Start of Chapter One.Bartholomew looked out from one of the towers in his palace. This tower was the largest of many that were scattered throughout the building, and it housed the primary comm center that was linked to the rest of the world. Anything said through the microphone could be heard throughout Earth, if he so chose to. Any vehicle in motion would be halted at once. He stepped inside, minding the faulty automatic door.
"Damn door... Harkett!" he yelled into his earpiece. "Tell A73X to get his ass up here and fix this door once I leave this room! And if he resists, I authorize you to... teach him a lesson, if you will. But do not kill or injure him in anyway that will prevent him from following orders. Otherwise I'll teach
you a lesson.
"Yes sir," Harkett's voice replied. The connection severed.
"Now then..." He stared out of the bulletproof window of the comm room. Hundreds of megascrapers were before him, all shining... all dark. But none were as high as the palace. Of course not. The morning sky was overcast, containing clouds of pewter gray which hinted at a possible thunderstorm. The morning commute of skyspeeders were on their normal traffic routes, veering off when their destinations had been reached. No doubt the guards were keeping them supervision should they decide to go elsewhere. Even slaves must work. This world wouldn't pay for itself.
He sat in the recliner and turned on the microphone, preparing to speak.
"Citizens of Earth!" his voice boomed across the planet as vehicles predictably halted. "Good morning to you all, good morning! I am here to give you a special announcement today. From this day forward, we will raise blood taxes by 25%. We are running low, and this is a necessary precaution in order to ensure the prosperity of our planet. I only work to benefit mankind!"
He shut the microphone off and got up to return to his quarters. They were obviously not running low on blood. They had more than enough to sustain them for the next two-thousand years. Bartholomew left the room and saw A73X rushing up the escalator.
"Ah, you're here. Good. Now get to work." And he pushed him aside as he resumed his walk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Fuckin' hell," Roxanne cursed as the announcement finished. "That's a damn lie, and we all know it. Shit..." She picked up her guns and put them in her holsters. "Same fucking thing every day. People suffering, people dying... it never ends."
She moved toward her own quarters, away from the rest of them. She had no way out, but at least she didn't suffer like the others did.