Buried in the Past
By J. L. Young A woman’s ear lobe vibrated. “Phone, answer.” She commanded. “Yeah.” The voice of an artificial being replied, “Kaida Niekawa, I am Police Robot 191. A deceased body was found at Building site 3,909.” “Please, repeat location?” “Building site 3,909. Instructions?” “Create a thirty-meter parameter surrounding the body and standby. Send my phone the coordinates. I am on my way.” “Understood.” She tapped the collar of her jacket. A helmet unfolded from the material and surrounded her head. More armor unfolded from the garment and covered her body before she mounted a motorcycle. The machine activated and produced a slight whine. She made a gesture akin to throwing a ball from her ear to the screen between the handlebars, and a map appeared. The coordinates filled the search field and presented a path to the site. Upon arrival, she dismounted, and the armor retracted as she stepped through the holographic caution tape. The artificial being, with its high visibility, painted body, waited patiently. “Welcome, to Building site 3,909, Kaida Niekawa. I am PR191. During the excavation of this section, construction workers found the body below. Immediately upon discovery, you were notified.” “Is it stable down there?” “The clay is soft. They have yet to reach bedrock. Standing in the excavated zone would be perilous and OSHA would not approve of your presence there.” “I need to scan the area surrounding the body,” she said. “Understood. We have delayed further excavation in this zone until you release them to continue. Expedition your investigation has been requested.” She removed a pen-shaped object from her jacket and held it parallel to the ground. A HUD appeared before her eyes. Soft blades sprang from the fuselage and spun up. She released the drone and it took flight. It swooped down into the pit and hovered over the body. Kaida began dictation, “Medical Examiner Kaida Niekawa, location: Building Site 3,909 north quadrant. From preliminary observation, the remarkably well-preserved body is of a Caucasian male, human, approximately aged thirty to forty years. White hair, blue-gray eyes. The exact age is TBD. Scan presents some accompanying paraphernalia, eyeglasses, a wrist-mounted timepiece, paper and metal currency from the former United States of America. Judging from the depth of the excavation, the individual is from the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Preliminary cause of death: wound to the frontal region of the cranium penetrating the cerebral cortex and two wounds in the thoracic region, penetrating the heart. Identity TBD. A Pre-excavation scan could not be performed due to the minerals present in the clay substrate.” Sometime later, Kaida arrived at her office. The transport for the body arrived moments later. The body was placed on an available slab and the zero-degree containment bag was removed. A secondary biotic containment shield remained in place. The slab measured his weight before the autopsy. Lights above the man hovered into place and powered on. “Subject Identity confirmed through archival retrieval. The subject is identified as Liam Cardinal, a journalist, born August sixteenth, 1988, age upon death thirty-six. Preliminary cause of death confirmed. Gunshot wounds to the brain and heart. Ballistic reconstruction determined the weapon used: chemically propelled kinetic projectile. Cartridge bore, nine-millimeter hollow point with a copper jacket and lead core. Bore scoring suggests the weapon is a handgun, mass-produced by the Nova Shadow Arms Corporation. Death was instantaneous. High levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine in the brain chemistry indicate the subject was in a state of anxiety or fear immediately before death. From the condition of Mr. Cardinal’s body, he was buried immediately upon cessation of life. Suggesting the perpetrator had malice and forethought.”
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