Tales of the Courier – The Wipe Out Effect
Finding the place was the easy part. Getting to it was another thing. Agreeing to do this job, was the first twinges of a headache in the making. 1courier stood at the gates, peering down the dark and narrow road, that led away into the wooded darkness. The AI had warned about something called the wipe out effect. Ominous. He keyed in the code bringing the heavy steel gates to life, and jumped back in the ride. Time to go.
The heavily wooded road turned and rose steadily upward as the ride eased along. The ‘place’ was several miles ahead nestled into a hillside, surrounded by wilderness. 1courier guessed it was wilderness, no one knew, and he sure as hell wasn’t getting out of the ride to check. That was the rub with this job, this ‘place’. It was there and it wasn’t there.
One way in, many ways out, the wipe out effect. Those were the exact words the AI had said. He hadn’t really been listening at the time, he had been viewing previous courier reports on the ‘place’. Grim stuff. No report at all for the last courier to go there. Sign me up, were the exact words 1courier had said, now he watched carefully as the road moved under the ride.
Effect
Details for this dispatch included a one lane, trestle bridge, a couple of miles from the gate. He was concerned about that bridge, as the headlights began to illuminate the old timber work just ahead. Several of the courier reports had contained odd things about the bridge. He eased the machine forward, carefully.
The front wheels bumped gently onto the old timber, and led the rest of the ride onto the bridge. The old rugged timber work was strong and barely creaked as the full weight of the machine bore upon it. The old, very narrow bridge, carried on into the darkness, well beyond the reach of the front lights. He switched on the shield generators to cloak onboard tech, as instructed by the AI.
Somewhere ahead the client waited with the package. Stalling in the middle of this extremely narrow bridge would be a pain. For starters, stepping out of the ride would be a free fall to some damn where unpleasant. Not to mention meeting another ride going the opposite way.
Unfortunately, he was about to find out how that one played out, as a pair of bright lights raced towards him from the darkness ahead. He quickly dropped down a gear and floored the accelerator. The ride came to life immediately, power unleashed, and shot forward. He watched closely as the lights ahead, drew rapidly near. His grip on the wheel locked, collision imminent, as:
It is a barren and desolate land. He is bathed in a silver ethereal light, and gliding along a sinuous and strangely dark road. He senses something with incalculable worth is tantalizing close, and he pursues it, reaches for it, stretches and yearns achingly for it as
Wipe Out
The front wheels strike the road hard, he slams the brakes, bringing the ride to a screeching halt, on the other side of the bridge. In one piece. He checks the onboard tech for any damage or malfunction, all seems well. No AI or headquarter contact on this side of the bridge, he was effectively wiped out. He grins. He can’t wait to tell the AI that one. Funny stuff.
The narrow road winds on into the darkness, beckoning him to follow. He does. He wonders briefly what this ‘place’ must have been like before the event. Probably picturesque, and beautiful. Maybe peaceful. Impossible to say now, it has no past. It’s there and not there, exists and doesn’t exist. And blah blah and other stuff, he still hadn’t really been listening to the AI.
There is a ridge forming the horizon ahead. The structure sits along it’s crest, dark and looming large. The package will be outside. No contact with the client. He sets the onboard timer and lights up the shield generators again, only one shot to get it right. The ride moves forward easily, and within three minutes he arrives at location.
And doesn’t. It isn’t here. He checks mapping and logistics, he’s here and it’s not. He begins to wonder if this is some mad joke, as a harsh silver light erupts from the darkness- (he is one with the light, they seek and search, turning, running, chasing )- the light fades, leaving a dark and looming structure. It would appear he has arrived after all.
Pickup
The package sits atop a large stone wall just in front of the dark and ominous structure, it is slightly heavy and oddly shaped. He secures it and hops back in the ride. Time to go. He throttles the ride and makes like disappearing ink, vanishing quickly. The dark road leads him away from this ‘place’ that is and isn’t.
He blinks in the bright hot sunshine. The road is highway now, bright and perilously busy. He is careening along, at breakneck speed, along a coastline, with the package and no damn idea where he has landed. He grins and floors the ride, as the AI voice, cool and mechanical, speaks to him from the audio system-
“You’ve made a wrong turn, 1courier”
