Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

The First Case

"Do you know what we do here?" Sasha asked.

"I've done the tutorials."

"I mean do you know the actual value we provide?"

Rain collected her thoughts. "We're helping Crowdies who have experienced down-rankings. We also hold group events and convince regulars to join Crowd."

"Good textbook answer. Life looks a bit different though."

Another cryptic statement. He was obviously pushing her.

"Time to throw you into the hot water."

He used her terminal and accessed the Crowd database. Flicked through hundreds of profiles and stopped. "Let's start with an easier case first."

He pointed his palm at the profile.

Name: Dakota Gonzales.

Age: 21

Crowd score: 3.4

Occupation (status): Student (enrolled)

A student at the College of Fine Arts experienced a down-ranking. Rain looked for his life stream and found out the boy had stolen goods and freaked out his fellow students by drawing obscene images of racy men and women posing in front of the American flag. One's profile never said exactly how one was down-ranked, it only made suggestions. Because if people knew a hundred percent how the algorithms worked, they would try to cheat.

"What do you think?" Sasha said.

"Dakota was ranking three point six when he enrolled. Something must have happened during class that changed him."

"Or maybe he pretended to be a good citizen to steal supplies."

"Then why does he keep drawing those paintings?"

"That's the mystery."

"Can we meet him?"

"That's our job."

Dakota counted as a minor case, but the department probably wanted to test Rain first before throwing her into the deep end. She dove deeper into Dakota's Crowd profile while Sasha's smug smile stretched across his chiseled face. "So, rookie Cruzada, tell me how you would progress with the case."

Rain touched the digital footage and wiped through the AR recordings of Dakota. Felt like she was already in his head, seeing how awkwardly talked to his students and how man times he averted eye contact, especially with the female students during class.

Rain scribbled the first keywords. Introvert, socially inept, closed.

It was important to not be restricted by the word choice, but an initial label would help her address the student's ranking downfall.

"Earth to Cruzada," Sasha said.

"According to his daily routine, Dakota is likely going to have lunch at the cafeteria in about forty-five minutes. Since he usually eats alone, we will intercept him and offer our help."

"Somebody paid attention at college."

"Those rankings don't level up themselves."

Her statement carried attitude, but the timing seemed right. Sasha winked and snapped his fingers. "Alright. Better get going then." He pointed toward the hallway's glass door. "Let me show you the best part of our department."

She put on her slick Crowd jacket and followed him outside. The section chief peeked out her office door. "Good luck on your first case, Cruzada. Make me proud."

"I try," Rain said and wished she didn't. It sounded too weak, like a rookie unsure of her status.

Sasha walked Rain to the guarded parking port outside and approached a smart cruiser, colored in the iconic red and green colors of Crowd. The model looked even more impressive in real-life. An aerodynamic form where each component from the tires to the side doors morphed into a greater whole.

Sasha danced around the vehicle. "The X-twenty-one supports manual, aid-assist and full auto-pilot driving. Hull-plating is made of a graphene composite." He pointed toward the rear. "The baby carries its own mini-drone support, includes short and mid-range sensors as well as storage space for equipment." Sasha's smile grew with every second. "And guess the carbon footprint?"

"Hopefully zero."

"Climate change got nothing on this baby."

Rain's swooning shone. She approached the hood and floated her left hand over the slick plating. "Can I touch it?"

"You think the cruiser cares about consent?"

Rain's slender fingers strove along the hull. The water and dirt resistant surface felt like polished black marble. Softer than a baby's butt after the powder treatment. Sasha watched her with glee. "Let's get inside before things get too arousing."

"Unlock it," Sasha said.

Rain tapped the driver's door. An unlocked symbol hovered over it. The touch-sensitive handle recognized her fingerprint and activated the dashboard. The beauty awoke to cybernetic life.

"Welcome to your first ride, Rain Cruzada," the vehicle's AI voice said in an elegant British female voice.

Sasha chuckled. "I picked the voice sample myself—it's called the Iron Lady."

"Fitting."

The AI unlocked the steering wheel. Rain twitched as the round-shaped device extracted from the dashboard. She had passed manual driving lessons at college, but mostly in virtual reality. Real-life driving carried a haptic sensation the digital version couldn't provide yet. Sasha must have noticed her hesitation as Rain's hands snaked along the steering wheel.

"We can go full auto if you're afraid," he said.

Despite his humorous attitude, Sasha still challenged her. The section chief probably instructed him to watch her every action during the probation period. Rain accepted the challenge. She always did.

With the help of the board AI, she plotted the course toward the College of Fine Arts. She maneuvered the vehicle around the parking lot and entered the street, right on the corner toward main street 45. A swarm of Fleet auto-rides whooshed by. It took Rain a couple of seconds to fit in, but as soon as she matched her speed to the traffic, she felt safe again. The overlay of the digital grid helped her.

Sasha played with the profile images. "I assume you've only done peer-to-peer work in VR training."

"We did a few field session involving group dynamics and ad hoc people reading."

"Still, it was in a controlled and fake environment." He watched bystanders on the boardwalk. "We have a fairly simple case. Once you get used to talking to folks in real-life, your psychological training should kick in." Pause. "And judging by your scores, you'll learn in no time."

Sasha exposed his perma-grin. Rain tried to gauge its meaning. Was it the everything—is-gonna-work grin or the challenging we'll—see-how—you-do?

Hopefully, Dakota was easier to read.