Into the Shadows
As you step off the plane and into the terminal, you notice that most of the people in the airport are milling about not really paying attention to anything but their own pathetic lives. Commlinks in hand, AR gloves donned, and the endless nonsensical chatter to each other through wireless channels - even to the people that are standing right next to them. People walking into and out of any number of over-priced duty free shops, soykaf in hand and a smug look of self-importance on their faces as they make their way to whichever gate they have to get to.
Through the windows of the terminal you can make out the dark shapes on the tarmac of the planes and support trucks, the rain falling ever harder now as the sun finally dips below the horizon to the west. The whole of the outside is shrouded in water and darkness, with even the moon deciding it doesn't want to come out and play. And you can see puddles starting to form, with mindless drones buzzing about filling the planes with gas and checking the mechanical structures of the landing gear and wings, pilots in the cockpits no doubt talking to the people in the control tower. And everyone in a hurry, it seems.
You look up from the floor to see a giant holographic display, extending from floor to ceiling, proclaiming in bright neon white letters above the smiling image of some good-looking, well-paid character actress in a flowing red dress:
Welcome to Seattle
You know the image is designed to lure tourists into believing the city is new and fresh and safe. Having lost your tender sensibilities years ago, you know that the urban sprawl is a desolate wasteland, ripe with crime and garbage and dirty deals for all. Under that coat of white paint lies the black soul of a woman who takes what she wants from whoever she wants, and then leaves them hung out to dry like bedsheets in the wind. A cold, cruel bitch of a city that can make the strongest man cry, and clean out his very soul until he's nothing more than a lifeless husk.
Yeah...welcome to Seattle. Here's to hoping your stay is pleasant...
