Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John15:13
Joan wiggled her toes over the edge of a cliff at the Grand Canyon, grinding the warm dirt under her bare feet. The strong wind threatened to hurl her over the edge, but she held on a moment to look at the blazing Arizona sun. Then dropped one thousand feet, shattering her body against the rocks below.
She kicked some of the orange dirt over the edge and watched it fall. And jumped again. And again.
Joan rolled her eyes and left the Virtua-Room to find Felix curled up and waiting for her outside the door as always.
The Burj Khalifa, Dubai UAE
They hopped on the trolley pad and rode it to the common area where Joan joined her father, Bernard. He was watching with glee as the TV wall reported the US Presidential election results.
She plopped onto the couch and complained, "turn off that nonsense, Daddy. You always say, "don't watch the plebes' propaganda programming", but you're always watching it!"
"Oh, dear! I think this is very big for us! We may be looking at exponential growth within weeks!" Bernard leapt to his feet clapping his hands. Joan sighed. Felix purred.
"I'm bored, Daddy."
"Your mother always said I'd spoil you to death."
"You always say that."
"Well, I'm entitled. So you are too. What can I do to make everything amazing for my little Princess today? Have you tried all the new holo-games I bought you?"
"Not all of them. But they're all the same."
"Oh, posh! You can do anything! I never had toys like this, growing up! I assure you! You can stand atop Everest or swim the depths of the ocean. Witness the birth of the universe or fight demons in the Apocalypse! They are not all the same! And they cost me a small fortune! Luckily, I have a vast fortune. But I didn't get it by..."
Joan sighed.
"Well. Well ... what if we take a trip?"
"We're on a trip, Daddy. What good is it when I can't even go down to the beach?"
"Oh, Princess. You know the sun..."
"Doesn't affect me the way it does you or them!"
"Well, that's the point, isn't it? You're not one of them! And if they..."
"Ever got their hands on me... yeah, yeah, I know, Daddy."
Bernard paced the sparsely furnished penthouse floor until he flashed on an idea.
"Charlotte? What are some fun activities for a young adult , uh... Pantheon class."
A disembodied voice emanated from all around them, "Here is a list of all available activities in the compound. No sign up necessary...."
"Stop. Charlotte, I meant possible activities outside the compound."
"All alpha level citizens are..."
"Nevermind, Charlotte."
"Maybe you should just send me to the compound, Daddy."
"No!"
"It can't be worse than this!"
"You're my daughter and I don't want you under their thumb. We're going to get out without them. You need to be completely free to carry ...."
