As soon as the train slowed Alex was up and moving. Though she hadn't been in Arcelis long, she had quickly adapted to life in the tower city. The doors opened and she slipped through the impatient crowds to the other side, not stopping until she reached the end of the dock.

While she waited for Karen, the physical distance between them gave her time to think. What the hell was she doing? But then, the boss was already going to kill her, what was another half hour? It had made more sense when she made the offer. Besides, it was nice talking to someone outside of work. She didn't have any friends here and certainly no boyfriend.

Karen finally emerged to join her at the end of the platform and they made their way toward the interior.

The garden levels were unlike any other part of the tower. It looked just like a town, though with smaller roads. No cars here, just footpaths for pedestrians and cyclists. And just like a ground city, only the richest of residents had apartments up here.

Every building was immaculate and ultra modern. Restaurants and flower shops took advantage of the sunlight to run rooftop hydroponics gardens. Even the pubs had entirely solar lighting, though they ran off the main grid for everything else. Everywhere, the illusion of people concerned about anything other than themselves. Alex hated it.

The park was the worst offender and she moved to circumvent it entirely, but Karen disagreed and pulled her straight toward it.

"It's such a nice morning, a little walk through the park can be as relaxing as coffee!" She said, sounding very much like a kid. Maybe that was what being a housewife did, Alex thought with a bemused smile.

The park itself was nice, she had to admit. Lush grass, trees that were always green and flowers gardens all around the border of the park. Birds and butterflies and even, somehow, squirrels. Unfortunately, none of that made up for the rich snobs who had claimed it as their own private lawn. They got more than one evil eye from this self-crowned royalty as they passed.

Her phone buzzed again in her purse, drawing even more attention to the unusual pair. She felt her face flush as she dug it out, checked the display. Boss again. She turned the damn thing off. The reminder drew her thoughts back to the morning's events.

"What did you see on the news this morning?" She asked Karen. Maybe another perspective would help. She'd been steeped in computers and hackers and illogical conspiracy theories for so long she couldn't even look at a normal broadcast without analyzing it anymore.