Thai drove through the outskirts of Zenith toward the center of the city. At this point the sky was lighter. The black of night had already faded to a deep blue which started fading into orange. She could see a thick brown layer of smog congesting the skyline of multistory domes and buildings around the city's central hub. With every city block closer to the center her car went the sun's penetrating rays brightened the sky further. The dark blue eventually made way for a heavily smoggy orange that painted the clouds vibrant shades of neon pink and purple.
Early morning passed into mid morning. The sun continued to rise higher over the city. By now the smoggy orange dominated the sky. Thai's phone went off with a warning from the weather bureau notifying her of the poor air quality around the city's center. An angry orange sun peered through the air pollution that clogged the skyway. Every block farther towards the domes the buildings grew bigger and bigger.
Cars, trucks and other vehicles choked the streets with every passing block surrounding the medical district. Thai started to notice armored police vehicles driving up among the cars and trucks on the roads. Brimming with personnel, the mini-tanks rolled on through the streets. Wondering what was happening, she turned the radio on.
"...Traffic is piling up around the main intersections of the medical district today," the announcer said, "as a serious infestation of HeLa has caused a full scale shutdown of Zenith Memorial Hospital. No word on how long this will last but Lieutenant Savage assures us that the infestation is contained and that all patients and staff have been evacuated and moved to nearby medical facilities. An elite team has been called in to deal with the situation as we speak. It's only a matter of time before Zenith Memorial is open and traffic can resume..."
Thai switched the radio off and slowed down as she drove closer to the barrier around the hospital. The entire block was sectioned off. Metal barricades were set up across the side streets and APF officers patrolled the area amongst the tall armored vehicles. Other men in uniform stood in the middle of the road directing traffic toward the detour areas. Thai slowed down and approached one of the officers. She rolled down her window.
"You'll have to keep it moving ma'am," the officer said as he waved his hand in the direction of the other traffic.
"I need to speak to officer Mike Black. He was admitted into the hospital a couple of days ago. Do you know if he has been moved with the rest of the patients?"
"Sorry. I cannot give out any information on patients. Now please move along. You're holding up traffic."
Thai sighed. She rolled up the window and continued down the road.
Looks like I'm heading to Central Command
, Thai thought to herself as she pressed her foot on the gas pedal. She turned back onto the main road and continued farther into the city. The roads became clogged with traffic as the buildings grew into enormous multi-story arcologies and domes. As she came closer to Central command she could see more of the giant armored vehicles carrying men and women fully equipped with the new ARC-55 rifle and dressed head to toe in black body armor. The dome of Central Command loomed over the rest of the houses and buildings dwarfing even the biggest of the arcologies in the city's center.
Zenith Central Command was the main hub of the city's security force and the seat of the city's bureaucracy. Everything from driver's licenses to major city policies were discussed, issued and dispensed. This was also where the office of Commander Nicole Winters was. She was in charge of the entire bureaucracy and as such the city's lieutenants answered to her.
Thai's car came closer to the imposing, dome-shaped building. It looked bluish gray in the late morning smog. By now the red airship warning lights on the tower at the top of the building were turned off. The four checkpoints at the perimeter of the enormous parking lot were already abuzz with activity. Vehicles of all kinds from civilian to government were lining up at the security gates ready to enter into the central hub of the city. Some were there for various licenses or permits while others came to visit family members in prison or to participate in some part of the hearing for said criminals. Still others were officers and government officials of varying ranks coming back to report their progress on assignments or go to work in the many offices on the different levels of the multi-story building. Despite the seemingly chaotic nature of the place there was an element of order to the whole thing.
At the first security checkpoint, there was a small old man with a well-trimmed, gray toothbrush moustache. His eyes were framed by large circular transitions lenses bridged by a tiny piece of golden metal alloy. He wore a greenish-tan uniform. Full-body with eight buttons going up the front along with well kept white gloves. A wire ran from the back of his head to the area between his shoulder blades. His features were a mix between artificial and biological. Thai could tell this was one of the bio droids that replaced the more entry level government jobs at around the turn of the century. As if acting from a pre-programmed script, the man smiled and tipped his peaked greenish-tan military cap as the bartender drove up and rolled her window down.
"Good day," the man in the security box said. His voice was a weird mix between human and electronic, "What is your business with Central Command?"
"I need to see Commander Nicole Winters. It's about the recent deaths. I have information."
The guard paused to process what was said. His glassy eyes glazed over as information zoomed between the main computer and the bio-droid. As soon as the info came to him he sprang back to life. A red plastic card came out of a slot on the side of the booth.
"Then you will want to continue up to Gate E-4. The security guard there will instruct you on where to go next. Have a nice day."
Thai took the card. The plastic guard pole rose up and she drove through the first checkpoint toward the next group of gates. She followed the line of cars inching her way closer to her goal. Once in awhile a car would turn off to go through to their designated gate or to park at a parking lot near the entrance they needed to enter. As Thai came closer to her gate she saw signs indicating where she needed to go. Flashing yellow lights warned her to slow down and let other cars get off the ramp to get to their destinations.
Thai continued on to Gate E-4. She drove up to the plastic pole that prevented the cars from entering. An old man similar to the one in the first booth looked at her and smiled. She took out the red card she had been given and placed the card into the slot. The old man paused to process the downloading information. Mechanisms behind the slot whizzed and whirred after the information finished processing and the red card disappeared into the machine. A blue card emerged in place of the red card.
The bio-droid reactivated. "The main lobby of the police department will be on the tenth level to your left. Give this blue card to one of the officers on duty. They will process it and instruct you on what you need to do next." The plastic pole went up. "Thank you. Have a nice day."
Thai thanked the droid and continued through the gate. She traveled up the ramp through the different levels of the parking garage that surrounded the lower portion of the building. When she found the level she needed she turned off and into the garage. She passed the spaces designated for driverless cars to the area designated for non-automated vehicles. She pulled into the closest available space and stopped the car.
Thai stepped out and pressed a button on her key-chain causing the lights of her car to flash and the security system to activate. Then she headed toward the entrance of the police department. A line formed at the door to the lobby where people were passing through metal detectors before they entered. On duty security guards stood at both sides of the doors making sure every person who wished to enter complied with the procedure.
Thai stood in line waiting for her turn. Signs directed her to take any personal belongings in her pockets out and place them into the tray on the side going into the building. As she walked up to the machine a red light above the door stopped. She stepped through and the green light indicating she was clean came on. The tray with her belongings followed her on a track through a smaller scanner to the side. When she was found to be clean the doors opened for her and the security officers allowed her to enter the vestibule. She stopped once again as four plastic rings dropped from the ceiling and surrounded the woman's body and turning around and over her slim figure. A red laser coming from the center of the semi-circular piece of plastic and electronics ran up and down Thai's body scanning for other types of non-conventional weapons. When she was found to be clean of other weapons, the rings rose back up and the second door automatically opened. The tray went through a window into the lobby and stopped near the door.
As soon as she stepped inside the lobby, the bartender took her things from the plastic tray and put them back into her pockets. An on duty officer stood off to the side across the room next to a pole with the American flag on it. She walked up to the officer and looked at him. He stared back down at her with a stern look across his chiselled face. The green electronic display on the metallic shield attached to his button down showed the officer's badge number and his name:
