Illphated
Title: “The Neon Barber of Mars” Drake “Red” McAllen sat on his trusty space cruiser, gazing out at the rusty red expanse of the Martian landscape. His crimson hair and matching beard always made him easy to spot in the dusty plains, but today, they were in need of some serious grooming. Mars had been his home for years, and his appearance had grown as wild as the frontier itself. The Blade Runner colonies loomed in the distance, their neon signs casting a vaporwave glow across the horizon. Technology thrived here, where the sky was always a shimmering tapestry of purples, pinks, and blues. Red’s sanctuary in this futuristic outpost was undoubtedly unique, but the one thing he missed was a decent haircut. From behind a crumbling Martian dune, a sleek, rectangular drone emerged. Its body was adorned with pulsating colored lights that mirrored the city’s glow. It zipped towards Red with surgical precision, holding a myriad of grooming tools under its mechanical arms. “Hey there, Cutter,” Red greeted the drone, settling himself on an ancient Martian granite chair. The drone’s previous assignment as a high-end barber in the metropolis had not gone to waste, and its unparalleled skills had earned it the nickname Red fondly bestowed upon it. Cutter