Walk Among the Stars

Walk Among the Stars
by Eric J. Sexton

The catwalk swayed slightly in the breeze as Zoe clung to the cables and watched high above for a hint of light. Scanning between the gap of the two megastructures high above she strains her eyes looking for any hint of star light. Zoe had caught a glimpse of real stars once but they were so faint and distant the memory of them feels more like a dream. From here all she had to do was look down and she was walking above a sea of stars. The walk was one of the highest tethered between two mega structures of the arcology that spiered into the darkness above. The span of wood, metal, and cables was one of hundreds of visible catwalks that went off on either direction. Each one dotted with lanterns filled bioluminescent gas from the planet surface far below. The lights winked in and out like real stars as they swung among the cables, walks, and makeshift suspended boxhouses. Occasionally the gas from the swamp far below would drift up and light the air in shades of greens and pinks. Zoe would imagine them to be nebula.

From this height, looking down was like looking at the branches that intersected between two trees that grew too close together. Catwalks crisscrossed in every direction. Sometimes five or six would converge on a suspended cluster of shops and boxhomes. The boxhomes and shops were a glowing blur as the swamp gas bloomed around the dense cluster of neon signs and vid-screens that always marked an area of high traffic. She could see thousands of people moving along the walks like ants. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night. It was always dark in the shadow of the arcology. The hanging city. The Brambles. Home. Zoe felt a tear roll down her cheek. She quickly wipes it with the back of the oversized glove on her right arm.

Her gloves are tattered on the edges, the leather hide worn and stained from years of hard use. The metal bands that extend from elbow to wrist are dull, scratched, and worn. Heavy grinding have worn the edges ragged and round. Turning her right hand over and opening the fist she had unconsciously been holding, the now free slider clamps clank together together in her palm. She stared at the awkward bulky looking thing strapped to her arm. It felt like an eternity had passed, but at last she spoke.

“OK” she says with a smile. “One last ride!”

Zoe takes a breath and then deftly leaps over the side of the walk. She feels the rush of air and quickly grabs a suspension cable, the glove latches on. Zoe has made this leap hundreds of times but she never gets use to the speed of the catwalk lights ripping past her. Using the cable as a guide she continues falling for several seconds, her Slider Glove leaving a trail of sparks and turning red hot as she slams on the brakes before landing on the box homes only to run and jump off to grab another cable this time allowing her momentum to spin around the cable in a barrel roll manuver.. Another flash of sparks and she lets go in mid-air to catch a third cable. Then a fourth. Sparks. A fifth, and sixth. She slides, grinds, and shreds her city one last time.

Exhausted Zoe starts for the boxhomes near the bottom. Making her way down the makeshift scaffolds and past the shanty town shops that cling to the side of the arcology like barnacles on the side of a ship, Zoe hears a loud crash below her. She stops to look down and sees a pack of Brinian digging through the dumped out contents of a reclamation unit. The Brinian are the sentient race that lived here before humans came. Reptilian humanoids with 4 eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Their ghost blue skin almost glowing in the dim light. They were a primitive race, but without the game to hunt they had devolved into scavengers with more of a pack mentality. It always make her sad to see them rifling through the garbage. Watching them she sees the blue and gold wrapper for a nearby noodle shop. It makes her think of the day the corporate recruiters came around.

Zoe was sitting on the rooftop of the Kodono Noodle Box watching her friends Bosh and Mako race down the Evesdown cable lines. From below her she heard talking...not locals.

“You see Kline? What did I tell you? I think these kids could be the answer.” said an excited voice of a man with strange accent.

“Lets not get ahead of ourselves” says Kline. His voice deeper and slower. “They look like kids and I am not ready to risk the potential millions of credits to what appear to be street kids with a deathwish.”

“I know. I know. Im just saying they could be what we need.” The first guy was talking too fast. His excitement obvious. “If these kids are willing to do this for fun then maybe they would be willing to do something similar for a paycheck.”

“You guys keep saying kids. What makes you think they are kids?” said Zoe looking down from the roof where she was sitting.

The two men had to lean out over the railing to see her. The hyper guy started laughing. “Hey whatca doing up there? That looks kinda dangerous ki-ehh- I mean girl”. The fast talker looked flustered. Zoe smirked to herself.

“You should know those two that just ripped by are both 20 and have been Sliding for over 10 years.” Zoe grabbed the edge of the building with her left hand and easily swung down to land on the balcony with the men.

“Why do they do that?” asked Kline gesturing with a nod of his head towards the cables. “Is it just for fun?”

Depends. Most of us make money as messengers and making deliveries.” She relaxed against the railing with them and stared out over the abyss. “Some of us are construction workers and do repair work for the suspended boxhomes and shops.” Zoe caught the the excited guy out of the corner of her vison. His eyes were about to bug out of his head. Again smiling to herself. Too easy.

“Well, you have a good day. I have some repairs to make. Cya.” She made to leap off of the balcony. Again the fast talker eyes exploding. But it was Kline who spoke.

“Just one minute. I would like to talk to you and some of you friends about a job. Its offworld doing heavy repair work in a very dangerous environment.”  He reached into his jacket and pulled a clear plastic card with silver stenciled writing. “Here is my card.” Zoe took the card and let go of the rail.

“I’ll think about it” she said as she fell backwards into the void. A chance to leave this world and see the stars. She didn’t even think twice before signing up.

Zoe leaves the Brinian to their dumpster and heads home. As tired as she was Zoe easily climbs the ropes and cables to her Boxhouse, her Slider Gloves doing most of the work. The box is just big enough for her to lay down as long as she did not stretch her arms out over her head. She hit the switch on the solar collector and the inside of the tiny space started to light up. Zoe had blacked out a plexy-sheet and punched holes in it then placed the sheet over the light. The tiny dots of light were her stars. She had slept under these stars for years and she would never see them again. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. She was going to miss them. Until tomorrow. When she takes ferry to the edge of the arcology to meet the corporate shuttle and then leave this world. Then she will walk among the stars for the first time.