FA Chapter 1 Bosingwa
'A forger is a human with the capability to subvert the known laws of the universe itself.'
This was the last line in the book penned by the very first forger, Musana. The man's feats were legendary and Bosingwa, who had just woken up from his sleep closed the book after reading that last line. He had read and pondered that line every single morning of each day, which served as the kindle to his excitement, turning it into an inextinguishable flame.
He gently caressed the book, from the flaking cover to the folded corners, treating it like his most precious lover. Finding this physical edition hadn't been a walk in the park, with the digital version growing ever tantalising by the day, only for a miracle to happen.
He rose out of bed and took a look in the mirror of his one roomed apartment. His stubble had grown, clearly signifying the need for a trim. His tall lean frame was lacking in muscle, a fact further accentuated by how the vest was simply hanging off his body, like it would slip off with just a change in posture.
The need for a trim reminded him of something, causing the widening of his eyes for a moment, before his pupils lit up with excitement. The month was ending today!
Today was the day he was going to cast off the label of being just another cog in the machine to try and embark onto the path of a forger. He had already managed to accumulate considerable savings, and after today, there was going to be enough to purchase a single vial of the awakening serum. It had been hard on him, with all the taunts and extra unpaid hours...but finally! He was going to chase after his dream!
While humming to himself, he went into the bathroom to wash up and prepare for his last day of work at the company.
Kampala city was a sprawling metropolis located in the state of Uganda, one of the many that were within the United Earth Federation, a single united country that took the entire planet as its territory. Kampala city was the capital of the state, where all the political and economic bigwigs congregated, not to mention the power that came with their positions.
As Bosingwa walked out of his apartment, one of the many on this high rise building, he took in the sights of the city. It was the 30th century and everything was thriving. Technology had advanced to the level that most jobs were handled by AI possessed robots, with many of the jobs available for the population having been turned over to them. Now, many were simply earning money within the metaverse. He had a neural link that afforded him the connection, but he had always yearned for a pod. It gave one a feeling of true immersion that the neural link was simply lacking in comparison. But, the money for said pod was equal to that of the awakening serum, making it an unfeasible purchase...maybe after becoming a forger, he might think about it. After all, according to the grapevine, even the lowest of the forgers earned far more than his current job. They were in high demand after all!
Bosingwa liked this city, but for those like him who were poor, it was hell living within it. Every expense was a noose around his neck that would strangle him the moment he failed to earn enough. Those big companies and politicians had it well. They could afford the forger serum, but for the rest of the people like him, it was a hard thing to buy. You could even say that for most, it was impossible!
At first, he had been of the impression that eventually, the price would drop enough such that the average commoner like him could afford it, but even when production had upped, there had never been any dip in the price.
He couldn't even afford genetic editing, to correct some of the errors in his body.
With a self deprecating chuckle, he made it out of the building, taking in the gradually brightening blue skies for a moment before walking towards his workplace.
"I wish I could atleast afford to take the taxi. Its warm in there." He lamented as he pulled the coat around his form tighter to himself.
-----
"Bosingwa! You are always impeccably on time. I wonder what it would take to have you lie in those sheets a bit longer...hmmm!"
The loud voice alone was enough to be heard all across the room. And Bosingwa sighed with exasperation at the sound. Though, none of the other cubicles radiated movement because the people within them had already gotten used to the voice of the man.
Bill was someone he didn't want to deal with this early in the morning. The guy was a pain in the ass. If you wanted to learn about all the big and small things going on in the office, he was your guy! But if you weren't even remotely interested, like himself, then the guy was a massive inconvenience.
"If I knew you were also going to be here, I would have stayed in bed for a bit longer." Bosingwa spoke without even looking out of his cubicle. His fingers were working the holographic keyboard with such speed that they were leaving faint afterimages in the air. Like the rest of those in this space, the keyboard was the one battlefield he was proficient in.
"I haven't had breakfast yet. Can you join me in the cafeteria?" Bill's somewhat muscular form appeared within the entrance of Bosingwa's cubicle. There were some lines on his face, indicating his advanced age and a cybernetic implant in the form of an eye with a red pupil was in the left side of his skull. It had been so seamlessly integrated such that of you didn't know, you might think of him as a heterochromatic visioned man. He could have made it have the same color as his other eye, but no...he wanted everyone to know it was cybernetic.
Inwardly, Bosingwa looked down on the enhancements. Biological alterations were more appealing to him instead of machinery. And one of the reasons that had attracted him to the forger profession was the fact that they could control their own bodies to create new organs, or rewrite their DNA.
Bill had spent some of his salart on genetic modifications, like his body that was the epitome of a male god, but Bosingwa still disapproved of the man's choices. Why! The money Bill had spent on his appearance alone would have been enough to afford him an awakening serum!
"Why should I follow you?"
"Haven't you always been seeking any kind of gossip related to the forgers? It would do you better to follow me." The man lowered his voice with those words, even making sure that no one was in sight.
After those words, Bill turned around to walk away, confident that Bosingwa would follow along. The bait had already been dangled, and he was sure the fish was going to bite.
With a sigh, he abandoned his work and stood up, following behind the man. Maybe he could use a dose of caffeine this early in the day, or maybe the content of the gossip had attracted him...with the latter statement being the possible truth.
"So, what was the juicy piece of material you wanted to share?"
Bosingwa asked while taking a small sip from the cup. He was trying to feign nonchalance but within, he was excited about whatever the other man was about to divulge. Any tiny morsel about the Forgers was immensely attractive to him.
They were secrets of the highest level that mere mortals like themselves had no right of knowing, except those highly doctored so-called legendary feats.
"Do you remember that one time last month that we were supposed to have been given a bonus?"
Bill's question elicited an audible grinding of teeth from Bosingwa. Actually, it wasn't just him alone who would have had such a reaction. Everyone in their department had been furious that the planned bonus had been rescinded... And the most infuriating thing was the fact that the boss's son had been the one to embezzle the money!
"I am going to stand up and walk away if you keep talking about this." Growled Bosingwa.
If that bonus hadn't been embezzled, he wouldn't have had to put up with another month in this shitty office!
"Hey! Hey! Hear me out! Bosingwa! I do know that you like to be alone and all, but the world moves...and many things that ought to reach your ears don't because of this shitty attitude of yours! Do you enjoy living under a rock?"
"Come on man! How could you insinuate that? I don't live under a rock!" Bosingwa shouted but that only elicited a chuckle out of the man.
After a sigh, to release the anger that had almost taken over, Bosingwa sat down, deciding to at least listen to whatever the man was about to release.
"Anyway, we almost strayed from the main topic. Senney just advanced to become a Forger. I am pretty sure that you understand the implications, right?"
"Couldn't he have used his daddy's money instead of taking what we the poor rightfully deserved?" Bosingwa frowned. This news related to forgers wasn't turning out to be as exciting as he had expected.
"Apparently he had been cut off...some family shenanigans."
"Aren't you enraged?" Bosingwa asked curiously.
"He has become a forger. What's the point of getting hung up on that? Its not like revenge is even possible for people like us. We would just be digging our own graves!" Lamented Bill.
"I bet the others were furious." Bosingwa said, in a bid to pry out some things. His hands, resting on the table were clenched with such force that the knuckles became white, earning a meaningful glance from Bill.
"Furious? That's an understatement. Many have already decided that this is the last month they will be here. Even I, your only friend won't be here next month."
"Friend? That's a bit of a stretch don't you think?" Grumbled Bosingwa.
He too wasn't going to coming back here. But that was a piece of information he didn't want spread, so he didn't tell the man anything.
After that less than ideal breakfast, Bosingwa went back to his cubicle to get some work done only for an alert to appear within his gaze, through his neural link, bringing a smile to his face.
-----
There was a certain spring in Bosingwa's step as he exited the building where he had worked for the last 20 years of his life. He had finally taken that important step of resigning from his job after having managed to accumulate over a million credits. He turned towards it, to give it a last look, to sear it into his memory so that he would use it to remind himself about why he quit this job in the first place if he ever felt that being a Forger was tiresome, or something.
He was about to turn 40 but that didn't matter because of the fact that forgers could extend their lifespans due to the greater control they had over their bodies.
A smile was lighting up his face as he passed by a woman, walking her dog, a small critter with blue fur and red spots, clearly genetically modified to her tastes. A robot was walking beside her, chatting and making vivid facial expressions due to how similar it was to humans. From laughing to the movement of the eyes. They were enjoying life, something he hadn't had the time to appreciate because of the job. Floating cars passed by him on the street and he took in everything with fascination. This was the first time in a long time that he had found the city this vibrant.
Now that he had completed a chapter in his life. He needed to embark on a new one...and that entailed a search for an awakening serum.