The story?.. Chapter 4 Bogrima: Why do you want to go to this..Earth, mylady?.. Ashinay: I was born there..or that person I once was..My family and others lived in a district called Tecunah..fertile lands, we did fine, but one of "The 10", the big companies needed more land to their big herds of cattle so they tried to get us to sell.. B.: You don't exactly look like a farmer, mylady.. A.: (Ignores) Then they tried all kinds of ways to get what they want: bribery, lawyers, corrupt politicians, threats and even murder...We defended ourselves, but got arrested and suddenly the whole area became expropriated by the local government. Our resistance became fiercer but we did not have any comparable power as our opponents..So we lost our land and became refugees, rebels or just resignated and tried to survive in some way..My friends and I try to fight back, we even contacted a rival company among "The 10" to get some allied but they too tricked us and delivered us to our enemies..it was war, bloody and merciless.. B.: "The 10" my lady, who were these?.. A.: ..The Earth experienced several severe economical crises where many people lost everything..no jobs, no home, no place to go, only hope to get some kind of low pay job if they could get one at all..A lot died of starvation or deseases. The surviving big majority were so dependent by these big and constantly consuming and growing companies which today owns and control over 95%..of everything...! B.: Isn't it just what is called business?.. A.: No, they wanted everything, more and more to own and to get even more money became their only goal..They were the de facto goverments, their company armies even fought wars..until they agreed upon it wasn't good for the profit, so they simple shared the Earth in ten parts in the same way the imperial powers did a couple of thousand years ago.."The 10" did only so much that people could survive, humans was simply regarded as a mere ressource, and the system made them economical depended from they were born..Only carreer was to try to get employed at one of these companies...many did and became part of their loyal gangs, doing the dirty work when people protested or not do as wanted and told..It was what is called an oligarchy - power to the few and extremely wealthy, with own "fake" political parties but in the end..the chairman of the board have much more power than a president.. B.: I see..but what happened with you and your friends, mylady?.. A.: As told we were caught and they want to get rid of us because we have started a sort of bigger movement against the unjust we experienced..They wanted no martyrs, so we were secretly send to a very remote outpost of a planet as a slave working force in the local mining industry..Owned by this same company, called "Aure Futuro"*.. B.: You, don't either look like a miner mylady.. A.: Maybe not but I was later totally "redesigned", only my human brain remained.. B.: But how come you was changed to..? A.. A cyborg?..Some of us died but the surviving rest of us was simply sold to an alien race who just looked at us as guinea pigs in their labs..They created labor droids called "cybots", laboring robots, able to perform multiple kinds of operations and functions. But as "zombiesized" programmable robots..The preservation of the human brain was thought to give more flexibilitty and personality as long the computer brain was in charge.. B.: Must have been an awful experience..I need words.. A.: ..I am no longer the same person or being, because I now got three different brains, the original organic with my mind and memories, my computer brain which gives formidable power to penetrate the technological world and its systems and last, "Pente" this alien jelly-fish look-alike who gives me my emotions and feelings back and integrate the artificially parts of me so I see myself as a whole person..but nor human nor artificial..but me..! * Aure Futuro (latin) = Golden Future This was today's chapter have a nice week end :o) JohnnyC / Rhanagaz