Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 12:44:35 -0500
From: alexzander <alexzandermurot@hushmail.com>
Subject: New World Apprentice - Chapter 2

Disclaimer:

This story is complete fiction.  None of the characters or scenarios are
real.  This story involves intergenerational sexual relations.  If this is
not your thing or it is illegal for you to read such things then don't read
it.

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.............................................................................


Chapter 2:  2148 - Apprentice Day

Sunlight crested over the horizon and washed into the port city.  Solar
Barges were docked and unloaded their cargo from neighboring FreeCities.
From his industrial white flat, Darwin 4ster slowly opened his eyes and
took in the expansive view.  He uncurled from the warmth of his bed and
brewed a strong blend of coffee from the plains of Ethiopia.  Sipping and
savoring the drink, Darwin gave a grin as much for the coffee as for the
city he loved and his position at ICR.  As Deputy of Port Copenhagen in
Greater Denmark, Darwin took great pride in his position and his ability to
help his FreeCity and its people.  Having been in his position for nearly
ten years, Darwin was about to be assigned a new apprentice today.  At 38,
it was hard to distinguish age with the common use of Med Nano-Tech.
Cellular Repair Bots and numerous other advancements gave greater longevity
and fewer ailments as were more common in the Dark Years and earlier.

Darwin finished his coffee, dressed and signaled a car for pick up.
Reviewing the days agenda on his ReD (Retinal Display) he descended to the
street level as the GPS vehicle silently pulled to the curb and opened the
door.  After thumbprinting the glass sensor and choosing his destination
Darwin sat back as the car glided off to ICR Headquarters.

--

Eleven year old Max 2ven was nervous as he sat quietly in bed.  The dark
sky began to soften into hues of purple then warmer orange glows as
daylight broke and streamed into his room.  Sunlight bathed the soft curves
of his face and he closed his eyes letting the warmth envelop him.  Max was
still as he contemplated his first day as an apprentice with the ICR.  He
remembered the day he was called to meet with his regional educational
commissioner who told Max that he was chosen to be a part of the
apprenticeship program and would soon be placed.  That day has now arrived
and Max knew what a huge honor it is to have been chosen.  The sun rose and
so did Max.  Out of bed, washed and dressed in his new gray uniform Max
headed to the kitchen.  His mother Emily had breakfast waiting for him and
she was beaming with pride as he came to the table.  She placed a large
cloth over Max as he sat down.

"Mom!  What are you doing?" Max asked, bewildered at what was going on.

"There is no way you're going to get a crumb on that uniform.  Certainly
not on this day." Emily replied with a smile.

Max seemed to agree with a little nod of his head and ate up his breakfast
keeping an eye on the time since a car would be around soon to get him.
Shortly after breakfast was done, a two-toned chime sounded indicating the
arrival of the car.  Email looked down at her son and hugged him longer
than an eleven year old might want but today Max didn't mind so much.  He
felt a sense of pride and confidence in that hug and he was glad to get it.

Holding her son at arms length Emily spoke, "Well my son, this is your big
first day and I'm proud of all that you've accomplished.  I'm sure you'll
do great today and impress all those fancy ICR folks".

"I hope you're right mom." said Max, "I'm a little nervous but I know I'll
do good at this".  He straightened himself up and smiled.

"I'm sure you will" his mother replied.

The car for Max sat outside the large complex of flats comprised of
upcycled shipping containers.  There was limited need for large scale
inter-continental shipping these days and ports around the world had an
excess of these steel framed boxes.  A wall of these containers were
stacked on each other at varying depths creating a unique block featured
building that provided a modern industrial feel.  Each flat was built using
multiple containers with the interior walls cut away to give larger living
spaces to its inhabitants.  Along with new advancements in the field of
Architectural Biomimicry, interior systems included the latest in mushroom
based wall insulation and orga-lectric power distribution from the rooftop
PhotoSynth Panels.  Max bounded down the steps to the car and thumbprinted
the exterior glass panel.  The car door hissed open and Max hopped in.  As
the car sped off toward the ICR Headquarters, Max was very much looking
forward to this new opportunity.  He liked the maturity he felt heading off
to a job.  Of course he knew this was as much a learning experience as it
was work.  Everyone grew up with stories about the important work being
done in the ICR and many students had the chance to meet with older
apprentices who would come to speak with groups of students who were being
considered candidates for that path.

--

Darwin exited at ICR Headquarters and the car sped off toward its next
scheduled pick up.  The vast staircase that abutted the street and lead to
the entrance of the building was built in seven distinct sections, each
with a different stone material and each with a slightly different angle.
The stones were quarried from the seven major FreeCities in the region that
made up Greater Denmark.  A creature of habit, Darwin headed up the same
dark stoned flight of stairs he always used and entered the wide four story
building.  Like with much of the new architecture in this part of the
world, a creative use of old and new tech are often used in unison to
create a unique element within buildings.  Here at ICR Headquarters, a
magnificent glass elevator sat at the center of the structure in a large
open atrium.  The elevator operated with an ingenious old style water wheel
that ran a series of exposed gears and was situated behind a curtain wall
of glass.  A computer system calculated the activation of the wheel and an
intricate weight and pulley system raised the elevator to the appropriate
floor as a myriad of gears spun for all to see.  Though it might seem like
an overly redundant structure for a four-story building, the statement was
a celebration of old and new technologies joined together for a useful
task.  Following the Dark Years, this culture chose to embrace what had
come before them and what they developed today.  This mutual respect of
past, present and future gave the people a wide range of artisans and
craftspeople of unparalleled skill.

At the end of a long hallway on the second floor Darwin reached his office.
Behind the door was a large open space with exposed steel columns and a
polished cement floor.  Various regions were separated by ionic particle
glass that could frost up for privacy when needed but otherwise remained
clear.  The ceilings were twelve feet tall and these glass partition walls
ran the full height creating an impressive visual statement.  Darwin gave
several morning greetings to his colleagues and moved to his work space.
He sat behind his desk, a curved cut of steel that was once part of a naval
vessel long decommissioned.  The steel was purposely left patinated with
aged rust and sealed under a clear, scratch proof coating.  Sensing his
arrival, the quantum computer database winked to life on the wafer thin
glass screen and began to populate visuals and reports from the various
inter-FreeCity tasks that awaited his attention.  Darwin gestured to the
file that contained the data on his new apprentice, Max 2ven.  The
information was thorough, providing personal details about Max's life and
his education history.  Max 2ven was the only son of Edith and Lars 2ven.
Lars had been recruited as part of a mining operation for rare minerals
from near Earth asteroids.  This was important work since so much of
Earth's rare minerals were mined out of existence long ago and their
properties were so vital in technology.  Though crucial, the work kept Lars
away from the home for a few years at a time due to the travel and the
refinement process that he was responsible for.  Edith was an Educational
Leader who worked with a group of students in their ongoing learning.  The
review of Max indicated an intelligent individual who possessed all of the
common skills expected of an apprentice under the ICR.  He showed great
aptitude for problem solving and was said to "...turn on strong leadership
skills when given the opportunity to take charge of a situation".
Interesting, thought Darwin.  Physically Max was slightly short for his age
group, had a perfect weight/height ratio, black hair, a pale skin tone and
striking blue eyes.  For a moment Darwin was somewhat captivated by the
photograph of Max.  There was something about the facial features that drew
Darwin to the image.  He couldn't quite pinpoint the reason for his allure
and shook it off as he tried to focus back on his work.

--

Max arrived at the main entrance to ICR, exited the car and took in the
view of the building.  Though he'd passed by the structure several times,
this would not only be his first time inside, but his new daily destination
for years to come.  He admired the master stonework that was done on the
stairs that lead up to the entrance.  With the varied levels and color
palettes he paused to examine the paths before heading up.  After a moment
of thought he chose a brilliant white stone staircase that narrowed midway
up and crossed through a dark stone path before continuing to the top.
Upon reaching the entrance he faced a bank of twenty wooden doors each of
which were intricately carved with a history of how Greater Denmark rebuilt
itself from the ruins of the past.  Equidistant stanchions stood near the
doors with glass thumbprint pads to allow access and notify those inside
who had appointments with guests.  Max stepped up to one of them and
thumbed the glass.  A quick green glow pulsed on the surface and a set of
doors hissed open.  Max stepped inside and stood awestruck at the vastness
of the lobby.  The grand glass atrium allowed a flood of light into the
space and the clockwork looking elevator bank was a marvel to behold.
Max's ReD activated, indicated a path to follow up to his appointment
destination and he began to walk toward a steel staircase.  At the second
floor the directions lead to the right down a long hallway with various
doors lining the left side and a bank of glass overlooking the main lobby
to the right.  Sensing his arrival, the door slid open along a track
system.  The room was bustling with activity and chatter as workers busied
themselves with whatever kept them busy.

A young man approached, "Max 2ven?" he asked.

"Yes, that's me!" Max replied in a chipper voice.

The dapper office worker lead Max into the main office and toward a glass
partitioned room, "This way please".

The two entered the space and a man with short cropped blond hair stood up
to greet the two while the escort presented the guest, "Director 4ster,
this is Max 2ven, you're newly appointed apprentice".

Darwin eyed his new ward and felt momentarily speechless, which was quite
unlike him.

Max extended his hand "Hello Deputy 4ster, I'm Max and I'm very honored to
be here working with you...sir...I mean learning with you...from
you...sir".  Max suddenly felt ridiculous.  He had an IQ higher than many
adults and he sounded like he couldn't even speak the language.

The office worker grinned and stepped out as Darwin came out from behind
his desk to shake hands, "Yes, of course Max.  No need to be nervous".

Max shook hands with Darwin and then stood at attention with his eyes
forward as if he were in a military training camp.  Darwin stood quietly
for a moment.  The awkward silence seemed to go on too long and Max darted
his eyes over to the deputy who had his arms folded with a grin on his
face.  Max grinned back.

Darwin broke the tension, "You know this isn't the army right?".

Max let out a breath of air and let his posture relax a bit.  Chuckling
slightly Darwin offered a chair for Max to sit in and then returned to his
own seat behind the desk.  "Well Max, it's good to have you hear with us at
Inter-City Relations.  I'm sure you have a lot of questions but let me
start by getting you familiar with some of what you should expect.  Like I
said, we're not the military but we do have some strict protocols and
expect you to adhere to the rules and regulations we set forth as you begin
your apprenticeship."

Max seemed to straightened up in his seat slightly after that line.  "We
will be uploading some data to your ReD for you to review over the next few
days so that you can begin to familiarize yourself with current projects we
are working on and how you will begin to get involved and learn from them.
One of your most important tasks will be helping coordinate some of my
appointments and coming with me to various meetings and events.  As an
apprentice you should know that you are always on call.  My schedule is
incredibly busy and therefore your schedule will become incredibly busy.
Immediate needs may also require me to activate a port-jump."

Max's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at hearing about a port-jump.
He knew that teleportation systems were used frequently enough by limited
government groups but he never imagined he might have to do it himself.
The idea was part cool and part freaky.  From what he learned about the
tech, people who have been authorized to use it have a small device
implanted under their skin near their spine.  The device essentially
"catalogs" the host at the molecular level and is in constant contact with
a quantum computing mainframe.  When the jump occurs, there is a receiving
platform that calls in the specific person by having all their molecules
jump through time and space and instantly reassembled at the host station.
Max was pretty sure there was a lot of math and science in that process
that he probably missed when he and his fellow student group spent a day
with a scientist who was one of the pioneers in developing the technology.

In any case his facial expression said what he was thinking and Darwin
noticed as much, "Don't worry Max, teleporting is used all the time in the
upper levels of government and we've never had an incident of failure.  It
allows us to get to visit the other FreeCities for important gatherings and
move urgent supplies when needed.  I've used it many times myself.  One of
the most important things I need you to remember is to always notify me
anytime you are unavailable.  And I do mean any-time.  Though this may seem
awkward at first, you'll get used to it and it really only requires a
sensor tap to send a notification.  If we need to do a port-jump your
implant will signal you with a ten second warning and then you'll be
jumped.  One of the most awkward jumps was an apprentice who was...shall we
say...in disposed on a toilet seat right when we signaled a jump."

Max guffawed loudly and quickly put his hands over his mouth to stifle the
outburst.

Darwin grinned, "Yes, well needless to say it took him a while to clean the
receiving pad afterwards".

Max scrunched up his face, "eww, that's pretty gross".

"So you see the importance of a notification" Darwin smirked.

"Yes Sir!", snapped Max.

"Deputy or Deputy 4ster will be fine Max".

The Deputy spent the next hour reviewing a variety of details like always
wearing one of his gray uniforms so that he can easily be identified by
staff, where he would be set up when he needed to access the data system
and a few upcoming events that he should prepare for.  To some people all
that talk may seem boring but Max was excited to learn about all the things
he would be doing.  Being here in ICR was a big deal and he wanted to make
sure he did a good job.  After the conversation ended, Darwin brought Max
back to the man who he first met who turned out to be the Deputy's personal
assistant, Janus.  Janus would be taking Max to get his implant put in.

"Oh. Right now?" Max asked.

"Yes, not to worry it's a quick and painless procedure but it's best to get
it taken care of now" Darwin smiled as he spoke and it gave Max a sense of
assuredness.

The Deputy set them off and Janus and Max headed to the far end of the
fourth floor.  The walk took longer than expected and Max started to
realize how large this building really was.  The two arrived at a glass
door that greeted them with a low h-u-s-h noise as it opened.

A tall woman approached with a smile and spoke with a curious accent that
Max placed as somewhere in the Central African Kingdom, "Ah, so this must
be Max, the new apprentice for our Deputy.  I am Misa."

Max's hand barely made contact with Misa before she whisked him off down on
corridor and Janus had to half shout a "see you later!" as Max craned his
neck back and waved.  Misa brought Max into a stark white room with a white
bed-like table.

"Remove your shirt and lie face down here" Misa said as she gestured to the
table and moved over to a panel system that came to life as she faced it.

Max had a slight hesitation but then removed the top part of his uniform
and approached the bed-table.  He hopped up and saw an open are near the
front where he assumed his face would rest in.  Max kept his breathing
steady and relaxed as he faced the floor and closed his eyes listening the
subtle movements of Misa who was making preparations in a laissez-faire
manner like she'd done this a thousand times (and maybe she did?).  In his
silence Max saw the friendly face of Darwin who bolstered him into knowing
that everything would be fine.

Misa's voice caused Max to open his eyes and see two shoes at the floor,
"The procedure will not take long Max, we are simply going to make an
incision here near C1 and C2" he felt a warm hand touch his back near his
neck, "and place the PortJump BioTracker.  This will work to constantly
identify your precise spatial location as well as to nanotag your body at a
molecular level.  Once we activate it you will feel a slight tingle along
your back.  Almost like a sudden shiver.  This will be the device latching
into a nerve bundle and merging with your system.  Simple right?".

She chuckled before Max could respond and he felt a sharp pain on his back
for just a moment, "Ow!  What was that?!" Max yelped.

"Sorry, I like to distract the patient for that part.  We have to briefly
deaden the area to begin the incision".  Max grumbled a bit but felt no
other discomfort.

After about twenty minutes he felt the telltale shiver down his spine that
Misa spoke about and the procedure was at an end.  After his skin was
spray-grafted closed, one would never know any procedure had been done.
Max was allowed to stand up and put his uniform shirt back on.

"Very good.  Now are you ready for a test run?" Misa gave a slight smirk as
she spoke.

Max was a bit taken aback, "Wait. What?  You're going to port-jump me right
now?"

"Of course. You'll need to experience it and we have to do a standard first
run anyway" Misa spoke without looking at Max and her hands flew over a
variety of symbols on a Sense-Glass tablet.

Max shifted his head to the left and right as if trying to find someone
else to say something to when he suddenly stopped.  A low beeping noise was
coming from somewhere behind him and as he turned to identify the source,
it seemed to follow behind him.

He soon realized it was the implant making the noise and as he started to
say "Hey that's the impl..." the beeping hit it's tenth beep and Max felt a
shock of cold around his whole body like he was dunked in a tub of ice
water for a split second.  In that same instance there was a sharp light
that seemed to curve in from the corner of his eyes and the ambient sound
of the room suddenly pitched down like someone starting to talk in slow
motion.  He heard a loud crack or clap sound and his eyes suddenly saw a
totally different room.  It was not as bright as the other room he was in
and before he could look around, the entire room went sideways.  Feet
hurried toward him walking on the wall.  No, wait.  I'm lying on the floor,
Max thought.

Someone helped him up and then Max started to realize that he was being
spoken to, "...feeling ok?  Hello?  It's Max right?".

"What?  Oh, yes, I'm Max and I'm the new apprentice for Deputy 4ster"

Max started to regain his focus and saw a person who may have been in his
late adolescence (though with all of the medical nano-tech who cold be
certain) smiling and speaking to him, "Hi, I'm Travis Br8ward.  Welcome to
the Port Copenhagen ICR Jump Station!"

Travis beamed a smile like he was greeting tourists to a tropical resort.
Looking around Max saw an array of incredible technology, a humming quantum
computer station and an array of light pulsing, honeycombed shaped objects
that formed an arched canopy above his head.

Max turned to Travis, "Um, but I live in Port Copenhagen".

"Yes I know.  You're in the basement of the ICR building.  We just jumped
you down from the fourth floor".

Travis helped Max off the low platform and gave him some water to drink.
After a few minutes Max seemed more stable and hoped that he wouldn't be
going through that again anytime soon.  He thanked Travis for the water and
made his way through a tunnel of cables and cooling tanks to a staircase
that brought him back up to the second floor.  Upon arriving it took him a
few minutes to realize that he was on the opposite side of the building and
he started walking at a quick pace back around to where the Deputy's office
was.  He entered the office, greeted Janus and told him the story of
everything that he just went through.  Janus nodded and shared with Max
that he went through the same procedure a few years back and remembers it
all too well.  The rest of the day was focused on more introductions and
procedures and Max headed back home just as the sun began to sink into the
western horizon.  It was quite an experience and Max was excited to share
the events with his mother when he got home.