posted 12-26-98 01:43 AM ET        

A vegpod next to him exploded. Benten crunched his body into
a tight ball, concealed behind the thick tangles of vegvines.
His head whipped about, scanning the area for threats, as he
had been trained. The sight of a lanky man, probably in his
late twenties, crashing through the greenery caught his eye.
Vegpods and fruit around the man exploded, punctuated by the
>pok< >pok< >pok< of Shredder pistols. Two thick-headed guards
crashed along behind him, shooting with one hand whilst gripping
a large tazer with the other. The Hive burnmark on their
foreheads and the large, red spot on the nape of their
necks belied the recent Nerve Stapling.

Something rustled beside Benten. His arms snapped upwards,
preparing for a blow from above. A sandy-haired young woman
crouched beside him.

"Looks like they're after another dissident, eh?" Alicia grinned,
pushing a vegvine aside to allow her view to follow the fleeing
man. "Wonder how they'll kill him?"

Benten's hands went dry. He managed to gasp out a confirmation,
attempting to maintain control of his features. You never knew
who would betray you to Chairman Yang. And those betrayed to Yang
never again led a normal life. He had heard the horror stories.
So-called "traitors", used as breeding grounds for mindworms
while still conscious or Nerve Stapled and turned against
their fellow dissidents. The underground word had it that
Yang was secretly developing methods to disperse thought-control
pheromones into the air and install micro-transmitters in
every citizen's neurocortex. Benten suppressed a shudder
at the thought that even Chairman Yang, the leader he once believed
wise and benevolent, could monitor his most intimate thoughts.
Alicia pointed at the man, now nearing the edge of the Agri-Dome.
"Look.. he's cornered!" She squealed in delight, as if watching some
sort of sick human cock-fight. Benten offered a stiff nod.
The man reached the airlock now. He frantically punched at the
keypad, hoping to get it to unlock.

"What's he doing? Doesn't he know that this Agri-Dome's lock
is right at the edge of Borehole Four?" Alicia frowned.

"He probably stashed an Oxy-Tank and Breather outside." Benten
mused, forgetting himself. Alicia gave him a suspicious
sidelong glance, then swiveled back to watch the escapee.

The man had succeeded in opening the doors, but something, some
override, stopped them halfway. He wedged himself in between the
two halves and was struggling through. The guards flung away
their empty Shredder pistols and raised the glowing tazers.
In an instant, they were upon him, the green energy flowed from
the sticks and arced across his body. An inhuman scream echoed
throughout the chamber. Alicia clapped her hands together and
grinned.

"They got him!" She squealed in delight. Benten watched disgustedly.
The guards dropped the sticks and bent over their quicklinks,
receiving new orders. One went to the side of the door and punched
in a code. The doors slid open and the semi-conscious man slid
to the floor in a heap. The other slipped a respirator over his face
and stepped into the airlock, pushing the man back inside. The
door closed and a red light above it signalled that the lock was
cycling. A minute later, the guard could be seen outside the dome,
rummaging through the dust. He pulled a large, metallic cylinder
from under a drainage grate, rapped on the dome-wall and stepped
back into the lock. It cycled again the inside door opened. The
oxygen tank was sent rolling off to the side. The two guards
dragged the man into the airlock and stepped back inside the
dome. As the lock closed, they turned and headed back around the
Agri-dome, presumably heading for the Lift.

Benten saw a large puff of toxic gas billow out of the borehole.
The man appeared on the other side of the dome, scratching at
the transsteel. His eyes bled disgustingly, crimson foam
gushed from his mouth, his chest convulsed and his whole body
was racked with spasms. For a moment, Benten locked gazes with
the man, who held still. Benten felt someone, something, peering
into the very recesses of his being. Goosebumps erupted across
his body and he averted his gaze. The man slumped over, bloody
foam dribbling from every orifice.

"Oh, pooh, it's over already.." Alicia frowned. "Back to work then."
She headed off towards the Fungal Cultivation partition, leaving
Benten alone with his thoughts. And fears. The sight terrified him.
He knew Yang could not be permitted to exercise this over his citizens.
He stood and resumed gathering the ripe vegpods. He was but one man.
One man had no chance against ten thousand.....

Or could he?

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Not Coming to a Webboard near You..

/----------------------------\
|-= Alpha Centauri :: 2184 =-|
\----------------------------/
(A SMACFic By Yoru-Hikage)