Frontier Online

Where It Started Part 0

A Year Ago: Earth Year 2210 A.D.

The cityscape from Ryan's vantage was dark, except for the intersections' Augmented Reality screens, between the housing and shopping blocks, and the blue energy running along the magnetic-levitation lines that crisscrossed the skyline. Great arches spread, the only structures to touch the bottom of Apostle's Level Two. 

Apostle, the Sky-Piercer City, was designed in 10 segments of 100 meters for the primary residential and working areas, along with two other sections of 10 segments dedicated to college and farming/power production, respectively. 

Ryan was shaken awake by the gentle rocking of the mag-lev train as it shifted tracks. As many of the other riders noticed, the unusually large passenger somehow slept while standing against the wall with the help of a polished, dark wood cane. A huge white lab coat covered the twenty-five-year-old from shoulder to knee but failed to hide his misshapen back.

The coat was one of the few things made for Ryan's size, so it went everywhere he went. Underneath the white coat, Ryan wore loose flannel clothing. The plaid clothes were easy for him to move in, and more importantly, change out of. 

Many of the passengers ducked their heads as the giant's own twitched up. Outside the window opposite Ryan,  the interior of Apostle's Level One flashed by. Buildings stretched in a massive cityscape that peaked eighty meters up. Twenty meters farther and the bottom of Level Two's architecture began.

The architecture drew heavily from the concept behind the Roman Arch. 

However, that was only the surface. Underneath, an even larger mega-structure supported the colossal city. Ryan was intimately familiar with its design. 

If I had a tenth, even a hundredth of this city's monthly tax, I could!-

Ryan bit off the thought. It was no use to wish for something so out of reach. Restrictions placed on his bank account prevented Ryan from possessing large sums of money. When he thought about those restrictions, Ryan reached into his coat pocket and stroked an envelope. Inside was his paycheque, about a month of work, printed on a scannable barcode.

All anyone had to do was scan it, and the credits would be theirs, which made it ornery to use. The cheque was archaic and rare. Direct deposit, or even transfer via Com-Ring, was more convenient. 

Ryan's employers would never fork over the extra credits needed to secure transfer checks or pay a courier to take it. 

So the infirm man was forced to ferry it home once a month. There he would scan it into his account shortly before midnight and then order a flurry of items before his account was drained. 

Once the items were on their way and the money was gone from Ryan's account, he could wait patiently for an angry text just after midnight. 

Oh, well, at least I can use the credits. 

Despite how crowded the late-night train was, Ryan noticed a wide berth around himself. He was a regular on the train since it was his only commute to and from work after classes, but his 2.4-meter frame still garnered a lot of attention.

At least there aren't any kids at this time of night. Kids most often wanted Ryan to stoop down to answer their many questions, which the college student couldn't do. 

Unlike other adults, who stared at his back more than his height, kids overlooked his deformity in their awe. Truthfully, Ryan liked little kids because they never judged him based on what he was supposed to be. Kids had their own special, biting kind of judgment that Ryan was mostly exempt from.