“Loris, LORIS, LORISSSSSS!” The agitated girl seized his shoulders and fiercely jolted him back and forth. The fierceness of her movements and facial expressions certified a genuine concern for the young man.

“Don’t hurt yourself, Ana,” Fabrice said. “We didn’t wake up at once. He will be fine.”

“Everyone else is up on their feet!” She pointed at the crowd behind without taking her anxious eyes off Loris.

For her greatest joy, his pupils moved.

Still confused, Loris could barely make sense of what was happening. The worry on her face filled his vision. Her bulging eyes were wet as tears were forming.

If anyone cared about him, it was her. Loris smiled. “I’m fine, Stasia; the floor is not dirty.”

She released her grip, letting his upper body fall. “Idiot, I was worried.”

Lying on the ground like a starfish, he chuckled. “In your arms, I had a sweet dream,” Loris said with a smile fading in the night sky. Then, with a more serious tone, he addressed Fabrice. “Why did I faint?”

With a nod, his long-legged friend gestured to the scattering bulk of people behind them. “Not just you. We all did.” The blue ring wrapped around his overgrown white dreadlock shone. The resulting holographic video replayed the recent scene in fast motion.

At 1 am, everyone fell unconscious as if the flame of life had died out. A purely human phenomenon because in the seconds that followed, a wave of stationary drones approached. Pulling the injured into their electromagnetic bubble, the drones rescued ten by ten those that had been trampled, then buried by the wild crowd that had just fallen like macabre dominoes. Besides that, most of those in good condition woke alone within a minute. In contrast, Loris stayed unconscious for almost five. The last to awaken.

“Right, I remember now. However, unlike in the recording, in my memories, the world darkened.”

Looking around, Loris confirmed everything was fine. Despite the horrific brutality of the recent mob phenomenon, his bracelet confirmed no fatalities. No serious injuries. Even in the lower classes of society, no Merigenian would let themselves be hurt. Not so easily. Whether it was a predictive intelligence, instant reflexes, formidable instincts or even Herculean strength, each Merigenian distinguished themselves by the flowering of their enhanced and altered genes. Still, the resulting pride made many forget the importance of their quasi-liquid nano-protective coatings in this casualty-free riot.

Looking back, Loris saw Anastasia walking in circles, cutely glancing around. The thin smile on her face showed a curious amusement at the situation. Without notice, she drew closer, making little games of look between him and Fabrice. She unexpectedly rose a finger, sketching a grin. “I have a theory! This, uh- Strange thing. Maybe it was a collective hallucination caused by some crazy social experiment. Oh, no, no! I bet on the official testing phase of a new hallucinogenic substance produced deep within the inner city,” Anastasia said, giggling.

Overwhelmed by such nonsense, Fabrice shook his head. “I used merits to access the data from the stationary drones of the surrounding cities. People lost consciousness in all the footage. No matter its nature, this is at the very least a countrywide phenomenon.”

Gasping, she looked at the sky. “Oh-oh, then an attack from another nation or… maybe aliens?!” Her scarlet ring displayed dancing alien-like mascots. Her lips rose a little, and her eyes widened, making a funny face. “Aliens.”

Fabrice remained unmoved. Usually, he would fake a laugh. Good thing he didn’t. Once, not twice, as he told him earlier. In contrast, Loris found himself chuckling. “Don’t jump to the conclusion, Ana.” He said. “Oh, by the way, did yo-“His smartwatch shined. A forced call, again.

The hologram of a big-headed woman appeared. With a blonde ponytail over her shoulders and flawless, smooth skin, she would have been attractive if not for her gloomy light blue eyes of indifference and robotic face.

Her predator gaze pierced through Loris, stabbing him with threads of unquestionable authority. It overcame his entire self with an overwhelming urge to submit. In reaction, his head lowered, and the feigned pride he had harboured for his birthday vanished. Despite this inexorable sense of oppression, Loris found himself paradoxically glad. It had been four years since he met his mother.

“Stay home for two days,” she said. Her icy tone only rivalled the glacial in her eyes.

The hologram vanished.

Loris exhaled sharply through the nose. What did he expect, ‘happy birthday, I wish you success’? What a joke. “Even in this situation, she doesn’t waste a single second.” Unequivocal scorn filled some of his words.

Anastasia also huffed. “At least you got a message.”

“You’ve heard Khalida. As a category A citizen, she has access to much more information. We better hurry.”

Walking back home, the teenagers continued their discussion.

Both Fabrice and Anastasia had made what they called a fully conscious dream. But theirs was of a shorter duration. Anastasia’s was in nature near her childhood home, playing and relaxing with her pets. Fabrice was still talking about his. It took place in an athletic training centre.

“After doing a few laps, some kind of black diamond appeared and-“

Anastasia interrupted him. “Oh, funny. One was on the top of a small hill, in mine.”

Loris’ eyes widened. It couldn’t be a coincidence. “… and?”

“… And after being in contact with it, information appeared on the central panel, the one that displays the best tracking times, you know. It foresaw some kind of purific-“

A nearby coarse voice, certifying at least two decades of seniority, interrupted them. “Hey, kids.”

A man approached them. Measuring over ten feet tall, he towered over the teenagers. Nothing compared to his oversized pecs that emphasised his great stature with a revealing top that took away from imagination. Whether he wore it more to show off his pectoral muscles than to dress up left little ambiguity.

Despite the imposing bulk of muscle that would have earned him multiple world titles half a millennium ago, one of his King Kong pecs looked slightly larger than the other, a shame for a Merigenian. Between that, his apparent age, and standing alone in this Silver City streets during a festive national day, it was clear such an individual would stand out as a loser in a crowd of vermin. A filth Loris would never allow himself to grow jealous of.

Fabrice sucked his teeth, producing an irritating sound. Although very disrespectful, this widespread Merigenian gesture conveyed impatience, frustration, and, more particularly, disdain. Visibly annoyed to be interrupted twice in a row, his long-legged friend glared at the pitful bodybuilder. “What?”

The petty muscular frowned. “Wait, a second. I need a small favour from you.”

Ignoring his presence, the teenagers continued walking.

Perhaps a little more vermin tolerant, Anastasia turned toward him. “Sorry, but we are in a hurry,” she said before sharing a sweet, sorry smile.

With his imposing body, the testosterone-fuelled man blocked their way. His enormous pectoral muscles - swelling and deflating with every breath - faced the teens. “It ain’t a request.”

Despite his gruff and intimidating voice, Fabrice bypassed him as if he didn’t exist. But the vermin grabbed his lean arm. Circling it, the man’s monstrous thumb and fingers overlapped each other.

In reaction, the black teen outrageously glared. “Are you a tourist? Restraining or hurting a categorised citizen will get you killed here.”

May it not be so uncommon for distinguished undergrounders to earn the temporary right to stroll in the suburbs—still unheard of on New Year’s Day.

The muscleman looked at the teenagers one by one, then sneered. “I’m category D. As I can afford a minor breach, you better listen to me, kids.”

Loris and Anastasia stopped, and the burly brute released Fabrice’s arm.

“I’m also category D,” Anastasia said back.

The man moved his finger in the air; a few seconds later, his personal object, a smartwatch like Loris’, displayed a holographic screen.

[Anastasia Clemente]

[Age:15]

[Category: E (D)]

He snorted with laughter. “Category D? Not before you reach adulthood.”

Mimicking an intimidating posture, he took a step forward. “One of you must jump.”

“Are you trying to humiliate us?” Loris asked.

The man answered with a noisy ground stomp, then took a deep breath, inflating, even more, his disproportionate chest. “Jump. Right now!”

Fabrice and Anastasia exchanged strange looks.

Infuriated by their lack of reaction, the inflated vermin contracted his hot-air-pectorals as if it would change anything. It did. While Anastasia burst out laughing, Loris struggled to suppress his own. “Fine, what kind of jump?” He said as a wry smile formed on his face.

Straight out of his alleged bodybuilding experience, this ridicule intimidation attempt overflowed with obvious pathos. Such hazardous, ill-advised behaviour made so little sense that Loris had to dig into the why of the how.

The budding street bully bodybuilder interrupted his performance to scratch his temple. Red with shame, he jumped with both feet. “Like that.”

Loris mimicked his jump.

The man turned around, looking in all directions as if searching for a ghost.

“Are you fine?” Loris asked.

“Yeah, but can you…,” the man asked softly. Interrupting himself, he coughed and looked furious once more.

“Jump.” He shouted with the credibility of a third-rate actor.

Loris proceeded.

Once again, the seemingly virile man sought ghosts, yet nothing appeared. His lips pointed downward in disappointment. “Kids don’t take it personally, I… I Had my reasons.” His soft, hesitant voice reflected an evident lack of self-confidence.

Loris’ smartwatch, Fabrice’s hair ring, Anastasia’s finger ring, their respective personal objects rang.

“Here is a little compensation. Let’s not hold grudges.”

Loris watched the information displayed on his p-watch. Personal objects could display complex visual information through microscopic light beams, such as images, videos, and holograms for the eyes of all or one.

The rude bodybuilder sent him 250 merits, about half of a category F citizen’s monthly allowance.

The donor waved goodbye and left with a confident gait. If he was trying to look cool, he failed.

The teens moved on. There was no time to lose.

On their way, Anastasia displayed an awkward smile. “Thank you for protecting us, Loris. I’m sending my share.”

Loris chuckled. “No need.”

Fabrice, who keenly observed the entire scene, glanced at loris. “The muscle brain would do nothing. What did you have in mind?”

“Curiosity.”

Fabrice glared at him weirdly.

Loris took a big breath of air. “The dream that we made…. It might not be a dream.”

The two others raised their eyebrows.

Loris pinched himself, trying to stop his subtle tremor. “Dark-Core, does it ring a bell?”

Anastasia looked confused, but, for an instant, Fabrice shuddered.

“My dream was different, but there was also a black diamond, alarming me about a purification, or rather….”

“An apocalypse,” Fabrice said firmly.

Anastasia couldn’t stand it. “Guys, I don’t get it. What are you talking about, and how is that related to the muscle-b…, the big dude?”

“Oh yeah, true. You haven’t touched it,” Loris said.

Loris shared the various information that he accessed by interacting with his Dark-Core. Fabrice nodded after each sentence. It was the same for him.

She scratched her nose. “And how is that related to our altercation?”

“ ‘Forcing someone to jump’ was most likely one of his goals, and I wanted to see what happened when he accomplished it.”

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Anastasia gasped.

“Khalida was right. We should go home fast.” Fabrice said. Visibly ashamed, he released a big puff of air, then gazed apologetically into their respective eyes. “As your Brain, I lacked consideration. I’m sorry.”

‘Just a jump, but what could have been?’ It was probably the thought that crossed Fabrice’s mind. It benignly signed the first time they could have been in danger in an environment that left nothing to chance. Not having realised it earlier must have been an unprecedented shame for him.

Loris laid a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not alone.”

The long-legged teen sped up to a trotting speed of over 20 km/h. Loris and Anastasia followed him. With each step, Fabrice bounced like a kangaroo. His shoes acted like strings, and his legs’ movements were slow, as if he had difficulty limiting himself to such a pace.

The group trotted a few kilometres, avoiding other pedestrians of various morphologies as much as possible.

Despite many people walking down the silvery street, the teens could run freely. It was spacious.

Pedestrians and large vehicles such as cars weren’t at the same height. The latter used electromagnetic rails that rose up to the highest buildings. However, these rails plunged into circular holes at various locations, causing choke points along the silvery streets. Underground traffic allowed anyone to cross long distances through vacuum roads that interconnected nearby cities. Yet, not so far above the city’s outskirts’ tallest buildings, few vehicles were freely flying—the privilege of the meritorious.

Since the end of the New Year’s parade, small stationary drones lit up the streets, revealing a strange villa amidst many larger and broader buildings. Even electromagnetic rails went around it as if its vicinity was sacred, making it one of the rare places with a clear sky view.

The dome-like house was about 6 metres high, with a radius of 10 metres; an additional blue material covered the roof. Unlike most other infrastructures whose architecture overflowed with originality, there were no cars on the rooftop, nor was the ceiling connected to the electromagnetic traffic network.

This type of dwelling was named a Polynest. It had taken its name and origin from the Waternest, which comprised different 3d printed blocks that can easily be nested. An infrastructure that had played an essential role during the sea-level rise crisis of the 21st century.

After humankind coped with rising waters, the Polynest became the most popular moveable infrastructure. It was light, cheap, modular and could be installed on any terrain.

As the teens approached the front door, a noise came from inside.

Their house wasn’t empty.