{"sf1_id":808497,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Big Trouble in a Tiny Package","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":3701,"posted_at":"2015-01-17T18:38:00.000Z","tags":["Equine","Feline","Fox","Horse","Human","Plot Development","Sci-Fi","Steampunk","Story Progression","vulpine"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/808497-big-trouble-in-a-tiny-package","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/808497","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=808497\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#11 of Tales from The Hub\n\nI haven't written any for this series in a while I know. Trying to catch up on a few story lines at the moment.","content":"           I was contemplating things again. I\nhated it when I did that. Normally, it was a matter of making a decision and\ngoing with it. But now I was superseded by this resurrected creator and I\nwasn't sure how to take this guy. He seemed to both care and to not care. I get\nhaving your own agenda, and I could get behind him if he was really going to\nimprove things here, but I was yet tome impressed.The creature cared enough to be hanging\nwith my partner and her old boyfriend, doing who knows what. OK, I knew damn\nwell what they were doing. This creator seemed to have more mortal qualities\nthan I would have expected. For some reason I actually found that rather\ncomforting.As much as I wanted the help of this\nbeing in defeating the Brotherhood, I would have preferred going into this\nbattle alone. I had no desire to drag anyone else down, not even my newly\nconverted sex slave. I preferred to endanger only myself. If someone was to die\nby my hand, I wanted it to be because of something I did to cause it, not some\ninadvertent side effect of a battle or skirmish. I could take care of myself,\nbut my coverage only went just that far.I had been risking my neck for this\ncity for years.  My name had become sort\nof legend, and a lot of folks didn't even think I was real. I made no attempt\nto disabuse them, though I also didn't really hide my existence. I was just me.\nI followed my own rules right up until now, when I had this small furless thing\nrunning amuck in my warehouse.I was just working out what I could\ndo without his help when the three of them appeared. My nose flared at the\nsmell, and my cock jerked awake. I mentally told it to go back to sleep. This\nwasn't going to be the time for fun, even if they had been pattering about\ndoing who knows what..\"I see you finally found your way\nout of the warehouse. Nice.\"Jenar looked a little pale. \"Yes we\ndid. We took time out of our busy schedule to get to know one another.\"\"Good for you. Now how about we get\ndown to work? If you have some special information on how to get at the\nBrotherhood, I'm all ears.\"The creator sat down. \"I have set\nthings in motion already. There are a few things that I wish I had available to\nme, but I don't have time to search the warehouse. It could end up as a waste\nof time.\"\"What are you looking for?\"\"Nanites. \"\"Oh sure, I think we have several,\"\nI said sarcastically. \"What the hell are they?\"              \"If you\nhave one you'll have several billion of them. They're microscopic machines.\"              Veronica\ncoughed to get his attention. \"Really? How is that possible? And how would you ever\nwork on them?\"              \"There's\nno time for explaining how they function. But if you had any, they would look a\ngiant crate of black sand.\"               I\njerked alert. \"Sand?\"               \"Yes,\nsand. They are so small that they look like fine sand.\"                \"Well\nshit. I wondered why there was a box of something so stupid as sand in the\nwarehouse. I would have dumped it but I had never seen the likes of it before.\nI've been to the Outlands and there ain't no sand that looks like that anywhere\nout there.\"                \"Consider\nyourself lucky you didn't. Was there an activator with it?\"                I\nsighed. \"A what?\"                \"An\nactivator. The nanites are dormant until activated. It doesn't do well to have\nthem pulling power from the grid for no good reason. That, and without\nprogramming, they tend to wander.\"                \"So\nyou're telling me that box of sand will come alive?\"                \"Yes,\nin a manner of speaking. Can you show me where it is? If I can find the\nactivator, I can set them loose ahead of time. They can repair old damage and\nget some of the operational systems restored.\"                \"Whatever\nyou say master. Come on.\"                \"You know\nI don't think I deserve that insult. I didn't come back here to interfere. You\nwanted help. I'm trying to give it.\"                I\nsuppose I did owe him an apology, but I was still feeling testy. When I didn't reply,\nhe slipped off of his chair and fell into step behind me. The others went to\nfollow, but he held up a hand. \"No, you guys eat. I'll be back up in a little\nbit, assuming I can find what I want.\"                I\ndidn't give a damn who did what at that moment, but I have to admit that I was\ncurious about this sand. If it was really some sort of artificial life form, I\nwanted to see it in action. I stomped down the stairs until we got to one of\nthe side rooms. The crate had a hole gnawed into it by one of the little vermin\nthat tended to seasonally infest the place. The creator scooped some into his\npalm and ran a finger through it.                 \"This\nis it! Now to find the activator. I would think whoever had the sense to hide\nthis stuff away would know enough to keep the parts together.\"                \"What\nis this pile of shit - I mean sand used\nfor again?\"                \"They\nare integrated bots, designed for undertaking repairs on electrical systems.\nOnce activated, programmed and released, they handle maintenance of things like\ncomputer systems, video screens, audio systems and more. They can even be\nprogrammed to coalesce into basic forms.\"                \"What?\"                \"They\ncan combine to look like a rock, or a something even more angular, like a tool\nchest or chair.\"                \"This\nstuff could become a chair, one that would support my weight?\"                \"Even\nyour massive frame, yes. And then, with a little programming, it could be made\nto fall apart underneath you.\"                \"You're\nlying.\"                \"I'm\nnot, but unless I find the activator I might as well be. They have to be active\nto work.\"                \"Fine\nlittle creature, so what does this activator look like?\"                The\ncreator stopped, looking around the room. \"It's a panel about this long, and\nabout this wide,\" he said, using his arms and hands to demonstrate.                 \"That\ndidn't help me much. \"Any other details oh wise one? That sounds like a lot of\nthe shit down here.\"                \"Sorry.\nIt'll be marked with the number/letter combination of SQT-885, and it has a\ndisplay panel that shows the frequency of the transmitter.\"                \"Oh\nthat. I remember seeing something like that a long time ago.\"                \"And\nwhere is it now?\"                \"That's\na good question. But if I remember, it should be over here.\"                I\nrooted around under a pile of tarps until I pulled out the old dusty metal\ncontraption. I remember playing with it as a kid.                \"Is\nthis it?\"                \"The\none and only. Now to see if it works.\" He pulled a retractable cable from the\nback of the unit and plugged it into a wall outlet. Since there was power to\nthe whole system now, power rushed into the machine. He flicked a switch and\nthe unit sprung to life.                 I\nwatched with a morbid fascination, both at the little creature and at the way\nhe seemingly knew how everything worked. I smacked myself, for why wouldn't he?\nHe created it all. It hardly mattered how old it was, he had to know. But his\nlittle brain couldn't possibly hold that much information, could it?                I\nnearly jumped when a section of the floor began to move. It was the sand.\nApparently he hadn't been lying about how the stuff worked. It swirled on the\nfloor as more of it poured out of the holes in the crate. In a few minutes it\nlooked like a whirlpool as the tiny particles did some sort of strange dance.                 \"Well,\nthe systems are still working well enough. I guess I'll use the basic repair\nprotocols. I would direct them to specific tasks, but I have no idea how much\ndamage and destruction the systems have suffered over the centuries. I'll let\nthem figure it out on their own.\"                \"So\nwhat now?\"                \"Now\nthey will spread out and make repairs on the systems they encounter.\"                \"Where?\"                \"Everywhere.\nThey will move out from here into every system they are familiar with and\nrestore it to its original functionality.\"                Then he\ndid a really weird thing. He scooped up a mass of writhing sand and swallowed\nit.                \"Why\nthe hell did you do that?\"                He\nlooked a little pained. \"Some of the components in this body aren't organic. You\nhave to remember Veracity that this body is a construct. You were born; this\nwas created in a machine. I might be able to make another, better version if I\nwant to later, but I was in a hurry. The machine was old and in less than\nperfect running order. I told you this body might not last very long.\"                \"I get\nthat, but what the hell does that animated sand have to do with anything?\"                \"Don't\nworry about it for now. Let's just say that it's going to keep me functioning\nfor a while longer.\"                \"Whatever\nyou say boss. What's next then?\"                \"Next?\nI'd say a tour of the city might be nice. It'll help to know what I'm dealing\nwith.\"                \"Looking\nlike that? You'll freak everyone out. You look like a hairless reject from the\nOutlands!\"                \"Are\nyou saying that this place has no idea what I even looked like?\"                \"That\nand then some. If you'll pardon my mouth, you look nothing like I ever imagined\nyou might. And hell, I still don't think you are what you claim you are.\"                \"What\ndo you need to be convinced? The earth shaking under your feet? My name being\nheralded across the city? My voice sounding all at once from everywhere in the\ncity?\"                \"It\nmight help. For now I just see you as a weak little mortal.\"                \"Your\nassessment is correct for that is what I am right now. But you know, maybe\nthat's just what this place needs at the moment.\"                \"I'm not\nfollowing you.\"                \"No, I\nsuppose you're not. I was just thinking that maybe I needed to fight fire with\nfire.\"                \"You're\ngoing to burn down the city?\"                \"No you\nstupid idiot. Oh, never mind. I think I have a plan. Find me a cloak and a mask\nof some sort and take me on a tour. Every minute right now is more and more\nprecious. Nanites or not, this organic flesh will not last forever.\"                Veronica\nallowed him the use of one of her robes, and a rebreather mask was dug out of a\nbox. It was a weird combination, but not so weird as that anyone would question\nit. There was all sorts in the city, and with that all kinds of strange outfits.                A cab\nwas called and when it arrived, all five of them squeezed into it. \"Where ya'll goin?\" asked the\ndriver.                A small\nvoice came from the back. \"The Brotherhood.\"                \"Ya\nsure about that?\"                \"I'm\nsure.\"                \"I'll\ndrop you of a block over then. I have no desire to get them pissed at me. They\nhave a perimeter around that place and you had better be a member when you\ncross it. I ain't no member and I ain't never goin to be. Any of you members?\"                Serrena\nstarted to answer but Veracity shook his head. That little voice piped up. \"No.\nI'm just curious about the place is all.\"                \"What's\nthere to be curious about? Are you telling me that you've never seen it\nbefore?\"                \"It's\nbeen a long while my friend. Just catching up on what's been happening since I\nwas gone.\"                \"Gone?\nWhere the hell ya been livin? The Outlands?\"                \"A\nlittle farther past that, you might say.\"                \"Then\nyou're crazy. No one lives past the Outlands and no one wants to go to the\nBrotherhood. I'd suggest ya'll pay up front.\"                Veracity\nstuck a fist in front of the driver. \"You'll get paid. Just drive.\"                \"Crazy\nand big. My lucky day!\" He stomped on the pedal and roared through the streets\nuntil they reached their destination.  As\nhe said, he dropped them off one block over. As everyone climbed out, the\ndriver figured he was going to get stiffed. The strange little thing in the robe\nand respirator came around to his window.                \"Thanks\nfor the ride. Before you go, how would you like to be paid? I couldn't help but\nnotice that your vehicle is very old. It looks like it could use some repairs.\"                \"Yah,\nshe's old., but she's all I got. It's tough repairing the systems on a beast\nlike this. What are you, some sort of mechanic?\"                 That's when he noticed a thin stream of black\ncrawling into the window. \"What the hell?\"                \"Relax.\nDrive as you normally would, but you may have a few system glitches on and off\nfor a while. If you don't think it was worth the fare, come back to where you\npicked us up.\"                The flow\nof black had already stopped. The tiny specks were infiltrating his cab and\nwere soon out of sight. The driver looked sharply at the robed figure. \"You're\na freak, aren't you?\"                The\nmasked figure nodded. \"Yes. But I am an honest one. Now go. Remember what I\nsaid.\"                The cab\ndrove off. Veronica had noticed the flow as it had left his fingertips. \"What\ndid you do?\"                \"Helped\nsomeone, of course. And in turn he'll help me. When they're done repairing the\nsystems on his vehicle, they'll leave and find something else to repair. He's\nhelping to transport them a little faster than they would have on their own.\"                \"I\nsee.\" She didn't of course, but it hardly mattered. If he knew what he was\ndoing, she had little hope of understanding it.                He\nmoved towards the next block. \"Let's see this fortress.\"                As they\ncame into the block that held the library, he was immediately dismayed. It\nlooked remarkably sinister. A facility for the gaining of knowledge was never\nsupposed to look like this. It reminded him of something from his memory banks.\nIt looked mildly church like, but there were overtones of Earth's 1930s and\n1940s. From Germany. It was enough to cramp up his stomach, though that was\nprobably just his cells prematurely rupturing.                 Serrena\nwas also wearing a hood. Everyone else might be ignored, but a former member\nsuddenly making an appearance without her uniform might give their presence\naway. I stood out like a whore in a church, for I never shunned showing my face\nexcept when I was using my outlawed technology. No one messed with me, and I\nknew that if they recognized me, they'd be curious and furious at the same\ntime.                So it\nwas that I managed to accidently bump into a fellow that I recognized. He\nrecognized me as well and his eyes narrowed.                 \"Veracity!\"                \"Hello\nCornelius.\"                \"What\nare you doing here? And have you put on some weight?\" He was trying to piss me\noff.                \"What\nI'm doing here is my own business. As for my weight I can't help it.\"                \"I see.\nHave you got a medical problem? I mean, you can't blame a person for hoping..\"                 \"Nah, ya see, very time I fuck your wife she\nmakes me a meal. What can I do?\" I was upping the ante a little. After all, he\nstarted it.                \"Feed a\nman for free and he'll be back asking for more. Feed a man a bullet and you\nwon't hear from him again.\"Yeah? Well, if I want to listen to\nan asshole I'll fart.\"                A fight\nbroke out. Corny wasn't as big as I was, but he was a tough scrapper. In short\norder we were rolling on the pavement, throwing punches. He was mad because I\nhad one upped his insult. He would have been furious to know I had been nailing\nthe bitch. What can I say? Some girls like something between their legs they\ncan feel for longer than the time it takes to get the action done.                 By the\ntime we were separated there was a crowd around us, including a number of\nguards from the Brotherhood. Serrena had ducked out of sight, leaving just me\nand my sidekick and her boy toy. We got maters settled, but not before the\nguards recognized me for who I was. There was very nearly another altercation,\nbut a claxon went off inside the building and they spilt for the direction of\nthe doors.                Veronica\ncame over. \"Why did you start a fight? We didn't want to be noticed!\"                \"Can't\nhelp it. I like to stir up trouble. And who knew the old bastard was going to\nshow up here?\"                \"Whatever.\nNow our cover has been blown. We might as well leave.\" She looked around to\nconfirm her thought with the creator only to find him gone.                \"What's\nhappened to him?\"                I\nshrugged. \"Like I know? The silly sot has probably gone into the building\nalone. You heard the alarm.\"                \"They'll\nkill him!\"                \"It'll\nhardly mater. The poor little shit is already dying.\"                \"What?\"                \"You\nheard me. He has that sand stuff inside him to keep his body running for now,\nbut it's falling apart. You heard him before.\"                \"But it\nwas working just fine earlier!\"                \"I'm\nsure it was. But now it's not. So suck it up. I ain't about to go inside there\nto retrieve him. I figure he knows what he's doing.\"                \"I\ndon't like it.\"                \"Your\nchoice. It doesn't make a difference to me. You want to try and save his scrawny\nass, you go right ahead. Me, I think he knows what he's doing. I don't personally\nknow what the hell he's planning, but I have an idea it'll rattle this\nfucked-up city to its core.\"                Since\nthey figured the moment was lost, the group headed away from the building and\nmoved over a few streets. There was a café that was mostly empty, so they went\ninside.                Veronica\nlooked perturbed. \"I believe him when he says he's the creator you know.\"                \"I\ndidn't say any different you stupid Vulp. None of this much makes sense to me,\nbut I could see him having an avatar instead of his real self. I mean, I don't\nknow a damn thing about anything much outside of this stinking city, but there\nhas to be a lot of stuff beyond what we can see.\"                \"I\nagree. So I think that we'll wait him out. If nothing happens, then life won't\nbe any worse than it was before we loosed his wonderful self.\"                \"Wonderful?\nJust what were you guys doing down in the warehouse? Nope, forget I asked that.\nI think I prefer to allow my imagination to roam rather than know the truth.\"                \"He's\ntalented in a lot of way Veracity. If he truly helped to build the foundations\nof our civilization, then I trust him to have a greater knowledge of the layout\nof the city than anyone living today.\"                \"Well,\nhe might end up in that non-lamentable group called the non-living if he's not\ncareful.\"                We sat\nthere for a while, even ordering food to pass the time. For the moment they\ndidn't know if anywhere on the planet was safe and this place seemed as good as\nany.                Someone\ncame in, followed by a stiff breeze that blew in dirt and dust from the street.\nAll eyes were on the newcomer, but he merely sat down at a table and paid no\nattention to them. HE was just another poor sap who was stuck living in this\ndungheap.                \"You\nknow, I hate to admit it, but I'm feeling a bit on edge. And when I'm on edge,\nI find that I either need to get violent or have sex.\"                Serrena\npunched me in the arm. \"Like there's a difference with you?\"                I\ngrabbed her arm and squeezed. \"There used to be. Now everything gets jumbled up\nin my head. I can off in a lot a ways you know.\"                I let go\nwhen she began to struggle. I knew I had a tight grip and was only making a\nstatement. Could I help it I was angry and upset? I knew it wasn't their fault.\nIt was my own mistake for opening up that stupid room.                I cast\nmy eyes to the floor, watching the dust swirl and shift on the tiling. This\ncity was dirty and stupid. I really should have left it a long time ago. At\nleast in the Outlands the dust and dirt were supposed to be there. Here in the\ncity things were supposed to be civilized. I don't think anyone had a concept\nof what that word actually meant.                As I\ngazed angrily downward, I felt my eyes were playing tricks on me. The little\nscattering of material on the floor seemed to flow into abstract patterns. I\nblinked and looked again. And damn if it still wasn't doing it. I figured it had\nto be eddying air currents until I remembered that the door was closed. There wasn't\na speck of air movement in the café.                 It\ndawned on me that the dust was black. Well, not all black, but as it pulled\ntogether the black seemed to separate itself from the common brown stuff.                \"Is\nanyone else seeing this?\"                All\neyes went to where I was staring. \"Yes, I think so. Is that the stuff that was\nin the crate?\"                \"What else\ncould it be? It sure travels fast.\"                \"If it\nis the same stuff. What's it doing here?\"                As if\nto answer, the formless mass swirled around and formed a smiling face.                \"Well I'll\nbe a knocked up mare. The son of a bitch has the stuff working!\""}