Psychosis of Style

Abe opened his eyes in response to a vibration that tickled his auriculotemporal nerve. He saw an image of the daylight sun, breaking through patches of clouds. Behind them, a blue-sky hinted feelings of warmth that resonated within him. Abe furrowed his brows as he struggled to remember the last time he saw the serene blue sky. In his reminiscence a moment of bliss emerged, he felt numb and weightless as if he were in flight. As the seconds drew past, an abrupt chill of cold steel pressed upon his back. Abe blinked twice upon realization that the source of light came from a dental operatory light above and the clouded sky was merely blue smoke that appeared to emanate from the sides of his head. Alarmed, Abe did what any person would have done, he panicked. A wave of adrenaline washed over him that began at his toes and ended at the top of his head. He tried to thrash his arms and legs, but the result was the same, Abe was trapped. A shadow shrouded him as the light was eclipsed by a silhouette that hovered over from his right.

The shadow was a Chrome-Doc, he raised both of his arms in front of Abe’s view and crossed them like the letter ‘X’. Abe stared at the Chrome-Doc’s hands that were dressed in a type of surgical gauntlet adorned with various tools and gadgets that emitted its own glow, like hot plasma. Abe laid motionless, unsure of the stranger’s intention. He had hoped this was purely an instance of sleep-paralysis, but he had known better, the nightmare was real. The Chrome-Doc, dressed in his teal paper scrubs slouched in exasperation as he looked at the fearful eyes of the bagboy and the magnetic clamps that restrained his appendages to the table. The Chrome-Doc pulled his surgical mask down and mouthed two words at him, “Just relax.”

When the doctor revealed his face, Abe recognized him and began to calm down as he grew aware of his misjudgement and forgetfulness. The man was Old Joe. About an hour ago, he paid Old Joe to perform the replacement surgery for his ears and to install the ‘new’ audio-sensory package. Abe was on an implant binge, which was the beginnings of an impulse problem due to his newfound experience with vanity. Which started with the first replacement, his left leg. This was when he began to receive more attention within his social circles.

In a week’s time he scrounged up whatever money he had and replaced both his arms. When he showed up to work that day, he had immediately caught the attention of Zoey, the cashier he often worked with and whom he had a major crush on. Abe never had the courage to ask anybody out before, but with his new implants, he discovered he didn’t have to. After several flirtatious glances at each other over at the checkout aisle, Zoey wrote her number on one of his metal arms. Abe was hooked on the thrill of finally being ‘chrome’ and saw the value of the new style and fashion. Of course, it is a wonder that Abe – a bagboy at Yuki’s Grocery could afford any of this at all, let alone with the inflated prices in the year 2020. But Abe felt fortunate as he sought out a loan recently and Old Joe coincidentally had some used ‘new’ merchandise that all happened to be in a cool gunmetal finish. From there, Abe wanted to develop his own persona and was eager to strut it on the streets of New Chiba. He dreamed about what he could achieve with his new style. He even came up with a new moniker for himself, “Gunmetal Abe”, he thought the name was clever and hoped that it would stick amongst his friends.

While he fantasized about his goals and dreams, he remembered there was a gas mask that still pumped anesthesia up his nose. After he took several deep breaths, Abe began to drift away again into an induced stasis that fogged his mind. He blurted, “my bad” to the doctor but no sound returned to him before he fell asleep, and he could neither confirm nor deny whether he actually said these words.

The Chrome-Doc, Old Joe, continued the operation when he felt confident that Abe was fully unconscious and reinserted the drill saws in the sides of Abe’s head. Anesthesia awareness was usually a rare occurrence prior to the birth of cybernetics at the turn of the century. However, as the years went on leading up to the present year of 2020, the replacements and enhancements advanced in complexity, which increased the frequency of sudden consciousness in clients during such procedures. Furthermore, the complexity in the products themselves were equally reflected in its installment which now required much steadier hands and specialized training. Fortunately for Abe Akuji, Old Joe was a master, and most of all, he was affordable.

The surgical drills beeped once they reached a programmed drill distance of 2.0 cm. Old Joe pulled the machines away, removed bits of bone from the drill heads and threw them in a tray that contained Abe’s original ears. At this point in the operation, all that really needed to be installed was the package’s bio audio-processor modules which came in two matchbox sized cartridges, one for the left and the other for the right. The cartridges contained a series of wires with metal prongs that would attach to the vestibulocochlear nerve. The cartridge itself, would act as the client’s new ‘eardrum’. On the external surface, a series of output ports exist for the synthetic ear canals and the cybernetic ears to connect to. The entire audio package once installed would record any sound a regular human ear could detect. The sounds are instantly converted into electrical synapses delivered by the prongs and stimulating the nerve, recognized by the temporal lobe of the human brain. Of course, users would often slip their Chrome-Doc an extra ‘tip’ to overclock the package above optimal limits, producing superhuman results like hypersensitivity to sound and other abnormal effects. Consequently, these installations often come with injury and malfunction.

An hour after the operation was completed, Abe Akuji woke up from his anesthetic induced sleep. The first thing he heard was the sound of buffeting by his ears, like flapping wings. He slowly opened his eyes, smiled, and half hoped to be laying down on a park bench while the afternoon sun peaked through a wisteria tree. Abe scoffed in embarrassment and frowned when his gaze met the creased and wrinkled smile of Old Joe instead, who looked down upon him while he fluffed his pillow. Old Joe mirrored Abe’s reaction and sat him up.

“Alright kid, you know the drill. 500 for the ears, 100 for the service.” Old Joe muttered as he extended his hand in front of him.

Abe who still felt a little weary, struggled to pull the money out of his pocket but had successfully handed him 700 bucks – the extra 100 was for the tip.

“A pleasure as always Abe,” grinned Old Joe as he slapped him on the back.

Abe hopped to his feet disoriented as his ears automatically calibrated for balance. The calibration worked instantaneously and in no time, he was walking around the operation room unhindered before he went to put on his work uniform. Abe found his clothes nearby and stood in front of a mirror. He donned a white shirt and orange apron that said, ‘Yuki’s’. Before heading for the door, he paused in awe at his new ears. Enamoured by them, he felt every groove of its design with the tips of his forefingers.

Abe stepped out of the operating room to a dimly lit and seedy lobby area that seemed neglected for far too long. He glanced at some old dental posters that hung to his right and dusty pamphlets below them. To his left sat Old Joe behind the front counter of his clinic, counting money while an old television broadcasted a sumo wrestling match.

In a blunt manner, Old Joe stated a much-rehearsed line with an air of discontentment, “Don’t drive a car for the next 24 hours, don’t operate heavy or complex equipment for 24 hours, don’t drink alcohol for the next 24 hours, and don’t blah blah blah. Just take it easy Abe, but I have a feeling that you won’t.”

Abe managed a grin in response and chanced a snide question, “So, same time tomorrow?”

The Chrome-Doc paused, and the shuffling sound of plastic bills went silent. Old Joe turned to face Abe before he rubbed his eyes and dragged his thumb and forefinger down his cheeks.

“Abe,” he said sternly, “I get what you’re doing, it’s what’s ‘in’ these days and everyone is running on a whim to the clinics to get some tech to look ‘chrome’ on the streets. But you gotta take it easy, alright? Your body can only take so much. Now, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate your business, but I know this tech and it ain’t cheap. And I certainly know a twenty-somethin’ bag boy can’t afford an install on the weekly. This is dangerous, you gotta be careful.”

For a moment, Abe felt touched by the old man’s concern but disregarded the sentiment as he was in denial that Old Joe even cared.

With a steel hand, Abe patted the air towards Old Joe, “Alright, I’ll sleep on it, old man. You just keep those gunmetal parts on hold for me, I know how busy it gets here.”

Old Joe pursed his lips and scoffed sarcastically, “Pah, yeah I have a lineup of people waiting for gunmetal bits.” He then waved him off before he went back to counting his money.

The doorbell chimed as Abe stepped out of the clinic, a sound that harkened a bygone era. Most shops these days instead used a pre-recorded tune and a motion sensor to achieve a similar affect. The doorbell was an aesthetic that brought a smile to Abe, it was one of those characteristics about Old Joe and his shop that attracted him. The shop itself was tucked at the end of a dark alleyway in between two refurbished buildings. Naturally one would caution even entering an alley without a good reason. But to Abe, he saw this shop as if it was an antiquity, as if he were traveling back through time. He told himself after every cybernetic install that he, “wished to preserve this feeling”. With his recent purchases through Old Joe, Abe felt justified that he did his part for the community. Even though the main reason Abe sought out Old Joe was really for his criminally low prices.

Every step he took echoed in the alley like droplets of water in a cavern. He watched his footing, avoiding piles of rubbish on the ground. Abe knew he was near the main road as he heard the cacophony of music, chatter and the roar of engines that darted by. He smelled the odour of hot food, synthetic exhaust, stale sweat, and cigarettes that welcomed him back to the city. He took a deep breath upon his exit and let his eyes readjust to the neon glow of the paved metro wilds that surrounded him. Dozens of people passed by all headed towards a different direction. Food stalls, shop vendors, newsstands and other various kiosks packed the curbside across from Abe. Cars and vehicles of different shapes and sizes scooted by on the street and in the air above. Hundreds of neon signs illuminated the area around, above, and on megastructures. Abe let his sight trail up towards the sky but instead was greeted by the sight of exposed piping and the dull grey of prestressed concrete from a highway that blocked the heavens. He was back on Kitai Avenue, commonly known as ‘Chinatown’ or the ‘China strip’, a 30 km highway that bisects New Chiba’s northside of the city. All in all, it was a bittersweet sight to Abe that stood as a testament of human ingenuity, and a grim reminder of how insignificant he was.

Abe Akuji checked the digital watch on his wrist, the time was 3:30pm. He had an hour before his shift started at Yuki’s. In the reflection of his metal forearm, a large man with darkened eyes scowled at him. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed the violent intent in this man’s eyes. Abe felt a cold droplet of sweat down his forehead as he distinguished whose eyes, they belonged to, a man by the name of Timo Chang. He had to get out of there fast, but first he needed to figure out the quickest way to the subway station. Before Abe could lift his head, he felt the air escape his lungs as the man kneed him in the stomach. Abe gasped for air and tried to regain his footing, foolishly unprepared for another strike. The dark eyed man without hesitation, shot his left leg against the side of Abe’s face. The angle of the kick contacted his newly installed right ear and glided off his cheekbone that left his face smudged with bits of black rubber. His ear glitched out and looped a horrifying feedback shriek that caused Abe to wince further in pain. He covered his face with the palm of his right hand and propped himself up with the other. In a flash, the attacker threw a final kick that landed dead center on Abe’s face. His head shot back as the sole of the man’s boot cracked his nose and drew blood. His eyes teared up and the smell of iron mixed with PVC rubber filled his nose. Tiny electric stars filled his vision as his world turned upside down, before the back of his head struck the pavement.

Abe’s pupils narrowed as he regained consciousness. To him, it was like seeing the world as the light at the end of a tunnel. On the threshold of the tunnel entrance stood the coal black eyes of Timo. The pair of eyes emanated an intensity few could grasp and projected an aura of magnetism that pulled Abe into waking consciousness. The gravelly voice of Timo gradually increased in volume alongside as the world came into view.

“I really would like it if you quit avoiding me Abe,” declared Timo Chang as he knelt over him, “I lend you a thousand dollars because you tell me you need it for rent and kibble. I feel ya, these are tough times. Tough times. But we came to an agreement that you’d pay me back in a week with 10% interest, after you get your paycheck. Now here I am, two weeks later having to beat your skull to jog your memory. Not only do I find your pockets empty, but I also find you with new tech. Now, I like to think that I am a patient man, but I grow tired of waiting. Do you think I am a joke to you? Do you really think I look like a charity to you?”

The horrifying shriek came back and rang in Abe’s right ear, enough to cause him to convulse and scream in pain.

Timo laughed at Abe’s suffering and jeered, “Aw, poor Abe-y baby is frying out! Maybe you should have given me the money, instead of buying cheap scrap! I am giving you till midnight to cough up two grand so I know you learned your lesson. Don’t push me. I know where you work on account of your cute little outfit, so get me my money and wait by the ‘Congee Corner’ at midnight or…” Timo laid on top of Abe and licked his left ear and whispered, “or I chop you up and make my money back.”

Abe tried to cringe but instead winced in pain as the feedback shriek continued. Abe peaked out of his left eye and met the soulless gaze of Timo who stared into him. Timo hopped back onto his feet in a squatting position and let out a deep sickening laugh before he spat on Abe. And like a whirlwind, Timo disappeared, just as fast as he arrived. Our bag boy laid on the ground, beaten and bruised as blood trickled down his face. The shriek halted and the sounds of the city came back. People passed by Abe and ignored his bloodied exterior.

The only person who paid any attention to him was an elderly lady who came from a stand with a broom that swatted his back, “Go on, get up! You’re scaring away my customers!”

By the time he arrived at the subway station, he had 30 minutes left before his shift started. He hoped he wouldn’t be late for work. Abe hopped onto the Orange Line train headed north to Thorncliffe Station where Yuki’s Grocery was located. On his train ride he couldn’t shake the altercation with Timo out of his head, the thought of him licking his ear sent shivers down his spine. Abe reflected on how he first met Timo and regretted ever listening to his co-worker, Jeremy Lin.

It all started when Abe first purchased cybernetics a few weeks ago, when he heard rumours from Jeremy during coffee break, that Zoey was only interested in guys with chrome. Abe never expected the cost of romance to be so high. After his left leg was replaced, Old Joe slapped him an invoice for 2,300 dollars. But the payoff was worth it. When Abe went to work to sport his new leg, it was the first time Zoey even looked at him. He recalled the feeling he felt when she winked at him from behind the checkout counter as she bit her lip. He wanted to dance on the spot. It didn’t matter that his leg cost him a third of his savings. He wanted to be with Zoey, and Jeremy was right, he would need more chrome.

His next purchase was his two arms. Unfortunately, he was a thousand dollars short. And in his quest to impress, he discovered that no bank in the city would offer him a loan due to his poor credit score and the fact that he was an immigrant. Abe was at a loss and was unsure how to win over a date with his crush, especially on his salary.

“Well don’t worry about it, Abe-y baby,” Jeremy said as he slyly put his arm around his shoulder, “I know a guy, who works for a group of guys on Kitai Avenue, who has lots of money to help out foreigners like us.”

Abe remembered this conversation quite well, Jeremy had an in with them and was willing to set up a meeting for his loan. Abe normally would have disagreed and cut his losses, but this was for love, and he felt so close to getting that date with Zoey that he disregarded what the consequences were for dealing with the devil.

The meet was at a rundown restaurant called the ‘Congee Corner’ on 6th Street where Jeremy Lin set the meeting for Abe. This was where he met Timo for the first time. Abe remembered vividly that the meet was very warm and jovial, Timo’s blackened eyes seemed more inviting then. He explained to Timo that he needed a thousand dollars for rent and food. Within ten minutes of meeting Timo, Abe became a thousand dollars richer. He didn’t know why he lied back then, he just figured that a little white lie could boost his chances of receiving a loan, and it worked. Or so Abe thought. He never intended to pay the money back to Timo and he certainly never expected to see him again. This city was big, and Abe’s plan was to simply never show up around 6th Street anymore. To his knowledge, this ‘Timo’ was probably some low-level loan shark who was part of some gang or whatever and if he was not on their turf, he figured he’d be fine. If he had known that Timo was loosely affiliated with the Triad group the ‘Dragon Boys’, he may have reconsidered paying back much sooner. But this was New Chiba, people here steal all the time, and for Abe, he believed it was for a good cause. He was trying to steal a girl’s heart.

Abe smiled as he thought about Zoey and leaned his head back against the window of the train. He flinched as he heard a fluttering sound by his right ear. He looked around and tried to discern the source of the noise. On the crowded train, other passengers glared at him as if he made a ruckus.

“Excuse me,” he muttered to the passenger beside him, “did you hear that?”

The passenger glanced at Abe and then darted his eyes forward at the sight of his blood.

Abe smiled and listened closer, “It sounds like, a bird.” he whispered.

The passengers around him scoffed and laughed in a hushed tone.

The man beside him grinned and responded to Abe with disdain, “Boy, I don’t know what you have been huffing, but birds have been extinct for many years now. You been livin’ under a rock?”

After the man’s condescending statement, the same sharp shriek pierced his right ear and as if it had a mind of its own, now started to ring in his left. Abe screamed in pain and buried his head between his forearms. The shrieks reverberated in his ears as if an invisible bird struck him left and right. The passengers’ guffaws and laughter subsided upon the sight of Abe’s distress.

“Everyone back up,” said a passenger, “this boy might be one of them cyber-psychos.”

On the intercom, an automated voice announced their arrival at Thorncliffe Station. Abe darted out of the train, his orange apron barely able to maintain its form as he sprinted two blocks from the station to Yuki’s. The shriek disappeared when he left the train, but instead he started to hear flapping wings. Abe felt like he was being followed by a creature unseen. He checked his watch and realized he was five minutes late for work. He made a mad dash across the street and snuck in through the main door as it started to close behind a customer. “Arigato Gozaimasu!” chimed the door sensor as he ran inside. Abe placed his hands on his knees and paused to catch his breath. The smell of produce and chemical cleaner filled his nostrils, and a warm sensation filled his chest. He finally made it to Yuki’s.

Yuki’s Grocery was a relatively small business that was one of the few sources of vat grown produce on this side of town. Caught in-between the fast-food chain ‘Moo Moo Burger’ and the endless oily sandwiches at the diner ‘Joey’s’, Yuki’s was a welcome sight to many, especially in the dying neighbourhood of Thorncliffe. Abe happened to live in an old apartment building across the street from this adorable store. Abe, despite his low income, quite enjoyed his position at Yuki’s for more reason than one.

When Abe recovered, he looked over at the checkout aisles to find his place and was astonished to find a large lineup of customers at both cash registers. At Aisle 1 was Yuki, proud owner and proprietor of the store who attentively supervised a trainee at the till. At the end of the aisle was Jeremy Lin, who winked at Abe and shot a couple finger guns at him as he walked by. Intuitively, Yuki ordered Abe over to Aisle 2 to bag boy for Zoey at the till. There stood an elderly customer who struggled with their groceries when he arrived to assist.

“Thank you, young man.” said the old lady as she handed him a pocket tissue and gestured to his nose.

Embarrassed, he bowed and grabbed the tissue and turned to wipe the dried blood off his face. When Abe straightened up, he felt dozens of eyes on him, but he didn’t expect to see Zoey, who peered over and blew him a kiss.

An hour passed by when they finally cleared the line of customers at their till. Zoey leaned on the conveyor belt and propped her head up with her hands while she gazed over at Abe and beckoned him over with her finger. Abe glanced over at Aisle 1 to see if Yuki was preoccupied. When he noticed Yuki took the trainee for a walk, he quickly skipped over to Zoey with a silly smile. Zoey blew a bubble with her chewing gum and stroked her hand along his metal arms.

“Hey, Gunmetal Abe,” she spoke with an alluring tone, “how come you haven’t called me yet?”

Abe flustered and tried to come up with an excuse, “Well, you know, Zoey. I-I didn’t know you wanted me to call!”

Abe let out a nervous laugh as his cheeks turned bright red. Zoey stepped right up to him. With her painted nails, she brushed his hair back and dragged her fingernail along the edge of his right ear.

“I really like the new tech you’ve got Abe,” Zoey purred, “how about we take an early lunch together and you can show me how it all works?”

Overjoyed and ecstatic, Abe felt an abundance of sensations burst inside his body. He looked into Zoey’s bright, neon purple eyes and mouthed the word ‘yes’. In response, Zoey mouthed a phrase that he couldn’t understand. He was so focused on her eyes and her dimpled face that he didn’t notice that he had suddenly went deaf. To his horror, the nightmarish feedback shriek erupted in both his ears. Abe screamed. Zoey’s face contorted and twisted into one of fear and terror as Abe gripped at the sides of his head. Tears poured from his eyes as the sound became unbearable. He thrashed left and right and nearly elbowed Zoey in the head. She then grabbed the grocery divider from the conveyor belt alongside her and clubbed Abe on the back of his skull.

Some time had passed, and Abe awoke in a dark room on an office chair. A bright light from a desk lamp burned at his eyelids as his head throbbed in pain. He looked around to find that he was in Yuki’s office.

“Hello? Is anybody there?” groaned Abe.

Behind the desk where the lamp sat, a lighter clicked and flashed a stream of flame. The subtle sound of a brief inhale exhale suggested to him the existence of someone who smoked cigarettes. This must be Yuki. The smell of cheap tobacco wafted over to Abe as he sat across from her.

“You’re finally awake.” said Yuki.

The sound of hydraulics from her office chair clicked and popped as she stood and made her way over to Abe’s side of the desk. She leaned against the edge with one hand and smoked with the other. The light from the embers illuminated her face as she took another drag of her cigarette.

Abe looked at the mature and wrinkled face of his employer and could never tell what she really thought behind her emotionless face. Tonight however, would be the exception. If Abe had to guess, Yuki was quite disappointed in him, and he would probably be right.

“Abe, we need to talk.” Yuki said in a stately tone, “I want to know what’s going on. You have bruises all over your face, a broken nose. And lately you seem like a different person! You come in week after week with different cybernetics and then you freak out and nearly struck poor Zoey! What has gotten into you? Where did you get this money to get this tech and where did you get it? You better not lie to me Abe, I know how much I pay you. You better tell me the truth, or I am going to have to fire you and report you to the police.”

Abe sat silent for a moment, the feeling of shame and guilt dug deep inside his chest. Yuki was right, and he agreed that things have been different lately since he got his first implant. Abe had known Yuki for quite some time now ever since she hired him for the job three years ago. Although Yuki often came across as cold and harsh in their social interactions, deep down Abe knew she had a soft spot, especially for the community. Yuki was not afraid to lend a helping hand to those in need, often customers would receive extra groceries for free or if a member of the community was down on their luck, Yuki would be there to help. Abe could never quite understand her generosity, but he respected her resolve. Yuki was a woman in her sixties, who solely managed and ran the store twelve hours a day, kept the store clean and made sure her staff was paid on time. To Abe, it seemed like she never slept at all.

Abe chose to trust Yuki and recalled the events over the past few weeks. From his first implants, the meet with Timo, and all the way to his crush on Zoey. Although he should have been more careful with what he shared with her, he decided to leave no detail out. Yuki simply stared at Abe and blew out smoke from her nostrils. She stood up, turned, and dug through her desk drawer. A moment later she handed over an envelope with two thousand dollars in bills.

“I can’t,” Abe said, “this is too kind Yuki-san.”

Yuki tilted her head down and glared at him as if he just threw an obscenity at her.

“You will take this money,” Yuki nodded, “You will take it and you will fix your problem with that bad man.”

Ashamed, Abe nodded and bowed, grabbed the envelope with both hands and left for the door.

As Abe held the door handle, Yuki spoke to the back of his head, “Don’t come back here until you have smartened up.”

When he left the office, the grocery store was dark and quiet. The checkout aisles were closed off and no one was left at Yuki’s. He felt alone. The door sensor repeated the same recorded line as he stepped out the front door and into the night. Abe let out a deep sigh as he felt defeated. He checked his watch, the time was 9:00pm. The grey smog in the sky was illuminated by the nightlife of the city that surrounded him. To his left across the street was the ‘Moo Moo Burger’, the smell of low-grade beef patties and crunchy fries wafted over in his direction. A rumble resounded in the pit of his empty stomach as the last meal he had was at least a day ago. Abe checked his pockets and the small amount of loose change he had was only enough for the train, and certainly not enough for a ‘Moo-Moo Value Meal’. He crossed the intersection and glanced over at the envelope with cash. His thoughts entertained the idea of a delicious and nutrition devoid meal, but the idea of cutting Timo short made Abe think that the value meal would just end up being his last. The thought made him lose his appetite. Abe took one last glance at the white neon sign of the fast-food chain and headed towards the subway station.

Along the way as he traversed the network of halls and stairs in Thorncliffe Station, he reflected on the events and his actions that occurred in the day. Abe couldn’t help but feel ashamed and embarrassed for what he had done. He spent all his savings on tech, struck a deal with some gang member and had the gall to cross him. The amount of guilt sat like a lump of coal in his heart that stopped him in the hall. He stared at an advertisement board for a cyber-eye as his reflection stared back.

“Gunmetal Abe,” he muttered dejectedly, “some badass you are.”

A flutter of wings passed behind him, which caused him to turn around. In another direction, he caught a glimpse of someone who closely resembled Zoey, who darted their head forward as if to avoid eye contact with Abe. The thought of this past afternoon and the interaction with Zoey flew into his mind. Abe regarded that it was perhaps the most exciting moment he had with her and perhaps the most embarrassing as well. He smacked his forehead in regret of what transpired and wished that for once things would just go his way. He sat down frustrated, as his inner turmoil grew whilst dozens of patrons walked by. Abe wanted to fix things with Zoey and was so close to finally having an intimate moment with her. But he felt so alone and didn’t know who to turn to.

Part of Abe knew to follow through with the money that Yuki gave him to settle with Timo. Another part of him wanted to do something with this money to patch things up with Zoey but he couldn’t quite grasp what to do. Abe let out a deep sigh and rested the back of his head on the brick wall as he watched the diverse crowd of New Chibanites that scurried up and down the flights of stairs. He noticed that most people who headed up were of an older crowd. A good portion of them dressed in a business attire, with suitcases, dress shoes, heels, and the like. Much of the crowd that hurried down the stairs were of a younger generation, his generation. Multicoloured garments, neon accessories, glitter and glam accentuated their outfits. Even though there was a clear distinction that separated the generations, Abe saw a connection between the groups and himself. Everyone had cybernetics.

The advertisement board above him played a delightful tune and displayed an array of flashing lights and images of cyber-eyes and other implants. Beside his head an audio box spouted out taglines and catchy one-liners of different implant brands with enough gusto to turn the heads of bystanders, including his own. With the envelope in his pocket, he got up and headed down the stairs. Abe reached the same platform that he first exited earlier in the day. The platform was a concrete strip with vending machines, vendors, benches, and display screens for train arrival times. The strip extended 100 meters to accommodate the six-train car length, with another set of stairs on the opposite end.

Abe observed the display times for both trains. On his right, was an orange trim display that marked the Orange Line which took passengers south into Kitai Avenue, the City Center, the Business District and beyond. On his left, was a green trim display that signified the Green Line that headed south and to the west towards Tokyo. This line took passengers near 6th Street, where Abe needed to go to meet Timo. Both display screens flashed simultaneously with new text that both trains will arrive in the next two minutes. He walked in the middle and brushed up against an ice cream vending machine and posted up beside it, still unsure of what to do. A steady echo of chatter came from both sides of the platform by mostly young men and women. He stood there and scanned the area as if he hoped to find the answer taped to somebody’s forehead.

He gazed over to his left where a group of 4 women and 2 men were scantily clad and glowed with their neon accessories. They were a lively bunch as Abe observed, when the group started to laugh and dance to upbeat electronic music that thrummed from an audio box implanted in one of the women’s legs. He watched enviously at the group as they were undoubtedly headed to one of Tokyo’s many nightclubs. He watched and wished that the 2,000 dollars he had in his pocket were not meant for the violent and coal-eyed Timo Chang.

A static garble erupted behind him that startled Abe to his core. He pre-emptively grasped both his ears and awaited the screech. No feedback occurred. Abe peeked open his eyes and looked around to see that his surroundings didn’t change. The partygoers still danced to his left and as he turned to the right, he noticed something he didn’t see before. A New Chiba police officer stood by the pillar to his right, their back faced Abe and the static noise appeared to come from the officer’s radio. Beside the officer was a bench with neon holographic tape that surrounded it. On the bench was a chalk outline of a person and on the ground below a pool of dried blood. Abe stood by a crime scene.

Abe watched the officer straighten up and walk around the bench, hands behind his back.

“Things could be worse,” Abe muttered to himself, “I could be the dead one.”

As he continued to watch, a young woman roughly the same age as Abe, passed in view over on the other side of the crime scene. The woman dressed in formal wear with a black leather clutch that hung over her shoulder. She gracefully peered over her shoulder as if to check behind her. The woman glanced up in Abe’s direction and smiled. Abe studied the woman’s face and paused to admire her beauty and elegance. He watched as she smiled with her lips before she moved to a smile with her teeth where dimples began to form in her cheeks. Abe peered up towards her eyes and saw a familiar pair of neon purple eyes. Abe unknowingly smiled back and waved at her nervously. The woman’s eyes darted over slightly at Abe as she raised an eyebrow in confusion. To Abe’s dismay, a formally dressed man who held two ice cream cones appeared in Abe’s view. The man was apparently obscured by a pillar and out of Abe’s sight before he walked in. The formal couple laughed and proceeded to head towards the staircase, hand in hand.

The embarrassment of the simple mistake was another punch to Abe’s already fragile ego. He slapped his forehead as the regret of nearly assaulting Zoey permeated his mind once again, even though, it was out of his control. He continued to watch the couple as they walked out of sight, a part of him fantasized how the image of the formally dressed man and woman could be his future.

“That is what I want,” Abe declared, “I want that life.”

The police officer made another pass and shot a perplexed look as Abe stated his deepest desires in public. Abe felt the envelope in his pocket and tempted the idea of getting one more implant from Old Joe. He wondered what he could get with this money and weighed the pros and cons in his mind. On the one hand, if he received another implant maybe it would be enough to woo Zoey and make up for his freakout. On the other hand, he would cross Timo and cause more trouble for himself, maybe even his life. But who’s to say that he and Zoey couldn’t just run away? Where would they go? Could they run away from the Triad? Could they escape the same Cyber-Triad whose talons of crime stretched across the vastness of the polluted oceans?

It was an obvious choice for some but a tough decision for Abe, and time quickly ran out. In an instant, the station intercom chimed and announced both trains and their arrival. The sound of the Tokyu 8590 Series train chugged along the rails and screeched as the brakes slowed the trains to a halt. Dozens of passengers entered and exited the trains at the same time. Unfortunately for Abe, the feedback screech pierced his audio canals and dropped him to his knees once more. He yelped and screamed, but the sounds of his voice were drowned out by the roar of footsteps, chatter, and the shrieks in his eardrums. Abe had to decide now, or his life was forfeit. The incomprehensible sound caused him to roll his eyes to the back of his head and made the world spin. Abe forced all his might and willpower to hop back on his feet. He picked a direction as the train doors were about to close. He darted and tackled into the crowd and knocked people over. The police officer blew his whistle and chased behind him. Abe dove in through the doors and collapsed on the floor of the train car, passed out.

The automated voice chimed in the train car and woke up Abe, “You are on the Orange Line. Next station, Kitai Avenue.”

In his flurry, Abe had hopped on the Orange Line. He had this sudden feeling of energy that flowed through his veins. His fate had been sealed and Abe knew that he had to see this through. He grabbed the phone from his pocket and carefully typed a short and succinct message to Old Joe to avoid incurring extra phone charges, ’You open? Need Help.’ To which Old Joe responded, ‘Yes.’ Abe looked around in the train car and saw that he was the only passenger aboard. He looked through the access doors to the other train cars and noticed terrified eyes that stared back at him.

“Fuck’em,” Abe shouted as he waved his hand, “I am Gunmetal Abe, and I am unstoppable. Y’all better be afraid!”

He laughed and felt the rush of adrenaline course through his body as he continued to shout, “Fuck them, and fuck Timo! Zoey and I are gonna live the high life one day!”

The train chimed and announced their arrival at Kitai Avenue. No sooner than when the door opened, Abe had sprinted out of the terminal. His desire and resolve were one and the same. He darted past crowds of people, weaved in and out, and hopped the turnstile to avoid the train fare. And hopefully, avoided cops as well. Within ten minutes, Abe arrived at Old Joe’s, envelope in hand. The doorbell chimed just like the many times before. Old Joe sat in the exact same position he had earlier in front of the old television. However, the sound that broadcasted differed from the sumo match and reminded Abe of a Latin American telenovela.

Old Joe looked over from the television and greeted Abe, “Hey, saw your message and – wow. You look like shit.”

“Thanks. Listen, do you have any other tech you could install tonight? Also, I think my ears are damaged. I got into a fight and now it screams in my ear.” Said Abe nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I can look at the ears.” Said Old Joe, “But I’m sorry kid, I don’t think I can do another install for you tonight. It’s too risky.”

Abe gripped the envelope in his pocket and felt the plastic bills bend.

“Come on Joe,” begged Abe, “just one install, whatever you got I’ll pay double.”

Old Joe’s eyes widened upon the last word and let out a deep breath through his nose. He looked around at his dilapidated clinic and his weathered hands. He nodded silently and considered the benefits of having some extra cash on hand.

“Alright,” Old Joe acceded, “all I got is an old cyber-eye, it’s all chrome though, so people will be able to tell. It’s not quite gunmetal, but I think it’ll suit ya. I wish I had more, but my guy said he’ll be delivering a shipment later.”

Abe was ecstatic, his plans were all coming to fruition. Old Joe pulled a worn-out box from under and laid out the chrome-eye on the counter. He mentioned to Abe that the eye was indeed used but the previous user had it returned in its original packaging. The chrome-eye was flawless and reflected the blue light from the fluorescent light fixture above. All the bits and pieces were there as far as Abe could tell. The chrome-eye resembled all the hallmarks of a regular eye except for the obvious. The sclera and the iris are represented as a chromium housing that is reactive to the eye muscles and with the aid of the synthetic pupil, automatically adjusts the amount of light that flows through the lens. While the pupil itself has a protective glass insert that serves to protect the 576-megapixel micro video lens behind it. The entire eye is essentially a digital micro camera modelled after the human eye. The light is focused through the lens and the synthetic saline jelly that acts as the vitreous humor. The light is captured by a synthetic-electromagnetic membrane that sends neural synapses that are converted through an optic nerve adapter cable attached to the optic nerve.

After he inspected the eye and its components, Abe was eager to get the operation started. Old Joe stated the terms and printed an invoice for Abe to look over. The eye costed about 400 dollars for the unit and the service fee would cost another 200 dollars due to the intricate installation process. Once Abe re-read the fine print and legality clauses, he signed the waiver and hopped on the operating table. As Abe laid down on the same cold metal bench from earlier in the day, he felt a sense of déjà vu and hoped that this time, he would stay unconscious the entire procedure.

“Five, four, three, two…” Abe counted back aloud, as the anesthetic gas brought him to sleep.

Before Abe lost consciousness, Old Joe had reassured that he increased the dosage of anesthetic gas this time around. The concern of sudden consciousness in Abe was brought to a dull form of anxiousness as he entrusted Old Joe’s professional opinion. Currently, Abe wasn’t in a state of awakened consciousness, but instead was left in a dream like state. Abe had no control of any motor functions during the operation but when he finally woke up, he tried to recall the things he saw. One of the things he remembered was that his eyes were opened the entire time.

The Chrome-Doc, Old Joe had brought the dental operatory light lower as he flipped over an optical device over his right eye. As per Abe’s choice, Old Joe removed his left eye with a handheld device that dug around his eyelid. The details that followed were a little foggy to Abe, but he remembered what had happened after the chrome-eye was attached to his optical nerve. He knew the eye was attached when his left eye peered into darkness, beyond the cone of light, instead of looking at the lamp like it should have. The vision that Abe had, reminded him of someone with a serious case of lazy eye. When Old Joe repositioned the eye and plugged it into his eye socket, Abe’s vision suddenly blacked out.

Now that Abe was fully conscious, Old Joe did the exact same routine as earlier in the day. He propped Abe up and stated the total cost of the install. As Abe mentioned earlier, he doubled the fee and handed over 1,200 dollars.

“Thank you, Abe. I really do appreciate your business. But for your own safety. I don’t think we should do another install for at least another week.” Said Old Joe.

Abe sat and blinked his eyes to adjust for the new eyeball. He wanted to reply to Old Joe, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was odd about him. As he focused his sight, he could have sworn he saw feathers on the old man’s arm. He shook his head and attributed it to the aftereffects of the anesthesia. Abe hopped on his feet, donned his shirt, and stuffed his work apron into his pocket. The world began to spin as he tried to maintain his balance but inevitably, Abe passed out.

Moments later, Abe shot open his eyes as the smell of ammonia salts woke him up. His vision waved and blurred whilst Old Joe tried to speak to him.

“You okay Abe?” echoed Old Joe, “Thought I lost you. Like I said, this is too risky. You can’t have so many installs so close together.”

Abe began to hear bird wings above and placed his left hand on Old Joe’s shoulder as he looked for the source of the sound.

“Did you take a look at my ears Joe?” Abe implored.

“Yeah,” Old Joe responded, “I straightened them out and replaced some wires but otherwise they were ship shape.”

Abe looked past Old Joe as his eyes were drawn to the dental operatory light. As he observed, he suddenly saw a shadow of a bird as if it flew under the light. He glanced over at Old Joe and did a double take as the sight of his face horrified Abe. The old man’s weary eyes were replaced with black pearls and his creased and weathered face started to sprout feathers and a beak. Abe screamed and terror, sprung to his feet and knocked over Old Joe. He tackled open the door and burst through the one that lead outside. The doorbell was knocked in such an aggressive manner that the sound did not even register in Abe’s ear.

His footsteps echoed in the alley as he unintentionally stepped in puddles of fluid and refuse. In the distance, the sound of feathers beat against the air. Abe slid onto Kitai Avenue and bumped into pedestrians at a food stand. Many obscenities thrown in different languages trailed behind him as he recklessly ran through people to get to the subway entrance. He peeked over his shoulder and whimpered as he saw a predatorial bird swoop in toward him. Its eyes were black and empty like coals. Abe’s ankle buckled as he missed a few steps and plummeted down the concrete stairwell. He tumbled and bounced as people jumped out of the way, barely dodging the human boulder. Abe managed to stop as he hit the last stair and gripped the middle safety rail. The flutter of wings grew louder as the bird swooped closer.

Abe rolled onto his feet and sprinted through the station terminal. He dodged the crowds as best he could and hopped the turnstiles. He saw a sign that pointed to the Orange Line platform and flew down the stairs by practically hopping down each flight. When Abe reached the platform, the Orange Line train had just arrived, and he squeezed into the first available door. He held onto the handrail tight and exhaled out of exhaustion. Sweat poured down his forehead and the heat that radiated off his overexerted body, fogged the window he leaned against. He finally felt a little bit safer on the train since he left Old Joe’s clinic and began to let his guard down. Abe reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone and the envelope. The time was 12:30am and he had 800 dollars left to his name. This was it, the final stretch. Abe only had a few things left on his mind to do. He thought about his home and how that will be the first place he will turn to. Next, he will pack up his things and run away from this city, maybe even this country to keep alive. And lastly, he thought about Zoey and how he wanted to take her with him. He had saved her number on his phone when she wrote it on his arm a week ago and called right away. The dial tones chimed once before it went to voicemail.

“Zoey,” said Abe in a panicked tone, “I am sorry about earlier today, something has happened. I need to see you tonight, meet me at my place. My apartment is across the street from Yuki’s, my apartment is 202. Please come!”

When Abe ended the call, he heard a one second screech of feedback that caused him to duck his head in fear. He slowly turned, afraid of what ungodly horror awaited him. The screech blared in his ears in intervals of five seconds, a pattern he hadn’t heard yet. He squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth as his fear matched his curiosity. Once he turned around, he noticed there was nothing behind him except for fellow passengers. The screech echoed to his left and drew his attention down the train car. At the end of the car was a bizarre and equally concerning sight. On top of the heads of three passengers, perched three owls that stared at Abe and screeched. Abe trembled and looked to others to confirm if they saw the same sight as he. No one seemed to mind the existence of extinct birds perched atop people’s heads. Abe trembled as he began to think that he had gone mad. He stared at them as they continued screech in synchrony and tried to identify what kind of owls they were.

Time passed as passengers hopped on and off the train at different stops on the way up to Abe’s destination. The owls’ selected perches had even left at one point on his train ride but the birds themselves seemed to defy gravity and were suspended in place. Abe had never seen owls let alone birds before, but if he did, he probably took them for granted. The only owls he ever saw was in his schoolbooks, and he tried to identify the ones that now screamed at him. The one owl in the middle perched shorter than the rest and had an outline of brown patterned feathers. Its abdomen and face cast a pure white sheen with eyes that looked like black pearls. If Abe had to guess, this was a run of the mill Barn Owl. The two that accompanied it on its sides, stood taller with brown and black specked feathers. These two birds had a piercing gaze with a bright yellow sclera. They seemed to have brows outlined in black feathers that appeared to connect to sharp ears on the top of their heads. These birds were probably Great Horned Owls. They continued to stare into Abe without movement and only announced their presence to him every five seconds with that ear wrenching scream.

Although the owls continued to be unmoving and no one seemed to acknowledge their impossible presence, the experience felt no less real. Abe was afraid. Even though he did not catch a good look at the bird, the piercing gaze of these owls seemed to suggest to him that they were the ones that hunted him. Abe felt like he was the prey, like a mouse that hid behind bushes made of people. After another moment, the intercom chimed. Abe was back at Thorncliffe Station.

He didn’t waste any time and sprinted out of the subway terminal. This time he paid his fare with whatever change he had left in his pocket. As he ran out of the station, he noted the time that was displayed on a digital clock that glowed by the exit. The time was 1:00am. The surreal owl screeches persisted as he made his way home, now at a faster interval. Panic was beginning to set as he crossed the intersections to his home. It has been an hour now since the original meet time with Timo and Abe could only imagine the wrath that he may endure if he were to cross his path again. He quickened his pace undoubtedly to make the most of his time left in this city. He finally arrived at the front doors of his tiny old apartment building. When Abe opened the door, he checked behind him to see if he was being followed. Abe saw the darkened sign of Yuki’s Grocery, the store sat quietly as if it glared at him for his betrayal of their owner. At the front of the store, perched the same owls from the train. He gritted his teeth as he ran through the hall to the stairwell that led to the second floor. On his way toward his apartment, various undetermined noises echoed in the halls. Abe paid no mind to the sounds as he began to question whether they were even real.

When he approached his apartment, number 202, Zoey was nowhere to be seen. Abe had hoped that she received his message but did not bother to check his phone due to the absence of time. He took the keys from his pocket and opened the door. In his undeterred ambition and focus, Abe didn’t realize that the door was already unlocked. As he stepped inside the 220 square foot micro apartment, he let out a long-winded breath of air, he was finally home. To his left was the door to the bathroom, further ahead was the living room where his bed was situated. At the end of the apartment opposite the front door, was a window that overlooked Yuki’s Grocery and was connected to a fire escape outside. The window was left open, Abe thought he closed it before he left in the morning. He paid no mind however, since there wasn’t much to his name or anything worth any value in his apartment.

Abe got to work and started to pack his items in an old dusty backpack he had under his bed. He threw open the drawers of his cheap dresser and stuffed his bag with enough clothes to last a week. He grabbed any essentials and his toiletries and stuffed them in a small duffel bag and left everything else behind. As he finalized his preparations the thoughts that ran through his mind were of Zoey and he wished that she were here and hoped to hear her knock the door at any moment. As if his prayers were answered by an unseen force, the door knocked.

Abe hopped to his feet with a grin as an anxious feeling of joy beat in his chest. He skipped over to the door and opened it. Zoey wasn’t there. In a twisted turn of cruel fate, a massive five-foot ten Barn Owl stood beyond the threshold of the door. Beside it, a gigantic six-foot-tall Great Horned Owl glared at Abe. The two birds screamed and rushed inside the apartment. Abe gasped and trembled at the sight of the implausible abominations that tormented him. He pedaled backwards and tripped over his feet. He shook and covered his ears as he crawled towards his only means of escape, the window. As he rapidly squirmed across the concrete floor of his apartment, a silhouette grew out from the darkness and blocked the light that came from the window. Another towering Great Horned Owl stepped over the window ledge and filled the gaps of the window frame. Abe was trapped.

Panicked, Abe frantically looked for another exit as the three colossal owls stood around him and screamed at him. Abe cried uncontrollably in fear, tears poured down his face. Without a moment’s notice, the Great Horned Owl by the window grabbed Abe’s arms and pinned them down with its wings. The other, pinned both of his legs down. The Barn Owl with its black pearl, coal like eyes, stood over him. It let out one final scream before it pecked at his cybernetic arms and leg at its joints. The owl’s beaks were like diamond incisors that tore through Abe’s gunmetal implants. The sound of electricity and sparks echoed in the apartment as blood mixed with oil and other fluids shot out of Abe’s stumps.

Abe screamed in pain. As he suffered, he overexerted his vocal cords and lost his voice. The only sounds that now emerged were nothing more than a raspy squeal. While Abe writhed and squirmed with his only remaining leg, the owls stood beside each other and looked down at him. The Great Horned Owls stood to the sides of the Barn Owl, the gunmetal limbs in their beaks. Abe watched as the Barn Owl’s beak moved as if it spoke to him. It stepped closer and in one swift movement, pecked out Abe’s chrome-eye. Abe soundlessly yelped and tried to cover his empty eye socket with a hand that wasn’t there. For a moment the screams halted and in its place was a bellow of maniacal laughter. In the chorus, roared a familiar voice.

“Bahahaha!” roared Timo Chang, “I thought I made myself clear! Look at you now, a worthless one leg, one eye, pile of shit!”

The remaining human eye of Abe shot open as he was greeted with the soulless eyes of Timo with bolt cutters in his hands and two tall henchmen that stood in place of the impossible owls.

“Let me even this out for you,” said Timo as he mercilessly ripped off Abe’s right ear, “Now you are a one-man show! Alright boys, I think we are just about done here, let’s take him for a flight.”

The one-legged man formerly known as Gunmetal Abe, wriggled, and writhed as he tried to scream for help. The two henchmen picked up Abe and wrapped him in their arms and tossed him out the window, over the fire escape rails, as if he were a rolled-up rug. He tumbled head over heel as he plummeted two stories down and cracked his skull on the pavement. The vision from his one eye was blurred and shook as he went into shock. A white object floated down like a feather and landed beside him. He managed to turn his head to see what it was. The object was the envelope that must have fell from his pocket. He peered into the opening as it faced him and noticed it was empty. Beside it was his cracked and damaged phone that glitched and started playing two missed voice messages.

The first message that played was time stamped by a robotic voice that put it around the time he called Zoey.

In a garbled and staticky voice, Zoey yelled from the phone’s speaker, “Don’t you dare call me ever again you freak! What makes you think I want to see you anymore?! You are something Abe, get a grip and go fuck yourself!”

Abe felt his chest tighten as if his heart was about to explode and steadied himself for the second voice message as it automatically played. The robotic voice time stamped this message to just moments ago. Abe worried what it could be, and half hoped that it would be Zoey again. Even if it was going to be another message out of anger.

The second message sputtered and spat out the voice of Old Joe, “Hey Abe, I don’t know what that was about, but I hope you are alright. Please, for the love of all things just sleep it off. I am calling because I got some news from my delivery guy, and they are going to be dropping off some more gunmetal parts. Some guy named Timo will be making the delivery this time. I just wanted you to know when you are feeling better next week, maybe you could drop by and see what interests you? Anyway, I know it’s late and you’re probably already sleeping. Have a good night, or good morning, whenever you get this.”

On the last syllable of the old man’s voice, the phone sparked and the light from it’s display went out. Abe spent his last moments on the rough pavement of a sidewalk, his apartment building and Yuki’s Grocery on the edge of his vision. Tears and blood rolled down his cheeks as he stared up into the smog of the late-night sky. In a strange occurrence, the thick air pollution parted, and a beam of light showered Abe as he laid on his back dying. A full moon. The elegant glow shone in Abe’s eye as he felt his body grow numb and weightless as if he were in flight. He felt the moonlight wash over his skin as he dreamed of being atop a bench under a wisteria tree. Abe felt no regret and chuckled, as a thought crossed his mind. If he were given another chance, would he have repeated the same mistakes? A globule emerged in Abe’s throat as he coughed an ounce of blood and phlegm and began to choke as if fate itself strangled him.