Cyana adjusted the heads up display in her helmet to get a better look at the outpost that was the target of their raid today. The technology was incredible. She could not only count the loyalist soldiers patrolling the grounds, she could zoom in close enough to see the expression on their face. Hopefully most of them would be hysterical before the day was done.
It was time for the raid to commence. Cyana nodded, and one of her squad mates tossed a few stun grenades at the outpost. Most of the government soldiers would be protected against such attacks, but it was possible that they might take some of them by surprise. The new stun grenades worked directly on the nervous system, with none of the deafening noise or blinding light of the earlier models. With no explosion to show that the grenades had gone off, it was possible that the enemy didn’t even know they were under attack.
Then Cyana gave the order to charge. She flicked the switch that sent energy to all the servos in her power suit, than sprang ten feet into the air and began running with all the speed and grace of a gazelle. It was a full 300 meters to the outpost according to her HUD, but she knew that, if unimpeded, she could make the trip in seconds.
Of course, they weren’t unimpeded. The loyalists popped up on cue, wearing shielded power armor similar to what Cyana had on, and began to open fire. A pale green beam caught her on the chest, and the commander saw her suit’s power gage drop by 10%. She fired her own leech gun, hitting one of them and sending them diving back behind the wall.
Just like the grenades, the beams made no noise, leaving the battle field echoing in silence. There were no detonations, as the green streaks of light had no effect on organic or inorganic matter. They’re only purpose was to drain the energy out of the opponents power suits. An on looker might have thought they were witnessing a show instead of an armed conflict.
Two more beams slammed into Cyana sending her suit’s power going below 50%, as the intensity of the fire was more than she had anticipated. There must have been more soldiers in the base then their intelligence had indicated. She quickly dove behind a large piece of rubble, using it as cover. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her squad doing the same. They were well trained professionals.
“OK boys and girls,” Cyana spoke into her microphone, “We can’t stay under cover all day. We’ve got a job to do. The right flank seems to be a bit easier of a nut to crack, so let’s go that wa. Acknowledge,” Cyana leptfiring back as quickly as leech gun was capable of, catching a loyalist soldier in the helmet as he/she tried to flank her. Head gear was easily drained, so that one shot may very well have put him/her out of the battle.
“Aye commander,” Andrea, her second in command’s voice rang in her ear. All the replies from her team came in on her HUD screen, one by one, except for Marcus. Damn! It was too early in the fight to lose anyone yet! That couldn’t be good.
“Marcus, reply as ordered!” Cyana barked, setting her optics to scan for Marcus’s com frequency. The rest of the world faded into grey as she scanned the field for her missing comrade. She found him quickly, his suit glowing green on her HUD. He was lying face down on the ground, a silver tentacle wrapped around his legs, coiled from knees to ankles.
“Damn! Squad, watch for tangle mines, repeat, watch for tangle mines Andrea, take point. Marcus and I will follow shortly!” she called out. Leaving cover, she started moving towards him, determined not to leave a man behind, trying to follow a serpentine path to avoid as much fire as possible. Charged particles moving at the speed of light, however, were impossible to dodge.
Several more beams intersected her metal shell, slowing her more and more. Lacking power, servos started shutting down, her speed reduced to that of a normal human being. Another blast, and now she could feel every gram of the weight of the metal cocoon surrounding her. Still, Cyana ran, trying to use her muscles to make up for the lost motors. Close to her goal, she leaned on a wall not ten feet from Marcus, steadying herself on the solid concrete for the last charge when it happened.
A glue pod, fired from a loyalist launcher, struck her right arm and exploded. A sticky goo erupted covering her forearm and bonding to the wall. Cyana immediately tried to rip her limb free, but her suit didn’t have enough power to overcome the tensile strength of the slime. She was trapped.
For a second, she debated calling for help, but the rest of the squad was out of sight at this point, following Andrea as ordered. It was bad enough they were down two. If she pulled any more out, a very important mission would fail. Maybe she could transfer enough energy to the servos controlling her arm so she could rip it free of the glue. Then …
An alarm sounded in her helmet, and her HUD focused on the ground in front of her and Marcus. Several metallic forms, about the size of a boot but with six long spindly legs were crawling forward.
“Insectoids…” Cyana whispered, a feeling of dread overcoming her. So soon? Those machines took too much power to run around the clock. To have the up so soon…the loyalists new they were coming! It was a trap! Shit! She had too..
It was too late. One of them dropped on her head, its long legs immediately going for the bolts on her neck that connected the helmet to the suit. It only took seconds and a slight whirring noise before the helmet popped off, her long red hair streaming blowing in the breeze. Now she had no communications, no targeting and little access to her suit’s emergency controls. This was looking bad.
The bot then jumped onto her torsoe. She swung at them, made contact and felt a tingling sweeping over her body, like her arm had fallen asleep. They had a numbing field! What was she supposed to do next?
A red laser sprung out from each of the insectoids, starting to cut through her power suit. Without its integrity field, it only took seconds before two chunks were taken out, one covering her trapped under arm, the other above her belly. The underpadding went with the metal, leaving Cyana’s bronzed skin exposed to the elements.
Cyana glanced over at Marcus now, hoping maybe he could…but no. His helmet had also been removed, and the soles of his boots had been removed, exposing his bare feet. They exchanged looks of hopelessness, both knowing what would happen next.
She felt it first on her underarm, a hot, wet rough feeling like a cat’s tongue, swooping over her tender skin. A insectoid had fastened itself there, using one of its evil appendages to create the sensation.
For a second, just a second, she managed to scrunch her face, pucker her ruby red lips and not laugh. She couldn’t last long, but she had to try. Maybe she could…
“ehe ehe eheheh e eehehehe dammmeedddd he ehehehe buggggsssss he ehehe e e ehehe geheheheheheettt he ehe eheheh geehehehetttt he eheheheh offffff he ehehehh of he ehehehh eheh meheheh eheheheheheheeh!!!!!!”
It was Marcus. The insecoids had begun tickling his bare soles, tickling appendage stroking them from heel to toes. He didn’t have a chance.
Cyana bit her lip, hard, trying to resist as that hysterical feeling bubbled over her. Her suit could recharge, despite the damage, if she just gave it more time, but…GAWWWWWDDD IT TICKLED!!!!! A second, then a third appendage started in on her armpit, licking, wiggling, dancing over her skin. It was too much, it was…
“HE EHEHEHE EHEH EHEHEH EHE EH E E EE NAWWWOOOOOOO EHE EHEHEH EHEHEHE MERRRRCYCYCYCY EHE E E E E EHEHEHE EHEE EEHEHHEHEHE CANNNN’TTTTT HE EHEH EHEHEHEHEH HOOOLLDDDD HE EHE EHEHE E E E E EEHEHEHEHEHEEHE!!!!!!!!!”
Marcus’s laughter was getting louder and deeper, as the tickling was starting to wear him down. As his commander, Cyana knew she had to do something!
“Ssssssssolldierrr he ehe e ehehe sooollddierrrrrr h e e e eheeheehehe conncccehehehennntrattteeee he ehe eheheh youhuhuhuhuh cahahahaannnn he eheheh beeahehehehehttt ehehehehe thiisshssssshsh!!!” she squealed, sounding like a drunk teen-ager instead of a military commander.
“HA HA AHAHHAHAH TOOEESSSSSS HAHAHAHAH AHAHAH TOESSSSS HAHAHAH NAWWTTTTTT THAHAHATATATTT HAHAHAHAHAH SOORRRYRYYYY HAHAHAHHAHAHAHH MAAAHAHAHAHAHAMMM AHAHAHAHAH CAHAHAHAHAHNNNNTTT HA AHAHAHAHH TOOEESSSSSESSS!!!!”
Damn, not his toes! That was one of his worst spots! Marcus was tough as old iron, maybe the toughest of the new recruits, but how could he hold on through that? How would she if they took off her boots? The armpit was bad enough! Oh, it tickled, tickled so much!!! Cyana’s free hand flailed in the air, banging on the wall behind her so hard she would have bruised her sin if not for the glove she still wore.
“he ehehehe Nawwooo eheeheheheh exxxccuuuseess eheeheh privatee ehe eheheheh juststst HEHEHE NOOWWOWOWO HEHEHE EHE E EHEH HEHEHEH STAWWWPPPP EHE E EHEHEHEHEHE E EHEHEHEHE E EHEHE UNNFAAIIRRRRR EHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEH!!!!!”
The three appendages tickling her underarm had started to rotate, gently caressing the edges of her deep hollow as well as its very center! Cyana’s milky smooth skin just couldn’t bare it. Thoughts of Marcus fled from her brain as she shrieked and shrieked, desperate to free her trapped arm, but just not strong enough.
Cyana shook her head from side to side, bright red hair flowing around her like a fiery corona. God, she hated this, hated being out of control, hated sounding like some silly school girl. But the tickling, the tickling damn it was reducing her, controlling her. She had…had…had to resist somehow!
Even as she was being tortured, Cyana heard a minor servo come back on line. Without her helmet, she couldn’t check her power levels, but that was a definite sign the suit was restoring itself. It wasn’t enough power to break free yet, but maybe, maybe…
Even as Cyana felt a bit of hope return, she saw Marcus lose his. His suit made a sudden groaning noise, and the few lights that still sparkled on its exterior died. He had shut down. Marcus was lost. At least his tickling insectoids would stop.
“AHA AHAH A A A AMARCCUUSSS HA AHAHAH ITT IITTTSSS HA AHAHAHAH OOOKKKK A AHAHAHAHAH WE’LLLLL HAHAHAH GEHEEHEHHEETETETT AHA AHAHAH GEEHEHEHEHH YOIUHUHUHUHU OUUUUTT HA AH AHAHAH OFF THISSSSSSSS HA AHAHAHAH SOMEHOWWWOOWOWOWOO AH AH AHAA AAHAH NO NO NONONONNOOAWWOOOOO AAHAHAHHAH!!!”
She knew that giving up, the very act of losing would be harder on Marcus than the tickling had been. He was a true warrior. She’d have to do something to save him from the humiliation soon to come.
A second servo came back on line! Cyana’s arm pulled a half inch away from the arm, snapping one of the sticky tendrils that had held it in place! She was going to make it! She’d save Marcus, she’d…
Oh no. The insectoid that had been tickling Marcus’s feet. It was on her leg, climbing up. No, no, no! her belly! Her belly was exposed! It wouldn’t…couldn’t…
It did. A new appendage, this one wet and slippery, slid into her pert belly button and began swirling around and around and around.
Cyana lost it, screaming hysterically, her high-pitched cackles rising high above the battlefield. Tears flowed down her face, the first tears she had shed since she was a little girl. It was…it couldn’t…she she she…
“H EE E E EHE EHEHEHEHEH MEEERRRCCYYYYY EHE EHEHEHEH EH EHEHE NAWWTTTT HE EHEHEHEHEH THEHEHEHEEEEEEHEEHEERRREE EH EH EHEHE EHEHEH MERRCYCYYCYYYY EHE E E E E E EHEHEHEHEH ANNYYTHTIIINNGGGGGG HE EHEH EHEHEHEHEHEE E E EHEHEHEH ANNYYTHIIINGNGGNGNGNGNGNGNG.
Cyana couldn’t stand it, couldn’t bear the sensations shooting through her body. As the tip of the appendage started flicking over the bottom of her belly button, the blonde veteran entered a state was hysterical delirium, lungs burning, weird noises streaming out from between her lips.
“HE EHEHE E E EHEHEHEHEHEH SUUUIITTTTTT HE EHEHEH E E EHEEHEH SUUUIITTTTTT HE EH E E EHEHEHEHEH POWEERRRRR EHE EHEH E E E EHEHEH DOWEENNNNNNN EHE EHEHEH E EHEH EHE EHE EHEHEH SUUIITTT COOOMMPLLLYYYYYY E EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!!!!”
And Cyana’s power suit, keyed to her and only her voice, recognized the order and shut down its main reactor.
The tickling stopped. Now all Cyana could do was hang there and wait for the enemy to claim her. She was helpless. The power suit took a full ten minutes to reboot, and the insectoids would start torturing her again as soon as they detected the first power spike. She’d never last. Meanwhile, she couldn’t even remove the damned thing.
She looked over at Marcus, saw the same exhausted, humiliated look in his eyes. They had failed, and would soon be in the hands of the enemy. It almost made one wish they still fought wars to the death like they had in the old days. The history books said everyone hadn’t been so damn hellfire ticklish back then, either.
Might have almost been worth dying after only 8 or 10 decades.
* * * * * * * *
With all apologies to Fallout fans, Ron Pearlman was wrong. War had finally changed, but it had taken the science of Immortality to do it. Immortality changed society. People who had been willing to take risks when they had only four or five more decades of life to lose refused when it became possible to measure that lifespan in millenia. People became obsessed with safety. Cars doubled in price as the number of safety features ballooned. Activities such as mountain climbing and hang gliding disappeared overnight. Even violent sports like football and boxing declined.
It came as no surprise that war, the deliberate pursuit of death, became unthinkable as the very thought of death itself became abhorrent. People simply refused to participate. The Great Revolts of the late 22nd century were directed at any country that dared even suggest an armed conflict. Governments were toppled and leaders deposed, all peacefully of course. Those that tried to resist found their own soldiers firmly on the other side.
War was in danger of disappearing.
But some, desperate to hold onto their power, saw the need to preserve mankind’s oldest institution. They would need a new kind of non-lethal weapon to do it. The first wave of such weapons were capable of causing incapacitating agony without risking loss of life, but these didn’t meet with public acceptance either. Pain was too connected with death in the human subconscious, and both were rapidly becoming a new taboo in society with an intensity to rival incest or cannibalism. A new solution was needed. The one found was quite unexpected.
There was one side effect, it seemed, to the Immortality Treatment, the medical procedure that halted the aging process and made it possible for everyone to remain 25 years old for eternity. The Treatment made anyone who received it unbelievably ticklish. And everyone on Earth received it. New weapons sprang upon that took advantage of that new universal ticklishness, weapons that were met with, if not public approval, then at least with public indifference.
So battlefields, in maybe history’s greatest irony, became places of laughter. To the surprise of many, the new tickling weapons proved almost as effective as the old. After all, a hysterical soldier, had no ability to fight. Make sure an enemy force was overcome with laughter, and victory was yours. Many of the strategies and tactics even remained the same.
Not that countries destroyed their old fashioned lethal guns and rockets. They became like the nuclear weapons of old, too dreadful to use, but threatened as a last resort. Countless “Rules of Warfare” were negotiated between hostile forces to make sure those weapons remained buried. Countries followed those rules or risked facing a world united against them.
War had changed.
It was time for the raid to commence. Cyana nodded, and one of her squad mates tossed a few stun grenades at the outpost. Most of the government soldiers would be protected against such attacks, but it was possible that they might take some of them by surprise. The new stun grenades worked directly on the nervous system, with none of the deafening noise or blinding light of the earlier models. With no explosion to show that the grenades had gone off, it was possible that the enemy didn’t even know they were under attack.
Then Cyana gave the order to charge. She flicked the switch that sent energy to all the servos in her power suit, than sprang ten feet into the air and began running with all the speed and grace of a gazelle. It was a full 300 meters to the outpost according to her HUD, but she knew that, if unimpeded, she could make the trip in seconds.
Of course, they weren’t unimpeded. The loyalists popped up on cue, wearing shielded power armor similar to what Cyana had on, and began to open fire. A pale green beam caught her on the chest, and the commander saw her suit’s power gage drop by 10%. She fired her own leech gun, hitting one of them and sending them diving back behind the wall.
Just like the grenades, the beams made no noise, leaving the battle field echoing in silence. There were no detonations, as the green streaks of light had no effect on organic or inorganic matter. They’re only purpose was to drain the energy out of the opponents power suits. An on looker might have thought they were witnessing a show instead of an armed conflict.
Two more beams slammed into Cyana sending her suit’s power going below 50%, as the intensity of the fire was more than she had anticipated. There must have been more soldiers in the base then their intelligence had indicated. She quickly dove behind a large piece of rubble, using it as cover. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her squad doing the same. They were well trained professionals.
“OK boys and girls,” Cyana spoke into her microphone, “We can’t stay under cover all day. We’ve got a job to do. The right flank seems to be a bit easier of a nut to crack, so let’s go that wa. Acknowledge,” Cyana leptfiring back as quickly as leech gun was capable of, catching a loyalist soldier in the helmet as he/she tried to flank her. Head gear was easily drained, so that one shot may very well have put him/her out of the battle.
“Aye commander,” Andrea, her second in command’s voice rang in her ear. All the replies from her team came in on her HUD screen, one by one, except for Marcus. Damn! It was too early in the fight to lose anyone yet! That couldn’t be good.
“Marcus, reply as ordered!” Cyana barked, setting her optics to scan for Marcus’s com frequency. The rest of the world faded into grey as she scanned the field for her missing comrade. She found him quickly, his suit glowing green on her HUD. He was lying face down on the ground, a silver tentacle wrapped around his legs, coiled from knees to ankles.
“Damn! Squad, watch for tangle mines, repeat, watch for tangle mines Andrea, take point. Marcus and I will follow shortly!” she called out. Leaving cover, she started moving towards him, determined not to leave a man behind, trying to follow a serpentine path to avoid as much fire as possible. Charged particles moving at the speed of light, however, were impossible to dodge.
Several more beams intersected her metal shell, slowing her more and more. Lacking power, servos started shutting down, her speed reduced to that of a normal human being. Another blast, and now she could feel every gram of the weight of the metal cocoon surrounding her. Still, Cyana ran, trying to use her muscles to make up for the lost motors. Close to her goal, she leaned on a wall not ten feet from Marcus, steadying herself on the solid concrete for the last charge when it happened.
A glue pod, fired from a loyalist launcher, struck her right arm and exploded. A sticky goo erupted covering her forearm and bonding to the wall. Cyana immediately tried to rip her limb free, but her suit didn’t have enough power to overcome the tensile strength of the slime. She was trapped.
For a second, she debated calling for help, but the rest of the squad was out of sight at this point, following Andrea as ordered. It was bad enough they were down two. If she pulled any more out, a very important mission would fail. Maybe she could transfer enough energy to the servos controlling her arm so she could rip it free of the glue. Then …
An alarm sounded in her helmet, and her HUD focused on the ground in front of her and Marcus. Several metallic forms, about the size of a boot but with six long spindly legs were crawling forward.
“Insectoids…” Cyana whispered, a feeling of dread overcoming her. So soon? Those machines took too much power to run around the clock. To have the up so soon…the loyalists new they were coming! It was a trap! Shit! She had too..
It was too late. One of them dropped on her head, its long legs immediately going for the bolts on her neck that connected the helmet to the suit. It only took seconds and a slight whirring noise before the helmet popped off, her long red hair streaming blowing in the breeze. Now she had no communications, no targeting and little access to her suit’s emergency controls. This was looking bad.
The bot then jumped onto her torsoe. She swung at them, made contact and felt a tingling sweeping over her body, like her arm had fallen asleep. They had a numbing field! What was she supposed to do next?
A red laser sprung out from each of the insectoids, starting to cut through her power suit. Without its integrity field, it only took seconds before two chunks were taken out, one covering her trapped under arm, the other above her belly. The underpadding went with the metal, leaving Cyana’s bronzed skin exposed to the elements.
Cyana glanced over at Marcus now, hoping maybe he could…but no. His helmet had also been removed, and the soles of his boots had been removed, exposing his bare feet. They exchanged looks of hopelessness, both knowing what would happen next.
She felt it first on her underarm, a hot, wet rough feeling like a cat’s tongue, swooping over her tender skin. A insectoid had fastened itself there, using one of its evil appendages to create the sensation.
For a second, just a second, she managed to scrunch her face, pucker her ruby red lips and not laugh. She couldn’t last long, but she had to try. Maybe she could…
“ehe ehe eheheh e eehehehe dammmeedddd he ehehehe buggggsssss he ehehe e e ehehe geheheheheheettt he ehe eheheh geehehehetttt he eheheheh offffff he ehehehh of he ehehehh eheh meheheh eheheheheheheeh!!!!!!”
It was Marcus. The insecoids had begun tickling his bare soles, tickling appendage stroking them from heel to toes. He didn’t have a chance.
Cyana bit her lip, hard, trying to resist as that hysterical feeling bubbled over her. Her suit could recharge, despite the damage, if she just gave it more time, but…GAWWWWWDDD IT TICKLED!!!!! A second, then a third appendage started in on her armpit, licking, wiggling, dancing over her skin. It was too much, it was…
“HE EHEHEHE EHEH EHEHEH EHE EH E E EE NAWWWOOOOOOO EHE EHEHEH EHEHEHE MERRRRCYCYCYCY EHE E E E E EHEHEHE EHEE EEHEHHEHEHE CANNNN’TTTTT HE EHEH EHEHEHEHEH HOOOLLDDDD HE EHE EHEHE E E E E EEHEHEHEHEHEEHE!!!!!!!!!”
Marcus’s laughter was getting louder and deeper, as the tickling was starting to wear him down. As his commander, Cyana knew she had to do something!
“Ssssssssolldierrr he ehe e ehehe sooollddierrrrrr h e e e eheeheehehe conncccehehehennntrattteeee he ehe eheheh youhuhuhuhuh cahahahaannnn he eheheh beeahehehehehttt ehehehehe thiisshssssshsh!!!” she squealed, sounding like a drunk teen-ager instead of a military commander.
“HA HA AHAHHAHAH TOOEESSSSSS HAHAHAHAH AHAHAH TOESSSSS HAHAHAH NAWWTTTTTT THAHAHATATATTT HAHAHAHAHAH SOORRRYRYYYY HAHAHAHHAHAHAHH MAAAHAHAHAHAHAMMM AHAHAHAHAH CAHAHAHAHAHNNNNTTT HA AHAHAHAHH TOOEESSSSSESSS!!!!”
Damn, not his toes! That was one of his worst spots! Marcus was tough as old iron, maybe the toughest of the new recruits, but how could he hold on through that? How would she if they took off her boots? The armpit was bad enough! Oh, it tickled, tickled so much!!! Cyana’s free hand flailed in the air, banging on the wall behind her so hard she would have bruised her sin if not for the glove she still wore.
“he ehehehe Nawwooo eheeheheheh exxxccuuuseess eheeheh privatee ehe eheheheh juststst HEHEHE NOOWWOWOWO HEHEHE EHE E EHEH HEHEHEH STAWWWPPPP EHE E EHEHEHEHEHE E EHEHEHEHE E EHEHE UNNFAAIIRRRRR EHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEH!!!!!”
The three appendages tickling her underarm had started to rotate, gently caressing the edges of her deep hollow as well as its very center! Cyana’s milky smooth skin just couldn’t bare it. Thoughts of Marcus fled from her brain as she shrieked and shrieked, desperate to free her trapped arm, but just not strong enough.
Cyana shook her head from side to side, bright red hair flowing around her like a fiery corona. God, she hated this, hated being out of control, hated sounding like some silly school girl. But the tickling, the tickling damn it was reducing her, controlling her. She had…had…had to resist somehow!
Even as she was being tortured, Cyana heard a minor servo come back on line. Without her helmet, she couldn’t check her power levels, but that was a definite sign the suit was restoring itself. It wasn’t enough power to break free yet, but maybe, maybe…
Even as Cyana felt a bit of hope return, she saw Marcus lose his. His suit made a sudden groaning noise, and the few lights that still sparkled on its exterior died. He had shut down. Marcus was lost. At least his tickling insectoids would stop.
“AHA AHAH A A A AMARCCUUSSS HA AHAHAH ITT IITTTSSS HA AHAHAHAH OOOKKKK A AHAHAHAHAH WE’LLLLL HAHAHAH GEHEEHEHHEETETETT AHA AHAHAH GEEHEHEHEHH YOIUHUHUHUHU OUUUUTT HA AH AHAHAH OFF THISSSSSSSS HA AHAHAHAH SOMEHOWWWOOWOWOWOO AH AH AHAA AAHAH NO NO NONONONNOOAWWOOOOO AAHAHAHHAH!!!”
She knew that giving up, the very act of losing would be harder on Marcus than the tickling had been. He was a true warrior. She’d have to do something to save him from the humiliation soon to come.
A second servo came back on line! Cyana’s arm pulled a half inch away from the arm, snapping one of the sticky tendrils that had held it in place! She was going to make it! She’d save Marcus, she’d…
Oh no. The insectoid that had been tickling Marcus’s feet. It was on her leg, climbing up. No, no, no! her belly! Her belly was exposed! It wouldn’t…couldn’t…
It did. A new appendage, this one wet and slippery, slid into her pert belly button and began swirling around and around and around.
Cyana lost it, screaming hysterically, her high-pitched cackles rising high above the battlefield. Tears flowed down her face, the first tears she had shed since she was a little girl. It was…it couldn’t…she she she…
“H EE E E EHE EHEHEHEHEH MEEERRRCCYYYYY EHE EHEHEHEH EH EHEHE NAWWTTTT HE EHEHEHEHEH THEHEHEHEEEEEEHEEHEERRREE EH EH EHEHE EHEHEH MERRCYCYYCYYYY EHE E E E E E EHEHEHEHEH ANNYYTHTIIINNGGGGGG HE EHEH EHEHEHEHEHEE E E EHEHEHEH ANNYYTHIIINGNGGNGNGNGNGNGNG.
Cyana couldn’t stand it, couldn’t bear the sensations shooting through her body. As the tip of the appendage started flicking over the bottom of her belly button, the blonde veteran entered a state was hysterical delirium, lungs burning, weird noises streaming out from between her lips.
“HE EHEHE E E EHEHEHEHEHEH SUUUIITTTTTT HE EHEHEH E E EHEEHEH SUUUIITTTTTT HE EH E E EHEHEHEHEH POWEERRRRR EHE EHEH E E E EHEHEH DOWEENNNNNNN EHE EHEHEH E EHEH EHE EHE EHEHEH SUUIITTT COOOMMPLLLYYYYYY E EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!!!!”
And Cyana’s power suit, keyed to her and only her voice, recognized the order and shut down its main reactor.
The tickling stopped. Now all Cyana could do was hang there and wait for the enemy to claim her. She was helpless. The power suit took a full ten minutes to reboot, and the insectoids would start torturing her again as soon as they detected the first power spike. She’d never last. Meanwhile, she couldn’t even remove the damned thing.
She looked over at Marcus, saw the same exhausted, humiliated look in his eyes. They had failed, and would soon be in the hands of the enemy. It almost made one wish they still fought wars to the death like they had in the old days. The history books said everyone hadn’t been so damn hellfire ticklish back then, either.
Might have almost been worth dying after only 8 or 10 decades.
* * * * * * * *
With all apologies to Fallout fans, Ron Pearlman was wrong. War had finally changed, but it had taken the science of Immortality to do it. Immortality changed society. People who had been willing to take risks when they had only four or five more decades of life to lose refused when it became possible to measure that lifespan in millenia. People became obsessed with safety. Cars doubled in price as the number of safety features ballooned. Activities such as mountain climbing and hang gliding disappeared overnight. Even violent sports like football and boxing declined.
It came as no surprise that war, the deliberate pursuit of death, became unthinkable as the very thought of death itself became abhorrent. People simply refused to participate. The Great Revolts of the late 22nd century were directed at any country that dared even suggest an armed conflict. Governments were toppled and leaders deposed, all peacefully of course. Those that tried to resist found their own soldiers firmly on the other side.
War was in danger of disappearing.
But some, desperate to hold onto their power, saw the need to preserve mankind’s oldest institution. They would need a new kind of non-lethal weapon to do it. The first wave of such weapons were capable of causing incapacitating agony without risking loss of life, but these didn’t meet with public acceptance either. Pain was too connected with death in the human subconscious, and both were rapidly becoming a new taboo in society with an intensity to rival incest or cannibalism. A new solution was needed. The one found was quite unexpected.
There was one side effect, it seemed, to the Immortality Treatment, the medical procedure that halted the aging process and made it possible for everyone to remain 25 years old for eternity. The Treatment made anyone who received it unbelievably ticklish. And everyone on Earth received it. New weapons sprang upon that took advantage of that new universal ticklishness, weapons that were met with, if not public approval, then at least with public indifference.
So battlefields, in maybe history’s greatest irony, became places of laughter. To the surprise of many, the new tickling weapons proved almost as effective as the old. After all, a hysterical soldier, had no ability to fight. Make sure an enemy force was overcome with laughter, and victory was yours. Many of the strategies and tactics even remained the same.
Not that countries destroyed their old fashioned lethal guns and rockets. They became like the nuclear weapons of old, too dreadful to use, but threatened as a last resort. Countless “Rules of Warfare” were negotiated between hostile forces to make sure those weapons remained buried. Countries followed those rules or risked facing a world united against them.
War had changed.
