Sonnie's Edge story
In dystopian London, a young woman named Sonnie participates in underground "Beastie" fights — remotely controlled bio-engineered gladiator beast battles. The ringmaster, Dicko, attempts to bribe Sonnie to throw the match, but she declines. Her teammates Wes and Ivrina explain that Sonnie was sexually assaulted and mutilated in the past; her desire for revenge eventually becomes her "edge". Sonnie enters the arena piloting her beast Khanivore, to fight the opponent, Turboraptor. After a brutal match, Khanivore wins. Later, Dicko's mistress visits Sonnie and seduces her, only to impale Sonnie's head with a concealed weapon. Dicko then reveals himself and taunts Sonnie, asking if she is scared now. The mistress then stomps at Sonnie's head, crushing it. However, Sonnie's voice is heard through surrounding speakers, revealing that her human body is only a 'bioware processor spliced to a spine' and that her consciousness was always inside Khanivore, the fear of death in combat being her real "edge". Sonnie as Khanivore breaks out of her holding tank and kills the mistress, then prepares to kill Dicko. The screen fades to black as she asks: "Are you scared now?" mirroring Dicko's question. Cast: Helen Sadler, Hayley McLaughlin, Time Winters, Omid Abtahi, Christine Adams, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Braden Lynch Directed by: Dave Wilson. Story by: Peter F. Hamilton.
12 total · 2 choice · 4 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| blood sports | choice | The story revolves around a combat league where mind-controlled reptilian beasts are made to battle each other in mortal combat. |
| combat sports | choice | The story revolves around a combat league where mind-controlled reptilian beasts are made to battle each other in mortal combat. |
| fear for one's life | major | A revelation of the story was that Sonnie's fear of dying in combat was the secret to her success in the reptilian beast fighting league. |
| hatred | major | Sonnie had been raped and mutilated by a gang in the past and was therefore filled with hatred. This hatred was wrongly thought to be what gave Sonnie her titular "edge" in the reptilian beast combat league. |
| match fixing | major | The ringmaster Dicko tried to compel Sonnie into throwing her upcoming beastie fighting match. Sonnie refused and the rest of the story concerns the repercussions of this decision. |
| mind transfer technology | major | The surprise twist to the story is that Sonnie the human was, in fact, not controlling the beast at all. It was the other way around because Sonnie's mind had been transferred into the beast after a gruesome assault that left her body beyond repair. |
| cyborg | minor | It turned out that Sonnie was nothing but "a couple of bioware processors spliced to a spine". |
| female empowerment | minor | Sonnie showed that she could mind-control reptilian beasts in fights to the death just as well or better than any man. |
| hologram | minor | The Scottish ring announcer sporting a mutton chops beard turned out to be a hologram. |
| integrity | minor | Sonnie was offered a huge amount of money to take a dive, but categorically refused to do so, citing principles. |