Jas felt the dirt. It ran through his fingers. It was fine and powdery. Deeper, it had become more compacted over time.In another box he had some rocks he had found. He wondered how he had even found them, here. Had someone left them behind? Were they once part of some museum, or were they fresh from the surface. It was impossible to really tell. He had always been drawn to the earth. It’s texture and smell were far different than anything in the spire. Jas had the lingering suspicion that some other floor- only accessible by high ranked officials no doubt- was full of dirt and rocks. Maybe they even had green on them. He would fantasize about going up those large transparent elevators. But they were always locked. “Stay on your level” They would say. This just made him more curious.
The man in the same room finally broke the silence.
“Jas, why do you even like those rocks so much? They don’t even do anything.” The man asked.
“You just don’t get it, AZ Maybe you should go watch that war movie for the 50th time.” Jas replied.
“Man, what have you got against war movies? Don’t you wish you could go and be a hero?” A asked.
“I CAN be a hero, if I wanted.” Jas replied.
“Here? Good luck, bud.” AZ sighed.
“Someday, I’m gonna go to the surface, and then I’ll come back with all the dirt I can carry.” Jas stated.
AZ laughed.
“You know, sometimes I forget how young you actually are.” A. grinned “See you later.”
“Have fun watching the same explosion from 15 angles.” Jas said without turning around.
AZ was a huge fan of the war propaganda movies shown at the theater. The theater was decrepit, but it still functioned, and new movies came out every year or so. Regardless of the monotony, AZ would rarely go a week without watching at least one showing. In fact, some people would also rewatch the movies, though never with the same frequency or determination as AZ. AZ is actually the name of one of the main character’s of the movie that came out about a decade ago. To this day, it is his favorite, and he took on the name AZ as proof. Apparently, AZ means both beginning and end, kind of pointless when the character lives on to be a side character in the next movie. AZ was apparently enamored with the idea of holding all the power, so he took the pretentious name his real one. Jas actually didn’t know his real name, he only met him around 5 years ago. They both lived in the slums of level 39. Both of them didn’t do particularly well in the mandatory career tests, and thusly were able to sneak out of actually having to work, due to a loophole in the system. This loophole only happened every decade. Apparently, the program for checking if everyone is working rests every ten years. The pre-existing data gets transferred over, excluding one month. Anyone born in this month who turned 12 on this exact period essentially has no required job. Some, especially those who were assigned vital jobs, get caught out by officials, and put back in the system. Both Jas and AZ were able to get out by essentially failing the test, and by being incredibly lucky. This gave both of them an enormous amount of free time, but they could never go to any governmental buildings for fear of being caught. Without AZ, Jas would have almost certainly have been caught. AZ had gotten out ten years prior to Jas, and had perfected using the loophole. When they met, AZ was 22 and Jas was 12. AZ became something of a mentor for Jas, and now five years later, they’re able to maintain their way of life pretty well. Until the complete analysis program that takes place every 50 years that is. To acheive “peaceful harmony” the complete anlysis is performed. And it is sheer chaos. Anyone who has not followed all law to the tee will be hunted out. The whole floor is wrecked by the end of it. Or so Jas has heard.
After spending time viewing his collection, Jas decided to make his way over to Vonle’s house. Vonle was a historical buff, and the analysis was nagging the back of his mind.
“So… why are you here? Please don’t say you want to barrage me with questions about the surface AGAIN!?” Vonle said.
Vonle was pretty stand-offish, but she was cute when she wasn’t acting pretentious. Jas tried to set her up with AZ once. It didn’t go so well. Nowadays, Jas used here more as a walkign dictionary, albeit one with no shortage of snark.
“Nope. I want to know about upcoming analysis.” Jas said.
“... I guess that IS the elephant in the room. Historically, the theory seems to be that the examinations were far more frequent. Apparently, a couple hundred years ago, they were only five years apart. It seems the change came because the frequency meant the spire was constantly in a state of repair, and it was simply too resource intensive to keep up.” Vonle explained.
“That’s great, but what I want to know is what happens to those that get caught.” Jas replied.
“How morbid. The punishment varies depending on crime, but most large offences are punished by torture or death.” Vonle stated.
Maybe Vonle wasn’t the person to go to, Jas thought. She’s too harsh. Too honest. Even though she too, used the same loop hole at the same time as AZ.
“... Thanks.” Jas sighed.
“Look… Just take care of yourself. Same for AZ.” Vonle replied.
Jas left and went to the theater. He didn’t really have anywhere else to go. The theater seemed empty. The movie was an older rerun- possibly from before he was born. It was in black and white. The current scene was on a ship apparently. Jas wished he could see a REAL ocean. Anyway, he made his way to AZ’s usual spot, and found him, same as always.
“Hey.” Jas said.
“You know, you’re not supposed to talk in a theater.” AZ replied.
“There’s nobody here!” Jas exclaimed.
“It’s the principle. Anyway, what do you want. You’re obviously not here to enjoy the show.” AZ replied impatiently, keeping his eyes glued to the screen.
Patriotic music swelled. An obvious sign of victory. It was a well known song, but given a “grandiose” make-over. It was cheesy.
“You think we’ll be OK? Through the analysis and all?” Jas asked.
AZ sighed.
“I sure hope so. That’s about all we can do for now. Worrying about it won’t help.” AZ replied.
Jas paused. He thought maybe AZ was right. Nevertheless, it bothered him. The loophole wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t exactly try to fix it either. Not everyone should have to do what the test tells them to, he thought. He knew what he really meant was: Not everyone should be worked to the bone until they die. And he knew the officials agreed. They didn’t have to work to the bone, Jas thought. They got to ride the elevator. They got to leave.
“Let’s hijack an elevator.” Jas blurted out.
Jas wasn’t even sure if he really wanted to something like that. It just seemed like he should find something, anything to get out. To be safe.
“That’s an even more reliable way to die then the analysis. Good job.” AZ joked.
“Better to do something.” Jas replied.
“This is a case where being passive is the only viable option. Get over it, for your own sake.” AZ lectured.
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