Sky City (Watty Award Winner 2014)
by John 'Ducksy' Reardon
2020-09-07 21:15:03
Sky City (Watty Award Winner 2014)
by John 'Ducksy' Reardon
2020-09-07 21:15:03
*Winner of the Watty 2014 People's Choice Award*'My name is Arturo Basilides. I am an orphan living in the slums of Medio City - the capital of a nation ravaged by a war which was won by extremists. Offered a choice between slavery and disenfranchise...
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*Winner of the Watty 2014 People's Choice Award*'My name is Arturo Basilides. I am an orphan living in the slums of Medio City - the capital of a nation ravaged by a war which was won by extremists. Offered a choice between slavery and disenfranchisement, we exist in an underclass so disconnected we effectively inhabit a different era. Daily life involves scavenging, theft and substance abuse with a bunch of misfits who are somehow still in one piece after years of abandonment. I am a natural born fighter and although I despise warfare, I must witness the downfall of those bastard elites whilst fulfilling my romantic intentions with the forever unattainable girl of my dreams.'Religious extremists won The Great War and a worldwide societal structure was imposed under the law of their goddess. The lowest official tier - Level Three Citizenship is one step away from slavery and the majority of the population opt out of the system altogether. These 'bottom levellers' struggle for survival in a world where technology is almost indistinguishable from magic and artificial lifeforms are hostile to their very existence. Arturo Basilides is the one in ten billion - an internet-educated outlaw with exceptional intellect and strong survival instincts. Traumatised and drug-ravaged, he spends his life daydreaming and trying to brighten his pitiful existence. Arturo ran away from an orphanage when he was twelve years old and now lives with his gang in an abandoned building. Together, they roam the shadows of Sky City - a two mile high playground for the privileged few. The teenagers survive adverse conditions due to remarkable self-sufficiency and they treat life as an endless narcotic-fuelled party. Arturo's old friend Smig offers a chance to earn some money and introduces him to a man called Jardine. Our hero finds himself sucked into a rebellion against the religious elite and he faces ethical dilemmas along the way due to that old adage - one man's freedom fighter is another m
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