Mech-Town

Part I: Fall

Chapter 1

Right after the universal income had been voted, people were divided into three groups:

The Unians, the Medlems, and the Heightens.

W, On humans

From the white sky, a sweet smell came to her nose, breathing it along with the cold air of February. It was cold. It was so cold that day that she wondered with every step, why she was outside.

Chilly as always, Cara was wearing several jackets, layering herself like an onion, with her orange hair shining through in between her hat and her scarf. Under pullovers, jackets, gloves, and more, she was still cold. There was nothing she could do about it. There was nothing she could do about much anyway.

The wind had stopped blowing while she was pondering about what to do then. Her fingers were all numb and she was worried whether they'd move again one day.

She had gotten out of her family's car, but it was worth it, snow was about to fall and she would do anything not to miss the start of it. In the street, there weren't so many people and the few pedestrians didn't pay attention to her. They all had their reasons to be outside and most likely were all too busy to notice her. She was just there and no one cared.

Grumbling about her wonderful idea of taking evening classes in town, she felt like she was just complaining all the time, which she was. Complaining was her thing after all. The teacher just wouldn't stop flirting with her during the lessons and she was getting tired of taking the car every evening of the week during winter.

It would soon be over as March comes in like a lion, roaring sunlight from the first of the month until the end of summer. Just the thought of it made her smile under her winter clothes.

Even deep in her thoughts as she was, she did notice that the snow had started to fall around her. She spun with her arms open, again and again, catching the flakes as they descended on her. Cara felt like the world was looking at her. She was the center of the universe. It was beautiful.

Walking around freely in the now snowy streets, she passed along shops that were all closed or closing. The lights inside were still on, advertising their products. Jewelry and fancy dresses caught her eye quite quickly and she spent an hour looking at goods displayed on rotating devices, showing them off from every angle. For each piece of clothing there, many different lights shone on them, revealing their best aspects.

Brought back to reality by her watch, ringing for eight o'clock, she decided that it was time to go back home before the gang's curfew started. Anyway, her family had guests for dinner and she had to make herself ready, which would take some time.

The Allen family, Cara's family, had for several generations thrived by designing haute couture suits and dresses. It was only fabric, but this very fabric was intoxicating her, entrancing her, as it had always done. She could almost feel it in her hand as she would sew it.

To her, it either was luck or sheer randomness, living with what she considered a family of dressmakers who had very livable wages. With the universal income, she had been told the clients went scarce, but also richer and fancier over the years. Any clothing designed and made by a human would be sold for a year's wage of an average Joe. It would be her job too when she will be of age to continue her parent's work, one of the most paid employment there was. Sad times really, she thought.