The Shock of the New

Chapter 20: A Night on the Town

Despite what one would think of a Luna colony governed by far right white supremacist politics, Lunaville W.E.R. had a fairly active nightlife scene. In between their shifts working away for the greater good of the W.E.R., the residents of the Lunavile W.E.R. could often find themselves chilling out at bars or clubs.

It was in one such bar that Eleanor Johnson would begin the night that would change her life.

The bar was a couple of blocks away from the Breitbart housing complex and was named The Holy Klansman. Eleanor hadn't visited it much in the past, but recent days had really gotten to her and she needed away to let out some stress away from her many problems

As Eleanor drank away on a small table in the corner, her thoughts kept going on back to her complete shambles of a life. Losing out on a month's pay was bad enough, but the fact that it was something that wasn't even her fault really twisted the knife. And then there was poor Sofia. Although Eleanor had tried to help her, Sofia appeared to be regressing into herself. She rarely got changed in the morning or washed up properly and ate very little. Eleanor had constantly tried to convince her to do something with her life and had even tried to take her out and do something. But nothing seemed to appeal to Sofia.

Eleanor's thoughts were interrupted when a pair of Lunaville police officers walked into the bar. Police work on Lunaville W.E.R. was one of the few lower class job fields dominated by white people and everybody on the W.E.R. made sure to treat them with the utmost respect.

As the two officers walked up to the bar, everybody inside was silent. When they reached the bar, one of them turned to the barmen

"Y-yes?" he stammered

"Give us two cold mugs of Atomwaffen ale!" the officer ordered "And don't fuck around! We haven't got all night!"
The barman nodded and poured them two drinks which the officers quickly snatched up.

After a few seconds, everybody in the bar went back to their drinks and conversation. However Eleanor could sense a thick tension in the air.

A couple of seconds later, one of the officers stopped drinking

"You!" he said, pointing at a young black man who was sitting at a table alone. The man looked around nervously

"You talkin' to me?"

"Yeah" the officer nodded "I'm pretty certain we got a report of somebody of your description handing out pro-diversity leaflets"
"Ya got the wrong guy buddy" the man replied "I'm just a simple computer worker-"
"I don't like your tone!" the other officer snapped "You're a cocky little shit ain't ya?"
"No man, I'm just trying to enjoy my drink" the man replied. Eleanor could see he was getting anxious
"Don't talk bullshit!" the first officer yelled "You're a wanted criminal and you're gonna come with us quietly if you know what's good for ya!"

At that, the two officers strode over to the man and restrained him by the arms.

"Get the fuck off me!" he spat while struggling

"Don't fucking make this difficult!" yelled one of the officers "You are under arrest and as an enemy of the glorious W.E.R. state, you have no rights!"
"I said get off!" the man roared before throwing one of the officers back. He landed on a table where two men were drinking. Snarling the officer attempted to get up, only for the two men on the table to grab hold of him and slam his head against the table. The second officer then ran forward to intervene, only for a young woman sitting on another table to trip him up. A second later, several of the other bar patrons to rush over and begin kicking his face in. In the chaos however, none of them noticed him press a button he had on his jacket.

This went on for a couple of minutes until a group of officers in heavy riot gear stormed into the bar. Within seconds, many of the patrons had been restrained or rounded up.The rest of the bar were ordered to go home and rest.

Having played no part in the bar room brawl, Eleanor was allowed to leave after a short round of questions.

As she walked home, Eleanor felt extremely miserable. Her rent was coming up in a few days and although she had the means to repay it, the whole thing would leave her bank balance sorely lacking to say the least.

Eleanor shrugged

"I guess I'll just have to cut back on bars and coffee" she told herself. "I mean I should just be able to afford the rest of my basic necessities if I do-"
Eleanor's thoughts were interrupted by a honking sound from behind her. Turning around, she saw one of the Lunaville's autotaxis pulling up beside her.

"Good evening miss" said the automated AI system which had noticed her and guided the car to stop near her "It's getting late and you don't want to be caught alone at night. How about a much safer cab journey?"

For a second, Eleanor considered walking on by. The Breitbart housing complex wasn't that far away and a taxi would cost her money. But then she decided to get in. After all, the streets of Lunaville W.E.R. weren't always the most safe at night and if she died, Sofia would have nobody to keep her company.

As Eleanor got inside, the door automatically closed and the cab's speaker asked "Where to miss?"

"Breitbart housing complex" Eleanor told it.

"Confirmed" replied the voice in the ever cheerful tones that all Autocab AI's used "We are now heading towards the Breitbart housing complex. This journey will cost you 7.49. Is that ok?"
"Yes" Eleanor replied

As the cab made it's way through the streets of Lunaville W.E.R., the AI spoke again

"It looks like something's troubling you miss. Would you like to talk about it?"
(The AI systems were programmed to be able to have friendly conversations with their customers in order to make the journey less boring although they were programmed to report them if the customer said anything that could be viewed as subversive to the values of the state)

Eleanor sighed "Oh just the usual money worries."
"Don't worry about a thing!" the taxi AI chimed in it's typical friendly tones "If you watch your budget and avoid impulsive spending, you should be more than capable of surviving!"
Eleanor rolled her eyes. This sort of advice was essentially stock W.E.R. financial advice typically given out to the lower classes "Thanks I guess"

"You are very welcome!" the AI replied "If there's anything else I can help you with, feel free to let me know!"
Eleanor simply sat back in her seat and closed her eyes

Not long after she happened to open them and was confused by what she saw

"Excuse me" she said "I don't think I recognise this area"
"There's a closure on the most direct route" the AI explained "My calculations indicate that this is the next best route to the Breitbart housing complex"
Eleanor frowned and looked out the window. The buildings outside appeared to be storage facilities of some sort. Eleanor didn't know any buildings like that where she lived.

"What part of Lunaville W.E.R. is this?"
"It's the most direct route available back to the Breitbart complex" the AI repeated "Please hold tight and-"
"That doesn't answer my question" Eleanor scowled "I want to know the name of this place. Can you tell me it?"

The AI didn't reply

"Come on" Eleanor demanded "Tell me where we are!"
"I'm so sorry Ms Johnson" the AI replied

"How the fuck did you know my name!" Eleanor was now really scared "Let me out!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that" The AI's tone changed. No longer was it sounding chippy and upbeat, instead it's voice sounded stern "I'm bringing you to a new experience"

"Which is?"
"We're here!" The taxi then stopped outside a dirty warehouse that looked like it had been abandoned for years "Please go inside"
Eleanor angrily crossed her arms "You've gotta be fucking joking. Do you really think I'm gonna go in there? I don't even know what's in it?"
"Please Ms Johnson" the AI replied "I can promise you you will not regret what you find"
Scared out of her wits, Eleanor decided that the best thing to do at this point was to play along. Carefully she opened the door of the cab and stepped up to the front door of the warehouse. Slowly she pushed it open and stepped inside.

The moment she did, Eleanor found herself in a dark room.

"Hello?" she called out "I'm here like you said!"

For a second nothing happened. Then Eleanor heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned around just in time to feel a vicious electrical shock go through her entire body. Then she collapsed to the ground and everything faded away.