[Chapter 4] Libertopolis: Chrome and Atoms

Chapter 4: More than Meets the Eye

This is a noir which takes place in the retro futuristic city of Libertopolis. In this world, there are robots and grit and mysteries to be solved by our main character, the private eye Rex Malone. The full story is available to our paid subscribers. If you want to become a subscriber, you can sign up right now for a 14-day free trial.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 4: More than Meets the Eye

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So Sophie Striker was back. Case closed, right? Collect the rest of the nothing promised by her sister and just move on. But the lady's words echoed: 'She's different.' Different how? In Libertopolis, 'different' usually meant trouble, the kind that didn't need to advertise. The kind that sat in a sterile apartment and offered you bland coffee with eyes that didn't quite focus. My gut was screaming louder than a monorail emergency brake. Time to find out exactly what kind of 'different' we were dealing with.

Back in Neon Canyon, as evening turned to night, the rain finally paused. The streets were slick and gleaming with the bright lights of a hundred neon signs. The air was thick with the usual scents: damp pavement, ozone, and fried noodles.

He pushed through the swinging door of "The Electric Chair", a dive bar tucked between a black market electronics dealer and a noodle joint promising "the taste of Luna in your mouth" (this meant extra soy sauce). The Chair was his kind of place. It was dimly lit and a smelled perpetually of cheap booze. Flickering tubes cast long shadows over leather stools and chipped formica tables. A low thrum of mournful jazz played from a hidden record player.

"Hey, Malone. Finally ready to pay off your bar tab?"

That was Gus, the bartender. A grizzled man whose face looked like a roadmap of bad decisions. He always had the strongest stuff. Sometimes it came from dubious sources. Malone knew better than to ask too many questions. He did enough of that for his day job.

"One of these days I'll get a client from NexusCorp who dropped their bag of gold bars."

"Well, you're a loyal customer, in that you always show up. What do you need?"

"Beer. Cheap and cold."

"It's one of those nights then."