I pushed myself up the stairs, their stone panellings cool beneath my feet. I kept walking up, my left paw touching at the wall with each step up. It was a warm windy day, the dust flying about. Even on my feet, I could feel the dust being crushed beneath.
In the city of Jarakala, this is all quite normal. It's dusty and warm all year round. And yet it's a modern metropolis. Electricity, transport, water, reliable access to warm food. I quite like it here.
So, you may ask, what am I doing? Who am I? I'm just a delivery boy, wearing loose fitting clothing, and a backpack with the package in it. I do often get asked “What does a Buizel Boy like you do in a remote dusty place like this?”, and I simply answer back “I like it here”. Remember the water I mentioned earlier? It was initially pumped from underwater boreholes. As the city grew, the need to pump water from long distances away became necessary.
So what happened?
It's simple. Thanks to great economic prosperity, the pipelines were built. We drag water in from all sorts of places around us! You'd never believe me if I said we got cooled purified mountain water almost directly from the source, but... we do! And it's delicious! Trust me, I'm a Buizel, I know good water.
So, you may ask, as I reach the top of the staircase, and continue walking on, through the crowd of robed people, a wide variety of colours presenting, and a few shops hawking their goods... what am I carrying?
I find it better to not pry into such things, my dear friend. I don't ask what I carry, and they don't tell what I'm carrying anyway. It's safer to simply not know. I have delivered to all sorts of clients, from all sorts of hosts. There's some places I wish I'd never have visited again, I will admittedly say. I've been scared, even.
But the pay is great.
A corner is turned, and I continue walking down. My dark green robe still worn around, the dust not getting caught in the trim fur.
The main economy of this city is simple. Resources. Coal, Ore, Oil, Uranium... it practically prints money! And not all of it is exported, the city's economic district is massive. The factories there, they churn out everything. From Hammers to Cars, from Paperclips to Airships, from Pencils to Rollingstock. If you need anything, you can get it made.
This isn't without it's tensions, however. While we've been rapidly advancing in technology, there's displeasure amongst the crowds... the traditionalists fear for their lifestyles, workers fearing being obsoleted by the machinery, and the Politicians... they've been getting sketchier lately.
I approach the lane of which the package is to be delivered.
It's an open secret. There's corruption. Corruption, corruption, corruption. It is everywhere. The pil companies, the manufacturers, the railways, the airlines... practically the entire city is run by the bit corporations, don't you know? Heh, sure as hell know I get half my work from them!
I approach the door, and knock. The door creaks open. I descreetly hand over the wrapped up bundle, and my pay is reciprocated.
I'm one of those workers in fear. I will confess that right now. I'm unskilled, but know the city well. Eventually, technology is going to displace me myself... and this isn't a fun city to have no work in. Once you're out of the job, you're out of the money. There's no welfare here, man. Remember the corruption I mentioned? Whoosh, all that money right into the corporate pockets.
So I do have a flight plan, a decent stash hidden away for if I need to take the next train out of town. The city of Jarakala may be glorious, but I don't want to be here when it inevitably implodes.
Perhaps, I'll return back to the sandy beaches of Tallara, or move up to the frosty but prosperous mountains of Eidendort. I don't know.
To be honest, I'm tempted to just be a nomad. I like exploring, I've got friends up in the transport business (never going to board an airship, though. The heights scare me!). Who knows? Perhaps I could make a living as an intercity courier!
I walk back to home, either way. The sun continues to bare down on the city, but the shades are long and extended. Night time is going to come, and it will be cold.
I walk to my building. It's quite standard, really. Stone construction, air conditioned interior, stone flooring... it's tall, I'll give you that. Apartments are big in this city. The cool water I mentioned? It practically air conditions the buildings here, but you can only build such a network so wide until it becomes uneconomic, and the electricity network would simply never be able to cope with more advanced air conditioning networks... it is known of networks in other cities that can handle such a thing, but... well, the power company here is also corrupt. Who'da thunk? A monopoly that underinvests in it's network, that has it's hands in the Government's pants!
I walk up to my elevator, and push a button. A familiar whirr happens, and the doors open. I walk in, press a button, and stand. A few other people walk in. A few are familiar, but we never talk. No real point... so many people move in and out that it's not worth building up a familiar relationship.
I hit my floor, and take a step off. The floor is tiled. Cool to touch, thanks to the air conditioning. Thankfully, the individual rooms are heated. In fact, they're only cooled on demand, since most people spend the rather warm days out and about anyway. The cold nights? Those're when people are in their warm cozy rooms.
I punch my card into my door's reader, and I walk in.
It's a small apartment. Bed, TV, phone, fridge.
The bed is comfy, probably one of the few things I own in this place. Everything else is the landlord's. I got it explicitly for comfort. I open the fridge door, and grab one of my best bottles of wine out...
One glass or two, madame?
