It was a delicate process, too much pressure and the thin screws could break. Denys had to move slowly with the tiny screwdriver because he didn't have any spares. Why didn't I grab spares? Denys thought to himself before answering out loud. "Because I'm an idiot. That's why."

Denys turned the driver carefully, scrap screws were rusted and easy to strip, but he was sure he got it. He was sure everything was good. Denys looked at the contraption he had constructed and mounted onto the wall paneling of his bedroom. 'Contraption'. That's what Denys' father called it anyway but that's not how he looked at it. To Denys, it was a fun little project, something new to build though his father probably wouldn't call it 'new'. Denys made sure everything was secure before he opened the valve on the pipe connected to the mount. Denys had removed a panel from the wall to gain access to the waterline and split his own line off of it. Nearly electrocuted himself in the process. Now that was a lecture waiting to happen...probably best not to mention that to anyone.

The pipe trembled slightly as the water went down and, to Denys' delight, the rusty screws held their own as the sprinklers began to twitch under the falling liquid. He had done it, Denys had built a hanging garden in his bedroom to call his own. Not that he needed a hanging garden, he never cared much for plants. He didn't even have any seeds in the soil that was now being watered, but Denys had seen an ad for hanging gardens on his way to school and wondered if he could one. Turns out he can. And he did it all with recycled parts, right down to the rusted nails he dug out of old ships at the shipyard. Took a long time to find the right number of screws in the right size. That part always bothered people.

"Why not buy new screws?" They would ask him. "They're really cheap."

"That would make it easy." Denys would answer. "Easy isn't as much fun."

A collective sigh would then fall upon the table and the rest of breakfast would then be spent in awkward silence.

"Denys!" His father yelled from downstairs as if on cue. "Get down here and eat! You're running late!"

Looking at the clock, Denys saw that he had tinkered a little too long. He turned off the water and quickly got himself dressed which was, in itself, a bit of a chore. Denys's room was wall to wall scrap. Various tools and other materials that he accumulated from the salvage docks from the Wakefield Shipyard and Factory were littered all over the floor of what his father had come to call the 'Harcrow Trash Heap.' Denys didn't have much need for most of the materials yet but he could need them in the future so he felt it was best to collect them.

"Denys!" His father yelled again from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Denys finally screamed back quickly getting himself dressed into his school uniform and a different set of clothes into his backpack. Denys locked the door to his room behind him as he ran down to the kitchen where his family was already at the end of their morning breakfast.

Denys' father, Elliot Harcrow, looked at him and coldly stated. "You're eggs are cold."

"I'm not hungry."

His father scoffed. "Well, they're already cooked so you best eat them."

Denys didn't argue, he knew that he couldn't, she simply sat down and started eating the eggs while his older brother, Frank, saw fit to simply change the subject. "So, everything is ready for Rhea Day then?"

"Yes." Their father answered. "It was a particular pain in the ass in the year, but we got it done."

Elliot Harcrow was deputy-chief of the Wakefield Shipyard and was heavily involved in the preparations for the increased traffic as well as the Chancellor's Delegation. Denys wasn't really interested in any of that, he just ate his eggs while they continued the conversation.

"I heard we had to make extra room for the delegation." Frank said.

"Yeah. they added four ships."

"Four!" Frank stated in disbelief. "Since when does the delegation need more than one ship? never mind five?"

"Since they decided to have the Director of Special Operations in that delegation."

Denys rolled his eyes. That was all anyone in the city was talking about anymore. Basileus Ryker. Ryker, Ryker, Ryker. Denys would be surprised if anyone in Wakefield knew the guy's name before finding out such an 'esteemed' man was going to grace them with his presence. Now, everyone was his biggest fan.

"What did Ryker do to get sent out here?" Frank asked.

Their father shrugged his shoulders. "Something trivial I'm sure. Nothing a bit of ass-kissing won't fix. Ryker has been a personal favorite of the Chancellor for ten years, that's not going to change no matter what the talking heads on the screens say."

"Y-Yeah." Denys stammered, attempting to be a part of the conversation. "Those talking heads are idiots."

"They're not idiots." His father quickly shot down. "They're just wrong. You don't have to be an idiot to be wrong. And there's no need to be disrespectful."

"Sorry." Denys shut back up in a hurry. He didn't know why he bothered, Denys may have inherited his father's red hair and stocky build but those are where the similarities end. Elliot Harcrow was an administrator and a climber. When he came of age, Elliot Harcrow had inherited his own father's status as a lower-level engineer on the Shipyard and now he was deputy-chief. It was the duty of each new generation to take the family further up the Wakefield ladder. After the Death of Earth and the great exodus, the Harcrows were temps on the floor of the Wakefield Factory and now they were right at the doorsteps of elites.

Elliot had secured a decent-sized home in the upper levels of Central-Station. It had two floors, multiple bedrooms, a large living area, and a high tech kitchen. There were several screens for entertainment, though Denys had taken his apart for parts, and even some carpeting. Outside of the Upper-Station, this was as good a home as anyone could hope to get.

But as he sat there with his red hair now completely grey, Elliot Harcrow knew that he had taken the family as high as he could. It was up to his sons to take the family the rest of the way up. Or, at least, it was his firstborn son's duty. Denys' older brother had taken after their mother with his black hair and leaner physique, he had no resemblance to their father. Something that Denys was incredibly jealous of. But Frank had taken after their father in the way that truly mattered. He had inherited their father's administrative skills and political savvy, and mountains of charm that made an impression on everyone. Francis Harcrow was the one who could one day become Chief of the Wakefield Shipyard. He was already an administrative assistant on the shipyard. He was the future of the family. Not like Denys.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Denys didn't care about politics or advancement. And while there was obviously a job waiting for him on the shipyard, he had no interest in it. Denys wasn't that good around people, he was awkward and often stuttered when he was nervous. He preferred to keep to himself and tinker with his various projects. Worst of all, Denys liked to get his hands dirty. He didn't rely on the automation that had overtaken everything in human life, he liked to build things on his own. Denys was a step backward for the Harcrow family. An embarrassment. Or, at least, that was the way Denys had always felt about it. Not that his father ever did anything to reassure him. 'Don't be disrespectful'...what that really meant was 'don't embarrass the family.'

Once breakfast was finally over, Denys grabbed his backpack and left the home. He swiped his hand by the black sensor by his front that opened up with a rush. Denys then, ironically, stepped out to the building interior. The 'buildings' of Wakefield which ran from the bottom of the city-station up to the edge of the Upper-Station as support beams for the City but they were also technically hollow. Inside each building there was a large vertical shaft which is where the front doors to the homes built into the sides were located. Denys always got a sense of vertigo whenever he stepped outside, even with everything being enclosed to conserve oxygen. He could almost see all the way down to Wakefield sewers, distinguished only by the darkness at the bottom of the shaft.

Denys walked away from his front door and down the steps that led down from the wall that housed all the apartments and towards a platform that rested in the center of the vertical shaft. There were several such platforms in the interior of the building. Once he reached the platform, Denys was beset on by news feed peddlers. "Extra. Extra. Read all about it."

Wireless data was illegal among civilians, a measure to safeguard against alien hacks. That was the story the Union uses as an excuse at least. In reality, the crackdown on wireless data was designed to hamper the cyber-underground, not that it did anything of the sort, and control the flow of information among civilians.

All Union-Approved news publications had stands at areas of heavy traffic where they would offer to link up to people's personal tablets and upload their latest editions for a price. Denys didn't have a personal tablet, he didn't like computers, and, even if he did, he no interest in the news. It was Rhea Day weekend, the prominent member of the Chancellor's Cabinet was coming...everyone was saying the exact same thing in slightly different ways. Why spend credits on it?

Denys just pressed through the news peddlers, walked off the platform, and into a tunnel that led him out of the building interior and into the crowded walkways of Wakefield's Central-Station. It was a loud environment but Denys had mastered the art of blocking out the chatter and all of those screens blasting out content. Denys was always more into the architecture of the City-Station itself. It was so cluttered yet strangely organized. Between all the towering buildings there were platforms upon platforms containing shops, theatres, bars, and restaurants. There were tunnels and staircases for people to move from platform to platform. And, between them all, there were all the transit lines carrying people to new locations. Just layers of construction piled on top of itself. Denys wondered how the city looked back when it was first constructed.

It was so crowded, but also well lit. Denys lived close to the Upper-Station, where the rich lived, and if he looked up he could see the brightness of the artificial skyline that beamed down from it. He had never been up there but that apparently was about to change. As deputy chief, Elliot Harcrow had an invitation for him and his sons at the Rhea Day Memorial Gala every year. Denys had always managed to avoid going but, with such an important dignitary coming to the city, he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of it this year. But Denys didn't want to think about tomorrow, he had places to be...and it wasn't school.

Again, it was Rhea Day weekend, there was nothing to be learned from school. Having recently turned 18, Denys was just old enough to remember Rhea without the propaganda. He was only three at the time but he still remembered, it was one of his earliest memories. He didn't want it to be though. Denys refused to let his mind go back to that day.

Denys navigated his way to a nearby Transit-Terminal, swiped his student card, and got on the transit-car that was meant to take him to school. As a student he didn't have to pay credits for transit but, because of that, he didn't have to re-swipe when he got to his destination. A stupid glitch in the system that few people noticed because everyone swiped their cards again at their destination like normal. Denys, however, didn't like computers and he loved to spot flaws in them. All he had to do is get off a few stops early and he was free to go about his day. Until then, he just sat down in his seat and waited.

"Do you feel incomplete?" The screen built into the back of the seat in front of him asked. It was an ad.

"Do you feel lost or broken?" The woman in the ad asked again. "Because United-Pharmaceuticals can help. Since the 'Death of Earth', U/P has helped humanity adapt to space-life with their line of Vitamin-D supplements but we know that is not enough. Survival is nothing without strong emotional and mental health to make that survival worth having. With their diverse line of medications, U/P can help you become the best version of yourself."

The ad continued with a series of testimonials from customers. "I had problems sleeping." "I had problems getting myself up in the morning." I couldn't stand in a crowd without panicking." "But I am better now?" "I am better now." "I am better now."

The ad then concluded with an image of U/P's logo. "United-Pharmaceuticals...Together, we can improve ourselves."

Following the ad, the morning news came on. Discussing Ryker...again. Denys rolled his eyes and switched it off. He just sat there and waited for the transit-car to arrive at the destination he was waiting for...The Wakefield Factory. It was right on the route to school, couldn't be more perfect. Denys stepped off at the early stop and worked his through the crowds. The factory was a pit-stop for him, Denys needed new materials. Denys made his way to one of the side entrances where he spotted his main contact. "Barry."

The middle-aged Barry turned and sighed. "Shouldn't you be in school today?"

"Oh, we're not learning anything today." Denys pleaded. "Come on, just a quick peek?"

Barry sighed again. "Fine, but only what you can carry in that backpack."

"That's all I need." Denys opened up his bag as Barry swiped his security pass. Barry was one of the recycling-engineers, he had access to all the scrap. And, of course, the Factory didn't just deal in its own scrap, all the scrap created from shipbuilding in the Shipyard is sent here for recycling. Denys quickly went from scrap-boat to scrap-boat, picking out whatever pieces and parts he found appealing. Once his bag was full, he thanked Barry and went about his business. He walked back out of the factory and into the crowds...that's when he saw her.

Denys didn't expect to see her this morning, she usually worked the evening shift. Why was she here? Denys tried to calm himself. Maybe today he could say something. But she was probably running late, he couldn't do that. Well, he could say 'hi' at least.

"Hey, M-Mara." Denys stammered to himself, trying to figure out what to say. "Long time no....no that's stupid. Hey, remember me...no, that's pathetic."

Denys stood there looking at her walk down from the steps of the transit-terminal with a big bag at her side. She pushed her long, brown hair back and turned towards his direction...his heart stopped and he quickly turned away and started walking. He moved through the crowds away from her cursing himself as he did. "Coward."