APOLLONIA in the Extraneous Zone

So this is your missing friend?

Hes just another Neotopian clone.
Why go to all this bother when we could just get
you another one from the Arcology?

You agreed to help me

recover him. If you want to
know why, I must count
such information against
the debt you owe me!

Ha Ha! Then your reasons will

remain known to you alone.
Once this affair is done, I will
owe you no more favors, and
my life will be the better for it!

What you ask is not without danger.

The Extraneous Zone is a dumping ground My odyllic force eld is all I will need.
for all kinds of contraband, contaminants, You know very well that I am allergic to
and who knows what. your plastics and your alloys!
You should wear some protection!

Yes, I remember.
How is that new
prosthetic leg working
for you? I used only
the purest bronze that
I could nd.

It works very well,

thank you.
When it comes to
mechanical
devices, you do
not disappoint.

joel marco (Order #10255959)

 You certainly werent
exaggerating! this
underground complex goes
on for as far as I can see!
I thought the neotopians
were a sustainable efciency!
As it has been through-
out all of history.
joel marco (Order #10255959)
Baah! Its all about cost-cutting
and consumerism. They hide
their garbage down here beneath
the arcology, then they pretend
it doesnt exist!
Be on your guard!
These places arent monitored like
everything else, and people dump all
kinds of things down here!
What is this?
A pool of
quick-silver?
This is a zettatechnoid ecophagic
pollution, sometimes called the
grey goo. Highly toxic, which is
why I came prepared for it.
 Aaah! Apollonia focuses her odyllic force into a
Its alive! pyro-kinetic eld, burning the tendrils of the
goo before it can make contact with her skin.

Hah hah! And theres

Im glad we found a live more where that
came from! Skreek! No more!
batch so quickly!
we yield, we yield!
Our hunt will be over soon!

My pneumatic gun is
loaded with my blue
zettatech -- my
special formula for
dealing with the grey!

It can talk?
Then speak, you vile She means it, too!
Scylla! tell me where We seek a particular Neotopian
my paramour has gone, male, with an engram prole that your names mean nothing to us!
or you will burn! names him as Amelior 4-905. one humanoid is like all the others!
Tell us where he is, without delay! we will give you this Amelior and you will
take him and leave us to our reverie!

joel marco (Order #10255959)

 Amazing! Though these bodies rise
from the pool, I can sense no
thoughts in their heads, no heart-
beat in their breasts!

The Grey keeps the corpses perfectly

preserved, slowly consuming their brain
chemistry! It lives vicariously through them!

Look at them all.

Hapless thrill-seekers?
Hiding criminals? Or just
abductees? They are the
missing citizens of Neotopia,
lost to the cancer spreading
beneath the megalopolis!
then take this one,
That one, there! and leave us be!
Id recognize my Amelior, even
covered in that slime!

We must quickly return to the

lift! Every second we are here,
the Grey is evolving strong
defenses against your energy
and my weapons!

joel marco (Order #10255959)

 Each time I visit, my zetta-tech must be Yes, yes!
just a little bit stronger. Ugh, hes so cold, but
I hope you appreciate the great risk I his body is perfectly
just took on your behalf. preserved!

If even a molecule of the Grey is still in him,

hes at risk of infection. The re-vivifer we use is
powerful enough to purge any such parasites!
ZZZaaazzzz

He lives! And my debt
to you is dead!
Yes, thank you!
I would say my gratitude is
without measure, but we
both know the truth.
Now I punch in the self-destruct
code, and the thermite explosive will
erase all our traces! You have fteen
minutes to get to a safe distance!
?

What..? Hush, my pet.

Where? Let us leave this man
Who?! and his silliness. Your nightmare is
nally over.

joel marco (Order #10255959)