The night breeze felt quite chilly as both of them stepped outside The Providence, making Tara shiver on reflex.

  “Okay, my dear old fossil. Take off your jacket. I need it more than you.”

  Leon turned his head at her quick statement, shaking his head as he took off his suit jacket before handing it to her.

  “Quite assertive.”

  “As if. We both know there would be a moment eventually where you’d offer me your jacket so I just facilitated that event. It’s common sense, really.”

  “I guess.” He ughed at the situation.

  Tara Bates knows what she wants. That much was obvious.

  Honest, straightforward, and rational.

  Those are the personality traits that Leon gleaned from the auburn-haired girl during the few conversations they’ve had and what guided the majority of her actions. An interesting contrast to her friend, Nicole, who was both direct and ambitious.

  “How do you get home?” Leon asked as they left the bustling restaurant behind them.

  “The maglev train. I was supposed to get a ride from my kind-of date so I told my driver to take the rest of the night off. Now, that ride isn’t an option anymore.”

  “I see.” He replied as they headed over to the train station. He was wondering why she decided against ordering a ride with an automatic hover car but maybe she felt uncomfortable sitting in there alone with him. Not to mention, it was far slower due to being in the regur traffic grid.

  Going down the sidewalks, it only took them around ten minutes to get to the central maglev train station. They made their way to the arrival ptform when Leon almost habitually stopped in pce.

  “What’s wrong?” Tara turned around and asked with a confused gaze when Leon suddenly stopped walking.

  “Well, this is where the cabin stops for Tier 5 citizens. My ID only works-...” Leon stopped talking abruptly when Tara yanked him by the colr. She didn’t stop walking, dragging him behind her until they stopped a hundred meters ter.

  A few minutes ter, the train arrived on-time, the cabin for Tier 1 citizens stopping right in front of them. Waiting for the doors to open, Tara soon scanned her ID card on the scanner before pulling Leon inside with her.

  “Tier 1 can take other people with them, it’s one of the privileges. You didn’t actually think we’re gonna split up because of something stupid like that, did you?” She asked him who was lost for words.

  It was the first time he was in the Tier 1 cabin, an area that felt like a different world. Only very few people of that status actually used the train, leaving the cabin almost completely empty. A direct opposite to the Tier 5 cabin which was completely crowded to the point where people had to squeeze in while standing.

  The entire cabin was cleaner and more modern, with seats turned into luxurious couches that allowed complete free space for legroom and luggage. Coming with adjustable headrests and remote-controlled seat adjustments, it reminded him of first-css service in airlines back in the early 21st century.

  “It looks a bit over the top for a train ride.” Leon mumbled which Tara shrugged off.

  “That’s how the system works. If you work your ass off, you’ll get more privileges in return. “

  “It would alleviate the situation in other cabins along the train if they’re spread out more.”

  “But that’s the whole point, though.” Tara replied as they both chose a bench to sit down.

  “This system of meritocracy works because people have more privileges based on their achievements. It’s a driving point that has proven to increase productivity and economic growth. There are drawbacks for some people, sure, but the same applies in other societal systems. This one has been the most successful so far.”

  After finishing her sentence, she looked over at Leon who remained quiet.

  “I assume this was different back in your time?”

  “It was.” He said as his thoughts returned to the 2040s, the time that was most memorable to him. It was around the time he entered his teenage years right until going into cryogenic sleep in 2047. Coincidentally, the same year he went into cryogenic sleep, WW3 started not long after. It was his good luck in between all the bad luck that might have saved his life.

  “The wealth gap was a thing with merits and achievements, above all money, dictating your status in the world. Though, there was no clear societal system that divided people into different groups based on that.”

  “Sounds very hypocritical to me.” Tara said with a shake of her head.

  “Why do you think that?”

  “It’s awareness. Rich people back then had naturally more influence and privileges than others. In the eyes of the system, their lives had more value. For the poor, however, they felt no impact of that difference because society treats them the same. Why would they ever try to improve and reach the same level when most of those privileges are hidden away.”

  She stopped for a moment pointing to the cabin around them.

  “With all these extra privileges being a part of society and people’s lives, they naturally have more awareness and drive to contribute more to society, to eventually reach that level.”

  “Then what about discrimination and ck of opportunities for those lower tier citizens to actually put that into reality?”

  “Well, there are ws and government programs to fix that.”

  “Even though this is an inherently fwed world where it happens regardless of those ws?”

  Thinking about his st question for a moment, Tara suddenly turned around with a bright smile on her face.

  “You’re right, this is a fwed world. No system is perfect.” Pointing her finger at his chest, her smile turned into a cheeky grin. “So why don’t you try to make this pce a better world, Leon. For both of us. That would be a goal worthy of a brain like yours.”

  Laughing brightly, Tara emphasized her st sentence.

  Leon didn’t know what to say, letting out a sigh. “What a thing to say.”

  A few minutes ter, the train stopped at the next station.

  “Okey, this is me. My station. I told my driver to pick me up here.” Tara said as she stood up with her phone in her hands. When he heard the st part, though, Leon got confused.

  “Wait, didn’t you say you told your driver to take the night off?”

  At his question, the auburn-haired girl only shook her head, giggling.

  “Nope, I only said that because I wanted to take the train?”

  “Why would you want to take the train when you have a private driver?” For Leon, this made no sense.

  Was this the rich-people mindset his poor ass was unable to comprehend?

  “Stupid. I wanted to take the train because I knew you definitely would.” With that, Tara turned around and left the cabin, leaving behind a stunned Leon who was thinking about her st sentence all the way home.

  ……….

  Around two weeks after his visit to The Providence, Leon was holed up in the Tsunami Foods paddock, taking apart Trey’s maglev race car. Not his official race car but rather a duplicate his friend ordered to let him do whatever he wanted.

  A fail safe to ensure one car was always ready whenever he needed.

  “This is bullshit.” Leon cursed as he looked at the wide assortment of mechanical parts lying around him. He took apart the entire outer cover and disassembled it down to its very skeleton to come to a simple conclusion.

  This car wouldn’t cut it.

  “We need to re-model.” He stated while looking at the two people waiting in the corner.

  One was his best friend who observed his mad actions with a bnd face and crossed arms while the other one was a tanned woman with dark hair wearing shorts and a bck tank-top, Zoe.

  She had her hands on her hips as her eyebrows raised in unison.

  “What do you mean we need to re-model?”

  “Re-structure, re-design, re-build. This isn’t solved by adjusting a few parameters or changing some components. We need to change, well…” Leon stopped to look around the different components spread over the ground. “... pretty much everything. It’s a complete overhaul.”

  Scrunching his eyes, Trey tilted his head. “Okay, Leon, I get what you’re trying to say but do we have the time? The next race is in five days and the mid-seasonal Grand Prix in two and a half months.”

  “I know.” Leon replied with a nod. “I’ll start making adjustments for the next race, then introduce more changes as you go through the season. Before the official race, you just have to test drive the original and modified car to see the performance increase.”

  “So, you’re saying you can do it?” Zoe intervened. She got to know Leon for around a week and a half now and quickly came to terms with his eccentric behavior. He was rushed, impulsive and unpredictable but there was one thing that was constant—he delivered.

  Not quite yet on his promise to build an unprecedented race car but he quickly fixed multiple other small problems having popped up for weeks now as if it wasn’t even an issue for him.

  Like Trey had told her, he was a genius. And geniuses, as far as she knew, always did things in ways normal people like her couldn’t even begin to imagine.

  “Anyway, I got an idea for this but I’m gonna do that tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Trey was confused.

  “Yeah, I got something at the b. Just tell the team not to touch those parts on the ground. I’ll take care of it.” Leon said as he picked up his backpack and prepared to leave.

  “Wait, you can’t just leave in the middle of taking the whole car apart.” Zoe said but Leon only waved his hand as he walked away.

  “Don’t worry, I memorized all the components and where I put them. If I find one missing tomorrow, it’s the mechanic team’s fault.”

  ‘What?’ Zoe thought in her mind, looking at the countless mechanical parts on the ground.

  A maglev race car uses very advanced technology with complex systems that use too many components, big and small. Over the entire ground, there must be hundreds, most likely over a thousand of different components. And yet, Leon memorized exactly where he pced them?

  “Does he have an eidetic memory?” Zoe turned to Trey for an answer who nodded zily.

  “Yeah, it’s like there is an actual computer in his head instead of a brain.”

  After that, Trey left the paddock as well, leaving behind Zoe who could only look at the mess on the ground in silence.

  ……….

  “Sometimes, instead of trying to change something for the better, it’s easier to just start fresh.”

  ~~Dr. Benjamin Harper’s Memoirs~~