Aether

District 4. Year 2471.
17:22:31

A great stretch of endless withered lands occupied the western side of District 4. This endless wasteland held within its confines mounds and mountains of unrecyclable waste material that were tall and varied as they were toxic. As a polluted land of death and radioactivity, the locals of the district lovingly called it the ‘Great Dump’.

Somewhere amidst the expansive cradle of the Great Dump was a near-two-metre tall giant holding a shovel in its hand. This giant, or rather the person nestled within the giant, yellow-coloured hazard suit meant to keep out the surrounding radiation from instantly frying you, busily shovelled away at one of the smaller mounds, adding to the nearly-filled levitating cart next to him.

His job here was simple and honest; shovel the garbage, fill the cart. Stop shovelling when the cart is full, or when the workday is over.

It was precisely within this simple job that this person had busied himself for the past eight hours, braving its dangers of certain, violently painful death should his hazard suit fail in its job. Having said that, the pay here was decent and the person doing the job wasn’t in a position to let an extra job slip by.

Working the shaft with a practised hand, the shoveler came to a sudden pause. His eyes seen behind the triple-layered visor quickly darted about to scan his surroundings. Confirming that not a man or machine was in sight, he quickly crouched down with his bulky suit and grabbed something from the waste pile. Bringing his clenched hand close to his visor, he opened his gloved fingers and scanned the object within with his eyes.

“A DMX-2211 chip…” he softly whispered. “Not too bad.”

Struggling to hide the grin of satisfaction on his face, he quickly pocketed the item. After looking around once more, he continued to shovel garbage as if nothing extraordinary had occurred.

[Aether.] A voice crackled within his helmet causing him to freeze momentarily. [Aether! Are you there?]

Gulping once to recover his calmness, he replied, “Yeah, I’m here. Shoot.”

[Quickly come over to Cell-1814. I found something!] The speaker’s voice which echoed within his helmet was unable to hide its excitement.

“Got it,” he replied. Silence immediately returned.

Aether (pronounced ‘ether’) stood in silence for a few seconds before softly whispering, “I nearly had a heart attack there for a second.” He then shook his head with a bitter smile, rested his shovel over his shoulder and headed over to where the speaker had mentioned.

The levitating cart nearly full of garbage quietly followed behind him.

–--

[Took you sweet time, didn’t ya?] The speaker’s voice unhappily crackled within Aether’s helmet.

Looking at his caller who stood in front of him wearing attire similar to his own, Aether replied with a harmless smile, “I had to walk over four cells to get here, you know?”

[Four cells? Fourteen cells? What’s the difference? It’s all the same if ya run over.] The man immediately retorted. He then laid his eyes on the levitating cart following behind Aether and continued in shock, [Holy! You almost filled your cart?]

“What can I say? I’m young,” Aether playfully replied. Compared to the fellow before him, he was indeed young; only twenty-six years old.

[That’s true. It’s getting harder and harder each day with these old bones of mine.] The man bitterly said. Aether didn’t say anything in reply to his complaints. Nothing that wouldn’t sound insincere and hollow at least.

Living, these days, was not an easy affair. With the most recent bout of inflation further driving prices up, it became a stressful ordeal to maintain one’s livelihood. People who only had themselves to provide for found it relatively easy provided they worked for eight to ten hours in similar jobs every day. People like Aether and the man before him who had families to provide for found it exponentially harder. Jobs were more often than not unstable, not to mention dangerous, and employment was constantly in shortage.

[Anyways!] The man shook his head to disperse the gloom. [Look what I found!] Excitement returned to his voice. Turning around, he quickly led Aether.

The two of them arrived before a small, partially excavated mound. The man excitedly pointed toward a specific spot and spoke, [Look! Is that what I think it is!?]

Aether noticed the item in question and muttered in slight disbelief, “A PleasureBot?”

[Damn right! Quickly appraise it for me!]

Shelving aside his disbelief, Aether crouched near the item and began his appraisal. He used his hands to quickly and carefully clear the waste material around the main item. Soon, a severed mechanical female head appeared in sight.

The severed head, mechanical in nature, looked remarkably similar to a human one. Its pale skin was dyed slightly in green perhaps due to the breakdown of the chemicals used in its dyes or due to other reasons. Of the two eyes on the head, one of them had its eyelids permanently shut while the other was a brilliant sapphire in colour. Of course, the eye was far from being clean as strange stains stained its interiors. Its cheeks were sunken and scratched, exposing the mechanical nature inside while its mouth, surprisingly enough, was mostly complete.

Ignoring the man’s frantic urgings, Aether adopted a serious face and patiently appraised the item. While the head was far from the complete thing, working parts of PleasureBots were sold in the black market for obscene prices. Using his fingers to trace along the length of the item, Aether then checked both of its eyes, the material of the false skin and the hair, and the various scratches and damages along its length, before finally arriving at the central piece: the mouth.

Using his thick, gloved fingers, Aether awkwardly scissored the mouth open and peered into its inside. After spending a few minutes in careful scrutiny, he lowered the object and released a sigh.

[Well? What’s the verdict?] The man impatiently urged, anxiousness apparent in his voice.

“It’s trash,” Aether succinctly replied.

[You’re trash!] The man immediately bit back, his spirit and excitement deflating. Heaving a heavy sigh of his own, he then softly asked, [How bad is it?]

“The tactile material around the oral passage is torn to shreds and the motors around it are shot. The micro-motors around both the eyes are also damaged, one of them requiring extensive repairs. Shortly put, it's not worth the trouble of hauling it back, fixing it, and flipping it on the market.”

[What about the chips? Those things got to be worth something, right?] he anxiously asked.

“The chips have been gutted. Whoever disposed of it knew what they were doing,” Aether answered, pointing at the severed head. “Maybe if the whole body was together, it might be worth something.” He sighed.

The man sighed too knowing that Aether’s words were wishful thinking. Finding the head within this endless wasteland was itself a result of years of accumulated luck exploding. To speak of finding the whole body, there was no point in speaking about it.

[Let it go. Even if we somehow found its entire body, there’s no way we would be able to smuggle it out of here without getting caught.] All workers were checked for unlawful possessions by their employers before they were allowed to leave the Great Dump. Perhaps, smuggling over a pocket’s worth of items was still possible, however a human-sized body? It was wishful thinking.

[How about you? Did you find anything interesting?] The man asked Aether with token interest.

“Of course not,” Aether replied with a simple smile. “Not everyone’s as lucky as you, Gocks ‘The Lucky Hand’.”

Gocks belted into a good-natured laugh. [Damn right!] He then looked at Aether and asked, [I’m gonna go betting today. Wanna join me?]

“And what? Lose all my credits to you? No thanks,” Aether replied with an unamused expression. “Besides, it’s my turn to buy dinner today. I can’t tarry.”

[Right. How’s Mei? Are her studies going well?] Gocks asked, remembering Aether’s only family.

“Very, very good. Her Level Three certification exams are coming up soon.”

[Level Three!? Isn’t she still like fourteen? Fifteen?]

“She’s sixteen,” Aether corrected him.

[Right.] Gocks nodded his head. [I took you for stupid when I heard that you were sending her to that crazy expensive school. Hearing you now, I can see that you’re not all that stupid.]

“Oh, Gocks, you’re crushing my delicate heart here. After everything that I’ve done for you, you still took me for being an idiot?” Aether asked in feigned heartbreak.

[Shut it, kid. Just ‘cause you know a few things, doesn’t exempt you from being an idiot.] Gocks replied with a teasing smile. He then pointed to the levitating cart behind Aether and asked, [Why bother working so hard if the kid’s already guaranteed to graduate as a Level Three citizen? Don’t tell me you’re afraid that she won’t support you?]

“Who do you take her for? There’s no way my precious little sister would abandon this poor, overworked brother of hers,” Aether continued with an exaggerated tone.

With a twitching smile, Gocks rebuked, [If she was here to see you say that, she would no doubt abandon you.]

Aether initially sought to rebuke him, but then upon careful consideration realised that his words held an ounce of truth. Were his little sister to hear those overly-fake, honey-drenched words of his, given her cold personality coupled with her teenage mindset, she would no doubt abandon him to live in the streets.

“Anyway,” he awkwardly switched topics, “to answer your previous question, I plan on letting her continue her education.”

Gocks, who was intending on poking fun at Aether’s awkward topic shift, could not help but sober up upon hearing his words. [You are serious?]

“She certainly is smart enough to continue, so why not?” Aether casually shrugged. “Moreover, living as a Level 4 citizen is certainly better than a Level 3. Just the difference in their respective earnings is astronomical. Not to mention, their importance in society.”

[That’s true and all, but how the hell are you going to afford her tuition? While I don’t know how much exactly it costs, I DO know that it costs a fortune to seek a Level 4 education! A FORTUNE! A fortune that Level 0 citizens like us cannot afford! Not even if you saved every credit over these years while starving yourself and living the life of a rock!] Gocks grew increasingly verbal as he continued to speak. To the point that Aether felt his ears hurt a little.

“Why are you so worked up about this? Don’t worry, I got a plan,” Aether flashed a confident smile while gesturing a thumbs up. Of course, thanks to his giant hazard suit, it looked comical.

Gocks looked at this scene of him and was speechless. His face morphed through a variety of expressions before finally settling on hard solemnity. [Don’t ruin yourself. I don’t understand where your confidence comes from and will certainly not ask for an explanation. As a friend and an elder, all I can do is give you this advice. Don’t ruin yourself. Living only for the sake of working is no way to live.]

“You can relax. You know my personality. I certainly don't intend to work myself to death,” Aether indolently replied. “All this work that I’m doing now is for the sake of living a life of a leech in the future. That glorious future.” A distant look appeared within Aether’s eyes.

Looking at him now, Gocks felt speechless for a different reason. The atmosphere of solemnity was broken by Aether’s ridiculousness. Wearing a helpless, yet teasing smile on his face, Gocks continued, [Alright, I’m gonna tell Mei that her brother plans to live the life of a leecher off of her.]

“Oh god, don’t! She might really abandon me then!”

Just as the two of them were engaged in nonsensical banter, a sharp siren tore through the air. Aether and Gocks immediately stopped their conversation and straightened their backs.

[WORKDAY IS OVER! PLEASE RETURN TO THE COLLECTION ZONE WITH YOUR CARTS!] A mechanical voice lifelessly announced inside their helmets. Aether and Gocks looked at each other before moving in a practised manner.

The workday was finally over. It was now time to collect their wages and leave the Great Dump.

---

“Alright, next! No. 128!” The foreman thickly announced. A crowd of workers, bereft of their giant, bulky hazard suits, looked around the dimly-lit metal room fitted with several ventilators and decontaminators. A droning sound originating from the machines constantly submerged the room, muffling all other noises and voices.

Seeing no one step up, the foreman got a little annoyed and announced once again, “I SAID NEXT! NO. 128!”

“Here!” Aether’s voice sounded sound. A hand raised itself amidst the crowd, following which a handsome young man in his mid-twenties hurriedly waded his way through.

“What’re’ya deaf in yer ears!?” The foreman thickly scolded. “Hurry up and stand in the machine.” He pointed towards the red square painted into the ground.

“Right, right,” Aether ran up, holding his air-filtration mask in hand. Climbing up the stairs, just as he was about to step onto the platform, Aether tripped on the stair’s edge and fell face-first onto the floor. The mask which he held in his hand flew out of his grip and heavily dropped on the other side of the platform.

“And he’s also fu*king blind! Fan-tas-tic!” the foreman loudly mocked, eliciting a few laughs.

“Sorry! I’m really sorry,” Aether hurriedly apologised and got onto his feet. His nose looked a little red, but otherwise, he sustained no injuries. Stepping into the red square, Aether saw a wave of light pass over him before hearing a lifeless voice declare.

[No contraband found. Clear.]

“Was that so fu*king hard now?” the foreman derided before announcing. “Next! No. 129!”

“Sorry. Sorry,” apologising a few more times, Aether hurriedly made his way past the scanning machine and arrived before his fallen mask. Picking it off the ground, he lightly dusted it before confirming its condition. Fortunately, there was no damage to be found.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Aether continued on the metal corridor in front of him and walked for a while. After a certain turn in the corridor, he walked past a sign that read ‘PLEASE EQUIP YOUR MASKS! YOU ARE EXITING THE SAFETY AREA’. With a practised hand, Aether mounted the mask on his face.

The air filtration mask unequipped looked similar to a hollow egg that had been bisected into two halves. However, the moment it was worn on the face, it rapidly expanded to cover one’s face alongside a few mechanical whirs and hissing bursts of air. While the specific shape and design of the mask after equipping differed from person to person, Aether’s own was quite simple.

With a cool, jet-black base it covered his nose, mouth, and much of his handsome lower face. Four small, dark blue-coloured cylinders, two on each side of the cheek, were the mainstays on his mask with small pipes and circuits originating from them. These tiny cylinders were the most important part of the mask and handled the bulk of the air filtration. Should they lose their dark blue colour and become black they should be swapped out for new units.

A transparent visor appeared from within the mask, above his nose bridge, covering his eyes before extending around to his ears completing the protection.

Just as the mask finished its transformation, Aether appeared at the exit of the long corridor, stepping out into brightness. Bright neon lights immediately filled his vision, temporarily blinding him for a moment.

“Ah, bright as ever,” Aether randomly commented. His eyes soon got used to the sudden brightness at which point he took a deep breath. The ends of the cylinders hissed, releasing streams of whitish-coloured air. “Much better.”

After finishing his quiet relishing, he put his hand inside his left jacket pocket and retrieved a small item. The item, which looked like a larger version of a shirt button, had a smooth glossy appearance. Holding it open in his left palm, Aether poked at it with his right finger. Immediately, following a ray of light, words and numbers formed in the air before his eyes forming a floating light screen.

[18:31:46]

Aether glanced at the time before moving his eyes to the messages underneath it.

[Gocks: I’ve already left. Don’t wait for me. If you change your mind:...] A route map was attached to the message.

Seeing his message, a corner of his lips unconsciously raised underneath his mask, “This guy…” Aether shook his head. It wasn’t that he was against gambling and such, but was that he really couldn’t afford to engage in such ‘luxuries’.

Swiping the message away, his eyes settled on the second and final one.

[Mei: Arrived home.]

Aether immediately pressed on the message, prompting a holographic keyboard to appear. With practised ease, he typed in his reply.

[Aether: Got it. I have a few errands to run and will be back in an hour.]

Done with that, Aether put the device back into his left jacket pocket and proceeded on ahead. Directly opposite his exit was a monorail station and the means of his transportation.

A brisk walk soon delivered him to the station where he checked the screens for the train’s schedule.

“The next one is in 8 minutes, huh?” Having noted that, he then began to wait. Leaning against a pillar holding up the transparent plastic roof of the station, Aether closed his eyes and immersed himself in listening to the sounds around him.

The very first sound to reach him was the everpresent cacophony of the very many voices chatting around him. While the Great Dump was quite far outside the central areas of District 4 with very little foot traffic, just the people filling up the station could be counted in the hundreds.

Listening past the noisy conversations, the next set of sounds to graze his ears was that of the machines. Low drones and mechanical hummings buzzed the air making up the ambient sounds of his surroundings. These mechanical tunes would only get more numerous and varied as one headed deeper into the more populous areas of the district.

Last but not least was the final piece of this musical makeup chart; the low dins of the roiling clouds and the flashing thunder mixed with the everpresent bolts of lightning. This was the sound feature that Aether was looking for.

Opening his eyes, he peered through the transport rooftop and gazed at the dark, overcast sky above him. Dense black clouds crackling with lightning filled the heavens above leaving not a single crack in their midst. Every so often, a bolt of lightning would snake past the clouds and strike at the air below, producing an explosion of purplish-green-coloured light. This light would illuminate the dark skies for a moment before disappearing into nothingness allowing the process to repeat once again.

A stranger looking at this strange sight would recoil in horror and announce the coming of Armageddon. To Aether and other netizens of the district, this was how their sky normally looked. If anything, today was quite tame.

“Looks like it’s going to be a quiet night tonight,” Aether pleasantly smiled underneath his mask. While some of the more well-off families would sound-proof their residences to ward against the noisy sky, Aether, unfortunately, didn’t have the wares to do the same. It mattered little, however, for he was used to ignoring the sounds. It was a skill that came with living for many years in the district.

Spending the next few minutes in quiet silence, Aether finally moved when he noticed the monorail arrive in the distance. Straightening himself, he tapped his pocket to confirm the presence of the button-like device before waiting for the train to come to a stop at the station.

The silver-coloured train fitted with eleven carriages ground to a halt and opened its doors. Since the workday had already ended and only the Great Dump existed in this area, there weren’t many passengers getting off the train; only a dozen. With familiarity, Aether boarded the monorail with little trouble and found himself an empty corner to stand at. After waiting for the remaining passengers to stuff themselves into the carriages, the train finally left the station.

Travelling by monorail wasn’t anything to write home about. Lacking a conversation partner and not willing to start a conversation with an absolute stranger, Aether spent the journey in silence. It was quite the boring affair and the only thing keeping him company were neon screens fitted around the train, playing a set of advertisements.

[Lose yourself to a world of dreams with the new, fourth-generation CRADLE, brought to you by Laplund Corp…]

[...OASIS bottled water is guaranteed to leave your body and mind feeling utmost bliss…]

[...frustrated by your monotonous life? Come over to the RedLight district and release your pent-up frustrations… ]

“...in satisfaction,” Aether completed the final advert before watching the screen replay of the set from the beginning. Sighing to himself, he shook his head and closed his eyes.

Time unceasingly passed and soon Aether heard the automated computer announce. [Arrived at Redlight District. Please mind the gap between the doors on your way out.]

Waking up from his sleepless nap, Aether listened to the computer repeat the announcement, before waddling his way out of the train. Stepping onto the platform, he saw the burst of neon lights attack his eyes before announcing.

“Finally here.”