Chapter 23 – You Can [Not] Ignore

By the time Arwain and Dingleberry returned to HQ, early the next day, even more questions about No-Flyers came to mind. Arwain found it hard to fault No-Flyers for their choices, different than his own but valid all the same.

But there was one thing that he noticed more of – how much Flyers were now speaking of them with disdain. Sure, that obvious difference between them led to discord, but it seemingly spread to the most ridiculous things.

“It’s stupid. What’s the point of living in a vertical city if you can’t freely move up or down on your own? Why force the city to support them?”

“I’m not touching that filthy No-Flyer grub. At the same time, they’re eating our-”

“Why are they taking our jobs? They shouldn’t be in this city. Deport them all.”

These were statements that made Arwain pause, but he brushed them off, feeling like he had no right to step in. It was when he was on a routine delivery near the busy port of entry that something snapped in him.

“What? I’m not taking any deliveries from some ‘ground hugger’! What if it’s a bomb? Screw that, find someone else!”

Arwain looked over to see a Glider slamming a package down, right before a group of N0-Flyers. He marched right over and smacked the guy over the head.

“What kind of service is that, you jerkwad? No-Flyers have family in the city, too. Since when do we have the right to pick and choose who we deliver for? We serve the people in this city. All of them, not just some of your choosing.”

The Glider looked back at Arwain with anger. He raised a fist, swinging wide to reject Arwain’s criticism.

Reflexes made Arwain backflip and send a foot right into the attacker’s chest, popping him into the air dramatically. A midair recovery and a flap of the wings sent him bumbling forward for another attempt. This time, Arwain took a hop and leapfrogged over him.

It had devolved into a brawl, the addition of wings making each side like string puppets whacking into each other. However, it was clear that Arwain’s parkour skills gave him the edge, as the other person could barely lay a hand on him.

A sharp buzz called their attention.

“Attention! No fighting is allowed in public areas! Please refrain from further action or you will be arrested!”

Arwain looked annoyed as he saw the police droid float down to mediate. It was a glorified copter drone with arms that held a flight neutralizing gun in one hand and a stun stick in the other. One attack from either would shut down a person for the next half hour, not an amount of time either could afford to be idle.

“Tch, he started it first,” the Glider spat, leering at Arwain still.

“Whatever you say.” Arwain walked over to the package on the ground, still left there as the No-Flyers had been stunned by the sudden fight. He picked it up and dusted it off. “Sorry that you had to see that. I’ll drop it off for you, free of charge.”

He received a few silent nods as thanks before they sped off.

It didn’t take much to know what was really inside the package. He could instantly tell that it weighed less than a bomb. Not to mention, if it was something that serious, it wouldn’t have been left on the ground for so long. After transporting thousands of packages in his duties, something that unique would have been handled ‘First Class’, not just passed off for a routine delivery.

More than anything, Arwain was just annoyed at how a customer was being treated like that. When did things come to that?

-----

“Mr. Arwain Riot, you can probably guess why I called you before me today?”

It was near the end of the workday when he was called up for an immediate summon before the mayor. With a sigh, Arwain scratched his head, knowing that his hotheadedness often got him in trouble.

“It wouldn’t do for the champion of our city to get into scuffles with other Gliders in public. You have to maintain your image.”

Arwain bit his lip. He wasn’t the type to simply hold it in and let things slide, particularly when he was watching others get trashed for no reason.

“Then, what should I have done?”

“Leave things be. Someone else will come along if the situation is needed. You only need to focus on your task at hand. I can see that you get fired up when you feel like being involved. Don’t worry, I was much the same as you in my younger days. A burning desire to carry forth my ideals. A vigor that needed an outlet when no opportunity arose. That was part of the reason I chose you to represent the city.”

Arwain could hear the praise being heaped onto those statements. But knowing that he was simply doing his job, he managed to filter it all out, honing onto one command buried within.

Ignore them.

He was being told to turn a blind eye as someone else would help out eventually. Someone down the road. At a later time. Maybe, possibly.

Something about that didn’t click right with him at all.

“No, Sir. I don’t believe I should simply let things be. I was raised better than that. If I’m to be a champion for the city, then should I not be an upstander, rather than a bystander?”

Mayor DeWine shot him a blank expression, a moment lost in thought before his lips tightened.

“I see. Come with me, Mr. Riot.”

They took a walk from the mayor’s office in the Thousand Wonder, over to the elevator. With a swipe of an ID card, DeWine hit the button for the top floor. Despite the convenience of wings, there was reason for taking the elevator.

Arwain could feel himself getting a bit light-headed as the floors went past 800. A chill bit against his cheeks as the temperature crashed. By the time it made a ding sound for the observatory deck, Arwain was trembling from the thin, frigid air eight kilometers up. But as he stepped forward to the window, his eyes bulged at the breathtaking view.

The city looked as if it was climbing up, its buildings fighting each other to claim a place where they were at. It was as if mankind was trying to leave the planet altogether, aspiring to find a place in the heavens, building their way up to it.

“Did you know, the last two hundred floors in this tower are completely unoccupied? We, as a species, are not ready to make that leap, creating artificial ceilings to keep us grounded. That is why no other city in the world dares to approach our grandness. Why do you think that is the case?”

Arwain shook his head, his thoughts filled only with an awe of what was before him. Any answer that he could come up with felt shallow and a mere afterthought.

The mayor’s brow furrowed. A downcast look made it seem like regret filled his next words.

“Because we are constantly being chained to the ground still. Naysayers, doubters, and traditionalists – whatever you wish to call them. People who don’t wish to have wings don’t want to evolve. A society such as ours is obligated to provide even for them. As such, reaching for the stars with one foot on the ground is an impossible task.”

Mayor DeWine spread his wings, displaying them proudly as he stroked the tips. Despite how different he was from a Glider who uses them constantly, he seemed no less enamored by them.

“My forefathers built this city for winged people. They constructed and cultivated this dream that has now been passed to me. Of course, it is my dream also to see everyone with wings as well. Yet, some insist on living in the past, even as modern conveniences make such feelings wither and fade with time.”

The mayor extended a hand to Arwain, just like that day when he sought to make him a champion.

“I know you love this city as much as I do. Will you not join me in doing everything possible to make it better? Do you not wish for a day when everyone will take to the skies? Only then, will everyone be satisfied. Only then, will we break free from a constraint that keeps us from true freedom.”

Arwain’s hand jittered forward, the mayor’s words seemingly having convinced him to share in the goal. But then, a taste of warm cider and the cozy warmth of a fireplace brought him out of it.

What right do some big shots in the sky have to tell us that our heritage, our way of living is outdated and dumb?

That was exactly what Mayor DeWine was doing. As much as he had his reasons for doing it, so did the No-Flyers and their way of life. Arwain had no right to tell them to change, and he didn’t think the mayor should either.

His hand fell back, which made the mayor drop his grin.

“Sorry, Sir. I have my own dreams to fulfill. One that involves everyone doing what they believe best for themselves. After all, I’m merely a Glider, someone who delivers when someone is in need. It’s not my place to decide for others what is best.”

Arwain walked past him, heading back to the elevator. He could suddenly feel a chill not just from the cold.

“Take care, Mr. Riot. Such naïve thinking may get you and your acquaintances in a mess that cannot be ignored. Meanwhile, I will do everything on my part to craft a legacy for our fair city. A lasting legacy requires a champion like you to play its part.”