Realer things are found in dreams, Anonymous, Northern College

She watched the sunlight filtering through the trees, she heard the chirping of the birds and the buzzing of the bees. She smelt the morning dew falling off the fresh leaves and thought to herself, “if only this was real.” Of course, she could have seen the real thing, but she always found some reason to put it off. But that’s how things were, before The Exodus. The important things never seemed important then, it was always work, work, work. HA! Like it was any different now! And on that cheery note, Debbie Brown, technician extraordinaire, left the Holo-lounge and got back to work. At least it wasn’t so bad today, she’d be heading into Noahstown. The nicest part of The Ark, where The Builders lived. At least she could take in the lovely scenery while she pulled her hair out in frustration. Apparently one of the fancy fountains in the common area wasn’t flowing properly. which was the same problem they had last week.

Of course, it couldn’t be helped, that’s just how The Ark was built, In those mad few months before The Exodus. It wasn’t like we didn’t have time to build a better ship. we knew the end was coming for a little over a century, we saw the damage we were doing to our home, but people didn’t want to believe it. Especially when there was money to be made. SOME people aboard The Ark (not naming any names) blamed The Builders for what happened, but Debbie thought that was a little unfair, after all, they did save everyone in the end. Well, maybe not EVERYONE. When the end came and The Builders were preparing The Exodus, they only allowed people aboard who were willing to sign an indenture contract. Until a new homeworld could be found, and a colony established The Builders had “complete executive control of their enterprise” i.e., they ran your life for you. Debbie didn’t think that was so bad. At least not when compared to being left to fend for yourself on a dying planet. Sure, she wished she could have kept her old job as a programmer but there was a surplus of programmers and a need for technicians considering what a slap-dash job The Ark was. And she had the skills for it. She could turn things off and on again. She could hit them until they worked. She could even check if they were plugged in.

In all seriousness though, Debbie enjoyed her job. Helping people survive out here, in the cold and the dark, so far from home. It gave her a sense of purpose. Despite that, she relished her rare chance for a break. After fixing the fountain, she headed straight for the nearest Holo-lounge. On the way she caught her reflection in the chrome doors and decided to take a minute to torture herself. She looked at the figure that stared back at her. So skinny she could snap like a twig, she had a sharp chin and cartoonishly big ears, neither of which were helped by the big doe-like eyes she had. Eyes that seemed to be constantly confused and tired (though that part made sense). Her messy, dirty blonde hair was tied loosely into a ponytail, and she was wearing the standard-issue green jumpsuit and garish visibility jacket. She took in this sad sight and thought to herself “Eh, could be worse.” Thankfully she knew the Holo-lounge would take her mind off it.