Olivia sighed as she walked down the dilapidated street. There wasn’t a soul around on this late Friday night. It was eerily quiet as she looked over toward Alex’s hovel. He wasn’t there either. She wondered briefly if the Unified Axis picked him up again.

During the War of Seehr, many people volunteered to become a bionic, sacrificing perfect body parts to become fighting machines to win the war. The war was won, but the people quickly forgot the sacrifices of the bionics and soon came to regard them as inferior. At least, this was how Olivia understood the history. The war happened centuries before she was born.

If you were borne into a humie family, you could expect a life of privilege. Humies delivered to bionics were considered inferior as well. As soon as they were born, they were micro-chipped as such. Micro-chipped Humies didn’t have it much better than their parents. Most Chips turned to a life of crime because there weren’t many other options. Then after a chippie became sixty percent mechanical they were considered to be a bionic.

Pure Humies were never seen on this side of town unless they were slumming or had a job that no Humie would touch. As Olivia continued her walk, she saw a bionic separating a metal box instead of welding it. She smiled. Perhaps there would be some entertainment tonight after all.

“Hey, whatcha up to?” She called out. The bionic turned to look at her but then turned away, ignoring her presence. “You could at least answer. It’s not like I’m gonna turn you in to the Unified Axis.”

The bionic stopped again and looked her over, but his gaze settled on her silver eyes. A by-product of the chip that the humies had implanted into her. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t but shouldn’t you be with the other Chippies working at a bar or titty joint.”

Olivia laughed, “As if I would use that to get paid. No thanks, I prefer to keep that for people I actually like.“

“You like me?” The bionic teased.

“Maybe, I guess, we’ll see.” Olivia bantered as she hopped on a crate to watch. The bionic finished his work of taking the metal box apart and put the pieces into his knapsack.

“Whatcha making?” Olivia asked.

“A go-cart,” He said, dropping his gaze. Olivia could have sworn that he blushed under his swarthy complexion.

She smiled, “That actually sounds like fun.”

“My boys and I have races,” He admitted giving her a curious look. “You want to come along and watch?”

“Not like I’m doing anything else right now,” Olivia replied, pushing off the crate. She landed on the ground lightly beside him.

“Let’s go then,” He said.

Olivia fell in step with him. “I’m Olivia. What is your name anyway?”

“Tyler,” He shot her a smile, “Nice to meet you, Olivia. My boys are going to be shocked I’m bringing a Chippie with me. ”

“Are Chippies a novelty to them?” She asked.

“Not outside of the titty joint or bar,” He said, giving her a sideways glance. “And most have sold off parts. You obviously haven’t had to do that.”

“Not yet,” Olivia said quietly. They both knew it was merely a matter of time. Chips had few options. Money was scarce, and decent jobs were even more lacking.

Only Humies were deemed ‘good enough’ to have well-paying jobs. Humies would buy body parts in their bid for infinite life as Chips and bionics sold their organic parts for money to survive. Olivia’s own parents had sacrificed so she wouldn’t have to. Sooner or later, it happened to all of them. The day would come when they would become more mechanical and software than human. They would lose free will and be sent to the mech yard to be recycled.

Everyone knew that those chippies selling themselves would end up giving birth, and that fell right into the Humies plans. Without a supply of precious organic parts, they wouldn’t be able to have eternal life. Any sort of birth control was outlawed. Most bionics and chippies sold their male offspring to organ growth labs. They could live for a year off the money from offering an intact unit as they were called. Olivia shuddered at the thought. Female chippies were valuable as they could produce more body parts. It wasn’t strange to see Humies that were well over 200 years old but had bodies of twenty-year-olds.

Tyler walked up to a warehouse and pulled open the door before ushering her in. Olivia had to admit she was surprised that he showed such courtesy, but she schooled her face and gave him a polite thank you. The warehouse was one huge room, and in the middle of it, a group of bionics working on several go-carts.

“Tyler!” a burly man with bionic legs greeted the Tyler before noticing Olivia. “Who’s the chippie?”

“Olivia meet Sam,” Tyler said, as the rest of the group stopped what they were doing to study her. “This is Tina, Rayden, Oscar, James, and Erik. I was tearing apart a metal crate, and she didn’t call the Axis on me. She was curious.”

“Actually, I’ve only heard about go-carts,” Olivia admitted hoping to dissipate the uneasiness in the air. “I wanted to see what they are. It looks like fun.”

“We are almost ready to race.” Sam gave Olivia a warm smile.

“Yea, thanks for not turning in that old man,” Tina said, giving Olivia a wary look. “Most people now would turn in their own mother. If it bought them more time without selling parts.”

Olivia nodded, knowing it was true. “I’ve been lucky, but only because my parents have made the sacrifice.” She murmured quietly.

After that, the apprehension seemed to disappear. “Come over here, Olivia,” Rayden said with a smile, “Let me show you the winning go-cart.”