Many years in the future, around 2115, our rampage on trees to build more structures has finally come to an end. Because there aren't any trees left. No trees men's no oxygen. So the new earth that is entirely covered by one huge city has to start buying breathable air. If they ever leave the building without a breather the air poisoning would kill them.
Zooming in to section D part 12 of the city, there is a man, Peter, who like every other man, lives with his wife in an apartment. Specifically room E34. Peter was having a very important conversation with his wife Lina.
'I'm sorry I was fired from exo-geni (research facility) okay?' 'I'll look for work in the morning,' said Peter. 'You'd better or you'll wish you never got out of bed!' Said Lina. 'Yes dear,'. Peter then got up and left for his room.
The next morning Peter browsed through his 3D projects computer for well paying open jobs. 'Computer programs United. No. Cerberus manufacturing. No. Hey there we go! Breath happy air company.' I'll apply right away!
He tapped the apply icon hologram in the air and a new page appeared: 'thank you for applying for the breathe happy air company, we have scheduled an interview tomorrow at 3:00 breathe happy!'
Peter whopped with joy. 'Honey I've got a shot!' He screamed down the hall. He immediately remembered that she already left for her job at Solaris appliances. Peter sighed and walked toward his room, ready to wait for the next day.
In the morning he got up and practically danced around his chores. When 2:45 rolled around he grabbed his coat and moved towardthe door with a huge grin on his face, put on his preacher which had been hanging from a hook and left.
When he reached the parking lot below he stopped, looking around. What he saw was nothing new but it still got him thinking. The outside air was so full of smog you could only see a couple feet without a light visor. Traffic was tight. Air speeders zipping across the airways from one place to the next. Headlights working on the same principle as the visors.
He crossed to his car, got in an sped his way to breathe happy air company. It didn't take long since their offices were only a couple air blocks away.
Peter landed in their rather large parking lot, left his car and made his way into the office building.
Inside was a very bland room with nothing but a robot receptionist sitting at a white desk with nothing on it but a communicator and a holographic advertisement board. Peter walked up to the metal, expressionless receptionist. 'Hello I am here for my interview with Mr. McMahon could you pleas direct me?' Said Peter.
Is your name Peter? Screeched the metallic voice. 'Yes,' just take the elevator to the 158th floor. Thank you for visiting the breathe happy air company, breathe happy.
Peter stepped into the elevator that had marched from the wall and clicked on the 158 button.
'Wow only three hundred floors? That's small,' Peter thought to himself. When he finally reached floor 158 the doors dinged open. Inside was another blank room put this time Mr. McMahon sat at the desk with a second chair on the other side.
'Ah, you must be Peter,' said Mr. McMahon. Welcome to the breathe happy air company, have a seat. Peter did so. 'So Mr... What's your last name?' 'Henceforth,' answered Peter. 'Alright Mr. Henceforth, let's start with the basics,'.
After many long questions the interview was finally over. 'Well Mr. Henceforth,' 'please, call me Peter,' 'alright Peter, everything seems to check out. You start in the morning,' 'but sir, what about the other applicants?' Asked Peter. Mr. McMahon laughed. 'There are no other applicants my boy!' 'Oh,' said Peter.
'Here I'll show you your station,' Mr. McMahon showed Peter to his personal insta-teleporter system. They stepped on and Mr. McMahon said in a rather loud voice: 'air manufacturing plant,' a white light engulfed them and before they new it they were right in the middle of the manufacturing plant.
Peter looked around but was completely appalled at what he saw. There were machines actually taking the horrible nasty air from outside, vacuuming any visible trace of the smog and then was injected with chemicals. But what really made him nauseous was that the chemical barrels had the radioactive symbol on them.
'How could you!' Yelled Peter. 'What are you talking about my boy?' 'This is wrong!you're not making the air better your just making it worse!' Mr. McMahon was about to say something but Peter was already dashing for the teleporter, tears swelling in his eyes.
He ran all the way out to the parking lot, hastily got in his hover car and sped away. An his trip home he was completely lost in thought. How long have they been doing this?how long have I, and everyone else been breathing this horrible wretched air that passed for clean. If only the world knew. There would be a planetary revolt. War in the buildings battling over air. Literally.
Peter touched down in the parking lot of his building. He got out and began shuffling toward the main doors. Then suddenly he heard thou sound of shallow breathing.
Peter froze. Listening. There it was again, this time coming from the other direction. He looked around wondering wether or not Mr. McMahon sent someone to take him out so he didn't spill their secret.
He felt a finger tap on his shoulder. Peter jumped and screamed, bracing for impact, but it was just an old man. And from the looks of him a homeless one too. He was extremely dirty, he smelt like sewer and his were darting around wildly in all directions. Peter bet his teeth were really crooked and yellow but he couldn't tell from behind his beat up and worn down breather.
'Hey,' wheezes the old man. 'I've been watching you, you know what is wrong with the air they make, that is why I live out here. I have been looking for the right person to take care of these,' he holds out his hand to reveal eight small, round balls.
Peter had never seen these before. 'What are they?' Peter asked. 'They're called seeds, you place them in a thing called dirt. Then you give them warmth and water and they grow into something called trees,' peter's eyes widened, 'hey I've heard the legends of trees! You mean to tell me they're real?' 'Yes, and I want you to grow them,' 'but how am I to do that? I mean I can get water alright but what about sunlight? And soil?'
'There are ways. You can buy a lighting system that can help plants just like sunlight. And you will find soil if you go to the lowest point in he city and crack the ground. There will be soil there, grow these my boy, help them reproduce the clean air,'
The old man placed the seeds in Peter's hand, Peter looked at them in amazement but when he looked up to thank the man, he was gone.
Peter immediately turned, trotted to his car, got in and began driving to solace appliances for a sun lighter and an electro hammer (electric jackhammers) to crack the ground.
When he reached the store he looked around. There were all sorts of amazing tools: since screws and screwdrivers, magnetic pliers, plasmic wrenches and even portable teleporters.
Peter walked up to the man at the desk. Her read the clerks name tag: Jonathan. 'Hello and welcome to solace appliances what can I do for you?' Asked Jonathan. 'Hello I would like four sun lighters, an electro hammer and a portable teleporter please,' 'that will be 1245 credits, just sign your name and virtual bank ID and you order will be instantly teleported to your home. Thanks for visiting,'
Peter signed his name and ID then left to the lot where he got in his car once again and drove back to his home.
When he got back to his apartment he saw his equipment on the teleporter. He moved the sun lights out of the way, grabbed the electro hammer, portable teleporter and some very large plastic bagsand left once again, he would use the teleporter but it only sent him to other teleporter pads and the portable one only sends you to place you have seen before.
He got in his car again but this time, instead of joining the airway he slowly lowered the car down and down multiple miles until he eventually reached the bottom layer. He landed the car on the cracked concrete, removed the hammer, bags and teleporter from the trunk and walked over to the biggest crack he could find.
He then took the hammer and wedged it into the crack, turned it on, and began to dig. The futuristic jackhammer was completely silent and ripped the concrete up, sending it flying in every direction.
Once he was done, he knelt down and removed the excess ruble to reveal the nature's gold underneath. 'So this is dirt,' said Peter he then filled many giant bags with the dirt, he then used the mobile teleporter to send these bags back to his apartment.
When he finally sent the last bag and began packing up his communicator buzzed. He answered and a mini hologram of his wife appeared. 'Peter what is all this junk? What are you doing?' Asked Lina, a tone of accusation in her voice. 'I'll explain everything when I get home, alright honey,' 'you'd better, I don't want their stuff messing up our apartment. She hung up.
Peter packed up the hammer and teleporter, got back in his car, and began to rise back to civilian level. When he finally got high enough he landed in the apartment lot and once again left for the apartment.
When he got inside his wife Lina was waiting for him, her arms crossed and her face expressionless. 'Start talking,' she retorted. 'This is going to sound crazy honey but here goes, when I left this morning for my interview with Mr. McMahon I was all excited to get a new job. Bu then he showed me how they make their air. It was horrible! They took the nasty air and just removed visible traces while adding radioactive chemicals!' 'Peter that's horrible!' Said Lina, her hands over her mouth.
'That's not all, when I got home this old hermit cam up to me in the lot and gave me these,' Peter pulled the seeds out of his pocked and showed them to his wife. ' I thought they were extinct!' Said Lina, her eyes widening. Peter then continued his story ' he asked me to take care of them, plant them and help them create cleaner air. I decided I will sell that air, but first I needed materials, I left for solace appliances and picked up some things to help them grow,' said Peter as he jest urged to the pile of equipment.
'The sun lights are there to supply nutrients that they need and then I took this teleporter,' he took it out to show her. 'And that hammer,' he pointed to the electro hammer leaning against the wall. 'And I went down to floor level, cracked open the concrete and filled many bags with dirt that the trees need,' he pointed to the bags in the corner. Then i'm going to creat a grove for the trees to live,'
'That's a brilliant idea, Peter, is there any way I can help?'
'Sure!' Replied Peter. 'First thing's first, we have to clear an area for the trees to grow,' 'what about out on the balcony for people to see?' Asked Lina. 'No, all the smog would instantly kill them,' replied Peter. 'Well what about the storage room? You never use it for anything anyway,' 'good idea honey!'
Peter kissed his wife on the cheek and half walked, half ran to the storage room. 'Okay next we need to lay down the soil, hmmmm,' Peter stared at the ground thinking. 'What is it dear?' Asked Lina. 'Well honey, we're going to have to remove the floor to make room for the soil,' said Peter, a look of worry in his eyes. 'Well it's a good thing there is plenty of room between the different floors,' said Lina.
'Good, but what about all the pipes and wires?' asked Peter. 'Well don't the roots just grow around all the obstacles?' Replied Lina. 'I suppose that's true,'
Peter then walked over to where he left the electro hammer, picked it up, walked back, the. Realized: 'aw snap, I forgot we'll have to clear out the room first,'
They spent the next couple of hours cleaning the storage room. There wasn't much left, just things like old boxes of worn out supplies and outgrown clothes.
Meanwhile, back at solace appliances, the receptionist got a holo-call from Mr. McMahon. 'Hello, and welcome to solace appliances,' said the receptionist. 'Is there anything I can do for you today?' 'Yes, are there any records of a Peter Henceforth making a purchase here?' Asked Mr. McMahon 'Why yes sir, he made a purchase just a couple hours ago,' replied the receptionist. 'Could you please forward me the address he filled out?' Asked Mr. McMahon. 'Yes sir, let's see here... Ah! Here we go! He lives in section D part 12 in the omega apartment building, room E34,' replied the receptionist with an accomplished smile. 'Thank you,'. Mr. McMahon cut the connection.
Meanwhile, at breathe happy air company Mr. McMahon was in deep conversation with someone who seemed like a professional assassin.
'So do we have a deal? Archangel,' 'yes we do, 2315 credits on Peter henceforth' replied Archangel. Archangel then left the room to go finish his contract.
A couple hours later, back at the apartment. 'There, it's all clear, we can start hammering now,' said Peter. He then walked over to where he left the electro hammer, but that meant he had to walk past the balcony window.
On the room of the building across from the apartment, Archangel had a sniper rifle on a tripod pointing at Peter through the window. Crack. Someone's fist came flying into the assassin's jaw, mocking him to the ground unconscious. The man walked into view. He had dark hair with some streaks of grey, and bright green eyes, he seemed a little old since his face was covered in wrinkles and he was wearing a workers outfit with a name tag that read: Daniel Henceforth.
Daniel then called up his hover car to the roof, got in, and drove into the parking lot of the apartment building. He then left his car, walked into the apartment building and took the elevator to E floor. When he arrived he walked down the hall until he found room E34.
Daniel walked in, Peter whirled around at the sound of the door opening, but when he saw who it was his eyes widened in surprise.
'Dad!?' Exclaimed Peter. 'Yes son, I have been watching you, and I am proud of what you are trying to do and I wish to help,' said Daniel. 'Thanks dad, right now what we need to do is use this electro hammer,' he held it up, 'and take out the floor over there to make room for the dirt,' said Peter.
Daniel took the hammer, walked into the storage room, placed the tip of the hammer on the ground and turned it on. It immediately began to rip up the floor, peices of metal and concrete flew everywhere. Daniel moved around the room in a spiral fashion ripping up more and more floor to reveal the pipe works underneath.
'Oh gosh, u completely forgot the ceiling sprinklers!' Exclaimed Peter. 'Honey, would you please drive to solace appliances and pick some up? About six,' 'sure Dear,' said Lina as she grabbed her coat and keys and walked out the door to go pick up the sprinklers.
'There, finished,' said Daniel. Peter looked over to find the floor completely removed. The pipe system gap between floors was much bigger than Peter thought.
Peter and Daniel then took the bags of dirt and began to fill the hole with dirt, they spread it out as evenly as they could. When they finished they had some extra dirt left, they tossed it aside.
Peter was about to go get the sun lighters but Lina walked in the room with the sprinklers. 'Thank you, Lina,' said Daniel. Lina set them down and went to help Peter and Daniel carry the rather heavy sun lighters.
They set one sun lighter down in each corner of the room, facing the middle. A large cord ran around the edge of the room connecting all four sun lighters together and into a power storage unit by the door.
'Great, all that's left is to place the sprinkler system and then we can plant our seeds,' said Peter. They then took the sprinklers and attached them to the pump works in the ceiling through small holes. This was attached to a switch mechanism on the wall.
Peter began to jump with joy. 'We're finally finished, all we need to do is plant our seeds!' Peter hastily grabbed the seeds and handed some to Lina and Daniel who began to space out the seeds evenly between pre-dug holes. Then they pushed the dirt back over the seeds.
'What now Peter?' Asked Lina. 'We wait,' said Peter 'until they are at least saplings. 'But That could take a whole year!' Said Lina. 'I know honey, but we don't have a choice,'
Next year the trees were big enough to produce enough oxygen to process and sell. By now they had many spots where tubes took the fresh oxygen and filtered it into large plastic bottles, they took these bottles and sold them. Advertising their really fresh air and how breath happy was a fake.
After people started trying henceforth air they started to believe him. As the years went by his company grew to be one of the biggest air producers there is. The smog began to clear and everyone was getting good clean air.
