Haven

Chapter Three

Ben was deep in thought on his way to the airport. What had Elliot been going on about? He had a certain look in his eyes as they said their fair wells. The look of someone looking around an empty house after all their belongings had already been packed up and are waiting for them in a new place. Someone saying goodbye.

It was a 30 minute flight from Seattle to New York. After a quick bite to eat at a cafe n vape, a chain that sprouted up in the absence of competition from the old days owned collectively by the corporate council, Ben made it to his room. An executive suite near the top of the freedom spire, built in the aftermath of the Collapse at the center of Manhattan. The worlds tallest structure. Offering the grandest view of any building in the world. A starry sky 24 hours a day and a beautiful view of a horizon curving into the distances. I guess when you are representing DigitalDynamics in public they don't give you the choice of more modest accommodations.

He pressed his palm to the door scanner and went in, falling onto the bed not caring about wrinkling the suit they had laid out for him. Presumably a hint not to wear a t-shirt to his on-air appearance in the morning. He forced himself to sleep rather than think about how nervous he was about going on tv. He had never been fond of too much attention or responsibility. Much preferring a more solitary path and spending his time studying or tinkering or fantasizing about doing impossible things. Flying. Exploring vast undiscovered lands.

Waking up after his rest ben found a card on the rooms bedside table reading "Pick up in front of lobby 7:00 a.m. wear the suit. Live at 9:00 a.m."

This left him only a few short minutes to descend the monolithic elevator and make it to his waiting car. Having little practice really making himself look presentable, he put on the suit. Only slightly crinkled from sleeping on it, Ben wasn't looking half bad. He threw up into his sink from the nerves and marched deliberately towards the elevator, having to force himself with each step.

If he missed the show maybe he wouldn't have to be in the public eye after this. Ben pushed those thoughts aside. This was his show, like Elliot had said. And he wanted to tell people how amazing it was going to be. He did some breathing exercises in the car to steady his nerves. Ben realized they helped little when he had to throw up again in his green room trash can.

"Pull it together man. You can do this. Just read the prompts and relax." he spoke allowed to himself encouragingly

DigitalDynamics had prepared his statements in advance for him. Written by Damian most likely. It couldn't be more robotic. But something happened when Ben saw that red light flip on indicating they had started broadcasting and he was live in millions of homes. He blacked out.

When he came to he was walking briskly off set waving at the cameras being followed by the sounds of a delighted audience. He doesn't know what he said but it seemed like they liked it. That's all that mattered he supposed. Making his way back towards his car he couldn't make out individual voices coming from the throng of cheers. He dialed Damian on his wrists holo-watch. After Apple tanked that left the market open for some serious tech start-ups and the successor to Apples flagship device was now a simple wrist strap.

Bens was a fancier model showing the status he has as a representative of DigitalDynamics. And sense most of today's best tech was developed by the company that finally succeeded in putting a suit on him, one he started changing out of in the car leaving the studio, he got all the new gadgets for free. Which was convenient, sense 98% of the people on the planet can't afford even one piece of tech or clothing he currently had on, including him, up until Elliot Put him on payroll.

Damian finally answered bens calls and sounded flummoxed. "You are a damn fool. All you had to do was read the damn prompt."

Ben got a little defensive. "They loved it! I can still hear people cheering!"

"Of course they are cheering. You just gave Haven away nearly for free. No charges for the hardware needed to play the game!? Literally the biggest money maker of the project! Get back here now so we can figure out how to spin this to the shareholders. Your improvisation cost this company billions today."

Damian hung up before Ben had a chance to say anything, the holo-watch darkening and a small holographic lizard began dancing around bens wrist. The devices screensaver had replaced the digitized audio visuals to show a voice call was connected. As they pulled away heading back towards his room so he could gather the few things he had traveled with the drivers rainbow colored vape cloud swirled about the back seat.

Flavors had become boring in the vape craze, and visual effects have become commonplace with vape juice. Colors and smells. Programmable patterns. A person could now tell the world quite a bit about themselves with their preferred configurations.
The cloud formed into a small cannon and fired three successive rainbow balls at Bens' face. He must have had a very decent salary to be able to afford the status of a customizable vape cloud. He was after all a representative of DigitalDynamics. Even their drivers seem to be paid more than the majority of the world.

They wound their way through the crowded metropolis that dwarfed the cities size before the collapse. Buildings rose over a mile high. Ben had never been in New York City. But it wasn't much bigger than Seattle or Chicago. Even Phoenix had an impressive skyline. New York City was still considered one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world. It is also the unofficial capital of the world and where the Corporate Council meets once a quarter to discuss their various business interests and where deals are made that affect billions of people.