Atlas has never been the city the council talks about in the newsreels. The golden city of progress, The city of opportunity or opportunists depending on who you talk to. It never has been thanks to its caste system ruled by the idealist notion you could move up if you just had the right certifications, certifications that drained a person financially and emotionally. It’s bullshit. And most of the people know it.  And yet for a city bearing the scars of social “justice”, it’s surprisingly alive. I should know I live in the underbelly where it’s all powered.

Or at least…. I did from my last years of certifications till now. You see the funny thing about the forges that power everything from the lights to the monorail connecting the casts, to the holo screens that everyone uses is that they’re nuclear. Fission if I remember right so it’s safe to assume that the slightest mistake can easily put someone in an urn with no chance to upload your records into a new body. Not that I’ve ever had to do it nor do I ever want to, seems invasive.  So what do the higher-ups do? Put the people who have no “prospects” down here and pray they don’t try to make something out of their lives, sometimes it works and all the more power to them but the chances of it actually happening are slim to none. It was one of those people who screwed with the cooling valve in order to secure their job and put me in a care facility with burn scars that aren’t going to heal anytime soon and three years' worth of survivors’ guilt to work through. It was that guilt that made me not notice that I had a visitor: a university professor. Weird….

“Ms. Newton, is this a bad time?” their voice was gentle, a clear sign they were from the upper cast already.

“No please come on in,” I replied, trying to be as polite as possible.”I’ve got nothing to hide.” It wasn’t his fault they were here, but I didn’t think it was mine either.

“Excellent, I’m Professor Silvestra from the university and I was hoping we could discuss your certifications” they took a seat at my desk so I didn’t have to move much “Lee and Celello, classics”

“You think so?” I asked watching them squirm slightly, they must be one of the new ones.

“Yes, it’s a shame they aren’t so well taken care of nowadays”

“Maybe…. Why the hell are you here anyway?” I froze. Shit. Shouldn’t have said that.

 Thankfully the person at my desk appeared unfazed thanks to their mask.

“Ms. Newton, I’m here to discuss your certifications mainly your lack of them” 

“What about it? I like my poetry certification, can’t see myself getting anything else”

“Y Yes but you can’t do anything with it-”

“Without political or science certifications I know, trust me I know” I sighed. I got this lecture from my family on the regular when I was in the forge but here? It’s a care facility, certifications weren’t talked about at least not regularly. It was actually kinda nice.

“You’ve heard this before?” Silvestra asked, their voice cracking with surprise.

“Yep,” I smiled carefully to not scare the worker too much with my lax tone since that was becoming a habit of mine. “A shame isn’t it?”

“Yes, however, I’m afraid since you’re relatively able-bodied and mentally stable at least according to my observations you won’t be able to stay here without paying a sizable portion to the government” they shifted in their seat and I could tell by the monitor in their right hand that they were nervous about what they were about to go into. I on the other hand could really care less because there was no way in hell I was going to come into money anytime soon.

“Look Professor, I get the passion I really really do but I’m afraid there’s one thing that you don’t address,” I said trying to keep my tone as relaxed as possible since despite the suit it looked like they were going to jump out of their skin. “And that’s capital something I don’t have a lot of”

“There’s the scholarship license and the grant that comes with that” They tried to counter.

“That I can’t apply for right now” I shot back. “I’m still legally “impaired” for two years” I sighed again, not realizing the tension in my jaw and shoulders. It’s already been three years? Fuck. It was then the professor took their leave with a defeated sigh asking me to consider the appeals process and that they would love to see me enrolled in the future. They knew the same thing I did: Until those two years were up I was in limbo. It’s not the end of the world since the government gives out a small amount of cash every now and then but it’s based on certifications. So time for the job hunt. Great… well there’s the paper to start. Slipping into the rough safety jacket and pants of my old forge uniform felt fantastic compared to the smock that the caretakers want us to wear on a daily basis. It’s so they can easily handle any sort of medical emergency, but I just find it invasive most of the time cause they have access to the five feet of the scarring all over my body. The “joys'' of nuclear power.

Thankfully, the front desk is relatively lively when there isn’t a medical breach going down so it’s easy enough to just pick up a paper and zone out for a bit, but there’s a coffee shop I like so after taking a paper and cloth mask I headed out into the heart of the city. The steam is light today so it’s easy to see everyone in their respective uniforms and by extension, it is so easy to see how out of place I really am. However, because most people see the mask and the rusted piece of metal that is my cane I don’t get a ton of attention, it’s nice sometimes. A little lonely at times sure, but it’s not the end of the world so I’m ok with it. Gives you a lot of time to think about everything. A few moments later I'm greeted by the owner of The Rusted Cog playing his old piano out front. He always does and it’s always jazz or blues for some reason. I’m not too keen on it, but he says it’s what makes him happy and that I should have a drink with him. I mean free coffee is free coffee, right?

“So Dayna, what brings you to the cog again hm?” His voice was rough but that was because he was a smoker before, or maybe he was a maintenance man at one point I don’t know he doesn't really talk about it. And I never asked.

“Oh, you know the drill,  just trying to clear the head,” I replied roughly, taking a seat as he went behind the counter.

“Still?” He shook his head. “That can’t be good.”

“How so?” I asked just drinking in the cozy atmosphere and getting lost in the nostalgia.

“If you keep cleaning up the thinking shop you won’t have anything left,” He laughed at his own phrasing while getting the things for the coffee. “You write anything new recently?” 

“Nothing for the shop, sorry” I replied knowing the old man would pay for anything even if it was absolute shit. He says it’s so he can promote the local artists but part of me just thinks he just needs something to do.

“Ah well, Ya you can’t hit gold every time. Did you hear about LiveWire yet?” he passed me the coffee and a lemon bar “On the house”

“Thanks, what’s LiveWire? And what do you mean by yet?” I asked after taking a quick bite of the sour treat. 

“It’s some sort of romance app” He sighed probably thinking of the past. I wouldn’t blame him, it was a better time.

“Like Shade?” I swallowed quickly and realized what I said and wanted to sink into the floor out of shame.

“You think the government would allow another one of those?” He had a knowing smile creasing his face.

“Fair point…..” I blushed to try to dig my head out of the damned gutter. Love isn’t lust you jackass. Wait….. Why would he care about romance? Didn’t he have someone?

“Ha don’t worry about it kiddo I thought the same thing” His smile fading slightly “you should try it”

“Why?”

“Eh, why not? For you, it’d be kinda exciting, doncha think?”

“I don’t know, I'm not sure if anyone would care about me like that, they haven’t before. Why would they start now?”

“ Eh….You don’t know till you give it a shot, besides they’re hiring too so you’d be making some cash ”

“How do you know that?”

“That’s the funny thing about life” he chuckled softly “You don’t know what it’s going to give you so you just have to take the chance and go with it. We did it when we first made Atlas after all. Maybe you just need some new inspiration for your poetry. And to answer your question the ads are all over the blasted place see for yourself,”

“Maybe….” I said as we watched the paper together. There was nothing special, just enrollment dates and ads for the latest food distribution with a few tech ads for good measure. Then, clear as the Holoscreen it was being broadcasted on there was an ad for LiveWire. The people were actors for sure since actors are the only people in Atlas that don’t have a set uniform most of the time, but they looked so happy. So forced. It was almost sickening.

“You gonna be ok Newton?” the man asked with soft concern as I quickly flicked off the ad. I nodded but the pit of my stomach was in a twisted ball of knots so it was clear I was lying. It was one of those gut feelings where you know it’s a lie but you also know that there are people who buy it wholesale and wouldn’t hesitate to defend it. I think some guy named Trump had a few back when he was running things or was it, Pence? Honestly, it was probably both. The only thing I know is that I was uncomfortable so I left shortly after trying to try and shake off the discomfort but at the same time, it piqued an interest. It was a weird feeling. But nonetheless, they were hiring and while I may not have the certifications I could at least get a maintenance job and that means I would have a place to stay at least for a little while. You have two years and then what? It’s not like anything else is around and you know damn well you’re not going back. You can’t.

It’s funny, really I never had the time to think about things when I was dealing with the forge for obvious reasons but now it’s different, I have the chance to do something else, anything else so why is it such a pain in the ass? I guess it’s just the prospect of being in limbo for two more years just weighing on my mind. Still, the owner of the coffee shop had a point: If I was going to stay stuck in the past I wasn’t going to get anywhere. It was just not healthy, but it still bugged the hell out of me. So against my better judgment, I got the app for my holoscreen. Then I opened it thinking that somehow it would make an application appear in my hands. Well, at least whoever designed the UI did a half-decent job. Then, my holoscreen started to glitch out, and started smoking. Well shit. It always had issues because the model was outdated for several years but it was never this bad.

“Or not….” I muttered aloud, flipping it over to take off the backplate and fiddle with the wiring. It was an old screen so something in the projector was probably shot to hell at this point. It could’ve been my tampering and hot fixing but I’d like to think I know my way around a screen. After two reboots I finally managed to get the blasted thing to work normally or at the very least got it to stop smoking since that would lead to too many people asking too many questions and tighter restrictions that I don’t need to mention I’d ruin a perfectly good pair of pants, but when I took a glance at the screen I noticed a message:

Help me.

“What the…..” I murmured quickly, glancing around to see if there was anyone around in the park that could be in trouble since I may be a cane user but I’m not heartless. At least that’s what I tell myself to sleep at night. There wasn’t anyone I could see so naturally my eye turned to the screen and I began to type, still confused.

“Where are you”

Please just help me

“Who are you? Where are you? How the hell did you get a hold of my screen?” I had double-checked my message settings and sure enough, they were private. Well, as private as they could be when you’re being monitored by doctors all the time for three very draining years.

“Just Say yes” Ok now this was getting nutty and I honestly thought that someone got into the tech room at the facility as I was heading back. There was only one way to find out and that was to ask the front desk questions.

 

“Excuse me” I flashed my ID to the receptionist, legs on fire since I haven’t hobbled that quickly in years. “Did someone get into the tech room a few minutes ago?” 

“Um… no why?” She responded, her face clearly showing confusion. “Are you having tech issues?”

“I received unidentified possibly unauthorized messages a few minutes ago” I slid my screen across to her.

You’re sure?”

“Yes!”

She looked at the screen confused “I don’t see anything” 

“What?! You’re kidding,” I could see a couple of guards come up no doubt confused by the racket. She just stared back at me confused, saying that maybe I was just seeing things and she’d be happy to arrange an evaluation for me. What the hell? They were there a minute ago. Messages don’t just disappear like that, Why did they just disappear?  I wanted to lessen the scene I just made so with a dejected sigh I dragged myself to the decontamination stall making a mental note to double-check things since at this point going crazy wasn’t completely out of the question….

 

It wasn’t until after dinner that I was finally able to get too hot fixing my holoscreen since the receptionist had scheduled that appointment anyway. Not that I blame her, seeing someone run in and start raving about messages that aren’t there must be terrifying. But at least they are quick on the tech support, the messages still weren't there so I just sighed and went to my bed to decompress the livewire ad still playing in my head. Who would want someone like me? I’m just…. A forge worker. I’m scum. No one is going to-

“Hey” Another text, but why? I checked and sure enough, it’s real so after a bit I grumbled and wrote a reply: “You still need help?”

“Yeah, you in?”

“Sure, but who are you?”

“A friend I promise”

“Ok?”

“Look I need you to get into Livewire”

“Into like the company? That Livewire?”

“Yes” 

“Ok….you realize I’m just a forge worker right? Even with my certifications, I’m not going to be this big shot you want me to”

“So? I just need someone on the inside. Just apply for a “date” status. I just need someone on the inside to get information. I’ll send instructions later. I swear just please help me.” 

I sighed rereading that. It was very clear that this was and will always be a bit odd. I don’t even know who this person is but they want me as some sort of agent?  Me? Why? They started to type and then just stopped and my screen started to glitch again. So you're the person behind this. Clever. I sighed before typing that I figured out that it was them and I would do what they wanted me to, it would just take a little bit of time to get everything settled and if they stayed in my screen it was going to be a pain in the long run. They just said that I should be getting a better screen and I just responded by telling them I can only do so much and went back to bed. Tomorrow was going to be one of those days that was going to be draining but hopefully it will be a start in the right direction. There were only a few questions on my mind as I drifted off to a dreamless sleep: Why me? And who the hell was this person?