Alpha Squad - Vecto: Voyage

Part 7.2

(Previously: Vecto teleports to planet Cubix to ask his creator Vic if he knows where Zendora is.)

Vecto scanned his surroundings to update his Lapton map. He watched as Dinishmen filled the streets, chatting to themselves. They were communicating to others far off through invisible teleportation of sound waves. The high-pitched sound they spoke would instantly be transmitted to another Dinishman's brain. They spoke so quickly in their Dinix tongue that their voices sounded like brief whistles.

Others walked by but disappeared in mid-stride. They were being teleported to other areas of the planet.

There were no product advertisements on this planet, unlike the numerous billboard Nexus screens that bombarded metropolitan cities on Acaterra. It was a relief to Vecto, who preferred simplicity. Acaterra's economy had a consumption tax system, which translated into lots of thought-recognition advertisements by the government that targeted ads based on surrounding thought waves. Cubix, however, was an idea-driven society controlled by the Ukase.

Although Acaterra was mostly governmental owned as well, Cubix was unique in that it had no currency. Dinishmen were provided with a social rank and living amenities based on their scientific contributions. Their governing system allowed Dinishmen to remain the most advanced race in the omniverse, and with no currency, it kept their world self-sustaining without outside planetary trade except through the governing body.

Vecto saw the Ukase bank ahead, the only bank on the planet; it was the one where he caught a human swindle drifter upon his creation twenty-one years ago. He recalled it was his first good deed, yet one that ironically led to his discovering. No one knew the government was spying on them-not until it was revealed later.

Vecto strolled across the white surface. He had to keep his disguise. The ground was watching him, listening-so were the walls, the structures, everything around him. It absorbed colors, thus recorded images. The entire city consisted of this white augmentation substance referred to as Augere Crescere. It could grow into buildings, restructure on its own, and maintain a polished, dirt-free appearance. The planet had no star except a white dwarf, yet Cubix' bright core emitted light through its crystalloid surface, which was then absorbed by the city's ground and transmitted throughout. The city glowed but appeared not to. Shadows were sparse in the metropolis.

"Hey you!" a human shouted to a Dinishman far off while brandishing a gun.

Vecto picked up on the distant conversation.

"Come on now, give me all your money," the man ordered.

Stupid human, Vecto thought.

The Ukase knew he was there, as the spyware flagged his weapon. The Dinishman disappeared, automatically being transported to safety. To the man's surprise, the ground enveloped his feet to restrain him. The thwarted thief bewilderedly fired at the surface, but he disappeared as well, teleported to confinement. The crescere returned to normal, repairing itself and disintegrating contaminants.

It was that easy to have justice, Vecto thought, but that much easier to take freedom away.

(Will Vecto be caught? Find out more in the next installment of Vecto: Voyage!)