This choice: Skip to tonight, and see Kalinka in action! • Go Back...Chapter #6Electrosonata in RGB-Minor by: Iruiel   Kalinka had eagerly agreed to help me with the rat's nest worth of wires sitting underneath, which connected her sprawling, organized displays of audio units throughout the gigantic sound booth, chugging down the soda and using that apparently undiminished reserve of bubbly energy to assist me, plowing through the final tasks with ease as the day rolled towards the evening. As we were getting the finishing touches ready on the massive, almost starship-like interior of the booth, I noticed a few guests starting to trickle in, the ludicrously large, lardy, beefy patrons of the Gaia 2.0 Resort piling in for the evening's festivities. During the daylight hours, the Aurora was mostly empty save one or two getting specialty drinks at the bar which couldn't be made at the buffet, but at night, it turned into a stunning display of the most flexible and energetic guests as they partied into the early hours of the next morning. It was quite a sight to see, if at the least for laughs as the enormous partygoers mashed and flubbed together on the dance floor, coupled with the other bodyshapes interspersed between the sea of flesh.
"Here they come. What do you plan on doing? I mean, are you nervous about this at all, considering the clientele?" I ask as we plug in the last few cables, the interior of the booth beeping softly before all the displays hum to life, LCD monitors and neon LEDs of all colors filling it in a swirling kaleidoscope of light, Kalinka grinned widely at me as she keyed up the main controller, soundboards, mixing and turntables coming to life with a small tune of affirmation, the speakers in the facility buzzing as power surged to their cores. If anything, she was certainly fearless!
"I plan on giving them a show! And I won't hide at all. If you're out on the floor, look at the booth. Usually, the glass is mirrored, but I added a couple tricks to the interior, da? If anything, I'm going to be main attraction~!" She brought the wheeled ladder beside her, spinning it lightly as she widened it to give the structure some stability. Sitting up on one of the rungs, she started to establish a connection with all of her keypads and materials, ticking it off the checklist as the Aurora Nightclub began to fill up. Initiating her chosen music media program to begin her show, she smiled at me again. "If you are worried, don't be. This is better than former Yugoslavia, at the very least!"
"What was wrong with Yugoslavia?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and wondering if it was the brunt of a joke.
"Deep bass freaked everyone out when it rattled the windows of eight or so street blocks. I got into quite a bit of trouble with that one~" She stuck out her tongue before letting out a titter of merry giggles, checking the time on her main display. "Oh, you better get going! Miss Mavis probably needs your help! I've got it under control here."
I nod before extracting myself from the completely refurbished booth, the interior glowing like the heart of the Grid. "Good luck!"
She gave me a thumbs up before sliding on a pair of custom earphones, plugging them into the mixtable as she began the countdown to her show.
- - - - - - - - - -
I trotted over to Mavis, the blubbery penguin woman crammed into her uniform for the night and sucking down another barrel of soda, perhaps a bit nervously. It had taken a lot of work to get the sound booth set up in Kalinka's custom and specialized gear, and if something went wrong, it might as well be her head as well as Kalinka's being served on a platter. Toronto Holmes was not wont to simply fire employees, but her punishments were more than harsh enough that they wished they had been fired. Her mammothic stomach gurgled deeply in a bit of distress, a belch and hiccup escaping her beak while a plush palm rubbed at her overly swollen middle. I patted a roll of thigh that spilled next to me, looking up at Mavis with a bit of concern. "That bad?"
"Maybe a little, Gregory! First time getting another human on staff, and to top it off, it's her first night here at the Aurora. On my recommendation. I don't think it'll go wrong, but Murphy's Law has been known to rear its ugly head."
I shrugged a little, looking towards the booth as the normal floor music filtered through the speakers, the lighting underneath the frozen floor illuminating to the beat. The overheads dimmed a little, music dying down as the spotlights and ambiance started to crank up, Kalinka working her best at the booth to get the right mood for her entrance. "Well, I think she's resourceful enough. If there's something wrong, she's probably planned for it."
A huff passed her row of thick chins as they quivered and she shoved a couple snack cakes into her maw to keep her nerves from getting to her too much, stomach whining as it reflects its owner's state of mind. "Oh I hope so...!"
She wasn't to disappoint. Kalinka cracked her fingers like a piano maestro before she began to play, a melodic, soft, cheery tune rolling out from the speakers as she manipulated the sliders to get the perfect balance. The CD deck hummed happily as the lights begin to pulse and glow in time with the upbeat music, floating throughout the Aurora Nightclub. It was her own version of swing music, electrified for a more modern touch and given just a hint more bass so it didn't just get your nerves moving, it got your entire body moving to the deep rhythm that pulsed from the speakers. At first, it was like this, electro-swing and swingstep playing merrily along with a dance beat that couldn't be outclassed by regular everyday tunes I could pull from the radio. The sharp, distorted sounds of trumpets and trombones complemented the rolling bass which caused the facility to quake slightly with every beat, shaking the flesh of the patrons on the floor.
It didn't stop there, I noticed, as it rolled into soft dubstep, drum and bass, and several other genres which slowly mixed and melded into a long, combined rhythm which electrified the room. Whatever her magic was, it certainly worked on the enormous guests which filled the club, smiles and laughter all around as the Aurora Nightclub really started to get pumping. I remembered what she said earlier, about watching the booth, and as I turned to face the soundbooth where she was supposed to be hidden behind a wall of mirrored glass, my jaw dropped.
She must've installed a black light or something! A neon glowstrip or something, as a silhouetted outline of Kalinka hopped and danced to the beat of her own music inside of the room, her bangles, hair, and the brightly colored garments she had on flashing between each of the glowing controls, an occasional disembodied flash of her pearly whites breaking the illusion of a partying shadow. My foot was tapping to the music as she rolled from genre to genre, an endless cascade of satisfying jams which filled the air. I looked up at Mavis, grinning a little. "She didn't disappoint, did she?"
"Well, I have to say it's quite a lot different than what I expected! It certainly fits! It's almost as chaotic as she is. We'll see what the guests have to say afterwards, and if she did well, I'll treat her to something after work as a job well done on the first day," Mavis replied, eyeing me with a twinkle.
"Alright, but what if she doesn't do quite as well as you think?"
She pursed her beak a little, folding her blubbery arms. "I'll get some training done with her, see if we can't make a personal mix for the nightclub...after all, I let her go wild here. Of course, Miss Holmes might have something a bit more serious in mind, but we'll cross that river when we get there."
And thus, the flashing lights and sounds streamed into the night, the bottom of the gigantic pool alight with the funk and rhythm of the newest addition...for better or for worse, the morning soon came.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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