Drift Effect

Chapter 03: Initiative

As the sky slowly painted the colors of a New Carolina morning, Mark sprinted along the stream with one final burst of effort. His shirt was completely drenched, and his face soaked with sweat. Despite his muscles burning from exertion, he didn't slow down until he was almost at his home.

His frantic sprint turned into a brisk walk as he approached the small garden at the back of the house, offering a perfect view of the fields of the Shepard farm. He paused for a moment, savoring the moist, grassy scent in the air, feeling the warmth of the familiarity of his surroundings.

The fields of the Shepard farm were modestly vast, enclosed by tall towers emitting an almost transparent shield that covered the crops. For those unfamiliar with chronotech, the scene would appear extremely strange; behind the barrier, instead of the morning sunrise, it seemed to be darkening, almost turning into twilight.

It was expected, considering how time was sped up inside those transparent shields. Unlike the chronosphere covering the entire planet of New Carolina, which only delayed time by four hours to match Earth's roughly twenty-four-hour rotation.

Apart from the towers emitting the barrier, the fields appeared deceptively simple. However, beneath the surface, a lot of technology was at work. A small fusion plant powered not only the chronosphere but also the Greenfield Systems managing lighting, temperature, water flow, and drones. It was a fairly self-sufficient system, considering the initial cost to set it up.

Mark took one last look at the fields before dropping to the floor and starting his final set of push-ups, sit-ups, and a cool-down of jumping jacks. By the time he finished, he could barely speak.

"Eva," he grunted.

"Normalizing gravity."

His metallic bracelets glowed orange for a few seconds, and Mark sighed as he felt his weight return to normal. However, his fatigue lingered longer than usual. After a few more deep breaths, he said, "Diagnostics."

"Nanite levels are at twenty percent. I suggest you refill them to normal levels, especially considering today's upcoming events. I am also now connected to the home network. Driftnet connection has been restored. You have two new messages. The first is an audio message from Hannah Brenner. Would you like me to play it?"

"Urgent?" Mark asked softly.

"Not particularly," Eva replied.

"Later, when I feel better."

"Second letter from the Aurora Borealis Arms," Eva continued. "Text only. It reads: To Mister Mark Shepard. We are pleased to receive your feedback on your new BR35 rifle. Please be assured that we have taken your comments with utmost consideration. Compensating for your time, we are sending you our MarkVII Scope. It should be arriving in your system in one week. End of message."

Mark grunted, though with a more surprised tone. The training module that came with his new rifle purchase, which he spent more than forty hours in Drift, did promise to send an accessory if he reviewed the product. He wasn't expecting much, considering he was living in the ass end of nowhere, though.

Maybe he should check on their sidearm options as well; generosity should be returned, after all.

Lumbering through the rear entrance of the house, Mark caught the scent of coffee and knew who was in the dining room area even before he arrived. Entering the kitchen, he could see the coffee machine turned off, indicating it had finished brewing, with the glass carafe filled with brown liquid. In the dining room, sitting at the table and reading off a tablet, was Benjamin Shepard.

Mark's father looked like him, albeit older, with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and slightly graying long hair styled into a ponytail.

Benjamin glanced up, saw his son, and then nodded. "Checked on the fields?" he asked, flicking through his tablet.