The Decido System

[Wryneck]

The Decido System

Chapter 0: Prologue

The Decido System.

The most advanced decision making system in existence. The experimental island city of Trevance is its home. Thanks to the Decido System's registering, recording, and relaying of decisions, the citizens of Trevance are never plagued with indecisiveness. Within seconds of an inquiry, the Decido System can determine and relay the appropriate information to help any individual quickly make sound and informed decisions. Also thanks to the Decido System, crime in Trevance is almost null. The Decido System's auto-registration system reveals potential criminals before they commit their crimes, thus allowing DECIF, the city's law enforcement organization, to bring people in before, rather than after. A lot of people view the society the Decido System has created as a utopia. For others, however, such is not the case.

---

"The Decido System strongly advises against your current course of action. If you continue with your resolve, detainment is inevitable. The Decido System strongly advises against your current course of action. If you continue with your resolve, detainment is inevitable. The Decido System strongly advises against your current course of action. If you continue with your resolve, detainment is inevitable."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

SMASH!

A small, spherical robot fell to the ground with a thud, a sizable dent now gracing its exterior shell.

"No one understands! This is the only way now!"

Clank.

Leaving his weapon of choice, a golf club, behind, the male continued running through the rain, the tears streaming down his face with no whimper to accompany them being completely hidden amongst the falling droplets.

---

"Subject is heading towards the financial district. Trevance City Bank confirmed as the target. He'll be passing by your location soon."

"Roger that. Thanks, Cici." Fue pressed a button on the comms device on her wrist, and the holographic screen displaying her team's operator vanished. "We're going to let him pass us by and cut off any escape routes. Amy, James. I want you two to run along the back pathways and block off the bank's entrance. Me and Luke will cut him off from behind once he passes us. Decio?"

A spherical robot that was floating around gave off a single beep before responding. "Current choice of action has an 87.5% chance of succeeding with no casualties."

"Alright then. Let's get moving, everyone!"

@Verite @Faber @Yzmael​

 

[Verite]

Another day on the job.

That's what it seemed to feel like to Norm, or "Luke" as the good captain would rather call him instead. Of course, it wasn't every day that they got to tangle with poor saps who thought they could get away with going against the Decido System like that, but it wasn't exactly uncommon either in his experience. How clueless did people have to be?

As Captain Fue would give out the orders, Norman quickly checked to see if he had all his gear on him, before nodding silently when instructed with orders to follow her to cut him off from behind. When the signal was given, he'd go with Fue, taking a breath.

"So what do you figure the motivation is, cap?" He'd idly ask as they'd move out, "In trouble with the mafia maybe? Does the mafia even still exist?"

@Cirque​

 

[Faber]

Amethyst nodded along with the instructions and the success rate. She liked those odds. Actually any odds, she liked. She adjusted the fanny pack that rode the small of back before double-checking the weapon in her holster.

"Don't get left behind now, Luke" she teased while clipping the automated weapon back into its holster. A grin curved her naked lips as she scanned the alleyway that would prove to be her way of transportation. The rugged paths are always the most fun, after all.

The mafia? Haven't heard anything about them since I lived with Mom and Dad. How strange. It can't be. Decide would never have allowed them entry.

Amethyst stood her ground and went up and down on her toes as the second in command talked to captain. An understandable question, but unnecessary. Decidio will figure it out. Just go. GO. GO. GO!

 

[Yzmael]

James heard Fue's words as he thought about the situation. Honestly, it all seemed far too surreal for him. Attacking a bank? Were they back to the 1980's when this was common action? Not even nowadays attacking banks was a means to gain money. Then again, money might not be this man's objective. No... Anyone who took to this decision had no other objective other than causing chaos and creating pain.

James looked at Amy for a brief moment and watched as she was preparing for the run. Truthfully, the girl was far too happy-go-lucky. He couldn't help but sigh as she made her way through the alleyway. "Let's see what this subject is thinking. I hope he knows the scope of what he's about to do." The serious voice escaped as James thought out loud. Turning to Fue, the Captain of the squad, he gave her a nod and followed after the Medic as he checked the bullets of his gun.

At the sight of the full cartridge, he pushed it back into the pistol and then turned to Amy. "Be careful, Amy, this is no game. It's a serious job and people's lives could be at risk." This dramatic line-of-thought could only belong to James. After all, there was no other person who immediately saw any criminal as a threat, no matter the scope of the crime. Even the smallest corruptions could only be paid with the ultimate price: Their lives. Death was the solution to any and all crimes and criminals. There was no saving them, there was no forgiving, only the final solution served as befitting. At least that was the line of thought of his. If he were to honest here, he was hoping that this person was a dangerous enough criminal so that James could put them down without even worrying about chain of command and rules.​

 

[Wryneck]

"I doubt it," Fue replied, slowly making her way through the small alleyway that separated them from their subject. There was validity in the male's question. Though the Decido System could alert them of someone's decision to commit a crime, it didn't record motive. They'd no way of knowing what the male intended to do with the money except to ask him directly.

"Any sort of organized crime ring couldn't exist nowadays. Decido would instantly oust them the second they decided to make any moves." Fue paused, stopping at the corner of the alleyway nearest their subject. "My guess is that he's simply in dire need of money. Even though Trevance is a lot safer than other cities, we still have our fair share of low-income families."

"Cici?" Fue asked, listening intently for her response.

"Still heading along that path. The subject will be passing you in approximately 30 seconds. Standby is advised."

"Is everyone in place?" ​

 

[Verite]

"Poor guy. But them's the rules," Norm breathed, putting his back against the wall, standing behind Fue, hands on his weapon as he'd purse his lips briefly. Despite his words, he didn't actually pity the suspect all that much. If the perp was trying something like this, he could have at least done it in another city where the Decido System wasn't enforced, but whatever. He wasn't gonna spend his time thinking through the specifics of what the perp could have done instead, or his head would start to hurt real fast.

Giving a nod to the good captain, Norm spoke. "Affirmative. Right behind you."

He gave a small wave. Even though, as he said, he was right behind her.​

 

[Faber]

Amethyst darted down the back alleyway, avoiding any and all sidewalks and business entrances.

"Yeah, yeah. I will be. Have my gun loaded and everything this time. Let's just catch the guy." She threw over her shoulder with a calm smile. Her steps slowed as the sounds of traffic entered the vicinity. Life continued as usual for Terrance citizens. An anal group of suited businessmen passed by as the young girl stood by the decorative edge of the old fashioned, painted brick building.

She raised her wrist. "Entrance is in sight. Ready to intervene at any time" she happily murmured into her wrist module. She glanced over her shoulder to her overly serious partner. He really needed to lighten up is what she thought, but who knows. He was going to get wrinkles soon with that expression, but wrinkles are better than scars. But scars have better stories.

She playfully tapped her holster as the eternal thirty seconds ticked on.

 

[Yzmael]

James couldn't help but the sigh at the girl's response. She really never took anything seriously. As the two made her way through the city, they could see that everything was still going. The world never stopped moving, no matter how many things were happening in parallel and no matter how many people were unaware of this. Although James wondered why someone would be fool enough to attack a bank, he was aware of the fact that they were the only ones capable of carrying weapons, so this meant that the bank was likely unprotected.

Still, white weapons weren't a thing. A single man with a club or another big weapon couldn't do much against a group of people, specially if they ganged up on him. As James and Amy reached their target location, he stopped and took a brief look around. It was then that he heard the voice of the Squad Leader and her inquiry. "Yes, mam'. The location is in sight, but the subject is nowhere to be seen." He said into his ear-module, something slightly different from the typical used by the other members. As he took a brief look at the place, he could see action was packed. It'd be probably difficult to see the subject with that much movement on the street.

He took another look at his stun gun and wondered if he should pull it up now and tell everyone to stand still. That would probably scare off the criminal and so the other group could take them out rather easily. Again, they would lose the element of surprise, though. "Cap, should I scare the subject off into you? I could shout out here and see who'd run towards you... What'd you think, Cici? Can you track the subject if he runs?" Although he was overly serious, even he had adopted to using that nickname to reference their operator.

 

[Wryneck]

The Decio bot next to James beeped in confirmation of him entering into a decision making process, and the Decido quickly ran it against the decisions of those around him, including the approaching criminal-to-be. "The Decido System advises against that course of action. Such action may result in the subject deciding to take another course of action."

"Negative," Fue answered, backing up what the Decio bot told him. "Scaring him might make him do something irrational that we can't stop in an instant. His target is still the bank. You'll see him approaching soon enough." As soon as the words left her mouth, their subject ran past the alleyway she and Norm were hiding in. Fue looked at the male and nodded, then rushed out, keeping her distance between herself and the would-be criminal.

"Subject will arrive at the mall in 10 seconds. Get ready to stop him," Cici replied, speaking to James and Amethyst.

Sure enough, the male came into sight within seconds. He spotted the two DECIF agents waiting up ahead for him and stopped his charge, searching the area for a place to hide.

"Don't shoot!" Fue called out, her and Norm now coming into sight. "This is DECIF! Please surrender!" Stun gun in hand, Fue had their subject in her sights.

"You don't understand!" the male exclaimed. "I HAVE TO! FOR MY FAMILY!" Visibly shaken, the male rushed towards the bank; towards two DECIF agents that were ready to subdue him.

"James!" Fue called out, signalling for him to fire with the stun gun he had on hand.

@Yzmael @Verite @Faber​

 

[Verite]

For his family, huh? Guess he really is in some sort of trouble. Probably, Norm idly thought to himself, still remaining as calm as can be in an otherwise heated situation like this. After all, this was his job, so getting too stressed over something like this would probably result in him getting gray hair by the age of 35.

Though at this point, even he wasn't sure where he was going with this train of thought, or how it was making the stops it was.

Norm didn't put too much thought into the man's circumstances. As much as the man would claim he was doing this for his family, he should have realized that there was no way this would have ended well, not with the Decido System in place. Even if he was supposed to be some father willing to risk everything for his struggling family, as he might profess in some potential sob story, the Assistant Captain was sure he wouldn't feel much pity. After all, no matter the circumstances, a criminal was a criminal.

Still, Norm would begin to wordlessly run after the fleeing man, ready to give aid to James should the need arise when the time came, even if Fue didn't exactly give an explicit order to. After all, when a man needed backup, he needed backup. Even if it didn't look like he'd needed any. It was always good to have a person or two or three have one's back, no?​

 

[Faber]

Amethyst carefully listened to her comrade's recommendations and the renditions of the automatic system's suggestions with excited silence. Poor guy though. For living in such a prosperous city with no crime or ill made decisions, there was too much poverty in certain pockets. It made one wonder how that came to be, but there's things to do and decisions to be made for you; doesn't really leave time for contemplating social issues and economical inequalities.

She gently moved herself up and down on her tippy toes as her captain's form peaked out from the mass of activity. She was chasing a frazzled man sporting a shadow that far surpassed the acceptable five o'clock region. She turned to her partner only to be met with silence as he darted out of their hiding place.

And the fun begins...

She raised her wrist piece before whispering, "Approaching target and supplying back up". Her small form danced amidst the suits and college students. Beats bombarded her chest as the sloppily dressed figure came more into focus. She soon caught up with her buzzkill of a partner. His heels never leave her side while circling around and cutting off the potential (but soon to be thwarted) criminal's most promising escape route. A job well done for a girl who could still pass for a high school student.

Thank God, for Decido right now.

Her fingertips played at the latch on her belt as her boots squealed against the power washed sidewalk. Fue stood in the distance with her weapon pointed, causing for a mini panic to erupt across the metropolitan intersection.

"DECIF!" the young girl stated with a commanding presence. Her small frame crouched in a fighting position, adrenaline pumping, and fingers under the snap that kept her weapon in place.

 

[Yzmael]

James listened to Fue and the bot as they advised him. The decision wasn't a good idea, so he immediately agreed with Fue's words. "Roger that, ma'am." He responded to her as he understood his idea probably would work on the contrary of what he had planned. Decisions that weren't thought of hadn't been a part of the system could cause Decio Bots to bug out or not account the person's decision due to the lack of rationality in it.

However, it was quickly announced that the subject would be near the point in a few seconds, which made James rather excited at it. Finally he'd get to see some action. And so he did as the man ran through the crowd until he found himself trapped. With Fue arriving from behind him and telling him to stop, a rather fruitless endeavor, the man suddenly shouted out that he was going to do this for his family. A purpose rather unknown to James. Even within such a technological city, there was still poverty and people still needed to eat. He saw it as a flaw, but a necessary one. Work was a necessity in any city and payment was always the best incentive.

As soon as Fue called out for him to shoot, James pulled out the stun gun from his waist holster and took aim at the man who mostly ran towards him. A few seconds passed, both Norm and Amy provided backup by chasing the man. When he was almost near enough, James squeezed the trigger tight. The taser shot out the small probes, aimed towards the man's chest.

It was pretty obvious James wasn't going to miss, and the man quickly felt the surge of electricity running through his body. He fell down and started to spasm due to the high-voltage of the stun gun's probes. "Subject is down. Moving in..." With those words said out to his earpiece, he moved closer to the man, stun gun still in hand and aimed at the man's spastic body on the ground.

"That must've taken care of him." The man said rather seriously as he stared. Once the man on the ground had stopped shaking, James gave him a light kick on the stomach as the two other neared. "So, is that all for today? Guess we should take this guy with us back to the HQ?" He kept the taser aimed at the man as the probes were still connected to him and then looked towards the rest of the squad.

 

[Wryneck]

The take down was swift and virtually painless, other than the minor shock their subject just received. Another easily successful mission. With Decido around, it was easier to stop would-be criminals in their tracks. It was a system that almost nobody questioned, and with good reason. It kept people safe, and it kept Trevance City running smoothly. There was no reason to oppose or be against it. After all, it wasn't the system's own fault for one's financial state. On the contrary, the Decido system could help in financial situations such as this man's, given the person is willing to pursue such help. Unfortunately, such was not the case for this poor individual.

Fue smiled, glad things went off without a hitch. "Mission accomplished. Good work, team."

"No problem, Captain," Cici answered from the comm.

The captain approached their subject, who was now curled up into a ball, fidgeting and whimpering. It wasn't something Fue was pleased to see, nor was she used to it yet. It was better than having them un-moving, looking on with lifeless eyes. Thanks to the Decido system, such outcomes were usually avoidable, with the right foresight.

Nodding, Fue motioned for the standard DECIF guards that were arriving on scene by vehicle. They'd take the man to DECIF HQ, where he'd be punished appropriately for his decisions.

'Decisions...' Fue thought to herself. Something about it seemed a bit strange to her, but it wasn't anything she viewed as having particular significance. He was about to do something criminal. That was that.

"So, who wants to eat?" she asked the group.

@Verite @Yzmael @Faber​

 

[Verite]

"Heh, thought you'd never ask," Norm replied to Fue nonchalantly, not giving the captured perp a second thought as he'd wind down and give a relaxed smile, placing a hand on his hip. He practically felt no remorse for the would-be robber, as despite how much he seemed to try to make himself look like the victim in this kind of situation, it didn't seem to have much effect. It happens when you're running away from cops because you tried to rob a bank. The man dug his own grave, and Norm was sure he'd face the full extent of not only the wrath of the law, but the weight of knowing that he had betrayed the image that his family had likely illustrated of him. All that and possibly more would be suffice as punishment.

But enough of that! That was all said and done with no regrets, so now, Norm moved on to more important topics.

Taking a breath, he'd glance at all the others. "What are you guys good for? I'm personally thinking maybe some Chinese? Or perhaps Mexican? Or Italian? Or... Well, uh, I suppose I'd be good for most anything," Norm spoke, briefly scratching the back of his head, before clearing his throat and putting his fingers to his comm link, "You up for joining us, Cici? The more the merrier. We've always got enough room for you, y'know."​

 

[Faber]

Amethyst knelt down to the subdued would be criminal as the others convened along the sidewalk. A number of residents rubberneck on the opposite side of the metropolitan block, curious eyes eager to glance at the little bit of action to spice up their predetermined lives. The curled up defector scanned the ground with furrowed, blank eyes. Slender fingers pressed against the man's neck. A rapid pulse raced against her fingertips as the others contemplate the coming lunch.

Food sounds good, actually...

"I vote for pizza!" She chimed in while continuing to examine the man. "Although this guy is going to need some help probably. His body still hasn't calmed down from the shock." She stands and dusts off her hands. "Can anyone give me a hand? Sorry for being a bit too small here." she finished with a slight chuckle edging the comment.