//------------------------------// // 4: Victoria // Story: The Sixth Age // by TacticalRainboom //------------------------------// Subject: Victoria Unicorn female. Singer. Repeatedly corroborated reports of NCMM. The term meatspace had always struck Victoria as rather crass. This particular space, studded with low-glowing lights and the cool sheen of Victoria’s own magic, had no cause to be associated with a word like “meat.” More offensive still was the fact that “meat” was supposed to refer to her natural body, as if that were an insult. Victoria was everything that those who used the term did not know how to appreciate: A living, breathing mare free from even the slightest hint of aura distortion. Hers was a beauty both carnal and mystical, the likes of which no lifeless contrivance of alloy and plastic could hope to imitate. A rapid stream of notifications flicked across her designer AR glasses. Messages from her fans, newsfeeds echoing her announcements, and the room’s systems reporting as they came online. A number hovering slightly below eye level counted frantically, its last three digits an illegible blur. Two thousand... six thousand... fifteen... In all fairness, Victoria didn’t want to be unduly judgemental towards the hard-sim users and other technophiles among those waiting for the show to start. After all, wasn’t it the Net that enabled her to perform from the comfort of her own home... wasn’t it virtual reality that gave birth to the shared culture that she lived and breathed? Regardless, the incomparable Victoria was the main attraction tonight; virtual reality was merely the medium for her art. Here, in this tiny cylindrical room no more than thirty feet in diameter, a show was about to begin for an audience of... Victoria glanced at the counter one more time before telekinetically lifting her shades away from her face. An audience of ninety-one thousand. Right on schedule, the room’s lights faded out, plunging the room into darkness. Are you ready? Victoria silently whispered to the room. The room heard. Microphones awakened and cameras swiveled to acknowledge their mistress. There was no indicator light; no musical lead-in or audio cue—Victoria was in control. She breathed emptiness and total darkness for a few moments, allowing herself to feel the pulsing energy in the walls and the gaze of ninety-one thousand ponies watching her through one hundred forty-four cameras. A tingle of energy sparked through her body as she exhaled a sharp, silent command: Now! Twelve speakers, six subwoofers, and four hundred thirty two lights roared to life just in time to illuminate Victoria in fiery crimson as she reared, throwing her head back with eyes closed and mouth open as in a silent gasp. Those zoomed in close enough would see Victoria smile as she opened her eyes—eyes redder than the blaze of light around her. The bass pounded, heavy and dirty with an electric buzz and a driving, passionate melody. Victoria matched its passion with effortless ferocity. The floor’s lights threw splashes of yellow over her thrashing, twisting body. She was a candle-flame, flickering and surging to the blare of the music, mane flying in wild strands as she shook and stomped to the rhythm. … Two, three, and... Victoria froze with her legs braced in a wide stance, and the music collapsed to only a steady thump. The walls turned blue, the floor turned dark red, and Victoria’s fire instantly turned icy. In a low, rich voice, she sang: Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons Turn and look me in the eye The walls pulsed red four times as Victoria thrashed her flanks and tail to four pounding electronic beats. This time, her head bobbed lightly when the walls colored her in blue and the music made way for her voice again. Just come with me and I’ll show you the sun You and me, we’ll touch the sky! Don’t be afraid And don’t hold back Everyone’s invited now Victoria turned a slow circle, making eye contact with the ponies watching through the hidden cameras in the walls. Her voice was dark, sultry. She narrowed her eyes just so, and allowed herself a tiny smile. If music’s in your heart then so am I Step on up, I’ll show you how... Victoria’s subtle smile split into a dangerously perfect glow of joy as the music soared and the room’s lights flew into chaos. Then, just as the music grew to a climax, it cut to silence. In the tense eighth note of pitch darkness, Victoria tried to feel the room’s energy surge through her legs and into her chest, building in intensity, ready to be released in a burst... Out of the darkness came a single pale light, cast not by the room but by Victoria herself.The gentle glow of her horn was just enough to allow a glimpse of her pristine white mane and coat and her seductive blood-red eyes. “Let’s dance.” At those whispered words, the room exploded with music. The lights surged blindingly, rhythmically flashing between darkness and vibrant color. Victoria’s face was inches from the wall—and then she backed on three legs away towards the center of the room, extending a forehoof to her ninety-one thousand dancing partners. She turned her head to the side as she sang a jubilant chorus, but she kept one eye facing straight forward, into the eyes of the one she was leading. Just close your eyes and you’ll see How sweet the music can be Just pick your hooves up, come along and dance with me Victoria reared and spun on her rear hooves, spreading her forelegs wide and twirling under the adoring eyes of the cameras, never stopping her song. Without any pause, she planted her hooves on the ground again and pranced a circuit around the edge of the room. Every strobe flash captured another moment of perfection as she ran. Our bodies moving this way All through the night and the day Don’t be afraid now, darlin’, come and dance with me! From there, there were no more words—just the thundering of the bass, the soaring electric melody, and the sensuous breath of a mare whose coat and mane shone with the colors projected onto her by the walls and floor, her twirling and gyrating body locked in a dance of passion with her many unseen partners. Racks of fluorescent lights fizzed to life automatically as Victoria stepped out of the performance room and into the hallway with her shades already on. She was breathing deeply from exertion and her mane was a disaster, but that was to be expected after a show—no need to attend to her appearance just yet. The walls were papered with AR notes—already her Hoofbeat account was buzzing with hundreds of messages praising the show. With a sharp tilt of her head, she dismissed the stream of comments. A network of another kind required her attention, first. The narrow hallway gave way to a room that was bare except for the curved panoramic window covering most of the far wall. Victoria walked up to the window with determined strides, closing the door behind her with a soft pulse of magic. If you please, she thought to the room, and the lights dimmed. Far below, the entire Upper City was laid out before her. The city on stilts, straight out of a postcard: Trimmed trees, glistening office buildings, luxurious two-story houses with quaint little manicured lawns. An idyllic rectangular town, Victoria thought, hiding a vast city beneath. The glass darkened as Victoria’s shades painted the view of New Canterlot with AR. Victoria raised her forehooves high, then fell backwards into a chair as it unfolded from the carpeted floor. With the show successfully concluded, it was time to move on to the day’s second order of business. The chair slowly rose towards the ceiling, then stopped once it was elevated enough to give its owner a bird’s eye view of the entire plate. Floating tags marking locations of interest expanded to show details as Victoria swept her hoof slowly from left to right. The Solar Industries leak was still in place, yesterday’s Cartwright Universal operation had been a success... Victoria nodded in approval as she finished the first scan. Mostly good news from the upper assets, with only one reporting that he’d been identified on the job and needed assistance. With a quick shake of her head, Victoria swept away the Upper City memos. The failure was regrettable, but she’d never liked that fellow anyway. What was his name again? Well, never mind—as of right now, his name was “unviable.” “Reminder,” she said, holding up a hoof. A box with the header reminder appeared where she was pointing. “Seek replacement for compromised SpireTech agent.” She nodded, and lowered her hoof again, leaving the note hanging where she’d left it. Now came the interesting part. Victoria raised both forelegs, then split them as if swimming forward into the cityscape. Seeing this, the window blacked out entirely, letting the shades give Victoria an X-ray view of the real New Canterlot. From platescraper suites to soot-stained slums, the map of Victoria’s assets in the shadows made the one for the upper city look like a postage stamp. Victoria tilted her head as she moved her hoof over a rapidly moving blip that was blinking bright red. A window opened, showing the view through the cybereyes of somepony tearing through the city—somepony who had pneumatic pistons for legs, judging by how high they could jump. Victoria clicked her tongue when she saw a two-inch crater suddenly appear in a concrete wall. Ah. Well, this asset was somepony who wouldn’t be so easily replaced. Victoria gave her orders in a stern monotone: “Ground assets. Proximity to target. Search.” Two blips only a few streets away flickered green. Perfect. Victoria raised a hoof and jabbed at the words Voice Message, and then Urgent Priority. “This is Redeye,” Victoria said evenly. Tiny words appeared near the bottom of the panorama: Voice Distortion active. “An urgent matter requires your immediate attention. Once you confirm that you have received this message, the exact location of an individual whom I have been tracking will be made available to you. You are to subdue her and bring her to location R. Four thousand bits will be transferred to your account once I receive confirmation that she has been detained, preferably unharmed. Please reply immediately.” Victoria stared at the pony’s-eye-view window intently while she waited for the assets to respond. Always the little daredevil, this one, but at least she was fortunate enough to be fleeing towards a location controlled by her unseen benefactor.