Chapter 3: Log 2: The Cable Car

Log 2: 

Date: July 5th, 2190 I.C. 

Time: 20:04

Location: Imperium City Outer Business District 

 sauntered out of the building, glancing up at its majestic spiral shape piercing into the sky alongside the other skyscrapers in the area. It was just now that I realized the arrangement of the building formed a circle around the two moons, Kalios and Uruna, named after two famous Adventurers. The larger yellow one, Kalios, and the smaller red one, Uruna. 

In the distance, just a straight shot from where I stood, through the Trine Passing, a triangle structure that acted as support for the two-mile-long Royals Bridge, was Imperium City Palace. A behemoth of a structure constructed from the finest limestone that had been reinforced with Ether to never tarnish. The home to over half the government offices in the Business District along with the world-renowned Imperium City Academy, the Imperial Army,  and the luxurious homes of the Nobles and select few Merchants. 

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While the gap between classes has reduced, we still have a social hierarchy though it’s much more implicit today than in the past. In the past, we used to have 11 classes. These classes were Slaves, Serfs, Commoners, Merchants, Squires, Knights, Barons, Marquis/Viscounts, Earls/Counts, Dukes, and Royals. However, in modern times these classes have been cut down to Commoners, Merchants, Knights, Barons, Marquis/Viscounts, Earls/Counts, Dukes, and Royals. 

We no longer have Slaves or Serfs since slavery was abolished three centuries ago and we don’t have Squires anymore because everyone is required by Imperial Law to have at least Squire level training and education. This equivalent today would be at least completing Secondary School or Grade 8. If one wanted to Specialize in a certain Profession, they would have to enter an institution like Imperium City Academy to do so. 

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I walked over to the cable station, sitting flat in the middle of the street a block away from the Adventurer’s Guild, a bit of an oddity out in this ultra-modern metropolis. There weren’t many people as it was getting quite late. I tap my Glancable against the scanner, paying for my fare. The automatic gate into the station opens, letting me walk up the stairs to the waiting platform where I wait for the next cable car to arrive. 

The average cable car fare in Imperium City was two Coppers. However, one could purchase an annual pass for five Silvers which grants you unlimited rides around the city for a year. To me and many other citizens in Imperium City, the Annual Pass was a life saver. 

As I situate myself on a bench, I glance up at the sky once again. No matter how long I’ve lived here, this view never gets old. The cathedral-shaped Imperium City Palace towered the Adventurer’s Guild by over ten times surrounded by an artificial lake, its symmetrical triangular configuration with three towers. The one in the middle flashed a bright light akin to a star in the sky. Our city’s beacon of hope has never fallen in its rich five millennia of history. Living through holy wars, demon invasions, insurrections, and every sort of unrest one could possibly conjure in their mind. The Palace of Imperium City, the capital of the Oriar, the symbol of civilization. 

How grand. 

A cable car, returning from the Business District pulls up to the station. Its sleek metal body painted with a corny advertisement for the Imperium City Academy Entrance Exam that was to occur two months from now. I cringe at it for a moment before embarking into the cabin. The windows are tinted by the painting of the palace behind me.  

I situate myself in the seat adjacent to the door. Watched as other passengers take their respective seats in the remaining spaces of the sleek cabin. Suddenly, I feel my body being pushed slightly back. The sound of gears turning as a cable car moves forward, building up speed as it cruises along the tracks away from the Business District. 

As it chugs along, the Hackneys running on opposite sides of the road become a blur. Their box-shaped bodies and chunky rubber tires roll smoothly along the streets in their designated lanes. It’s amazing how only a century ago the Hackneys were still pulled by horses. Now, they were powered by Ether just like everything else in this City, speeding over fifty miles per hour in the concrete jungle. 

I pull my Liaiser out of my purse. There were a few messages from my parents. 

Dad (Parental Unit 1): What time will you be back, kiddo? 

Mom (Parental Unit 2): We’ve made your favorite. 

I type away a the keyboard, the symbols materializing in the text box the moment I placed my thumb over it. 

Me: I just got on the cable car. Be home in 20. 

Mom (Parental Unit 2): By the way, did you hear from your brother? 

Me: No, why? 

Dad (Parental Unit 1): He’s coming home next week. Apparently, his excursion to Lengenheim is coming to an end earlier than expected. 

Me: He settled the contract with the Lengeheim Duchy that fast?! He’s getting better by the day! 

Dad (Parental Unit 1): Haha, of course. Our Rai Family is a family of Entrepreneurs! 

>>>

Besides my parents and I, I also have an older brother. There’s a seven-year age gap between us but we get along pretty well. He’s hardly ever home due to his job as the Leading Merchant of Forgers Ether Stone Corporation, or FESC, but he comes back monthly bearing souvenirs from the places he travels to. 

This time he traveled to the Lengeheim Duchy, a Province within the Oriar Continent known for its strategic location near the Lengeheim Mountain Range which was home to many high-end ski resorts open year-round to the extremely cold climate. It was also a very popular tourist destination and one of the few places in the world where one could observe the aurora lights. I’ve been there once when I was younger but want to go again at some point since I hardly recall anything. Not now since I’m pretty busy but maybe in a couple of months when I’ve accumulated enough vacation days. 

For the last couple of weeks, my brother has been up in Lengeheim to negotiate a contract with the Duchy to mine out some high-quality Ether stones buried deep in the Lengeheim Mountains. These stones are used to forge cores for anything that required Ether like weapons, Liaisers, and Hackneys. 

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From my knowledge, I’ve heard that it’s pretty difficult to conduct business in the Duchy especially if one wants to construct such a large mining facility due to the lack of usable land in the region. I guess the trade-offs for the Ether stones were worth it for the FESC. Nevertheless, it’s impressive that my brother was able to curry the Duke’s favor. Must’ve done a tone of boot licking to pull that off. 

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Me: What’s the plan then to celebrate? 

Mom (Parental Unit 2): We’ll discuss that once you get home.

Me: ‘kay. I’ll talk with you guys soon. 

Click. 

I press a button on the side of my Liaiser. Its screen fades away into a dark black, the blue Ether stone embedded into its body losing its luster. I feel the cable car stop briefly. Passengers of all kinds embarked and disembarked the cabin. We had pulled into Periphery Station, the station prior to Naruk Agora. 

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Imperium City is made up of layers similar to an onion. Each layer was supposedly home to a specific Class but that was in the past yet the Districts that make up those Classes still exist today. There are ten layers that make up the city: the Outerskirts, Innerskirt, Quotidian, Souk Agora, Dagogy, Naruk Agora, Outer Business District, Inner Business District, 

Noblehem, and Royal Court. 

My parent's cafe is located in Souk Agora which was one of the five residential Districts in Imperium City along with Quotidian, Dagogy, Naruk Agora, and Noblehem. Souk Agora is better known as the Commoner’s Shopping District but there a quite a handful of Nobles who reside in Dagogy, the Education District, and Naruk Agora, the Noble Shopping District, that come to visit. Technically speaking, Souk Agora could be considered a middle-class district with items affordable for those in all Classes. 

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The cable car pulls away from one station and then the next. The high rise building fading away into low-rise marble homes of Naruk Agora, some of which have been remodeled just by looking at the Ether-controlled garages, then the mid-rise modern buildings of Dagogy that still showed signs of construction as the old, rotted building of the past are knocked down into nothing but rubble. Students wearing their respective uniforms were frolicking in the streets as cram school had finished for the night. The Hackneys of wealthier students pick them up from the curb before dashing back north towards Naruk Agora. 

How I loathed and missed those days. A bittersweet feeling arose in me as the cable departed from another station. I place my hand atop my bag, my fingers caressing the scratches which have accumulated over years of use. Memories of the past flooded my mind, making me laugh ever so slightly.

Ding. 

The bell of the car chimes. 

[Arrived at Souk Agora Station 2] 

This was my stop. 

The cable car comes to a dead stop, the door perfectly aligning with the yellow armor tile on the platform. 

I stand up, strapping my leather bag over my shoulder before walking out the door. The archaic green street lamps with the flags of Imperium City handed off the side of their posts illuminating the cobblestone streets. 

Even at this time, the area was lively. Street vendors serving up late-night snacks, locals bustling to and fro, residents emerging from their cottage styles homes, Imperium City was truly one place that never sleeps. 

I tap my Glancable against the scanner once more, allowing for the gates to release me from the clutches of the station. I take a deep inhale, enjoying the cool summer night of Souk Agora as I ready myself in a running position, excited to head home for the night. 

As the cable car pulls away from the station, I dash into the crowd of people, swiftly weaving my way around them as if I were dancing to an inaudible tune. My heels spin as I joyfully immerse myself in the jolly atmosphere. Up ahead, I find a sign with a cup of coffee along with a slice of cake painted onto it. 

Making a hard left, I find myself in front of a glass door. My hand touches the cold steel handle as I push it open the door. The sight of glass light handing above each of the wooden tables surrounded by matching wooden chairs, each with a black cushion placed on top of it. Glass display cases lined a section of the store with hardly any pastries to be in sight.

I guess they were sold out during the day. 

At the register counter not too far from the entrance, a slender woman with brown hair styled into a bob-cut wearing a black scarf around her head and a white chef’s coat embroidered with the name ‘Sheila’ was packing some pastries into a fancy cardboard box tied all together with a blue ribbon. Her black eyes fixated on the task at hand. 

Behind her was a man about a head taller dressed in similar attire, on the name ‘Darren’ written on garbs. His black hair and blue sapphire eyes concealed behind his thin-rimmed specials fading in color, showing signs of age. A large toothy grin that went from one end of his face to the other was present, a clear indicator that he was enjoying what he was doing. 

I purse my lips together for a moment, gathering my thoughts while I shut the door behind me. The silver wind chimes hanging from the door chime a subtle tune. I take a step off the rattan welcome mat on the ground, smiling as I embrace the warmth of the cafe. 

“I’m home!”