The Choice : Chapter 1
As the morning sun rose slowly over Borealis, the stirrings of life once again filled the city. In one of the numerous backyards, in one of many apartment complexes, a young man woke up to see what the new day would bring. Still hung over from a night of partying at the Retreat, he stumbled downstairs to check the mail he neglected the day before.
"Ah, they're both here at the same time. How fortunate," as he found two envelopes similar in size. One was crisp and neat, the other a little less so. Both addressed to him, Michael Hawke of Borealis. He took them inside and upstairs to the small and sparsely furnished room he called home. Sitting down he poured his second cup of coffee for the morning and opened the packages.
The first was addressed from some department in Omni-Tek. Inside was a nice lengthy contract, worded in a kind of legalese that bordered between comprehensible and illegible. Michael could out the gist though.
"By signing this contract, the Undersigned agrees to become a full time employee of Omni-Tek (known herefor as the Company) ... All previous trangressions against the Company by the Undersigned will be deemed inactionable and cannot be used in any form to influence any business or legal matters ... The Undersigned agrees that all products created during his/her employment with the Company are subject to ownership by the Company ... contract expires upon final death ... breaking contract could make the Undersigned liable for all expenses incurred while working for Omni-Tek ... violation of contract may also make Undersigned criminally liable as well."
The other package held another document. The wording was more idealistic and less cold, but the message was very similar. Michael skimmed over the document in a similar fashion.
"I, -----, by signing this document, do affirm that I no longer work for Omni-Tek or any subsidiary ... I swear allegiance to the Clans, and will choose a clan of my own in the near future ... I understand that all previous dealings with Omni-Tek will no longer be held against me, and that any future dealings must be approved by Clan leadership ... "
Michael set both documents on the table side by side. One was on corporate letterhead so perfect it looked sterile, while the other was on a more common paper that was slightly dust colored. Completely different, yet completely the same. Both beckoned the neutral player in this game to finally choose a side. Both documents also made it very clear that once a decision was made that it was for all intents and purposes final. There was no going back to the fence, no getting out of the war once the hat was tossed in.
He set back in his chair, lost in a sea of thought. He hadn't been on Rubi-Ka long, but already he had seen that being a neutral only had a few advantages. True, he could go into almost any city he wanted, but the shopkeepers would turn away and refuse to serve someone unaffiliated. Even the insurance terminals seemed biased, begging for a security code that Michael did not have. Only the handful of neutral cities were friendly on this wartorn planet. Even the Shadowlands, the greatly heralded "new frontier", forced people to choose sides thanks to the conflict between the Ancients. Michael knew that if he wanted to really succeed in this life he had chosen for himself, he would need to pick a side. Neutrals payed for their freedom with a severe lack of choices.
He sipped down the last of the coffee in his cup, poured another, and drifted into a state of contemplation....it seemed that conflict was in this planet's, and thus Michael's, destiny.
(to be continued)