You're Alison, right?”
“Private Alison Cortez,” Alison told her.
“We're both Privates,” Jess snickered at the semi-rude statement. “I think we don't have to go saluting each other all the time.”
“Okay,” Alison said cautiously. It was a huge change of protocol from her last posting. “So have you been in India long?”
“I graduated from the Australia Complex last year,” Jess answered. “They had me there for a while in Rescue and Relief, but I didn't really fit in. So I got moved to Japan under that new One Integration thing. Then they said I talked too much, which wasn't good for PR. So last month I transferred to SHT.”
“Then you’re new at this?” Alison asked.
“You’ve got seniority,” Jess smiled.
“I've never been outside the US,” Alison told her. “Before The One I'd never been out of Illinois. I don't even speak any other languages.”
“Which is why they paired us up I think,” Jess said cheerfully. “Come on lets go check on our tips.” She led the way out of the market and onto a broad street. A few cars and motorcycles passed, but the road was mostly empty. “You have any cash on you?” Jess asked.
“No,” Alison replied. “Why?”
“We're going into a kinda poor part of town,” Jess told her. “Lotta pickpockets about.”
“You're American?” Alison asked.
“By a mild technicality,” Jess answered. A pack of weathered motorcycles came rumbling down the street, and the two girls stepped out of the way. “My dad is American, but my mom was Japanese. I was born and raised in Japan.”
“How many languages do you speak?” Alison asked.
“Ah, ‘speak’ is a stretch,” Jess laughed. “My good pal Fugen is responsible for that.” She looked around at the crowd. “I'd show you, but it'd freak the locals out. But it’s the basic story of man saves ancient sorcerer's life, sorcerer bestows boon, new born baby learns to summon demon, demon becomes best friend and the two of them join a superhero army.”
“You really do talk a lot,” Alison said. Jess's smile quickly turned to a frown. Then Alison started laughing. “Sorry, it doesn’t bother me... I mean… I was just commenting. It’s nice compared to being treated like a kid at my last post.”
“Well, when you see Fugen you shall tremble at his might,” Jess shook her fist at Alison. “Anyway, there’ve been rumors on the street about a child being the reincarnation of one of the gods. The information is like five times removed from any eyewitness sources but worth a look. Usually, in superstitious or religious areas, Super-Humans show up as ghost, demons, spirits or aliens. Once in while SHT finds some huckster trying to scam money. Other times it’s just paranoia. The rest of the time it’s someone who didn't know they had any ability. They only happened to grow up in a place that was prone to leaping to irrational conclusions. Especially irrational considering how common Super-Humans are today.
“Western culture sees these people as disfigured,” Jess continued, “But here, it’s taken as a physical representation of one of their gods. A lot of the time the locals worship them. Which is a giant leap from what they do back home.”
“You’re telling me,” Alison retorted.
The two of them were walking along a narrow path. It cut between stacks of houses that were squished together. The path was so narrow that when someone needed to pass, people had to press up against the wall. The two had walked for a while, and Alison trusted that Jess knew where she was going. Then suddenly they came out into an open area with a fountain in the center. A crowd of women were washing their clothes in the water. Jess grabbed Alison by the hand and pulled her back into the alleyway. Holding her finger over her lips, the two watched the group.
Jess pointed to a woman who was standing hip deep in the
“Private Alison Cortez,” Alison told her.
“We're both Privates,” Jess snickered at the semi-rude statement. “I think we don't have to go saluting each other all the time.”
“Okay,” Alison said cautiously. It was a huge change of protocol from her last posting. “So have you been in India long?”
“I graduated from the Australia Complex last year,” Jess answered. “They had me there for a while in Rescue and Relief, but I didn't really fit in. So I got moved to Japan under that new One Integration thing. Then they said I talked too much, which wasn't good for PR. So last month I transferred to SHT.”
“Then you’re new at this?” Alison asked.
“You’ve got seniority,” Jess smiled.
“I've never been outside the US,” Alison told her. “Before The One I'd never been out of Illinois. I don't even speak any other languages.”
“Which is why they paired us up I think,” Jess said cheerfully. “Come on lets go check on our tips.” She led the way out of the market and onto a broad street. A few cars and motorcycles passed, but the road was mostly empty. “You have any cash on you?” Jess asked.
“No,” Alison replied. “Why?”
“We're going into a kinda poor part of town,” Jess told her. “Lotta pickpockets about.”
“You're American?” Alison asked.
“By a mild technicality,” Jess answered. A pack of weathered motorcycles came rumbling down the street, and the two girls stepped out of the way. “My dad is American, but my mom was Japanese. I was born and raised in Japan.”
“How many languages do you speak?” Alison asked.
“Ah, ‘speak’ is a stretch,” Jess laughed. “My good pal Fugen is responsible for that.” She looked around at the crowd. “I'd show you, but it'd freak the locals out. But it’s the basic story of man saves ancient sorcerer's life, sorcerer bestows boon, new born baby learns to summon demon, demon becomes best friend and the two of them join a superhero army.”
“You really do talk a lot,” Alison said. Jess's smile quickly turned to a frown. Then Alison started laughing. “Sorry, it doesn’t bother me... I mean… I was just commenting. It’s nice compared to being treated like a kid at my last post.”
“Well, when you see Fugen you shall tremble at his might,” Jess shook her fist at Alison. “Anyway, there’ve been rumors on the street about a child being the reincarnation of one of the gods. The information is like five times removed from any eyewitness sources but worth a look. Usually, in superstitious or religious areas, Super-Humans show up as ghost, demons, spirits or aliens. Once in while SHT finds some huckster trying to scam money. Other times it’s just paranoia. The rest of the time it’s someone who didn't know they had any ability. They only happened to grow up in a place that was prone to leaping to irrational conclusions. Especially irrational considering how common Super-Humans are today.
“Western culture sees these people as disfigured,” Jess continued, “But here, it’s taken as a physical representation of one of their gods. A lot of the time the locals worship them. Which is a giant leap from what they do back home.”
“You’re telling me,” Alison retorted.
The two of them were walking along a narrow path. It cut between stacks of houses that were squished together. The path was so narrow that when someone needed to pass, people had to press up against the wall. The two had walked for a while, and Alison trusted that Jess knew where she was going. Then suddenly they came out into an open area with a fountain in the center. A crowd of women were washing their clothes in the water. Jess grabbed Alison by the hand and pulled her back into the alleyway. Holding her finger over her lips, the two watched the group.
Jess pointed to a woman who was standing hip deep in the
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