I haven't written any fiction in a while, so when I saw this contest come up in my feed I thought I'd give it a go.
Usually I need days to think about a story, or months or even years. But somehow this story came to me right away.
I finished this about an hour after reading about the contest first, but didn't want to be the first one haha.

The Ripple Effect

When I see my partner’s face pop up on the wall this morning at first I think I am going to get another rant about how she wasn’t able to collect her crypt-go again.
I'm getting ready to explain it to her for the thousandth time, but her bright smile stops me in my tracks.

“You got it!”
“I got what?”
“The interview!”

I almost choke on my coffee when I jump off my chair,
not bothered to gesture the vision wall to shut off and as I'm sliding towards the door I yell:
“See you in 10 minutes!”

For a moment I think of walking, then chuckle at the thought: it would take me at least half an hour in this traffic since everyone seems to have taken on oxbit-training.
Excited about what is to come, I step out of the Flo-Vator and onto the Zoom-walk.
For weeks I’ve been waiting to get the call but somehow I'm still surprised when it finally came.

As I zoom past a few walkers, I catch a glimpse of the news wall.
The headlines mention something about old presidents. Intrigued to find out what they want this time, I zoom off and rest my eyes on the text in front of me.

“Old presidents ask the free people for pardon.”
A little smile builds on my lips when I meet a young man’s eyes.
Well, he’s probably in his 50’s, but with the new oxbit, everyone looks and feels much younger.
Hard to guess an age really...

He smiles back at me, then gestures at the wall. “Good luck with that huh?”
“Yeah, I’d like to see them get out of that bunker in Alaska. It’s fool proof, at least that’s what they told us when they built it right? No one in or out. So even a pardon isn’t gonna help them.”
“Can you imagine…” he pauses for a moment, then continues: “the rest of their lives in a place like that?”
“Well, they dug their own graves... literally.”
“But I bet they’re having a great time playing chess with the pope and the royal families…” I add, not hiding the sarcasm in my voice. The man laughs out loud.

I check the headline beside it that shows me that Steem has gone down to 40,000 again.
“Just great…” I think and realise I forgot about the time. I quickly wave the man good-bye as I continue my way to the office on the zoom.

Only seconds later, I hear my Eye-phone ringing. Knowing it’s my partner I swiftly move my hand for it to come on. “What’s up Beth?”
“You need to hurry! He’s on his way!”
“What?!? I thought…” Beth interrupts me and I hear the irritation in her voice when she repeats:
“HE IS ON HIS WAY!!”
“OK, two minutes and I’ll be there.”
“You better be…” I hear before she disconnects.

At this point I am running on the zoom and annoyed by all those people who decided to use it today I am zig-zagging past them. Not long until I see the building in front of me and I pick up my step a little more.

I was not going to miss speaking to the man who sparked the revolution that brought us all to where we are today. A whistleblower, ex politician and stand-up guy to some, to me Luke Flanagan is a true hero. After all, we needed a man in politics to blow the whistle or people would have stayed in their slumber forever. The few of us weren't able to awaken the masses.

Even at the speed I’m going, I manage to smile a little. Deep in thoughts, I completely forget about the part where the Zoom ends in front of our building and before I know it I am flying towards the door, headfirst, just when a man with long dark hair steps out of the door and onto the street. With all my might I try to regain some of my balance but going at that speed, of course I fail completely.
“Feckin’ ripple!” I yell as I inelegantly crash into him and almost pull the both of us down to the ground. With the speed of lightning his arm shoots forward and he grabs mine before I fall flat on my face. Flustered and sweaty as I'm trying to regain some of my posture and dignity, I look up and into the eyes of an amused Luke.
“Feckin’ ripple yourself!” he smiles.