The Aurigan Republic

Chapter 16

The woman stared at the screen while her computer analyzed the sample of an unknown substance. After she reported to her superiors, she headed to one of her organization's secret labs. There were many of these labs throughout the city and they were hidden in plain-looking buildings that often garnered no attention from outsiders. The buildings were not all that different from the ordinary office buildings that were so numerous in the cities. Even delivery personnel wouldn't suspect anything, given that nothing stood out unless one knew where to look and had the necessary means of accessing them. If an unauthorized personnel did get too nosy, then the security would take actions to quietly silence the person while making it look like an accident.

Due to her rank within the organization, the woman could enter without being searched. She had to get through multiple doors with her pass to access the lowest levels where the best equipment was located. Once the woman made the necessary preparations, she went straight to work. She had everything she needed but analysis of an unknown substance took time. Contrary to what was shown in movies and other media, there wasn't any machine that could provide info within a few seconds. There was the misconception that, given how far technology has advanced, anything is possible at a faster rate. In reality, there was no way of rushing it without the chance of mistakes being made.

The woman took the time to mention the time needed in her report. She understood how badly her superiors wanted the matter resolved, but no amount of hope could push things along any faster. Instead of being forced in an unrealistic deadline, she laid out all the challenges and steps along with the cost that came with taking shortcuts. Luckily, her superiors replied that they understood the matter and expected her to keep the deadline she proposed, despite showing some disappointment as they preferred something sooner. While the woman worked on getting results, she was informed that another agent had been sent out to track down the missing creature. The organization simply couldn't afford the creature to get away.

While waiting, the woman did pause to check her phone. She ignored the texts from friends she no longer talked to. She also ignored most of the phone calls that were missed. There were only a handful of numbers she would reply to, while the rest were worthless. The woman did pause when she saw one number on the screen. After a minute, she continued scrolling down to see the other numbers. Once she had gone through the entire list and nothing else caught her eyes, the woman put away her phone and focused on the computer screen again. The progress meter barely moved since she looked down at her phone. Despite having an interest in data collection, the woman still would have preferred field work over being stuck in a lab. She knew many of her coworkers had simply started tests and left for home until the analysis was complete. The waiting was torture for her.

Knowing that she wasn't getting any answers that day, the woman left the building and got in her vehicle. After a brief debate about where to go, she started the vehicle and drove down to the highway. The highway had few vehicles at noon, allowing the woman to reach her destination in only an hour. When she got out, she was greeted by a large park. Humans had been destroying the wilderness for nearly a century, resulting in only the parks being one of the last places one could see any living plants. For many city dwellers, the park was the only reachable location given that the rural setting was often harder to reach. The park was the closest thing they had to nature which many could only read online or, on the rare occasion, in books.

The woman took a deep breath of the cleanest air in the entire city. The air was revigorating and she then followed one of the trails. While the time of day ensured that there were few people around, the woman understood that most people lost interest in parks altogether. People were far more interested in devices with screens on them. They also claimed that, if they wanted nature, they would watch old documentaries showing the vast forests and wilderness that were gone forever. Some even claimed that VR was a perfectly good alternative or even better alternative. The woman could never understand how some humans could equate what they saw on screen with the real thing. She had fallen in love with nature since her mother brought her to a park near her childhood home. She enjoyed running between the trees and, if she was lucky, she might see a bird or two.

Since much of the wilderness was destroyed, a lot of flora and fauna disappeared with it. The animals humans normally encountered were those that were well adapted to the urban setting. Creatures like rats and pigeons were the most common, but one could also see other scavengers like raccoons and foxes. Some people considered those animals as pests but, due to the animal's resilience and adaptability, humans gave up on wiping them out. Eventually, most had given up on the quest of wiping them out and these animals were allowed to freely share the cities with humans. For the woman, none of those creatures could match the animals she could find in the park. To her, animals adapted to urban settings lacked the beauty of those better adapted to nature.

She also believed that humans would also become better if they were closer to nature, as opposed to being stuck in a cement jungle or, even worse, trapped in a digital world where one cannot tell what's real and what's fake. The lack of connection to nature effectively cut humans from their roots. This was one of the reasons why the woman rarely used her phone unless it was communicating with her superiors. She saw no need to be so reliable on a device for everything. The thought of simpler times turned her attention to her childhood when humans actually talked more face to face. The thought that she rarely talked to her coworkers saddened her.

The woman was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to notice a shadow creeping up on her. By the time her instinct kicked in and she turned to look, a solid object impacted her head and she collapsed onto the ground. Fighting the pain, the woman reached for her pocket. However, she then felt excruciating pain when the assailant pressed something on her arm. Before she blacked out, the woman tried to look up at the assailant. All she saw was a masked face before darkness swallowed her consciousness. The assailant then proceeded to haul the woman to one of the shacks in the park. He then took her down a flight of stairs into a garage where an idling vehicle was waiting. The man secured the unconscious woman to the back before getting into the driver's seat.

"Target acquired. I'm heading back to base."

Without another word, the man pressed the remote that controlled the garage door. The vehicle drove up the incline into an empty parking lot. A few turns later, the vehicle was on the highway.