Location:
Two kilometers outside the city of Neo-York.

Present day.
184 years after the Fall of WiFi.

The trinity of Negotiators stood atop a wide rockface ridge overlooking the industrial metropolis of Neo-York. This mobile city would soon be their place of employ. For a time. Their latest client had not yet arrived, but the Negotiators were early. They were always early.

As the last beam of the sun sank below the looming horizon, Mina closed her large black umbrella and held it at her side. There was no point in protecting her photosensitive skin once the sun had set.

In the same moment, the left eye of Ava-1 automatically switched to night vision. The eye was also designed to see infrared, three dimensional laser outlines, x-rays, and toxins in the air that were invisible to the naked eye. The eye had both telescope and microscope capabilities, and could zoom in across great distances. For this reason, Ava-1 was the first to see their client's approach.

"She's on her way in a small motorized vehicle," Ava-1 told her comrades. Neither showed the least bit of inquisitiveness. "Fusion engine, digital dashboard. She will arrive in three minutes and nineteen seconds."

Saito ran his hands along the sheathed blades at his side — a katana and a wakizashi of ancient forge, together known as the Daishō of the samurai. "I dislike waiting," Saito said, his voice calm rather than disdainful. "It makes me anxious and throws off my inner chi."

"According to my analysis of your sympathetic nervous system, there is still a six minute and thirty-five second window before the flow of your chi becomes truly disrupted," Ava-1 told him. "More than enough of a grace period for our client to arrive."

Mina, who had remained quiet for this exchange, broke her habitual silence and stared pointedly at Ava-1. "It was difficult for me to see you while the sun still shone, of course," Mina said to her. "Light sensitivity never loses its potency. But now I see that your latest skin graph operation went well. The left side of your face looks nearly human again."

"You're almost attractive," Saito added, a subtle smirk gracing his chiseled features.

Ava-1 gave him a glare that would inspire goosebumps in the bravest of men. "I don't recall asking you, Saito."

Saito expelled a quiet laugh. He checked the condition of his swords again.

Mina sighed.

Saito and Ava-1 both glanced at her. Neither was particularly concerned; they knew better than most the extent of Mina's strength. Still, it wasn't often that she sighed or did anything of the sort. The sound bordered on ominous.

"Our travels during daylight hours exhausted you, didn't they?" Saito asked his nocturnal comrade. He hoped that was all, but his instincts told him otherwise.

"My neuro scan and analysis shows that you're fatigued," Ava-1 said.

Mina shook her head, neglecting to answer for a moment, as was her common practice. "Fatigued, yes," she said at last. "Not from what has happened thus far, but from what will soon come to pass."

"You are experiencing apprehension as well, I take it?" Saito asked. "My mind has been in disquiet since we began our journey here. There is something dark in this city."

Ava-1 accessed the power assessment device embedded above her left ear. "My radar is picking up a power level of at least six," she reported. "That's the highest we've encountered in quite some time. No wonder our client wanted us to come."

Like clockwork, the small motorized vehicle pulled to a stop in front of the trio. The fusion technology allowed for absolute silence, despite the running engine. The driver's door opened, and a petite young woman emerged.

"Thank Google you came," the woman said. She had dark skin and neon blue hair with eyes to match. Behind her, the driver side door closed automatically with a whoosh. "It just keeps getting worse here."

"What is the problem, exactly?" Saito asked.

"The warden of this city," the young woman said, a look of exhausted determination on her face. "She's taken over. Neo-York was meant to be an autonomous collective, but she's turned it into a dictatorship!"

Saito, Mina, and Ava-1 exchanged glances. They'd encountered similar issues on the badlands before.

"And who are you?" Mina asked. She inhaled deeply to take in the woman's scent. "Your digi-vite was cryptic and anonymous."

"I'm sorry. It had to be that way," the woman said. She shook her head in regret and the choppy layers of her blue hair swished around her shoulders. "In case it was intercepted. All digital communication is subject to surveillance in Neo-York."

"There is no need to apologize," Mina said. "What is your name?"

Before the young woman could answer, Ava-1 stepped in front of her and ran a scan across the woman's face with the sensory laser that was implanted in her left eye. "Nova Herdeem, twenty-seven years of age, electronics store keeper, lifelong resident of the city called Neo-York, two synthetic dogs, and left-handed," Ava-1 recited.

Nova backed away, amazed. "W—wow. Yes, that's right," she said. "I guess it's true, what they say. You're a cyborg."

"Well," Ava-1 corrected, "I'm approximately sixty-five percent cyborg. Parts of the right side of my body were able to be salvaged after the accident and are still flesh and blood."

"Accident?" Nova repeated. Her eyebrows shot up in alarm. "What happened?"

"I have no recollection or data," Ava-1 answered. "Which is probably for the best, as the official report stated that I was run over by a hover craft and kept alive by machines for years. What I was called before the accident, I don't remember, but I was re-designated as Ava-1. Don't you have cyborgs in Neo-York?"

"We...do," Nova said. "But not like you. They're androids. Robotic. They're programed with a singular purpose to perform a specific task. They don't have..." She waved her hand over Ava-1 in a vague gesture.

"Personalities?" Ava-1 offered.

Nova nodded.

"Ava has too much personality at times," Saito remarked in his soothing voice.

Ava-1 stuck out her tongue at him, and he chuckled.

Nova turned her stunned gaze to Saito. "And you," she said, eyeing his swords and loose fitting kimono and hakama trousers, "you're the last samurai from the Forgotten Era. That's not just an urban legend."

Saito gave her a deep bow. "Saito Haijime, second daicho of the Shinsengumi. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Ummm..?"

"Nice to meet you," he rephrased.

"Ah," Nova said. "Nice to meet you, too." She turned to Mina, taking in her high-collared black Victorian gown and folded black umbrella. "And are you really a..?" Nova began. She trailed off, the unspoken word causing her to shiver despite the desert heat.

"Vampire?" Mina finished for her. "Yes. I am. Wilhelmina Harker, née Murray. But you may call me Mina. How do you do?"

Nova appeared caught somewhere between dancing in delight and passing out cold. "I'm alright, thanks," she said cautiously. "How do you do? You're not thirsty, are you?"

"Not at the moment."

Nova exhaled in relief. "I think... I think you may be the perfect people to help our city with this problem," she said.

"The problem of your warden?" Saito clarified.

"Yes," Nova said. "She has taken over the city, but no one can recall how or when. Most of us can remember what the city was like before her, but at the same time, it's like she's always been here. I can't explain it."

"She was not elected or appointed by the people?" Ava-1 asked.

"No," Nova said. "She took her power. There was no election, decision, discussion, or even notice. One day, her rule simply...was."

"And what is this self-proclaimed warden's name?" Mina asked in her archetypal soft voice. To avoid frightening humans, she never opened her mouth very far when speaking and was more than cautious when offering a rare smile.

"I've never heard her proper name," Nova told them. Her voice dropped to a whisper, as though fearful of being overheard by someone in the city. "But in Neo-York she is known as 'Big Sister'."

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