A World Long Since Dead

Chapter 4: Elysium

The icy rain drizzling on his bare face woke him early.

It was just before dawn, and the thin rays of silver twilight didn’t yet have the strength to pierce the dark October clouds.

“Now what do I do?” he wondered, as he lay in the freezing rain.

Mace had no family. His parents were gone, he had never even met anyone else in his family, his grandfather was all he had.

He had a few gaming buddies, but noone he could stay with. Maybe Dayvon? But he still lived at home, surely he wouldn’t want a random homeless houseguest appearing at his door.

He needed money, but the only skills he had learned were about antiques and repairing old watches, skills not exactly in high demand in the technotopia of 2054.

Mason wasn’t ready for this. He thought he had years to figure out his future, he was only 18! His biggest problem last week was figuring out how to talk to women without turning into a stuttering mess.

Despair would have paralysed him if the cold hadn’t spurred him into action.

The only place he knew to go was back to the antique shop.

Surely he could stay there for a few days, even if the place was foreclosed on? At least until he figured out what he was going to do?

He had enough cash for some rice, bread, and other essentials, that would tide him over until something came up.

His self-assurances quickened his step as ice-cold drizzle assailed his bare face and soaked his already damp clothes.

Alas, his hopes were quickly dashed when he approached his former home.

Thick steel shutters were bolted to the door and every window, and multiple “for sale” signs littered it’s kitsch painted walls.

There was no way he was getting in, the place was sealed tight as a drum. Mason tried to prise open one of the shuttle in desperation, but his efforts made no impact on the unforgiving grey metal.

An unbidden sigh escaped his lips, and then there was silence, save for the rain splashing in ever growing puddles upon the cobbled streets.

In despair, he began to weep.

“Sorry for your loss…” came a voice from behind him.

He whirled, and saw Jade, neon red hair tousled by the wind.

Seeing her, he was glad for the rain masking his tears.

“Th… Thanks….” He stuttered, trying to compose himself.

“It was your grandfather, wasn’t it? The guy that died?” She continued casually.

“Yeah… He was my only family…” Mason answered honestly.

“How did you find out?” He continued.

“They really fucked you, didn’t they?” She cut him off to ask a question of her own.

Her crude choice of words matched his mood.

“Yeah… But, I’ll be fine, I have a few friends I can stay with…”

Mason’s lip quivered as he lied, but something made him drop the act.

“Jade… I’m screwed… I have noone, and nowhere, I have no money, and no way to get any, I’m not even registered on the gNET”.

“Neither am I. Fuck that thing, monitoring my life. I get my money the old-fashioned way.”

“Come with me” She said.

Having no choice, Mason complied, and followed the red-haired beauty down a honeycomb of cobbled side-streets.

To his surprise, Jade led him to a rarely used but apparently still in service maglev station.

He almost asked where her bike was, but stopped himself just in time.

The redhead scanned her cell at the ticket machine, while Mason used a credits chip. Luckily he had just enough for a red line ticket, the same one Jade had bought.

They climbed into the maglev car. It was dirty, rundown, and smelled suspiciously of urine, but Mason was relieved to get a break from the cold.

They were the only occupants, save for a single homeless man sleeping across two seats at the front.

Mason’s eyes lingered at his pathetic figure, and wondered if that would, one day soon, be him.

The red line led out of town, and within minutes cobbled streets and quaint row houses gave way to the dull grey steel and prefabricated concrete of the industrial sector.

Mace was worried. He barely knew this girl, and now she was taking him deep into District 9?

The homeless man had, by now, woken up, and was eyeing the two with a mixture of anger and confusion.

Even though he said nothing, Mason’s eyes flitted nervously between the down-and-out train-car denizen and the drab post-modern landscape outside the window.

For a moment, he wondered which of them looked more depressing, and then the train lurched, and began to decelerate.

“We’re here”. Jade said, and quickly stood, the rickety bench creaking in protest at her sudden movement.

“Yes, but where is here?” Mason said aloud, finally finding his voice.

“No questions” Jade said abruptly. “Just follow me”.

She seemed to walk with an unusual purpose, like a spider toward a fly.

Mace wondered again if he could trust her.

The icy drizzle of morning had by now given way to sheets of freezing rain.

Despite her bare midriff, Jade didn’t once complain about the cold.

After a mercifully short walk through the dilapidated concrete jungle, dodging debris and gaping cracks in the old asphalt, the duo arrived at an imposing gunmetal grey building.

It was seven stories of crumbling concrete and rusting steel. Faint yellow light barely shone through the caked years-old dirt of cracked glass. It was like looking at a photo taken in a time before colour.

“We’re here”. Jade announced.

Jade removed a small key from her pocket, and opened a heavy wooden door, adorned with thick bars on the outside, and the two scurried inside.

“You used a key?” Mace said, in surprise.

“Sure.” Jade replied. “There’s no access panel. This whole building was made before the Kaman Act, so it’s exempt from mandatory registration. It doesn’t even have an g-Net connection, it’s completely off-grid!

“Wow!” Mason replied.

“So, what is this place?” he asked, shivering in the hall.

“We call it Elysium” She replied, a hint of pride in her voice.

“It used to be a reformatory for… shall we say… wayward youth. Now, it’s a free house. A squat, a halfway house, a dive, a freethinkers paradise, whatever you want to call it.” Jade led Mace through damp, musty hallways complete with torn wallpaper as she talked.

“You can stay here all you want. We’ve got hot food, and…” She paused, and glanced towards Mason.

“Showers”.

“Ah, yeah, sorry…” Mason mumbled under his breath.

A tall, short-haired, dark skinned man wearing a long overcoat that looked far too expensive for this place appeared from a door on the right, glanced at Mason, then at Jade, and spoke tersely:

“If you’re new here, you need to know this: There is only one rule here: If you want to stay, you need to contribute. Find something useful to do, or you’re out. Got it?”

“Y…Yeah, sure!” Mason replied, faking his enthusiasm.

The man then locked the door he had come out of and disappeared down the corridor.

“That’s the guy who kind of runs the place” Jade said.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s ok once you get to know him”.

–