Chapter 1: The Glowing Streets
*I apologize for any formatting issues. I wrote in Google Docs and pasted into here.*
The colourful lights and holograms of the Glowing Streets sucked in millions of tourists and locals alike, every year. Aiden Clarence, a local in Edington, was a regular. The X-shaped streets full of the news designer clothes and consumer technology was intoxicating to him. He would visit almost daily, and tonight was no different.
Aiden made his way to the Glowing Streets from his workplace, only a few blocks away in snowy downtown Edington. It was a cold night and Aiden was dressed for it, in his winter bomber jacket, grey cargo pants, and black work boots. As he walked, he pulled a navy blue toque over his buzz cut black hair. The faint blue and white glow of his implants snuck through the fibers of his toque. He continued walking, now alongside people as they entered into the Glowing Streets fashion section. Aiden looked around for a moment, taking in all the people and their implants. Almost everyone had them, a couple metal circles implanted into their skulls just above the ear, glowing hundreds of different colours. He found comfort knowing that he was not the only one with implants, he was one of the early adopters of the technology.
After a brief glance at all the people, Aiden hops into the flow of the Tuesday crowd. Despite being a weeknight, thousands of people were moving through the streets, shopping, and just enjoying the views. Following the flow, Aiden window shopped at the stores he passed. They were packed with people, browsing the newest fashion trends. Each store had some sort of them, with matching lighting and holograms. Many stores produced a hologram into the open air of their latest product. Aiden’s favourite clothing store in the Glowing Streets was called Cyber Wear. They sold popular clothing that combined style and efficiency. Many pockets, while maintaining an attractive look. He walked passed it with the crowd, ogling the new jacket they displayed. The deep blue glowing stripes going down the left side called to him, but he had different plans for his visit tonight. Aiden’s visit to the Glowing Streets was for the new fully immersive VR headset. The Deep Dive. It was being released in a couple hours, at 8pm. He had reserved a spot in line, hoping to be one of the people to get it.
Crossing through the center of the X-shaped streets, Aiden stops at the center where a giant holographic display stands. Being near mid-November, the display was of a large monument lined with the names of World War II veterans in respect of their service. Aiden throws his poppy into the display area as a sign of respect, just as many people do every day around Remembrance Day. He continues around the display into a street of stores glowing all sorts of colours. A sign hanging just at the start of the street reads ‘Technology and Gaming’. Nearly forty people stand parallel to the stores in a line towards the front of VR Life, awaiting the same item as Aiden. He hops into slot forty of the line, behind a young man and his mother or uncomfortably older girlfriend. Aiden isn’t sure. The young man turns around and smiles at Aiden, staring at the slight glow emanating from beneath his toque.
“Hey” the man says cheerily, still smiling.
“Hey” Aiden responds dryly, trying to avoid an unnecessary conversation.
“What implants do you have under there?” he says pointing to the glow underneath Aiden’s toque.
“Ava and Data” Aiden responds, trying to not be rude. Usually when the names are said out loud or thought by the owner, they respond. However, they seem to know when they are not being talked to. Aiden wasn’t sure how.
“AIs can tell by reading your unconscious brain activity to determine if you are speaking to a real person or an AI” Data says inside Aiden’s head. “Also, we can technically see what you see and hear what you hear.”
“Creepy, but thank you for the info, Data” Aiden thinks in response.
“You’re welcome, sir” Data says. The young man gestures to Aiden to show him the actual implants. He shows him the two shiny metallic grey circles, with glowing circles on them. The young man nods and grins.
“Cool” he says, almost with a hint of mockery. “I can’t get implants anymore, they make me go nutty and kill people.” Aiden looks at the sides of his head and notices that there are no implants, but he clearly has an implant array.
“Oh” Aiden mumbles, unsure what to do with the information the man just gave him. The lady standing beside the young man gives him a smack on the back of the head.
“Stop saying shit like that, Jordan” she says, scornfully. He chuckles and turns back around, rubbing his head. Aiden stares at him for a few moments, weirded out, before turning away. He looks at the other stores around the technology section of the Glowing Streets. Across from him is a computer building store, with the newest parts for any computer enthusiast. Aiden reminisces on the horrible shifts he used to work at that same store, back when he was saving up for a downpayment on his current condo. His boss would often show up in a pissy mood and take it out on him and his colleagues.
“What an asshole” Aiden thinks to himself.
“I bet he didn’t have any friends, sweetie” Ava says inside his head.
“I don’t have any friends, Ava” he replies, letting out a pitiful chuckle for himself.
“You have us” Ava responds, in a comforting, but slightly robotic voice. He cringes a bit, but does appreciate the sentiment.
A couple hours pass by, as Aiden waits in line. The clock strikes eight and an employee in a bright blue shirt steps out of VR Life. He steps onto a bench beside the line and cups his mouth. He yells out “Attention VR enthusiasts, we only have 45 units available. If you are within the first 45 slots of line, you will be receiving a headset tonight. Only one headset per line slot. The rest of you will have to come back another night. We apologize for the inconvenience!” People further back in the line from Aiden grumble and jeer, while walking off. The employee steps down from the bench and begins directing customers into the store. One by one, they disappear into the blue glow of the store and walk out with a large white box and a game case. Aiden’s smile grows, as he approaches the doors to the store. He can see within the blue lights of the VR store, lighting up the shelves and displays. A couple of employees stand at the door, handing out pamphlets. As Aiden passes through the door threshold, a man with a thick brown beard hands him a pamphlet.
“Enjoy!” he says with a faux-smile, hiding his obvious envy.
“Thanks!” Aiden replies, smiling ear to ear. He flips open the pamphlet, containing bundle information about the headset. His eyes instantly lock onto the medieval bundle. It contains the game 1400 Online and the advanced systems headset, the bundle he was planning to get. Aiden closes the pamphlet and puts it into his pocket, as he walks up the till. A woman only a couple inches shorter than Aiden stands on the other side, with a couple headset boxes sitting next to her. The other two tills are exactly the same, only having two headsets left each.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Hi there!” says the cheery woman at the till. Aiden stops for a moment, admiring her vivid green eyes. They complement her pale complexion and skinny face. He almost forgets about why he was at the store in the first place.
“Cool it, Aiden” Ava chirps into his mind, as if annoyed. He snaps out of his trance and puts his hands onto the counter.
“Hi, I would like to purchase the medieval bundle,” he says, getting more and more excited.
“Sure thing” the cashier says, giving him a smirk as she sets the headset box onto the table with a 1400 Online game case. “How will you be paying?”
“I’ll use chip” he says, shifting the box away from the cash register a bit.
“Here you go” she says, handing the chip reader over to Aiden. He holds his hand over it for a moment. The cashier stares at him as he pays, he can feel her eyes on him. The chip reader beeps and he hands it back, looking up to the cashier.
“Thanks” he says, giving her a small smirk. He grabs the box and game case, holding it to his chest.
“Here’s your receipt” the cashier says, handing Aiden a skinny, but long piece of paper. “Maybe I’ll see you online sometime.”
“Yeah” Aiden replies, no longer giving her any attention. She watches him walk off, before directing her attention to the next person in line. Aiden walks out the door with a huge smile on his face. He can hardly contain his excitement as he joins into the crowd walking towards the center of the streets. Suddenly, a tall man in completely black clothing stops him in front of the computer store.
“Hey buddy” he says, stepping in front of Aiden.
“What?” he says curtly, annoyed that he is being impeded from using his new toy.
“Is that one of them new VR headsets?” he asks, with a sly smile.
“Yeah” Aiden answers, giving him blatant attitude.
“Nice!” the tall man says. “I wasn’t able to get my hands on one.”
“That sucks” Aiden responds, pushing past the man and walking away. He watches as Aiden walks away, towards the fashion section.
“Something was not right about that guy, sweetie” Ava chirps into Aiden’s head.
“Just trying to intimidate me is all” Aiden thinks in response, as he walks past a few stores in the fashion section. He continues walking until he exits the Glowing Streets, separating from the crowd that was heading to the bus stop. Aiden trudges through the snow covered sidewalks towards his workplace where he parked. The streets are empty and fairly dark, lacking any passing cars and only a couple street lamps. All of the businesses along the road were closed at this point, leaving the roads and walks void of anyone. Except, of course, for a couple people sitting on a bench a block ahead of Aiden. He assumes they are just night shift at a store, out for a smoke break. As he approaches where they sit, he notices both are in fully black clothing, wearing their hoods. Neither of them are smoking.
“Something doesn’t seem right to me, sweetie” Ava says, in a worried tone. Aiden doesn’t respond. He notices the bench is directly across from a dark alley, making him a bit more concerned. He picks up his pace as he hurriedly passes the men at the bench. Just as he passes the bench, a hand grabs his shoulder aggressively. Aiden stops and turns around to see the two men standing there, towering over him.
“What?” Aiden asks, angrily. The men do not say anything for a few seconds. Aiden goes to turn around, but the man grabs him again, this time speaking.
“There is something in there that I want to show you,” he says, trying to hide his obvious malicious intent.
“No, thanks” Aiden replies, glaring at the man who spoke.
“You’ll really wanna see this, pal” says the other man, now pulling Aiden towards the pitch black alley. The only thing that can be seen is the silhouette of another man. The bench sitters push Aiden into the alley, and block the exit.
“I’ve contacted the police, Aiden,” Ava says into his head. “They will be here in five minutes, see if you can stall.” He doesn’t respond. The man hiding in the alley steps towards Aiden. Despite how hard it is to see, he immediately recognizes the man.
“Hey buddy” he says. His putrid breath almost makes Aiden gag. “I couldn’t get me one of those headsets.”
“I know.”
“How’s about you give me this one?” he says, placing his hand on Aiden’s shoulder.
“Why would I do that?” Aiden questions, glaring at the tall man. His grip tightens around the headset box.
“Well, you won’t like what happens if ya don’t” he says, grinning evilly.
Realizing he needs to buy some more time, Aiden says “How about I sell it to you?”
“You’re not really in a bartering position, bud” chirps one of the men blocking the alley. The tall man in the alley stares over to him, before looking back to Aiden.
“He’s right, I recommend you give that to me before this gets messy” the man says, getting annoyed. Aiden can feel his blood boiling, his expression shifts to pure hatred.
“I would like to avoid that, so we should trade for it” Aiden says, trying to avoid yelling out of rage. The tall man rubs the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, letting out a sigh.
“Fuck this” says one of the men blocking the alley. He walks over and kicks Aiden in the back of the knee, and pulls him down by his shoulder. Aiden drops the box and game, landing on his behind. The tall man in the alley bends down and looks Aiden in the eyes.
He says, “Look what you did, dropping my stuff!” He stands back up, shifts the box to the side with his foot, and gives Aiden a solid kick across the face. His head slams against the brick wall next to him, knocking one of his top molars out. Aiden spits it out and tries to stand up, supporting himself against the wall.
“Should have given us the thing, bud” says one of the alley blockers, punching Aiden in the stomach. He coughs up blood onto the frozen cement. The three men surround Aiden, kicking him nonstop in the torso. They do not relent for a dreadfully long thirty seconds, demolishing a few of Aiden’s ribs and bruising many of his organs. They stop for a second, as Aiden vomits up bile and blood all over the tall man’s boots. He lifts up Aiden by his collar, staring into his bloodied and bruised face.
“You ruined my boots, you little shit” he seethes, spitting as he talks. Aiden is barely conscious, but manages to say a few words.
“Fug you” he says, through his broken teeth and bruised jaw. The tall man spits on Aiden and drops him against the brick wall. Sirens can be heard approaching their direction.
“Piece of shit” he says, looking down at a broken Aiden. As he looks at Aiden, he notices a slight glow from the left side of his head, underneath his toque. “Oh, shit” he mumbles, with a look of shock on his face. “Guys.” He removes the toque from Aiden’s head and gestures for the other two men to look.
“Fuck” yells one of the men.
“Grab the stuff and let’s go” says the other alley blocker. The tall man picks up the box and game, running down the dark alley away from the street. The two alley blockers start following, but one of them stops and walks back over to Aiden, who is laying against the brick wall, barely conscious.
“Nighty night, bud” he says maliciously, giving Aiden one more swift kick across the jaw. He crumples to the ground as the man runs to catch up with the other two.
“Stay with me, Aiden!” Ava says, panicking. He slowly fades out of consciousness as the bright flashing lights of a police car and ambulance pull up outside of the alley. The voice of his AI calls to him, but he no longer hears or sees anything. Moments later he completely passes out.