17145 Followers
60 Following
msknight

Michelle's corner

Michelle Knight. Writer, photographer, programmer, truck driver and general, all round nut case. Life is a journey and that's what this blog will probably end up being. Let's see where we go, eh? ;-)

Currently reading

Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics
Dalai Lama XIV, Ian Coghlan
Progress: 23/433 pages

Early Draft - The Wrap - Chapter 1

Whadda you think? Worth progressing with?

 

----------

 

Seth Anvar. That was his name, according to the screen. Below it was his age. Twenty four. Occupation, chief technology licensing officer for the Planetary Government. He’d come a long way for such a young age. Must have been one of the gifted. His address was in the Gethra district. Nice place. High class. Next of kin, none. Parents dead, no siblings and no life partner. Beneath that, a diagrammatic outline of his body with different coloured splodges showing the various degrees of damage that he had suffered.

 

Terri let her eyes drop from the screen and she examined Anvar’s naked body on the slab. This was the weirdest case she’d ever seen. Large bruises on his waist, cuts on his forehead and his hands were a real mess. Nails ripped and blood all over his fingers. The really confusing part was that the blood was all his. They’d had to break into the apartment to get to him and there was no sign of anyone else having been there. All the doors and windows had been locked from the inside, but the place looked like a riot had taken place. Trashed! It was as if he had been fighting with himself and still managed to be the looser.

 

“Heart failure,” said a tall, slim man in a white coat as he entered the room. “No doubt about it.” he continued while picking up a pair of medical gloves from a nearby table and began wriggling his fingers into them. “I even checked with the central computer. He had a massive heart attack.”

 

“None of this makes sense.” Terri stated the obvious.

 

“I know,” said the medic, “and to see this kind of violence in an area as peaceful as this, is a shock even to me.” He moved Anvar’s head and arm while he examined him, as if in disbelief of what his own eyes were seeing.

 

“I’m going to need his wrap.”

 

The medic looked at her with a blend of horror and uncertainty on his face, “Are you certain? That kind of thing isn’t normally done, you know. It usually goes with the body, in death as it does through life.”

 

“We’ve been over the apartment and found nothing. We’ve been over him and found nothing. I’m clutching at straws here and the wrap is the only thing I’ve got left.”

 

“Well,” the medic paused, “if you’re absolutely sure...” he tailed off.

 

“Unfortunately, I am.” Terri insisted.

 

The medic drew a deep breath. “OK.” He reached over for another pair of gloves and presented them to her. “I’m going to need your help, Detective.” Terri took the gloves and the medic waited patiently while she struggled with the unfamiliar rubber. Eventually, she nodded at him and they positioned themselves around Anvar’s body. “I’ll lift this side, and you push yours towards me.” With a heave and a grunt, they turned Anvar onto his front.

 

The medic lifted a laser knife from the table, and started cutting a large square into the back of the neck. The light hissing of the energy blade meeting flesh, resulted in a burning stench that made Terri wince. It was a smell that hadn’t been in her nostrils since her early days in the Earth Force, when the food riots of 3047 had claimed many lives.

 

The food riots were ended with the discovery of algae growing on the moons that flowed around Saturn. It was possible to process it into something edible, and the Galius corporation converted it to form red, “Moon Bars,” to feed the population. The bars could still be bought, even though the majority of the population had long since left to find their fortune on other planets.

 

Terri fought against her stomachs desire to heave, which grew in intensity as the medic slipped his gloved hand into the back of Anvar’s neck and brought out a heavy chunk of flesh, bone and blood. Putting his free hand underneath to catch the worst of the red liquid before it hit the floor, he went over to a corner of the room and put it inside a box. He pushed a button with one of his stained fingers and the lid of the box gently slid closed. A bright, clinical light illuminated the contents as a gentle hum floated on the air. “It will only take a few moments to dissolve the organics.” said the medic, reaching for a plastic bag which he opened in readiness for what would come out. He peered inside the machine. “Hmm… I think it’s working. Haven’t used this in a while.”

 

The glowing and the noise stopped and, once the medic was satisfied with what he could see, he pressed the button that opened the lid. Reaching inside, he brought out an intricate mesh of metalwork and electronics, which he transferred to the bag and sealed. Presenting it to Terri, he admitted his puzzlement. “I haven’t got a clue what you’re going to do with this, but… here you are.” He finished this with a sigh and continued to hold it while Terri fought to remove her gloves.

 

After wrestling herself free from the grip of the rubber, she took the bag from him. “Thank you. I’ve got the data from the body scan, so he can go to recyc, or whatever you’re going to do with him.” She gestured at the floor. “Sorry about the mess.”

 

“All in a days work Detective.” the medic sighed, clearly not happy that what should have been a simple push of an on-screen button, had now become a tiresome, smelly mop up job.

 

Terri made her excuses and left.