I took a long, drawn out breath of cool salty air as I stared out over the ocean. My cigarette held loosely in my hand as I stared out over the glassy water from my spot on the guardrail at the stern of the Maesk-Evergrey Recount. The utterly massive container ship left behind a brilliant white wake that seemed to cut through the otherwise peaceful night in the pacific. The sound of water chopping as the ship made its way towards New Vancouver gave me a solid backdrop of noise to pull my thoughts together from my day of dealing with loud, obnoxious, tiring people who couldn’t just paint the tank room in the nice peace of thrumming electric motors. 

I took a long drag of the cigarette as I pushed the annoyance from my mind. That was normal. They were normal out here, I was the weird one for not wanting to socialize. Hell, that's why they call you mute, Myles. A long sigh escaped my mouth. I’d have peace soon, proper peace. We’d be making land within the next day and I’d get a week off before the next sail. That was the nice thing working as a deckhand for Maesk-Evergrey, they actually gave you time off while their automated cranes unloaded everything from the ship. The maintenance crews would come on, and get everything fixed and ready, and then we’d set off again. It's been my life for nearly four years now, and after everything that happened with my parents…

I forced myself to end that train of thought. No need to send myself into a depressive spiral again after a long day. I slipped my phone out into my other hand as I turned around to rest my back against the railing. I tabbed over to my socials with a far too practised motion, and began to scroll. Politics, celebrity gossip, drama, social problems… All of it there at my fingertips, and enough to distract myself without needing to do any form of self-introspection or deal with my own problems! Why bother when the world was all but falling apart, like every other day. 

My friend Sydney’s feed came up, sharing some of the shots he’d taken within that large, popular VRMMORPG that he’d been playing. It was of a stunning nebula right out in front of him, and his avatar’s goofy face grinning like a manic as he held up a peace sign. I found myself smiling in spite of everything, and I tapped the like button. Sydney was a goofball and often far too loud and over-the-top, but… Well, he had been my friend since childhood. He was my far too loud and over-the-top goofball. 

Sydney was really the only person I’d ever felt some real connection with that was just obligatory. Even here at work, I kept my distance. I never really felt comfortable around the people I worked with and things always felt awkward no matter how many sails I’d done with someone. Sure, there were a few I felt closer too, enough that I’d joke around with sometimes, but whenever they had a game night, or were drinking down in the mess, I always steered clear. It was our unspoken rule - I didn’t ruin their mood and they let me have my quiet during our off hours. 

I powered the phone off, and turned back to look over the quiet night falling behind the ship. It wasn’t the most fulfilling existence, but it was enough to survive off at least. And surviving was all that really mattered to me. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere in life.

***

New Vancouver loomed over me as I walked down the street of the city center. The air was hazy, steam and other chemicals streaming up from below the grates on the street, the undercity fog only kept from my lungs by the industrial-grade filter mask I wore. A set of highschool lab safety goggles kept the chemicals from burning my eyes too badly, though they definitely still stung. The street was crowded with hundreds, if not thousands of other people in the same kind of get up, makeshift gas masks, cloths, and anything else someone could find to protect themselves. 

I pulled my sweater around me a little bit tighter despite the heat and shuffled my duffle bag higher on my shoulder. My chest felt tight in such a crowded environment, but it was nigh impossible to escape in this day and age if you didn’t have a car or personal flight vehicle. Neither of which I had, given that it’d sit idle and collect fees whenever I went on a sail. Instead I made do with walking, or the pretend public transit system that was often more a sink for public officials to funnel money into their own pockets instead of upkeep.

I turned a corner, stepping into the lobby of one of the middling-sized superscrapers. Compared to some historical pictures I’d seen, it was around the height of the former one-world trade center, though long since dwarfed by the constructions of the megacorporations that called the city home. I’d heard that the Sunken Manhattan Isle now was home to even larger towers than were found even here in New Vancouver. Apparently being lost to the rising sea level hadn’t stopped the rich and powerful from wanting their buildings on that real estate. 

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The lobby itself was quiet and relatively empty, but that wasn’t surprising seeing as this was the lower-level lobby in the middle of the day. Most people would be at work or lunch at this time of day, not at home in their cramped, shitty little apartment.

The receptionist sitting behind the half-foot thick security glass looked up at me with a dead look behind her fake smile. I wordlessly showed her my cheap plastic ID card, before heading over to the elevator. Most of the wealthier class used digital IDs these days, but the convenience fees alone would cost about the same as my rent and I just could not afford that. I stuck with the most basic of what the government provided. 

The elevator smelled of piss and there was a weird grinding sound from the back right corner as it rocketed up the center part of the building, but thankfully no one else joined me as I made my way to my apartment. The carpet of the hall was still damp, despite me being at sea for nearly five months this trip, and I frowned. Was it the same dampness, or was this a new leak? 

I decided it wasn’t my problem, and made my way down the hall. I slipped into my apartment with the fanfare of a small electric buzz from the motor of my lock. The dull sound brought welcome feelings of being home, despite the condition of… Well, the entire building. This was my space, and my space alone. No one was here to tell me what to do, no parents hanging over every moment of my life, no expectations, no… familial love. 

I let out a long breath. Not like there was any love from my parents at home anyways. Just expectations and disappointment.

My duffle bag slipped from its spot on my shoulder, and I let it drop onto the floor next to the entrance as the door closed behind me. The short hallway had a small kitchenette off to one side, and the bathroom on the other. The end of the hall opened into a room just barely big enough to fit my small bed, the world's smallest dining table that served as my desk, and a long disused flatscreen TV. In theory, I could stand in the middle of the room and touch both sides without moving my feet if none of the furniture was in the way. 

As I took in the sight of my room after being away for so long, letting the stress fall off my shoulders. In my pocket, my phone gave a buzz and a sharp chirp. I slipped it out, seeing a text from my aunt and my brow furrowed in confusion. 

Aunt Lori was the only person in my family who hadn’t outright cut contact with me when my parents had thrown me to the curb. We didn’t talk often, her position as the head of R&D at Fidaela Softworks - one of the midsize specialized medical tech companies - meant that she was often busy and with me being gone for months at a time we rarely had time to talk. 

[Lori Vester <17:22>: Hey Myles! Just got word you arrived home. Hope the sail went well. I’ve got something interesting you may want to see.]

[Myles Vester <17:23>: Hey Auntie. Thanks for the welcome. What’s up?]

[Lori Vester <17:23>: We have an interesting position opening here, and I know you’re always complaining about all those people you work with. Figured I’d give you first dibs at it. <1 Attachment: Link>]

I raised an eyebrow. A job opening? I didn’t have any post-secondary education, so what could she offer me at Fidaela, a notoriously picky company when it came to employees? Tapping the link, I gave it a brief skim. I let out a long sigh before replying. 

[Myles Vester <17:26>: A “long term product tester”? Really? What does that even mean, what would I even be testing? Don’t you make medical equipment? As far as I’m aware the only thing broken with me is my idiocy.]

[Lori Vester <17:27>: 1) Don’t you dare say that about yourself. Just because your parents raised the bar to the stars doesn’t mean you are dumb. 2) While I can’t say much about it, I can at least tell you that the product you’ll be testing is a new full-dive VR device meant for long term use. Keep that part between us though.]

[Myles Vester <17:28>: Eh, I don’t really do the whole VR thing, Auntie. You know that. I don’t have the time or money for it, so I’d be pretty bad at telling you if anything was wrong. Plus I’ll be sailing again by the week after next, and I don’t think Maesk-Evergrey is gonna just let me out of the contract. I’ll have to turn you down.]

[Lori Vester <17:30>: Aww c’mon at least give it some thought! Tell you what, I’ll be back in New Van on Friday. That’s like… Three days away? Let's go for lunch when I visit, and you can decide then.]

[Myles Vester <17:32>: Alright, fine. Nowhere super fancy, please?]

I set my phone face-down on the kitchen counter, and all but collapsed into my bed. I was tired beyond belief, and frankly thinking was beyond me at this point. Everything felt just a little bit numb and fuzzy around the edges, and I needed to get some… sleep…