ILLUSION CITY - THE STORY PART 1 DARK AWAKENING.... RADIO MESSAGE OF SIVA TRANSPORT SHUTTLE TO SIVA MAIN OFFICE: "SIVA Shuttle to base: we're on our way to the SIVA-summit in Hongkong. We've had a short delay because of the terrible weather conditions. The storm, that has been hanging over Hongkong for weeks now, is still raging. The vision up here is limited, very dense clouds. Severe squalls, down-pour and lightning makes this very dangerous flying weather. But I think we'll manage to make it through. We're preparing to land. Shuttle over and out." SIVA-NETWORK HISTORICAL ARCHIVE SUBJECT: GREAT DISASTER OF HONGKONG, THE RATING:PUBLIC In 200X, Hongkong was struck by one of the greatest catastrophes in human history. By an unknown cause, the earth's crust under this city collapsed, and a great part of the city subsided, tens of metres down. The number of casualties and material damage were gigantic. The Chinese government contacted SIVA to restore the chaos the city had become and to find out what had caused the disaster. In the next twenty years, SIVA managed to rebuild the city in a remarkable way. An artificial foundation plate was constructed, that would serve as a foundation for the new Hong Kong, that was built on top of the old city. Nowadays, it has become clear, that Hongkongs restoration has been a complete succes. The city is SIVA's capital facility heart, and the majority of the citizens has become a SIVA employee or works for one of SIVA's subsidiary companies. Hongkong has become a technological paradise, in which all citizens can live a prosperous and happy life. For more info, see HONGKONG and SIVA. END OF FILE =========== SIVA-NETWORK DATABASE SUBJECT: SIVA RATING: PUBLIC SIVA is the largest information/communication agency in the world. The company has gone through a remarkable growth after the Great Disaster of Hongkong, after which a number of new top-executives were appointed. Before the employment of the supercomputer that would run the information network, the company was called IVA. SIVA's nervous system is the world wide SIVA-network, a public data-network in which a vast multitude of information can be found, current information as well as human history. SIVA's heart is "Siva Tower", the Network Centre, in which the SIVA-supercomputer that hosts the network, is seated. Both SIVA-Tower and the SIVA main office are in Hongkong's centre. Other SIVA industries are: weapon- and steelmanufacturing, biological and chemical research and genetic engineering. END OF FILE =========== SIVA-NETWORK DATABANK SUBJECT: DEMON-RELIGION RATING: PUBLIC This group has grown rapidly from an unimportant religious cult into one of the city's most important religions. It is regarded as a good omen in Hongkong, and the number of followers is still growing every day. Frequently, meetings are organized in the temples that have been built throughout the entire city. A remarkable fact is, that this young religious group is based on sacred writing that are thousands of years old. To respect the independance of the demon-religion, SIVA will not provide any further information about this subject here. For more info, apply to your local demon-temple. END OF FILE =========== SIVA-NETWORK DATABANK SUBJECT: D.I.V.E.R. RATING: PUBLIC De position of "DIVER" (Demon Intercept Vital Erase Runner) was established after the Great Disaster of Hongkong. After this event, the Outer, the formerly distressed area, now the residential area for Hongkong's factory workers, was increasingly threatened by mysterious, as yet unknown beings. These "monsters" are hostile towards humans, and many of them feed on human blood. They formed an increasing danger for the Outer-population (strangely enough, these creatures stayed away from the Inner, the rebuilt Hongkong on the surface. Here, the Blackblades, the SIVA police force, maintain public peace and order) Because this problems went beyond the abilities of the Inner Police, citizes were appealed to. To citizens with extraordinary physical and mental capabilities, a special police-training was given, thus forming a small team that could hunt monsters in the Outer to protect the citizens. The project was quite succesful. The Diver-system utilizes a computer-controlled bounty-payment system, which works fast and accurate. END OF FILE =========== SIVA-NETWORK CITIZEN INFO SUBJECT: PERSONAL FILE TIENLLEN RATING: CONFIDENTIAL NAME : TIENLLEN (FULL NAME UNKNOWN) GENDER : MALE OCCUPATION : DIVER RESIDENCE : OUTER, DOWNTOWN DATE OF BIRTH : UNKNOWN Nothing is known about Tienllen's origin.He was raised in the Outer by Shue Wang, who also trained him. Developed considerable psychic powers at a young age and learned how to handle weapons excellently. Small arms are his specialty. At the moment, he's one of the best Divers in the team. END OF FILE =========== SIVA-NETWORK CITIZEN INFO SUBJECT : PERSONAL FILE MEIPHEN RATING: CONFIDENTIAL NAME : MEIPHEN (FULL NAME UNKNOWN) GENDER : FEMALE OCCUPATION : COMMANDER OUTER-POLICE FORCE RESIDENCE : OUTER,DOWNTOWN DATE OF BIRTH : UNKNOWN Just like Tienllen, Meiphen has unknown natural parents. She was also raised by Shue. Tienllen was like a brother to her. Developed great skill in martial arts and her specialty is the "Deathlash", a kind of thin, metal whip. She also knows how to handle heavy calibre guns. Her current occupation is leader of the Outer Police Force. END OF FILE =========== Darkness. Tienllen is surrounded by a pitch-black darkness. He can't remember how he got here, let alone how to get out of this place. Suddenly, an ominous, but at the same time strangely familiar voice sounds, like a rumbling thunderstorm in the distance... "TIENLLEN!!" Tienllen looks up, surprised, looking for the origin of the voice. "TIENLLEN! YOU MUST RECONQUER YOUR POWER! THE EIGHT MAGIC STATUES ARE THE KEY TO THE POWER OF THE GODS!" "What?!" "YOU MUST RELEASE THE DARSAS!" "Darsas ?" "IF YOU CAN RELEASE THEM,YOUR OWN POWERS WILL BE REVIVED. YOUR POWERS, AS WELL AS MINE. AND THE DIVINE POWERS ARE LIMITLESS..." "Divine powers? But who..." Tienllens words are cut off by a loud beeping in the distance. It appears to grow louder and louder. The Darkness dissolves into a grey mist... Slowly, Tienllen regains consciousness. It was only a dream! The familiar look of the interior of his own appartment quickly bring him back into reality. He'd had quite a hangover from last night's party, and he'd fallen asleep on the couch. Tienllen struggles up and decides to put an end to the beeping, which still fills the room. "Shut up, Freddy! What's up?" Freddy, the home computer, immediately cuts off is warning signal. "There are two people in front of the door,master. One of them is miss Meiphen, the other one I cannot identify." "Put them on screen, Freddy." "Yes, master." While Freddy follows the order, Tienllen lights a cigarette. On Freddy's viewscreen, the familiar face of Tienllens friend Meiphen appears. "Thank God,you're awake, Tienllen. Open up,quickly!" "Let them in, Freddy." "Miss Meiphen is armed,master. Do you want me to remove her equipment?" "No, it's okay." "Yes, master. Welcome, miss Meiphen." With a hiss, the door opens, and Meiphen enters. On her back, she carries someone. A child, it seems. "Hi, Freddy. Make sure you monitor the outside door carefully!" "Yes, miss Meiphen." Meiphen carries the kid, who appears to be wounded, into the bedroom. "This poor girl will borrow your bedroom for a while. You don't seem to be needing it, anyway..." A moment later, Meiphen joins Tienllen in the living room, and slumps down in a couch. "Sorry I'm dropping in so unexpectedly." "What's the reason of your visit?" "Well, it's about that girl. I found her on the street when I returned from work. She seemed to be running from something or someone. I decided to take her with me, and after that, my MINI was followed by a black car. I don't think they were after me. They wanted the girl, I'm certain of that. Those pursueers seemed pretty relentless. It took me twenty minutes to shake them off. After that, I went to your place straight away." "You know anything about her?" "She's not wounded, just in shock. I found her on the ruined highway in the vicinity. Anyway, she doesn't have a citizen ID pass. But, judging from her clothes, she's no Inner citizen... But I think she's awake now!" Meiphen disappears into the bedroom, where she heard some noises. Then she calls Tienllen. When Tienllen enters the room, the girl in the bed seems frightened. Meiphen tells her not to worry. "It's okay, Homei. He's a friend." Homei is silent, still not comfortable. "You know who she is now?" "She's an Outer citizen and used to live in the Tonglong-quarter." Homei continues her story: "Both my parents died in an accident when I was still very young. Me and my twin sister Shawmei used to live on our own. We weren't rich, but we were happy there, until..." Meiphen continues: "...until last night, when they where attacked by a group of monsters, accompanied by some men in black suits. Doesn't that sound like the Blackblades to you, the SIVA security force? Besides, her twin sister was kidnapped by a guy who introduced himself as 'Lee'. I think SIVA is finally showing its true face..." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Don't you think it's odd that Blackblades co-operate with monsters? Anyway, Blackblades aren't supposed to have any business in the Outer. And isn't there a member of that group of SIVA top-executives, the "Octavirate",as they call themselves, who is called Lee?" "Right....Lee Wong, he's nicknamed the 'Southern Demonlord', for some reason..." "Tienllen...Let's visit Shue. He knows more about things like this." Meanwhile, Homei has left the bed. "Can I come with you,please?" "Don't you think you'd better stay in bed?" "No! I'm fine!" "Mmm....leaving her here all alone could be dangerous. Perhaps Shue can keep an eye on her..." "What?!" "Okay... Let's go,Tienllen" Tienllen gets his gun and holster-belt and orders Freddy to guard his apartment carefully during their absence. The three of them get in the elevator, and a few moments later they're in the middle of the noises of the awakening streets of Hongkong... TO BE CONTINUED.