(A/N: An experimental write. No ponies until next chapter. Forgive me.
I grumbled to myself as I performed a barrel roll through the awning that covered the city’s failed attempt to merge the city’s slum and industrial district. Every time I took this route, the damn monotonous AI of CityNet would continue to spam my visor with countless protocols, like: ‘[Warning: This route has been deemed inaccessible by council members of CityNet. Your hoverbike will be shut down if you proceed another 10 meters]'. They could have at least chosen a lighter shade of yellow, but when they flash a warning, it’s enough to leave you temporarily dazed. But in this case, I am able to stroll away with no delay; you can’t hack what I invented. My personal FrostTech hoverbike had it’s own modified protocol set into it, and relayed any remote interference right back to the sender. At least that gave me a few minutes of silence as the CityNet mainframe reset itself.
I zoomed forward, winding around broken foundation pillars and various now-dull banners, all with the same quote from the senator:
‘Rebuilding today, for a better tomorrow’
I remember when they threw that senator out without a seconds delay when they found out he had been tweaking decimals in our monthly taxes in order to fund his projects. It was kind of pathetic that we didn’t stop and think that this guy was risking his political career in return to put back together the city he had aspired from his childhood to protect. Regardless, people moved on and simply shrugged off the realization that the city was crumbling from beneath them, due to rickety foundations and shady agreements. Los Angeles, or the ‘City of Angels’, was never meant to be a happy place; only the ones that were on top were the ones that enjoyed its luxuries.
As the flashing, colorful lights from the residential district slowly emerged from the end of the tunnel, I revved the engine of my hoverbike. The best part about taking this route is the gargantuan gap between the exit of the tunnel and the roads that lead to the heart of the district. If you don’t manage to pull over 290 mph, at least the 20,000 ft fall to the river bank below will be quick and painless.
The adrenaline boost that I’ve felt many times before pumped through my veins, giving me a slightly dazed feeling which heightens my awareness of my surroundings and depth perception. I braced for the feeling of lightness that accompanies the feeling of true flight once you leave the tunnel. As I flew off the edge of the tunnel, I removed my hands from my handlebars and let them hang openly by my sides, as if I’m trying to give a bear a giant hug. The rush of air is incomparable to the feelings that I get in my dreams, and makes me feel like a kid again.
I quickly put my hands back onto the accelerator and braced for the landing after. Even with gravitational suspensions, the shock from landing is still noticeably strong and can throw off the rider if he’s not attentive enough. As I touched down back onto earth, I sighed deeply. The exhilaration leaving my body was delightful; it can be compared to the feeling of when you’re worried about something for the whole day, and return home to find out that everything turned out just fine.
I gently navigated myself around the other drivers, observing the local businesses and how they were turning out. With the new paths my technological advances had opened up, the economy had stabilized itself and many families had begun to invest into their own businesses. For the past 4 years, many local businesses had been booming and often had the sidewalks packed with eager customers, wanting to get a slice at what’s hot. I guess that’s why I enjoyed taking the small roads leading to my apartment; it’s always nice to see how all the elbow grease and sweat you put into your company turn out to be beneficial to the whole community. Of course, that’s what my main goal was in mind when I started out on my crazy, adventurous scheme back in the year of 15’. If it wasn’t for one perso- er... thing in my life, I wouldn’t have had the ambition to come to arms and lead the technological revolution into a new era.
After driving for 20 minutes, I stopped myself in front of a restaurant I was all too familiar with. I had begun visiting this place a few years back, and had been the best customer ever since. As I dismounted from my hoverbike, a business man was pushed over and fell face forward onto my hoverbike. A sickening ‘thwap’ erupted from the contact, and he immediately supported himself up using the side of my hoverbike. By then, I had him wrap his arm around my shoulder and helped him to a bench. I placed him gently and politely asked him to follow my finger. I was afraid that he may have a minor concussion, due to the fact that there was blood flowing from somewhere on his head down his face. His eyes tracked them just fine and I patted him on the back, telling him to sit down for a few minutes and collect his thoughts.
“Hey thanks a bunch...?”
“Camron,” I answered promptly. “Don’t worry about thanking me, just take a bit to relax for a bit.”
“Wait... the Camron... the new-”
“Yes, yes, yes. THAT Camron. Now, I have to head off now. Just... be more careful.”
He thanked me greatly and I left to go to the restaurant. I stopped before I opened the door and simply stared at the beautiful woman who was wiping a table with a washcloth. Her blond curls bounced as she skipped around in her own happy world, living with a skip in her step that is invisible to the eyes of a bystander. This is the woman that I could love, if I hadn’t already pledged my love to another. I cleared my throat and walked into the restaurant with a stern composure.
My composure was immediately broken by the blast of mellow air and warm ambiance. In the background, country music lightly played about some poor dude and his childhood crush.
Without looking up, she started up her typical, warm customer greeting: “Howdy there! Welcome to ma’ lil restara- oh hey there Camron! Glad to see ya round here. When was the last time Ah saw ya? Ah just can’t plum remember for the life of me.”
“How’s it going Cindy? Man, this place just keeps looking better every time I stop by,” I happily stated to her.
“Well, Ah now have the ability ta’ buy some new decorations, due to somebody generously leaving donations...,” she said suggestively to me.
“Well,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows, “sounds like you’ve got a good friend there. Perhaps he deserves a lil ol’ hug?”
Cindy then pulled a mighty good poker face and held it for a few seconds. I uncomfortably tugged at the collar of my shirt, waiting for her to say something.
She instantly lightened up and happily said, “Oh who am Ah kiddin? Cmere you.” We embraced in a hug for a few minutes, and I ran my fingers through her blond hair. Man... it’s just too silky smooth.
“Alright. Alright... enough of that. I’ve got a figure to keep up now.” I smiled at her and raised my eyebrow.
She stopped hugging me and looked at me in the eye. “Wait a minute.” She paused and tapped her foot on the ground, deeply in thought. Her eyes suddenly opened up, revealing a beautiful light blue iris. “No ya didn’t.” I nodded sternly. “No ya DIDN’T!”
“I did! You’re looking at one of the head directors of the board of CityNet.” I tried to do something that looked professional, but her look of pure happiness just made me smile and lose my edge.
She squealed and vaulted over the bar counter. She reemerged moments later with two shot glasses and an unopened bottle of her trademark apple cider. She sat down and patted the bar stool next to her and yelled, “This calls for celebration!”
I blushed and stated modestly, “Aww, you don’t have to do this. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? Not a BIG DEAL? Get your ass in this stool before I drag ya by the hair over ta it,” she said with a determined gleam in her eye. I instantly obeyed her demand. Trust me, when this woman has got something in her head, she’s gonna damn stick by it.
I groaned, “Fine... only for you. Don’t be expecting this that often.”
The light outside slowly dimmed as we drank away the afternoon. Hours passed and we soon finished the bottle and were having a drunk conversation. Everything was fine until Cindy pulled up an uncomfortable topic.
“Hay *hic* Camron?”
“Yeeees?” I started to giggle uncontrollably. This often happens when I’m drunk.
“Why...” she paused in deep concentration, biting on her finger. “Why haven’t ya a-asked mah out? Iff’n ya cares enuff ta stop by every weekend and leave me money, what’s stoppin ya?” Soon after she finished the sentence, her eyebrows raised portraying her confusion.
I coughed loudly at the spontaneous nature of the question. She definitely had caught me off guard with that. “Well, you erm *hic* see...”
She interrupted in my sentence and questioned, “Ahm Ah... not perdy enough for yah?” She started to tear up.
“Oh jeeze... stop crying.” I patted her a few times on the back. “Here now... Trust me *hic*, I love you more than I love my family, but I just can’t be with you.”
“W-why?” She stopped crying, but looked really hurt. It pained me to see her like this; I had to get out... now.
I sat up and reached for my jacket. Without looking at her, I said, “Hey... just don’t rack your mind over this. When I feel I’m strong enough to tell you... I will. I promise.”
I stumbled out the door and jogged a block down from the restaurant. Catching myself from falling on my ass multiple times, I managed to navigate myself over to the bench where I had last set down the poor fool that whacked his head against my bike. Ugh... this headache’s gotta go. I reached into the inside of my O’Reily jacket, feeling around for my secret pocket. I located it after 2 minutes of searching over the same spot, and pulled out a small vial with a pink screw cap. Inside of this vial were micro-organic beings in hibernation. To the naked eye, they looked like simply chrome beads. But these ‘beads’ were programmed to dive in the user’s mind and cleanse his / her body of toxins. Useful for flushing your body from a bio-chemical assassination attempt, or for simply getting rid of a hangover. I popped open the cap and gulped audibly; using them is pretty painful... you’ll find out why.
I titled my head upward and pulled back the lower lid of my eye. I poured the chrome beads onto my cheek and they came to life. They turned into miniature, electronic spiders and searched around for a bit. They located the entrance I was creating by holding back my eyelid. They crawled into the opening, producing a large scream from me as they crawled under my skin, disappearing into my neck. A few minutes later, my mind was less foggy, and I was able to walk and think clearly. After another minute or two, I could think perfectly and was back to my sober self. I mounted back onto my hoverbike and drove away, deep in thought about how Cindy’s holding up right now.
I looked upward, staring at the slowly approaching skyscraper that I reside in. It was magnificent; it was sturdy, well maintained, and yet still beautiful that you can gaze at it for hours. It was a prototype of mine, simply a project that I wanted to test on an open lot in the middle of town. It turned out perfect. Now I own a 2000 ft apartment complex with over 260 residents, another byproduct of my increasing rise in power.
I took the hoverbike around the back and scanned my eyes using my personal FrostTech facial scanner. The neat thing about the one I personally own is that it also checks for body temperature, facial construction, and eye matches. The standard ones only check for facial construction. In a matter of milliseconds, my scanner recognized that it is indeed me trying to get into my garage, so it deactivated the gravity seal and pulled back the garage doors. I walked my hoverbike inside and placed it next to a scrap pile of what used to be of my other hoverbikes. Parking it, I walked back outside of my garage and let the doors close. Hearing the buzzing sound of the gravity seal being reactivated, I walked around the building and entered.
Instantly, I was greeted by many people, most of which I know. The reason behind this is because when I first constructed this building, I never expected it to actually succeed. It wasn’t made for profit at all. But now that it’s a beautiful building and is the center of attention for the residential district, I took in many friends and students that attend the local collages around here. In return for being wonderful, intellectual people that I love to be around, they get a nice apartment free of charge in the most convenient spot of the district. Being a good person pays off, huh.
I casually raised my hand and waved them off as I pushed the elevator button. In a matter of seconds, the elevator dropped from the 31st floor to the lobby; that’s the beauty of gravitational engineering. I stepped on and pushed the ‘P’ for penthouse as some dubstep played. In my building, you better damn enjoy the elevator. As the elevator rose, I looked out of the window and looked at the rival building across from mine. It was just as sturdy and tall as mine, but not as magnificent. The company, Synergy, that runs against me with a more non-environmental friendly way to mass produce felt threatened by the creation of my building. In return, they built a near-exact replica of mine to prove that they’re just as successful and powerful as me. But in the eyes of a sane person, they just look like a giant douchebag, which I have no problem with. To be quite frank, their building looks like a vibrant, orange turd, based off the company’s logo color. My building is midnight black with a neon blue outline to it, where at from a distance it almost looks as if the building is giving off a ghostly fog of sky blue. I love it.
The elevator reached it’s destination, and signaled it by playing a chord in E minor. The doors slid open and I stepped into the lone hallway. Various pictures decorated it, ranging from priceless artifacts from M.C. Escher to donations from the artists that live in the building. At the end was a wooden door with a 5 inch thick steel plating built into it. The only way to get through into my building is either by flying a plane into it, or by blowing up the door where so the amount of explosives needed to do so would blow the entire penthouse off the building into oblivion. Needless to say, I felt completely secure and at peace at my home.
I repeated the procedure that I used to get into my garage and securely locked the door behind me. As I stepped onto the carpet, surveillance camera’s picked up my heat signature and activated the AI that monitors all of my work to personal life. The AI spurred to live as it displayed new emails I had received in the time I had been out. Half of them consisted of personal congratulations for being one of the newest additions to the head director guild of the board of CityNet.
I skimmed through most of which, until a certain title caught my eye: “My Second Life, Chapter 437”. The first thought that occurred to me is the fact that Coal lied to me about not updating it until tomorrow. That bastard. The second thought that hit was ‘Yaaaaay! I get to know what happens to Sweetie Belle and Copper’s child, Lavender’. I downloaded it to my smartphone and encrypted it. I still had to make major precautions from the public knowing I was a brony. There has only been on big secret I have kept away from my work, and that is the fact I am a brony. It isn’t the fact that being a brony is bad, it’s just that I’ll be judged by the public for holding onto something that defined me as a person when I was 15 back in 2012. It was a thing I kept from the past, and even after the show discontinued after season 9, the fandom stayed alive in fanfiction written on multiple websites. The last thing I wanted was more negative attention being drawn to the subject, and for my political and business reputation to be dirtied by the prejudice opinions of others.
I sighed in happiness and shut down the computer by doing a hand gesture that looks almost as if I'm pulling play-dough in two separate directions. The motion sensors caught onto it and played a gentle melody before shutting down. As the lights began to dim in my home, I crawled into bed half-dressed. As my eyes began to close, I fell asleep with a strange feeling that life was going to only get more exciting.
PROLOGUE END.
