The Earth is a wonderful place. It's mornings and nights and beautiful wilds to explore but none of that matters in face of the System.
On a random Tuesday, everyone was going about their business: Office workers were going through monotonous tasks, Children and Teens hoping that the school day would move just a little faster, and certain unspoken events were happening in dark alleys.
Then nothing and everything changed.
With a bright flash of light the geography of Earth and the lives of its inhabitants changed forever.
Fantasy creatures and races flooded the planet, different forms of unknown energy entered the atmosphere, and all sentient life gained a new and outlandish companion: The System.
What with all the information in the universe who else would try and fail to put it all into numbers and words but humans? However, where humans had failed The System had succeeded. You could easily compare your strength to another and gain power beyond your understanding as long as you were willing to work for it.
But is any story good without a main hero? No! So here we descend on the Earth, 100 years after the Awakening, in the accounting building of a mid-size chemistry lab, in a cubicle too small for even a Dwarf, is our hero.
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Alright. 5 o'clock. End of the day. Now I just have to leave and enjoy my weekend. Hopefully without being forced to tag along with any of—
"Hey Alice! Want to go for a drink?"
No.
"Sorry, not today Bert, I have to catch the train." Yes, just...accept the pleasantry and let me go on my way.
"Aw, okay, see you tomorrow!"
"Bye Bert."
Why does Bert always try to ask me out? He knows that I don't like him. I thought I made that clear. Maybe not clear enough... I don't want to be sent to HR, though. Ugh. I'll just—deal with the security guard and go home.
"I.D. please." He just holds out his hand, not even looking up from his newspaper. It mentions something about a freak astronomical event with a picture of the moon and world-renowned scientist Dr. Archimedes next to it. Wonder if he finally bought the remains of NASA yet.
Right, I.D. Let's, uh—"Oh, here." He puts down the newspaper, smacking his lips as he sits up. His gaze flickers between the card and me, eyes squinting as he struggles to compare the grainy image to the real thing. However, he's done this every day for the last year or so, and repetition calling—
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"Alice Windshaw?"
"That's me."
"Okay, you're clear to go." He hands the card back to me and promptly slumps in his chair, back crackling as he does so.
Always the same guard all day and night. I wonder if he ever sleeps? Actually, he probably has a skill for it. Lucky guy, or unlucky depending on how you view it. I really want to have Sleep Resistance from all the overtime I accumulated.
Leaving the office grounds for Al-Chem laboratories, I walk toward the cleanest place in New York: the subway. A place where all your comfort needs are satisified. Hooray.
One of the TV's bolted to the walls and encased in a metal cage displays the news. "And in other news, CyberKnight has destroyed another power plant for unknown reasons, Police say that they working with the Heroes to take care of him."
Ugh, I bet they're just letting the Heroes do all the work, what about their own jobs that they should do? They're still on the payroll, I think?
Actually, hmm... Memories of my history class are resurfacing. That one teacher I had had worked in the fire department. Err, something about the Heroes being heavy hitters? I—Never mind.
After walking on to the train, I sit down and relax for the first time today, back cracking in a similar way to the guard's. Maybe I should start job hunting again? No…it was hard enough to get this job; plus it pays pretty well, and I have dental. It'd be too much effort to try. It's not like jobs just fall out of the sky.
"Hey mutt!" A human, blond jeers at me.
Oh, please don't do this shit today.
"Dogs aren't supposed to be on this train!"
Oh hey. This one is stupider than usual. I think I see a bag under his seat with a bottleneck sticking out. Just ignore him. Don't let him get on your nerves. You know what she told you. She said to—
"Don't just ignore me, you bit..." *Bam!*
"First of all, I am not a dog, I am a wolfen beast-woman. Important distinction Second of all, I am allowed on this train as it is a public form of transportation which means a passenger is required to respect other passengers, as allowed with the 14th Amendment."
Oh, that felt good, but he is out cold. Makes my speech a lot more awkward and more...monologue-y. Everyone on the car tacitly is ignoring me, and I really needed that. Hmm, I should take a 'Me' day sometime. But I do have bills and there isn't really anywhere I can go… Yeah that isn't an option. I guess I'll just bottle this all up inside for later. Oops, this is my stop.
I walk to my apartment building, unlock my door, collapse onto my bed, and, finally, check my messages.
Maddy: Hey Ally. How stressful was your day?
Ally: Same as usual.
Maddy: Anybody get hurt?
Ally: No…
Maddy: You know you need to work on your anger issues.
Ally: I know, but the everything just stresses me out. I know that with the System everything was supposed to simpler, but for normal people like us nothing changes.
Maddy: Don't worry Ally, someday you'll get stronger and won't have to listen to anyone!
Ally: Sounds like a villain origin story. But you have the cooler background with a computer engineering major, while I just have a degree in Accounting.
Maddy: Don't be so hard on yourself. Well, good night.
Ally: Good night, Maddy.
Hmm, maybe I should check if my status has changed?
Status.
[ Name: Alice Windshaw
Species: Wolf Beast-human
Age: 24
Level: 1
Experience: 0/0
Titles: None
Effects: Sleep Deprivation
Health: 100/100
Magic: 0/0
Power: 131
Endurance: 92
Intelligence: 120
Wisdom: 100
Agility: 82
Dexterity: 56
Skills: Enhanced Senses(Minor, Passive, Hereditary)
Beast Transformation(Active, Hereditary) ]
Oh, look at that. Same as it was since I left school. All those extraneous skills being lost over time. I guess losing Calculus wasn't really important—I can still do it anyway, but having the list was nice.
Well, I don't have work tomorrow, so time to sleep in!