... this... THIS
SUCKS!" Jon lost it, and brought his hand down on his desk, cracking the
wood.
	There was a long stretch of silence, puntuated only by Jon's
audible intakes of breath. Then Sarah picked up the breifcase and set it
down gently on the broken desk. "Feel better?"
	Jon looked out his window. "Not really. But I did need to let that
out." He glanced at her. "I'm afraid, Sarah. I'm afraid for this city,
this world, with those people heading the company. They'll sell the Ice
Suit to Genom, flood the city with boomers.. . I can't let them do that."
	"What can you do?" he asked.
	Jon stopped and eyed the security camera on the left wall. "Not
here. C'mon." Jon grasped Sarah's upper arm and pulled her towards the
elevator. She didn't protest, having long since grown accustomed to Jon's
temper and occasionally odd behavior. Although she had to admit he did
have a good reason for it... a reason that ran back over three years... 

----

	Ten minutes later they were sitting in the Jon's red sedan. He
knew that his limo driver had been hired by the board to spy on him, but
had decided to play the ignorant sap for them. 'And look what it got
me...' he thought sullenly as he pulled up to a lookoff at the edge of
Sable City and shut the car off.
	"What's so important you had to drag me out of the building?" Sarah
asked, a bit miffed by Jon's silence.
	Jon didn't mince words. He came straight to the point. "I'm taking
the Ice Suit and everything related to it with me. All of it. The files,
Jack Frost, and you."
	Sarah was stunned. "Wh... what? Me?!"
	"Yes, you. You told me you didn't want to be a part of the Ice Suit
project if it was going to be used for death, destruction, war, things
like that, right?" Jon asked.
	"Yes, but I don't see..."
	"And if you remain at NovaRobotics, they'll make you build more.
And they'll sell those to Genom. Hence I need to get you out of there."
	Sarah folded her arms across her chest.. "And suppose I do go with
you. So what? It'll only be a matter of time before they get the tech
teams to rebuild everything in the files, unless you plan on taking the
entire chemical and robotics division with yo u too, which I..." Sarah
noticed Jon was looking straight at her. "What?"
	 "Only you know the how the components of the Ice Suit work
together. I made sure of that."
	Sarah's tone of voice went to one of suspicion. "You made sure of
that? Exactly what is that supposed to mean?"
	Jon turned his head and looked out the tinted window. "I...
rearranged some of the staff assignments. Falsified some technical
documents for the other scientists. Told some of them they were building
parts for the new model courier hovercraft. Things lik e that. In fact,
the chemicals division has no real idea how to manufacture the Endurium
armor they've been pumping out, just like the robotics division could
never replicate the artifical muscles or control interface without the
template. It took some do ing, but..."
	Sarah was furious now. "How DARE you! What's happened to you? What
happened to the man I knew, the man who wouldn't have told a lie to save
his life?! Now you're engaging in grand-scale deceptions, trying to keep
all the power for yourself! You.. you _packaged_ all the technical
information relavent to the Ice Suit in ME, and now you think you can
secure the project by using me as... as _luggage_! You've changed, Jon.
What... what would Iris think?"
	Jon was silent for a moment, watching the sun set over the ocean,
trying to think of a reply. "I grew up, Sarah. I never wanted to 'keep the
power to myself', as you put it. And I never had any intention of using
you aginst your will. It's just... well.. . I've had a hard time trusting
people since Iris died."
	Sarah also looked away. "You have no proof, Jon. It could have
been... any number of factors that caused the overload."
	She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Jon staring at
her. "Like what? Pilot error? You know Iris was better than that. Design
flaw? I know you're better than that. Sabotage is the only explaination."
He shook his head. "In any case, I have t o get the Ice Suit away from
Genom's grasp. If they get ahold of it, it'll start appearing on the front
lines of wars all over the world. I couldn't live with myself if I knew I
was a part of that. And I don't think you could either."
	Sarah's gaze fell to the car's floor. "They'll come after us."
	'Us, she said us...' thought Jon. "I know. It's a risk. One I'm
willing to take. Are you with me?"
	"Yes." she said.

----

To be continued. Maybe. Or maybe not. Oh well.

								- MW

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