House of the Morningstar: Chapter 8
Created | Updated Mar 17, 2023
House of the Morningstar: Chapter 8
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We are a small team working on this project on-site, so we can have an eye on things and intervene directly. I have five co-workers and we share three offices. I already know our team leader Gene from when he was working at the main office back home a year ago – until he replaced the team leader here at Eldorado, who had a mental breakdown. My work station is in the same office as his.
I can hear Nina and Melissa giggling in the room next doors. It's a coping mechanism. They have been working on floor tile plans for months by now. Whenever they are almost finished the boss changes the size of the tiles. He is already quite angry because he can't understand why they don't get finished with 'such an easy task'.
The last co-worker I met today is Imre. He seems dedicated but sad. He has been here longer than all the others and the boss doesn't let him leave.
We're one of the smaller teams around here. Our project is a mixed use building near the city center, which encompasses shops, offices and apartments. Through our office windows we can watch large yellow drones climbing the skeletons of unfinished buildings and finishing the facades of those which are almost finished outside.
For lunch all five of us went to the cafeteria. Where else should we go anyway? They offer a variety of dishes from local crops, like lentils, beans and potatoes. During lunch I was introduced to Bill Stevenson, who is obviously responsible for the underground railway and other parts of the infrastructure. I have already been informed that there are some problems with the underground at our building (because where else?), so I wasn't surprised when Gene asked Bill about it. He sighed a lot and said he is on it. I know it has been going like that for a long time.
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The Pink Lobster
Elanor was up early and walking through the streets of the city. It was a few minutes after 6 in the morning and the streetlamps were still on, but the sky was already light. More and more lights went on in the windows, but the tramway was still half empty as it glided through the shadows between the trees in the middle of the street. A squirrel ran chittering up a tree.. Further in the distance down the main road Elanor could see the purple glow of the FluxTec headquarters. Elanor checked her map again, then turned into a narrow alley. After a few paces she reached a large doorway with a bright pink neon sign above. It proclaimed 'THE PINK LOBSTER'. She checked the address Karl Wong had given them again. This really seemed to be it. Why? Why would he come all the way here to this place?
She showed her warrant card to the bouncer at the entrance, who just sighed and hoped this wouldn't mean overtime for him. Behind the door, Elanor found a steep, narrow staircase to the basement. She could not so much hear but feel the music coming from below. Elanor squeezed herself against the wall, when two customers came upwards. They were not in a good shape anymore. Elanor went through an old heavy red velvet curtain into the dark establishment. The air was warm and stuffy with an unpleasant smell. Most of the illumination was coming from lights running along the borders of tables and chairs. There was a shining empty dance floor in the middle of the room. The music was loud and getting on her nerves. Suddenly it stopped. Her ears were still ringing.
'We are closed! Come back later, we want to go home now!', shouted a man from the bar.
Elanor turned to walk over to him, just as the lights went on – which didn't make the room look any nicer. She now saw that further to the back someone in a purple suit seemed to have passed out at their table. Two robots scurried out of a dark corner and started to clean the room. Harry would certainly have known which make and model they were, but Elanor only saw their purple lights scanning the room.
She sat down on a bar stool, unbuttoned her long coat and held out her warrant card to the tall beardy man, who was wearing a sparkling pink crop top and black shorts. He made a face as he scanned the ID, then continued to collect empty glasses for washing.
'What can I do for you, Detective Wollf?,' he asked.
Elanor held out her pad, which showed a picture of Karl Wong.
'Do you recognise this man?', she wanted to know.
The man laughed out loud, which was unexpected, 'isn't that... wait... Mr Wong? What did he do, I'd love to know!'
Elanor raised an eyebrow, 'is he a regular customer?'
He shook his head, still grinning,'oh no, not at all, he was here only one – that I know of.'
'That wasn't two days ago, by any chance?'
Tha man nodded, ' exactly, yes. He was sure to let everyone know who he is. Made one of our regulars quite impatient because he talked about flowers for hours. Everyone was happy when he was picked up.'
'He was picked up by someone?', Elanor asked surprised.
Again the man nodded,' yes, younger guy, kind of disheveled. He seemed vaguely familiar, but we have so many people coming through,' he shrugged,' must have been around four in the morning.'
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