2043: Brave New World (for Neferet)

[OldSchoolGamer]

The world of 2043 was one where almost every dystopian prediction made about the Information Age at the beginning of the century had come to pass.  At least in the United States.

The Great Blowout of 2013 came when the last of the cheap fossil fuels ran out.  To call the ensuing situation "chaos" would have been an understatement, as mobs formed around grocery stores and gas stations, fighting for the last of the supplies, in a world where oil had hit $280 a barrel.  Blackouts ensued.

But as it turned out, not everyone was taken by surprised.  Apparently the oil companies had actually done something with all those billions in profits around the sunset of the Oil Age, because lo and behold, up came new breeder-feeder reactors...just in the nick of time.  There was Exxon-Atomica and ShellNeutron and General Electric/Atomics.  The corporations, riding to the rescue, capitalism at its finest.  All the neoconservative pundits were aglow.

The corporations had wasted no time consolidating political as well as electric power.  The media were now owned.  As a gift to the American people, cable TV was now free in every home, along with (quietly filtered) Net access.  Of course, old-timers noticed all the bad news in the world came from overseas.  Nothing bad ever seemed to happen in America anymore.  Entertainment just kept getting more and more edgy.

Of course, the street told a different tale.  Crime surged as poverty grew.  Surveillance became the norm.  Cameras everywhere.  Violent uprisings were quickly put down, their leaders terminated with extreme prejudice...the incidents touted as the reason for new laws, more police powers.  But always there was more and more entertainment and technology.  Books became rare, booksellers (what few there were) seen as Luddites of very questionable morality, likely subversives...

And into this world, Briar came of age...a nonconformist after her time.

[Neferet]

Briar walked quickly down the street, the sound of her feet striking the pavement ringing off the walls of the empty alleyway as she made her way home. Not that it was much of a home, really. Just an abandoned apartment in the downtown district, but it was what she had.

She didn't even bother looking at the clock as she walked into the dingy room she called her home, but simply changed quickly into her hand-me-down grey suit. She had work, and the boss had been making cuts lately. Even though it didn't pay well, this job was the only thing keeping her from going completely under.

Glancing quickly at the plain girl in the mirror, she headed back out into the cold night air. Even as she closed the door behind her she realized she'd left her coat, but she didn't have time to go back and get it.

" oh well... if the cold doesn't kill me... my boss will."

[OldSchoolGamer]

The air seemed especially chilly tonight, and Briar began to regret leaving her coat behind.

Sometimes the cycle gangs drove up and down the potholed streets, engines running on a homemade mix of low-grade petrol and alcohol.  They seldom bothered Briar...as if they sensed her poverty, realized she had nothing to offer.  But tonight, even they were absent, off rolling through some other part of the decaying cityscape.  About every third streetlight actually worked, more or less, and the chilly air drove the usual cloud of insects away from the lights.

At last, Briar reached her job.

[Neferet]

Briar practically ran to the small desk that served as her station, hoping her tardiness would go unnoticed. She then plugged her headpiece into the computer, and started it booting up.  She'd never really thought about why they bothered having her call these thousands of people who hadn't payed their bills and likely never would. She was insulted, sworn at, threatened, and even avoided...but none of the bills got paid... not even her own, really.

" Excuse me... Aren?" She called for the attention of her co-worker, gesturing for her to come over. " I think my computer got another virus... it just won't boot up..."

After sitting for what seemed like some of the longest minutes of her life, waiting for alice to finish explaining something she knew she'd never understand, she watched as the lithe, blond woman brought the computer back to life.

Briar had never really been jealous of Alice, nor had she felt that she was inadiquate in any way... but Alice's beauty had not gone unnoticed. With her blond hair and baby-blue eyes, Briar seemed like a weed compared to such a gorgeous flower...

Ah well...back to another eight hours of 'fun... She scanned down her list... Let's see... whose day shall I ruin first..?

[Neferet]

Briar pushed back from the desk, allowing her computer chair to roll back a few feet before placing her feet on the cold, lynoleum floor and leaving for break. Her stomache, though it was not yet growling, was cramping in protest to her having skipped eating for the last couple of days. She really did need to save money...and food's not that important,right?

Pushing through the glass doors and the front of the cold, hospital-like building where she spent most of her day, Briar decided that she should likely get herself something to eat... perhaps the Mc.Donald's pizza parlour down the street...