Cleopatra watched the commotion in the train station with interest. She liked these kinds of gatherings. All the people, the noise, the chaos. This was why she was in The City. Citizens and Daytrippers ignored her, and she preferred it that way. All the better to watch them in their rushing patterns. The City was a different beast to her, and she knew all it’s hidden passages. Maybe that is why only Cleopatra saw the man with the smile frozen on his lips. Then he turned and quite impossibly, vanished. The little calico cat did not understand, but only watched.
The City: 013: Cleopatra
October 15, 2014
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The City: 012: Stepan
October 14, 2014
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Stepan watched the girl from his monitoring station at Door 37 of Midas Corp Headquarters. He could have helped her, but that would have meant leaving his post, and he would surely catch hell for it later. She was clearly a Daytripper, and thus below Midas’ notice. She was unsightly, but causing no disturbance. No orders had come down to remove her, so he was content to leave her.
Instead, he monitored his investments on a secure channel. He heard from Gina that The Man Himself had sold his shares. The sale was still secret, but what shockwaves would it release?
The City: 011: Xue
October 13, 2014
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Xue was feeding the ducks when she got Dawn’s message. She liked ducks. They didn’t build, didn’t destroy, didn’t do anything but swim and eat bread crumbs. Feeding the ducks was her favorite thing to do in the City. It was a meditation, a retreat from the pressure and demands of school and family. It was not that she was ungrateful. Her future was being formed like a diamond by that pressure. But too much and she would collapse instead.
She listened to it twice, gave up and ran the translation.
“Please come pick me up? I’m kind of stuck.”
The City: 010: Frank
October 10, 2014
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Frank was a train driver for The City. It was a good job, even if it didn’t pay well. It beat slinging burgers. It beat just about any job he could get Outside. And Frank’s options were very limited.
The crash had been, an accident. But after getting his ‘time to think,’ he understood that accidents weren’t just products of random chance, but bad decisions. One bad decision had cause so much suffering. At least in The City, he could still drive a train. He eased her into Commercial Station.
The woman stepped from the platform just ahead of him.
The City: 007: Emily
October 7, 2014
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The City was the center of the world, and Emily sat on the throne. At least, that is how she considered her desk at Midas Bank. The City, and by extension Midas, had become the world’s clearing house. Every day, billions of Dollars, Euros, Yen, Yuan, Pounds, and every other trading currency flowed through her gates, were converted to credits, passed through a few more hands, and left again. She logged the transactions and sped the bundles on their way. She didn’t know much about international finance law, but that wasn’t her department. She was certain everything was completely legal.
The City: 006: The Buyer
October 6, 2014
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Augustus watched the other man over their glasses. He was still smiling that damned Guy Fawkes grin. He’d never seen it falter, no matter how hard he negotiated. And he was just as good. A world champion poker player. And now the game was over. “So now that you’ve got my stake, what will you do with it?”
He set down his glass. “My backers think like you do. The City is an efficient way of concentrating capital. But I see it as so much more than that. There is so much potential here. I’m going to do wonderful things.”
The City: 004: Bob
October 2, 2014
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Bob knew every turn and corner in The City. He could get from The Heights to The Bay inside of ten minutes, in any weather, at any time of day. He’d been a driver for Midas Corp. for five years, and he’d been Augustus Sizemore’s chauffeur for two. Before that, he’d been a Daytripping Gearhead. Once he was the king of the underground street racing circuit. But everybody has to grow up and get a real job sometime. The doors opened and two men got in. One was his boss, the other, he did not know. Bob started the engine.
The City: 003: Gina
October 1, 2014
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Gina watched the jumper on the exterior cameras. Her chute was a cheap model, without any stabilizers. You could get one of those for the credits you’d find lying in the street. The kid was a Daytripper, not a Citizen like her. And she didn’t know how strong the crosswinds blew up here. They buzzed for her in the conference room. They must have finally finished. She wished the kid happy landings, and went in. The signed contract lay on the table. The mysterious gentleman looked happy, but her boss just looked tired. She took it, and left the room.
The City: 002: Augustus
September 30, 2014
The City, Writing 140 Characters, Augustus, Drabble, Fiction, Midas Corp, The City, The Smiling Man 1 Comment
Augustus watched the sunrise from the floor-to-ceiling window of the 97th floor boardroom. They had worked through the night, but the contract was finished. Everyone but he and the client had gone home. He was the fifth-richest men in the world, and this sale would multiply his fortune. But could he really give up his control of Midas Corp? Could he leave The City behind? A rainbow parachute descended past him. A punky girl in black leather dangled from it. She met his eye and gave him the finger. He crossed back to the table and signed.
The City: 001: Dawn
September 29, 2014
The City, Writing 140 Characters, Dawn, Drabble, Fiction, Midas Corp, The City, Writing 21 Comments
Dawn loomed over The City. She stood and watched the rising sun filter through block after block from her vantage on the roof of Midas Corp. Tower. She had climbed up without light, making the perilous trip by memory and relying on a FAQ when the going got tough. There wasn’t anything up here, but it was the best view short of buying your own plane. And who had the credits to waste on something like that? This was her city, and she was its vagabond master. It was a new day, and below her adventure was waiting. She Jumped.
Hugh J. O'Donnell 