Hacking the Sun [Old Version]

Chapter 1.1 Dreams of yet Another Retro Geek

"The first one eclipsed the sun." That's how they described it in the holo-tapes. Millions of tons of metal across the sky, all over the world, carrying a species whose dominance was unquantifiable. I say 'was' because no one remembers.

Not long after global nuclear disarmament, the floating leviathans vanished. No one knows where, except for, maybe, the ones who stayed. Azareans, as the aliens are called, made landfall and carved a new home for themselves on Earth. But before the ships left, they set about rewriting history. They were good at it.

Thanks to sustainable energy, a new kind of CPU, and holographic interfaces, Earth saw an upsurge in technological achievement: better fuel, better transportation... 

Faster computing led to better communication. Breakthroughs in medical science, workforce robotics, and infrastructure led to a sensible standard of living... where it mattered. The internet never lost its sunshine, while the birth of megacities only accelerated globalization. And among the plethora of groundbreaking innovations under the new regime, we were reintroduced to order.

Humans know a better life, so long as they recognize their rulers, those who sit at the top of the superstructures and occasionally look down. But the more things change, the fewer questions we seem to have.

Thanks to the lack of crime, sickness, and cynicism, no one has bothered to ask...

What is the cost of a perfect world?

Dun dun dun... There's no such thing. I'll just listen to non-dramatic music.

***

"Babel," she said, and a beep resounded from her wrist. "Play Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics." The electronic beat came, that fantastic sequenced synth bass line:

She listened to the synchronous drum and stared over the skyline from a sixteen-story complex, a view beholden to its fair share of skyscrapers and flying cars in the rising Summer sun. Hover lanes soared at different altitudes, separated by glittering streaks. The morning light rose over them and the many top-floor domes, transparent bio-domes gracing the top levels of the most modern buildings. The best views of the modern city offered by the modern city, yet the view could only hope to beat the vibrancy of the ginormous Pepsi billboard that decorated the nearby skyscraper.

"All that blue, red, and white; all that red, white, and blue," she sighed.

Bio-domes were the upper echelon of skyline real estate, reserved for greener pasture persons. Jessica sat on a regular concrete roof that happened to have stairs, though she seldom found a use for stairs.

She sat care-free on the precipice of old-fashioned concrete while city sounds came to and fro, memorizing the city plan until she heard the door burst open several yards behind her. Her watch, 9:30 on the dot. "Predictable." She then lip-synced to the security guard.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be up here!" he growled. 

She turned around, saw her reflection in a pair of sunglasses: fitted black pants creasing around the ankles, and a pair of mismatched shoes outer-soled with metal. Her red vest was a blast of color, underneath which her black t-shirt emblazoned a cross-armed robot. She lifted her polymer gauntlet, lowering to lock eyes beneath a pair of goggles. Sun-grazed hazel eyes laughed underneath a jagged black shag and aviator lenses that, in turn, mirrored the guard's angry mug.