This is a short story that I recently wrote. Read it and use it for your own purposes. I want to see you take the ideas and spawn your own.
____________________________________________
“He’s cheating.”
“Impossible.”
They stared at each other from opposite ends of the office. They sat in the Bridge, a huge complex of offices, cafeterias and locker rooms at the top of the tracks. Dave Smith sat behind the desk and Albert Haley sat in front. Albert had spoken first.
Dave said, “You know it’s impossible.”
“He’s on your team, and it’s your responsibility to investigate,” Albert said. His body was big and his face was red, sweaty.
“I know. You know what the result of any investigation will be.” Dave barely waved his hand.
“How else can he predict all my man’s moves? Ric has always been on top and he’s still there. This new kid, he’s cheating. He always knows what’s going to happen before it does.”
“And how do you think…?”
“I don’t think, I know. This kid…”
“Johnny.”
“That Johnny is hacking the barrier. He has to be!”
Dave laughed.
“Everyone knows how powerful of a precog he is. How well he tested in the schools.”
“The barrier inhibits the neurons that recognize his precognitive abilities…”
“I know what it does! It does the same thing for everyone, but it doesn’t do it for him. He must have figured out a way to take it off, or kill the magnets or something!”
“This is ridiculous.”
“If you don’t get the Investigation Force involved right now…”
“I’ll call them, relax. Listen, tell Rick I said hello. It’s been too long since I’ve seen him.”
“Tomorrow, Smith. I’m going to be here again, and I’d better see a signed letter from an the IF, or I’m going to fucking report you!”
“Relax, Al. Grab a bottle of wine.”
He slammed the door behind him.
***
Richard Rogers scanned his meters and lowered the thrust of his bottom engine. Above him, stars and cameras in a black sky. Below him, the asteroid’s rough terrain and a fast approaching cliff. A quick drop onto the rocky surface below him, a bounce that nearly knocked his head against the ceiling and he was moving forward, slowly accelerating.
Ric saw Abazza’s boulder a few hundred yards ahead of him. His HUD told him that Abazza was in third place. Ric made a move.
He kicked in his turbo engines for less than a second, enough to propel him up as well as forward. He came crashing down immediately behind Abazza, who at that moment took the opportunity of a rough hill to jump out of Ric’s way.
Ric took off over the hill and accelerated forward at an ever increasing speed. He flew through the air, going faster forward than he could on the ground and wondered if he would die. The crowds were one. He saw the stars above.
Few ever attempted this move and when they did, it was only once. Ric did it almost every race. He landed in first place. He tried to slow as smoothly as possible, but he slipped and fell a place behind before regaining control.
Johnny passed him, fast approaching the finish line. Ric breathed a sigh of relief. Abazza was behind him. If he could only speed up.
Johnny placed first. Ric second, with Abazza close behind. The rest didn’t matter.
***
“What’s going on, Dave?”
“Relax, Johnny. It’s nothing. Al thinks you’re cheating.”
Johnny laughed.
“That’s what I thought, too. Just stay calm. We don’t want anyone catching wind of this, understand?”
“Sure. So that’s why they took my barrier?”
“Yeah. They’re going to scan it, run some tests.”
They continued walking through the glass hallways, under the stars and toward Dave’s office. “So Al says I’m cheating?”
“That’s right.”
“Why would he say that?”
“His man Ric is losing. The only reason he’s losing is because you’re beating him.”
“Oh.”
“It happens all the time. Owners accuse another team of cheating to build pressure. It sometimes works. I’ve heard of people losing intentionally after a meeting with an investigator.” Dave looked down at Johnny, who stood a few inches closer to the ground. “Don’t let it get to you.”
“I won’t, Dave.”
Dave opened his office door and let Johnny in first. Two men in black suits stood facing them. “Hello,” one of the suits said. The other was silent and remained silent throughout the interview, although his eyes listened to Johnny.
“Hi there. I’m Dave Smith, and this is Johnny.”
“We know.”
“Alright then. And you are?”
“An investigator. Would you mind leaving the three of us alone?”
“I’d really rather…”
“Please exit.”
Dave lingered for a moment, glanced at Johnny with worried eyes, and it was the first time Johnny had seen Dave wear them. He shut the door behind him.
“Are you bugged?”
“What?” Johnny asked.
The suit nodded, and the silent suit approached Johnny and began inspecting his person. Johnny felt awkward, but did not resist.
“You’re not bugged,” the talking suit said.
“I…I didn’t think so.”
“You’re a precog.”
“Aren’t most people?”
“You predicted five major events to over ninety nine percent accuracy, including the election of our present Empress”
“I mean, maybe people just noticed, because I was doing so well, and noticed how good she is. Because they had the idea in their heads.”
“No. No one even knew her name.”
“Okay…”
“You should have become a planner.”
“I…I like to race.”
“You do it for the money.”
“Why just for money? It’s not just for the money.”
“You could have had freedom. Now, you’re stuck in a contract.”
“Look, I’m not cheating.”
“Who said you’re cheating?”
“Al Haley did!”
“We aren’t concerned with Albert Haley. He’s a buffoon. A rich man who is rich because he is never a threat to anyone..”
“Then why are you here?”
“You’re cheating.”
“I’m not cheating!”
“Very well.” The talking suit nodded. The silent suit followed him out through the door. Johnny stood there for a moment. He walked to Dave’s desk and sat in the chair, breathing deep for a long time.
***
“Why the hell did you put the IF on Johnny?”
“I’m looking out for you, Ric,” Al answered. “Nothing wrong with a little stress.” Al smoked a cigar as they stood on a balcony overlooking the track.
“That’s not the kind of help I need. You know he’s not cheating.”
“Of course I know. Remember who you’re talking to. I didn’t rise up from the slums for being stupid.”
“Your parents invested most of the money in your first team, Al. What the hell are you trying to pull?”
“New marketing thing.” Al inhaled and blew out the smoke. The smoke rose to the glass ceiling and a vent sucked it in. “Listen, Ric, it’s alright. We owners do this kind of thing all the time. Nothing out of the ordinary. Let me worry about the politics. You just think about winning.”
“Dave would never pull crap like this.”
“Hey! I got you to the top, Ric, understand? You were going nowhere with that loser.”
“Now I know how you’ve done it.”
“It’s not me, it’s you. I just cut around the hedges a little to increase your chances. I do what I can, Ric, but you’re the racer.”
“Right…”
“Look, if the whole thing makes you uncomfortable, why don’t you have a chat with Johnny? He’ll need some cooling down after his interview.”
“Al.”
“What?”
“You’re fucking crazy.” Ric walked away. Al smiled and smoked.
***
Johnny watched the holo, which was broadcasting the current race on Io. Ric walked into the bar and sat next to him. Johnny began to speak, but Ric interrupted him. “I know we’re not supposed to talk.”
“Okay, so why are you here?”
“Al called the IF on you.”
“So?”
“Do you have any idea how good they are? They’ll find out. If they haven’t already.”
“They won’t. We can’t break our own rules now.”
“Al said I should talk to you. To calm you down…”
“Right, well I sure needed that. You about to leave now?”
“They will catch us. What’s your plan now?”
“Fuck ‘em.”
“Doesn’t work like that Johnny.”
“Well, I don’t know, man. Why don’t you just tell Al you want to retire? He likes you, he’ll let you lose. I don’t understand why we have to do this anyway.”
“Al would think something was wrong with me. If I told him, he’d just say I was nervous, not thinking straight or something. Then, if I lost afterward…”
“Right.” Johnny sipped his beer. “Fuckin’ legal shit.”
Ric eyed the drink, but didn’t order when the waitress made her rounds. “So what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know.”
“You seem pretty calm.”
“I’m drunk.”
“Shit, Johnny. Al was right.”
They were silent for a time. Boulders, sphere shaped vehicles with an engine that faced every direction, barreled down the side of a mountain in the holo.
“One of us is going to have to disappear.”
“Ha.”
“I’m serious, Johnny. Look, I can do it.”
“No you can’t.”
“You think I can’t? I’ve met people who do that sort of thing.”
“You’ve met killers?”
“Stop screwing around Johnny. I can leave. I can ditch this.”
“Then why all this fuss about letting me win? Why didn’t you do that before?”
“Couldn’t do it to Al. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like he needs me. He’ll be crushed…”
“He’s a buffoon.”
“What?”
“What the investigators, one of ‘em, said about him.”
“Oh.”
Johnny sipped his beer. “If that’s what you want, Ric.”
“It’s not what I want. It’s what I will do.”
***
The investigators stood outside the large garage and smoked cigarettes and talked.
“That kid is something else.”
“Think he thought it up? Not Ric?”
“Ric would never come up with a plan like that on his own. Kid must know what Ric wants.”
“Doesn’t matter at this point.”
“Nope.”
“One of them must die.”
“Which one? Is that the question?”
“The colony wouldn’t exist without Ric. We wouldn’t be here without him.”
“Johnny. He can carry on the sport. Reel more settlers in.”
They were silent. Their cigarettes burned to filter.
“Let’s not notice for a few days…”
***
Human sacrifice.
Dave knew it boiled down to this. He waited in a closet, holding a knife.
I wonder how long we’ll have to do this. Kill each other to further the species. How long until it’s no longer necessary?
If they both continue as they are, cheating the rules of the game, faking winning and losing, then others will follow. It’s up to people like me to stomp any spark that threatens to flare.
He knew Ric’s footsteps. He remembered the man walking down a hallway, years ago. Dave opened his office and saw him for the first time, a young man looking not for riches nor fame, but for challenge. Ric had it easy as a youth, and he saw Boulders as the only way to truly test himself against life. The life Dave would end.
Are you ready for the test of the knife?
Ric is stronger than you. You must have absolute control over your body. Keep mercy locked up and do not consider your enemy’s humanity as an objection against your actions. He has the same ability to survive that you do, and his only real purpose is to serve you.
Ric had chosen this for himself when he signed on with Al. It was that single act, and no other, that brought this moment on. Dave was merely the messenger, the bringer of the act that was already coming.
***
Ric struggled, and lost.
***
“I knew you would do it.”
“Johnny?” Dave left the closet. There was no blood and acid had dissolved the body.
“Yeah.” Johnny walked around the corner. The early hours of the morning were upon them and no one else would wake for some time.
“You knew I would kill him.”
“You’re logical. A human life is expendable, in more cases than most people think. So, I knew.”
Dave stared, though not at Johnny.
“Ric thought he could leave.”
“He didn’t want to leave.”
“He wanted to quit.”
“I know.”
“What’s the difference?”
“You’ll know when you’re in that position. You will be.”
“I’m not like Ric. I know what I’m getting into. I can only think in the future and I’m already months past you.” Johnny began to walk away.
“I could kill you.”
Johnny stopped. “I’m the best, Dave. You made sure of that. The investigators will forget what they learned and the media will make up a story. It’s all over.”
“So.”
“You’re a logical person. There’s no reason to kill me.” Johnny walked away.
Dave thought of sleep.
The End.
