The New Humans

Chapter 15

Adam gave Ash a set of keys and left the apartment. As soon as he'd gone, Herbert said "In fact, all this talking has made me thirsty."

"Me too," said Rachel.

Ash waited until they'd both left the room. Then he picked up the knight and the pirate and asked them, "Do you know who the Living Dead is?"

They didn't answer. Ash placed them back in the box and went to join Rachel and Herbert in the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he spotted Adam's enhancer suit. The armor was dark blue, with curved and polished surfaces. It had a white helmet with a black visor.

"Not bad, huh?" Herbert nodded at the suit.

Enhancer suits were exoskeletons used by the police and IDAN to increase strength, speed, and resistance to shocks. Wearing one of those, even the weakest man could lift a car, the slowest could run a hundred yards in five seconds, and the least agile could do long jumps of ten yards. The suits were also equipped with several gadgets and features such as laser, tear gas and many others Ash didn't even know about. They were available only to agents employed on dangerous missions involving pursuits and clashes with firearms. Adam must have been tough to get one of those.

"How does it work?" asked Rachel.

"The helmet reads the wearer's brainwaves," Ash said, "and translates them into commands which it transmits to the suit. If the agent has the impulse to raise his arm, the suit raises the arm, but does so with a force a hundred times greater than any human being."

"That sounds like fun," said Rachel.

"It's magnificent," said Ash.

"It seems very dangerous to me," said Herbert. "My father told me maneuvering these suits requires a lot of practice. You must stay focused, so you send clear commands to the suit that are not contradictory. Otherwise the suit moves in an uncontrolled manner and then it's easy to break an arm, a leg, or your neck. That's why they're nicknamed death traps."

"Everything beautiful entails a risk."

"Just forget it," said Rachel.

"What?" said Ash.

"You want to put that suit on."

Yes, Ash wanted to put it on. Ever since he was a child, he had watched action movies with cops who used them, so he wasn't going to let the chance of trying one on pass him by.

"Apart from the fact that if you do try it on you will almost certainly die, it's Adam's suit and you can't wear it without asking his permission."

Ash didn't want to betray Adam's trust, but having that suit there before his eyes made him feel like a child with a tray full of sweets he wasn't allowed to touch.

"Adam said he won't be back for half an hour. I'll just put it on for a moment. He won't even notice."

"I have nothing against your masochistic tendencies," said Herbert, "but if you put that suit on, you seriously run the risk of killing yourself."

"Yes, you do," said Rachel, "and I have no desire to clean your blood off the floor when you smash yourself to pieces."

"Thanks for your faith in me," said Ash, "but you're not going to convince me, so save your breath."

Ash tried to figure out how to put it on. There was a button on the back. He pressed it and the back of the suit opened like a window. He slid his arms and legs into the suit and it closed automatically. When he tried to move his arms, it was like lifting sixty-pound weights.

"Will you pass me the helmet please?"

"No," said Rachel.

"Sorry, but I'm having a drink," said Herbert.