[RANMA 2096][Fanfic] Kousei (starring Perdita!)

[Jeffrey Hosmer]

Without a doubt, Perdita is the most popular character in the
Ranma 2096 continuum. 'A Winter's Tale' continues to be my best-received
side-story, and the re-created, all-but-immortal Nabiki has inspired
beautiful pictures... Not to mention the many requests I receive for
another story featuring her.
To tell the truth, I was stumped. It was never my original intention
to bring Nabiki into R2096 - I did so only because I had to, after someone
pointed out that I'd forgotten to account for her, and it... Kind of grew
from there... I knew what I was going to do with the character in the main
story, but as for her private life (if she had one), her activities... I
hadn't a clue.
Along comes Jeff 'Rogue1' Hosmer to the rescue. He's an author I much
admire, and has helped immensely with the plotting of the series.
Thankfully, he's also a Perdita fan. Probably noting that I was getting
nowhere quickly with her character development, he offered to write a
story starring her, and I accepted before he could change his mind. :)

Here is the result of his efforts - he's managed to take what I was
struggling over, and provide a beautifully-crafted glimpse into the daily
life of the 'lost one'.

So, without more ado... The story.

-CW

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"Well, Miss Tendo, you seem to be doing just fine," the doctor said.
She wondered if it was proper to call him a doctor. Was technician closer
to the mark? She slid off the examining table and walked over to her
clothes. The doctor watched in shock as she dumped the hospital gown on
the floor and began to dress without showing any signs of modesty.

Why should she? It wasn't her body.

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|_|. \__\ |_|. .|_|.|_|...\/..|_|.|_|.|_|.|_|. \|_| \
/\ \ /
Written by Christopher 'Ratiko' Willmore. / \ \ /
4c...@qlink.queensu.ca / / \/
Based on a story by Rumiko Takahashi and /
Developed by C. Michael Schumacher / /
[Kensu: csch...@waun.tdsnet.com], \ /
with the aid of Animax Enterprises \/(Logo:Armakuni)
[formerly TAAC].

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KOUSEI
"Fairness"

=========================================================================
A Ranma 2096 Side Story starring

Perdita

by Jeffrey Paul Hosmer

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Perdita stepped out of the Kunou Foundation's cyber-clinic with a sigh
as her feet automatically started her back on her route to the office. Not
in the sense of habit, but because of the DayTimer_TM program the KF had
installed. Fortunately, her clinic time was considered work-related (the
KF had certain obligations to its employees it could not avoid) but she was
not allowed to dawdle on the way back to work.

It took her exactly 7 minutes and 36 seconds to reach her work
station. Thirty seconds later, she was connected into the Nerima City
Government Net. Business as usual, just like every other day since her
unwanted resurrection. Endless, spirit-numbing work.

"How'd it go, Perdita?" an inquiring voice spoke up from behind her.

Perdita barely glanced at the other worker. Ever since she had
arrived, Pai had ignored the unwritten rules of the Computer Centre. None
of the workers here ever spoke to each other. They rarely left their
small, sound-dampened cubicles. (Why the KF spent all the money on the
dampening fields when their cyborgs rarely spoke aloud was beyond her. As
far as she knew, she was the only one who actually spoke to her computer.)
Even if they sat only six feet apart, they used e-mail to communicate.
Perdita had been grateful for that. She hadn't wanted to talk to other
cyborgs, hadn't wanted to get to know them. She had her own problems.
They seemed to feel the same way.

Not Pai. The young, Chinese beauty had been hired three months ago,
right after receiving her implants. In fact, her hair had still been
growing back when she arrived. She hadn't seemed bothered by it, almost
flaunting her 'enhancement'. In another lifetime, Perdita would have run
an office pool on the chances of the newcomer suffering from Delayed
Rejection Syndrome, but none of her fellow cyborgs gambled. The gleaming
plug was barely visible now, covered by sky-blue hair Pai kept in the same
short, practical hairstyle that Perdita had worn when she was young. Had
it come back into fashion again? She didn't know.

"It went OK," Perdita mumbled.

"Did you tell them about that static problem? It's annoying to get a
snap-crackle-pop in your head."

"Yeah. They said it was normal as the weather grows colder."

"Meaning they won't do anything about it?"

"That was my impression."

"That's hardly fair."

Perdita snorted before she could even think about it. "That's the KF
for you," she quipped. She stopped, angry with herself for letting her
disgruntlement show, but Pai only smiled and walked back to her work
station. Perdita turned back to her work, time seeming to stand still as
she waited for her sixteen-hour shift to end. She felt like she was in the
centre of a massive web, but not like a spider, but rather as its prey,
slowly being sucked dry.

Many mind-numbing hours later, her computer finally let her log off.
Gratefully, she unplugged her cord and watched it wind itself back inside
the terminal. It reminded her of a snake slithering back into its lair.
She stood and headed for the door.

Pai caught up with her outside. "Hey, Perdita! Want to go get a
drink?"

"Me?"

"Anyone else here named that? Come on, it'll be fun! I need to
unwind after working in this morgue."

"I--" Perdita had never considered it. Every other night after work
she had simply gone home and tried to sleep. The dreams would come then,
but even her nightmares could hardly measure up to what her life had
become. "Okay," she said, not entirely sure why.

"Great! I know just the place. You'll love it!"

The Brokerage was a radical bar, for a city controlled by the KF, the
cyborg thought when she saw it. As a result of Kunou-chan's reforms, most
bars looked like the small, 'salary-man' places she remembered from her
childhood. The night clubs and theme bars of her adulthood had been deemed
"immoral" by the great Saviour of Humanity. Today's youth didn't care much
about that, she knew, since reports of underground "Raves" and "incidents
of moral turpitude" came across her workstation every night.

This bar was decorated like those she had visited as a businesswoman
back in the late twentieth century. The business news of the day was shown
on flat screens, not holo-vision, and stock prices scrolled by on a display
that ran the length of the bar. It was obviously popular with the young
business crowd, as the dance floor nearby was rather full of young
executives waltzing (Kunou had his impact on the music industry as well).
It was a pleasant shock to the time-displaced cyborg.

"Great, isn't it?" Pai gushed, pulling her along to the bar. "Vodka
tonic," she told the bartender, tipping him extravagantly.

"Just a club soda," Perdita said, also tipping the man when he looked
her way. She wished for something stronger, but her KF-supplied
self-preservation circuits wouldn't even let her risk alcohol poisoning.

"Nothing stronger?" Pai asked, leading her to an empty booth once they
got their drinks.

"No. KF programming won't allow it," Perdita said.

"Why'd you let them stick that in?"

Perdita looked at her co-worker suspiciously for a moment. She still
hadn't made up her mind as to whether or not the young girl was with KF's
Internal Security (IntSec) or not. The possibility existed, of course.
The KF and OnoCorp (they were practically one company, though few people
knew that) had little trust in their employees. She had done some
investigating in the weeks following her resurrection. The practices of
these two cornerstones of modern Japanese society had shocked even her.

Tendo Nabiki had been different in that regard, at least, she thought.
Once Nabiki found where someone's self-interest lay, she could usually
trust them. She made sure they realised it would not be in their
self-interest to betray her. There had been a few exceptions, but Tendo
Nabiki had also been an excellent judge of character and trusted her
instincts. The cyborg wondered, though, how much, if any, of Tendo Nabiki
was left to her. Tendo Nabiki would not have let the KF and OnoCorp get
away with what they had done to her. Perdita Tendo would have found it
hard to get out of bed in the morning, were it not for her programming.

However, her instincts now told Perdita she could trust Pai, to some
extent at least. Wherever the blue-haired girl's self-interest lay, it had
little to do with reporting Perdita to the KF. Still, there was no need to
tell all.

"The KF paid for my 'enhancements.'" Perdita put a wry twist on the
last word. "I had been in an explosion and they rebuilt me. They gave me
the bill afterwards and I work for them to pay it off."

Pai looked stricken. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it. I don't really
remember a lot about it." Just sitting at home, watching the timer on the
bomb tick down, the red button that would halt the countdown sitting within
reach. Every time she wanted to push it, however, she thought of Kasumi
and stopped. That should have been the end of it.

"I guess I was lucky. My... family paid for my plug, and it's about
all I have." She took a sip of her drink, looking at her co-worker while
trying not to be obvious about it. Still, she managed a warm smile for
Perdita.

"Old money?" Perdita asked out of habit, her financial curiosity
aroused.

"Very old money, you could say. I don't get to see them too much
since I took the job at the KF. The hours are a killer."

Change the subject, Perdita thought. Family was the last topic she
wanted to talk about. "Why do it, then? You're not a wage-slave like I
am."

"Oh, it's all part of my career plan," Pai said with a conspiratorial
wink.

"Career plan? What are you going to do?"

"Why, try and take over the business world, of course," Pai
dead-panned.

Perdita froze in shock for a moment, then, to her own surprise, she
began to laugh. Pai started to giggle as well and soon the two of them
were laughing like old schoolgirls.

* * * * *

They talked for over an hour about business, finance, news, and even
the weather. Perdita found herself glad she had accepted Pai's invitation,
even if the Chinese girl was feeling the effects of the vodka tonics she
had imbibed. Maybe she had grown too paranoid since her resurrection,
seeing IntSec agents everywhere. She was heading for the bar for another
round when someone bumped into her.

"Hey!" she said, her macros spinning her around and into a defensive
stance even as she said it.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," the man who bumped into her said. He was an
American, with blond hair, tanned skin, and a well-built physique. Perdita
could tell that even through the business suit he wore. He was exactly the
sort of man she had chased back when she was Tendo Nabiki: ornamental. Not
like Ryouga, she thought, before she could stamp it out.

"Watch where you're going next time," she said, brusquely. She had no
time for pretty boys anymore.

"Say, haven't I seen you before?" the man said, smiling to reveal
perfect white teeth. He was obviously trying to turn on the charm and
Perdita wanted none of it.

"I don't think so," she said coolly.

He snapped his fingers. "That's right. I saw you at the K Foundation
the other day. I'm David Ransom, programmer." He held out his hand.

Perdita took it without thinking, "Perdita Tendo," she replied. A
programmer? She had seen the programmers the KF had working for them.
They reminded her of Gosunkugi Hikaru: pale, thin, and demented. She had
once caught one of them mumbling aloud in machine code. This man did not
fit the image.

He smiled, as if reading her thoughts. "Freelance programmer and
trouble-shooter, I should say. I don't spend my days tied to monitor, or
at least I try not to. I really am sorry about bumping into you like that.
Would you care to dance?"

"I--what?" He was suddenly moving too fast for her.

"Dance. By way of apology." He smiled again and took her arm.
Before she knew it, he had led her out to the dance floor just as another
waltz began. Perdita was surprised to find the KF had included dance
macros in her programming, but assumed they were part of some standard
package. She only had to consciously direct her movements if he made a
mistake. He was a skilful dancer and led her through the waltz with ease.
The waltz went to a tango number and Perdita let herself melt into his arms
for it. After several months being just a machine for the KF, it felt good
to be treated as human again, by this man and by--

Pai! She had forgotten her. After the tango, Perdita excused herself
and made her way over to her booth. Pai was sitting there, grinning.

"No wonder you don't unwind much, Perdita," she teased. "That tango
almost got you both arrested for public indecency!"

Perdita laughed along with her friend and David joined in. She then
noted the time on her internal chronometer. It was getting close to 11
P.M., and she reported to work at 4 A.M. Her 16-hour shifts cycled around
the clock, moving ahead four hours every month. That way, the KF reasoned,
she was experienced at running the computer centre at all hours. In
reality, all it did was keep her out of sync with most people in the city
most of the time. This month, at least, it was the 4 A.M. to 8 P.M. shift.
Her most "normal" workday.

"I have to get going," she said. Pai nodded, understanding. Perdita
turned to David. "Thanks for the dances. I'm sorry if I was rude
earlier," she began.

"Oh, think nothing of it," he said. "If you really feel bad about it,
maybe you'd let me take you out for dinner tomorrow? After the K
Foundation releases us from the salt mines, of course?"

Perdita blinked, then a slow smile spread across her face. "I think
I'd like that." Screw the KF, she thought, I'm a human being, not a cog in
their machine. I deserve a little fun.

* * * * *

One dinner date led to another, and another, and finally to something
else altogether. It would have resulted in Perdita being late to work were
it not for her DayTimer_TM program. Still, Pai had noticed her co-worker's
happy glow and had teased her about it mercilessly.

As time went on, however, Pai seemed less than happy about Perdita
spending time with David. "I'm just worried about you getting so serious
with him," she said to Perdita one day. "After all, he's freelance... who
knows when the KF will let him go. And long distance relationships never
really work," she added.

Perdita was too happy to care. She chalked it down to her friend
being jealous of the time she spent with David and made an effort to find
more time with Pai. That seemed to mollify the young girl a little.

One Saturday, her rest day, David took Perdita out on a rented
sailboat. She had been a little hesitant at first, partly because of her
memories of a disastrous sailing trip on Kunou-chan's boat, and partly
because she wasn't even sure if her cyborg body could swim. The lure of
sun and sea had been too much to resist, and David quickly proved that he
was no Kunou when it came to nautical matters. Perdita had been pleased to
learn her prosthetics could tan, matching the rest of her skin, after they
found a secluded place to drop the anchor and spend some time in the sun.

So, it was with a light heart that she logged onto her workstation
Sunday morning. Pai was on her rest day, or she would have teased her
friend about it. She even hummed a little tune as she skimmed through the
list of things to do. Then she stopped cold at a personnel action.

PERSONNEL TERMINATION: RANSOM, DAVID
REASON FOR TERMINATION: COMPLETION OF CONTRACT.
TERMINATION CODE: AE35

Termination Code AE35 meant that David would be fired for cause,
usually something trumped up, so that the KF could deny him the rights to
any product he worked on while he was with them. It was a dirty trick, one
that she wouldn't even have considered as Tendo Nabiki. She would have
least included a fat severance check as hush money.

She could stop it. A few simple commands and David would be assigned
to another job within the company. An even simpler command could allow him
to walk away without the stigma of termination with cause, but then he
would be out of her life. She gnawed at her lip in indecision, a little
surprised at how important he had become to her. If the KF watchdogs
caught her changing the order, she was sure that bastard Tanaro would find
a way to make her pay for it. He could send her to jail, "rehabilitation"
as they now called it, and since the KF ran the jails, it would be easy to
make her disappear. Perdita had not wanted to live when Tanaro had
resurrected her. A part of her still wanted to die, but she wanted to die
on her terms, not as part of some punishment dreamed up by him.

She put off her decision for a bit, dealing with other matters. It
was not a priority job, anyway. Still, as the hours ticked along, she came
nearer and nearer to the time when a decision must be made. And she was no
closer to making it.

Suddenly, an e-mail marked both "PRIVATE" and "URGENT" came into her
in-box. She blinked, not at the flags, but the fact that the sender's
address had been carefully removed from the mail. She attempted to trace
it, but the trail just looped back and forth through the KF's
sub-processors. It all looked like a minor power fluctuation had corrupted
the mail, thus removing the sender's ID, but that seemed too pat an answer
to Perdita. Still, she opened the mail.

It contained a single file. Opening it, Perdita was shocked to see
that it was images from a KF security camera - one placed directly in
Tanaro's office! She noticed the IntSec time stamp was intact and
un-tampered with. Someone had gone through a lot of time and effort to
snatch this file.

Her curiosity aroused, she played it. She closed her eyes and viewed
it in her head, so that the IntSec monitor in her workstation would see
nothing out of the ordinary.

She saw President Ono at his desk. A moment later, he was joined by
another man and, in the silence before either spoke, she could hear the
sound of her heart breaking. David took a seat in front of the desk.

"How goes your operation?" Tanaro asked, still working on his computer
as he spoke.

"I've got her in the palm of my hand, sir. I really believe she's in
love with me."

"Believe me, that creature is incapable of love," was the cold reply.
"And I think our endorphin macro had something to do with it. I don't
doubt she is plotting to one day escape, but if you're right, she will find
it hard to leave our... warm embrace." Tanaro chuckled at that, a sound
that made Perdita shudder. The file came to an end.

Perdita opened her eyes and stared at the screens around her, wanting
to smash every one of them. Her self-preservation programming and her
financial sense stopped her before she hurt herself and added to her debt.
Getting control of herself, she turned her finely tuned mind (thanks to the
KF) loose on the information she had just received. A thorough manual
self-diagnostic soon revealed the Tanaro's macro, which was designed to
cause an low-level endorphin spike in her brain when certain code words,
like "K Foundation," were used. The endorphins made her feel pleasant and,
as a side-effect, dampened any suspicions she might have. In a way, she
had to thank the KF. If they hadn't worked her so hard as a, she never
would have had the skill to find and disable the macro. It was hardwired,
like her self-preservation programs, but she could write a macro to alert
her when it turned on. That knowledge would diminish its effects. Once
that was done, she turned her thoughts to what to do with Mr. David Ransom.
After a moment, she began to smile.

* * * * *

"Good morning, Pai," a sombre Perdita greeted her friend the next day.

"I saw the news, Perdita," Pai responded. "I'm sorry about David."

"No, you were right about him after all." Perdita shook her head.
"Embezzling from the Kunou Foundation...? I didn't think anyone was that
stupid."

"I'll understand if you don't want to go out tonight...."

"No, I think it'll be just the thing to get my mind off him," Perdita
said with a smile. Behind that smile, plans were already beginning to
form. With this latest stunt, Tanaro had thrown down his gauntlet. He
would learn what it meant to challenge Tendo Nabiki. With new
determination, she threw herself into her work.

Pai smiled back and walked over to her workstation. Well, that was
easy enough, she thought. I wondered what she'd do with the information I
found, but I never thought she'd turn the tables on them so neatly. She
will go far in the Organisation.

* * * * *

In a secret chamber somewhere in Tokyo, a strange figure raised its
head. It could sense there had been a subtle change, something that could
spell doom for all it had wrought over the last century. The figure feels
the cosmic pendulum reach its apex and begin to swing back. For the first
time in a hundred years, it wonders what the future will bring.

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The End
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Perdita sub-page: http://qlink.queensu.ca/~4cw6/perdita.htm (NOT .html)
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, another story done in someone else's sage. :) At least this time
it wasn't a story written by John Biles. This story was inspired by the
idea of Perdita, which was created by Chris Willmore, and the image "Lost
in her Work" which you can find on the Perdita sup-page (address above.)
Plus, there were a few ideas I submitted to Chris for Ranma 2096 that I
felt I should write the introduction to... Well, I guess it's back to work
on my fanfics, which this helped me procrastinate further on. I guess I
should finish Angel of Light this century...

Jeff Hosmer 14 November 1996

Jeffrey Paul Hosmer rog...@netcom.com
4001 Old Quarry Terrace jho...@ix.netcom.com
Alexandria, VA 22306-1327