The Dangers of Saving a Life

Chapter 8: Kwin

Hock note: While Milo carried the infant on a tour of the central campus, a popular young soccer star named Kwin Vacker practiced above with her teammates. Unfortunately, her position has been challenged by one of those teammates, a cyborg named Alec. 

He was one of those big, augmented cyborgs who thought he owned the soccer field. To prove it, he kicked players who got in his way, especially those who might be better or faster than him. He would often feign going after the ball but injure a player to take them out of the scrimmage. His enlarged quads and robotic joints could do some damage to a real knee.

This time, it should have been a foul. Coach should have thrown him out of practice. But unfortunately, when Alec struck Mischa's leg, Coach wasn't looking.

Kwin Vacker saw it.

Kwin was a goalkeeper. It was her job to follow the play. When she saw what happened, however, she left her goal untended. She ran over to Mischa, put her arm around her friend, and helped her limp to the bench. She slipped a robotic brace over Mischa's knee to get her back in the scrimmage. But while she attended to Mischa, Alec put the ball he stole from Mischa into Kwin's empty goal, scoring a point for his side in the scrimmage.

Coach saw that.

Coach Logan was in shape for a middle-aged woman. She must have used those electro-muscle stimulations to keep her tone because she looked good when she chewed out Kwin. "Where's Kwin? Where's the goalkeeper?"

Kwin ran back to the box. "Over here, Coach. I was-"

"I don't want excuses. I want you in the goal box. Goalkeepers stay in the goal box. They don't run all over the field. If you want to attend players on the bench, I'll put you there. Do you hear me?"

Alec appeared in front of Coach, smiling big and wide. Even his mouth was fake. "I can play goalkeeper."

"Mischa was hurt-"

"You weren't in the box," Coach said. "I want Alec to take your place."

At least her fans understood. They floated both above and around the field. They were, of course, outraged by this terrible injustice. They booed the usurper, Alec. Some even booed Coach. After all, most had come for her. She appreciated that. Her fans were the best.

"I'm the spinning goalkeeper," she told Coach. She pointed to Alec as she spoke. "Me, not him."

She made sure to be emphatic about this. Her outburst needed to be a big and showy spectacle. She had been robbed. Besides, her fans were watching, and she couldn't let them down.

To prove her point, she kicked the ball hard, sending it sailing. She wasn't a large person, not tall like Jules or stocky like Nedda. She didn't have that bully brawn like the usurper Alec who had wronged Mischa. While Alec and other athletes optimized their bodies for power, she had been tailored. Her muscles were a finely tuned balance of strength and aesthetic appeal. Her face was likewise fashioned for alluring charm. She was an expensive, high-strung work of art.

When the crowd cheered her outburst, she lit the area with a smile. They loved it; they loved her. She wasn't conceited about this or anything. She simply knew the effect she had on people, so she smiled wide and pretty when the ball sailed far beyond the college grounds. She wanted to put it in orbit. It didn't go that far, of course, but her admirers still cheered because she captivated them.

"Another display like that and you're off the team," Coach said. "Understood?"

The athletes scrimmaged in full view directly above the central campus area, wearing either bright green or lustrous gold jerseys, and playing with a supernatant floating ball. Red laser lines delineated the boundaries of the soccer field. Likewise, the goals floated on each end of the field and a red laser formed the center line.