"I pass one of the cathedral ruins that stand guard at the entrance to the Merchant District and look up for a moment. There was a time back in school when I was obsessed with them. I studied each of the thirteen cathedrals like a historian looking for the meaning of life.

This one is barely standing. Three walls are gone. The old stones hauled away centuries ago after the old city fell during a long-forgotten war. The treasures inside pillaged, the stained glass broken. There’s not one scrap of it left. Not one shard, not one sliver of color remains.

I wouldn’t say Cathedral City has more than its fair share of darkness, every metropolis has problems. But the recent downturn in the economy has taken a toll on the lower classes. Unemployment is at an all-time high. The crime is so bad on this side of town, most go unreported. Education is failing. The kids drop out at an alarming rate. The streets, especially here on the south side, are packed with the homeless, the drug dealers, the criminals, and the morally bankrupt.

Public services are inadequate, politicians are corrupt, and the police are in the pockets of the tech industry that floods this town with wealth. Blue Corp is a giant among giants. They own almost everything. All the public utilities, even the mobile phone service. My jaw clenches automatically just thinking of the insane power they wield. Law means nothing when you have fuck-you money. And Blue Corp definitely has fuck-you money.

People have no respect for good and evil anymore."

~ Lincoln Wade