Luci examines her I.D. card after a frankly invasive search and walks her bicycle into a cavernous room filled with storm-troopers and travelers. She takes in the weird citizens without too much gawking and head-turning, navigating through the crowd and occasionally chiming her bell to make space. She comes to a large open patio and looks out over the sprawling metropolis of Tier 1. In the distance she sees the colossal watchtower that is the Imperial Palace. When she looks up, she sees the tips of skyscrapers touching the bottom of the Library of Coruscant. When she looks down, all she sees is sky. She backs away from the edge.
"First time then, love?" asks a man in a tweed jacket with an octopus for a head. A sky-taxi floats in and picks up a passenger off the balcony. Luci looks dubious. "Look 'ere," says the man with the octopus head "you see them antenna floatin' in the air there? That's the road. Stay on YOUR side of the road. I don't quite remember which side that is, mind. Go on, take your bicycle up, give it a shot."
Luci does not.
The man possibly grins, but it is hard to tell, as he has an octopus for a head. "Trust, love. This is Coruscant. You won't fall, it's simple Omniphysics. Give us a try?" he says.
Luci does not.
The man in the tweed jacket with the octopus head pulls out a hoverboard and does a kickflip into the sky-highway, catching up with traffic.
Luci pauses, then straddles her bike and bunnyhops into the sky-highway. She causes a sky-taxi to swerve and honk but quickly gets the hang of it, bringing herself up to normal traffic speed and observing the beauty of the city. It does not last long.
The obnoxious propaganda, the big booming advertisements on glowing screens, the cameras floating at every intersection, the thick police presence, the cloud of paranoia and distrust, it all makes Luci sick. She exits the highway and floats her bike down to a cafe. She passes a poster of Judge Dredd, and does not draw a mustache on it. She hefts her bike and tosses it at the the wall. The bike disappears. A picture of the bike appears on the wall.
Luci sits down while the bubbly cashiers discuss the emperor's hair. She slides a glowing, crumpled, one-dollar-bill across the counter. The cashiers do not acknowledge her, but they do press a large red button, and a robot rises out of the floor to make Luci a coffee and descend again. Luci finishes her coffee while the cashiers talk. Then, for reasons she will never understand, she leaves a tip.
Outside a storm-trooper writes her a ticket for vandalism. Luci grabs her two-dimensional bike, pulling the painting off the wall, which turns into a real bike in her hands, showing the storm-trooper it caused no lasting harm. He seems convinced and crumples up the ticket, and Luci sighs. He hands her another ticket, for parking illegally.
Luci decides to look elsewhere for a home.
Luci finds a job as a bartender on Tier 4 and an apartment she loves on Tier 5. It's a cramped one-room with shag carpeting, but Luci paints a lovely kitchenette that really brings the room together. The neighborhood is a little sketchy, but Luci doesn't mind; she's a little sketchy too.
"First time then, love?" asks a man in a tweed jacket with an octopus for a head. A sky-taxi floats in and picks up a passenger off the balcony. Luci looks dubious. "Look 'ere," says the man with the octopus head "you see them antenna floatin' in the air there? That's the road. Stay on YOUR side of the road. I don't quite remember which side that is, mind. Go on, take your bicycle up, give it a shot."
Luci does not.
The man possibly grins, but it is hard to tell, as he has an octopus for a head. "Trust, love. This is Coruscant. You won't fall, it's simple Omniphysics. Give us a try?" he says.
Luci does not.
The man in the tweed jacket with the octopus head pulls out a hoverboard and does a kickflip into the sky-highway, catching up with traffic.
Luci pauses, then straddles her bike and bunnyhops into the sky-highway. She causes a sky-taxi to swerve and honk but quickly gets the hang of it, bringing herself up to normal traffic speed and observing the beauty of the city. It does not last long.
The obnoxious propaganda, the big booming advertisements on glowing screens, the cameras floating at every intersection, the thick police presence, the cloud of paranoia and distrust, it all makes Luci sick. She exits the highway and floats her bike down to a cafe. She passes a poster of Judge Dredd, and does not draw a mustache on it. She hefts her bike and tosses it at the the wall. The bike disappears. A picture of the bike appears on the wall.
Luci sits down while the bubbly cashiers discuss the emperor's hair. She slides a glowing, crumpled, one-dollar-bill across the counter. The cashiers do not acknowledge her, but they do press a large red button, and a robot rises out of the floor to make Luci a coffee and descend again. Luci finishes her coffee while the cashiers talk. Then, for reasons she will never understand, she leaves a tip.
Outside a storm-trooper writes her a ticket for vandalism. Luci grabs her two-dimensional bike, pulling the painting off the wall, which turns into a real bike in her hands, showing the storm-trooper it caused no lasting harm. He seems convinced and crumples up the ticket, and Luci sighs. He hands her another ticket, for parking illegally.
Luci decides to look elsewhere for a home.
Luci finds a job as a bartender on Tier 4 and an apartment she loves on Tier 5. It's a cramped one-room with shag carpeting, but Luci paints a lovely kitchenette that really brings the room together. The neighborhood is a little sketchy, but Luci doesn't mind; she's a little sketchy too.
![[Image: V4Dvvfy.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/V4Dvvfy.gif)