Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Important

Despite the troubled beginning, Rain had delivered her speech with moderate success. A few minutes after the last audience member left the hallway, her augmented vision updated.

SAGE exclusive challenge completed.

Congratulations on your speech, Rain.

You received 200 Creds.

At least one positive effect from the speech. Granted, almost two dozen people were interested in signing up but more than half of the attendees failed to. If that heckler didn't intervene, the mood of the room would have been different.

She would have wowed everyone.

"You did your best," Sasha said outside. "That guy was a sad moron with no spine."

"If only I knew what he was mad about."

"No, I mean your boyfriend."

Rain rolled her eyes.

Sasha approached an auto-cab and waved her goodbye. "Seriously, you deserve better."

What was that supposed to mean?

Rain returned hailed her own ride and returned to her sweet home in Kahlo Park. The kitchen greeted her with a jubilant hellooooo and produced a soy smoothie with almond taste. Rain grabbed the healthy present and gulped down the creamy brown goodness. Her mother called which meant more bad news arrived. She prayed it didn't involve her father.

Rain chose audio only. "Hey mom."

"Oh my, did you hear?"

"Dad?"

"What? No, Sanchez and Lizzie split up. They said something about an entry on his profile. What does that mean?"

Rain sighed. It was only a matter of time before Sanchez' dirty little secret surfaced. "It means San should put a magnetic lock on his pants."

"What?"

"Ask Sanchez. He'll tell you what it means."

"This is the fault of that Crowd platform, no? Maybe your father was right."

Rain sacked into her coach and threw off her shoes.

Crowd-bashing.

It seemed to be the number one hobby of her friends and family. "It's Sal's fault, mom. Crowd just exposes what you already are."

"No, they won't, because I'm not going to sign up for it. Can't you find another job?"

"Mom, I have plenty of drama in my own life. Lizzie and Sal are grown-ups, they can handle it."

"But this isn't right. Lizzie's pregnant. What's going to happen now?"

Oh boy. Rain's life had become a Mexican telenovela amped up to maximum melodrama.

A coarse male voice interrupted her mother. "Your father says vote for Diego Lunar the day after tomorrow."

"Tell Dad I said hi. Also, tell him that I vote for whomever I want to."

"You're always so strict. Maybe Santa Kahlo isn't good for you."

"I need to relax now, but call me if something urgent happens. Okay?"

"Rain—"

"Love you."

She finished the call and ordered her wall windows to open. The late afternoon sunlight trickled through the outside tree crowns and threw beautiful patterns against her walls. Shadow figures danced as the wind brushed through the outside leaves. No matter how hard her working days pushed her, she could always find solace in her own four walls.

Her little smart cave of solitude.

Rain synchronized her feed with the wall-screen and watched the election coverage.

Only a few days were left and the aggression boiled on the streets. It was probably the worst and crucial time to hold an election. The estimates put Diego Lunar at a massive eight point five percent advantage. It looked as if the citizens of Santa Kahlo preferred the tough-on-crime guy over the social caregiver. Especially middle-class citizens feared the outrage of the protestors and the riots of the Red Block. Maybe Jessie Kwong's constant attacks on Diego put her at a disadvantage.

People needed hope. Without it, they perished. And personal attacks, no matter how well reasoned, never inspired hope.

Still, Kwong's videos went viral on the Crowd newsfeed. Every single snippet gathered thousands of comments and trended, unlike Diego Lunar, whose online presence seemed non-existent. Did he care that little?

While Rain relaxed into the election coverage, an urgent update from Sasha arrived.

"Arrive early tomorrow. Important."

***Author's Note***

Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. The showdown is slowly but surely coming!  I'd love your feedback, so feel free to comment. If you like the chapter, you can vote for it by clicking the star below. You can also add "Crowd" to your library if you like to continue the journey which will be updated 5 times a week.