Thread by @fintechjunkie

Hey @chain_runners....check out the new Lore!

Karnak 6044’s Journal

It’s been 52 Keplers since taking the Oath and something doesn’t feel right. The air is stale and time feels frozen. It’s too quiet. The normal city sounds aren’t present which is never a good thing. Never.

I whisper my true name and carefully tighten my wraps. Today will be a memorable day but I will not break my routine. It’s a promise that must be kept.

I take a deep breath and painfully shoulder my satchel. It isn’t heavy but my body protests. I ignore the nagging pain...

...because Mega City calls upon me to be a Witness and I’m compelled to answer.

I pass a few minor scuffles unnoticed. A shopkeeper caught a Spiked Goggler trying to sneak a charge for their Botcat. The Sandmen also appear to be out in force looking for Runners.

But I'm not worried because they’re easy to spot and even easier to avoid. There’s nothing here worth witnessing.

There. A Bot and a Masker studying the back alley exit to The Surgeon's Lab. He's well known around here. 5477 owns this block.

My cybereye connects to Megacity’s inforails and two profiles are surfaced. Runners. 2784 and 7458. The Oath Lords will be pleased with me today.

I recite the Oath carefully. My duty as a Witness begins now.

“From morning light to evening night, our bandages are in plain sight.

We wrap our faces and our hands. We move throughout this angry land.

We broke our chains to forge the Way. Now we quietly watch the fray.”

The Masker is most likely amped up on Sniffers. He’s jittery and pacing like a caged animal. The Bot is stoic and unphased by the Masker’s actions. He’s too busy studying the door to care.

It feels like a thousand cycles of nothingness have gone by.

Suddenly an explosion of activity happens in a blink of an eye.

The door cracks open and a tungsten case is slid into the alley. A blinding beam of white light flashes, drawing a straight line from the Alien’s hidden weapon to the darkness on the other side of the door.

Someone in the lab isn’t making it home tonight.

The Masker snatches the case and is back at the Bot’s side in less than three heartbeats. This isn’t his first grab. It’s obvious he’s a seasoned Runner and a good one at that.

The Bot turns to run but the Masker stops. Curiosity has him in its gravitational pull. The Masker opens the case and a few red and white stripped vials spill out. I can see that the case is packed with enough Peppermint Dust to keep a dealer in business for a very long time.

A klaxon sounds from within the Lab which means the Sandmen are already on their way. The Bot slams the case shut and grabs it from the Masker. They run down the alleyway in the direction of the Slums. Their escape is almost certain at this point.

I stop recording and upload the event. The Oath Lords must be pleased because they credit my wallet enough tokens to buy a hot meal and a stiff drink. Tonight I feast.

I am Karnak 6044 and it’s been 52 Keplers since taking the Oath.