The Transfer

200 years later….


A weary man in the back of a yellow and black checkered cab reaches into the depths of his coat pocket to grab his pack of cigarettes, without hesitation he places one in his mouth. He starts flicking the lighter while gazing outside the rainy window. In the front seat the driver of the cab looks back at the man through the rearview mirror briefly meeting his eyes.

"Odd to see someone using those types of cigarettes nowadays..." said the cab driver.

"I'm fond of old things, I'm sure you understand. Plus the new tech just doesn't appeal to me," the man said.

"If you say so," said the cab driver.

The busy city never seemed to keep quiet. Floating neon billboards, robot assistants drifted through the air. Laws put in place to help “better” the environment considering the mass purge of basically every animal known to man. The zoo was the only place you’d be able to see real animals. That’s if you count genetically modified creatures from DNA. The large amounts of humans walking the sidewalks. Traffic seemed to never die down despite that. The cab came to an abrupt halt.

“Sorry about that,” the driver said, gesturing at the hovering vehicle ahead. The passenger looked at the vehicle in front of them. Through the windshield he could see the driver having a heated argument with the holographic service representative making the projection glitch due to the car's malfunction.

"All right, we made it to your stop, sir. And next time, how about you smoke outside the cab?" The driver scoffs before unlocking the doors.

The passenger rolled his eyes before stepping out onto the sidewalk and was welcomed by guards in front of a skyscraper of a building known as the “Alita.” Taking a long drag of his cigarette he stares up at the building with not much of an expression on his face. The cigarette lands on the ground being put out by the heel of his leather boot. The door is held open by one of the guards guiding him inside. He arrives in front of the elevator. The interior of the building was pretty empty and blank in a sense. There were cold concrete grey walls, the elevator looked like any other silver one in many buildings. There were plants neatly potted on either side of the elevator, tall rectangular shrubs. The man leans forward to take a whiff on the plant, he jumps at the sound of the elevator pinging. The doors slide open and a woman with a short pink bob exists with a man of similar fashion taste. Their white lab coats almost swept the ground as they swiftly left the building. The man briefly stared at them. The woman with the pink bob had cat ears, a tail with a purple polka dot bow tied on the end, and big pink glasses.

"Seems like people are really following that new trend," he thinks to himself. "I guess it truly is a new era."

He pressed the button for floor 305. The elevator gilded upward into the sky. Through its glass-like walls, the city was laid out before him. When he reached his floor, beyond the door was a room with a man sitting by one of the windows in a big comfy office chair. The city lights painted the space in vibrant colors, illuminating his desk.

“Ah you’ve arrived! Come in, come in don’t be shy,” Elio waves the man over to his desk while carefully adjusting his headband that keeps his hair perfectly in place.

“It’s truly a pleasure to meet you sir,” the man says respectfully, taking steps towards the desk.

“The pleasure is entirely mine,” Elio responds with a warm smile with a slight glimmer in his eyes. “I trust you were able to bring the documents necessary for the transaction?”

“Yes, they’re right here.” He sets down his pristine metal silver suitcase, pressing his thumb against the biometric scanner until it registers, a small beep chimes indicating the suitcase unlocking. He carefully removes the fragment documents from within. The header of the document read in a clearly printed typeface, “Ukimoe Copyright Transfer and Ownership.”

“I greatly appreciate you reaching out to me about this matter, as you know my company had to cut down on some of the games we own since they’re not living up to the profits we had hoped, but are you sure you want this specific one? We have plenty of other options to offer you,” the man says.

“Yes I am completely sure about this decision, the character's designs seemed to have captured my interest, and I know my son will love this surprise gift.”

With precision Elio proceeds to sign each required section of the paperwork using a special digital pen and carefully stamps his thumb print along the bottom of each page. As a final measure to confirm the money transfer he uses his eyeball to securely finish the money transfer through the advanced retinal scanning device.

“Ah ok, that’s a sweet gift to give a son I suppose,” the man observes with a slight surprise tone in his voice


“Yes indeed,” Elio responds, his face softened a little, “he’s truly a bundle of joy…I’d kill a person or an army per say if that's what it took just to see a small smile on my precious boy's face,” he as he gives the man a warm smile that reaches his eyes.

The man looks to the side slightly concerned by the words just spoken to him. He coughs, “Yeah. I’m sure we all would do that for our kids.”

With the transaction complete the man closes the suitcase carefully securing it. He politely waves farewell as he makes his way towards the elevator doors. The elevator dings slightly echoing through the marble “lobby”. The doors slide open, the man steps inside. Just before the doors close, he adjusts his jacket pulling out another cigarette to smoke. He looks down at the new-tech watch he recently purchased to check the time. The weight of his responsibilities settles heavily on his shoulder as he lets out a sigh.

As the elevator descends, thoughts drift through his head. He sends a message to his boss that he completed his task and the funds would be in the account shortly. He presses multiple buttons on his watch. Reaching the ground floor of the underground parking garage, Elio moves his way towards his called vehicle. The fluorescent lights cast long shadows as he walks, the footsteps somewhat creating a steady beat echoing from the concrete walls. He lights his cigarette before entering the vehicle and disappearing into the depths of the city. The night's buzz and distance hum of traffic as the vehicle weaves through the dimly lit streets.