Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Trickster

The next day, Rain danced into her section office feeling as if the winds of the world pushed beneath her arms.

Perhaps it was yesterday's hard-but-necessary review.

Perhaps it was her success in helping a young student to rediscover his way...

But today, she was all feather and flame.

"Look at you," Sasha said from his terminal in the dual office. "Couldn't wipe that smile off your face if I had an acid-drenched cloth."

"It's not forbidden to enjoy work, no?"

"Smile like you own the sun."

He pointed toward a chair next to his. "Before you float all the way to cloud nine, have a look. Our next client is waiting."

Rain sat down and ogled the 3D profile projecting from the terminal screen. A new case, a new chance to improve lives. The virtual profile of the client materialized.

A Caucasian man with dirty blond hair, bad skin and a deadpan look.

Name: Graham Franco

Rank: 3.14 (Last month: 3.32)

> tendency: falling

Age: 38

Employment status: unemployed for 14 consecutive days

Previous: Real Estate agent, campaign advisor, grassroots activist

Relationship status: Divorced

Rain dove deeper into Graham's profile details. A recent sexual scandal ended his marriage and shortly afterward, his career.

When former high rankers tanked, the social anxiety started hammering. This was especially true for people in esteemed positions, like professors, politicians and wealthy businessmen.

Rain wiped through the deeper history. "What's our job?"

"We have to provide assistance and tell him how to rise up the ranking again."

"Do you think someone of his caliber needs our help?"

He watched her. "Rain, there will be clients you will actively hate, but Crowd doesn't discriminate. We must help everyone who's experiencing difficulties. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"I'll do whatever is asked of me."

"Thought so. I've already set up an appointment with Graham. He's expecting us within the next hour." He blinked, probably to check his AR menus. "Currently, all of the cruisers are on the field. Our next available unit will arrive in about five minutes."

Rain stood up and soaked up more info about Graham. She needed to be prepared for the next session. "He's been through unsteady relationships, changed from real estate agent to campaign advisor and then became a grassroots activist. Graham likes to hop around."

The medical file shared a history of Upcell abuse, a common drug that highly-stress people in power positions took, especially managers. It wasn't illegal but could wreak havoc on the mind.

"High-performance buddy who wanted it all," Sasha said.

"Let's wait for the evaluation after we've talked to him."

"Your attitude is admirable. Hold on—cruiser's coming. Let's hit the road."

They left the office and awaited their cruiser in the parking lot. Even at nine am, the sun shone down like a fireball with too much attitude. Noon was going to bring the scorch.