House Eating

The dark house on the end of the block was six houses down from ours. My little sister Suzie swears on her turtle that it was seven a week ago. I laughed this off; houses just don’t eat other houses up.
Or so I thought.
Suzie was walking our large dog, Oscar that day. A large dog, he seemed nearly impossible for such a small child to control. However, her willpower with him was impressive and he never caused any trouble with her. I was washing dishes when I heard her scream. I ran outside as fast as I could, breaking a few dishes as I dropped them on the floor in the process.
Suzie and Oscar were standing in front of the dark house five houses down from ours. I had to count that a few extra times. Five. Five houses down.
“It…it ate the house.” Suzie whispered, her lip quivering. “It just ate it up.” She had dropped Oscar’s leash, but he hadn’t moved from where he sat, completely un-traumatized by whatever Suzie saw.
“Don’t…didn’t the Robinsons live there?” I asked, looking at the houses on either side. It was true; the whole block had shifted up by one lot, a vacant lot now at the end of the row. Standing up, Oscar grabbed the washing cloth I had been using out of my hand. He growled and made out like he wanted to play a game. “Not now, Oscar,” I said, continuing to glance from house to house.
There was no other motion on the street, apparently no one else had heard Suzie’s scream, or seen the house swallowed up.
Without warning, and still with the cloth in his mouth, Oscar ran down the sidewalk and up to the front door of the black house. Whining, he scratched on the old peeling wood with his front paw.
“Oscar!” Suzie shouted, frowning when she realized that she had let go of his leash in her fright. “Oscar, come back!”
I was startled, and could have sworn I jumped when the old door creaked open on its hinges, revealing a dark interior within. I couldn’t make out anything inside the house, but Oscar apparently could, perking his ears up and swiftly walking into the house. The door shut with a click behind him and Suzie was immediately running up to the door, calling out to her dog.
“Oscar, come out!” She yelled, pulling at the doorknob to no avail; the door wouldn’t budge.
“Suzie, come back.” I said, too frightened to move from where I was. I was sure I was a reasonable distance away from the house.
Suzie glared at me in response, turning back to the door and knocking on it softly. The door opened with a click, and Suzie glanced inside. Her face seemed to brighten, and she called out to the dog before she rushed inside. The door closed behind her.
There was no sign of Suzie or Oscar after that, and I soon wasn’t the only one that noticed our house was only four doors down from the dark house….

Gods [Jesemy Gi’Torsa] Part 1, Update 0

The road to Itari was cold and barren. The winter’s snow had not yet dissipated and the warmth of the sun was not enough to get anything growing again. The soft hills were lifeless, the few trees in the area bearing no leaves. Nothing moved this early in the morning, with the sun only just peeking above the horizon, but within a few hours farmers would be out in the fields that dotted the side of the road. There was a lot of work to be done to prepare for the growing season, and after such a rough winter and a poor harvest last year everyone had to work twice as hard to put food on their table. Jesemy  Gi’Torsa shivered in the cold, drawing his thin cloak tighter around himself. Shifting his weight on his horse yet again, he looked behind him, to see if there was anyone else on the road. There wasn’t. Turning back with a sigh, he patted the mare. “Almost there.” He whispered words of encouragement, more for himself than the horse. “Just a few more hours and the church will feed us something warm.”
As expected, his horse ignored him. It always had, he didn’t have a way with horses like some of the people he knew. It didn’t matter now, that way of life was gone anyway; he doubted that he would see anyone in his village again. Thinking of the village brought back waves of memories that he hoped to soon forget.
Stepping back from the heat of the fire, Jesemy shielded his eyes from the smoke pouring out from his house. The flames leapt skyward as the house he had lived in all his life burned swiftly to the ground. It’s all my fault, he thought to himself as he picked up another bucket in vain, rushing it to the river. He couldn’t put it out by himself, but he couldn’t stop either. He owed it to his family to at least try. He returned from the river and threw the water into the remains of a burnt window frame. He was rewarded by a brief lapse in the flames and a hiss of steam before his efforts were wiped out a second later by the massive heat.
Throwing the bucket down in anger, he looked around to see who was watching. A few of his fellow villagers stood a ways back, out of reach of the heat’s touch, watching and doing nothing. They knew there was nothing to be done; fire in the village was always terrible, devastating every wooden building within its expanding reach. They may not suspect that he had caused the fire, but his mother might, after what happened before.
Jesemy had not told anyone that he was one of the Touched when he found out almost a week ago. He had not known what was happening the first time he had channeled the god’s powers. How was he Touched? He had no idea. There was no telling who was Touched or not until they manifested the God’s power, usually between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, but typically on the earlier end of the scale.
He stood by the fireplace, attempting to get the coals from the night before to get another flame going. Blowing on the flames and feeding the coals with a stick, he had jumped back as a flame leapt from his palm into the fire pit, lighting it instantly. His mother was in the room, and had asked if he was all right as he jumped back from the flame. She looked at him suspiciously but said nothing.
            He had told no one of this, for fear that he would be sent to the Church. It was not a curse to be one of the Touched, but a blessing, a sign that the God’s favored you and commanded you to do their work. Jesemy was simply not ready to leave; there was so much work that needed to be done around the farm. Mother was not feeling well, and father was still recovering from his bad fall.
When they learned what happened though, he was sent off the very next day. He had told them of course, he had to. There was no way to explain the fire without telling the truth, even though it hurt to say it.
            “I was in my room.” Jesemy had said, his mother and father watching him expectantly. He thought of how it was strange being an only child, but with his parents so old and after so many were lost to accident and disease, it was doubtful he would ever get a sibling. It was nice, not having to share a room, unlike some of the other boys in the area. It made having a girl over for the night a lot easier. “I had only used the power once before, so I was just trying to see what I could do. The flames leapt from my hands before I could react; I didn’t think I could make them that big. Before I knew it, the bed was on fire and the flames were spreading. I ran out of the room then, calling for help.” In truth, he had stood there for a few minutes, attempting to bat out the fire, or use the power of the Gods to put it out again. It had been no use, he couldn’t control them at all, it was like walking through rain without getting wet; impossible.
            His parents had been understanding, for that he was happy. The Gods had smiled upon him then. Wasting no time, his parents had put him on a horse and had sent them on his way before the sun had reached its peak in the sky. He had promised that he would write, and send any money he could to help them in his absence. They were all smiles and tears as he left, disappearing down the empty road that led to Itari.
They were probably glad to see me go, Jesemy thought to himself as he reached the top of one of the many small hills that dotted the region. I’ve caused enough damage as it is, any more would have been too much to bear. Looking out into the distance, he could just see the tops of some of the golden spires that marked the city. Over one more large hill and the whole city would be within his view. Before him he could see another small village between the hill he was on and the next. Villagers were beginning to rise and prepare for the day’s events.
Continuing onwards, Jesemy began to descend the hill, hoping to pass quickly through the tiny village and onwards. He had no intention of stopping, wanting to get out of the cold as soon as he could. It took another hour to get past the village and up the large hill, and once Jesemy had, he stopped at the top, taking in the sight of the valley below him.
The capital Itari was built upon a hill. A round wall surrounded the base of the hill, separating the city proper with the villages and towns that surrounded its base. The stone a rich brown reminded Jesemy of the dirt he would turn up each spring in the fields, rich in color and nutrients; a perfect growing material for the coming months. The buildings inside the wall were all made of the same stone, all the way up to the top of the hill, but excluding the palace and the church. The buildings were tall, larger than anything that could be built by wood. From his viewpoint, Jesemy could make out a few cobblestone streets, not the muddy kind that he was used to in his village back home.
Outside the wall, buildings were packed in, side by side close to the city walls, tapering out the further from the wall until they receded into fields for planting and the river that swirled around the other side of the city. Although unable to see the dock from his viewpoint, Jesemy could make out the shapes of large ships travelling down the river towards the sea. With large sails and multiple masts, Jesemy wondered how many people could fit onto the monstrous thing, certainly his whole village at once.
Returning his gaze to the city, Jesemy could not help staring in awe at the golden palace and church. Built side by side, the two building appeared massive when compared with the buildings that surrounded them. Built at the top of the hill, their height was magnified until they towered above everything else in the region. Although they weren’t build out of the brown stone the rest of the city was, they blended in beautifully; a golden point to an already beautiful city. Both the palace and the church were mainly composed of a large golden dome, both identical in size and shape, and reflected the light of the morning sun so that they shone brilliantly. Each building was decorated with dozens of spires, each reaching up into the heavens.
From stories passed on around the village, Jesemy learned that the Palace once had a spire that was taller than any of the ones the church had. Within a week of it being built, there had been a large storm, one unusual for the time of year. Lightening had repeatedly struck the spire until it fell, resulting in the Church spire being taller than any of those the Palace possessed. The storm had dissipated quickly after. After that, the builders refused to rebuild the spire, only to construct it to the same height as the church. Apparently the Gods were ok with that because it had stood ever since.
Guiding his horse forward again, Jesemy began the long descent down the hill, smiling with anticipation. This time there were more people about now. Children ran through the streets, shouting gleefully. Some smaller girls clutched dolls in their arms as they raced after the older kids while the boys played a rough game of tumble.
As he began to pass between the buildings he was ignored for the most part; the townspeople here were used to the comings and goings of travelers. The children didn’t even stop their play in the streets and simply ran around Jesemy and his horse, causing it to prance about nervously before Jesemy could calm it down. A few of the older folk smiled at him as he passed, Jesemy returned the smile and continued on, listening for what the new sounds of city life would be. There was the common sound of the children on the street, combined with the steady chit-chat of those older. The sound of a blacksmith could be heard off in the distance, forging a new piece of equipment. Wagons creaked behind him, carrying boxes and crates. Jesemy smiled, nothing out of the ordinary; adjusting shouldn’t be too hard.
Jesemy paused as he approached the massive gates that lead to the city proper. The Gates were large and imposing, the doors were wide open, made of a thick wood. A guard stood on either side of the door, watching to see who’s entering and to make sure there was no trouble. Smiling, Jesemy stepped forward through the gates into the next segment of his life.

The gates of Itari loomed before Jesemy Gi’Torsa. Although they were open, Jesemy had a sudden feeling that once he passed through the thick walls, he would be trapped within the city. He shuddered at the thought. It was not true, of course. The touched were allowed to roam freely wherever the will of the Gods demanded they be. With a deep breath, he tugged on the reigns and started through the gate.
The city was busy, something Jesemy was prepared for. Although he had never been to the city, he had heard stories of all the hustle and bustle that constantly permeated the air. He watched in awe as the city folk flocked about, seeming to walk in a random fashion. Due to the crowded streets, Jesemy was forced to climb off his mare to move about properly. He didn’t want to risk stepping on someone, and he couldn’t do that on horseback. Once off his horse, he glanced up at one of the stone buildings. Four stories tall, its roof was made of a red tile, something his village lacked. Where all the buildings were one or two floors, made of wood and stone, this large behemoth dwarfed any house in his village by comparison. This must be an important building to be so vast. Jesemy thought. Glancing up at the sign, Jesemy sighed. The God’s Dream, the sign read; an inn or tavern. Not an important building at all then; just large.
Not sure where to go, Jesemy simply wandered inwards, towards the center of the city. He was bound to find the church; with it being so large it would be impossible to miss. Walking through the streets, Jesemy was mostly ignored. No one cared about an ordinary farm boy, dazed by his first glimpses of city life. They didn’t know that he was one of the Touched; how could they?
Jesemy arrived at the church square when the sun was halfway to its peak. The golden dome of the church and its massive spires towered above Jesemy, casting large shadows on the courtyard below. The courtyard was mostly empty; Morning Prayer was long over and there were still a few hours before the midday prayer was to begin. Only a few walked the courtyard at this hour, mostly peasants hoping for a handout. Jesemy looked around the courtyard, searching for someone he could talk to into being allowed to enter the teaching’s of the church.
“You look lost, my friend?” A man’s voice asked. Jesemy turned to see an older man in a simple white robe. His skin was pale and leathery, but there was a twinkle in his green eyes, like he was remembering a joke from ages ago. “Most do, coming into this courtyard for the first time.”
“Y-yes. Isa.” Jesemy stammered, unsure of how to address the man exactly. “It is a lot to take in.”
The man smiled. “Isa? No, I’m afraid not.” He chortled quietly to himself. “You must be far from home. I am Isi’Tora Nu’Fadota.”
Jesemy paled. Isi’Tora was the head of the church, the one who waited for the return of the Gods and prepared the world for their coming so that they could be served properly. Calling him by anything other than Isi’Tora was an insult to the church.
Nu’Fatoda put a reassuring hand on Jesemy’s shoulder. “Fear not.” He said calmly, seeing the look that was plastered on Jesemy’s face. “You had no way of knowing. It is not often that I witness life outside the church, and when I do I am usually mistaken. What brings you to the church, what can I do you for?”
“I-I’m here because I just…I was…I mean…” Jesemy trailed off, unsure how to voice.
“You’ve been touched.” The Isa’Tora said knowingly, beaming at Jesemy. “Congratulations. By whom, may I ask?”
“Pyrator.” Jesemy replied.
“Well, well.” We haven’t seen too many Touched by Pyrator lately; he’s been surprisingly absent in our lives. Perhaps because Aquitara has been too prevalent. Those two were always at odds, no wonder why.” Isa’Tora chuckled softly, smiling at Jesemy, and beckoning with his hands. “Come, let’s get you set up inside. I’ll call for an Isa’Fira. What is your name my young friend?”
“Jesemy, Jesemy Gi’Torsa,” Jesemy said. “Thank you, Isi’Tora for your generosity. You have been too kind.” Jesemy allowed himself to be ushered inside the front entrance to the church. The Isi’Tora walked slowly behind him, as if giving him enough space to take in his new way of life.
The church was truly marvelous, Jesemy thought as he walked through the marble pillars into the golden dome. Things glittered where Jesemy thought impossible. Statues sparkled, and fountains twinkled. Colors reflected off every surface, bathing the large chamber in a rainbow of colors. Men and women in white walked about the entrance chamber everywhere, appearing and disappearing in and out of the numerous doors that entered into the giant audience chamber. Jesemy looked up in awe at the ceiling of the church, painted to show the story of the seven Gods and their Rule.

Gods [Sor’Tira Allesandra Ro’Domina] Part 1, Update 0

Sor’Tira Allesandra Ro’Domina stood at her open window, letting the warm breeze blow in her face while looking down on the courtyard far below her. The festivities had long been over, but still people lingered in the courtyard, catching up on the latest gossip and figuring out which colors of cloth would soon be out of style. She could see the last of the nobles pass beneath the golden gates on the far side, each wearing the highest of fashion. Long veils and loose flowing clothing were common everywhere she looked, worn to counter the effects of the hot sun. Brown was in right now, or ‘tan’ to be more precise if you really cared. Allesandra didn’t bother with such things; her maidservants took care of all that. No matter where she was, Allesandra was always the height of fashion, being the Tira demanded it of her.
Well, Tara soon, Allesandra thought to herself. Her brother’s recent marriage and her father’s sudden sickness all but finalized it, although she didn’t like to think of it. She loved her father, and was not ready to take the thrown. There was still so much of her youth left, and to think Father wanted her married before she ascended. She shook her head at the thought, the suitors were nice, but no one tugged at her hearts. It must be nice to be a commoner, she thought, freedom to choose whom to marry, true love; if only. Of course, being the Tira meant she couldn’t have that. Her marriage would be for political reasons, as had been for her brother Demitri, the new Sor’Tan of Cidalyia. Imagine, being Sor’Tan at twenty, it was a scary thought, but one she would have to conquer, her ascension to Tara wasn’t that far off. Father had sent his best advisors with Demitri to the wedding, both for his and Demitri’s sake. An ill-advised Tan was a short-lived one.
Returning her attention to the courtyard, she saw the common people scurry out as the workers began cleaning up after the last of the nobles. No one wanted to be caught in the dust storm when the Isa’Aeras came to do their rounds; it never was pleasant to have dust and dirt within ones clothing, however did the common people manage it, being dirty all the time must be such a nuisance? Sor Reubin Na’Omar was doubtlessly planning on arriving soon, once he was certain the Isa’Aeras had done their duties. He was always spotlessly on time, one of several traits of his that had always annoyed her.
Truth be told, Reubin was less horrible than most of the other suitor’s her father had sent her way over the years. At least he was handsome, his strong chest, corded arms, and firm stomach was always a bonus when it came to the bedroom and her required duties that came with it. It was a pity there were so few like him, Allesandra frowned, most nobles having gone soft due to their pampered life. He was not bad at the sword either; something that may be useful if the time ever came. His looks and skill with the sword made him arrogant though, something no one looked for in a suitor. A suitor that was caring would be nice, Allesandra thought, but since when were nobles ever caring?
Allesandra turned away from the window, she had duties to perform and they could not be kept waiting. Perhaps another time she would be able to daydream, just not today. She turned to her dressing table and pulled out a brush. She sat down on the cushioned stool and faced the mirror while straightening her hair with the brush. The wind from the morning’s festivities had spun her red hair in all direction, leaving it tangled and frizzy. After a few failed attempts Allesandra sighed, she couldn’t do this alone. “Ti’Jastia,” she called, keeping her voice at a level appropriate for the Tira, yet still hoping to be heard. “Sonia Ti’Jastia, your help please.”
The door to her opened a crack and a head poked in. “You summoned me, Sor’Tira?” A meek voice asked.  Isa’Aera Sonia Ti’Jastia was not meek one bit. She put it off well though, something that always annoyed Allesandra.
“My hair.” Allesandra muttered, “I can never do it the way you can, please help.”
“It would be an honor to serve the Sor’Tira,” Sonia said, bowing to the floor. She swept into the room gracefully, closing the door gently behind her. Sonia was a small women, frail but strong willed. Her black hair was done up in a tight bun on the top of her head, something Allesandra frowned upon; it seemed to add years to the woman’s age. She was mature for her age, having risen high in the church in a short period of time. Due to her connection with the Gods, Allesandra believed, but couldn’t be sure because it wasn’t spoken about with those not of the Touched.
“Sonia, please.” Allesandra laughed, abandoning all formalities once the door had closed behind Sonia. A thing her father would frown upon, yes. Father was always a stickler for formalities. Allesandra thought back on the last time her father had not called her by her first name; it had been a long time. Back when she was nine, she had fallen and scrapped up the whole left side of her face. Her father had taken her into his arms. “Oh, Alia, it’ll be O.K” He had said soothingly to her. Indeed it had been, the Isa’Hela had done her work well; not even a scratch remained to mar the Tira’s precious face. She had not heard that nickname from him since then, and doubtlessly never would again. “I’m sure there was no one else in the hallway, was there?”
Sonia shook her head. “You can never be too certain Alia; there are spies everywhere in the palace. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one of the Isa’Shadot in this room even now.” She looked over her shoulder in mock horror. “Watching our every move and ready to reveal our secrets to the God that they serve.”
“Surly you don’t believe that nonsense.” Allesandra laughed, passing the comb to Sonia’s outstretched hand. “You can take your hair out of that ridiculous bun while you’re at it.” She laughed. “You’ve been my mentor for how many years, eight? Not once have you told me of an Isa’Shadot in the palace—or anywhere for that matter—they’re all over the sea, in the Savage Lands.”
Sonia smiled at that, undoing her own bun and running the brush through a strand of Allesandra’s long red hair. The color of Alia’s hair was prized; not many in the kingdom had hair like hers, and no nobles either for that matter. To have hair like hers was believed to be a gift from the Gods. “I do not share all my secrets with one not of the Touched.”
Allesandra snorted at that comment, then flinched; Sonia wouldn’t let her live that one down for a while, she could already see her smiling in the mirror. “Since when have you kept church secrets from me? I was the first person you told when they found out that an Isa’Shada that the church trusted was really an Isa’Shadot.”
“Yes, and then you went and blabbed it to your father.” Sonia replied, tugging on an elusive knot in the hair. “We never did catch him because of that. When your father sent the palace guards to his room, he simply vanished. If we had sent one of the Touched we could have captured him no problem.”
Allesandra sighed. “I was eleven. How was I supposed to know what was a Touched secret?”
“By using your Tira brain.” Sonia retorted, replacing the brush where it belonged and began fastening jewels in Alia’s hair. She pushed her own black hair out of the way as she leaned forward. It was getting too long for her liking, but long hair was in fashion because of Allesandra. Sonia smiled to herself, it might be time for the Tira to get another hair-makeover if she wanted to change her own. Perhaps Alia should have a bun like she herself did, it helped keep her hair out of her eyes. “Hopefully now the Tira has learned to keep her royal mouth shut, and when not to. There are things that the Tira should know, and not have it spread all over the palace grounds within an hour. Now hold still, I don’t want to pin this emerald into your pretty scalp”
Allesandra turned at that, looking up at Sonia who was about to put an emerald into her hair. She held a hand out to stop her before she put it in. “You know something, don’t you.” Sonia smiled, but said nothing. “You said emeralds in the hair brought out my eyes and that they should only be used when I need to look ‘more beautiful than anyone else in history.’ Something is going on this afternoon, isn’t it? I knew I should have asked you that first.”
“Sor’Tira has always looked more beautiful than anyone else in the nation.” Sonia said, pinning several emeralds into Alia’s hair.
Allesandra squealed in mock outrage. “Sonia, I hate when you keep secrets from me. What is going on?”
Sonia stepped away from Alia and walked over to her massive closet. She opened it, looking around at the massive amount of clothing, all of it Alia had not worn more than twice. After twice it was removed. Pulling garments aside, she searched for a piece she had brought in the other day. Tan of course, nothing but the highest fashion. She held up the emerald to catch the light. The stone truly did bring out the Tira’s eyes. Such soft a green they were. Matching the stone to the right shade of tan, she turned back to Allesandra with the garment. “I promised I wouldn’t say.” She smiled, “all I know is that Sor Reubin Na’Omar will not be visiting you tonight.”
“What?” Allesandra exclaimed, jumping off the stool. “Why not? He was the best suitor so far; handsome, good family connections, a perfect match for the thrown.”
Sonia shook her head, motioning for Allesandra to undress. “I’m afraid I persuaded your father to rethink his opinion on the boy.”
“You what?” Allesandra turned, her dress hanging half off her shoulder; she held it in place with her forearm. Sonia always had her best interest at heart, she always had. Ever since she was a girl. Alia wanted no other advisor, and had even demanded the church send her back when Sonia was to be sent to Artora. But this, this was outrageous. “Why would you do that?”
Sonia smiled. “It turns out, his family had—shall we say—unrighteous friends.” She turned Alia around and finished undressing her, handing her the new piece. “Na’Omar failed to meet my standards, and therefore yours.” She could see Allesandra smile at that in the mirror. “I have, however, arranged for another suitor to make an appearance this afternoon.”
“Go on, tell me.”
“Sor Jortan Jo’Basica is from out of the city, and therefore few nobles have heard of him.” Sonia said as she began to adjust the dress on Alia. “His family owns a lot of land, I believe the father makes cloth, or silk; some fabric. I have heard no rumors about the family that would not settle well with your father. The father is kind, and gives a lot to charity, as does the mother to her own. I believe he is an only child so was preparing to take over his father’s estate anyways.”
“Sonia.” Alia grumbled. “Tell me what he’s like.”
Sonia smiled; this is what she was waiting for. “Well, because they live on the river, they occasionally ask for an Isa’Aqua or two, just to help out, you know?  When I asked, they seemed to enjoy Jortan’s company very much, both in and out of the bedroom.” Sonia laughed at Alia’s expression. “Oh, Alia, you are so predictable. The boy is very handsome, good shoulders, sharp face and a flat stomach. What more could you possibly ask for?”
“Personality.” Allesandra muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” Sonia asked, leaning in close.
“Nothing,” Alia said, “go on.”
“Well, the Isa’Aqua also told me that he was very sweet. I looked into him while you were at your brother’s wedding. You didn’t notice I was gone. He was very polite to me, even though he did not know who I was. I would have to agree with them, I certainly did enjoy my time with him.”
Allesandra looked over her shoulder. “So, do you think he’s the one?”
Sonia nodded. “Yes, I believe so.” She said, fastening the last emerald into Alia’s hair. “He was informed by one of the couriers to be in the throne room for when your father finished with open court. Which, should end soon if I’m not mistaken. Stand up, let’s have a look at you.”
Allesandra stood up, looking at herself in the mirror. The emeralds did bring out her eyes, she thought to herself. The dress worked with the emeralds too, she would have to hand it to Sonia; she did have a way with fashion. Alia didn’t control the fashion in the Kingdom, Sonia did. The dress she wore was a light tan, sprinkled with tiny lines of green, woven into the fabric. The veil that went over her face was light, letting her see out while keeping most of the sun off her. “How is the heat holding?”
“The Isa’Fira predict it to get very hot. I’ve arranged for an Isa’Aqua and an Isa’Aera to follow you while I cannot be there.”
“Why cannot you be there?”
“I have church duties.” She replied simply. “I will bore you with them at a later time.”
Allesandra laughed. “O.K, but as long as Tu’Rand and Hy’Iria are not with me. They slept with the same serving boy and have been fighting ever since. Water in the face during a conversation with my father was not something I appreciated, and neither did he.”
Sonia laughed, opening the door for Allesandra to step through. “Of course Sor’Tira.” She said, stepping back into the formalities. “As you desire.”
Allesandra rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the room to meet her new suitor.

Alia motioned to the Isa’Aera for more of a breeze as she stood in the throne room. It wasn’t quite midday and the heat was already unbearable. She stood slightly behind her father, her maidservants flanking her and cooling her from the heat. Sonia was true to her word and had gotten two Isas that weren’t feuding. The throne room was large and pompous, as was necessary for the Sor’Tan. Her father rested on his lavish chair with his own servants attending to him. He appeared weary, his giant frame sagged against the chair as if it couldn’t support its own weight. His face was pale and his hands trembling from the sickness that was spreading throughout his entire body. It was sad that the Isa’Hela’s could do nothing to fix it, only sooth the pain.
A commoner stepped forward to address the king, demanding something be done about his neighbor. Alia sighed and tried to pay attention. It was no use, some days the common people bored her; they had nothing interesting to offer. Alia knew that she would soon be doing this, but it helped little; her mind was elsewhere. Sor Jortan was nowhere to be found, perhaps he was running late. Or better yet, knew that Fathers open court ran longer than scheduled without fail. Father always tried to help all the commoners, and would hold out as long as he could, or until they were forced out by the guards at the word of one of the more annoying advisors Father kept by his side.
It was quiet in the throne room today, not many had come to petition the king. When the last one had filed out, Sor’Tan Zachard Ro’Domina turned to Allesandra. He smiled at her weakly, not much energy left in his body. Alia wondered how much longer he would hold out, and whether she would take the crown soon. Her only job at the moment was to wait for her father to die, which was always hard to do when she still liked him. “Sor’Tira Allesandra.” He said using all formal titles, as he preferred to do, his voice low and deep. “Isa’Aera Sonia Ti’Jastia has informed me that you have a new suitor? That is correct?”
“Yes father.” Alia replied, bowing deeply to him and walking over to kneel in front of him. “Isa’Aera Ti’Jastia has informed me that Sor Jortan Jo’Basica will make a fine suitor. He should be arriving soon.”
Her father nodded. “Yes, I suppose so, Isa’Aera Ti’Jastia does know what makes a fine suitor and what doesn’t. One would think she was of noble birth; I was surprised when I learned she wasn’t. But she has served us well, hasn’t she?”
“Yes father.” Alia nodded, “she has been very good. I will have no other advisor.” Alia paused at a sound from the entrance. She turned at a sound from the entrance to the room.
A man strolled in. Truth be told, not quite a man; he appeared only eighteen. Alia smiled, this must be Jortan. He appeared confident, wearing an outfit of tan, flowing robes suitable for a Sor. He smiled when he saw Alia and the Sor’Tan.
“Sor’Tan Ro’Domina.” He gushed, kneeling to the floor in front of father. “Sor’Tira Ro’Domina. It is an honor to finally be bathed in your presence. I am Sor Jortan Jo’Basica.”
Zachard smiled, beaming down on him. “I am pleased to have finally met you; Isa’Aera Ti’Jastia has spoken highly of you. I pray that you will be more suitable than Allesandra’s previous suitor.”
Jortan bowed to the floor again. “I will do my greatest to ensure that I remain suitable in both your eyes. He Turned to Alia. “My Sor Tira, may I take you? I have arranged for seats at this afternoon’s concert hall.” He reached out a hand for her to take.
Alia smiled. Spending the afternoon at the concert hall did not seem like a good time. There were so many more entertaining things for her to do than watch some old men bang on drums and play with string. She took his hand in his and rose with him. “I would be delighted Jortan Jo’Basica.” She would do her part and attend this silly concert. Perhaps this boy wasn’t as perfect as Sonia had made him out to be, he certainly was attractive though.
Zachard nodded, wheezing into a handkerchief. “Very well then, I shall have an extra cushion reserved by our table for tonight. I must depart, there are other matters I must attend to.” He rose weakly, two aides immediately rushing to his side to help him up and bring him to his next destination.
Jortan turned and lead Alia out of the throne room into the bright sun. Squinting in the sun, Alia was nearly blind when he led her to a covered carriage. Before she knew what to expect, Jortan had lifted her up and sat her in the seat beside him. The canopy gave them the much needed protection from the sun. It kept unwanted eyes out while allowing them to see out fairly well. “You did not seem too keen on attending the concert.” Jortan said once the carriage had begun to move.
Alia smiled at him. “Concerts are not my thing.”
Jortan nodded at that. “I can understand. I wasn’t too keen on them myself when I was your age.” He smiled at her. “What would you rather do instead? As Sor’Tira, your wish is my command. Whatever you want, I will arrange to the best of my ability.”
Alia blushed at his forwardness. Sonia was right; he really was a good suitor for a husband. Not sure how to answer, she turned her gaze out of the carriage. The streets were crowded, the people out and about for one final run to the market before everything shut down for the lunch hour and the midday heat. Within an hour, these streets would be nearly be deserted as everyone returned to their cooler dwellings, only to reappear after the sun had passed its peak. It was slow going in the crowd, the two horses pulling the carriage finding it difficult to move with the throngs of people in the way. “When you were my age?” Alia finally replied. “Are you implying that the Sor’Tira is immature for her age?”
“N-no. No!” Jortan stuttered, apologizing profusely, appalled that he had offended her. “My Tira, I did not mean to offend.” He paused when he noticed Alia’s wide smile. “You are as devious as you are beautiful my Tira.”
“Oh please.” Alia said, “enough with the formalities; my father is not here. Call me Alia, I insist. We are of the same age, why can we not call each other by our proper names.
“If you insist my…Alia.” He replied, hesitating over her name. “And I would feel honored if you felt that you could call me Jortan.”
“That I shall Jortan; formalities should be for introduction and special gatherings only, that’s what I feel. When I’m Tara, I shall make that law.” Alia giggled at her proclamation. It wasn’t like her to talk openly about becoming Tara, to do so constantly might have those that overhear her wonder if she was plotting on overthrowing the Sor’Tan.
“If you have no desire to attend the concert, where would you like to go instead?” Jortan asked.
Alia was silent for a moment, as if thinking. She already knew where she wanted to be, and would already have been there if she wasn’t forced to attend the morning’s festivities. “I hear there are some horse races today at the Silver Circuit. It would be wonderful to attend that.” She said after she believed she had “thought” about her answer for Jortan to not be suspicious.
“The horse races?” Jortan questioned, obviously taken aback. “I had no knowledge that you would be interested in the races.”
“Yes.” She replied. “I have always enjoyed watching the fine creatures. They truly are graceful around that track.” Truth be told, Alia could have cared less about the horses, what she was really interested in was the gambling. Her father had always forbid her to gamble, as no one would bet against her in fear of the kings wrath if she lost. It was a pity really, the people respected the royal family so much that they could not bare to see their young Tira lose. Her only hope of being able to properly gamble was if her father and his entourage wasn’t around to reveal her presence. Hopefully, being only with Jortan would allow that. “It’s no fun to go with father, with his giant entourage and servants everywhere.” She wanted to be down in the dirt, amongst the common people. Father would be devastated if he learned what she intended to do.
Jortan nodded. “That can easily be arranged.” He leaned forward and called out to the driver. “Nicholaz. To the Silver Circuit please.” Jortan turned back to Alia, not waiting for the reply that was lost in the noise of the crowd. “I fear I will not be able to make wages of the same amount that you are used to. My purse is not as large as that of the royal coffers.”
Alia smiled, his honesty was attractive. “That is no worry of mine.” She lifted up a fold in her outfit to reveal a cloth purse filled with gold coins. “I never go anywhere without this, I never know when I’ll need it. I’m sure I have plenty, but thank you for your offer. I’m sure that—” Alia was cut off as the carriage jolted to a stop. She was flung forward onto the rear-facing seat before Jortan could catch her.
“My Tira—Alia.” He cried out. “Are you injured? Shall I send for an Isa’Hela?”
“Don’t be silly.” Alia replied, brushing herself off. “The Tira may take a tumble without scratching a nail. I am not as frail as I look.” Alia looked around, “what happened?”
Jortan shrugged. “I’m not sure; let me check.” He stood up and pulled back the curtain, jumping onto the street.
Alia stood and followed him, using the railings to climb down instead of jumping. A Tira wouldn’t jump. Jortan was standing beside one of the horses, a white holsteiner horse, rubbing its head. Seeing her behind him, Jortan turned. “There was a knife fight and a peasant was thrown towards the horses.” He explained.
“Oh no!” Alia cried out. “Is he O.K?”
Jortan nodded. “Yes, just a little spooked, that’s all.”
Alia frowned. “I meant the peasant.”
Shrugging, Jortan turned away from the horse. “It is no matter.”
“No matter?” Alia said, raising her voice. “If one of my people has been injured … I don’t care how wealthy or not he is.” She walked past him to see a man on the ground, holding his waist in obvious pain. The other aggressor was long gone, and the crowd was beginning to dissipate since the fight was over.
Alia kneeled down on the ground beside the man, brushing his hair back from his face. “This man is in horribly injured.” She turned to Jortan, “get an Isa’Hela. He needs to be healed or he will not survive.”
“But he’s only a peasant.” Jortan replied.
“I do not care.” Alia replied sternly. “He is one of my subjects.” She turned back to the man, ignoring Jortan as he commanded someone else to fetch an Isa’Hela at the Sor’Tira’s request. “Let’s have a look at you.” She said to the man. He was middle aged, and his brown hair was beginning to streak with gray. She moved his arms away from his stomach, ignoring his grunts of pain and protest. His stomach was red and bleeding from the knife wound. It appeared to have been a clean cut across his gut. Alia gagged at the smell; not one she was used to in the palace corridors, but she continued to help the man. Struggling, she pulled his ripped shirt up, to clear it from the way of the wound. She didn’t know where to go from here; this situation was not covered in her daily studies. Pressure to the wound, that’s all she really knew from others. Pressure; apply pressure until the Isa’Hela gets here.
Placing her hands on the man’s stomach, she applied pressure. The mans moans increased.
“Oh Lady.” He grunted. “Bloody.”
Alia sighed, he obviously didn’t know who she was else he wouldn’t be using such language. The common people sure liked their strong language. She continued applying pressure, wondering if she was doing it right. How do you apply pressure wrong? Where are the Isa’Helas? The man’s stomach felt warm and sticky, not the most pleasant feeling on a hot day. Alia sighed, she was so tired. She felt like all the energy had drained out of her since stopping to help this man. He had broken out in a sweat, it poured off his face in streams. Poor man, he must really be suffering. Alia thought. The man gave one final groan and finally fell silent.
Alia looked up, realizing that the street had fallen silent; the lack of noise was unsettling for a city that was normally all hustle and bustle. Most of the people on the street had stopped, and were staring at her, mouths gaping open wide. Alia turned, to see if there was something behind her she was missing. Jortan was gaping at her too.
“Alia….” He breathed. “You…do you see what you’re doing?”
Confused, Alia turned back to the man, only to gasp in shock. Although his face was still pale and his breathing labored, his wound had completely sealed up. The only sign that gave it away that there was a wound was the partly dried blood on his chest and his shirt that had been ripped to shreds. Alia took her hands away from them man and stood up slowly. She brought her hands to her face in wonder, examining them. “I’m…I’m one of the Touched….” She breathed.
“Alia.” Jortan said, approaching her. “Did you know? This…this is amazing!”
“No.” She replied. “No I didn’t. It’s not amazing. Do you know what this means? No. not now. No!”
“Alia, what’s wrong?” Jortan questioned, turning her so she faced him. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of; you know the Touched are highly respected.”
Allesandra shook her head. “No, can’t you see? They’re going to send me away, to Cidalyia, to the Church.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “My father. They’re going to make me leave him; he’s so weak. Jortan; I don’t know what to do.”
Jortan pulled her in closer, wrapping his arms around her. “Don’t worry.” He reassured her. “Everything’s going to be all right, you’ll see. The Gods are looking out for you. You have nothing to fear.”
“Are you sure?” Alia asked, looking up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. Jortan looked at her calmly. He appeared confident, at ease and not thrown off by her realization. Perhaps he was the one, she thought. Strong, yet still compassionate and caring. Hesitantly, Alia leaned forward on her toes, reaching up and kissed him. He was shocked at first, but his alarm was quickly swept aside and he fully embraced her. A warmth spread through her like wildfire and before she knew it, Alia found herself gasping for breath. He can kiss, she thought to herself, blushing. Oh thank the Gods, he can kiss. Could he be the one? Perhaps there is true love for royalty after all. She pulled herself away quickly. “Jortan, we are in public.” She said with more authority and strength than she could thought she could muster at this point in time; she was breathing heavily from his kiss.
Jortan nodded, “My apologies, my Sor’Tira. I mistook myself.” He appeared calm, and Alia could not detect any hint of what he may be thinking. “Come. Let’s return to the palace. I’m sure your Father would want to hear what has happened.”
Pulling her away from the man on the ground, he led her back to the carriage and lifted her inside, following suit and directing the carriage back to the palace.

Starside Chapter 1, Update One

The Game was almost over; I was going to win. I smiled happily at the thought, prematurely celebrating my victory. No one had ever remained in the Game while Janet was a Hacker; she always eliminated them all before the Game was over. Today, Janet’s winning streak would come to an end. I sat down at the end of my bed, confident that I wouldn’t have to move for the remainder of the Game, short-lived as it may be. TWO MINUTES REMAINING, my armband chimed in its metallic voice. Perfect, I thought to myself proudly, there was no chance she would be able to catch me in that time frame.

Laying down and rolling over, I looked out the large window, ordering the outside to go opaque at my spoken command. There was no need for that true. The odds of Janet seeing me through the window were slim, but better safe than sorry when the Game was involved. Unhindered by any opacity on my side of the glass, I calmly watched the world beyond. From my vantage point of one hundred and forty two floors above ground level, all of Starside was laid out before me. From the rooftops of a few buildings across from me, I could see multiple hang-gliders jump off and swoop between the imposing mountains of glass and steel. Hang-gliding was the new trend on Starside; everyone who wanted to be someone had one and would be out showing off what they could do. Some of them swooped dangerously close to the buildings and I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Far beneath me, I could make out the street below, covered with the multicolored sparkles that could only be the hover cars  the citizens of Starside used to get around. Besides the buildings and the streets, the ground was laced with parks, pleasure paths and other attractions for people to enjoy as they went about their busy lives. From this distance, everyone looked like tiny bugs as they scurried about, shopping at the newest boutiques and commenting on the latest fleeting trends.

But, as always, the one marvel that caught my eye was the Dome. Without the dome, none of us would be here; it kept everyone inside and the harsh environment of space out. One remarkable sheet of solid curved glass, it covered the entire topside of Starside, the newest space colony in humanity’s slowly expanding empire. There was no place on topside where the Dome couldn’t be seen, but who wouldn’t want to see it? In the mornings and evenings it sparkled brilliantly, a wave of colors that illuminated the sides of buildings in a lightshow that couldn’t be rivaled anywhere else.

Truly a remarkable feat of engineering, Starside had been built entirely in space. It had taken several decades, the mining of several asteroids, and the combined efforts of the five space powers, but it had been worth it. Built halfway between Earth and Mars, Starside was planned to be the stopping point between Earth and the rest of the solar system, beginning with the planned colonization of Mars. Attracted by its beauty and grandeur, the rich quickly moved in and transformed it into their wonderland. It was soon became filled with shopping malls, small lakes, and mountains for the rich to enjoy. Below all this were the processing plants that fabricated everything needed to live in this lavish world as well as the tools needed to expand humanity to the wonders beyond. Utilizing artificial gravity, clean nuclear and solar power and with Topside  slightly larger than a massive Earth city, Starside was a world of its own.

With a smile, I rolled off my bed to head towards the kitchen. A glass of victory scotch was needed—or better yet—a bottle. Sure, I wasn’t nineteen yet, but that sort of thing went unnoticed here; no one would care. Kicking a dirty shirt that the housebot hadn’t picked up yet, I paused as a shrill whistling sound filled my ears. It was a familiar noise; I had heard it many times before while hoverboarding around the city. However, I could not seem to place it out of that context. The answer came to me as a red light began to flash in the optics inserted in my right eye. A message flashed below it in bright red: “WARNING: IMPACK WITH HANG GLIDER IMMINENT.”

I managed to throw myself out of the way at the last possible instant. I was still flying through the air as the window imploded behind me. There was a horrible crashing noise, and I didn’t have to turn to know what was going on. The hang glider that Janet was doubtlessly flying had been deliberately crashed through my bedroom window, demolishing my room. I could hear the bed bend and snap under the impact of the glider at high velocity. I let out a cry of pain as shards of glass pierced the skin on my legs and back through my clothing. Although my outfit was designed to withstand high impacts, it could do nothing when it came to sharp glass. The E-fabric ripped, however could not reform itself until the glass was completely removed.

My optics were already warning me about all the dangers in the room. Messages appeared rapidly in my right eye, superimposed upon my vision. “WARNING: SKIN PIERCED IN 74 LOCATIONS. WARNING: POSSIBLE INFECTION DETECTED IN 55 LOCATIONS. WARNING: INTRUDER DETECTED IN HOUSE. WARNING: HORMONES EXCEEDING ADVISED LEVELS.” It became difficult to focus on anything in that eye and I was forced to resort to shutting it so I didn’t get dizzy. Automatically, the nanites in my body activated and began to fix everything. “NOTICE: REMOVING GLASS FROM SKIN. NOTICE: TREATING POSSIBLE INFECTION SITES. NOTICE: REDUCING HORMONE LEVELS. NOTICE: SCANNING INTRUDER FOR IDENTITY AND POSSIBLE WEAPONS.”

I groaned in pain as the glass shards in my legs and back were slowly forced out. The nanites quickly sealed up the skin, halting the flow of blood and blocking the nerve impulses that sent stabs of pain up my body. Clear of obstructions, the E-fabric activated and stitched itself back together, good as new. A calming sensation swept through my body from the drugs administered by the nanites. My heartbeat slowed back to normal, no longer pumping at an intense rate.

“Cancel weapons scan.” I sub-vocalized to my eyepiece, and search shut off. I had no need of it; I already knew who it was as there was no one else that would make an entrance like that. Slowly and carefully so as to not pierce myself with any more glass, I turned and stood up. Janet had unstrapped herself from the black hang glider and was standing beside it, surveying the damage she had done to my room. Her black leather outfit formed perfectly to her toned and athletic body. She still wore her black helmet with its shaded visor, but I could sense her piercing stare behind it. Janet’s confidence in herself was staggering, and she held herself in such a way that demanded respect and showed her superiority. She reached up and slowly pulled off her helmet, shaking her head as she pulled it off, allowing her blond mem-hair to fall perfectly about her shoulders as it was programmed.

Janet’s silver eyes bored into mine and I smiled at her weakly. My fondness for Janet had grown over the years. I admired her strength and strong willpower. Since I meeting her, I had developed a huge crush on her, as had most of the guys she hung out with, and I’d been dying to ask her out. She had recently broken up with someone and we were really good friends at the moment; I was hoping that now would be my chance to seize the opportunity to finally ask her.

“Mark, Mark, Mark,” she said, smiling. “As Hacker Black I declare you caught and this Game over.” She waved her finger at me and laughed. “What a disappointment.” She shook her head slowly to emphasize her friendly derision. “I expected more of a challenge from you. You’re slacking. That’s the last Game I play with you for a while.”

I said nothing, too confused for words. Was she flirting, or was this her playing hard to get? I didn’t know too much about girls; I should have taken Jack up on that offer to get the Mem-Plant with him. Do I play it cool? How do I react? I glanced over at my armband to see where the timer had stopped. “Forty three seconds.” I blurted after a second. I groaned inwardly at my lame reply. Could I not come up with anything better? “Were you planning on cutting it that close?”

Janet shrugged nonchalantly, not saying anything about my confused expression. Thank God. “In truth, I had all but given up on finding you.” She patted the discarded glider affectionately. “Then they lost my reservation for this baby so I had to wait in line. I was so mad.”

“How did you find me?” I asked, not sure what to expect.

Janet put a finger to her lips. “A master never reveals her secrets.” She whispered, teasing me. “But I had Alex scope out your room from over there.” She waved out the window, pointing to a building across the street. “She informed me when your window went opaque. You know the rest.” She said with a taunting smile.

I sighed; it had to be the window. “Victory celebration at the Golden Tablet?” I asked, hopeful. Who knew how this would turn out. Perhaps I would finally work up the nerve and ask her out, like I had always wanted. Janet looked at me, no emotion showing on her face. I couldn’t tell what she thought of my idea. Was she going to reject me? She brushed hair out of her face that wasn’t there.

“Umm…” she muttered softly, as if deep in thought. “…I’m sorry. I’d love to Mark. I really would. It’s just…” she trailed off absently. I didn’t like where this was going.

“But what?” I asked, already expecting the answer that I dreaded.

She looked down at the ground for a second, as if contemplating what she was going to say next. She looked back up at me before replying. “I’ve already promised Corey that we’d go down for ice cream after the game. He asked me after I had caught him. Mark, I’m sorry.”

Corey. Of course. It had to be Corey—the self-centered snob who stuck his nose in other people’s business. The two of us had been at odds ever since our interests clashed a few years ago. By interests, I’m referring to a girl named Alex. Constantly fighting, neither of us wanted to give in. I tried not to show the disgust and disappointment on my face. “That’s O.K. I’ll see you later then. I’d better call someone to come clean this up before the housebot does its daily check.” I turned away from Janet, not wanting her to see my unhappy face. Calming drugs from the Nanite systems swept through my system before I had a chance to overreact. I picked up the videophone and called the Company, a cleanup group that was used for this type of mess. Janet stayed silent the whole time I was on the phone. When I finished, I ended the call, but didn’t turn around to face Janet.

“Mark…” She whispered. “I like you—I really do. I know you don’t like Corey, but he’s a great guy when you get to know him.”

“That’s fine,” I replied, not wanting to talk to her any more. “I understand. I’ll see you later then.” She sighed, but said nothing in response. I didn’t move until I heard her leave and the door close behind her. I turned and brushed enough glass off the ruined bed to sit down. I pulled my legs up to my chest and sat there quietly, brooding. I groaned silently—what a waste of effort asking her; I should have known. Janet would never be seen with an average Joe like me. She was just being nice. Janet was the type of girl who went for the guys with the muscle implants, or whatever other crazy things they put into their bodies. I could look like them too, only the stuff that Janet went for required parent’s permission if you were underage. Mom and Dad were real sticklers for keeping the body proper, the way it had naturally evolved over the years, a philosophy I found annoying, archaic, and stupid at times. Because of their beliefs, my modding was limited. I reached up, brushed slivers of glass out of my hair, and watched as they fell to the ground, sparking as they hit the foor and reflected the lights in the room. I removed my red armband that designated my team and threw it on the bed; it would get picked up and returned later.

Drifting in from the entranceway, I heard the door chime go off, signaling that there was someone on the other side. I waited for someone to enter and call out, but no one did. I sighed;  it could only be Chris. Chris’s family had only just acquired a large enough fortune to move to Starside and had not had enough time to become used to Starside’s customs. I had met Chris yesterday in the ground lobby of the building.  He was looked confused and lost, and so I introduced myself to see if I could help him out. His apartment was in the building beside ours, one of several connected by a series of sky bridges on several floors. He was checking out the connected buildings and returned to the wrong building when he was done. When he returned to his room, he ended up knocking on someone else’s door. He returned to the lobby in confusion; that’s when I found him. I brought him up to my room where he met Jack; my best friend I had known for years. He couldn’t stay for very long, but promised to come back the next day when he got a chance. He came back the next day as promised and the three of us hung out. While he was here, I showed him pictures of everyone we hung out with, so he would be prepared when he met them later.

With all the wealth on Starside , there was no point in locking your doors or guarding your valuables; everyone already had their own and didn’t need yours. I got off the bed and walked to the front door, ignoring the Refrig’s report on my heath as I walked past the kitchen. At this point in time I could care less that my body was 9% dehydrated and vitamin G6.

I opened the front door to see a skinny boy with blond, curly hair standing in the hallway. He wore a green polo that matched his eyes and a tattered pair of jeans that were three seasons out of style. Wait until Alex got her hands on him. I smiled at the thought. “Hey, Mark. I wasn’t sure if you were home. I saw Janet leave so I figured…” his voice trailed off as he noticed the rips in my clothes and the dried blood in my hair and on my face. He raised an eyebrow “…Did you guys have—”

“No!” I exclaimed, cutting him off. I was shocked; from what I had seen so far, Chris was usually not this direct about things like that. He seemed to be more of the shy, sweet type, not the one to make comments or suggestions about sex.

He shrugged, indifferent. “’K man, just curious.” He said, now uncomfortable with what he had just asked. “Y’know, from what you and Jack have told me, Janet can be a bit…rough.” His eyebrow rose again as he said this.

I felt my cheeks coloring at the thought of what he was suggesting. “No, nothing happened. Janet crashed her glider into the window, that’s all.”

“The Game?” He asked. I nodded, about to say something. He held up a hand to stop me from apologizing for getting him the required invites to the Game to be able to participate. “It’s cool man. I’m not one of you guys yet. I had other stuff to manage back home anyways.” I felt bad for him; he hadn’t had a chance to become good friends with anyone in the group yet. Besides me and Jack, no one else knew him. You needed three friends to vote you into the Game. He only had two so far, but Jack and I were going to introduce him to Alice. Jack was our group’s self-appointed matchmaker, although he had yet to prove whether he was any good. Jack predicted that he was going to hook the two of them up within the week. I wasn’t so sure about how well it would work out. I had my reasons, Jack being Jack and all….

“What’s up with your voice?” I asked, stepping back from the doorway so that he could step through. “You were talking kinda funny back there for a second. It sounded strained” I turned and lead him through the living room and kitchen to the lounge.

The Refrig sent a drone over to me as we passed and practically forced a glass of water down my throat. “Fortified with vitamin G6. Drink.” It beeped in its mechanical voice as I took the glass from a metallic arm that protruded out of the side of the orb shaped housebot. I quickly drained the glass and handed it back to the droid.  I made a face at it as it took the empty glass back and returned to the Refrig.

Chris’s cheeks colored. “I…uh…I bought a conversation starter mem-plant.” He said shyly, almost embarrassed. “It’s a bit…forceful at getting the most interesting conversation starter out. I don’t realize some of the things I’m saying until after I’ve said them. It shuts down once the conversation has been started. Else I would be making sexual references all day.” I led him into the living room; he glanced at my bedroom as we passed. His jaw dropped. “Wow! Janet sure knows how to make an entrance. Did you make a move on her?” He dropped his eyes as I glared at him. “I see…”

We sat down on the couch in the lounge, shifting our weight as it molded itself to our bodies. Before I could say anything, the Refrig drone appeared once again and hovered over to Chris’s side. “Guest 1282 is low in protein.” A mechanized arm protruded from the drone and waved a brown bar in front of Chris’s face. The drone tried to shove the bar into Chris’s closed mouth. “Here guest 1282. Eat.”

Chris grabbed the bar and shoved it into his mouth before the drone could do it for him. He muttered something unintelligible around the bar in his mouth.

“Stand down drone.” I commanded. “Please call guest 1282 ‘Chris’ and store him in memory for next time.”

The drone buzzed in its mechanical voice. “Failure. Guest 1282 does not have SkinID. Cannot comply.”

I sighed and looked at Chris. “You’ve been here for three days already and you haven’t gotten your SkinID yet?” I waved my hand at the drone as it attempted to force another glass of water down my throat. “Stand down drone. Stand down. Stupid thing.”

“SkinID? What’s that?”

“What do you mean ‘What’s that?’ Do you not have SkinIDs on Earth?”

Chris shook his head. “No, not at all. What are they for? What do they do?”

“Well.” I said, settling into lecturing mode as one of my Mem-Plants came online. “SkinIDs are used throughout Starside. It’s proof for whenever someone may need your identification or any other bit of information regarding you. Your SkinID is linked to all your accounts and automatically withdraws funds when you purchase something. The police and government use it if they need to track you down for whatever reason. Your SkinID also contains digital copies of your DNA in case the information is ever needed. For companies such as SkINC or Gameboard, they use your SkinID as a base for any modding or add-on you request or require. Basically, the city uses it to tell everything where you are. Doors automatically open for you, taxis stop for you, and advertisements change depending on who walks by. That’s about it, any questions?”

“Hmm…” Chris muttered. “So you’re saying that I can find you wherever you are on Starside by tracking you through your SkinID?”

“No.” I replied. “Only certain people can do that, else it’s a violation of privacy. Only the police, government, medicare, parents and select other companies are allowed to locate you through your SkinID.”

“Can I remove it?”

“Um… no. Why would you?”

Chris shrugged. “I don’t know…. What if I moved back to Earth? I would have no need for it there.”

“How would you open doors without it?”

Chris smiled. “You really don’t know anything about Earth, do you? We’re not in the dark ages you know; the doors are all motion sensor.”

I stood up. “C’mon. We’re going to go get you your SkinID.” I did too know things about Earth. Perhaps it wasn’t that obvious, but I knew more about Earth than most of my friends. At least I’ve been there; none of them have. “Besides we can’t stay here; the cleaners are going to be arriving soon to clean up Janet’s mess. I wonder where they are; we should go check on them.” Chris sighed and stood up too.

“Whatever.” He said stubbornly. “But only if you pay for ice cream after.”

I nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.”

We walked out of our apartment to the hallway the complex my family was living in, there were only four families on a floor. Each separate apartment was large, 4000 sq feet or so, one of the largest available inside the city. With space hard to come by on Starside, it was difficult to get large apartments like ours, however with my parents important positions in the city, the required strings were relatively easy to pull. We didn’t really know our neighbors; we only really saw them when we passed each other occasionally in the hallway. Outside, two men were setting up a lot of machinery to bring into the house. The two men wore red jumpsuits and a green bandana around their left arms.

“We’re from the Company.” One of them said. He was a big man with a short beard. He was a bit on the chubby side, which was a bit unusual for someone on Starside. Here, everyone can afford to be healthy and look good. It was rare to see someone so out of shape. “Sorry we’re a bit late. We had a prior commitment we had to take care of.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. Just make sure that it’s all fixed before the drone comes and does its daily check. My parents shouldn’t be home before their scheduled time.”

“Sounds fine with us.” The other man said, nodding. He was shorter than the other man by two heads and had an ugly scar that ran down his right cheek. The skin around the scar was puckered and pink and did not look healthy. I was surprised at this too; scars like that were unheard of anymore. Current medical technology cured almost all bleeding and scarring immediately. Hospitals visits were rarely required if you had Nanites, which included pretty much everyone on Starside. At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them had a pimple or something.

Chris and I turned away from the two strange men to leave them to their work. We boarded the elevator. Its far wall was made of clear glass that looked out over the streets of the city. The sun had risen higher in the sky and was almost at its peak. There were more people out and about now, as if their numbers rose and fell with the sun. The number of gliders had increased too. None were as sleek as the one Janet had, but many of them were more colorful; Janet had been partial to black. All the buildings in the area were large and towering. Using artificial gravity, it became much easier to build structures much taller than was possible than on Earth. The buildings were however limited by people’s fears of heights. After around three hundred floors, people just didn’t want to live or work there; it was too high for their comfort, and evacuation became increasingly difficult. We descended swiftly and were soon on the ground level. As we stepped out of the elevator, my mind was still on those two strange men who were going to clean up my apartment.

“They sure were strange.” Chris said suddenly, referring to the men upstairs. He looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. “I bet they don’t get any—“

“Chris!” I hissed. Heat rising in my cheeks. “You’ve got to get that mem-block out. Where’d you buy it from?”

“My computer selected it for me.” Chris said, turning for the doors. “It said it would increase conversation stimulation or something like that.”

“Conversation stimulation, honestly? How legit was it?” I asked. “Just be careful of what you say around people. Some might get the wrong idea about what you’re suggesting.” The two of us walked out the automatic door into the hustle and bustle of the street. The street was crowded; all sorts of people were walking back and forth on the moving sidewalks. Not used to some of the mods people had, Chris openly stared at some. The usual sorts of people were out, nothing that I would find out of the ordinary. Chris stumbled as I led him onto the moving sidewalk because he was staring at someone with green skin and pointed ears.

“Is-is that normal?” He stuttered once he was out of hearing distance.

I laughed softly. “Yes, that’s normal. A bit tame for some people to be honest.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Great. I can’t wait to see what else this place has to offer. Where is the place we’re going?”

“Twenty blocks or so.” I said. “We’ll grab a cab on the other side of the street.”

Chris looked out across the street, gasping as if seeing the traffic for the first time.

Hover cars sped everywhere. Designed to look like 21^st century cars, hover cars had no wheels. No wheels, no steering wheel, no brake,  no gas pedals, no driver. Using a hydrogen system perfected in the 22^nd century, hover cars were a blend of the past and present. Swerving around each other and stopping randomly to let pedestrians pass, it looked like any two cars would crash at any minute. I reassured Chris and myself that each and every car was controlled by the Central computer. There was no chance of a crash. I motioned Chris to step over the moving sidewalk going the other direction. Chris hesitated for a second so I stepped out before him and the individual sections of the sidewalk briefly stopped moving to let us pass, resuming once we were on the street.

I stepped onto the road with Chris on my heels. He didn’t venture too far away from me, afraid to be hit. “Relax Chris, the cars wont hit you.” I said as a red car swerved around us without breaking speed. “They can sense your SkinID and…” I paused in the road as I realized what I had said. Chris looked at me with a pained expression on his face and practically jumped on top of me.

“Hurry please!” Chris said loudly. The two of us crossed side by side, the whole way Chris whimpering at me to go faster. He kept pulling at his curly blond hair that hung just over his eyes, something he seemed to do often when he was nervous.

We quickly got out of traffic and stopped on the other side of the street. The SkINC building was too far away just to walk and I wasn’t in the mood to teach Chris to hoverboard around the city. I figured a cab was best, deeming it to be the quickest and least embarrassing way to get around. Activating a program implanted in my SkinID, I mentally accessed the codes to have an empty cab locate our position. Simply thinking initiated the commands that communicated with the city’s central system. It was a common enough procedure that could almost be done without conscious thought. Soon, perhaps it would be done automatically.

Chris wiped sweat away from his forehead and I grinned at him. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He stuck his tongue out at me, but I ignored his jest.

“So we’re taking a cab?” Chris asked, smiling. I nodded at him. “Gotcha. I’m from New York. I know how to do this. No need to show me how this is done.” Turning, he stepped out onto the road. He whistled once and stuck his arm out. “Cab!”

A few people standing nearby laughed at him weakly, while others looked away and tried to ignore him. I ran out after him, embarrassed, pulling his arm back to his side. “Chris, you’re not on Earth anymore. This is Starside. We don’t hail a cab like you do. Here, you hail a cab with your SkinID, like civilized people. No arm waving on Starside. You look like a fool.”

Chris frowned at me. “We are civilized people.”

My reply was cut off as a cab pulled up before us. It was a light green color, one of the new models that were sometimes seen around the city. I had heard that they were still being tested and were taking no passengers, but I guess all the programs and glitches were fixed. I stepped into the open door followed by Chris. I slid over to let Chris in.

“Destination, Markus Rish?” The mechanical voice asked.

Chris turned to me, shocked. “Where’s the driver?” He asked. I laughed at him as he realized that we were sitting in the front seats. “Is this safe?”

“Of course it’s safe.” I said, reassuring him. “Cab, SkINC building, please.” I said, and we pulled away quickly. Chris began muttering something about steering wheels and seat belts.

“Chris, relax.” I said, turning to him. “It’s perfectly safe. Don’t worry.”

“Cab, where are the seat belts?” Chris asked. There was no reply. “Cab?” Chris began to pull on his hair again.

I slapped his hand down. “Chris, don’t worry. Everything’s fine.”

“I at least want a seatbelt.” He said. “Give me that Earth comfort, please.”

I nodded. “Cab, Chris wants a seatbelt. Please give him a seatbelt.” The car said nothing for a second and I began to get worried. “Cab?” Uh oh. Was this one of the bugs that the system was rumored to have? This wouldn’t be good.

“Cannot comply.” The cab finally said. “Chris does not require seatbelt. There is no Chris. Would Markus Rish request a seatbelt?”

“Umm…” I said, turning to Chris. “Yes, Cab, give me a seatbelt.” As I said that, a seatbelt popped out of the seat. “Chris, sit here.”

The two of us switched places and Chris hastily buckled himself in. “What happened?” He asked.

I shrugged. “Cab? Why is there no Chris in this vehicle?”

“There is only one person with a SkinID in this cab and that is Markus Rish. No other persons are recorded as having entered.”

“Thank you Cab.” I said. I turned to Chris. “See why you need a SkinID? How have you survived in Starside so long without one? I was surprised at your expression when we walked outside; have you ever been outside before?”

“This is my third day here.” Chris replied. “I haven’t had a chance to cross the street or take a cab before. The day we got here, it was too early in the morning for traffic or people to be out on the streets. I hung out at your place for most of the afternoon. Same with yesterday. I’ve spent most of the time setting up my room and the rest of the house.”

“You know we have robots to do that, right?” I asked him as we turned around a corner.

“Yea, I do. But I’m not that used to them. The models are all so different from what we have on Earth.” He replied. He turned and looked out the window. “How much longer?”

When the Cab didn’t respond, I asked the question myself. “Cab? How much longer?” I asked.

“Six point four six seconds.” It replied. “Correction, destination time, zero seconds. Welcome to SkINC. Have a nice day Markus Rish.”

We jumped out of the cab onto the sidewalk. The crowds here were a bit smaller and more manageable to walk through. The SkINC building was a dull silver building. Square and blocky, the building did not display what they company dealt in. The sole irregularity of the otherwise dull building was the large holographic sign with ‘SkINC, Your External Needs’ written in flashy blue and silver letters. The buildings to the left and right were similar, though not as tall. The SkINC building towered above all the other buildings in the area.

“Here we are.” I said, scanning for the top. “Let’s get this done with.”

We walked into the building, barely giving the automatic doors enough time to open before us. The lobby inside was huge, and strangely empty.  It was strange; with body modding being so popular I expected the place to be packed. The only important structure in the lobby was the reception counter on the far end. The far wall was a large screen where the company was proudly displaying some of the changes they could make to your body. Chris stared with an open mouth.

“They can do that?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow. “I bet with that I could—“

“Chris. Quit while you’re ahead.” I said. I dragged him towards the receptionist before he could say anything else. The lady behind the counter was blond, her hair tied up in a sharp ponytail. She appeared to be around twenty-five. But on Starside, you never know. A black and white dragon tattoo swirled around her face, the tail disappearing down the side of her neck. The lady frowned at us as we walked up to her. Her dress glowed an iridescent pink, changing shades like light reflected on water.

“Welcome.” She said in a bored and annoyed tone, not even looking up at us as we approached. Her desk was cluttered with photos and pamphlets of the company’s various merchandise. The lady was painting her nails a color that changed like a lava lamp while watching something on the small screen resting on her desk. Her nameplate was concealed behind a stack of unorganized papers and I couldn’t make out her name because of it. I gasped as her tattoo moved over her face. Its wings flapped and its mouth breathed black fire. The dragon settled into a new position and froze. “New movable tattoos are our newest feature that you can add to your skin.” The lady said in a bored tone that suggested memorization, without even taking her eyes off her nails or the screen. “If you act now, you can be all the rage on the street.”

“Sur—” Chris began before I could stop him.

“Thanks but no thanks.” I politely replied. “My friend Chris is here to get a SkinID”

The lady finally looked up. “Would you like our basic SkinID package? We also offer other features that you can add to your body.” The lady held up her fingers as if checking for spots and blotches and began to recite a memorized list. “Translucent skin, vibrant skin, muscle implants, changed skin tone…Um…”

“Just the basic.” I said to her before she could continue.

“It’s his choice.” She said. “Let him pick.” She turned to him. “We can also change your hair color to match your shirt of the day, memory hair, optic zoom, feline qualities, lupine qualities, avian, reptilian or piscine qualities. The list goes on, what do you want?”

Chris paused, considering it. “Well…that would be cool. But no, I’m not used to any of this stuff yet. Better just get the basic.”

The lady nodded. She tapped something on her desk and whatever she was watching was replaced by another screen. “All right. I’ll need your name and info please.”

Chris gave her his full name and address. I saw the lady swallow visibly as her tattoo changed position once more. She smiled sweetly at Chris and asked for more information.

Not wanting to hear Chris’s personal info and interfere with his privacy, I zoned out and stared up at the big screen behind the counter. There really were some interesting things that you could get done. Some that would impress Janet. Maybe I should consider getting some of these. The people on the screen looked good with the changes.

“Step this way please.” The lady said politely. She motioned for Chris to step towards a door that led deeper into the building.

“Can I come too?” I asked, following Chris.

She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. You’ll have to wait here.” She turned to Chris. “The ‘bot will come and get you in a few seconds. The procedure will only take a few minutes; you’ll be back in no time.”

The door to the back of the building opened and a grey droid hovered out. It was spherical in shape with various panels and sensors on the front. “Christopher Silverton, please step this way.” It said in a mechanical tone that was typical of most ‘bots. Chris followed the droid into the back.

“How long did you say?” I asked the lady, watching as the dragon did a loop around her neck.

“Five to ten minutes.” She said. She noticed me staring at her tattoo. “You like the tattoo? We’re still researching color tattoos; they’ll take a bit longer to develop.”

“Do you notice it move?” I asked, curious. “Can you hide it at all? Or change it?”

The lady nodded. I was wondering why she was being so helpful all of a sudden. “The motion tattoos are completely unnoticeable and can be temporarily removed. Parental permission  is required of course.”

I sighed; Mom and Dad would never let me get one. “Thanks anyways.” I turned away as I got a Ping. It was a voice Ping, from Jack. I was surprised; he usually sends a vid because he’s such a showoff. “Open Ping.” I said to my eyepiece.

“Heya Mark!” Jack’s voice came on loud in my ear so only I could hear, shutting out all other sound. The lady said something to me, but I couldn’t hear her. Jack had a loud voice that he uses a lot for yelling and laughing. He’s a very vocal person. “You’ve gotta check it out. This new mod I got is sweeeet! I’ll be chillin’ at the I.C.P. in about…uh…half an hour. Meetcha there. Bring Chris, I’ll rustle up Alice. We’ve gotta get the two of ‘em bangin’ togetha soon. See ya soon. Chatz!” With that, the Ping shut off and sound rushed back into my head. I winced; it was always a shock to hear the world’s noise come back to. Others don’t have that problem. I would have to get it fixed.

I sent a quick Ping-ply back to Jack, telling him we’d be there soon. I looked over at the lady. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Your friend. Chris, he’s new here, right?” She asked, curious. “How long’s he been here?”

“Three days.” I replied. “He’s a bit late in getting his SkinID, will that be a problem?”

“No.” She said, biting her lip. “His bio says he’s already got a mem-implant Why’d he get one before he got his SkinID? You’re supposed to get your SkinID before you get anything else. He wouldn’t have been able to register for the mem-implant without it.”

“Don’t look at me.” I said, holding my hands up. “I don’t know anything about those kinds of things. Has that happened before?”

“No.”  She said, shaking her head. She shrugged. “But that’s not important. I’m sure it’s just a glitch in the system. It’s not perfect; we’ve been having problems for a while.”

I decided to sit down on a bench to wait for Chris to be finished. While I was waiting, several people came in and out, requesting new mods, upgrades, or simply wanting to get rid of a mod that they found too cumbersome to keep up. One man came in and asked the receptionist for his real arm back. He got really angry when she told him it would take 48 hours to regrow it properly.

The door leading into the back opened and Chris stepped out. The door closed behind him, almost clipping him on the heel. He carried a red piece of candy in one hand and a large packet in the other. “All done.” He said with a big grin. He held up the candy for me to see. “Ha ha! They gave me candy too.” He laughed. “I’m surprised. It didn’t hurt one bit. They put me under and then woke me up two seconds later and it was all done.” He turned around. “Do I look any different?” He raised one of his eyebrows. “Did they do anything with me that they shouldn’t have?”

“No, you’re fine.” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Let’s go get some ice cream. Jack just sent me a Ping. The Gangs going to the I.C.P for Ice cream. I told him we’d meet him there.

“Awesome.” Chris replied. “We have an I.C.P in New York.”

The two of us walked out of the SkINC building. Our cab was still there, as if it was waiting for us. Chris opened the door and jumped in, I followed quickly after.

“Destination, Markus Rish and Christopher Silverton?” the car asked.

“Cab, I.C.P, please.” Chris said, he turned to me as the cab sped off. “Look at that. It recognizes me now.” He turned his concentration to the packet on his lap. “Wow, look at all this information on my SkinID. It will take ages to read through.” He flipped through the pages. “Eye sensory? Hormone balancers? Ping nodes? Auto Sense Adjusters? What is this stuff?”

“Add-ons.” I said, pointing at the page. “It says right here. You might want to think about getting some. I thought they came with your SkinID; mine did. You can go back later and get what you want.”

“I’ll get that cool tattoo too.” Chris said smiling. “That thing was so cool. I would look so hot in it!”

“I’m surprised. You haven’t asked for a seatbelt. You’re all grown up now.” I teased.

“Very funny.” He growled. “When we get to the I.C.P, I’m ordering the biggest thing I can find. It’s going on your tab remember.”

“Whatever.”

We turned another corner and the cab stopped. “Welcome to I.C.P. Have a nice day Markus Rish and Christopher Silverton.”

“Thanks cab.” Chris said as the two of us hopped out.

Before us was the I.C.P. The Ice Cream Place. It was the coolest place to be seen. It had rules, of course, and age limits. 15-21. No adults allowed. Sure, the staff was all adults, but they were different. A cool brand of adult. The building wasn’t large, only two stories tall. Having been built in the park district, two stories was the max allowed. The building was mostly red and blue, built like something out of the twentieth century. Way old. They say some of the stools and tables inside were really used by those olden day earthlings.

Inside, the place was quiet, which was unusual. It was usually packed at this time of day. Chris walked in and immediately took a table like he owned the place. It could be possible. I hadn’t had time to ask him what his parents did. His family could own the whole candy industry for all I knew.

“Hurry up Mark.” He said, waving me over. “I’ve got a whole table.”

I sauntered over, taking my time about it. I sat down just as the waiter droid placed two holo-menus on the table. “Enjoy gentlemen.”

Chris grabbed a menu, oohing and ahhing at everything that was to offer. I opened the menu up to see that they had updated it since the last time I had been there. I glanced at the first item, a large chocolate Sundae with everything on it. As I was looking at it, the succulent smell of the sundae came wafting out of the menu.

“Mmm.” I said. “That smells good.”

Chris nodded. “It sure does. I’m not sure what I’m going to have. Perhaps the Scottish Explosion. Or the Mundalo Vulcano. The Suppa Sunda looks good too, but the Deluxa Chocolata is even bigger. I think I’ll get that.”

I put my head on the table and groaned. Chris once again forgot how to order.

“Oops.” I heard him say. “Sorry. I forgot.”

I looked up. “That’s OK. I won’t order anything. I’ll eat yours instead. I’m sure you won’t be able to finish it all.” I shook my head. “I thought you would have learned when we ordered takeout yesterday.”

Chris smiled in reply. “I thought it worked differently this time. You know, with waiters?”

Seconds later, four drones hovered out of the back room, each carrying a large bowl of ice cream. They placed all four on the table in front of Chris.

I raised my hand. “Put them on my tab.”

“All of them?” The drone asked.

“Yes.”

The drone said nothing in reply. It, along with the three others, turned and left.

Chris picked up a spoon. “Do you mind if I take the Scottish Explosion?” He looked at me hopefully.

“Whatever. My fav is the Mundalo Vulcano.” I replied, pulling it closer and digging in. I put a large bite in my mouth, savoring every second of the delicious chocolate.

There was a commotion by the front door and someone came running into the restaurant.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the Jackman!” Someone behind me yelled. It could only be Jack; only he would make an entrance like that. Even if he hadn’t given his name I would have known.

Not sure what to expect, I turned to see Jack’s new mod. I dropped my spoon in surprise. Jack had always been crazy with his modding, but this was way extreme. Now I knew why he sent a ping instead of a vid; to not ruin the surprise.

Jack stood in the center of the room, arms outstretched, showing off to the place. His permanently spiky mem-hair stood as straight as ever, the vibrant strands of hair changed colors rapidly. Jack’s yellow feline eyes clashed sharply with his deep blue-tinted skin. He wore a deep green shirt with no sleeves, all the better to show off his roughly chiseled arms. Muscle implants of course. No one got muscles like that with hard work. The could only be bought.

Jack’s pants were green too, a first that something matched. He went barefoot to reveal his two matching dragon tattoos on his ankles. They changed colors as rapidly as his hair but never matched. They didn’t move, but once he learned that they could, he would be covered from head to toe.

All of this was normal. Jack had been like this since I met him, well, close to this. He often changed his hair and skin color, along with other temporary features. The one new addition—the real shocker—was the wings. A pair of angel wings protruded from his back. The feathers pristine and white, they seemed to shimmer in the daylight. The wings were huge, rising above his head and falling close to the floor.

Jack turned to face me. “Well? Whatcha think of my new mod?” He stepped forward lightly, almost dancer-like.

As he stepped away from the door I become aware of another girl who had been standing behind him, as if overshadowed by his brilliance. Timidly, she stepped forward too.

“C’mon Alice.” Jack said, noticing that she had fallen behind. She smiled at him briefly before running to catch up. Alice was the shyest one in our group. She doesn’t talk much and she’s never really loud. She’s extremly friendly; she’ll go out of her way to help anyone, even a stranger. Most people here on Starside wouldn’t even consider that. Alice is  average height, and  she has light hazel eyes and strawberry blond hair. She isn’t one for modding herself; she says that she likes herself as-is. She only really has the basics, the stuff she really needs to live on Starside. She’s the only person in the group with less modding than me.

“Chris; Alice. Alice; Chris.” Jack said, sitting down at the table with us, already smacking his lips. I rolled my eyes at his introductions. “Siddown Alice.” He said, pointing at a chair across from him and beside Chris.

“Hey guys.” Alice said, eyes cast downwards.

“So whose is whose?” Jack asked, eyeing the Deluxa Chocolata, the largest item on the table.

“Take whatever.” I said. “Chris accidently ordered everything.”

Jack laughed while pulling over the large dessert. “Sweet.” He said, “I love when Chris makes mistakes like this.” He looked at Chris and smiled. “I have never eaten so much takeout before.”

Chris’s cheeks turned red. He turned to Alice. “You want something? Take whatever you want. Order something even; Mark’s paying.”

“Sweet!” Jack cried out, interrupting Alice. “Oops, sorry Alice. You were saying?”

“I’m not hungry: I just ate.” She repeated in her soft voice.

“That’s too bad.” Jack said. “If you want something, just take some of Chris’s; he won’t mind. Right?” Jack flashed Chris a big smile and a wink.

“R-right.” Chris said, tugging at his hair. “Here,” he slid the large dessert over to her.

Alice took the dessert wordlessly. She took a spoon off the table and stuck it into the ice cream. She stuck the spoon into her mouth and sucked on it for a moment before putting the spoon back down on the table.

“You still haven’t told me what you thought about my new mod.” Jack said impatient as ever.

Stalling for time, I put a large scoop of ice cream into my mouth. I wasn’t sure how to answer exactly. Sure, the wings were cool, but were they really necessary? I was positive that my opinion would not make one bit of a difference in how he thought of his wings, but here on Starside appearance was everything. A friendship could be lost or gained depending on how good you looked. If you weren’t part of the ‘in’ crowd, or any other crowd for that matter, you were out.

“Do they work?” I asked, deciding to ask a question of my own instead. Perhaps if I kept him talking long enough, he would forget that I hadn’t responded.

Jack flexed his shoulders and his wings sprang to life. They flapped twice and managed to create a breeze that blew every napkin off our table.

“Sorry.” Jack said as the robots brought us new napkins and picked the ones up off the floor. “I’m still getting used to them.”

Chris raised an eyebrow and I kicked him under the table to silence him before he could say anything embarrassing. It had taken me a while to notice the connection between his eyebrow and the comments. It must be a glitch in the system; Mem-implants weren’t supposed to be visible to anyone. I was just glad that I had caught it before he had a chance to make a fool of himself in front of Alice.

“The wings are connected to my muscle, tissue and nervous system. I can move them, feel them and bleed from them; I’m officially part angel.” Jack said, shoveling more ice cream into his mouth.

“But can you fly?”

Jack’s face fell. “Well…not really. They advised me not to try. I talked to Chloe and she said the structure wasn’t large enough to support my weight. She did, however, say that it may be possible to glide with them. Then just this morning, I was talking with my Dad and…never mind.”

There was an awkward silence for a second before we all dived back into our ice creams. On Starside there’s a unspoken rule not to mention anyone’s parents, including your own. This rule has been adopted by the teens that live here. Because many of the families that live here have feuds with other families, their children were also forced to live with these feuds. This bad blood between families always got in the way of friendship.

There are some feuds between the parents in our group. Jack and Alice, for example. Jack’s family works for SkINC and that was the main reason why he had such extensive modding. Alice’s family, on the other hand, works for a company that tries to publicize the negatives of modding. They want the human race to remain pure and untainted as we were before technology.

If their parents knew about Jack and Alice’s friendship, the two of them wouldn’t be allowed near each other. So now, whenever one of our parents are accidently brought up, an awkward silence immediately follows. We all know what each family says about the other at the dinner table.

“Tell us.” Alice said in a small voice. Alice was not one for fighting and hated these awkward parent situations above all else. I also had a sneaking suspicion she had a crush on Jack, just a guess though. “Our parent’s feud is not our own. I do not mind you talking about your father.”

“Um…you sure?” He said quietly. He waited for Alice to nod before continuing. “Dad told me that they were working on grav implants that make you lighter so the wings can carry you and you can properly fly.”

“That’ll be a sight to see.” Chris said. “Weren’t there complications with them before?”

Jack nodded. “Yup. Pretty gruesome. The trials used to tear the subjects apart. Literally.” Alice winced visibly at the image. “Oops. Sorry Alice.”

Alice shrugged, indifferent. “It’s cool, Jack.”

There was a commotion behind me and I turned to see what was going on. It appeared that two of the robots had malfunctioned and collided, causing their tray’s contents to go everywhere, covering each robot with sticky ice cream.

Just then, the door opened and Janet walked in. With Corey. Great.

Janet had changed into a pair of dark green jeans and a pale blue tank top. She had curled her hair and had added brown highlights to the tips. Corey had his arm wrapped around her waist and was laughing at something she had just said. Corey’s skin was a little more tan than most people’s, but unfortunately it still managed to look good on him. Corey wore a tight muscle shirt that showed off his toned frame, just a little larger than Jack’s.

Besides his muscle implants, there wasn’t anything that made him stand out from the crowd. His eyes were a regular deep blue and there was nothing special going on with his brown hair. He stood about six two, a typical height for someone on Starside.

Janet effortlessly steered him over the fallen ice cream, appearing nonchalant about where she stepped, but avoiding the ice cream with ease. Corey, however, failed and I snickered under my breath as he stepped in a rather large glob of ice cream. Trust Janet to make herself look good and make everyone else look like a fool.

“Hey.” Corey said in a deep voice as he noticed us. I growled lightly in my throat; I was not looking forward to this. Jack sent a quick glare my way, but otherwise ignored it. Jack knew about my fondness for Janet, and most other people did because of him too.

“Do you mind if we join you?” Corey asked, not taking his eyes off me as if he hoped I’d object. Before any of us could answer he steered Janet over to our table while snapping his fingers at a robot to pull up an additional chair Janet silently glared at Corey but said nothing to him.

“Looks like the gang’s almost all here.” Corey remarked as he sat down at a chair one of the robots had just brought. “Where’s Alex, Nina and Scott?”

Janet glared fiercely at me as she sat down. I could feel my cheeks redden and warning signs popped up in my vision. “Who knows. I thought it’d be just the two of us here.”

“Perhaps they knew we were coming and wanted to meet up with us.” Corey said, laughing. He grabbed a menu and glanced at it briefly. “Bana Slurp, please.”

“Perhaps.” Janet said coolly. She pushed the menu offered to her away. “I’m not hungry. I’ll eat later.”

“You sure, babe?” Corey asked. “That game was intense. I’m surprised.”

“Don’t call me babe.” Janet growled. “You know I don’t like that.”

“C’mon. You know you like it.” Corey said. “Especially when I say it.” He turned to me, “What brings you guys here?”

“We’re celebrating.” Chris said. “I just got my SkinID and Mark agreed to pay for ice cream. Jack and Alice met up with us here only a few minutes before you two arrived. What brings you two here?”

“A date.” Janet said with distaste. She shot a piercing stare at Corey that would have numbed me to the bone. Corey ignored her. “This was supposed to be a date, Corey.” She punched him in the arm, hard. “Look at me!”

“Ouch.” Corey complained, rubbing his arm. “No need to hit. I thought you wanted to hang out with them; you kept talking about how you caught Mark this last time. It seems like you had nothing else to talk about. It was all getting annoying.”

“Annoying?” Janet said, puffing herself up. “I was annoying? Look who kept talking about himself the whole way here. Who cares about your stupid implants—you don’t use them anyways. You would have spent your money better buying brain implants.” Janet stood up in a huff. “Enjoy your talk. I’ll see you guys later.”

Janet pushed herself away from the table and walked out of the restaurant without looking back. Corey stared after her, open-mouthed. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as if thinking of what to say. Coming up with nothing he stood up too. I smiled slightly, glad that Janet’s date wasn’t going as well as she had hoped.

“I had better go talk to her.” He muttered under his breath. He too turned and walked out of the restaurant.

“Well.” Jack said with an amused smile. “Wasn’t that funny. Who woulda known the two of ‘em would light up like a lit rocket? Pity I forgot to install that optic-cam I was looking at this afta-noon. It would be all ova the net in a flash.” Jack frowned and stared down at his bowl. He looked over at Corey’s half eaten Bana Slurp and pulled it over to him. “He won’t mind.”

Alice looked up at Jack. “I got the whole thing.” She giggled softly, brushing hair out of her eye. “I’ll send it to you.”

Jack’s eyes bulged as he spit out his Bana Slurp, creating a mess that narrowly missed Alice and Chris. “You what?”

“I have a few mods that my…my parents don’t know about. I don’t share the same opinions that they have about the body.”  Alice said, stumbling over bringing up her parents. “Don’t tell them, please.”

Jack nodded, serious for once. “Sure, no problem. It might be best then if you gave me the video. What would your parents say if they saw that you had posted the video?”

Alice nodded. “That would be best. They would blow a fuse.” Alice quickly sent Jack the video and he put it on the net.

“There.” Jack said with a laugh, “everyone will have seen it by tomorrow. They won’t be cozying up with each other for long with that out.”

A soft buzzing noise went off in my head and I got a Ping on my eyepiece. It was Mom; her message had an urgency notice attached to it. I excused myself from the table to see what she had to say. “Open Ping.” I said.

“Mark?” Mom’s voice drifted into my head. She sounded worried about something. “Mark? Where are you? What happened? The house? Mark?” Mom’s voice was getting desperate now.  “No, honey, don’t touch that.” She said to Dad, who must have been with her. “Mark. Come home, something’s wrong; the house is a mess.” There was some muttering in the background that I couldn’t hear. “No, David. I don’t know. I said don’t touch that. Leave it.” Mom was yelling now. What was going on? The cleaners should have cleaned and left by now. Why didn’t Mom just call me? She usually loses her mind when something happens, but not enough to go completely ballistic.

“Mark? I don’t know what you did, but whatever it was we don’t blame you; we’re not mad.” Mom was pleading. “We tried to call, but something isn’t working. My nanites…. I can’t even send a Vid-Ping or open a proper conversation. If you’re getting this, please come home, we still love you. No, David. Just leave the body.” Body? Something was horribly wrong. Maybe Mom did have a reason to overreact. Mom was now down to a quiet whisper. “Mark. Mark, just come home. We love you.”

The Ping ended with a click. I stared at the far wall for a second, praying that everything was all right. I turned to the table. “Hey, something’s come up. I’ve got to head home. I’ll see you later.” I turned and was out the door before any of them had a chance to respond.

A Legend Prologue, Update Zero

The night was cold and dark. There was no moon in the sky and the only illumination was the dim glow of the stars. Although it was deep into winter, there was no sign of snow on the ground, nor had there been since the winter past. The wind blew softly in the clearing, causing everyone who stood there to shiver. The old woman looked up to the stars once more, as if confirming to herself that the moon was not there. The women wore all gray, safe for a green bow that encircled her waist. She was dressed simply, a gray dress that covered her ankles while keeping the wind off her legs and bare feet. The wind, but not the cold, she thought to herself. A simple shawl was draped over her head, concealing her silver hair beneath it. The woman’s face was old and layered with wrinkles. Her blue eyes were cold, almost lifeless, and the only color on her face was the blush on her cheeks. Her gaze trembled and she looked down upon the others in the clearing.

There were five others, four of them stood surrounding a women lying on the ground within their circle. She sweated and panted with the pains of childbirth, her face red with the effort of it. The others did nothing to help of ease her pains, only watched as custom commanded. None of them wore any type of shoes over their feet, regardless of the cold. The mother gave a final, throat curdling scream as she delivered the final push. Then, as if controlled by one mind, the others in the clearing swooped down to aid the weak mother.

The old woman looked to the night sky once more, searching for the moon. Its absence confirmed a growing suspicion that she had for the past two weeks, ever since the soon mother-to-be had wandered into their tiny village. She looked down on the woman now, watching as the baby was cleaned and brought forward for her to see. A smile spread on her aged lips and the hint of life flaring in her eyes for a brief second. Yes, it was a girl; a beautiful blue-eyed girl.

The old woman bent down to help the mother, wiping her brow with an aged cloth. The old woman looked around at the others in the clearing. There was Leo, the youngest boy to have come to adulthood in the village. The tradition of the youngest male and female raised to adulthood to help in any child births was old, far older than the tribe itself was. His hands trembled as he offered water to the mother. Beside him kneeled Angela, only raised to womanhood two days ago. She glanced at Leo, a smile on her face. Those two would be married soon enough, she would see to that. Angela turned back to her task at hand of preparing shoes for everyone’s feet when Leo didn’t return her smile.

As the mother’s mother could not be found, a replacement had to be made. Fay stood in for this long-held tradition of holding the newborn baby. She rocked the baby, and whispered quietly to it, as if it was her own child. Kate, the last in the group was the last mother to have given birth, almost six years ago now. The old woman frowned at the thought. Kate assisted the mother in standing up, both of them shivering in the cold.

The cold wind continued to blow as the party of six returned to the small village. Once a great city, the village was only a part of its former glory. Many homes and buildings lay abandoned and in ruins from countless wars that had swept through the area over the years. Ancient cars and buses lay abandoned on the streets from the time before the oil wars. Not many remembered that happier time, the old woman was certainly only one of a few in the village that could recall how things once was.  Power lines lay toppled on the dirty streets, the electricity had not flowed for many years and would not for many more to come, if ever again. In reality, the whole town had been abandoned except for one small area where people lived their lives amid the rubble around them. Within another generation, no one would know what was lost, and would come to accept that things had always been in ruins.

The makeshift village wasn’t very large, only twenty-two houses surrounding a central square and fountain. Each building housed three to four families, usually all related to each other. The current population hovered around three hundred, it had been constantly dropping ever since the fighting began in the area nearly forty years ago now. Food shortages and constant drafts to the army kept the numbers from increasing.

The old woman led the party to a small house just beyond what the villagers considered the village limits. None of the townsfolk were too keen on having a strange mother-to-be living in their house. There was nothing the old woman could do to discourage the villagers’ wariness of strangers. At least the villagers made an effort to keep her comfortable by cleaning out an old house for her to use. They worked tirelessly through the day for fear that the strange woman would have to stay with even one of them for even one night.

Once the new mother was set up in makeshift new home and holding her new baby in her arms, the old woman ushered everyone outside despite their protests of custom and courtesy. Closing the door as securely as she could, she turned back to the mother.

“We have much to discuss.” She said as she sat down in the only other chair. “I understand that you don’t talk much; you haven’t given us your name, why you’re here or where you came from. But at this moment, there are matters at hand that are too important to be kept in silence.”

The mother said nothing in reply, only nodded in answer while not taking her eyes off her new baby.

“On the third empty moon of a new year, prophecy speaks of a child entering our torn and battered world.” The old woman said. “Many consider this prophecy rubbish, as they do most things that came into fruition after the oil went. Anyways, your child—as I have seen—I believe is—”

“The One.” The mother interjected, her voice strong and loud, not the voice of someone who had not spoken for many months. “The savior, Spirit Lifter, Tree Grower and Daughter of All. She’s destined to restore mankind and along with it, the world to its former glory.”

The old woman smiled at the mother, “I see you know the old stories. Good; that should leave out a lot of unnecessary explanations. You see, I have a feeling that we need to—”

There was a harsh knock at the door and it opened quickly, admitting Angela, still shivering from the cold. “I’m sorry to trouble you, but Nina’s going into Labor and we need you to prepare the ritual.” She said in a huff, completely forgetting all formalities and titles that went with the old woman’s position. The old woman said nothing of this; it would be dealt with later, at a more appropriate time.

“I see.” The old woman said, her eyes twinkling in the dim light. She turned back to the mother. “It is strange; no births in six years, and now two in one night. Perhaps this signals a new era. We will talk more in the morning. That I have seen.”  The old woman stood up smoothly for a woman her age and walked to the door. She paused in the doorway to take off her shoes and hand them to Angela. Angela took them without a word, only shivered in the cold air. Closing the door behind them, the two women left the house in silence.

The new mother turned to her special child, humming a wordless tune. There was no doubt in the mother’s mind that this child was the one.  The mother continued her wordless tune deep into the night, praying that the world would be made right by this child.