by Mike Essex
I instinctively walked onto the ‘have-nots’ section of the train and Grace followed. This end of the train had stained seats, broken tables and a horrible carpet that looked like it had seen better days. I walked past a man who was probably living on the train. His clothes were torn from months of constant wear, he smelled like he hadn’t had a bath in a year and I swore I could see flies buzzing in his vicinity.
We took a seat two rows down from the homeless man. As I sat down in my seat the fold down table in front of me snapped off and an adult magazine tumbled down onto my lap.
“Eugh!” I batted the magazine away with my hand, trying to touch it as little as possible.
“Now that’s service,” remarked Grace. “Where’s my free magazine? Ah, I know where we can get one,” and with that my hand was once again in hers. She walked me through the carriage and handed me a golden piece of paper. Printed on it were the words;
First Class Ticket: Jessica Young – Pride Line
It seemed Grace’s connections did have some advantages. We scanned our tickets on a control panel and the doors to first class opened. The first thing that hit me was the smell. Gone was the rank odour of ‘have-nots’ class, replaced by a light smell of perfume. I was greeted by a stunning looking man who walked us to our seats.
Everything about first class was extravagant. The lights were dimmed slightly to create a serene atmosphere and each set of two passengers got their own private rooms with a TV, separate lighting, air con and a mini bar. The seats even folded down into a bed, which was madness given that you could cover the whole city in around an hour.
“You like?” asked Grace, already knowing the answer simply by looking at my wide eyes and slightly open mouth.
“It’s amazing? But don’t you feel a little guilty sitting here whilst people in the other class have so little?” I asked.
“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t pay for the tickets. Technically we’re robbing from the rich.”
“That helps a little,” I looked back at the ‘poor’ class, knowing this could possibly be the only time in my life I’d get to enjoy this much luxury, and decided to make the most of it.
We sat down and fastened our seatbelts. Walking while the train was in motion was strictly forbidden, due to a high top speed and the tight corners that allowed the train to snake around the city skyline.
“Thank you for choosing Kaitu trains and for visiting the amazing city of Birmingham. I will be your driver this morning on a beautiful twenty degree day. We are almost ready to depart.”
My seat began to vibrate as the engines under the train started to burst into life. The driver started a countdown and Grace began to join in. In the background I could hear the ‘have-nots’ carriage counting down but here in first class Grace and I were the only ones who seemed to care. For the ‘haves’ in first class this was just a normal day.
The countdown reached its crescendo “3, 2, 1, Go!”
I expected to be thrown back into my seat and although the train set off at a speed of 150 miles per hour I felt nothing but the faint rumble of the engine below. I imagined it would be a lot more fun in the other class.
“Birmingham has undergone a massive change in the last one hundred years to become one of the largest cities in the world and the pride of Britain. Now covering an area of one thousand square miles, Birmingham has seen rapid expansion, also encompassing the city of Wolverhampton, Coventry, Redditch and Stafford.” a TV switched on and began to show how Birmingham had changed. We quickly turned it off, instead preferring to watch the real world version by looking out of the window.
The entire left side of our cabin was made of a see-through glass. People couldn’t see in but we got a perfect view of the city as we raced past at breakneck speed.
First of all we saw the farms and factories on the outskirts of the city. The train roared past this area at a ferocious speed and there were very few stops. For the ‘have-nots’ they would have a long way to walk to their homes or to work. There was a simple beauty about this part of the city. It felt like a larger Smyth West and I hoped they had a similar community spirit.
Grace seemed to be enjoying the view as well. “The Overground is so much better than the Underground, why would anyone not want to see this?” she stood up from her seat, with no regard for the fasten seatbelt sign. “Come on Emzie, it’s first class, we won’t feel any of the G force in here.”
She was right, it was as easy to stand in here as it had been on the flat ground of the station platform. We looked out on the city as we approached the rich part of town and watched as skyscrapers whizzed by. Pillars of industry stood tall, with almost all of the world’s biggest brands taking presence on the city skyline.
The richest families of the UK all took residence here. The McDougals, the Joneses and the Kings, their three buildings seemed to touch the sky, like giant hands reaching out to God. Their towers held their three companies and each had a crane sitting at the top of the building. As each family grew in wealth they added more floors to their building, as a power play and a series of one-upmanship to their rivals.
Right now it seemed The Joneses were winning, followed by the McDougals then the Kings, although it seemed fairly close. Despite their size and clear wealth I had no idea what either family did. The Kings had a series of satellites on their building, the Joneses’ building showed images of drugs and pharmaceutical products down the entire side of its building and the McDougals had a sleek black building that offered no clues. Whatever they did it was clear they had not been affected by the 20 Day Siege like the rest of the world.
On the horizon I saw a building that had not gone for height but had instead chosen to dominate the city with its width. What better way of showing wealth than by taking up a large city block? Anyone could build upwards but to build outwards, in a city with such scarce free land? That was a real power play of dominance.
That’s not to say the building was short either. It rose into the sky in a single pillar that twisted from top to bottom. Around the pillar were orange beams of light that ran down in twin spirals from each side of the building. The two spirals twisted with each other like DNA strands, connecting at the bottom and top of the tower in a raised point. At the top of that point sat two T symbols. They seemed almost like crosses, as if this was a place of worship.
The lower, wider part of the tower contained a glass circle that had spikes around the edge. Looking down on it as we approached the building made it seem almost like a giant glass crown. The glass was intercut with a map of the world, with the main base of the central tower sitting where the UK would be on the map.
As we approached our fifth stop, I started to check my backpack for everything I’d need. My weapon, police badge, and the fake ID Grace had given to me. I stared at the weapon hoping I wouldn’t have to use it but it felt better to have at least some protection entering a military base. I slipped the weapon and badge under my jacket and placed the ID into my pocket.
The train slowed down and passed by the TethTech tower, circling back on itself so everyone could get a better look. This didn’t happen with the towers of the three richest men in the world but it seemed this building had been deemed to be worthy of a second viewing. The track ran around the edge of the building in a circle and then came to a stop several meters from ground level.
We grabbed our stuff, left the train and started to walk down the stairs that would lead us to TethTech. We stashed our backpacks in lockers by the main building and grabbed a quick snack to keep us going.
As I swallowed the last mouthful we heard a loud roar from the TethTech building.
“Something is happening, something big,” shouted Grace and we ran towards the building, heading inside the glass dome and into a screaming crowd.
THIRTEEN
Emmie Keyes
“Zen! Zen! Zen!” chanted the crowd as a man in orange sneakers took to the stage.
“That’s Tobias Zen,” said Grace, “he runs the
company.”
I watched as Tobias strode on with perfect posture. He wore a grey suit, which had an orange zigzapped shape on the side, which was similar to the dual lines on the side of his tower. His hair was short and grey but perfectly symmetrical on all sides. The most striking feature of all was his orange trainers. It seemed wrong for a businessman to be wearing something so casual and visually striking.
The way he walked around the stage with a cocky swagger and took in the applause meant I could tell he was a man who liked to show off. The reason why was clear, the crowd loved him.
“Thank you, you are far too kind,” said Tobias “Today is a fantastic day for TethTech, for our soldiers and for the future of this country. Today I bring you a single, simple promise.”
The previously ecstatic crowd fell silent in anticipation.
“No solider left to die. Ever.”
The crowd cheered. As I surveyed their reactions I spotted the very same words on several campaign powers around the dome. Those six words were clearly very important to Tobias Zen and his fans.
“That’s a promise,” he continued. “As long as I have life in this body, as long as my company runs, I will never allow a soldier that uses my technology to be left behind on the battlefield.”
I could see why his promise was so appealing. What mother or father wouldn’t want to be reassured that their children would survive any war? With economic divides being formed it was clear in many people’s minds that war was an inevitable reality to rebalance the scales of life.
I remained sceptical. “What’s he selling, magic potions?” I said to Grace who laughed.
“But first, we have a remarkable new product,” said Tobias. “The connective powers of Tethers have been well documented and I have spent the last twenty five years examining why bonds are formed between our brothers and sisters and how those bonds can be used to build a safer world.”
“Everyone in this room has experienced it,” he explained. “That moment when your twin has a feeling of high emotion and you lose control. You are overwhelmed by their feelings and get to experience their life as if it was your own. It’s fantastic and every time one of us experiences such a feeling is a moment to be shared forever.”
“Now you can do just that, with a DualCam,” he said, “a camera that records those moments that you and your Tether share. Those moments of intense feeling can now be shared forever with this never before seen invention.”
I looked at the camera and felt smug to have owned one a year ago thanks to Will. The crowd clearly liked it, with more whoops and cheers than the man deserved. It should have been Will on the stage getting this glory, not Tobias. Will invented the device. Was that why he was killed? So Tobias would get all of the money from the DualCam invention? I wondered.
Before I could examine that thought Tobias continued. “I’ll tell you a secret. We invented the DualCam over a year ago but didn’t want to release it until today as the technology helped us to discover something quite wonderful. Something we couldn’t share until today.”
“The DualCam was just a means to an end,” he explained “It allowed us to monitor exchanges between twins so that we could understand how such a bond is formed. As you’ve experienced, in moments of high emotion you lose all control and have to simply watch as your twin experiences the moment. We wanted to change that and allow people to take control from the other side.”
A highly decorated soldier walked onto the stage in a slow methodical fashion. He focused on every footstep with precision. He was dressed in a dark green army uniform which had badges and medals above the front left pocket. He wore a green hat with an orange band around the rim. Beneath the hat his face was slightly hidden with his ginger handlebar moustache by far the most noticeable characteristic.
“So how can this save lives? How can this ensure our brilliant boys and girls that fight for us are kept safe?” said Tobias. “Well, let me introduce you to General Kull.”
The crowd cheered and General Kull stood firm on the spot. In true British army fashion he didn’t move or get overwhelmed by the applause. He simply stood firm and gave off the slightest smile.
“So, can you juggle General?” asked Tobias.
“No sir,” he replied.
“Prove it,” Tobias tossed him three juggling balls, which the General attempted to juggle very badly for several minutes. The crowd found this hilarious, especially as it was quite silly to see a senior officer attempting something like this. I just wondered where it was all going.
“As you can see the General is a terrible juggler. General, if you could lie down on the table over there for me please. Ok and go camera number two,” The General obliged and placed his hat on the floor.
A large screen behind Tobias buzzed to life showing a man sat in a chair. The screen was a bit fuzzy but I could make out that the man was also dressed in an army uniform but he had white camouflage patches mixed in with the green pattern of his suit. He had no hat on which revealed his short ginger hair and a very thin face.
What was most shocking was not the man but the harness on his chest that held him to his seat. Then there were the wires that disappeared from the harness to the dark corners of the room. I recognised the setting instantly.
“And this is Colonel Kull. Not quite as good a rank as your brother?” taunted Tobias.
“No sir,” replied Colonel Kull.
“Is everyone ready for an experiment?” Teased Tobias and the faces of the crowd lit up. “This is a world first. What you are about to see is unbelievable but it is no trick.”
Tobias walked over to the General and placed an orange cloth over his face.
Two stunningly attractive nurses then walked on to the stage, their breasts practically popping out of their far too tight and bright orange nurses’ uniforms. One of them pushed a heart monitor and the other held a hypodermic needle which she showed to the crowd as if it was some wonderful prize. The crowd loved every bit of the showmanship.
Tobias took the needle. “This injection contains Phenzolum, a compound that stops heart function within 60 seconds. It is more lethal than any poison.”
He walked towards the General and once again held the needle up to the crowd. This time there were less cheers and an air of suspense filled the room.
“Is he going to kill that man? Shouldn’t we stop him?” I asked Grace.
“It’ll be a trick,” she replied, her face seeming to tell a different story.
“Ladies and gentleman, I will now inject this compound into the General. You will see his heart stop but I promise you, the results will be very worth it,” said Tobias.
With that he lent over the General and injected the needle into him. His heart beat began to slow and then the beat of the heart machine stopped altogether.
The crowd’s voices fell to silence as they realised their hero had deliberately killed a man live on stage.
FOURTEEN
Mr King
Mr King stared out of the highest floor of his tower. He looked out on the city skyline and saw the buildings of his rivals; the Joneses and the McDougals. He had been staring at their towers for sixty years, even since his father first showed them to him. Since then he had taken control of the company and every grey hair, wrinkle and stress line on his face showed the private battles he had faced to get here.
He had earned this view and the million pound penthouse he sat in now through cut throat tactics and more than a few personal demons. He slouched back in his brown leather chair and turned away from the window to look at all that he owned.
The office part of his penthouse was textured with a rich golden brown coloured mahogany that spread across every surface. He had rows of bookcases that showed his willingness to keep hold of the printed word in a world that was now digital. His chair was made from a black leather material and was padded to the point of excess.
A huge steel door sat at the entrance to his apartment. It was double locked and could only be opened with both hi
s finger prints and a retinal scan. Mr King lived in his tower at all times and only a few people knew his real name or even that he was the owner of the company. He had his reasons for keeping things secret and could pinpoint the exact moment that had made him this way.
It all came back to Tobias Zen.
Mr King had achieved so much to try and put his past behind him. His telecommunications empire covered every inch of the globe, even supplying a reliable phone service in previously untapped parts of the world such as deserts and frozen mountain tops. Once an explorer could get perfect phone signal at the top of Mt Everest, he knew his company had reached the pinnacle of its potential. When you’ve covered the world in a phone signal where do you go from there?
Despite his company reaching the height of its power, he couldn’t reach the height of his rivals’ towers and worst of all, TethTech were gathering so much media attention that no one seemed to be interested in his company any more. So when TethTech confirmed it would be floated on the stock exchange, his board of directors were buzzing with excitement.
The last thing he wanted was to invest in Tobias ‘bloody’ Zen but when the entire board of directors out voted him he had no choice. He invested 25% of his company in TethTech shares and prayed it had been the right move.
He began to watch Tobias’ demonstration on TV and hoped the investment had been a wise one. He hated being told what to do with his own company and giving money to Tobias was the ultimate insult. He vowed to bring sweeping layoffs at the next board meeting to impart his revenge.
As Tobias darted across the stage, Mr King had to admit there was a certain amount of showmanship about the man with the orange sneakers. Something he himself lacked in his efforts to remain hidden from the world.
After Tobias announced the DualCam, things started to look up. The share price took a nice rise and Mr King wondered if he should just sell his shares there and then and make a small profit. But he’d never been a man to think small before so he eagerly awaited the next announcement.