The first thing that a person would notice upon exiting the monorail station within the RedLight district was the sheer number of people populating this area. Unlike its scarcely populated counterpart, the Great Dump, the RedLight district was the single-most popular area in District 4. Throngs of countless people littered its endless streets forming an unfathomable human flood.
Immediately upon exiting the station, Aether saw his surroundings split into sixteen different streets. Each street was just as densely populated as its counterparts as large buildings and even large facilities occupied every square inch of area. Neon signages flitted about the air drawing attention to their advertisements while illuminating the already bright area.
While an inexperienced greenhorn might get confused by the lavish feast spread before them, Aether was evidently experienced. He habitually chose a street and began to make his way through it.
As one might expect, the various buildings and facilities aligning the streets were those that could be expected to fill an area called the RedLight District. Gambling dens, casinos, bars, brothels, and the likes coloured the area. Loud discussions, enlivened negotiations, drunken brawls, and various other forms of chaos filled the sight around Aether as he continued to head deeper into the streets.
The people around him were much like him; wearing air filtration masks with differing, personal designs. The sheer quantity and variety in their appearances would prove enough to fill out a phonebook. Their clothing, again, was incredibly varied. Not as varied as their masks but noticeably varied. Some were lavishly dressed, while others, like him, were stylistically simple.
One noticeable difference between most others around him and Aether was the light within their respective eyes. While most held the light that sought pleasure and satisfaction, Aether’s own held polite indifference.
“This good-looking sir over here, would you like to come in for a drink?” An older woman lavishly dressed and wearing a cat-shaped mask grabbed at Aether’s shoulder and invited him into her shop.
“I’m sorry, but I really can’t afford your services,” Aether shrugged and politely waved off her hand while hastening his steps. He hadn’t come here to waste money and seek pleasure, but instead to meet an acquaintance of his.
The rest of the trip found him declining, not a few forceful invitations and violent advances. While Aether tried his best to not stand out, those madames and young women always seemed to seek him out from within the crowd.
“I’m only interested in PleasureBots and have no interest in human women. Please let me go,” ending a rather long battle of will with a particularly clingy madame, Aether finally arrived at the back alley he was seeking. Entering the shady alley with familiarity, he walked for a few minutes before catching sight of his intended destination.
Straightening his jacket, which had been crumpled in the tussle earlier, Aether walked in front of the isolated shack named ‘Gondora’s Box’ and stepped up before its elderly shopkeeper lying prone against the shabby counter.
Noticing the arrival of a prospective customer, the elderly shopkeeper quickly raised his reclined head and put on the best smile (though it was hidden by his mask) that he could muster. However, the instant he noticed the face of this customer, the smile turned into a scowl.
“Dear Father in Heaven, why are you here again? Do I have to start drawing salt lines around my shop now?” the elder hoarsely and resentfully spat out.
Wearing an amused smile, Aether replied, “I’m neither a witch nor a ghost, how’s salt going to keep me out?” He gave a second for the elder to react to his words before continuing, “And to hear that your business is doing well enough that you can afford to buy salt just to waste it on me. Congratulations, old man.” Aether put both his thumbs up.
“Congratulations, my ass,” the elder immediately bit back. “Every time you visit my shop, I receive nothing but misfortune.
“Oh, don’t say that,” Aether waved his hand. “I occasionally bring you some good stuff too.”
“And that’s the only reason that I even tolerate you, damn brat. Alright now, spit it out. What have you brought me this time?” The old man rubbed his gloved hands in anticipation.
Shaking his head with a helpless smile, Aether stretched his fingers to dig at the lower right corner of his mask and pulled out a small chip. Seeing this, the old man commented, “Those scanners must be blind for them to keep letting you get away with smuggling things.”
Handing over the chip for the old man’s perusal, Aether couldn’t help but say, “Could it not be that I’m simply too good at avoiding them?”
“Bah! The only thing that you’re good at is making me miserable. Now, what am I looking at?” The old man scrutinised the object in his hand.
“A DMX-2211 chip. Near-mint condition,” Aether replied, a hint of pride colouring his voice.
“Uh-huh,” the old man mumbled before reaching underneath his table and pulling open a drawer. From within the drawer, he pulled out a conical metal implement, which he attached atop his mask on the bridge of his nose. The conical device automatically moved to overlay his left eye, magnifying his vision. “Near-mint condition my ass! This is garbage!” He slammed the chip down on the table.
“That’s a bit harsh. It’s not garbage,” Aether replied as if having expected this reaction.
“Well, it might as well be. It’s unusable in its current condition. Even a rock picked off the roadside would be more useful than this thing.”
“Right, right,” Aether unexpectedly agreed with his statement. Immediately after that, a sly smile appeared on his face as he continued, “However, a rock will not be able to power an 11th-generation industrial miller. This little thing can.”
The expression on the old man’s face twisted and soon became ugly. Aether, however, continued to prattle on as if he hadn’t seen the massive change. “You know what? I suddenly remembered something. If I recall correctly, Mister Pound, owner of Pound’s Milling Company down in the Crystal Light District, was looking for this exact little thing to replace the fried chip in one of his heavy-duty mills, two weeks ago. Of course, I don’t know if he’s already found a replacement for it, but, well, I doubt that it’s that easy to find.
Showing his pleased eyes and a brilliant smile beneath the mask directly to the old man, Aether finished, “You of all people should know how rare it is, old man. They stopped making these chips nearly a century ago, you know? Owing a favour from the industrialist isn’t a bad thing either. Especially by someone in your line of business.”
“Alright, you win, damned shitty brat!” The old man was no longer able to hold in his rage and exploded. “I need this! I WANT THIS! State your price!” He hoarsely screeched.
“A thousand credits,” Aether instantly replied, not missing a single beat.
“Why don’t you just rob me!?” The old man rolled his eyes. “Two-hundred credits.”
“Now, why would I do that to my dear teacher who taught me this business? Nine hundred credits.”
“Oh? So you do remember me to be your teacher. With all this disrespect that you’ve been showing me recently, I thought you had forgotten that. Three hundred credits.”
“Surely you jest, old man. How could I ever forget the grace that you ‘oh so’ graciously conferred upon me? Eight-hundred fifty credits.”
“When you lay collapsed on the roadside, penniless and starved, it was me who took you in and fed you. I taught you this business, cared for you, and even helped you secure a seat in that prestigious school for that little sister of yours. And this is how you treat me? Four hundred credits.”
“Trying to guilt-trip me, old man? Won’t work. My teacher, who fed, taught, and helped me secure a livelihood told me that if I ever came across unreasonable bastards, I will have to be an even bigger unreasonable bastard. Eight-hundred credits. I really can’t go any lower because I need the money. I have a family to feed.”
“So do I!” The old man snapped back. However, seeing the unusually serious look within Aether’s eyes he mellowed down a bit. “Eight hundred is still…”
“I understand that the chip needs some work before it can prove operational, but it isn’t anything too strenuous or complicated. You can complete the repairs yourself. It shouldn’t cost you more than 6000 credits all things considered. As for flipping it, as I mentioned earlier, you already have a buyer waiting in line! This is as guaranteed a sale as I’ve ever seen.” Aether swallowed for a second before continuing, “Eight hundred credits is an extremely fair price. There’s no way you can be bitter over something like this.”
“I’m bitter exactly because it’s a fair price! Rule #1 of my shop, ‘Never agree for a fair price!’.” The old man complained. He then released a sigh and said, “Alright, shitty brat. You win. Eight hundred credits it is.”
“I knew you still liked me, old man,” Aether answered with an extremely pleased voice. He then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the button-like device, handing it over to the elderly shopkeeper.
“Don’t push your luck,” he received the button from Aether and placed it on a flat terminal inside his drawer. Tapping away at the air a few times, he retrieved the button and returned it to Aether. “There you go. Eight hundred credits. Now, get the fu*k out of my sight.”
Aether received the device from the old man before replying, “Will do.” He then turned around and said, “Give my regards to your family.”
“Go die in a ditch,” the old man cursed at him before watching his back disappear around the corner. Having dealt with this annoying kid, he carefully lifted the small chip with his hand before turning his gaze back to the half-open drawer. A semi-transparent screen quietly floated.
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[Amount Paid 850 credits. Payment Successful.]
“That fu*king kid is one day going to drive me out of business,” the old man resentfully mumbled before slamming the drawer close and placing his complete attention on the chip within his hand.
---
While walking through the narrow alleyway, Aether took a glance at his screen.
[Payment Received 850 credits.]
“That old sucker is still as soft-hearted as ever. He’s going to be soon driven out of business like this.” Aether mumbled with a smile on his face. He then pocketed the device.
His business done, Aether no longer had any reason to stay in this predatory district. After overcoming not a few palpitating battles, he soon arrived at the monorail station once more. Just as he was about to enter the station, Aether remembered, “Ah! Dinner!” Halting his steps, he quickly turned around and sought the nearest store selling rations.
A quick search around the station netted him the store’s discovery. Joining the queue which already had quite a few people waiting in line, Aether waited for his turn to come. Five minutes of waiting later, he stepped up to the store’s glass terminal.
[Please choose your order.] said the display.
Scrolling through the selections with a practised hand, Aether found the item that he was seeking.
[Standard Dinner Set: Adult - Cost/per unit: 35 units.]
This was the cheapest set option available for purchase and was also the ‘dinner’ that he and his sister had every single night for the last two years or so. Clicking on the option to purchase, he was led to another screen.
[Quantity selected: 2. Cost: 70 credits. Please confirm your selection.]
Aether pressed ‘Confirm’ and pressed the button-like device against the designated terminal. The machine chimed in confirmation and two objects dropped in the collection area underneath the collection terminal. Pushing aside the plastic cover, Aether retrieved the two parcels from within. It was two silver-coloured lunch boxes.
Having bought the night’s dinner, Aether exited the queue and proceeded towards the monorail station. All his errands were done for the day and it was now time to return home.
---
Aether and his little sister lived in a single apartment in a quiet little area called Whitenoise Avenue. A rather fitting name for the place. The apartment that they lived in wasn’t owned by the sibling duo but was one that they rented.
It was near-impossible to buy a property in District 4, for almost everything available or made available was already owned by someone else. Having said this, it becomes evident that the old man who ran the shop called ‘Gondora’s Box’ was quite the remarkable fellow for he owned the property that he worked at. Not only did he possess the funds necessary to purchase a property in the district, but also the connections.
Still, living in a rented apartment wasn’t too bad of a deal either. The siblings had been renting this apartment for over a decade and fortunately, there hadn’t been any major problems thus far. The neighbours were relatively nice too.
Entering the apartment complex that housed his apartment, Aether made his way through the lobby, nodding in greeting to the people that he recognized, and arrived before the elevators. Pressing the button to call the elevator, he waited for it to arrive.
A minute or two later, the paint-stricken metal doors before him parted signalling the arrival of the elevator. Just as Aether was about to enter it, he noticed its previous passenger.
“Hello, Auntie Ren. Good evening,” he greeted the short, elderly woman wearing a mask designed like a flower.
Auntie Ren upon noticing the greeter nodded with a polite smile and replied, “Aether. Good evening to you too. Are you returning from your work?”
“Yes, Auntie Ren,” Aether politely replied.
“Good, good. Don’t let me keep you here. Hurry on home,” saying so, she patted Aether on his right arm and left towards the lobby. Aether bade her farewell and entered the elevator.
On the glass panel detailing the floors, Aether pressed the number 14 and waited for the elevator to move. A minute later, the doors opened once again and exited Aether. Turning left, he walked the narrow corridor passing quite a few apartments before arriving in front of his own.
Standing before the tightly sealed metal door, Aether pressed the buzzer by the side. Bzsst.
[Who is it?] asked a voice through the speaker atop the buzzer.
“It’s me,” replied Aether, a smile forming on his face.
[Who?] asked the voice again, this time sounding a little colder.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Aether answered, “It’s me, Aether. Your older brother. Mei, open the door.”
[I don’t know any Aether. My older brother was supposed to return half an hour ago.] The voice sounded a little resentful.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. My errand ran later than I expected it to and I missed the 19:15 train. Could you please forgive me and open the door?” he pleaded.
[...no.]
“I brought dinner,” Aether raised the two boxes that he held in his hand and showed them to the speaker.
After a few seconds of silence, a buzzer sounded once again followed by the door opening. “What a handful.” Aether softly muttered.
[I heard that!]
Entering the door, Aether arrived in a closet-like space. Before him was another metal door. Dim blue-coloured lights lighted up the small transitory space as the door behind him sealed.
[Decontamination in process. Please do not move or remove your mask during this process.] A genderless robotic voice apathetically stated.
Pressurised streams of air blasted into the small space submerging Aether in fog. Mechanical devices constantly hissed as the machines worked hard to pressurise, decontaminate, and separate transitory space and its entrants from the outside world.
A few minutes later, the whitish fog filling the room disappeared revealing a not-so-different Aether standing with his eyes closed and face masked. His hands continued to hold onto the two dinner sets.
[Decontamination complete.] The robotic voice returned and declared.
Stepping forward, Aether pushed the button adjacent to the door in front of him, causing it to open and revealing the other side.
“Home sweet home. Finally,” declared Aether. Placing the two dinner sets on the table next to him in the foyer, he then removed his mask. “Ah.” He inhaled and exhaled deeply.
“I’m home!” He exclaimed, informing his sister who was probably hiding inside the apartment and refusing to acknowledge his existence. Feeling amused, Aether didn’t say anything further and proceeded to hang his mask in its appropriate spot within the foyer. Another mask very similar to his own hung on the spot next to it.
After removing his footwear and placing them on the shelf, Aether picked up the two dinner sets that he had put down earlier on the table and walked into his home. After the foyer was a short passageway, which then led to the living room/dining room/ Aether’s bedroom. All in all, the sibling’s apartment was very small.
Arriving at the end of the passageway, Aether saw the 6 sq.m large, scarcely decorated, windowless room. At the centre of the room was a floor table, which was currently being occupied by his little sister, Mei.
Seeing his little sister blatantly ignore his existence, Aether felt his lips unnaturally curve upwards. Coughing out loud, he sought to draw her attention before speaking, “I’m home.”
The sixteen-years old teenage girl possessing ivory-coloured skin and long jet-black hair ignored him. Her focus, which was on the study material scattered on the table, never wavered.
Stepping closer to her, Aether repeated once more, “I’m hoo~oome!” This time, he intentionally drew out his sentence. Again, Mei’s focus never wavered and her typing on the holographic keyboard never stopped.
Walking closer one more time and arriving directly behind her, Aether carefully crouched down. Placing his mouth right next to her ears, he softly whispered, “I’m home.” He then blew into her ears.
Not expecting the breath attack, Mei’s entire body shivered uncontrollably, finally putting an end to her facade of indifference. Turning around to face her annoying older brother, Mei snarled and almost leapt up to attack him, “Gods! What do you WANT!?!”
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t hit me! I’m holding something!” Aether immediately backed off when he noticed Mei trying to kick him. Of course, his pathetic cries meant nothing to Mei. Extending her right leg, she squarely hit him on his stomach.
Similar to a bow that is being drawn, Aether collapsed in on himself with her attack. The kick was unusually effective causing him to crumple onto the floor.
“That… hurt,” Aether groaned, wearing an expression of pain on his face.
“It better,” Mei declared tyrannically, wearing a smile of schadenfreude. She then saw Aether letting out multiple pained groans and twisting his face from the pain. Without the slightest hint of sympathy, she coolly said, “Stop putting on an act. I didn’t even use that much force.”
“But it… really does hurt!” Aether cried in protest.
Mei simply waved him off before turning back and sitting on the floor, returning to her homework. She refused to engage him any further for she knew that would only result in more trouble. Her brother was an annoying person with a personality defect; he liked playing with people. Annoying them to no small degree.
“What a heartless little girl,” Aether grumbled before rising to his feet. His face showed not a trace of the pain or discomfort that he had acted out previously. Obviously, he had been faking it.
Looking at the younger sister who refused to give him the time of day, Aether suddenly felt a little sad. He remembered a time when she was small and used to fall for all sorts of tricks and scams that he employed to tease her, playing with her and annoying her to no end. That precious little face that collapsed into a mess of tears and snot when she could no longer tolerate him was a sight that he dearly missed.
Recovering from his daze, Aether saw Mei staring at his face with a queer expression.
“What?” he asked, touching his face. “Is there something on my face?”
“I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt the urge to punch you in the face,” Mei honestly spoke her thoughts out loud.
“That is uncalled for! That is plain domestic abuse!” Aether howled, backing off once more. Inwardly, he was shocked and questioned whether his little sister was psychic.
“Uncalled for? Do you dare touch your heart and repeat those words?” Mei asked with a mocking smile hanging on her lips.
In her mind, this older brother of hers deserved all the beating that she carried out on the sole premise of all the bullying that she had suffered under his hands in the past. Just remembering those memories wherein he would trick her to the point of tears, Mei felt her fists unconsciously curling up.
Aether, who had originally been intending on placing his hand on his heart and solemnly swearing that he did nothing wrong, wisely swallowed his words when he caught sight of Mei’s clenching fists. He quietly collected the dinner sets, turned around, and walked towards the kitchen which was just an extension of the living room.
After placing the dinner sets atop the kitchen counter, Aether turned around. Just as he was about to inquire Mei about her day, the intercom speaker in the living room cackled to life.
[Residents of Whitenoise Avenue, please come out to collect your rationed water supply. I repeat, residents of Whitenoise Avenue, please come out to collect your rationed water supply.] A dull voice monotonously instructed.
Aether shot a glance at the digital clock and said, “Right on time.” Turning around, he picked up the 10L metal canister carefully set aside within the kitchen and continued, “I’ll go and…”
“I’ll go,” Mei tersely said, grabbing the canister from Aether’s hands.
“It’s fine. You continue doing your homework,” pronounced, reaching once again towards the canister in Mei’s hands.
His little sister, however, refused to let go and sharply stared at Aether. “I’ll. Go.” He sharply emphasised, walking towards the foyer.
Somewhat speechless, Aether shook his head with a bitter smile and cheered, “Be careful then.” A grunt of affirmation came from the foyer, followed by the sound of metal doors opening and shutting.
Shaking his head once more, Aether softly uttered, “Teenage girls. God knows what goes within their heads.” He then walked to the windowless living room and sat down, awaiting Mei’s return.