Turk lay in a motionless slump underneath a flimsy sheet of fabric on a thin piece of foam along one side of his modest sized living quarters. There was barely enough room in there for much else- a wash basin and wardrobe sat against the wall opposite his bed, on the wall by his feet was an inwards opening door and by his head were permanently closed shutters. The only other thing of note in this unimpressive abode was a functional light dangling from the ceiling. Anyway, none of this mattered for the moment as the whole room was bathed in darkness. It was early in the day, even the artificial lights outside hadn’t yet been switched on so not a single photon was able to pollute Turk’s current isolation. He was fully awake, but didn’t need to be for another half hour, so there he stayed, holding on to every last second that belonged to him before he had to rise. Comfortably wrapped up warm in a near fetal pose his eyes rested shut- but beneath the calm exterior he was in perpetual thought, anxious of the day ahead.

Hardly the most complex of people, Turk had resigned to the conclusion of many- compliance with the system was the only way to survive. For he lived in a curious world, one with ‘freedoms’ far from what we’re accustomed to today. This future GigaCity, ‘Jigonhsasee’ (named for an admirable ancestor of the former North American continent on which this city was built) lay almost entirely underground, the home to more than 25 million inhabitants since the Earth’s environment lost its ability to support life over a hundred years ago. In a place like this you had to be useful and prove your worth- if not, you’d risk fending for yourself, or worse. Turk had it good though, at least he had his own private space which is not something most inhabitants of this city could proudly say. He had dedicated his life (from the spritely age of 8) to keeping this place secure and safe, and his continued success at this had led to some rewards- one of which was this box room he could call his own. But in practice it just provided him with a place to realize how shitty everything had become. He lay there dreaming of stories he had heard of life before the great disasters that had led humanity to this state of existence, and cursed his lot having been born within the walls of this city. However, despite this regret, he was brim full of hope and desire- only five more years of valiant service and he’d be eligible for a marriage and birth license (highly restricted commodities) with which he could fulfill his innate need to progress his bloodline.

But that was five years away, and unfortunately todays work found itself far closer in chronological terms; his alarm sounded and the light hanging in the center of the room began to glow with a drearily jubilant artificial burst. His legs squirmed as he raised his arms to his face, wiped the aching from his eyeballs and stretched out. Another day had begun, and it was time for him to work. His underfed (by current day standards) naked body stood up, and walked to the wash basin. With resource limitations in a city like this, clean water wasn’t so much a luxury as an impossibility. A dark brown semi viscous liquid coughed from the tap as he collected some between his hands to wash across his face and gargle in his mouth. In truth, Turk had never known any better so this was simply routine for him, and again was far better than amenities available for most people. Next was an ion shower- a device which protruded from the wall above the basin fired ion bursts over Turk’s body, removing all dirt particles into a neat pile on the floor. He had never enjoyed this method of cleaning, it felt like small electric currents passing every inch of his skin, but he figured it was better than staying grubby, and he needed to look presentable.

Once achieving the sense of a mild modicum of cleanliness he disengaged the ion shower and turned to his wardrobe. The front shutter slid across to reveal a plain brown shirt and pants which he promptly adorned himself with, secured in place with a chunky belt and finished off with a smart jacket which was emblazoned with the logos of the ‘JSS’, the Jigonhsasee Security Service for which he was reluctantly now a senior unit commander. Finally he took an ankle holster from the floor of the wardrobe, which he secured around his right leg before strapping on his boots. Now fully dressed, Turk removed a small laser pistol from a compartment to one side of the wardrobe which he slotted into the ankle holster, then closed up the wardrobe, dusted down and straightened out his clothes, and left the room. It was a slight squeeze to fit past the door which swung inwards to his room, but after many years of living here Turk made it look effortless.

Closing the door behind him, Turk was now in a soulless corridor- stretching off into the distance with continual rows of metal paneled doors (like the one to his quarters) lining both sides. Dimly lit, the only things to provide some sense of safety here were the numerous security cameras along the ceiling, purring away as the motors moved them to follow movement- in this case, Turk walking towards the exit. He reached the end of the corridor, a thick security door stood in place with a green glowing panel to one side. Turk placed his hand squarely on the device which scanned his palm. An emotionless computer voice projected from a hidden speaker within the device ‘State your identification’, Turk responded his first words of the day in a husky morning voice, ‘Commander Turk, authorization Alpha Echo Nine’. Acceptance of this input was implied by a positive sounding beeping noise, followed by a decompression gush around the door, which proceeded to roll to one side. Turk walked through and the door sealed up behind him.

Now in a transport room, three tubes lay in recesses on the far side, a pod (large enough for three people to stand in) sat waiting in one. Turk stood in this pod, put his hand against the control panel, he spoke out ‘JSS Third Corps’ and following another affirmative beep, a cover slid across the front of the pod which then descended into the tube. These tubes were the transport arteries of the city, whizzing people between the various habitable zones of this huge, sprawling, subterranean mega-structure. Functional and uncomfortable, every muscle in Turk’s body tensed in some vain attempt to keep him steady within the pod, an endlessly futile endeavor as he was always reminded of when reaching his destination, collapsing to the floor as the rapid deceleration took effect before jerking to a full halt. The door slid open, and Turk gathered himself, striding dominantly out of the pod and into the entrance hall of his precinct.

The intense security measures in place here left no illusion as to the ever-present dangers in the city. Just to get to his office Turk had to pass four different perimeters, each involving scans and passcodes. But it was essential, only seven months ago a heavily armed attack on this place was responsible for the deaths of seventy eight officers and the theft of large quantities of contraband which quickly found itself on the black market. Despite every inhabitant of this city being reliant on the city itself providing for them, and despite efforts by authorities to clamp down on erratic behavior- it had proven increasingly difficult to ‘encourage’ all residents to be compliant. Murder, rape, theft and a litany of various crimes were sadly becoming all the more prevalent, no matter how pre-emptive the security services had become, and this multi layered security provision for Turk’s entry had become all too familiar a site wherever you were to go. Theories abounded as to why this was the case, but it seemed to boil down to one uncomfortable truth- humans are not designed for contained compliance. The more it was enforced, the more they resisted, and with humanities inability to take care of the wondrous Earthen Eden they began with, their current predicament was an ironic comeuppance of the behavior of previous generations.

Being a Unit Commander, Turk had the luxury of a second private space in this city- his office. Located within another soulless efficient box-shaped design, a desk sat at the center, with a large view screen along the wall opposite. From here he was able to monitor events and staff that fell within his purview, as well as secure communication with other unit Commanders. Today was lining up to be the same as any other, he sat down at his desk, placed his palm on a scanner to one side which initiated a projected screen on the desk (a version of a modern day laptop, which was interacted with purely by hand gestures and, in physical terms, consisted of a string of led’s that projected light in controlled bursts upwards to give the impression of a screen). The view screen on the wall also switched on, showing the latest intelligence broadcasts from around all the cities of the world (Each of the 9 GigaCities worked closely with each other to share resources and intelligence- a close relationship that had proved invaluable in surviving the restricted conditions of the past century.)

Turk scrolled though the messages and reports waiting in his inbox by swiping his hand across the projected screen. Mainly updates on arrests and disturbances overnight, with a population nearing 25 million people, this city had lots going on. Turk’s patch that he was responsible for was referred to as the ‘Green zone’ and contained most of the political institutions and corporate headquarters, as well as habitation areas for a million of the more important residents. This was a highly regarded post that Turk had, with a variety of challenges- as opposed to other areas full mainly of residential or manufacturing space. Sometimes he wished for reduced responsibility in a place like that though, it often felt as if the spotlight was firmly affixed to him. Nonetheless it had been a quiet night, only 6 deaths in the GreenZone- 4 of which had been attributed to accidental causes. Turk sat back, and looked up at the view-screen to see violent riots spreading throughout Praschech city, the GigaCity located on the former African continent. Luckily for Turk such massive discontent hadn’t infected Jigonhsasee but he was more than aware that things were on a knife edge and had the potential to switch at any moment. The clock on the screen approached 9am, it was time for his morning briefing.

As soon as the clock ticked onto 0900 a wailing buzzer sounded from the door. Turk had worked here for 3 years and every morning this noise sent a shiver down his spine merely due to the obnoxiousness of the sound- it was something he had always planned on changing, just by the time it reached 0930 everyday he had inexplicably forgotten about doing so until the next morning. “Come” he shouted as he swiped an icon on his projected monitor that opened the door. In came his 2 trusted advisors (both women who couldn’t be more different to each other- ‘Habby’, who was short and plump with an amiable expression, and ‘Stell’, tall and slim with the sternest face Turk had ever known) along with the nightwatch commander.

“Take a seat and let’s get started” said Turk as three chairs rose from the floor on the other side of his desk from him. They all took their places and the briefing could begin. Turk didn’t hold these meetings merely to gather information, he was up to date with happenings from all the reports he had already read this morning, but he considered himself a people person- trying to improve the work of his subordinates by being encouraging of them, as well as gauging their true impressions of events that occurred (as opposed to the official written reports that were seen across the city and were done in a ‘proper’ way) to ensure he had a rounded perspective of things that were happening.

“How was the night-watch, Bill?” Turk continued,

“Fairly quiet as you would have seen, sir. There were 4 accidental deaths in Greenzone, 3 of which happened due to a collapsed tunnel in the extension project, the other 1 was electrocution”

“Electrocution?” Turk queried

“Yes sir, it seems there was a faulty door panel through one of the access ports on the A-ring. It’s all fixed now and I’ve instructed the engineers to check all the others today”

“Ok good, and the un-natural deaths?”

“Nothing wildly unusual, there were 2 people killed in one incident that appears to have been a random attack”

Bill, the night-watch commander, plugged a device into a port in Turk’s table, and a criminal profile of the culprit showed up on the display monitors.

“The suspect, Jake Prance, a 35 year old who has never held a position of significance. He’s been doing odd jobs for the past few years, and appears to have struck out at this couple who worked in mid-level positions in the Presidential Policy unit”

“Oh she’s gonna be pissed” Turk quipped, in reference to the President; someone he had always had a frosty relationship with even at the best of times.

“There was nothing we could do to prevent it. Seems purely opportunistic, a fit of jealous rage seeing them together. He had been applying for family permits for a long time, appears he just snapped after another refusal”

“And we’re sure it was him?”

“Absolutely definite, sir, we have it on video”

The night-watch commander gestured at the viewing monitor and a video started to play. The couple, in their late twenties, were skipping and cavorting through a corridor after work. Clearly in love, they couldn’t take their hands off one another, playfully bouncing off each other as they made their way home. When it appeared they were alone, the male pushed his girlfriend up against the wall, gripping a butt cheek tight with one hand as he kissed her, and began to unbutton her pants to slide the other hand down. They were so in the moment, they didn’t even notice Jake Prance creeping up towards them. The couple, now deeply entranced within an intimate act, would unlikely have felt even a jolt of pain for, after a knowing glance at the security camera above, Jake Prance skewed a laser screwdriver through the back of the males head, and kept thrusting it forward through the girls temple until he heard the scraping of the screwdriver as it hit the metal wall. Their bodies instantly went limp- only held up in place by Jake’s hesitance to remove the screwdriver, but as he did so they slumped to the ground, blood still pumping out and coalescing in a pool on the floor. Jake’s head snapped back, he let out a screech of excitement, then ran.

Those new to this job would have found watching these events troubling, harrowing even, but sadly Turk and his team had seen it all before. And much worse. It was the way of life in Jigonhsasee, the restricted environment made people do bad things, regardless of consequence. But consequence there certainly would be, and in this place, with such compelling proof of the perpetrator (which, due to the extent of camera tech present in the city was quite usual), there would be no court or jury, just sentencing. And for this, Turk had the last word. It was an easy decision, there was only one punishment available to be given for serious crimes such as this

“So that’s conclusive, and I want to enact protocol before I speak to the President- as I know she’ll want to see swift action taken. Jake Prance is hereby banished from the city of Jigonhsasee, let’s see how he copes outside. Stell, I’ll leave it to you to carry out”

“Sure thing” said Stell

Turning back to the nightwatch commander, Turk asked “And is that it for this morning?”

“Sure is, sir”

“Ok, good work Bill, go get some sleep and I’ll see you later tonight”

Bill got up and left, his chair rescinded back to the floor to leave Turk and the other two to continue their meeting. Turk glanced at the clock, it was 0930, there was something he meant to do today, something he’d been meaning to do for a long time, but he couldn’t place it, he couldn’t remember at all, it had completely slipped his mind. Oh well, if it was important it’d surely come back to him. He turned to his advisors, “So what’s going on today?”

Stell began, “There’s nothing special today, sir, but there’s this Presidential summit that starts in two days so I wanted to go through the security provisions for that”

Turk groaned, “Yes, of course, the President of Praschech isn’t it? Him and his entourage always seem to bring trouble with them. Not a surprise their city’s in such a mess at the moment. What was it last time they visited, it turned everyone here into hermit crabs”

“Virtual reality sex parties, sir. An orgy of 6 million interconnected minds I believe” said Habby, clearly having been a participant judging by the glint in her eye. (Virtual reality environments were where people spent most of their time these days. It significantly decreased the resource needs of individuals because it meant they could remain still in one place for long periods, but ‘morality’ guidelines had been set that usually prevented such hedonistic pursuits through the devices- otherwise there’d be very little drive to earn a family license in the real world)

“Ah yes, that was it- well I’m sure, and hope you have plans in place to prevent that happening again, lets meet this afternoon to go through it all. What else do we have?”

Stell continued, “We have two more groups of colonists leaving today and heading to the embarkation point at Mount Kirkpatrick, with the final lot going tomorrow.” [Alongside the construction of the 9 giga-cities there was a tenth grandiose project based inside Mount Kirkpatrick on the former Antartic continent that aimed to establish human colonies on Mars and Venus. With a base already firmly established on the moon, the colonists picked as a representative sample of each of the cities would spend some time acclimatizing there before embarking on the one-way trip to their new homes.]

“Also, this weeks reactor core reset is scheduled for 1600 today. That’s about it, but obviously I’ll let you know if anything else comes up- I’ll carry out the punishment on this Jake Prance guy first”

“Great work, Stell, and from your side, Habs? Anything to add?”

“Well, sir, I’m getting slightly concerned by the apparent support round here for the events happening in Praschech city, intelligence has been uncovering a huge number of sympathizers to their ideas. I’d like to take a team to make it clear to these people that this mustn’t continue, as long as that’s ok with you of course?”

“Yes, do it. We can’t have any problems associated with the summit this week. And the last thing we need is to see that level of discontent filling our city. Well, the ability to vocalize such discontent at least. Let me know what you find”

“Of course, sir”

“And that’s it ladies?”

They both nodded accordingly.

“In which case, get back to it. I’ve got some reports to work through then I’ll be out in the operations room in an hour”

Both advisors left the room, their seats lowered back into the floor, and Turk turned back to his monitor. Seems like this was going to be Just another day in Jigonhsasee.