Ersatz by Delia Celeste Urbana-Champaign

-

‭Ersatz‬ ‭by‬ ‭ elia Celeste‬ D ‭Urbana-Champaign‬ ‭________________________________‬ ‭“Their‬‭LOVE‬‭was doomed from the start or was it?”‬ ‭“She was a‬‭cyborg-actress‬‭, he was a‬‭bureaucrat‬‭…‬ ‭Could it be any more obvious?‬

‭Copyright‬‭ⓒ 2024 Delia Celeste Urbana-Champaign‬ ‭All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced‬ ‭or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the copyright owner,‬ ‭except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.‬ ‭Paperback: ISBN 846-83-8283703892‬ ‭Cover art by Eileen Brucker‬ ‭Layout by Delia Celeste Urbana-Champaign‬

‭1‬

‭I.‬ ‭The Shuffle‬ ‭The handsome bureaucrat flatly said,‬ ‭“Crane.”‬ ‭ he roiling acid in his stomach was subdued by his one track mind. Getting Ella’s‬ T ‭hand unlocked. The uncaring tinny voice chirped back, “Elan Crane is not an‬ ‭employee within the network of your company pl-”‬ “‭ Ella Crane. Not Elan. E-L-L-A '' Singer Retier reflexively smiled as he interrupted,‬ ‭knowing that it would subtly dull the harshness of his voice during his impromptu‬ ‭correction.‬ “‭ Found. Miss Ella Crane’s service interruption is due to an unpaid poscred balance‬ ‭pertinent to the downgraded appendage. She is not covered by RanCorp’s Platinum‬ ‭Service plan regarding extremities. If she is willing to make a payment today, we can‬ ‭return service in three business days.”‬ ‭ inger rubbed his eyes but otherwise didn’t let any of his early morning exhaustion‬ S ‭shine through on the comm line.‬ ‭“Yeah that’s not going to work…”‬ ‭ e had woken up this morning to four missed calls from his angrier and infinitely less‬ H ‭patient counterpart Roy who was herding extras and histrionics on set when‬ ‭tried-and-true tragedy struck. Apparently, the supporting actress Miss Crane had her‬ ‭hand lock up mid-scene and given the fact that her character Lis Silver didn’t have‬ ‭any valid reason to have a limp right arm, this was top priority bureaucratic grunt‬ ‭work that needed to be done “with flash” as Roy put it in a patronizing voice‬ ‭message..‬ ‭ lla and the rest of the actors for today's filming were burning ersatz daylight in the‬ E ‭production tents while Singer Retier had the unrivaled pleasure of contacting her‬ ‭limb systems insurer to get this resolved.‬ “‭ Maybe shuffle some things around? You’ll see on her file that while Miss Crane is not‬ ‭a full employee, she is hired contractually by Moonlight Studios and has guaranteed‬ ‭pay by the end of the month. What I can do is have her pay garnished to the tune of…‬ ‭eh.. how much did you say she owed on the hand to get it back up and running?”‬

‭2‬ ‭“Three hundred poscreds is the bala-”‬ “‭ Right, so her pay is four thousand this month. We can reel that back to thirty-seven‬ ‭hundred and directly transfer that balance due to you on her payday if you get her‬ ‭online again.”‬ ‭“We cannot provide gratis service at this time due to her repeated delinquencies.”‬ “‭ Yeah, so that’s what I meant by shuffle some things around. Can you list her limb‬ ‭systems for me and their coverage with you folks?”‬ ‭Singer took a long sip of the gut-rot office coffee as he listened.‬ “‭ Respiratory Silver, Ocular Sinister Platinum, Ocular Dexter Platinum, Hepatic Silver,‬ ‭Dermal Silver…”‬ ‭ inger coughed to interrupt, knowing the corporate AI wouldn’t take offense‬ S ‭especially in the pursuit of mutually beneficial outcomes.‬ “‭ Alright. I’m going to say that you can temporarily declass her left eye to bronze and...‬ ‭“‬ ‭ e hesitated slightly before continuing knowing the left eye would only cover about‬ H ‭half of the three hundred balance. Now he had to make a fun flash decision of which‬ ‭vice Ella might be able to best avoid through until the end of the month, cigs or‬ ‭booze. The eternal question. The dermal wasn’t on the table as that’d be aesthetically‬ ‭noticeable and cost a shit-ton in post-production.‬ “‭ Hepatic to bronze.. just until the end of the month, then reset them to her preferred‬ ‭plans. If you dial those others back immediately, is there any chance in hell we get a‬ ‭courtesy rush on getting the hand back up to Platinum? This is the kinda thing that‬ ‭can get me canned if I can’t pull it off so I’m hoping for a yes here.”‬ ‭“One moment.”‬ ‭ inger eyed the fluorescent office blearily as he waited for the robot to deliver its‬ S ‭judgment, he felt zero tension however. Every few days there was an emergency that‬ ‭could ‘cost him his job’ and when everything is an emergency, when everything is‬ ‭urgent, when stress is as regular as the morning coffee, it all loses its genuine sense of‬ ‭urgency.‬ “‭ Your request has been accepted by our customer service team. The changes have‬ ‭been made to her account and the system changes should take effect over the hour.”‬

‭3‬

“‭ Thanks a million.” Singer said with lackluster enthusiasm. Before the robot could‬ ‭beg for a review, Singer clicked the comms off unceremoniously. He got Roy on the‬ ‭line near instantly.‬ “‭ -Wrong tent! You’re blue, she’s red, I don’t care if you went through training‬ ‭together, we can’t have everyone floating around and getting mixed up.. Singer, got it‬ ‭done?”‬ “‭ Yeah Roy… listen… this is important. Tell Ella she’s going to have her left eye a little‬ ‭fuzzy till the end of the month and that her liver’s declassed to bronze so she should‬ ‭avoid drink till then too. Her hand should be up and running in an hour.”‬ ‭As soon as Singer said an hour he knew he gave Roy a prime target for his frustration.‬ ‭“An hour? Every single hour costs the studio, Singer, get back on th-”‬ “‭ Roy. They wanted three days, I knocked it down to an hour. If I call back, it’s going‬ ‭to take over an hour to get back on the line with a rep. C-Suite just stepped in so I’m‬ ‭going to have to go.”‬ ‭ e hung up on Roy before he could respond. The C-Suite of the various department‬ H ‭heads had walked in however Singer had no real impetus to cut off the convo besides‬ ‭not wanting to be Roy’s punching bag for the next twenty minutes. He had three‬ ‭hours until he could go home and he’d spend them dick deep in expense reports‬ ‭which at the very least didn’t talk back.‬

‭4‬

‭II.‬ ‭Showtime‬ ‭ lla’s hand felt like an anchor limp on the makeup counter next to her. Whenever‬ E ‭synthetics locked up they felt like dead weight. As if somehow they gained five‬ ‭pounds with the weight of her financial delinquency. She’d been running through her‬ ‭lines with her co-star as the assistants scrambled to get her back up and running.‬ “‭ Fair? It’s not fair and it’s never‬‭been‬‭fair. You’ve always been the one with the shine,‬ ‭you’ve always had that spirit about you that made people smile and laugh. I’ve always‬ ‭been the sister to darken a room, to cloud a space, to weigh down the hearts of‬ ‭everyone looking at my sad-sack face. So don’t lecture me on fair, girlie, when the‬ ‭games of chance you’ve wagered to play have always turned up a jackpot.”‬ ‭ he lead lady leaned back in her chair nodding a little. Ella was in fact jealous of Rita‬ T ‭and not just because she seemed to be getting the lead in each and every production‬ ‭since her glistening career kicked off. Rita had golden hair and an infectiously‬ ‭winning spirit. She was almost impossible to hate once you met her. Swimming‬ ‭between humility and knowing her worth, Rita seemed to effortlessly glide through‬ ‭the obstacles that were insurmountable to Ella.‬ ‭ ita never held up a production because she couldn’t make payments on her‬ R ‭extremities, she never ended up in the rags with nasty comments about who she slept‬ ‭with and where… she just floated above it all and made it seem as though the‬ ‭levitating act was easy as pie. That’s what made Ella’s performance as her nemesis so‬ ‭deeply compelling; there was more than a grain of truth to her voice when she said‬ ‭the bitterest lines.‬ ‭ ita offered, “A little sharper of a tone when you say ‘sad-sack’, it’s gotta be like‬ R ‭you’re spitting venom with those S’s, like it’s something Lis heard said about her and‬ ‭had rattling in her brain for a long while. Otherwise, you’re clean and keen, Ella.‬ ‭Those lines just give me the shivers in the best of ways.”‬ ‭ lla gave her a mock smile which Rita accepted unknowingly as genuine. Roy Face‬ E ‭strolled into the tent and immediately began talking as though he and Ella had been‬ ‭mid-conversation.‬ “‭ Ella, Singer got you up and running so make sure they do a once over on your face to‬ ‭make sure none of the gloss ran, Also he said something about taking it easy on‬ ‭drinks for the rest of the month and…” He snapped his fingers thrice to jog his‬ ‭memory, “Left eye! Left eye’s gonna be shot for awhile so do the soap star thing‬ ‭where you bobble your gaze between Rita’s eyes on cam. Rita, go get yourself ready‬

‭5‬ ‭ n set.” He tapped his earpiece, “No… no we don’t need you to set out lunch now it’s‬ o ‭scheduled for eleven thirty sharp…” He hurried out as hurriedly as he stormed in.‬ ‭ he ladies exchanged a knowing glance that dripped with light amusement at his‬ T ‭whirlwind of constant anxiety. Rita collected her makeup kit and gave Ella a pat on‬ ‭the shoulder as she vacated the red tent with an ease in her step. Ella wasn’t really‬ ‭bothered by her drinking habit being chastised, it wasn’t really unusual for those‬ ‭orders to come down from the creative director especially after a small autocar‬ ‭accident she got into a couple of months ago landed her mug in all of the‬ ‭entertainment news kiosks. It was odd because as much as the creative head hated‬ ‭how it made Moonlight look, the marketing lead gave her the lowdown at the end of‬ ‭month cast party that it had bolstered excitement for the film by a few points across‬ ‭the board.‬ ‭ he could feel her arm beginning to come to life again: the feeling of hot burning‬ S ‭steel whirring to life under her pristine skin felt good in an unusual way for her, she‬ ‭felt numb most of the time in no small part due to her daily Scrips to keep her anxiety‬ ‭at bay. There was more to that numbness but that was what the psy-doc‬ ‭appointments were meant to explore. For now, the feeling of her flesh fighting and‬ ‭losing the war against her augmented hand was the sort of fire that burned through‬ ‭the numbness that gratified her beyond words exchanged over a vid-call..‬ ‭ er arm slowly began to feel five pounds lighter and she strummed off to the makeup‬ H ‭tent to get a touch up before she’d kill her sister among the red rocks of Zona for‬ ‭millions to see….‬

‭OOC Summary‬ ‭ he novel would continue. Gunfights, cyborg battles, the bureaucrat becoming the‬ T ‭damsel in distress to the stunning and powerful Ella Crane forms the biggest plot twist‬ ‭as they begin to escalate from tackling petty criminals to soon beginning to fight the‬ ‭Corporate Security from the very companies that control her limbs.‬ ‭The novel ends with her in a back alley synthetic limb repair shop where she jailbreaks‬ ‭her organs and illegally upgrades them in preparation for the next investigation with‬ ‭her lover, Singer Retier‬