Max rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he got out of bed. Well, what passed as a bed. The mattress had lumps and the sheets had holes. A piece of plywood would have made a better bed. He slapped the alarm clock next to him to stop that annoying buzz. The clock flashed five o'clock.

"Dim lights on.” Max said.

The lights came on at about fifty percent of total power. Max looked around the room for a clean set of clothes. He was going to need them when he delivered the child support check to his ex-wife, Michelle. He found a pair of tattered jeans and a stained, but clean, tank top. He put the clothes on and went to the bathroom.

The bathroom was as dirty as the rest of the small, dingy apartment. It had towels strewn about and the rust stains
were disgusting. Max finished the rest of his morning routine by brushing his teeth, deciding not to shave or comb his tangle of black hair, washing his face and using the toilet.

Then he went to the fridge for breakfast. As he opened the fridge he also turned on Jennifer IV, his pride and joy. It was custom built computer and was equipped with voice identification, speech patterns, ocular senses, a fast processor of ninety gigahertz, and forty gigabytes of RAM, holographic 3-D viewing screen, blistering fast CommStream access, and all the other bells and whistles that went with top of the line computers. The most important feature, though, was its AI, real artificial intelligence. It was portable as well, you just clipped the microchip in the base of the processor case to a WristLink and you had yourself a portable Jennifer IV. He had the WristLink as well.

It was the only thing in his apartment that was worth anything; it was probably worth more than his life. Max knew the how much his life was worth, about five hundred dollars every couple of weeks. He was a Retriever, one of those poor souls that happened to be good at finding things, people, pets, and money. Like a bounty hunter, only bounty hunters get paid more often and go after fugitives. Retrievers work in a much broader sense, they could get anything; you name it and Retrievers could get it for you, for a price, of course. Everything had a price tag on this world. Max knew the price for everything, well the price to find everything. The computer chimed on.

“Good morning Max,” said a warm, sensual female voice from his computer. “It's five thirty on a Friday morning. The weather outside is cold and the sun isn't up yet.”

“Good morning Jennifer,” Max responded to his computer. The warm, female voice was the reason the computer was named Jennifer. “What's in the news today?”

“Well, Earth was bombed again by the Convention of Eight.” Jennifer told him.

The Convention of Eight was an intergalactic alliance of eight galaxies consisting of about eighty planets. Although it was mostly entire galaxies that joined single planets were also eligible of acceptance. All of the planets of the Milky Way galaxy had joined except for Earth. One of its super powers refused to be apart of a group that was more powerful than itself. The name of that organization was the American Alliance, a single country that ruled four of Earth's seven continents. The American Alliance also had other allies in other parts of the world, but they didn't really matter. Max's ex-wife and only child lived in the middle of the American Alliance. In a place called Goodfaith, North Dakota.

“What part?” I asked, a little concerned.

“Washington D.C., the capital. Don't worry Max, Beth's fine.” Jennifer answered.

Max knew Jennifer IV was right, but he was still worried about his ex-wife. Beth had left him for another man while he was on a mission for a high paying customer. He had found her in bed with another man; thankfully her boyfriend was no one Max knew. If it had it would have gotten real bloody. As it was, Beth was the kind of girl who was strong willed and got what she wanted. She would have survived the attack just through stubbornness. Although she was gone Max still missed her. His feelings had never faded in the first place.

“Alright, I'm going out see if I have any new assignments.” Max said as he walked over to Jennifer IV.
He reached around the back and slid the chip out of the socket it was resting in and into his WristLink. He flicked a switch on the side and a voice came on.

“Do you know how it feels to be able to talk and have no body? I'll tell you how. It feels really creepy!” Jennifer IV said from Max's WristLink.

“Do you want me to turn you off? All it takes it the flip of a switch. I'll do it too.” Max threatened. He never would have followed through though, Jennifer was too much a partner/girlfriend for him to be that mean.

“You wouldn't dare, you scoundrel. You love me too much.” Jennifer began to calm down. She was usually pretty high-strung when she was on the WristLink. Jennifer described it as how a person would describe an out-of-body and floating around kind of dream. In short it was very unsettling.

“You're right.” Max said, smiling to himself as he went over to the closet. He pulled out a leather jacket and two shoulder holsters. He tossed the jacket on his bed and strapped the holsters on. After strapping the holsters on, he went to his bed and pulled out from underneath two gray boxes. He opened them and inside the box were two Preyfire pistols.

Preyfire had been the leading name in home defense laser technology. They had been top of the line when they had first been developed on his home planet of Solthen. Unfortunately the company went out of business twenty years back when an off-world company had developed anti-matter weapons. Lasers were beams of focused light that are extremely accurate. The only flaw with them was that they needed to be recharged after about fifty shots. This tended to be a big draw back during heated combat when the recharge time was close to two minutes.

Anti-matter worked a little differently. Anti-matter weapons worked with bullets just like the firearms that were used on Earth. The only difference was that the amount of anti-matter used was very small compared with the size of the bullet's slug. In truth the amount of anti-matter was so small that electron microscopes were needed to see the amount of anti-matter needed to make a bullet. Anti-matter was powerful stuff, a quarter of a gram could easily annihilate a small city. It was also dangerous to transport because if it came into contact with anything the anti-matter would annihilate, and yes that is the scientific term used to describe what anti-matter does. How does a person carry it you ask? You don't, you seal it in a vacuum and use magnets to suspend it in mid-air. The shells themselves are pretty little things. They're metal bases with glass domes. The domes are what actually house the anti-matter and the magnets. When the glass breaks, so does the vacuum. Boom. Anti-matter was one nasty weapon and it soon eclipsed lasers as the weapon of choice among military and police forces on many worlds.

“Max, you really need to get new clothes. The ones you have now are all ratty and stained.” Jennifer said, scanning Max's clothes with her ocular sensors.

“Where do you suggest that we get the money? I'm having a tough enough time as it is.” Max said, looking at his clothes.

“Well, get another job.” Jennifer suggested, trying to be as helpful as possible.

Max just grunted and headed to for the door of his apartment. The door was made of steel and it slid on a track to open when Max pressed his palm against a metallic identification pad. The corridor that the door opened into was the kind that one would expect to be a haven for drug use and the oldest profession. The walls were stained with the grime of years of neglect and had paint peeling from it in patches, not to mention the holes that infrequently dotted the walls. Although Max lived here, he was uncomfortable in the hallways. He had to use both hands to count the number of times he had almost been mugged. He continued to walk briskly, every once in a while glancing over his shoulder, until he came to the elevator.
The elevator was well ventilated, but not in the conventional sense. The doors were peppered with bullet holes and laser holes. Gangs were not unheard of either in this complex and ambushes during gang wars were frequent and often incured the deaths of many innocent people.

“Some of those look new Jennifer. What do you think darling? Should we risk it?” Max asked, truly looking to his computer for advice.

“Take the stairs. They're better for your health. I want you to live forever honey,” Jennifer said, “and you don't live to long if you're old and fat.”

“Selfish little girl aren't you?” Max laughed, as he turned to his right and continued down a hallway much like the he had come from.

His journey ended when he came to a stairwell. The sign that was crookedly hung above the doorway said that he was on the fifteenth floor. The stairs weren't deadly so to speak, just a little poorly lit and dilapidated and crawling with gang members and drug pushers and rats and freaks and other things that shouldn't be mentioned. Max reached into his jacket and snapped the holsters open, making it easier to get at his only means of protection.

“Max, you might want to go back home and get yourself a knife.”

“Jennifer, I sold my last knife so that I could pay for rent so that we could have a place to live. Business hasn't really been that great.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“Don't worry about it. Just keep an eye out for me will ya?”
Max carefully stepped out on to the first landing, hoping that it wouldn't give way and send him crashing to his death fifteen stories below. Such things did happen. It seemed sturdy enough so he continued on. The going was slow because he checked each step as went to make sure that it would hold his weight. He was about half way down the first flight of stairs when Jenifer alerted him to the people on the landing below. Gang members that often required some kind of toll. Max decided that he would pay in lasers if anything happened. The gangsters looked to be about as tall as Max was and about twice as heavy. Unfortunately for them it was all muscle and no brain. They were dressed in black, gray and blue, and each carried either a knife or an old fashioned firearm called a pistol.

“Hey mun, ware yous tink you goin' hunh?” the leader said as Max came to the last step, “You goin' noware if yous don't pay up to old Razor and yer jacket look real good.”
Max braced himself and spoke, “Listen pal, I got nothing to give you. If I did I wouldn't be living here. So step aside, let me through and be civil.” Max looked around as he talked. Old Razor seemed to have about four of his ugliest friends with him.

“Ah donah tinks yous gets it mun. Yous gots ta pay me.” Razor said, drawing a knife.

Max's hands went to the inside of his jacket and withdrew his Preyfires and aimed both barrels at the leader's head. “I can either pay you with laser fire or you can let me go. Your choice.”

Just before he finished his last sentence Max saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. He spun to his right and avoided a soaring knife that would have caught him in the throat. Max let fly with both barrels. When the fight was over Razor was dead and so were three of his fellows. The forth man most likely wouldn't see the next day. Max almost searched the bodies for anything he could use but decided to leave everything where it was.

“Well done Max. You handled yourself magnificently.” Jennifer congratulated him.

“It was them or me. Personally, I like my life. Sort of.” Max said, thinking to himself, “I like it enough to keep it anyways.”

Max continued down the stairs another two stories until Jennifer alerted him to a new presence. An Icari was on the steps below.

Icari were genetic mutations caused by exposure to the radiation that emanated from the Sun. These Icari were once people who had flown too close to the Sun and had received a dose of radiation that was just enough to let them live, while deforming either their minds or their bodies. The ones with deformed brains were the worst. While they usually had some kind of power, they also had a huge increase in mental ability and are able to tap into fifty percent of their brain; while the humanoid population in general can only harness about five percent at its peak. That means a smarter person is a good thing for humanity, right? Not really. The experience of becoming one of the Icari is very painful because of the radiation poisoning, and eventually dives a person mad. Thankfully there are very few of these Icari around. Most of them die within a few years because of the deterioration of their brains. Others are often brought to justice, despite if they're guilty of some kind of crime or not.

The physically deformed of the Icari are not as depraved and are often very kind to those people who accept them. These Icari do not go mad like their counter parts, the only pain that they endure is being outcast from a society of ignorance. The mutations that they undergo are often very dramatic, such as the gaining of an extra limb or possibly many more. Another thing that could happen is that a limb might become shriveled and fall of only to be replaced by some sort of tentacle or even an extra head on a few documented rare occasions. These rare people are often the most extricated from society, despite that two heads are often better than one. The man on the stairs was one of those. He stood six feet tall and had two heads; each had brown eyes and sandy blond hair. He was well built and muscular, and looked as if he had seen some fighting in his time.

“Michael! Ben! How are you two? You guys look good today.” Max said upon seeing his friend.

“Max. You old dog! How are ya? It's been awhile since I've seen you last. What have you been up to?” Michael and Ben said, at the same time. Although it happened often, it was very unsettling.

“Not much. The elevator has some new holes in it so Jennifer had me take the stairs.” Max answered his old friend.

“Wow, you two get even more handsome each time I see you guys. What's your secret? I want to teach it to Max.” Jennifer said from Max's WristLink, sounding even more saucy than usual.

“Aw. Come on, Jennie. You don't really think I'm that good looking do you?” Max and Ben inquired at the same time. Again.

“Yes I do. I wouldn't lie to you guys.” Jennifer told the two the truth. They weren't as close to her as Max, but they were almost there. Max, though, had known him since before he had lost his wife to another man.

“Well, first you have to get yourself a ship and plot a course....” The heads said.

“Do I get any say in this? I mean it is my ruggedly good looks that we're talking about.” Max put forth.

“No dear you don't.” Jennifer told him. “As you were saying boys?”

Just as she said this Michael and Ben tackled Max to the ground. The air above them erupted in a hail of weapons fire and from the holes it was leaving in the walls, it was anti-matter. Michael and Ben mouthed something to Max. He didn't understand what his friend was trying to tell him, but Max took a chance and slid his Preyfires out of their holsters. Max kept one and slid the other to Micheal and Ben.

“Alright ya freaks, come on out and die like ya should!” One voice shouted with a tone that would have made a Marine drill sergeant cower in fear, “We're only gonna give ya one chance to redeem yourself then thats it for ya.”

The sound of boots came rushing up the stairs. It could only mean one thing, The Purity Group. The Purity Group was a group of religious fanatics that believed that it was their right and duty to kill individuals that they believed violated some kind of natural law. This 'natural law' meant Icari, and often went to also include their friends and family because the Purity Group felt that Icari spread some kind of taint. They were completely misguided and refused to listen to reason. Their all white uniform was also reminiscent of another similarly radical group from the southern United Sates. Only this uniform didn't consist if flowing robes and a pointy hat, instead it was a white shirt and pants and a white bandanna. Unfortunately they were also supported by some government agencies that had access to Anti-matter weapons.

“I don't know who the Hell you think you are, but we are not coming out for you, you filthy pigs!” Michael and Ben shouted, rolling over onto his back so that he could aim between his legs at anyone wishing to climb the stairs. Max rolled over and faced down the stairs, Preyfire held at the ready.

“Stay here Max, this is my battle. I've been evading these guys since the space flight three years ago.” Micheal said, referring to when he had taken the flight that had changed him into who he was today.

Michael got up, and ducking anti-matter fire all the way, jumped over the stairway. As he launched himself from the step that led down to the Purity Group, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Laser beam after laser beam erupted from the Preyfire, decimating all that was in front of it. Members of the Purity Group fell like matchsticks in the wind. Seven had fallen and eight were left when Micheal and Ben landed. He stood up in seconds and had a barrel at one member's temple. Michael and Ben pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Just a sharp whine came from the Preyfire. It needed to be recharged. Michael and Ben caught an elbow to the ribs that sent him reeling away as pain flowed though his side. As he doubled over a fist came through the air caught him on the chin and took him into the blackness of unconsciousness. They picked up his body and fled down the stairs, making a hasty exit.

“Max, they got Michael and Ben. What are we going to do?” Jennifer asked, worried about her friend.

“Get him back. This Retriever is back on the job.” Max answered her, no longer worried about the danger of the stairs, or anything else for that matter.

Max re-holstered his Preyfire and took off down the stairs, pausing only for a second to retrieve his other gun. The rest of the way was easy going, The Purity Group scared many of the people in the apartment building into hiding, Icari weren't the Purity Group's only target. They went for anyone they considered the least bit impure. The elderly, children, women, everyone was a target for the slightest imagined transgression.

It was a full fifteen minutes before Max got outside, amidst the inner city landscape. He smelled burning rubber and could hear the screech of tires. Max drew his pistols and opened fire on the white vehicle that was racing away. It was easily recognized as one of the Purity Group's vehicles because the ID tag contained the group's initials, as the law required of them. Seeing that the laser fire had done nothing to deter the Purity Group, Max jumped into his own car and sped away after them. He went at a break-neck speed through the streets of Sultern hoping against all odds that he would be able to catch up to the Purity Group. They raced along the streets, each car riding on a cushion of air. They went down one street and up another, like a game of cat and mouse with deadly consequences.
Finally, the Purity Group stopped and ran on foot into an alleyway. Max jumped out and went to the car. Looking inside he found Micheal and Ben; each had taken a bullet from the Purity Group.

“I’ll get you!” Max shouted as Jennifer wept on his wrist.
Driven even more now by his friends’ death Max took off down the alleyway. Paying no attention to the shadows Max raced between the two buildings. With no one in sight Max stopped to catch his breath. That was when everything around him turned to blackness.

When Max finally woke up, his head was pounding and he felt something wet running down his back. Max looked around but his surroundings were vague and unfamiliar. In front of him was a table and beyond that was a longer table with three high backed chairs. To his left was a large wooded door all else was stone. Around his neck was a metal collar that was attached to two heavy chains. The chains, in turn were attached to the ceiling so that he barely had enough slack to stand with comfort. Max didn't panic until he saw that Jennifer was on the table before him instead of on his wrist. He tried reaching for his digital lover but she was just out of his reach.

“Jennifer!” Max called out, hoping that the Purity Group hadn't destroyed her.

“Max! I can't believe they got us. What happened?” Jennifer called out,

“I don't know. I think they hit me over the back of the head when I stopped to catch my breath. I think I'm bleeding.” Max explained to her.

Just as Max finished speaking, the door burst open to admit three white robed figures. Max tried to see their faces, but white cowls obscured them. As he expected the figures moved to the chairs and sat down.

“We are the Pure Ones. You stand here on trial for crimes against humanity and the laws of nature,” Said the woman in the middle. Although the robe covered her form, Max could tell that she was a female because of her voice. The voice was familiar but Max couldn't place it, at least not without seeing her face. “This is a case that has never been tried before. Not only are you known to associate with the foul Icari, you have created a new crime through your association with that.” She spat the last word as she pointed to to Jennifer.

“What's wrong with owning a computer?” Max asked, only to be lashed at by the same judge.

“That computer has caused the corruption of your soul Max Penther! It has corrupted you to very depths of sin and vice!” She spoke with the fury of a woman scorned, a familiar woman at that. “You have allowed your heart to become trapped by that mechanical tramp!”

“What the hell are you talking about and who do you think you are? Talking about Jennifer like that. How dare you slaughter innocent people in the name of righteousness! And you dare to call others impure. You make me sick.” Max yelled at her, spitting in the general direction of the judges.

"Do you really wish to know who accuses you of these crimes? Do you think that you can handle the awful truth?” the woman asked.

“Yes I do, because when you release me from these chains I will kill you.” Max said as calmly and coolly as possible.
The woman stood and reached for her cowl and threw it back with such ferocity that her fiery red hair splayed out from the collar of her robes. The face that was revealed was his ex-wife's.

“Michelle? Are you kidding me? That can't be you under there. Shouldn't you be back on Earth?”

“I moved when I heard that we were going to be bombed again. I left a message at your office that I had moved to your city. I wanted to be close to you again so that I could tell you that I changed my mind about Dave, my husband. Well, ex-husband now.” she explained to him.

“Just how did you get here? How close did you get to the sun? How many Icari came off that ship when it landed? Tell me that! You're insane!”

“We came pretty close to the sun. Yes, some Icari came off the ship but I am not one of those filthy things.”
“How do you know? The girl I married never acted like this. She was even friends with Michael and Ben. How do you justify killing one of your friends?”

“He was impure. He was not meant to live, and because of your love of a machine neither are you.” Michelle smiled sadistically at this. She motioned to the other judges beside her and they left the room. “I'll give you one chance to show your love for me, and if you don't comply, not only will you die, but Jennifer IV will be erased. Sent to the great computerized nether world.”

“What do you want me to do?” Max asked resigning himself to whatever fate awaited him.

When he was done speaking the doors opened again to admit the other judges. They entered pushing a small cart with a metal box on it. Out of the box ran wires, one of which ended in what looked like a pen. It was an eraser, a machine used to wipe the memory banks of a computer. It could also be used on a WristLink, all that was needed was the memory chip which housed the AI.

“Erase Jennifer IV or you both die. It's that simple. I love you Max but I wont hesitate to kill you for defying the laws of nature. What you are doing, it's just not right.” Michelle said, taking his head in her hands, “Now all you need to do is to touch that pen to the memory chip and all will be forgiven.”

“Go to Hell.” Max said, just before her spitting on her, “I love her more than I ever loved you. Do what you will, but I will always love Jennifer!”

“So be it. Have it your way. Boot Jennifer and give me the pen.” Michelle said as she stormed over to the table.

“Max! Help me! I'm trapped over here! Do something!” Jennifer cried out, hoping in vain that Max would be able to do something to save her.

“I love you.” Was all that he was able to call out before Michelle touched the pen to Jennifer IV's memory chip, forever deleting any trace of her programming.

Max broke down at that moment and started to weep openly for the computerized woman that he had loved so much. Never before had he felt so much pain, not even when he had found Beth in bed with another man did he hurt so much.

“Do what you will to me, you've already taken all that I've ever loved from me.

At this, Michelle stalked over to him and withdrew one of his Preyfire pistols from her robe and placed it to his temple. “Goodbye, my love.” was the last thing Max ever heard.