Episode 4
=== USER 6545198 NOW CONNECTED TO HIDDEN SERVER “Summer” ===
=== ENTER PRIVATE ENCRYPTION KEY FOR MESSAGE OPERATIONS ===
--- Private Encryption Key: ************************* ---
=== PRIVATE ENCRYPTION KEY ACCEPTED ===
=== MESSAGING OPERATIONS INITIATED ===
=== PREVIOUS MESSAGE WAITING: “message me asap. Urgent” ===
--- USER 6545198: Hello? What is so urgent? ---
---< you brought someone else in on the plan? >---
--- USER 6545198: I was finally able to get a private meeting with the Second Guardian. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. ---
---< without telling me? are you trying to hama this whole thing up??? >---
--- USER 6545198: Our family estates were right next to each other, you know. I practically grew up with him. He’s completely on board. And willing to do whatever it takes. ---
---< dont ever cross me again. we need 100% alignment from everyone. especially your new partner >---
--- USER 6545198: I trust him with my life. He’s aligned. >---
---< he better be, otherwise it will cost you your life. have you pumped all of the water out >---
--- USER 6545198: It will finish in two light cycles. Maybe a little less. Roughly 45 thousand pulsars ---
---< excellent. did you receive the blueprints to reshape the cavern >---
--- USER 6545198: I did. The new company is coming tomorrow. They all passed their screening ---
---**---
--- USER 6545198: goodbye to you too... ---
=== USER 6545198 DISCONNECTED ===
=== AWAITING COMMAND ===
Relcheir rolled over, and pressed his fingers into his eyes. His balance was off.
Maybe I’m still drunk
He won credits yesterday, and went to fermstills in celebration. He also lost his job at the manufacturing plant yesterday, and went to fermstills in consolation.
Twice the… something… and double the fall... hangover. Or something
Close enough
Fuck you Relcheir from four light cycles ago, for your gift of a hangover
Relcheir hadn’t lost his job because of chemical intoxication. A new law was passed requiring all operators to have a Class 3 Machinery and Robotics Oversight certification. A certification one could only apply for in The Design.
Relcheir pressed his hand to the pad on his wall, and activated his cyberneural. The programming turned on lights, changed the glass wall across from the bed into a screen, and turned on the Lehen information channel. Text scrolled across the screen. The news was now official.
The Guardians have voted to close off The Design from The Founding
Wow
Relcheir shook his head, and looked around him. He rolled over, his feet coming to rest on the ground beside the bed. He looked down, and realized he was still wearing his pants from yesterday. Relcheir sighed, stood, and grabbed a slick jacket from the floor.
I need to get that certification before The Design closes. There aren't enough jobs to go around as it is
I hate my life
The door slid silently closed behind him.
The Design district was made up of 4 different sectors. Sector X was primarily a management sector. Gleaming, beautiful new skyscrapers crowned a sector of excess, of celebration, of exultation, of politics. Not two light cycles passed without a ceremony, an appearance, or an event. Only the newest and wealthiest power was tolerated. Sector S was also a business sector, but one of necessity, not of achievement. Here lay the sleek buildings of public-facing government, municipals, security, and necessities. Sectors L and A were residential, where the estates of the inhabitants of The Design flourished. The Class 3 Machinery and Robotics Oversight Certification could be applied for in Sector S. Relchier had never been to any other sector in The Design.
Relchier stepped out of the maglev capsule into the large public square surrounding the Pillars of Creation. He was still in The Foundation. Maglev lines didn’t run into The Design district. Bisecting the square were massive, intricately carved pillars of stone. The messaging echoed in Relcheir’s head.
Progress
Achievement
The creation of a new world
Named symbolically after the famous celestial object, it was an informal separation between The Design and The Founding districts.
The new from the old
The rich from the poor
The healthy from the sick
Relchier had subconsciously stopped. He stared at the pillars.
Gods they are beautiful
He had only seen them a few times before. Despite never residing more than two thousand pulsars from the pillars by maglev, he had no reason to come to The Design district. The pillars always caught his attention the few times he saw them.
Relchier glanced around him, casually. His guard was down. The square had too many people, too many security rings, too many Planetary personnel for Relcheir to be insecure. He took a look behind him, deep into The Founding, then turned back to The Design.
The disparity between the two is glaring
Wealth, cleanliness, the future… and then where I live
Bitterness had long ago left his repertoire of emotions. Resignation was all that remained. His boots struck the cobblestone harshly as he strode through the pillars.