Fortune City

You could think of the mid 2080's as a pretty interesting time to exist in. Humanity is still alive and kicking, despite some rather close calls in the past century or so. Fusion power has stopped being as romantisiced as it was when first developed in the late 2050's, and has integrated as a part into everyday life - we might not have fixed the issue of impending environmental collapse entirely, but at least the oil issue can be considered a dodged bullet at this point. As Heather Cooper-Smith, former vice president of the Californian Republic, famously said regarding the invention:

"Capitalism should be founded on the idea that everything - everything - can be freely bought and sold, for maximum prosperity and efficiency. We have, as a species, proven the truth of that statement. We just bought ourselves some time."

  Global trade is booming, innovation in fields such as AI and cybernetic augmentation seems to never level off, and commercial space travel looks to be just on the edge of it's big breakthrough. The future is certainly here, and it's easy to almost be optimistic about it. Almost.   But to some, it will always be the same.   What has really changed in the world? The technology may be slighty more advanced than before, the corporations and their CEO:s wallets slightly larger, consumerism a bit more rampant, distances slightly smaller, the raindrops slightly colder, the city nights somewhat more lit up day by day. Another skyscraper, another computer with a mind of its own, another soaring hovercar. That's just progress.   And there will always be people in the shadows of progress. Those who have learned to live off the leftovers from it. Those who know that the sound of bullets against flesh never changes. Those who know the way to places that nobody would ever willingly visit. Those who know that the city extends as far vertically as in does horizontally.   Welcome to Fortune City. Where some thrive, and some escape. Some conform, and some revolt. Some live up to the name and make their fortune. Most die trying. 6,3 million blips on the radar. 6,3 million different angles of the city.   What does it look like to you?