private home in all the Cities.
Kirkman then spoke the mantra that was
spoken before the end of every broadcast: “All hail the one true leader,
Geralt.”
The audience said, “All hail!” and broke
into a round of applause. Jonah was sure some of the applause was for Geralt,
but he also knew at least some of the people — those who sought change in the
system — were secretly applauding his win.
Jonah stared at the screen and hope
swelled in his chest, so intense he thought he might cry.
Like every second of footage he had seen
since he could remember, City 7 was gorgeous, so clean it shimmered, especially
when compared to City 6’s all-too-lived-in streets and alleyways.
The pixels of City 7 were every one of
them Paradise: people either relaxing, or stuffing their faces with heaping
plates of piled pasta and lean meats — the opposite of the packaged synthetics
found behind the walls of City 6. There were tall glasses filled with richly
colored wine and spirits, and beaches swarming with beautiful men and women wearing
nothing but their smiles.
Jonah’s body was lifted into the
hovercopter.
Kirkman’s voice invaded the copter’s
interior as the orb hovered an inch from his face and he asked if the first
thing Jonah wanted to do in City 7 was take a nap.
Jonah opened his mouth to answer, then
passed out instead.
CHAPTER 5 — Anastasia Lovecraft
Inside The Walls of City 6
Sunday
I t took Ana a day’s worth of courage to
finally visit the church. Then when she did, she spent the service sitting
alone, wishing she hadn’t been so stupid.
It wasn’t easy getting to the church
since Ana didn’t want Adam to know she wasn’t around. She got Michael to look
after him while she was gone, which made her feel bad since he’d already spent
the morning in jail defending her name.
Michael pulled Adam from Chimney Rock
with a day pass. He was one of two authorized white-card friends who could sign
her little brother out for a four-hour interval, twice per month. This
particular day pass bought Adam a half-day in the Arcade — his favorite place
in the world. Michael loved the Arcade, too. Of course, everyone did.
The Arcade was filled with every game,
movie, and digital book in The City’s library. It was a digital paradise.
Beyond the countless games and miscellaneous media, there were long aisles of
simulators, though unlike everything else in the Arcade, simulator time had to
be booked. It was the most popular part of the Arcade by far, so walk-ins were
never available.
The Arcade offered everything from foods
you could never eat otherwise to lovers real life would never allow you to
taste. Adam hadn’t visited any of the adult delicacies, but Michael had, even
though he wouldn’t while at the Arcade with Adam, and it had taken him a
forever and a half to admit the truth to Ana the first time he did.
She imagined Michael at the Arcade with
Adam, standing in line for the virtual coasters, eating fry bread dusted with
sweetener, and maybe catching a movie — probably Interior Solace, the
story of the Third Plague and Jonathan Clark’s midnight ride into the forests
just outside City 2.
Interior Solace was one of Michael’s favorites, and Ana
hoped he was able to share it with Adam, who had never seen it before. Michael
was good to her, the best. No one else in her life would have ever risen to
defend her like that, or gone to jail for the honor.
Michael had, and had done so without
flinching.
Ana’s mind flashed to Liam, and she
couldn't help but wonder if he’d made it out of jail. She hadn’t seen him since
the incident at The Social, not that she ran in the same circles as he did,
anyway. But Ana was worried and couldn’t help but feel responsible for Liam’s
whereabouts, even though he had started the whole incident.
Ana asked Michael if he knew what
happened to Liam, but he wouldn’t even look at her when he answered that he
didn’t know, or particularly care, what happened to the
Kirkman then spoke the mantra that was
spoken before the end of every broadcast: “All hail the one true leader,
Geralt.”
The audience said, “All hail!” and broke
into a round of applause. Jonah was sure some of the applause was for Geralt,
but he also knew at least some of the people — those who sought change in the
system — were secretly applauding his win.
Jonah stared at the screen and hope
swelled in his chest, so intense he thought he might cry.
Like every second of footage he had seen
since he could remember, City 7 was gorgeous, so clean it shimmered, especially
when compared to City 6’s all-too-lived-in streets and alleyways.
The pixels of City 7 were every one of
them Paradise: people either relaxing, or stuffing their faces with heaping
plates of piled pasta and lean meats — the opposite of the packaged synthetics
found behind the walls of City 6. There were tall glasses filled with richly
colored wine and spirits, and beaches swarming with beautiful men and women wearing
nothing but their smiles.
Jonah’s body was lifted into the
hovercopter.
Kirkman’s voice invaded the copter’s
interior as the orb hovered an inch from his face and he asked if the first
thing Jonah wanted to do in City 7 was take a nap.
Jonah opened his mouth to answer, then
passed out instead.
CHAPTER 5 — Anastasia Lovecraft
Inside The Walls of City 6
Sunday
I t took Ana a day’s worth of courage to
finally visit the church. Then when she did, she spent the service sitting
alone, wishing she hadn’t been so stupid.
It wasn’t easy getting to the church
since Ana didn’t want Adam to know she wasn’t around. She got Michael to look
after him while she was gone, which made her feel bad since he’d already spent
the morning in jail defending her name.
Michael pulled Adam from Chimney Rock
with a day pass. He was one of two authorized white-card friends who could sign
her little brother out for a four-hour interval, twice per month. This
particular day pass bought Adam a half-day in the Arcade — his favorite place
in the world. Michael loved the Arcade, too. Of course, everyone did.
The Arcade was filled with every game,
movie, and digital book in The City’s library. It was a digital paradise.
Beyond the countless games and miscellaneous media, there were long aisles of
simulators, though unlike everything else in the Arcade, simulator time had to
be booked. It was the most popular part of the Arcade by far, so walk-ins were
never available.
The Arcade offered everything from foods
you could never eat otherwise to lovers real life would never allow you to
taste. Adam hadn’t visited any of the adult delicacies, but Michael had, even
though he wouldn’t while at the Arcade with Adam, and it had taken him a
forever and a half to admit the truth to Ana the first time he did.
She imagined Michael at the Arcade with
Adam, standing in line for the virtual coasters, eating fry bread dusted with
sweetener, and maybe catching a movie — probably Interior Solace, the
story of the Third Plague and Jonathan Clark’s midnight ride into the forests
just outside City 2.
Interior Solace was one of Michael’s favorites, and Ana
hoped he was able to share it with Adam, who had never seen it before. Michael
was good to her, the best. No one else in her life would have ever risen to
defend her like that, or gone to jail for the honor.
Michael had, and had done so without
flinching.
Ana’s mind flashed to Liam, and she
couldn't help but wonder if he’d made it out of jail. She hadn’t seen him since
the incident at The Social, not that she ran in the same circles as he did,
anyway. But Ana was worried and couldn’t help but feel responsible for Liam’s
whereabouts, even though he had started the whole incident.
Ana asked Michael if he knew what
happened to Liam, but he wouldn’t even look at her when he answered that he
didn’t know, or particularly care, what happened to the
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