rough beta here, folks.  Plenty of room for change if you
folks advise it.

oh yeah, and:
www.uh.edu/~cscc1k/temp2/bruce-and-sylia.jpg

-rpm

----------------------------------------------------


EDNOTE: "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
                 - John Philpot Curran (1790)

BGC: SMILE
 Prelude

-2024-


Normal 14 year old children in Megatokyo had problems like
peer pressure, gang violence, general growing pains, and
such.

Sylia Stingray was different.

Her ultimate goal was to topple the largest corporation on
earth, Genom, and avenge her father's death.

For a 14 year old girl, it was a lot to aim for, but she was
the ambitious sort.

She had the money.  She had the knowledge.  She just lacked
the resources.  Sylia needed equipment, materials, and a lab
to work in, and hadn't a clue how to go about obtaining
them without arousing suspicion.

At the moment she was walking down to to Dr. Raven's
Garage, as she usually did twice a week.  She'd been going
there regularly, making use of his facilities to test out
her ideas on powersuit design.  Sylia hoped Dr. Raven was
there today.  Sometimes he was out, taking care of some
business she didn't know about.  When that happened, she'd
have to wait in front of the garage until he came back.  She
hated waiting.

As she approached the garage, she paused and frowned.  It
appeared the garage was closed.  Not only that, but there
was a strange old gaijin man sitting on the bench in front
of the garage as well.  He seemed to be asleep, eyes closed,
shaded by a fedora hat, and face tranquil.  While it wasn't
a good idea to let your guard down in this neighborhood like
the man had, that wasn't what caught Sylia's attention. 

He seemed to be wearing an odd frame of sorts, apparently a
basic powersuit.  It was composed of metal bar-like
structures, the 'muscles' of the suit, runnning parallel
around his body, connected by rings at the 'joint' areas. 
It only covered his shoulders and arms, ending in a neck
brace of sorts supporting his head.  There was also a
seperate framework of metal surrounding his left leg.

Somehow, with all that metal on him, he managed to fit a
nice looking suit underneath.

There was something about the man... something familiar.
Had she seen him before?  She was sure of it, but wasn't
sure _exactly_ where before.

She approached him cautiously, reminding herself to show no
fear.  Always start a conversation in a position of
strength.

"Hello."

The old man raised opened one eye.  "Hello, young lady," he
said in perfect Japanese.

"Waiting for someone here?" she asked.

The man nodded.  "An old friend.  He works in this shop, but
he seems to be out at the moment."  He closed his eyes once
more and leaned back.  "You here to see Dr. Raven too?"

She nodded.  "I come to the shop now and then, just trying
out stuff with his equipment."

"Hrm.  You came here alone.  A young girl like you shouldn't
do that, especially not in a neighborhood like this."

She looked away, her expression becoming dark and sad. 
"I... don't have any parents.  Not anymore."

"Oh.  I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

She took a deep breath then looked him in the eye again.
"No, it's okay.  I don't mind talking about it anymore."

"You know, I lost my parents at a young age too," said the
old man.

"Really?"

He nodded.  "I was a little younger than you when it
happened.  I... know how it hurts.  Nothing was the same,
ever again." 

"Oh.  I see."  She sat down next to him and frowned, looking
out at nowhere in particular.  "Does it... does it ever stop
hurting?"

"No, not really.  But it won't always feel so bad."  

Silence fell between them for a moment as they both watched the 
sun set, both lost in a moment of contemplation of the past.

That silence was broken when the old man yawned.  "The good 
doctor sure is running a bit... ah.  Speak of the devil,
there he is now." 

Sylia looked down the street, then waved as she saw Dr.
Raven approach.

"Tsk.  Sylia, you should let me know in advance when you're
going to come here.  You shouldn't wait outside, not in this
neighborhood.  Now, who's your friend here?"

The old man stood up slowly, then removed his hat.  "Hello,
Dr. Raven.  It's been a while."

The doctor gasped in surprise, which caused Sylia to look
back and forth between the two with much concern.

"You!  My God... I heard you were..."

The old man smirked.  "I am," he said with a wink.  "Come
on, let's get inside.  I have to talk to you about things."

"Yes, right," said Dr. Raven absently.  He fumbled with his
keys for a moment, then opened the garage.  Sylia went over
to the equipment, while the old man and Dr. Raven went to
the next room, closing the door.

Sylia began loading the schematics for her latest design,
then looked at the closed door thoughtfully.  It wasn't her
business, but the old man had her curious.  To get such a
reaction from Dr. Raven was unusual.

She slowly made her way to the door, then placed an ear
against it... managing to hear bits and pieces of their
conversation.

   "... grown up..."

   "... tragic, that girl..."

   "... reminds me of myself at that age..."

   "... used it already, no bad side effects..."

   "... a sharp mind, already a genius with technology..."

   "... she knows all that I know now, and Dr. Stingray..."

   "... very formidable when she comes of age..."

   "... faster than the others in the Curran Project..."

   "... oh dear, out of tea.  You hungry?"

Sylia narrowed her eyes.  What was the Curran Project?  And
how was she a part of it?  Her thoughts were jarred as she
suddenly felt the door being opened.  Quickly, she scrambled
to the workstation at the far end of the room, pretending
she was there all along as the old man and Dr.  Raven
entered.

"Sylia, my friend and I are going out for a bit of lunch.
You're going to stay here?"

She nodded.

"Here's the keys," he said, putting down a set.  "If you
need to leave before we come back, lock the place up."

"Yes, doctor."

"We'll be back in a little while."  The doctor and the old
man walked out the door, leaving Sylia with many questions
and no answers.


-end prelude-