The Goldens had everything they could ever want, but that wasn’t enough. Perhaps that’s why they visited Sector-1, or as they refer to it “the hell-zone”.

In 2086, Time, once somewhat equally distributed amongst humans, was successfully implemented as a form of currency after one of the largest corporations in the world invented and utilized life-energy transfers. Those in the upper tiers of society enjoyed a virtually limitless lifespan, incredible power and influence over the System, a coalition of Sectors numbering from 1 to 100, and could see their lineage thrive for eternity. The unlucky majority, though, experienced life in constant torment, as they watched their time tick by, hoping that in their last hours someone would appear and save them.

On a dirt street covered in broken glass and syringes was something he had never seen before, a touring pod. It was a large floating platform outfitted with chairs, beautiful couches and tables with a bar situated at the very center. Shielding it from all sides was a light blue coloured force field. It hovered slowly through the main street, heading towards the central district, where most of the excitement took place. From his little hideout in an obscure, rat-infested alleyway, his eyes were steadily fixed on the contraption before him.

Around him people started to gather, some angrily shouting slurs and others too hungry to speak. A young man walked right up to the vehicle and was swiftly repelled by the force field, shot a few meters away onto his back. Others walked up and pleaded for “W’s”, the equivalent of pocket change for those in the upper sectors. The rich usually dealt in hours as though it were nothing more than a currency; “100,000 H”, or just around 11 years of lifespan was nothing to these individuals. Down in the lower sectors where education is hard to come by, and math is used far less than one's knife skills, simpler terms are used. D’s for days, W's for weeks, M’s for months, Y’s for years, though the latter is rarely used.

"Please! – I beg you! – I only have days to live, please – take him!"

A woman clutching her baby placed herself directly in front of the touring pad, and, tear-streaked, begged for her newborn child. Within a few seconds, the Pod arrived a couple meters from the lady. It stopped for a brief moment, the woman’s eyes lit up, but it was short-lived. A robotic voice suddenly erupted from the front of the vehicle;

“YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS TO EVACUATE,

4 --

3 --

2 --

1 --”

As the woman finally came to her senses, the vehicle started moving again. An older man darted toward the lady to push her out of the way. He managed to reach her in time, but got himself caught in the front of the Force field. With a loud, high-pitched WHAM, he got thrown back at least 8 meters onto a small shack, hitting himself against a few boards that kept up a small rug canopy.

It was until that moment that the boy looked inside the vehicle.

Inside were many figures, most of them standing, looking outside, sneering. The boy immediately felt a sense of both intense awe and despair. Dressed in white and gold, with diamond jewellery so brilliant they could make for flashlights, were multiple women, holding glasses of the most expensive wine. Beside them were their husbands, with bellies to rival ancient kings, wearing jet black suits and ties, all with the latest holographic watches, visors, and other high-class accessories. As he watched the men and women who appeared only several meters away, it was clear to the boy that their worlds could not be further apart. 

This, for them, was much like a trip to the zoo, that is if most animals on earth had not perished in the late 2120s. Their eyes were careful not to meet those of the so-called "savages" of the lower sectors, as that would leave a bad taste in their mouth. They gazed down upon the crowds, as you would look at ants, indifferent, lacking any of the emotions that once defined humanity. Only occasionally would a human peak their interest, whether it be by acting abnormally, or displaying a funny characteristic. 

Somehow through the Chaos of it all, the boy caught a glimpse of a girl around his age riding in the futuristic chariot - and to his surprise, she was looking right at him, straight into his eyes. 

This was the first time anyone from the upper sectors had looked at him directly. For just a moment he felt as if the world stood still. The girl's eyes differed greatly from the adults, they were alive, brimming with love and compassion like he'd never seen before. 

She wore a silk white dress covered in tiny diamonds, her light golden hair done up in a loose bun. The boy, with nothing but a couple of rags strewn across his sickly looking body, felt ashamed of his appearance for the first time. 

As if to read his mind, the girl smiled gently and approached the end of the pod, until she stood only meters away, high up on the platform. The boy sifted through the crowd of beggars to get closer. She looked down at her necklace, a sparkling blue pendant filled with an intense aura. She lifted her head again and glanced from side to side. Without wasting a single second, She tore the necklace from her neck, her eyes fixated on the boy as she threw the necklace to him. 

He caught it, and immediately, without even taking so much as a glance at the pendant, ****** his vision back upon her. Just as he caught her gaze, the pod began its entry into the main district, a place too dangerous for the boy to venture into. In the final moments of the extraordinarily rare exchange, the girl said something to the boy. There was no way for him to hear her, he could only try to read the movement of her lips. 

As the vehicle left the street, the boy replayed the scene over and over again in his mind. He could only decipher the following words; 

"Come and find me" 

It was pitch-black. There was no moon, no sun, nor stars in the canvas sky. The wind howled, twisting with the odd scream, creating an eerie symphony foretelling of death. The air had quickly dried up. With each breath a light tickle in the chest. 

Chrono had eagerly followed a touring pod to the edge of the main street, leading into the Central district. He did so without consideration, and as the night befell him, he realized just how big a mistake he had made. 

Beads of sweat dripped from his face, he had only traveled 30 minutes past his shelter, but in the dead of night, as eyes from all directions watched in quiet desperation, it felt like a lifetime. He cringed at every step, as they loudly echoed throughout the desolate street. 

The boy was no stranger to the workings of Sector-1. He kept it in his heart that with every journey outside his alley he would risk his life.

He looked down at the pendant in his right hand, slowly loosening his tight grip. It was in the shape of a ring, too big to fit on any finger. It shone a brilliant ocean blue, with white engravings in an unknown language that seemed to flicker with each heartbeat. He noticed a slight electronic hum emanating from the ring, as if it were somehow turned on. As he ran, he clipped on the thin silver-white chain to his neck.

Drowning out every sound in the vicinity, was the sudden ring of an old cathedral bell. The boy knew exactly what this meant. 

Without thinking, he increased the tempo of his running, to near-frantic. In each alleyway he passed as he ran, small bonfires of plastic, upper sector trash mainly consisting of discarded one-time use holojoys and outdated robotic parts. Some had people huddled together hoping to escape the freezing cold air. 

He knew he could only keep up this pace for another 5 minutes, but he was still over 15 minutes to his shelter. He had to find a different way to escape the inevitable. 

As his muscles were being torn from his bones, and his legs slowly turned to noodles, it was the first time Chrono dared to look behind him.

"They're here." Said Chrono fearfully.

Descending from the sky were rays of neon pink and blue that cut like a cleaver through the black. The sky tore apart as if it were opening its mouth. One singular ship, almost the size of a mountain slowly descended from the abyssal black sky. The ship was covered with massive screens, making the entirety of the ship light up. On each screen the size of  a basketball court, advertisements. Holojoys, robotic maids and companions, the newest brain ultra-q implants, various new-gen weaponry, hoverbikes, prosthetic limbs and upgrades for every body part - were only some of the items that appeared on the massive screens. In the middle of the ship covering parts of the screens was the logo of the company, "Astra MegaCorp". 

Just then, ejected from the underside of the ship were about 500 lite-hawks, black-grey ultra aerodynamic ships that could maneuver through the sky like a bird. Each had a glowing white streak right through its center. 

Suddenly, piercing through the air was a booming voice that sounded more human than the one from the touring pod.

"Citizens of Sector-1, We hope you have found your day to be filled with possibility!"

"We will now be conducting a routine search of any Time-debts in your possession, please be advised that attempts to avoid our search will result in a Time-debt."

"Please line up on the streets connecting to the central district, and we will be with you in due time. Thank you."

The moment the announcement shut off, the ships that eerily hovered in place a second before bolted in each direction in perfect synchrony. They made no sound, the strong gusts of wind coming from above and the faint traces of white neon light the only evidence of their movement. 

Around Chrono, some started to panic. Those who had no place to hide were now at the mercy of the time-keepers. In the alleys, mothers scrambled to hide their crying children under mounds of garbage. Others fought violently for a place in man-made bunkers, blood seeping down their frail bodies, staining their rags. And some, young and old, ventured out into the street, lifeless, as if they had given up on life a long time ago. 

This scene, although he had seen it many times before, ignited something within Chrono, something that seemed to have atrophied long-ago with an expectancy. An expectancy to live as a slave, to be compliant. Without him noticing, the ring around his neck that shone blue moments before, turned blood red. 

Somewhere far away, a man, surrounded by gorgeous women, dressed in the fur of the last begal tiger, felt a faint shiver run down his spine.