Four miles an hour. That’s how fast Foster liked to set the
engine on his skateboard when he rode down the Harmony’s sidewalks. He loved
the beat his wheels pounded out every time he went over the divots in in-between
the concrete slabs. With his headphones on he couldn’t hear them but he felt
the CLUNK-CLUNK of each one as he rolled over them and it pulled the music from his ears all the way down to his feet.
He lived a few miles beyond the electric blue environmental shield
that protected the wealthy Melody’s inner city, he had never been under the
shield and had never given it much thought. He was a fringer, just as his
parents, and their parents, and their parents before. He loved the feeling of
the unfiltered sun on his back as he rode through the unshielded slums of
Melody. He wasn’t worried about cancer, or sunburns, everyone’s clothes had
protective UV layers built into them and like all but the poorest of the
fingers he never went outside with uncovered skin and always in the early
morning or late evening just before sunset.
It was evening shift change now. Foster didn’t look anyone
in the eyes as they were either leaving or starting work. He knew in his heart
that he was never going to be one of the wage slaves, trading his life for
slightly less than his family needed to survive. He had grown up listening to
his father talk about that life and now as a young adult he feared it greatly.
He rode into a street side marketplace. Hundreds of carts
were loaded with questionable food, second hand electronics, and scraps of
clothing. He rode through the shoppers, leaving ripples in the waves of people
he passed by. The band of his over ear headphones were sunglasses dark enough
to hide his eyes from everyone who tried to catch his attention.
He slipped out of the market as quickly as he had entered it
and turned down an alley. He stopped his board next to a large sky blue steel
door. The color had not always been sky blue. The years of sun had caused it to
fade from a much more remarkable blue. He picked his skateboard up off the
dirty alleyway and held it in his left hand. He knocked three times on the
faded blue sky door with his right hand.
It felt like the door was never going to open, which is what
alerted him to the fact that he was beginning to get nervous. He took a deep
breath and tried to steady his nerves, but when the door opened slowly his
heart beat kicked up a notch.
The automated door creaked and screeched as it opened up to
him presenting an airlock lit by neon white light. The walls were white and
completely bare. He stepped into the airlock and noticed the giant one way
mirror on the wall. The outer airlock door closed behind him.
In the upper corner by the outer airlock door there was a
speaker that had been spray painted white. “Stow your board.” It squawked.
Foster looked into the one way mirror for a second and then
slowly slid his back pack off his shoulders. The backpack was covered with
cloth patches that were styled to resemble pieces of an old pirate treasure
map. He released the clips of two straps on the back of his bag and pressed a button on his
wrist control. The board folded up until the wheels nearly touched each other.
He took the folded up board and held it to the bag with the straps he clipped
back in place.
With his bag back on his shoulders he stood back up and
looked back into the one way mirror.
The inner door of the airlock opened much faster and much quieter. A song came through the inner airlock door and Foster could feel the beat in his chest. He pressed a button on his wrist command and his music in his headphones gave way to the music of the club as he stepped inside.
