"I always hear shit with people talking about Downtown like it's some kind of tourist sight or something. They come and do whatever BPN they happened to pick up and then leave the place worse off than it was before. Even the plastic faced soulless bastards from Suburbia look down on us as though we' re some strange race outside of their own, twisted freaks to be looked at from afar and shunned for our misfortune. Like I had a choice in the matter. I grew up here.
"This is my home and, for that, I'm thankful; no matter what kind of piss-hole it actually is. I don't know anything else, except for what I see on the tube and, even then, it's all just SLA propaganda led to make us believe that we're part of one big happy family. Sure I would love to live the life of an "Op", or even your basic wage-slave, but is that gonna happen? I don't have any formal training in writing and stuff, and all I have to rely on day-to-day is my gut instinct. I guess that "flare" is a prime commodity as far as becoming a media icon is concerned, but then, even if I do show off my "talent", I'm just gonna get stuck with some stupid BPN and have to hang out in the streets of Downtown anyway. Nah, at least this way I'm free of the hassle.
"Besides, I have lots of friends out here. You learn to surround yourself with people you can trust, even if you don't like them. Take Trina for instance. She is one hard assed, stuck up bitch, but at least I know that she would stick up for me - or any of my other mates - without hesitation. That's what makes us different than the Suburban brats or the Uptown greed driven Ops. We have substance.
"I guess if I saw Downtown like what they show on SIC then I would think it to be the worst place on the whole fucken' planet, but I've seen things - bad things - go down all over Mort, not just here. At least you know what to expect. We're always on your toes, watchful and aware of every little change that the environment throws our way. The city speaks - you just gotta listen.
"Sure the sour taste in the air and the constant need to check yourself for any signs of disease are a pain in the ass, and I know of two people that died of infection just last week. They were weak and stupid, though; careless with the water they drank after we ditched in that abandoned tenement near "Gat's Dive". I miss Tran the most, but he was young and we couldn't afford to waste the pills on him. He hadn't done enough to warrant that kind of attention. Sad though, I figured the kid had promise. That's the way it goes down here. You live by the seat of your pants, hoping that some bastard doesn't come along and tear them off of your bleeding corpse.
"I have a personal relationship with Downtown. I feel it breath and spasm in its morbid existence, trying its best to hang on for just one more day, kind of like its inhabitants do. We all struggle to get by as best as we can, taking what we need and learning from the mistakes of the dead because you can never afford to make your own. There just isn't enough room for error. Someone is always waiting in the wings to snatch your spot at the slightest sign of vulnerability.
"SLA says that life is all about sponsorships, media, individuality and status, as long as you toe the line. They jam down your throat a way of life that many seek to achieve and yet very few attain. It's all a matter of perspective and the one I've got has kept me alive for long enough that I don't dare lose trust in it. It may get pissed off and throw fate's fickle finger up my ass so far I could choke on it. No, I'm not gonna let that happen.
"I guess Downtown isn't just a place then. It's a way of life. My life."
--Overheard at a Yuk's Noodles Stand in Downtown.
Written by Edwyn Kumar.