RISE AND SHINE, CITIZENS. IT'S 7:30AM AND IT'S TUESDAY AND BOY ARE WE HAPPY TO BE ALIVE THIS MORNING.
YES, THAT'S RIGHT: DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT HITTING THE SNOOZE BUTTON, 'CAUSE TODAY IS THE SEASON FINALE OF LIVING REAL WITH DR. JONES!
JOIN MERWIN AND MARVIN ON THE TWOS AT THE TOP OF THE HOUR FOR A CONVERSATION WITH A FORMER HOUSE OF CRIME CONTESTANT ABOUT JUST WHAT WE MIGHT EXPECT.
Lenny, thirty-something, patchy beard and legs-too-gangly-for-his-double-bed, turns over onto his stomach and tells Cassandra to please snooze once again.
The soothing voice of his personalized Cassandra Neural Assistant coos from somewhere within the auditorium of his skull. “Lenny,” Cassandra says, “It’s time to wake up. Your tea is being prepared in the kitchen.”
“I’m sorry, Lenny but a third-party block has been placed on the snooze alarm. Team Leader just pinged you: you have a virtual team meeting in ten minutes. Your tea is being prepared in the kitchen.”
Lenny rolls over onto his back, yawns, and pushes himself up onto his elbows. He takes a deep breath before opening his eyes.
A white sheet is bunched around Lenny’s feet. He kicks it into the air and watches it float down onto the hardwood floor.
Lenny moves his right ankle in a circular motion until something pops and provides release. He sits up and looks towards the bay windows of his 164th floor apartment.
The upper half of Tower 5 rises high above a churning sea of clouds down below. The Five Towers are architectural icebergs. The deeper truth is below.
As Lenny looks out at the grey expanse, the smart glass changes from tinted to translucent, revealing a majestic view of a shimmering mass of skyscrapers and metallic structures that make up the Defense District.
Here to the west of the Capital, there are only employees and commuter trains. The singular low-hanging cloud blankets the wealthiest neighborhoods surrounding Capital City Park.
