Soon the other board members arrived and the festivities broke upon the Floating Eye just as the storm had. The bottom floor of the glass pyramid was the largest oxygenated room on the planet. Around the perimeter were benches that overlooked the bay and each sector with varying bars and food vendors scattered around. The middle of the room had a dance floor with a crystalline chandelier that reflected whatever color the clouds decided to be. Tonight Tor made his way to the wall that faced the old Aeolian sector. No buildings broke up the view this direction and all you could see was the water, the grasses, and the storms that always seemed to originate over the land.

Tor couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to Shreya’s clique every few minutes, I should just leave now and go write the damn article tonight, thought Tor. Everyone here was dressed in the best they could find. Every month they had a meeting and every month they had a party. After ten years of watching the elite indulge in their excess, Tor felt sick for having introduced Shreya to this.

Leaving early would only look more suspicious that he was up to something, but staying later to watch Shreya wasn't doing him any good either. He wished he could just sweep her away from all of this. Take her to meet his informants she had been pestering him about. Tell her how much she meant to him. Instead, he watched her ignore the date she brought for a man her own age. He had black slick-backed hair, a tuxedo that looked fitted to his fit body. Tor looked down at his own old brown suit. He hadn't even bothered to wash it this time around. Shreya belonged with all the beautiful people having fun, that's what being young was for.

She was at the gas bar participating in her favorite pastime, huffing the Giddies. The green gas provided a good time, or so he was told. Since experiencing a horrific gas accident as a child Tor never trusted others with his oxygen supply. He would breathe air from reputable places, such as the Floating Eye, but his personal canister of O2 was always within reach.

During one of his furtive glances at Shreya, Vice Regent Varnusha sidled up to him and slid a glass in Tor’s hand. The man was so subtle it took Tor a moment before he realized it wasn’t the bartender. “You seem to be enjoying the party even less than usual Tor.” Varnusha gave him a sickly half-smile.

Tor knew he was being baited and took it anyways. “It just seems like such a waste of supplies." Tor gave a sad laugh, "Look at this cathedral ceiling, how much air do you think is being wasted up there? How many people do you think could use that right about now?” Varnusha took a moment to think. Shaking his head, Tor slumped in his chair. “You know the exact number, don’t you Varnusha?”

“Not exactly, but I would say roughly 212 adults, more if they're children." Both of them took a drink, "You’re not wrong you know." The bony man took advantage of Tor's silence and sat down while smoothing his black velvet jacket.

"What do you mean?" Tor asked.

"No sector is being approved for children this month to try and help stop the shortage. This is merely a stop-gap measure but still, it's something. It might buy us time for Gelbert’s ‘scientists’ to find a solution, but then where are we? Breathing fresh air as our workforce is unable to provide for us.” Varnusha replied.

“Did I hear someone mention my scientists?” Governor Ivan Gelbert smiled with pride. While he was old and pudgy, he seemed to have a knack for inconspicuously showing up at the worst times. “Yes, I believe we’ll get some great discoveries out of them yet.”

“Yes, I’m sure we will,” Varnusha said in a deadpan that even Tor had a hard time deciphering. Uncertain whether he was being mocked or not, Gelbert continued.

“Well, they have found some surprising uses for some of our other gases on the planet. There seems to be this blue gas that makes the animals get along together that normally are at each other’s throats!” Gelbert exclaimed while wiping a few crumbs to the floor off his dark green suit.

“Does it replace oxygen?” Tor asked.

“Well… no. I’m afraid they have found animal subjects cannot breathe only this gas. It is similar to Giddy in that it must be mixed with adequate oxygen levels for it to be used. But they do assure me it could be quite useful.” Neither man responded and Gelbert finally took the silent hint being given from both Tor and Varnusha and nodded his head, “If you’ll excuse me, I believe my assistant is trying to catch my attention.” He hobbled off towards a red-haired splotchy kid who seemed to be tall enough to be enjoying the fresher air above everyone else.

They watched the party around them build up. How are there this many people involved in a meeting for five people? A lot of the younger crowd had moved from the giddy bar to the dance floor. The music grew louder until only the people on the outskirts could talk. The band was playing a new style of music Tor hated. It was loud and intrusive, all electronic-based. He found himself missing the years they brought in simple stringed instruments, so the diplomats could continue talking. The chandelier above splashed out a vibrant green throughout the room, while outside rain hammered the glass of the pentagonal pyramid.

After most of their drinks finished were finished, Varnusha tilted his head towards Shreya’s group, “It appears your assistant seems to be having a good time tonight.” Tor’s heart stopped.

“She always enjoys these parties.” He replied.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Have you met my newest assistant tonight? He came quite highly recommended to me by your very own Ms. Shreya. Apparently, they grew up together and were quite close until you snatched her away to work for you. It’s nice to see them get reacquainted again.”

What was Varnusha’s game in this? Tor hated not knowing someone’s end game, especially someone as slimy as Varnusha.

“I told Pletaro specifically to keep an eye on Ms. Shreya tonight as I know sometimes these parties can get rough, especially when a green storm is raging outside." Varnusha motioned to the glass. "He’s a very good assistant, however, lately I’ve been thinking of getting more help as I’ve so much to oversee. I've been toying with the idea of creating a position to investigate our air supplies and ensure everything is above board. Perhaps I’ll be able to find someone as charming and lovely as your Shreya.”

Tor breathed a sigh of relief. Varnusha thought he could lure Shreya back to Derensay with some old crush and a title? He had nothing to worry about tonight then. Shreya was more loyal than that. He had found her shortly after her father had passed and offered her a way out of Derensay. Out of the rat race, the Derensay sector forced their people to participate in. Nothing could lure her back there.

"Yeah, it must be really hard work hoarding all the air you can get your hands on." Tor huffed. "What's your plan Varnusha? You selling some to the highest bidder or just keep it all for you and your chosen entourage?" Varnusha laughed.

"Oh Tor, you and your imagination. You're always casting Derensay in the worst light possible." The man's green eyes tried to look offended but was betrayed by the slight smirk his mouth made.

"Not Derensay as a whole, just their leaders." Tor took the last swig of his drink.

"I should thank you for practically deposing my former competition Tor. Without you breaking that story about Wilea, I could have had an uprising at the estate. As it stands, I looked like the hero." Varnusha motioned for the bartender. "By the way, who was your anonymous tipster for that? I would like to thank them personally."

"I'm sure you would." Tor tried to be as deadpanned as Varnusha was, but found himself crushing ice in between his teeth.

"I feel you misunderstand me, Mr. Torvalds. You and I could be allies in this fight for the planet. If you would perhaps write up a good piece about Derensay, fighting for the good of the people and all that, then I could probably find a place for you when your term is up." The party raged around them and the ridiculousness of it all hit Tor. He was a man past his prime, in love with a much younger woman, listening to the shit-plans of an even older man.

Why should I even give these leaders another month? One more month isn't going to change anything. Here in the Floating Eye, it was easy to forget the people dying on the streets because their O2 canisters ran out. It was easy to pretend everything was normal when the young were dancing in the middle of the nicest room on the planet, instead of selling themselves for a few more hours of life. This wasn't real life. This was fake, and Tor was done with it.

“Thanks for the drink Varnusha.” Tor calmly set the glass down and walked out of the party into the night and back home on the clockwise train. He had work to do.

----------------------------------------

Tor went straight to his office on the edge of Saltec Sector. He worked in Governor Gelbert's sector primarily because of its proximity to all the leading research being done. It didn't hurt that it was also close to his mentor, Atee Baer's office over at the university.

The streets were always empty these days. Only people with personal air canisters could afford to be topside. Everyone else would be down in the tunnels, fighting for a space next to the ventilation shafts. Tor avoided those tunnels as often as he could. The despair was too much for him.

His office was only a short walk from the train station and soon he arrived in his small office. He had two desks and a worn-out couch across from a dirty kitchenette. He threw his cold wet overcoat on the couch and got to work writing a scathing review of all the leaders.

Tor had started writing late at night and sometime in the cold hours before morning, he had fallen asleep at his desk.

A familiar dream crept up on him. He was standing in a world that was fully alive. Plants he had never seen before all around him. Henear only had a few varieties of grasses, every once in a while you might see a tree. Here in this dream, there were brightly colored flowers and trees that towered overhead. In the background, he heard unfamiliar chirps and twitters. He looked down to see himself dressed in a uniform he had never seen before. It was white with rainbow accents on it. The knees were dirty from fresh soil and the air smelled fresh and he could take a deep breath easily.

A woman came towards him with such a deep genuine smile, Tor couldn't help but return it. They laughed together as though all the cares of the world were someone else's to worry about. Her long blonde hair floated as she walked and they held hands as they walked through this botanical paradise. Everything was perfect.

The mysterious woman guided him towards a tree and they sat under it talking about nothing in particular. The dream was warm and familiar. He had been having this dream, with the same woman for the past several years. It was a favorite. No idea who she was, his subconscious just conjuring up some wish-fulfillment he had no doubt.

This time though they were interrupted by another woman with blonde hair. She looked the twin of his free-spirited maiden except she was hard and wearing a grey uniform that matched his own. The two of them got up from the tree and approached the other, feeling cautious.

"So this is where you've been hiding out." The woman with the grey uniform said.

"I wouldn't say I was hiding," The woman with the long shimmery dress responded. "What are you doing here?" This was turning into a strange dream.

What kind of wish fulfillment was this? Why did his mind have to sully the one beautiful thing he had dreamt up?

"Would you believe me if I said we've missed you? Kiki and Zayd send their love. They've been most helpful in finding this place." The two women circled each other like cats who were about to fight for dominance.

"They're still alive?"

"Still alive and now working for me."

"Too bad we left you 50 years in the past, perhaps you should move on and do what the Pytheas was originally intended to do."

"Oh, are you so sure we were left there?" The grey uniform smiled at this. "See you soon." She waved and disappeared.

Tor's dream girl looked at him and her piercing blue eyes filled with tears before the whole dream vanished.