A Roll Of The Dice - 09
This series of narrative fiction is based on random words that are picked via dice rolling.
Bolt • Gradient • Control • Short • Construct • Compromise • Pony
"I'll take a Bolt," Ajay said in a rush.
"With oat milk, sorry." The apology was a habit now. People tended to give him looks when he got the dairy substitute. The Bolt was a sickly-sweet drink, all salted caramel and very little coffee. It hit the spot today, though. The bright Jovian moon of Titan lit up the sky with a gradient of fluorescent greens and warm pinks, but the city still hovered at a frigid 28 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ajay had been on a lower city project last night, working a "short" shift. Though, a short shift on Jupiter was a full day's planetary rotation of 9 hours.
"That's 26 credits, buddy,” the hulking café worker interrupted Ajay's thoughts abruptly. He'd forgotten to pay.
"26!? It was 18 last week!"
A Roll Of The Dice - 09
“The Jovian corporation Zeus had a monopoly on commerce in this satellite city (or satty, as they were called.)”
"Inflation's a bitch, ain't it? Now, pony up." The rough barista cracked his knuckles as if to punctuate the sentence. Ajay scanned his ID regretfully to transfer the credits, then went to the bar to await his extremely over-priced coffee.
It wasn't actually inflation that was to blame, Ajay knew. The Jovian corporation Zeus had a monopoly on commerce in this satellite city (or satty, as they were called.) The price hikes were to exercise control over the workers here and keep them from paying their way off the satellite.
The project they were working was some sort of mining construct in the lower city. Everyone knew Jupiter was gaseous, so what the mining rig was for remained a mystery. There were rumors about Zeus preparing the entire satty for extra orbital travel to Europa, but Ajay didn't put any merit in them. An alarm sounded somewhere in the distance, drawing Ajay away from his thoughts once again.
"Attention: Satellite City 451 has been compromised. Seek pods immediately.
Attention: Satellite City 451 has been compromised. Seek pods immediately."
That's when he heard the screeching.
