The Raven Chronicles. (Preface.)
My father once told me,
“It’s the promise of a happy ending that makes us want to know the end of a story.”
That was more than 10 years ago. I wonder what happened to him.
- It’s not that we aren’t in touch. It’s just that we’re… out of touch, with each other. After he left for the war, things were always different. Like it had changed him. You could see the sun in his eyes before, and see his youth. Now he was always either sad, angry, or intolerable. And here I was alone. Judging the man who had been part of bringing me into this world.
The bustling streets loomed over the skylights of my studio apartment. After the development of FlyTech, cities had become flatter to accommodate the more efficient flying mode of travel. Instead of skyscrapers, cities laid flat. The tallest buildings belonged only to the mega corporations and all others were regulated to stay up to or under 3 stories high.
There was constant turmoil among the parliament, one side wanting to allow nature to grow over vast parts of the city and the other was pushing for the old ways, the reliable ways to maintain supply. The airways had become so crowded during the early days, that the government had to take hold of all forms of transportation. Humans couldn’t keep up with the evolution of modern life. Now, only with special permissions were you able to access any self driving vehicle. Land or air. Even sea for that matter.
The divide between the wealthy and the poor grew. Men of the upper class took multiple wives. Women of the upper class took multiple husbands. People of the lower class were sold on some dream that if they were beautiful or good enough that they would make it. Plucked, like a flower in a field of weeds.
“I can’t believe they automated web development AND lowered basic universal income. The only way to scrape together any meaningful life now is to never take a day off.”
“Shut up Vel. Complaining does nothing for us.”
“I’m venting man, you don’t have to be such a dick.”
Vel and I had been good friends since we were young. He was a good guy, and had a good mind. But the more we grew, the more blaring our differences became.
“I’m gonna head out, have a good night.”
(You exchange a quick handshake.)
“PEACE!”
“PEACEE!”
