Ryan's feet left the ground as he swiveled the chair toward John.
The Eden City he remembered wasn't the romantic decay under neon lights it was now, but a chaotic, violent trash heap.
The chaos of the Independence War was from inside out, from breaking away from New America to the nuclear dust of the corporate wars blowing the city to shreds.
Edge Walkers didn't talk about cyber dreams.
Their violence and madness were merely for survival in the city.
"How chaotic was it back then? Let me tell you, when the special operations team was first formed, it was a bunch of cops driven to despair, crazed control teams figuring out how to use advanced prosthetic bodies to fight fire with fire!"
Back then, Eden City was total disorder, a 'hot mess.'
As long as a corporation could take root in the city, it enjoyed king-like treatment on its own turf. Without the Over-Specification Weapon Restriction Ordinance, many devices used in wartime roamed the city streets.
