Virtually Valiant: The End of 2077

CAPNET conquered the U.S. market slowly but efficiently, like a constrictor enveloping itself around a most unsuspecting and incapable prey. CAPNET, unlike most corporations, purchased power. Technology, information, humanity; the corporation conquered every U.S. market ripe for marketability.

By 2077, the United States had been altered solely into a manufacturing breeding ground for CAPNET. Land where suburbs, small towns, and national parks used to lie were now smog-filled wastelands, barren with dirt and oil that gurgled in clumpy heaps near CAPNET ™ MANUFACTURING CENTERS.

Since 2050, the major cities of the United States, with no land free from CAPNET ™ MANUFACTURING CENTERS to expand into, had no choice but to expand up. Streets and sidewalks were a function of the past, as cities had grown so tall that the term “skyscraper” rang very true to its name. The tallest of the cities was Miami, which became so colossal in fact that it lost its old name of “Miami” and became “Sky City.” Sky City was a thriving metropolis where CAPNET was most dominant, recognizable by its bright fluorescence and bouncing nightlife. It had a shining reputation as CAPNET’s most proudest accomplishment in engineering and design, but it was a reputation that was clouded nearly each day by the infamous “Low City.”

Low City was considered the dirty underbelly to Sky City’s industrious metropolis in the sky. However, it almost absolutely earned its unclean reputation from the fact that it lies on the ground; the streets of old. Its location meant that CAPNET ™ did not tend to the sector nor turn a prying eye towards its inhabitants. It was considered a disgrace to have a residence in Low City. The Low City was believed to be infested with criminals, lowlifes, and, worst of society’s wrongdoers, Indies.

Indies, or “Independents,” are just as they seem in term; independent companies that rival the dominance of CAPNET. Indies are unpredictable in nature, an infuriating fact to The Board composed of CAPNET owners and investors, and can spout up in about any market or trade. Twenty years ago, the Indies almost achieved mainstream attention after they culminated in response to CAPNET’s abandonment of the manufacturing of paper products. But they were swiftly shut down in the middle of the night, with their owners and workers untraceable. That, of course, was entirely the accomplishment of CAPNET’s JVs, or “Joint Venturists.”

The JVs are a team of individuals who function almost exclusively as a secret police for each of CAPNET’s sectors. In the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning, the JVs shut down Indies and fortify CAPNET’s best interests. The individuals who compose the Joint Venturist Team, or JVT, are hidden in secrecy from the public. The details of their work: a mystery. Citizens say that they climb across the city at night, with no cars, no helicopters, no vehicles, so that no one can observe or detect them.

However, it was a JV that brought down the hand of corporate justice upon CAPNET...and a cloud of uncertainty on the future of the world as citizens knew it.

CAPNET had labeled itself as the United States’ future when it held the world in its palm. That being said, there were intellectuals that argued that “future” was too vague of a term to use to describe CAPNET’s effect on the nation. If anything, people said, CAPNET was the United States’ dystopian future.

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FEBRUARY 2077 - - CAPNET ™ E-WRITE 3600 REGISTERED TO USER #011227 - - 00:28:31 AM - - (DIAGNOSIS: 25% Variance Detected)

INITIATING SET UP…

USER NAME…?

HELLO, vee. WELCOME TO YOUR MANDATED PERSONAL CAPNET ™ E-WRITE 3600, “For When You Just Want To Let Your Feelings Out…Because You’re Legally Required By CAPNET ™ Trade Regulations! For $99.99!”

IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY TECHNICAL ISSUES, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT 000-000-000. OUR NEXT REPRESENTATIVE CAN SPEAK WITH YOU IN 999 HOURS 999 MINUTES AND 999 SECONDS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PURCHASE.

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Vee tapped the E-Write with her finger to conclude her message, the sickly-green light of the screen reflecting on her sharp features. She swung the bulky backpack on her back towards her front, quickly shoving the device inside one of the front pockets.

She tucked her short hair behind her ears as she rushed to the wall, crouching as she balanced herself on the ledge of the open apartment window. As she swung her feet over the ledge, sitting down on the windowsill, she looked down at the depths below her feet. The streets were not visible in the darkness under Vee’s spray-painted sneakers, her legs moving slightly in the wind as it howled from the depths below.

With an unmatched agility, Vee jumped up, grabbing the thin railing of the fire escape above her in her hands. She pulled herself up onto the rusty metal bridge with a quiet grunt, swinging her legs across the railing as she landed on it with a loud clang. She repeated her steps, scaling up her apartment building fire escape by fire escape until she tugged her body onto the roof. On the roof, Vee could see clearly across Sky City as she scaled the rooftops of the dark night to the CAPNET ™ HQ, located in the colossal glass-windowed skyscraper in the midst of the city.

The JVT-M team, consisting of members Vee, Dellia, Micro, Cypher, and Link, gathered with the other sectors of JVs on the roof of the CAPNET headquarters, standing shoulder to shoulder with other dark-suited officials. The teams glanced at one another, eyeing each other with a watchful observance. An official-looking woman barked instructions to the teams, informing the individuals that they were to take separate navigation to Low City...earning whispers from the sectors. The Indie that the teams were to infiltrate was a low-level carpentry shop, which earned another round of mutters from the professionals. It was as if each person present wondered why their sector was necessary to complete the job for the night.

According to CAPNET records, it took JVT-M approximately fifteen minutes to reach Low City as they scaled down from Sky City, making them the first to reach the Indie. The team crept through the dirty streets of Low City, strewn by garbage, muck, and murky water as they walked along the shadowed walls. When they reached their destination, the team shared an equally confused expression as they stared up at a graffiti-filled, abandoned-seeming apartment building.

Vee watched as Cypher made a gesture to the team. Under his breath, he muttered a short countdown, before kicking the door open with a loud and thundering crash. From that point forward, any sign of the professionally-casual team was absolutely absent. This was a job for the Joint Venturists...and it was a job that would be done well.

A woman cried out as Cypher rushed into a small room, crouching behind a desk as he drew a device from the folds of his uniform. “You are in violation of CAPNET Trade Regulations. Remain calm as we resolve the issue.” He spoke loudly, coldly, grabbing the woman by the arm as he pointed the device into her shoulder. The device rang out, “Marie Chen, Chinese-American, 39, Widowed. No criminal record.”

“Cypher…” Dellia began as she typed quickly on a hologram projecting from her timepiece, interrupting Cypher. “There’s no record. They don’t make, sell, or buy anything.”

“That doesn’t...that doesn’t make any sense.” Cypher glanced up at the team, who all shared equal looks of blank befuddlement. He snapped his head towards Marie, who was wearing a small smile. He muttered something coldly under his breath, looking across the room, before a realization dawned on his face.

“Where’s Vee?”

Vee inched into a side room, the shouts and screams muffled from behind the door. She blinked at the dark room she had found herself in, inching forward with her hands outstretched until a cold metal hit her face. She batted the air around her face, realizing the metal was a string, and tugged it...illuminating the room.

She jumped in surprise, a certain something dawned on her as she laid her eyes on what was before her. A young girl, not much older than nine, stood in front of her. She clutched something close to her heart, her eyes fearful as she gazed up at the taller girl. Vee, seeing the horror in her eyes, felt something change inside her.

She put a finger to her lips, crouching to the girl’s height. “I’m…” She was surprised to hear her voice so quiet, but she swallowed hard, continuing. “I’m not with them.” The girl’s eyes brightened, as if Vee was someone absolutely expected, and reached forward to grab her hands. She opened them, placing the object she held in Vee’s hands. Vee was surprised to feel that it was cold to the touch and she nodded slowly at the girl before looking down at it, surprised at the content.

It was a heart-shaped locket, engrained with special detail and adorned with lettering she couldn’t make out. After a few moments, the girl tapped on the locket. Vee looked at her, before looking back at the necklace, and she understood. With a movement of her fingers, she opened the locket. An object came tumbling out of it, but Vee caught it in her hands.

“Is this...a flashdrive?” She questioned the girl, who nodded quickly, reaching for Vee’s backpack as she examined the item. “A flashdrive? Bots, I haven’t seen one of these in...in years...what are you doing?” The girl returned to her and Vee noticed her E-Write in her hands. The girl handed the E-Write to her enthusiastically, pointing to the charging point on the device. Vee glanced between the E-Write in her hand...and the flashdrive in the other...and she understood.

She plugged in the flashdrive.

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FEBRUARY 2077 - - CAPNET ™ E-WRITE 3600 REGISTERED TO USER #011227 - - 01:59:42 AM - - (DIAGNOSIS: 31% Variance Detected)

INITIALIZING SET UP…

HELLO, vee. WELCOME TO YOU-

WEL-

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000111111111111111111111100000000000000000000000011111111111100000000

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“You can...turn them off? Oh...oh, no...this is why the sectors are coming.” Fear came back to the small girl’s eyes and she grabbed Vee’s arms, panic filling her face as Vee shushed her quietly. “Don’t worry, don’t worry...I’m going to get you out of here. I can-”

“Vee?”

Vee shielded the girl with her arms as she turned around, meeting Cypher’s eyes as he stood in the doorway. He glanced coldly between Vee, the girl, Vee’s backpack...and the flash drive in Vee’s hand. He met her eyes slowly, a coldness filling his features.

“What is that?”

A dangerous silence lingered between the three. Vee looked at the door frame, the young man, and the girl, weighing her options. She slowly tightened the straps of her backpack, leaving one arm out to shield the door, before beginning to speak.

“It’s...I’m sorry about this...GET ON!”

Vee crouched quickly, the young girl jumping onto her backpack. As soon as she grabbed onto the straps of the bulky pack, Vee sprinted, shoving past Cypher as she ran into the main room. “GO! NOW!” She shouted to the woman by the desk, whose eyes widened as she spotted the girl on Vee’s back. The JVT-M stared in horror at Vee as she ran out of the Indie with the woman following promptly at her heels...their footsteps echoing through the dark streets of Low City.

Vee ran faster than she had run in her JVT career, because she wasn’t running for a job, for pay...but for a future she knew could now be attainable. Just a future, not a dystopian future.

A future with freedom.

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FEBRUARY 2077 - - CAPNET ™ E-WRITE 3600 REGISTERED TO USER #011227 - - 02:35:00 AM - - (DIAGNOSIS: 100% Variance Detected)

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000111111111111111111111100000000000000000000000011111111111100000000

000000000001111111111100000000000111111111111100000

REBOOTING....

100% VARIANCE DETECTED…

LOCATING USER…

USER: “Vee Voi,” Vietnamese-American, 19, Employee of JVT-M

LOCKDOWN INITIATED. INFOGRAPHICS SENT TO CAPNET ™ MASTER.

USER TERMINATION INITIATED.

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